Lambert and your stance/opinion about him

[Mach_Polish_Blue]

It's not a Lambert Out however I rapidly lose my confidence in him and his abilities.

Yes, I'm pressing the panic button !

There may be some telling us same old quotes: 'still 20 odd games to play blah blah blah, get behind the team blah blah blah'. But are there any indication that things may get better? None for me at the moment.

Both Coventry away games have been my big turning point against Lambert. Both games in which he turned to shutting the shop and trying to defend 1-0 win and ultimately failed. I have been told by some on many, many occasions that our team possess lot of quality in this league. The question is then why don't we dominate teams? Why don't we play like the one tipped to compete for promotion?

We have no divine right to win games in this pub league however is it too much to want us to play with the strongest team instead of this ridiculous chopping and changing? It's actually beyond ridiculous when you think of some of his decisions to 'keep everyone happy'. One of these is dropping Holy for Norris.
Yes, it isn't easy to work with Evans as the latter is responsible for where we are as a club and where we have ended up but Evans isn't telling him to change the squad every single game.

Lambert seems to be completely lost without his ex-assistant Ian Culverhouse since they have fallen out at Aston Villa.

Any faith in him? Any optimism? Give me some please if you have as I still want him to succeed.

[marko69]

I'd say panic button a bit early, Mach. As Mike says, couple wins v the Gills and stinkin Lincoln and it's back on track. Zero points from those two and the thread could burst into life.

[Mach_Polish_Blue]

It's not all about the results. A few early season ones have flattered us as we had been playing poorly.

Gillingham and Lincoln you say......what about Lamberts' tactics' and line-up as he doesn't seem to know his best 11?

Take the aforementioned Lincoln away on Sunday. If we win 1-0 while trying to hang on and defend the narrow win some will be saying that all is rosy.

[marko69]

It's not all about the results. A few early season ones have flattered us as we had been playing poorly.

Gillingham and Lincoln you say......what about Lamberts' tactics' and line-up as he doesn't seem to know his best 11?

Take the aforementioned Lincoln away on Sunday. If we win 1-0 while trying to hang on and defend the narrow win some will be saying that all is rosy.

Yep. Said all that on other threads.

Head is sore now. Better stop as the son is taking me to see Star Wars tonight. Can't watch a big screen with a TB.com tension headache. TTFN.

[number 9]

I think it's a very good time to begin asking questions about Lambert. While I respect what he's done for the culture of the club, he hasn't really impressed me as far as results and team performances are concerned. I suppose we have strung a few good passes together on the occasion, but have we truly dominated any teams yet? You could argue we don't have talented players although the pundits say we have the most talented squad in the league. I've said before, the proof is in the pudding. Positive results and improving performances, are for me, the proof of a well managed club.

The last club Lambert was successful with is Norwich 2009 to 2012.
The last four clubs he managed prior to his appointment as Ipswich manager are:

Aston Villa 2012 to 2015 (Towards the end of 2013, the performances worsened greatly, especially home form, and Lambert was criticised by many fans and pundits for putting out a counter-attacking side with no plan B.

Blackburn Rovers 2015 to 2016 (The club confirmed that Lambert had activated a release clause in his contract, and would step down as manager after their last match of the 2015–16 season on 7 May 2016.)

Wolves 2016 to 2017 (On 30 May 2017 the club announced that they and Lambert had "agreed to part company following a football review.)

Stoke City 2018 (Lambert was unable to prevent Stoke's continued decline and relegation from the Premier League, and he left the club by mutual agreement in May 2018.)

[Ando]

Behind him 100%. Let him manage, our job is to keep up the support. However, we should still voice our views after the game when the performance falls below par.

A settled team where possible is my Christmas wish.

[Kerry Blue]

I think he has done a wonderful job for Ipswich apart from on match days, I think we need a settled side and don't play people out of position. I saw somewhere Kenlock has played 11 games which resulted in 5 wins and 5 draws. I know he's not the best but with Garbutt front of him it seems to work, I would also like to see Donacien at right back Edwards is poor all round IMO.

[Bluemike]

I too am behind him 100% although in recent times he's been his own worst enemy with the rotation thing which has just become too much, I have always been of the opinion that we will only see the benefit of this as the season moves on and I am hopeful this is the case.

