I'd be lying if I said I was happy with how things have gone since Lambert's arrival. Now granted, he came into what was a mess. Hurst and Doig's toxicity spread like wildfire. However, that being said, Lambert's initial record at Ipswich is near identical on a points basis to what Hurst managed during his games in charge. Hurst was out of his depth (which isn't that difficult when you're 5ft 4) and had supposedly lost the dressing room. Lambert comes in and the PR is fantastic. Surely we have to get better with all this positive energy... Right?
Well, no. We carried on struggling, picking up wins against Rotherham, Wigan, Bolton and Leeds (last day of the season, neither side anything to play for). So 2/4 of the teams also relegated with us.
A free hit as some put it, due to Hurst's ineptitude. We'd been spoiled by Mick's powers and most were aware of it. Time to rebuild and show us what you've got.
A little winning spree. Great, this is what we want to see. On closer inspection, you begin to realise that the Teams we were beating were occupying the bottom half of the table. Well you can only beat what's put it front of you.
I thought the 5 year contract was a bad decision seeing as though we still had to play the better teams in the league.
And then there we have it. We couldn't beat anyone in the top 8 bar a win against Fleetwood. We had 11 games in a row without a win, which is terrible in any league. 4 points from 9 games before lockdown. What on earth happened? Well a career-saving once in a lifetime lockdown happened which arguably saved Lambert.
Judging by pre-season, we're going back to a play out from the back approach. Now call me a cynic, but I'm getting some deja vu from when Lambert first started and had Dean Gerkin playing more like Pleberson than Ederson. I'm all for playing out from the back, but with some brains to play into the channels if need be.
We go again though. Pre-season is never a fair reflection - especially against premiership teams. Wigan, Bristol Rovers, Rochdale and MK Dons as the first four league games. We absolutely need a positive start after the debacle that was the end of last season.
I'm not convinced Lambert is the right man for the job, but time will tell and if he pulls it around then fair enough. Do I think he will... Well, you can probably guess the answer to that.
Roll on Sunday 13th! Stay safe all!
[Post edited 26 Aug 2020 16:27]
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