[Archived] Official: Paul Lambert Appointed Blackburn Rovers Manager

[G Somerset Rover]

I don't think anybody's arguing that performances have not been improved under Lambert, but I think it's fair enough to say that results have been a little dissapointing. He's pretty much picked up where GB left off in that respect.

[davulsukur]

Whats happened to the Cortese rumours from a few days back?

[tomphil]

Whats happened to the Cortese rumours from a few days back?

Nicko has wrapped his fried haggis & chips in them.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Bowyer sold Cairney & Gestede, who would've been on decent wages. He clearly had scope to bring in his own players if we were handing out £10k a week contracts to nobodies like Koita.

Is that the same Koita we sold on for a profit (not saying he was great BTW) ?

Bowyer had the embargo - so was limited on what he could do.

To an extent those limitations were removed for Lambert - I think we even paid a small fee for Ward.

Comparisons between Lambert and Bowyer are a little bit of a nonsense really - as the situations were different. Bowyer inherited a bloated, over paid, under achieving squad - did a reasonable job handling the removal of dead wood and stabilised us. Lambert inherited a squad that was a little leaner - but following the forced sales to meet FFP - lacking in quality in some key areas.

IMO Lambert has a better starting point than Bowyer did - but we need to give him time (and finances) to get us moving up the table again.

[den]

I don't think anybody's arguing that performances have not been improved under Lambert, but I think it's fair enough to say that results have been a little dissapointing. He's pretty much picked up where GB left off in that respect.

Don't think that's true is it? Didnt Bowyers last 17 games render three wins?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Is that the same Koita we sold on for a profit (not saying he was great BTW) ?

Bowyer had the embargo - so was limited on what he could do.

To an extent those limitations were removed for Lambert - I think we even paid a small fee for Ward.

Comparisons between Lambert and Bowyer are a little bit of a nonsense really - as the situations were different. Bowyer inherited a bloated, over paid, under achieving squad - did a reasonable job handling the removal of dead wood and stabilised us. Lambert inherited a squad that was a little leaner - but following the forced sales to meet FFP - lacking in quality in some key areas.

IMO Lambert has a better starting point than Bowyer did - but we need to give him time (and finances) to get us moving up the table again.

Bowyer got rid of some dead wood but then replaced them with more dead wood.

[den]

Comparisons between Lambert and Bowyer are a little bit of a nonsense really - as the situations were different. Bowyer inherited a bloated, over paid, under achieving squad - did a reasonable job handling the removal of dead wood and stabilised us

There was me thinking he got sacked because even the owners could see we couldn't win a game and the football was absolutely dire.

[Amo]

IMO Lambert has a better starting point than Bowyer did - but we need to give him time (and finances) to get us moving up the table again.

Bowyer inherited a team including Dunn, Givet, Dann, Olsson, King, Rhodes, Rochina...

Granted, the team still needed rebuilding, which was facilitated by the 15 players he signed in his first season. Not to mention all the bad-eggs and deadwood that were shipped out or paid off.

We spent two years chasing midtable mediocrity, paving the way for FFP to screw us over, and now Lambert's been lumbered with Bowyer's deadwood.

[Mercer]

^{I think the fact that Bowyer is still out of football and, as far as I can see, rarely linked with any position, tells you all you need to know about his managerial abilities.}

^{I can almost guarantee that when Lambert leaves Rovers, he will have job offers.}

[Lancs Rover]

Here we go again.

Gary Bowyer Ate My Hamster.

[EgyptianPete]

Here we go again.

Gary Bowyer Ate My Hamster.

No he didn't but give it a real good go

[jw_]

This thread has descended into a finger pointing game and the tension of events is showing. All I can say is that it's not Bowyers fault and it's not Lamberts fault, it is as we all know bloody Venky's fault 100%.

[DE.]

In terms of points (the only thing that really matters), Bowyer had 17 points from 16 games. So we were basically picking up just over a point a game. Assuming we continued on the same trajectory we'd probably have between 38-42 points now, just above the relegation zone. Lambert has probably gained us an extra 4-6 points.

Obviously it's hard to predict exactly what would have happened as we don't know what would have happened in January if GB had still been around. Would Venky's have still lifted the embargo, or left it in place? Would Rhodes have been sold? Would we have found another Gestede, or ended up with another Brown?

Questions we'll never know the answer to... and thank goodness for that.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

I don't understand how there's ever been an argument from the remnant Bowyer fans. If Lambert is better then great, if he's the same then surely he needs to be afforded the 2.5 years Bowyer was before he can be judged? I can understand an argument existing if he's worse but nobody in their right mind would claim that.

[Gav]

Willy waving over Bowyer

Just what we need....

[Athlete]

This isn't really a point scoring debate over PL and GB different scenarios but the rhyme and reason the same the club needs to be UK run

What is the point in saying to any manager that we'll back with xyz but it will need sanctioning by us in India because we all know that by the time it takes a target will probably have moved on elsewhere

I also now get the feeling PL maybe backing himself into a corner and it's highly likely he'll walk

[JHRover]

Its all set up for the greatest insult of them all.