I still maintain should we lose Lambert things will take a massive turn for the worse, mainly off the field where he has worked wonders to bring the fans back to the club, lose that again and things will become perilous, I've never hidden my frustration at Town fans but they need to be really careful right now, we are lucky to have a manager of his ilk here and is 3rd with a game in hand such a bad place to be ? Form is temporary remember.

[derick_ipsw]

I think he has done a wonderful job for Ipswich apart from on match days, I think we need a settled side and don't play people out of position. I saw somewhere Kenlock has played 11 games which resulted in 5 wins and 5 draws. I know he's not the best but with Garbutt front of him it seems to work, I would also like to see Donacien at right back Edwards is poor all round IMO.

Kerry that is brilliant . The way he has got the club back in the community and bums on seats can't fault the guy. Come match day, wow what team will turn up next. He is trying to be champions league in league 1 .

[AzzurroMark]

Very interesting OP. I know Mach and myself are very differing in our views, as I am very much of the belief that PL is the man to carry on taking us forward. However, I thought I would look at some stats to see if they can back up any particular argument for or against PL. Personally, the constant near-mass rotation policy, like for most fans in either camp I suspect, drives me nuts. I believe that the most successful sides are built on settled teams and formations. I feel that there is nothing wrong in changing the odd player around, if it can be seen to counteract an opposing team's dominating strength. Surely the main point to having a large squad is to be able to name a strong bench who can make a difference if players in your regular and strongest line up are having a particularly off day. Rotation without improvement will eventually be the turning point for me though. I would like to think that it would be great to develop a side where any combination of players was able to play in the same team as each other and still put in a strong performance. How wonderful that would be (we could then all say well done to PL), but we know that is never likely to happen.

It would be very hard to argue, if between now and the end of the season, Ipswich manage to hit winning form again and obtain automatic promotion. This blip would count for very little. However, the fear here is if Gillingham come here and put everyone behind the ball! Are we really that good enough currently to breach that type of defence? Likewise, if it happens to end as 0-0, which on our recent form could be quite possible, the atmosphere could (and no doubt will) turn nasty. I have faith, like Mike, that we should have enough about us to pick up 6pts from our next games and boy do we seriously need to.

So, to my bit of research. The last five games for the current top 6 would see B.Rovers on top on 13 points; WW on 10, three teams on 8 points and Ipswich on a shocking 2 points. Hard to argue with Mach's point of view, if this was the sole basis of our analysis.

When the top 6 teams face each other, the results I have found are:
Wycombe 2pts (1 home and 1 away) from 4 games
Posh 4pts (2 home & 2 away) from 5 games
ITFC 3pts (1H & 2A) from 4 games
BRFC 7pts (4H & 3A) from 5
CCFC 6pts (4H & 2A) from 4
OUFC 7pts (all gained at home) from 4
Looking at this, it would yet again appear to paint a very gloomy picture. However, as others have mentioned, would tend to make a possible mockery of WW top place, indeed Posh might well be in a false position too, if these were all the facts that we had to go on.

To look solely at our last few league games, trying to ignore performances, refereeing decisions Etc;

Pompey on their own patch are unbeaten, but almost half (5 out of 11) of those games have ended in a draw. Looking from a betting point of view, if (and putting your allegiance to ITFC aside) you were to have to bet your prized possession on the outcome of that game, I doubt many would have risked anything better for ITFC than a draw, despite our decent away form? I opted for a home win as i could see very little else. Verdict - Expected result

At home to Bristol Rovers; A home banker for sure, I would like to think so yes. Their away form, 5 wins 4 defeats, would seem erratic but suggest a team that could cause an upset on their travels, but, barring Ipswich, none of these wins have come against a top 10 opponent. Verdict - Poor result

Coventry City away; A fairly impressive home form W8 D3 L1, would suggest that a draw here was a good result. Of those, 3 wins and a draw (excluding our result) have come against top 10 teams. My verdict - fair result.

