| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) 21:13 - May 14 with 3034 views | stiff_talking |
How do we feel about Paul Lambert efforts with Ipswich now the dust has settled ? Highlights : The dug out fight with Norwich, the landing of star striker Norwood only to fall out with him over a night out in London, reuniting old players with the club, playing out from the back, relegation, Marcus Evans and Covid. It was a complex period, and perhaps now is the best time for reflection. Be honest, but fair to Paul !
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 23:02 - May 14 with 664 views | BlueBadger |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 22:40 - May 14 by olimar |
One thing with hindsight- At the time, he gave those cryptic and damning interviews after his last couple of games which appeared to be him being highly critical of ME but without actually going into details, which made it sound like he was deflecting from himself.
But I read a couple of them about 6 months ago and, knowing what we do now about how the club had been run, the state it was in and what has needed to be changed since, he was very clearly trying to spell out to fans exactly why the club had been repeatedly failing over the last 15 years. |
Thing is, he'd have totally kept his gob shut and wanged on about what a great and supportive owner Evans was, if he'd have been doing well. [Post edited 15 May 7:04]
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 23:03 - May 14 with 654 views | MattinLondon |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 22:13 - May 14 by Swansea_Blue |
It wasn’t just spin imo. There was definitely more energy and effort on the pitch under him that season. The bar was very low though, so he still doesn’t get many brownie points for it from me. |
That’s probably fair
To be honest I don’t really think of him as a fraud he simply didn’t get the results which were needed. The Marcus Evans factor does allow him leeway though as I think everyone appointed by him were doomed to failure. |  | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 23:03 - May 14 with 652 views | olimar |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 22:51 - May 14 by Garv |
Bear in mind, bar his first half a season he always seemed in a constant state of coming back from injury, and being forced back too early at times. A lot of those appearances weren't starts.
While some don't like to hear it because they simply didn't like him, he was our best player for a long time and we only really looked like getting results when he was playing. |
Dont disagree with a lot of that, but dont think that particularly excuses his erratic finishing. Can argue that at that level, players will miss chances, but equally you get far more time and far more breaks of the ball.
Dont think he was ever particularly our best player tbh (Downes surely in 19/20), particularly because he couldnt stay fit. He traded a lot on needing aggression to get himself going, but not sure he was particularly effective in posession or build up play. | | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 23:07 - May 14 with 623 views | olimar |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 23:02 - May 14 by BlueBadger |
Thing is, he'd have totally kept his gob shut and wanged on about what a great and supportive owner Evans was, if he'd have been doing well. [Post edited 15 May 7:04]
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Yeah thats definitely right! | | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 23:09 - May 14 with 622 views | olimar |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 22:46 - May 14 by Illinoisblue |
Certainly not as prolific as he was at Tranmere (1 goal in 2 games) but 1 in 3 for us in what was an awful team under an awful manager under an awful owner is still decent. As for the lucky breaks, don’t all players rely on those?! |
Yeah thats probably fair, given the performances of the team. Although arguably if his finishing was better, maybe the team might have functioned better too.
Would be curious to know xG of chances he had, as my recollection is of a player who was in the right position a lot of the time but frustrating didnt finish. Certainly, remember in first half of 19/20, he got off to a great start, but several of the goals were pens, a gk dropping the ball at his feet v Pboro, couple of goals v a kids team at Bolton.... | | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 23:11 - May 14 with 619 views | Whos_blue |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 21:42 - May 14 by MattinLondon |
Let’s start with the positives and lets be fair.
I think that his spin and PR managed to unify the club and did bring a lot of the fans together. I know that some on here enjoy being derogatory towards those who ‘clapped the team into relegation’ but without that spin, the stadium would’ve got extremely toxic. He, probably kept the initial attendances in L1 respectable.
In terms of managerial ability, and even accounting for Marcus Evans, he was pretty appalling. And when the PR deserted him there was nothing left apart from tactical incompetence and poor players. |
This is pretty much where I am too. The end (and quite some time before that) was a complete sh1tshow, but we have to be careful we don't rewrite history.
There must've been more people who were impressed with his efforts to reunite the club with the fans. PR or not, those videos of club legends genuinely moved me and made me realise why I love the club as much as I do.
Maybe nothing more than vaccuous platitudes, but I'm not ashamed to admit I was taken in by it initially.
It soon evaporated and became one of the darkest times in our history. |  |
| Distortion becomes somehow pure in its wildness. |
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 00:09 - May 15 with 571 views | itfcsuth |
A really poor time at Town, largely his own doing, never ever seemed to settle on a ‘way of playing’, never really had any identity under him and were largely out coached, even in L1.
Recruitment was appalling, but of course was working under the constraints of an Evans ownership.
His PR work quickly became very tiresome, and incredibly self defensive.
