Paul Lambert sacked as Aston Villa boss

Aston Villa sacked boss Paul Lambert after his team went ten games without a Premier League win

In my Editorial yesterday I talked about Aston Villa and their drop into the Premier League’s relegation zone.

I asked the question should Paul Lambert be sacked as Villa boss and the Scot has now left the club.

Inevitable

The decision to sack Lambert was almost inevitable after the terrible 2-0 defeat at fellow-strugglers Hull City on Tuesday night.

The team’s statistics this season are damning, but we will get to that later on.

The decision seems like the right one, but the timing has been questioned by many. Why not sack Lambert in the transfer window, so that the new boss could change the squad around.

Lambert had only signed a new contract with the club early this season after the Villans picked-up ten points from their first four games. The season soon started to go downhill though and Villa have gone from bad to worse since.

Investment

Maybe owner Randy Lerner did not want to hire a new boss in January because he might have to put his hand in his pocket to spend some money. To give Lerner his due he did bring investment in his early years in charge, but in recent years seems to be determined not to spend any more of his money.

This lack of investment has meant that the quality of Villa’s squad has been badly diluted in recent seasons. It seems that every player that arrives at Villa Park these days is a free or loan signing.

The likes of Joe Cole, Tom Cleverley, Philippe Senderos and Kieran Richardson all arrived in the summer having all failed to impress at big clubs in the past, so for Villa to sign them was a gamble and showed just what sort of financial position the Villans are in.

These players may have added depth to the Villa squad, but whether they added quality to the Villans squad was another matter.

The fact that all four arrived at the club on free transfers, loan deals or for minimal fees tells you the whole story of the way that Villa have gone about their business in the transfer market in recent times.

Villa spending £3.2million on Valencia midfielder Carles Gil in January was surprising. The fee was not much by Premier League standards, but for Villa owner Randy Lerner to spend anything will have come as a surprise to Villa fans.

Lacking

The lack of investment has led to a lack of goals. Villa have scored just 12 goals in the Premier League this season in 25 games. That is the lowest ever amount of goals for any team at this point in the Premier League era.

The second lowest scorers Derby scored 13 goals in season 2007/08, while the third lowest Watford scored 14 goals in the previous season. Both teams finished rock-bottom in the Premier League table. All signs point to doom for Villa this season and something has to change and quickly.

Villa have scored just once in their last eight Premier League games. At certain points in the season the Villans have gone on a five-game run without scoring and a six-game run without scoring, which they only ended against Chelsea last weekend.

Threat

As mentioned in yesterday’s article, then-Villa boss Lambert had criticised star striker Christian Benteke and stated he had to improve. However, for Villa to survive the new boss has to get the best out of Benteke, because he has the quality to find the net on a regular basis.

Whether he will get the supply from his teammates is another matter. The lack of creativity in the whole of the Villa team is a reason why Villa have not been winning games. The next Villa boss will need to find a way of creating chances for the big Belgian international striker.

Stagnating

Boss Paul Lambert, owner Randy Lerner and the players all have to take some of the blame for Villa’s current position. In truth the club has been stagnating for a while now. Villa in the right hands have the potential to be a big player in the English game again.

Instead the Villa hierarchy have let the club stagnate and if they are not careful they could end up owning a Championship club, instead of a Premier League one as the Villans are now odds 6/4 of to be relegated.

Problems

The current situation at Villa is not all down to Paul Lambert. The problems at the club run deeper than just the manager.

Sacking Lambert may, or not may not save the Villans from relegation this season, but either way changes need to be made from the very top of the club or Villa will continue to struggle on the pitch.

Was the decision to sack Paul Lambert the right one?