Wycombe at home; W3 D5 L2 would suggest a team not easily beaten on their travels, but not all that likely to win either. 0-0 seems like a harsh result, but when weighed against our form against other top 6 teams is maybe not so surprising. Only Oxford & Gillingham have beaten them on their own patch. My verdict - poor result

Blackpool at home; W2 D7 L1, the away draw specialists and would seem that they set up to snatch the away point. Maybe should come as no surprise here, but cannot help feel that we should still have beaten them at home (without taking the actual match into consideration). My verdict - poor result.

Prior to that was an away win at Rochdale. This match and the four league matches before saw a total of 17 players in the starting line up. However when you factor in suspension to Wilson (Red card) & Downes (5 yellows), injuries to KVY (twice) and Norwood too, this could account for 5 of those starting line up changes, so barring the (bizarre) use of Holy, all other changes look very much as though PL had no other option. The results in that period? 3 wins 2 defeats, the only result of real note being away at Fleetwood.

So my Synopsis is that I find it even harder to find decent grounds for this crazy rotation system, even if those 5 results mentioned in my previous paragraph saw an overall aggregate score of 5-5. Incidentally those 3 wins all came away from home against teams currently in 9th, 18th & 22nd positions, so at least 2 of those should have been almost expected.

Make what you will of the above, and while it does not look at the bigger picture, indeed you could say that the last 5 matches have been all against top 10 teams with decent form (when it comes to where the match was played {home or away}, but surely if you are on course to gain just 3 points out of a possible 15 on offer (when playing a top 10 team), then even I fail to see how we can harbour ambitions of an Automatic promotion spot.

To answer Mach's question, regarding the stance/opinion on Paul Lambert. He has made a significant difference to the club in general, vastly improved home attendances (currently) pay testament to that I feel. I believe he is STILL the best man for us going forward and still has my overwhelming support (not that I get to watch Town these days). He has made some decent additions (KVY, Norwood, Garbutt on loan, Wilson to an extent) to what was a woefully inadequate squad. However, Paul, PLEASE stop this TOTALLY pointless rotation system, because my patience will start to wear thin if results carry on as they have done recently.

[hallamblue]

Outstanding post AM , and no little work and analysis has gone into that piece.

I think fans all appear to agree that PL has to stop this rotation system- starting from Boxing Day.

My own thoughts are , I really like PL snd really want him to succeed here. He is genuine and hardworking but I personally now begin to question his tactical nounce. This possible failing may be his undoing , but I hope not.

Towns home form this season for me was always in doubt even before the season kicked off. It was obvious teams would come here to shut up shop , and try and unsettle out football flow and hit us in the break . We need to be able to break teams down , unfortunately the players at the club likely to achieve that have all been injured.

Assuming they will return by late Jan to mid/end of Feb , I wonder if that I’d though time for us to attempt another assault on a top two place ?

I pray it is .......


COYBs

[Tangfastic]

It's not a Lambert Out however I rapidly lose my confidence in him and his abilities.

Yes, I'm pressing the panic button !

There may be some telling us same old quotes: 'still 20 odd games to play blah blah blah, get behind the team blah blah blah'. But are there any indication that things may get better? None for me at the moment.

Both Coventry away games have been my big turning point against Lambert. Both games in which he turned to shutting the shop and trying to defend 1-0 win and ultimately failed. I have been told by some on many, many occasions that our team possess lot of quality in this league. The question is then why don't we dominate teams? Why don't we play like the one tipped to compete for promotion?

We have no divine right to win games in this pub league however is it too much to want us to play with the strongest team instead of this ridiculous chopping and changing? It's actually beyond ridiculous when you think of some of his decisions to 'keep everyone happy'. One of these is dropping Holy for Norris.
Yes, it isn't easy to work with Evans as the latter is responsible for where we are as a club and where we have ended up but Evans isn't telling him to change the squad every single game.

Lambert seems to be completely lost without his ex-assistant Ian Culverhouse since they have fallen out at Aston Villa.

Any faith in him? Any optimism? Give me some please if you have as I still want him to succeed.

