[Archived] Official: Paul Lambert Appointed Blackburn Rovers Manager

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Using your own tactic, who thought this way? I didn't for one. Since PL was first appointed I've been consistently saying we had little or no chance of promotion this season and that the rest of it should be seen as a period when we set ourselves up for a real push next.

Tom M has consistently said the same. There are plenty of others I can't remember and can't be bothered looking up.

So lets stop with the "Straw-man"style of arguing.

If a minority went a little bonkers when PL was appointed, we can hardly blame them. First good news in 5 years and all that.

I can't be bothered looking back for proof but my view at the time was we had a team that would probably be relegated under the previous manager. I thought a good manager ( Lambert & co ) with some new recruits in the Jan window could get them to mid table with a bit of luck. Nothing I've seen since has changed my mind.

[AllRoverAsia]

We will finish this Season under Lambert in the top half of the league and under the previous it would have been bottom half. How high or low is another story.

In my honest humble opinion.

[sambo]

I think PL will get it right, but this game was a throwback to the Appleton era.

We looked devoid of any ideas, spirit or cohesion. Really difficult to watch.

And like under Appleton, Rhodes looked completely lost and isolated. Not surprising when the ball is constantly lumped vaguely in his vicinity. A few times he made intelligent runs, and was either ignored for a ball out wide, or the pass was woefully misplaced (like in the first half).

[den]

If i'm being totally honest, i'm a little concerned that i can't see the way he wants us to play. I hear a lot about pressing the opposition. But so what?

I "think" I know how he wants to play, bet it's certainly not fully apparent yet. Whatever style Norwich played under him, he will almost certainly be trying to reproduce that here. He needs the right players in to be able to play to his plans, - but what we're currently seeing is a plan that can't be executed. I guess that was the case at Villa.

If you were manager in that position, what would you do? Personally I hope he sticks to his game plan and builds around that.

[arbitro]

I thought a new manager of Lamberts reputation could have got a lot more out of the current squad. Defensively I think he has but offensively we are as poor as ever. The key thing for me is allowing Lambert to bring several new faces and allow him to mould them into what he wants. This could take two windows based on the evidence of the last two games. I genuinely expect at least ten in and ten out between now and next season. I wouldn't offer any of the out of contract players a deal and would look to shift some of the current first team who clearly are passengers and nowhere near good enough to get us promoted.

[Blue blood]

First off I'm a massive fan of Lambert and think he's already done more in his managerial career than GB will ever do. Also we were only heading one way under Bowyer which was down.

The last few games have been really disappointing - although given it took Hughes, Souness and others a stormy start before clear waters I'm not at all worried by this. Lambert has to suss out who's up for it himself and these things take time. (Seriously 7 games in with a proven manager and doubting him?)

Where I do feel frustrated and perhaps others are as well is that this is a rank bad league there for the taking. Perhaps the squad isn't as good as I thought - though I still think there's a decent nucleus. But the league is as bad as I thought - every team I've seen has been poor. Cardiff and Leeds for two were awful and full of plodders but are getting results. To me it shows the league is weak and there's no reason not to dream big.

Maybe it'll take Lambert longer than I imagined - I thought we'd see steady progress from the off which was perhaps overly ambitious. But I do feel whilst criticism of PL so early is wrong fans have every right to dream big. The league is that bad.

[Silas]

Reading have only won twice in the last 13 games, once against a woeful Bolton side and once against us.

Bolton have only won once in the last 3 months.

To lose to both of those sides is simply unacceptable, and I guess PL is well aware of that.

If we had played Boxing Day and got tonked 3-0 by Boro I don't believe our fans would have reacted that badly. No doubt we wouldn't have been thrilled about it, but it wouldn't be a huge surprise.

But these constant failures against lesser/lower league opposition has to stop if we are to progress.

This old joke of gifting teams in trouble 3 pts has to stop, it's gone on far too long now - how many years?

PL's first job should be ensuring positive results (be they win or draw) against the teams in bottom half of table. That will inevitably put us in a top half table position. The next step is then to try and compete with the top 8 clubs on the pitch - something we haven't done in years - and will surely be the hardest challenge for him and will require new playing staff.

The results the last few weeks have been very poor. The honeymoon period is over, and now PL has a few months to get to work both with the players in and out the club, and the quality of performances on the pitch.

I have faith in him, and here's to hoping for some strides in the right direction come Feb/March. Looking at fixture list feb to mar has a run of 4 games - MK Dons, Burnley, Brum, Leeds - all of which are at home except the dingles. That will be good barometer of progress he has made IMO as we should see a good haul of points from that run. Let's see what he can deliver.

[onlyonejackwalker]

Has he had FIVE transfer windows yet? Or even ONE? Nah.

Fact of the matter is with Bowyers plodders he has eaked out the same number of wins in half the time as the man who signed them all.

