Aston Villa have this afternoon confirmed the appointment of Paul Lambert as their new manager. The former Norwich City boss succeeds Alex McLeish in charge at Villa Park after attempting to resign from his position at the East Anglian club earlier this week. It’s reported that Lambert has signed a three-year deal in the Midlands, with a £1 million compensation package heading to Carrow Road.
Lambert steered Norwich to a hugely impressive first season back in the top flight, with a 12th placed finished secured. The Canaries were kept out of the relegation places all season by Lambert, who had previously masterminded the club two successive promotions. That record, together with a string of fine displays last season, cemented his reputation as one of the brightest young managerial talents in the game.
Villa will, understandably, be delighted with the appointment. For Fantasy managers it could also be a positive step and Lambert will be strongly backed to revive a Villa squad awash with “sleeping” talent. The likes of Charles N’Zogbia and Marc Albrighton immediately spring to mind as attacking players who struggled to fulfill their potential under the stewardship of McLeish. There are also names like Gary Gardner and Barry Bannan who, if given opportunities in the right system, could well emerge as sound budget investments in midfield areas.
While Lambert’s record at Norwich would certainly point to an improvement in attacking returns at Villa, Fantasy managers will need to be wary of rotation. At Norwich, Lambert liked to have flexibility in his squad to allow him to shift his systems game to game. While he had out-and-out wingers in Elliot Bennett and Anthony Pilkington, he also liked to employ a more narrow diamond midfield system at times, whilst also using a 4-5-1 with Wes Hoolahan pushed up in support of a lone striker.
It seems likely that we’ll see Lambert adopt a similar approach at Villa. He’ll likely look to mix his formations and personnel and perhaps even the likes of Darren Bent, a proven top flight goalscorer, could find himself subject to rotation. Certainly we saw Grant Holt, a player who had clearly adapted to the Premier League stage, fail to cement a starting role, despite skippering the side and producing some find goalscoring displays.
For Norwich, they now have the summer months to pick up the pieces. They face losing their manager and striker Holt, before they can even begin to consider strengthening for next term. Former defensive stalwarts, Steve Bruce Malky Mackay are the early favourites to take charge. However, like Swansea, there will be concerns that the club faces upheaval and is now vulnerable ahead of the “difficult second season”: Fantasy managers will be wary.
While the Norwich City stock has clearly hit a sharp decline as a result of today’s news, Villa’s will be on the rise and Fantasy managers will have a keen eye on how Lambert utilises the summer funds made available, whilst monitoring his lineups and tactics in the pre-season.