I’m still wondering why we can’t dominate teams more. Even the crap ones at the start of the season. We’re obviously not as good as we thought we are, but we should have dominated some games more.The one saving grace, for me, is we’re still in third place. I don’t think we deserve to be in third place for how we’ve played, but other teams haven’t taken advantage. Points tend to get dropped and shared around in this league. Just need some kind of form and if it means beating lesser teams like Gillingham to kick-start a run, then so be it.
Can’t offer any more optimism or predictions than that because we have no idea of the team Lambert puts out from game to game. If you drop in-form players and bring in out-of-form players, then how we can keep the optimism going?

[Andym]

You are right, we aren't as good as people think we are.
Good article in the EADT today. From league game to league game we are only (?) averaging 3 changes per game. It's all the cup games that make it seem more.

[derick_ipsw]

I think it's a very good time to begin asking questions about Lambert. While I respect what he's done for the culture of the club, he hasn't really impressed me as far as results and team performances are concerned. I suppose we have strung a few good passes together on the occasion, but have we truly dominated any teams yet? You could argue we don't have talented players although the pundits say we have the most talented squad in the league. I've said before, the proof is in the pudding. Positive results and improving performances, are for me, the proof of a well managed club.

The last club Lambert was successful with is Norwich 2009 to 2012.
The last four clubs he managed prior to his appointment as Ipswich manager are:

Aston Villa 2012 to 2015 (Towards the end of 2013, the performances worsened greatly, especially home form, and Lambert was criticised by many fans and pundits for putting out a counter-attacking side with no plan B.

Blackburn Rovers 2015 to 2016 (The club confirmed that Lambert had activated a release clause in his contract, and would step down as manager after their last match of the 2015–16 season on 7 May 2016.)

Wolves 2016 to 2017 (On 30 May 2017 the club announced that they and Lambert had "agreed to part company following a football review.)

Stoke City 2018 (Lambert was unable to prevent Stoke's continued decline and relegation from the Premier League, and he left the club by mutual agreement in May 2018.)

Excellent post No.9

[Bluemike]

You are right, we aren't as good as people think we are.
Good article in the EADT today. From league game to league game we are only (?) averaging 3 changes per game. It's all the cup games that make it seem more.

And people need to take note of this (myself included) and stop moaning on about the myth that is excessive rotation!!!!!! Some of the 3 per game are no doubt enforced too.

[Tangfastic]

You are right, we aren't as good as people think we are.
Good article in the EADT today. From league game to league game we are only (?) averaging 3 changes per game. It's all the cup games that make it seem more.

And people need to take note of this (myself included) and stop moaning on about the myth that is excessive rotation!!!!!! Some of the 3 per game are no doubt enforced too.

Oh f*ck .... if it’s not the rotation then it must be we’re sh*t then!

Lambert’s still making some strange selection decisions.... and changing the formations game by game.

[Bluemike]

Or maybe we're just having a sticky spell like every other club and not always getting the result we deserve ?

[MasseyFerguson]

When PL was appointed I expressed the view that he is a good manager but not a great manager. Given the predicament we were in at the time, my biggest concern was that teams he managed seemed not to be able to dig out vital points when the pressure was on. Those fears, unfortunately, we're not allayed at all last season.

On the flip side, I had high hopes for this season. I felt, at this level, PL would be a very good manager and the squad we have would be good enough to be in the promotion mix at the business end of the season. In spite of the recent bad run, i still believe that. A win today will get us back on track. I just hope we settle on a side and formation and stick to it!

[Charnwood]

To be honest I think PL is about as good as you can expect to attract to a League One club. He’s very experienced and did an excellent job stabilising our football club and the fans. We have to accept he’s probably quite a few notches better than any of us would be doing the same job so I guess we have to trust him. This all said I find some of his team selections rather strange and using one of my favourite analogies I think he thinks he’s better than he really is. One thing we really don’t want is another fans & Manager fall out.

[marko69]

To be honest I think PL is about as good as you can expect to attract to a League One club.

Yep, 100%

[Mach_Polish_Blue]

Lambert is still the man for us isn't he?

14 months and still no style, no pattern of play.

[hallamblue]

To be honest I think PL is about as good as you can expect to attract to a League One club. He’s very experienced and did an excellent job stabilising our football club and the fans. We have to accept he’s probably quite a few notches better than any of us would be doing the same job so I guess we have to trust him. This all said I find some of his team selections rather strange and using one of my favourite analogies I think he thinks he’s better than he really is. One thing we really don’t want is another fans & Manager fall out.