Is it good to watch? Is it entertaining? Nope, but that has been the case for as long as I can remember and I don't know what people are expecting using this current group of players.

It was a brave and expensive decision by the owners to remove Bowyer and his cronies and to appoint Lambert and crew. Stage two must surely involve supporting him with some new players and crucially the time to turn things round and implement his own ideas. I wrote on here after seven games or so that the season was effectively over in terms of promotion / play offs and a few quick wins under Lambert's managerial bounce does not change that.

Personally speaking, Lambert would not have been my first choice and I worried that the depressing football and results on offfer at Villa became the norm for us here. Equally, I was chuffed when Bowyer was removed and remain fully behind the appointment of Lambert. A couple of close hard fought away defeats do not change anything, especially with one being a local derby.

I guess we have to simply trust in the owners to support him fully having made the decision to run with him and give him the time to organise the group and getting them playing in the style he wishes. After five years of total nonsense, I am quite prepared to wait another twelve months or so to see which way the new appointment developes.

[oldjamfan1]

Has he had FIVE transfer windows yet? Or even ONE? Nah.

Fact of the matter is with Bowyers plodders he has eaked out the same number of wins in half the time as the man who signed them all.

Is it good to watch? Is it entertaining? Nope, but that has been the case for as long as I can remember and I don't know what people are expecting using this current group of players.

It was a brave and expensive decision by the owners to remove Bowyer and his cronies and to appoint Lambert and crew. Stage two must surely involve supporting him with some new players and crucially the time to turn things round and implement his own ideas. I wrote on here after seven games or so that the season was effectively over in terms of promotion / play offs and a few quick wins under Lambert's managerial bounce does not change that.

Personally speaking, Lambert would not have been my first choice and I worried that the depressing football and results on offfer at Villa became the norm for us here. Equally, I was chuffed when Bowyer was removed and remain fully behind the appointment of Lambert. A couple of close hard fought away defeats do not change anything, especially with one being a local derby.

I guess we have to simply trust in the owners to support him fully having made the decision to run with him and give him the time to organise the group and getting them playing in the style he wishes. After five years of total nonsense, I am quite prepared to wait another twelve months or so to see which way the new appointment developes.

A very sensible and balanced post. The only bit I would possibly take exception with is the 'hard fought' adjective. Had that been true I don't think people would be as annoyed at the players.

[ABBEY]

5 Windows ? Has he had 5 bloody weeks yet ..he says it wasn't good enough and new faces required what do these idiots wanting him gone actually want .

Promotion under the venkyscum will be nigh impossible .. Come next season lambert may just be able to perform a miracle . The body ,heart & soul of our club has been devoured by those clueless idiots in Pune .

[roverandout]

Who is this reg rover on the lancs telegraph message board? What a plank!!!

[sambo]

Who is this reg rover on the lancs telegraph message board? What a plank!!!

They're a strange breed on there.

Hoping for a reaction on Saturday. It says a lot I live in Cardiff and may not even be attending

We have a squad made up of soft arses who can't handle any sort of expectation or a battle. It's a squad for me that sums up GB to an extent - happy with the minimum, plodding on by.

We desperately need some winners in the squad, as I can only think of a few who would happily puff their chests out and give it their all.

[RibbleValleyRover]

I think some of us misjudged the actual level of quality in the squad (myself included if I am being honest) and expected a new manager with a good pedigree would automatically solve most of the issues.

Lambert has done a solid job so far but it's clear we are going to need some external help in terms of new players. With his sabbatical travelling around Europe after leaving Villa I am hopeful that he should be able to bring in some players either as signings or as loans until the end of the season.

Pushing for promotion this season was always a tough ask, next season with a few transfer windows under his belt and time to mold the players into what he wants to achieve on the pitch should be the season to judge his management.

The same idiots who want Bowyer back are probably the same ones who wanted someone like Tugay or another ex-rover to manage the club. It seems like if you have long standing connections to Rovers you can ignore the most important aspects of the job like actually winning matches. Bowyer got a free pass for a long time because he was at the club in some capacity for some time, these people need to take off those blue and white tinted spectacles.

[EgyptianPete]

I was about to correct you, but after a quick headcount I think you're about right. Yes, including loans he's brought some 40 players into the club during his tenure. He might not have paid millions for most of these players and the squad did need an overhaul, but after all those transfers we were ultimately no better off than when he took over in terms of league standing.

Thanks for the clarification Amarillo, my point was even free transfers and loans cost agent fees and probably some signing on fee too, i bet that's a few quid right there.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Using your own tactic, who thought this way? I didn't for one. Since PL was first appointed I've been consistently saying we had little or no chance of promotion this season and that the rest of it should be seen as a period when we set ourselves up for a real push next.

Tom M has consistently said the same. There are plenty of others I can't remember and can't be bothered looking up.

