Paul Lambert leaves Aston Villa: The six moments where it all went wrong
Thursday 12 February 2015 10:49, UK
Aston Villa’s fans sung the name of Paul Lambert before he was even appointed as the club’s manager.
On the final day of the 2011-12 season, the much-maligned Alex McLeish oversaw a 2-0 defeat at Norwich, as Villa limped to a 16th-place Premier League finish. The travelling supporters chanted for the man in the opposition dugout and made sure owner Randy Lerner was in no doubt as to who the most popular successor would be when the axe fell on McLeish the following day.
Less than three years later, Aston Villa’s away following went to Hull to endure another 2-0 defeat and once again they chanted Lambert’s name – but this time they were calling for his head. A spray-painted banner held aloft by some supporters emphasised the point.
Aston Villa are in the relegation zone, they have scored just 12 goals in 25 league games this season and on Wednesday evening the club’s patience ran out and Lambert was sacked.
So what has happened in those two-and-a-half seasons? Where did it all go wrong? We identify the key moments where Lambert lost his hold over the Aston Villa supporters…
December 2012: Three matches, 15 goals against, no goals for…
Paul Lambert’s first season started with promise. Summer signing Christian Benteke was scoring goals and stole the headlines as Villa claimed an impressive 3-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield. Fans saw that as a result to build upon, but the very next three matches put a very different complexion on things. An embarrassing 8-0 defeat at Chelsea was followed by a 4-0 hammering at home to Tottenham – and a rampant Gareth Bale – on Boxing Day. However, it was the 3-0 defeat to Wigan at Villa Park in the club’s final game of 2012 that saw supporters start to doubt their new manager for the first time.
January 2013: Embarrassed by Bradford
In early 2013 Aston Villa were struggling towards the bottom of the Premier League, but Wembley was in sight as the team reached the semi-final of the League Cup and was drawn against Bradford City of League Two. Phil Parkinson’s side had shocked Arsenal and Wigan in one-off matches during their run to the last four, but overcoming a Premier League team over two legs seemed unthinkable. However, a first-choice Villa side lost 3-1 at Valley Parade and was unable to rescue the situation in the return leg at Villa Park. For the first time, the anti-Lambert sentiment among the home fans was audible.
April 2014: Christian Benteke ruptures his Achilles tendon
Lambert had turned things around at the end of his first season and a 6-1 victory over Sunderland was the highlight of Villa’s charge towards survival. A 3-1 win away at Arsenal at the start of the 2013-14 campaign appeared to signal better times ahead, but it proved to be a false dawn as Villa spent another season fighting relegation. Striker Christian Benteke was often the man to shine during the dark days, scoring 19 times in his first season and 10 in his second before he suffered an injury in training that ruled him out for six months. He’s managed just two goals since and was dropped for Lambert’s final two games in charge.
November 2014: The Roy Keane affair
After two seasons of fighting relegation, Lambert abandoned his reliance on young talent and bought a number of cheap-but-experienced Premier League players such as Kieran Richardson, Joe Cole and Aly Cissokho. However, the most intriguing signing of the summer was the appointment of Roy Keane as assistant manager. The duo oversaw a strong start to the 2014-15 season as Villa picked up 10 points from their opening four matches, but things soon turned sour. Rumours of bust-ups with players were rife as Keane left the club on November 28. Villa have picked up just 10 points and scored only six goals since he left.
February 2015: Hammered by Arsenal
The Emirates Stadium was the scene of one of Lambert’s finest victories as Aston Villa manager, but the highs of August 2013 seemed a distant memory as Arsenal eased to a comprehensive 5-0 victory on February 1. Lambert’s tactics failed miserably as Theo Walcott and co mercilessly exploited the high line his defence was asked to employ, but even more damning than the scoreline was the chief statistic to emerge from the game; Aston Villa had not scored a Premier League goal in 10 hours of play. The supporters, tired of being informed how many movie franchises could be enjoyed in such a length of time, had seen enough.
February 2015: Defeat to Hull
Lambert’s last act as Aston Villa manager was to oversee a 2-0 defeat at the KC Stadium which plunged the team, perhaps surprisingly, into the relegation zone for the first time this season. Having seen the club’s goal drought end in a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, the manager was hoping his players could draw confidence and end a nine-game winless run against one of their relegation rivals. After Dame N’Doye poked home Hull’s second, the cameras picked up a ‘Lambert out’ banner in the crowd. Less than 24 hours later he was.