He’s just got to keep a settled team I think and allow understandings to develop. Oh, and play your strongest 11 every game . He’s still rotating players in and out .

[JohnnyB]

I can’t see a better option and given that we are second it would pretty bonkers to sack the manager I reckon. Let’s keep the faith and hope he can pick up some results in the next few games

[Bluemike]

Wycombe have just lost 2 on the bounce and their lead is reducing, peterborough have now lost six times, just wondering if their managers are under pressure ?

[marko69]

After the Doncaster game, Ferguson will definitely be under pressure, yes..... maybe only slightly by the fanbase, but he’ll be feeling the pressure himself.
That’s my belief with Lambert. The form is getting to him. That’s why his pressers are overly defensive. Answering questions that’s he’s not even been asked.

[arana peligrosa]

Is it fair to say we're one of the biggest clubs in this division. I mean how many other teams can boast a top level Championship, FA and European trophy in this league, there's something unique here. Lambert would have realized the expectations when coming in and what was deemed satisfactory and what isn't. Right now we're very much with the latter.

Alright the league position is promising but you got to read the bigger picture. How the f*ck can you draw a blank at home against opposition such as today and be largely outplayed (if reports are accurate) with it. Not just this occasion but other times throughout the season. Some people say this league is sh*t, the other clubs aren't up to much. Is that a reflection of how bad we are or simply something hitting above it's weight.

Get tired of reiterating the same thoughts but one last time was skeptical about the appointment from day one. Realized his track record before coming in was far from exemplary and we were taking a chance on someone who was by and large a one-hit wonder. Best guess he continues as it is, get the club- hopefully - back to Championship status in the summer and then take some time off to review his position and seriously consider if he's suitable to manage here for another season. Maybe another team will come in for him or fancy a challenge elsewhere, I just don't think he and the club all told work well together.

[AylesburyBlue]

I am very unhappy with our style of play and I personally have probably enjoyed watching us in only 2 games this season. However... we are were we want to be and where we should be, top two.

I wish we were actually playing well, I wish we would keep a settled team and I wish I felt more confident we would end the season top two. Although finishing in the top two is the most important thing and hopefully lambert can keep us plodding along so we fall over the line.

One positive thing I will say, our managers job is a lose lose for whoever is in charge and on this occasion there may actually be an element of ‘be careful what you wish for’ should we sack Lambert.

[hallamblue]

My sentiments as well AB .... it’s becoming all very tiring watching Town huff and puff their way through season after season . It’s not improving whoever is manager. But before some jump on the Evans out bandwagon, and without wishing to drag all that argument up again, I would reiterate that the state of the game as a whole
(financially), is the real enemy here and big individual owners.

Praying for that elusive win at Lincoln

[Dazzz67]

I for one hope he prooves us all wrong, we are undoubtably cack at the moment and I do put some of the blame on him, stop this stupid rotation cack and get some consistency, stick with 442 too!

His comments of late give me the impression he does not give a t0ss and an air of arrogance, and when this is the case I do not give a t0ss towards him with an atitude like that.

I hope we turn a corner and things improve, if they do not he can go, 2nd in the league is still a good place to be in but we need some wins now ok PL!

[barmy billy]

I fail to understand why Lambert would make such bizarre comments, unless of course the stress & pressure of what is happening is getting to him.

Looking back, he came & lifted the club up off the floor by the sheer weight of his personality. We all looked forward to this season which got off to cracking start (perhaps covering some cracks) and all seemed well especially as we are told what a large squad he has filled with quality for Div1.

Now, despite sitting in second spot it all seems to be going tits up. I wonder if with this large squad he is actually spoilt for choice, allowing him play this seemingly unpopular & unsuccessful rotation we keep seeing. Perhaps the players are as pissed off with it as the fans (it surely can't do their confidence any good) and as has been suggested elsewhere, their may be some unrest in the dressing room. It seems to be going on rather too long for just a blip.

Whatever the reason,, I hope he can sort it out and we can play like a team that deserves to be second in the table. His comments certainly didn't help though.