Finally, and most importantly in football, I don’t think his man management abilities suited the modern game/modern football. |  | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 06:16 - May 15 with 506 views | victorysquad |
For me he was the one that really called Marcus out, which has led to what has happened since. He stuck his neck out for the club.
Mick did a great job holding it altogether, but in reality he papered over the cracks whereas the cracks needed exposing.
I think all managers need to be judged with the environment they were operating within at the time. As town fans I wish we had a bit more respect and understanding of this.
Even Paul Cook has got Chesterfield promoted and up into the play-offs, has got a solid track record in the past too. People saying 'he has found his level etc' is just disrespectful and not true. He would have had us up promoted into the Championship within the 2 years had he been kept on. | |
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 07:28 - May 15 with 465 views | You_Bloo_Right |
Lambert and Dylan?
How about?
Desolation Row
Tangled Up in Blue |  |
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 07:34 - May 15 with 459 views | WestStanderLaLaLa |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 21:41 - May 14 by bournemouthblue |
He wasn't even the worst manager in the season he was appointed |
Or the season he left, Cook somehow managed 0.5 PPG worse than Lambert |  |
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 07:54 - May 15 with 453 views | Churchman |
Highlights: The day I heard he was toast. The Norwich fracas and he was an improvement on Hurst (bit like saying losing one leg is better than losing both).
Lowlights: The man was utterly clueless. Didn’t know a team from a teapot. A hapless windbag with a video recorder. How lazy was Evans offering the bloke a five minute contract, let alone five years? In terms of how he operated, I’ve heard Darren Bent’s view of working for him and can quite believe it.
He left the club with a rabble of disinterested, demotivated, unfit players. Journeymen, pension topper uppers, unprofessional nobodies (see their sorry efforts to shaft Cook by not even trying at Wimbledon and Northampton) with a sprinkling of decent players and one or two yoofs that deserved better than the shambles he created.
It was a day of joy when I heard he was booted out. I thought we were stuck with him like chewing gum to the cat. As it was we just got stuck with the bill for paying off the bore’s ludicrous contract.
As for Norwood, I know he was a cult hero for many and yes, his goalscoring record wasn’t the worst. But partly due to the baggage that came with him, ‘our Nors’ struck me as an unprofessional oaf. A symptom of how far the club had sunk. Rightly or wrongly, it’s how I felt at the time and do now. [Post edited 15 May 11:01]
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| hmmmm on 08:01 - May 15 with 447 views | Dyland |
Idiot Windbag
Borrusia Dortmund Revisited
Blowing in the Wind(bag)
It's all over now, baby blue |  |
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 09:17 - May 15 with 399 views | franz_tyson |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 21:15 - May 14 by bournemouthblue |
Let's not |
Insults aside.... I still can't work out how dominant we were after 10 or 11 games ( I think we had 30 points) in October, yet two months later we were in free-fall results -wise and there were calls for Lambert's head. It was bizarre. We were winning every game and Lambo was a hero .... then a switch was flicked and the true Lambert revealed himself.
How he got that 5 years extension is one football's greatest mysteries. | | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 09:21 - May 15 with 399 views | Blueschev |
There were no positives. He was awful. His was the most pathetic relegation battle I've ever seen. He should have been sacked as soon as were were relegated. He was dour, arrogant, rude, boring, and a terrible, terrible football manager. The fact he was tolerated for so long was nee normal. |  | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 09:31 - May 15 with 387 views | Blueschev |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 09:17 - May 15 by franz_tyson |
Insults aside.... I still can't work out how dominant we were after 10 or 11 games ( I think we had 30 points) in October, yet two months later we were in free-fall results -wise and there were calls for Lambert's head. It was bizarre. We were winning every game and Lambo was a hero .... then a switch was flicked and the true Lambert revealed himself.
How he got that 5 years extension is one football's greatest mysteries. |
I remember at the time thinking that we're winning despite being crap, so when we hit our stride we'll walk the division. It turned out we had no stride to hit and our luck simply ran out. [Post edited 15 May 9:32]
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 10:39 - May 15 with 318 views | carlo88 |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 21:16 - May 14 by BlueBadger |
A lazy incompetent fraud who should never have been allowed within 50 miles of the club but was able to drag along some easily conned types with the spurious promise of better times based on nothing but a few half decent pressers and cheap gimmicks.
The Boris Johnson of Ipswich Town managers. [Post edited 14 May 21:17]
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You're being far too kind to him. Our worst ever manager by some considerable distance. |  | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 10:57 - May 15 with 305 views | Sharkey |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 09:17 - May 15 by franz_tyson |
Insults aside.... I still can't work out how dominant we were after 10 or 11 games ( I think we had 30 points) in October, yet two months later we were in free-fall results -wise and there were calls for Lambert's head. It was bizarre. We were winning every game and Lambo was a hero .... then a switch was flicked and the true Lambert revealed himself.