So lets stop with the "Straw-man"style of arguing.

If a minority went a little bonkers when PL was appointed, we can hardly blame them. First good news in 5 years and all that.

Yes you are correct; the overwhelming consensus on here for the past 12 months and more was that we had a rubbish squad which Bowyer was doing well to keep out of trouble...

The only game I saw in the flesh this season was Ipswich home and even then I thought we were miles off being a promotion team.

[Gav]

I think some of us misjudged the actual level of quality in the squad (myself included if I am being honest) and expected a new manager with a good pedigree would automatically solve most of the issues.

Lambert has done a solid job so far but it's clear we are going to need some external help in terms of new players. With his sabbatical travelling around Europe after leaving Villa I am hopeful that he should be able to bring in some players either as signings or as loans until the end of the season.

Pushing for promotion this season was always a tough ask, next season with a few transfer windows under his belt and time to mold the players into what he wants to achieve on the pitch should be the season to judge his management.

The same idiots who want Bowyer back are probably the same ones who wanted someone like Tugay or another ex-rover to manage the club. It seems like if you have long standing connections to Rovers you can ignore the most important aspects of the job like actually winning matches. Bowyer got a free pass for a long time because he was at the club in some capacity for some time, these people need to take off those blue and white tinted spectacles.

Absolutely

As for posters wanting Bowyer back, surely not? anyone who says that is either a dingle or on a serious fishing trip.

Paul Lambert is the best thing thats happened to this club since the 3 stooges took over, every Rovers fans knows that,

[Jimmy612]

We will finish this Season under Lambert in the top half of the league and under the previous it would have been bottom half. How high or low is another story.

In my honest humble opinion.

Not sure how you can say any of those things. No one can see into the future with certainty and it needs to be noted that GB never finished a full season below 9th. Unless of course it's to promote the fast developing myth that he was actually a dreadful manager based on the chuck enough mud and some will stick theory. This stuff is appearing on lots of threads and although Bowyer might have been no SAF and it's debatable whether he had what it takes to see a team promoted to the Prem his managerial record is in black and white and cannot be denied. I must say I was not comfortable with his dismissal because of the simple fact that he was not actually a bad manager for us.

[K-Hod]

Not sure how you can say any of those things. No one can see into the future with certainty and it needs to be noted that GB never finished a full season below 9th. Unless of course it's to promote the fast developing myth that he was actually a dreadful manager based on the chuck enough mud and some will stick theory. This stuff is appearing on lots of threads and although Bowyer might have been no SAF and it's debatable whether he had what it takes to see a team promoted to the Prem his managerial record is in black and white and cannot be denied. I must say I was not comfortable with his dismissal because of the simple fact that he was not actually a bad manager for us.

It's safe to say we were on course to do so this season though.

But he didn't address the issues that kept rearing their head. It wasn't the embargo's fault we kept letting in late goals, and we've appointed one with a better track record, which we kept being told wouldn't happen, which I for one am glad about.

[BlueMonday]

I don't think anyone is saying GB was a bad manager. He was the right manager at the right time. But he had taken us as far as he could. One can only assume that Venkys have become ambitious again, in which case GB wasn't the right man.

It's a similar situation to Don McKay being replaced by Dalgleish. DM did a good job for us and was liked by the fans, but I think we can all agree it was the right decision to bring in King Kenny.

[Amo]

Bowyer paid the price for blowing our best shot at promotion last season. The embargo was not yet in effect, he had two of the hottest strikers in the league, talented players King, Cairney & Conway, and we finished a disappointing 9th, some 11pts off the playoffs. That was simply unacceptable. And it wasn't just our league finish that grated, but the manner in which we underachieved. Bowyer's reign engendered a false sense of stability and brought with it a dumbing down of expectations (which filtered through to the supporters if this place is anything to go on). His youth team roots shone through and as time went on he appeared more interested in the % mark-up & resale value of his signings than the club's own ambitions. I honestly think he was trying to style himself as the next Dario Gradi and would've gladly reduced Rovers to little more than a lower-league feeder club if it suited his purposes.

[blueboy3333]

Bowyer paid the price for blowing our best shot at promotion last season. The embargo was not yet in effect, he had two of the hottest strikers in the league, talented players King, Cairney & Conway, and we finished a disappointing 9th, some 11pts off the playoffs. That was simply unacceptable. And it wasn't just our league finish that grated, but the manner in which we underachieved. Bowyer's reign engendered a false sense of stability and brought with it a dumbing down of expectations (which filtered through to the supporters if this place is anything to go on). His youth team roots shone through and as time went on he appeared more interested in the % mark-up & resale value of his signings than the club's own ambitions. I honestly think he was trying to style himself as the next Dario Gradi and would've gladly reduced Rovers to little more than a lower-league feeder club if it suited his purposes.