Venkys finally bring in a proven manager and impressive backroom staff.

Venkys force manager to resign due to lack of funds/shambolic operation of the club.

Venkys continue to run the club into the ground, appoint inept replacement yes man coach for Lambert, don't spend money in the summer, Rovers follow Bolton into League One.

Lambert leaves the club, someone else takes a punt on him (Forest perhaps now they are out of their embargo), Lambert goes and does what we wanted him to do here at a rival club where he will be backed by fit and proper owners.

Lambert leads other club to Premier League/promotion push, we head into League One.

[tomphil]

Fit and proper owners and Forest don't go together although they seem better than our lot.

[rigger]

Its all set up for the greatest insult of them all.

Venkys finally bring in a proven manager and impressive backroom staff.

Venkys force manager to resign due to lack of funds/shambolic operation of the club.

Venkys continue to run the club into the ground, appoint inept replacement yes man coach for Lambert, don't spend money in the summer, Rovers follow Bolton into League One.

Lambert leaves the club, someone else takes a punt on him (Forest perhaps now they are out of their embargo), Lambert goes and does what we wanted him to do here at a rival club where he will be backed by fit and proper owners.

Lambert leads other club to Premier League/promotion push, we head into League One.

You're first point is a fact, the rest is hypothetical

[rhodie]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35977176 What I took from this article is that Lambert is more annoyed that we haven`t got a proper Chairman.

[Exiled in Toronto]

I think Lambert & Co were appointed because the V's actually thought he could get us into the play-offs this season. I think to that extent, they were prepared to do enough to get the transfer embargo lifted (which they did) and substantially back Lambert in the window if we were looking threatening (and it was clear come January that play-offs looked a long shot so we saw 'limited support' in player recruitment).

V's may well have decided now that enough is enough having 'lost' getting on for £150m by the time this season ends.

That's how I read it too re Lambert.

The almost universal narrative on here was that Bowyer was the problem. He was potted in Nov, which made promotion a long shot but not impossible: Kendall got us up from a worse position that time of year and we did get to within two points of the playoffs fairly quickly.

Since then though, looking at it dispassionately, has Lambert done enough to earn the right to get his budgets, short and long-term? He's got them fitter but to what benefit when he hasn't got more out of them as individuals? He's changed the tactics but all that seems to have done is expose the limitations of the players. Parkes did better in four of his five caretaker stints. And who knows how much he has asked for?

If we'd got him straight from Norwich he'd deserve a blank cheque, but he was out of work having been fired, so he had some credibility to win before expecting to dictate investment levels.

I like a lot of what he has done but not enough to bet the farm on him.

[LDRover]

That's not right. gomez and Graham are on big wages and Watt cost a loan fee. bowyer didn't have this to work with.

Giving Koita and Petshi 10k a week blows any credibility away.

[JHRover]

But surely if it all hinged on promotion this season then Venkys would have acted sooner. Why not replace Bowyer last summer and get the embargo lifted then? That way give the new man a full pre-season and summer to prepare. Not mess about until November then expect the new man to pull off a miracle by getting someone else's squad from a return of 3 wins in 17 to the play-offs in half a season.

If they were receiving or listening to any sensible advice then they would not have expected the play-offs or thought they were achievable after Lambert took over. Nobody in world football would have put money on this side getting there. The fact that we briefly went within a few points of the top six before Christmas doesn't mean much. Most of the sides in this league have at some stage or other been within reach of the top six this season.

Its nonsensical.

If it is the case that Lambert expected backing which isn't going to materialise then my money is on it being down to the chaotic organisation of Venkys. I have no doubt that Lambert, via Sohail Pasha, was told money would be available to overhaul this squad in the summer. There must have been some sort of discussion about beyond this season. My guess would be that one of the Venky people, probably Balaji, instigated the managerial change having been fed up with results under Bowyer, and promised Lambert money to spend. Then at some stage since then the others, Mrs Desai included, have overruled him and decided they aren't going to gamble more money on signing players having already lost fortunes.

I think back to some of the talk about big name managers and signings after Allardyce was sacked. I'm sure there was talk about Benitez, Eriksson and others being given fortunes to spend which never materialised and we were stuck with Kean for years. This time we've gone further in that the 'big name' manager has arrived but again the money hasn't materialised.

It makes me sick to the pit of my stomach when I think of the amounts of money wasted as a direct result of Steve Kean and Shebby Singh, which if invested into Allardyce or Lambert would no doubt have delivered success.

[den]

There's no way Venkys expected Bowyer to get us promoted this year. I find that idea absurd and there's absolutely nothing to back it up.

[Amo]

LOL @ anyone trying to find method in Venky's madness.

Myself included.