How he got that 5 years extension is one football's greatest mysteries. |
Didn't that pretty much correspond with a fit KVY and then a non-fit KVY? [Post edited 15 May 11:00]
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 11:32 - May 15 with 282 views | BlueBadger |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 10:39 - May 15 by carlo88 |
You're being far too kind to him. Our worst ever manager by some considerable distance. |
Only if you take Roy Keane out of the equation.
Many of the Evans era managers were incompetent and made us worse, some of them fell out with players, some of them were more interested in their pressers than they were coaching, tactics or motivation, some of them made bad signings or wasted generous transfer funds, some of them managed to con easily fooled sections of the fanbase, some of them played terrible football and some of them stayed on far too long after it was clear to everyone they should have gone.
Only the Famous One did ALL of those. | |
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 11:43 - May 15 with 276 views | Blueschev |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 11:32 - May 15 by BlueBadger |
Only if you take Roy Keane out of the equation.
Many of the Evans era managers were incompetent and made us worse, some of them fell out with players, some of them were more interested in their pressers than they were coaching, tactics or motivation, some of them made bad signings or wasted generous transfer funds, some of them managed to con easily fooled sections of the fanbase, some of them played terrible football and some of them stayed on far too long after it was clear to everyone they should have gone.
Only the Famous One did ALL of those. |
Yep, still the worst ever for me. My order of terrible would be as follows:
1 - Keane
2 - Lambert
3 - Jewell
4 - Hurst
5 - Cook | | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 12:08 - May 15 with 260 views | BlueBadger |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 11:43 - May 15 by Blueschev |
Yep, still the worst ever for me. My order of terrible would be as follows:
1 - Keane
2 - Lambert
3 - Jewell
4 - Hurst
5 - Cook |
Jewell being worse than Hurst and Cook is quite the take | |
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 12:18 - May 15 with 253 views | OhDavidMcgoldrick |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 12:08 - May 15 by BlueBadger |
Jewell being worse than Hurst and Cook is quite the take |
Whilst Cook didn't work out his demolition man mentality ultimately bought in the spine of a promotion winning Championship team.
Walton, Morsy, Burns, Hladky and Chaplin all came through Cook. | |
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 12:22 - May 15 with 248 views | Churchman |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 11:43 - May 15 by Blueschev |
Yep, still the worst ever for me. My order of terrible would be as follows:
1 - Keane
2 - Lambert
3 - Jewell
4 - Hurst
5 - Cook |
I tend to vary the awfulness order of that sorry shower depending on mood and criteria or simply who I loathed the most.
Today it’s:
1. Lambert
2. Keane
3. Hurst
4. Jewell
5. Cook
You could bung John Duncan into the mix. Likeable, honest bloke but hopeless, as was his football. Signed the odd good player though tbf. Bobby Ferguson. About as popular with the players as piles and not much cop. Lastly, dear old Wor Jackie Milburn. Nice bloke, incompetent and knew it.
A forgotten figure is Mick O’Brien. He was the professional club’s first manager when it turned professional and was actually successful with the club winning the Southern League. He was then kicked out for I believe having an affair with an employee of the Cobbolds in one of their pubs. Not the done thing, old boy. How times change.
O’Brien actually served on HMS Chester in WW1, a light cruiser that fought at the Battle of Jutland and made famous by Jack Cornwell VC (age 16) who remained at his gun despite being mortally wounded. The gun resides in the Imperial War Museum. [Post edited 15 May 13:27]
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| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 12:24 - May 15 with 247 views | Blueschev |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 12:08 - May 15 by BlueBadger |
Jewell being worse than Hurst and Cook is quite the take |
Jewell had a relatively decent budget and we were worse after he'd spent it.
Hurst was bad, but I think that he correctly identified that there was too much player power in the dressing room, but was ultimately unable to remedy it.
Cook made some decent signings but ultimately was rubbish as turning them in to a coherent unit.
That's my reasoning, but let's be honest, they were all rubbish. | | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 13:26 - May 15 with 201 views | BlueForYou |
We'll never know what he might have done with the backing of the new owners. Yes he oversaw a bad period but could anyone else have done any better under the circumstances? |  | | |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 13:38 - May 15 with 178 views | Churchman |
| Paul Lambert revisited ! (Not a Bob Dylan song) on 13:26 - May 15 by BlueForYou |
We'll never know what he might have done with the backing of the new owners. Yes he oversaw a bad period but could anyone else have done any better under the circumstances? |
I think we do. Windbag Lambert spent three years at Aston Villa with plenty of money and was kicked out with the club in 18th. After a short stint at Blackburn where he activated a release clause he was booted out of Wolves and Stoke.
Yes, he did well at Norwich before scuttling off to Villa and that’s about it.
Plenty of others could have done better, including Paul Cook whose forte is no money, limited structure. Let’s face it, nobody could have done much worse. | | | |
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