Deary me. The embargo came in on 1/1/15. That certainly qualifies as last season. In effect it came in in Summer 2014 when Bowyer was told he could only sign freebies like Brown and Varney. 9th was a good finish given other teams were spending an awful lot of money to get out of this league.

What does 'Bowyer's reign engendered a false sense of stability' even mean?! He finished 9th.

Cairney has been on the bench for Fulham...or stuck on the right-wing, something again Bowyer was criticised for. Great work by Bowyer to get £3.5m for him though. What a talent! King was normally on crutches or playing 2nd fiddle to the 'hottest' strike force around (your words).

As for 'dumbing down expectation' they've gone through the floor now! It's all about next season blah blah. If Lambert could set a team up to create and score goals the play-offs are there for the taking. He's supposed to be a good manager so surely he should get more out of the team. That's what YOU kept saying last season about Bowyer. But oh no, apparently now we've got a really bad squad yet Bowyer was a failure for not getting promoted and Lambert can't be expected to do anything!! The hypocrisy is mindblowing.

As for Bowyer's youth team roots, he kept being criticised for not using the youth players. Lambert hasn't either. This seems not to be important anymore!!

The club's own 'ambitions' were to get out of the embargo. Good job he got a 'mark-up' on the players he bought or we'd still be in it now.

A lower league feeder club to suit his purposes? Brilliant! I'm sure you'll be able to back this nonsense up with some evidence?

Keep it coming pal, this stuff is gold-dust!

BTW this is the Lambert thread. Maybe ask the mods to open the GB one back up. You obviously still have stuff to make up get off your chest.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Not sure how you can say any of those things. No one can see into the future with certainty and it needs to be noted that GB never finished a full season below 9th. Unless of course it's to promote the fast developing myth that he was actually a dreadful manager based on the chuck enough mud and some will stick theory. This stuff is appearing on lots of threads and although Bowyer might have been no SAF and it's debatable whether he had what it takes to see a team promoted to the Prem his managerial record is in black and white and cannot be denied. I must say I was not comfortable with his dismissal because of the simple fact that he was not actually a bad manager for us.

I'd have put my house on us being in the bottom five at the end of the season if Bowyer would have stayed. I also thought we'd a fair chance of actually going down.

Not sure how you can say any of those things. No one can see into the future with certainty and it needs to be noted that GB never finished a full season below 9th. Unless of course it's to promote the fast developing myth that he was actually a dreadful manager based on the chuck enough mud and some will stick theory. This stuff is appearing on lots of threads and although Bowyer might have been no SAF and it's debatable whether he had what it takes to see a team promoted to the Prem his managerial record is in black and white and cannot be denied. I must say I was not comfortable with his dismissal because of the simple fact that he was not actually a bad manager for us.

[Spalding Rover]

Deary me. The embargo came in on 1/1/15. That certainly qualifies as last season. In effect it came in in Summer 2014 when Bowyer was told he could only sign freebies like Brown and Varney. 9th was a good finish given other teams were spending an awful lot of money to get out of this league.

What does 'Bowyer's reign engendered a false sense of stability' even mean?! He finished 9th.

Cairney has been on the bench for Fulham...or stuck on the right-wing, something again Bowyer was criticised for. Great work by Bowyer to get £3.5m for him though. What a talent! King was normally on crutches or playing 2nd fiddle to the 'hottest' strike force around (your words).

As for 'dumbing down expectation' they've gone through the floor now! It's all about next season blah blah. If Lambert could set a team up to create and score goals the play-offs are there for the taking. He's supposed to be a good manager so surely he should get more out of the team. That's what YOU kept saying last season about Bowyer. But oh no, apparently now we've got a really bad squad yet Bowyer was a failure for not getting promoted and Lambert can't be expected to do anything!! The hypocrisy is mindblowing.

As for Bowyer's youth team roots, he kept being criticised for not using the youth players. Lambert hasn't either. This seems not to be important anymore!!

The club's own 'ambitions' were to get out of the embargo. Good job he got a 'mark-up' on the players he bought or we'd still be in it now.

A lower league feeder club to suit his purposes? Brilliant! I'm sure you'll be able to back this nonsense up with some evidence?

Keep it coming pal, this stuff is gold-dust!

BTW this is the Lambert thread. Maybe ask the mods to open the GB one back up. You obviously still have stuff to make up get off your chest.

he brought 40 odd players somewhere along the line he's bound to get 2 right.

he was a sh*t manager now get over it and move on.

[K-Hod]

It was never Bowyer's fault when we lost under him, now you can't wait to put the boot in on Lambert Blueboy?

You're also criticising Lambert after this short while, and not accepting any criticism of Bowyer then or now, hypocrisy?

Lambert has the same amount of wins as Bowyer managed already this season, or are we not allowed to talk about that?

[Stuart]

Who is this reg rover on the lancs telegraph message board? What a plank!!!

What has he said?