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Premier League manager sacked after daily calls on him to go

Aston Villa last night sacked their manager Paul Lambert just hours after a regional daily called on him to go.

The Birmingham Mail made the request to the club’s board after a string of bad results which has seen them drop into the Premier League’s relegation zone.

Lambert had presided over just two league victories in 20 matches since agreeing a new four-year deal with Villa in mid-September.

An editorial appeared on the Mail’s website yesterday afternoon, complete with a photo captioned ‘Lambert Must Go!’  Within a matter of hours, he had gone.

Lambo

It reads: “Aston Villa is a proud and noble name in English football.

“It is an historic club at the heart of our community, a founding father of the beautiful game.

“But this great club is now on its knees and the Holte End (traditionally the most vocal stand at the club’s Villa Park ground) is hurting – and we can no longer stand by and watch that happen.

“Today the Birmingham Mail makes one simple, stark request to the Aston Villa board: sack the manager.

“Paul Lambert is not the man to save this club from relegation and the long-term damage that disaster will bring.

“We do not say this lightly, nor do we take any pleasure in saying that Lambert should go. The Birmingham Mail has been as patient as many of the claret and blue fans, standing by and hoping things will improve.

“Despite the results, despite the performances. But time is now up.”

The article berates “awful football, delcinging attendances, and post-match excuses that beggar belief”.

It concludes: “We don’t believe Lambert anymore. He is out of ideas, there is nothing left for him to say to his players that he hasn’t said already.

“We respect his integrity and loyalty, but the fans don’t want him.

“The fans deserve better. Enough is enough.”

Following the announcement, Twitter users reflected on the impact of the Mail’s story.

Will Unwin, newswriter at ITV Sport and ITV News, posted: “Fair play to the Birmingham Mail. Support your local paper.”

Lee Clayton, the Daily Mail’s head of sport, wrote: “Shows the power of the local paper (and what happens if you can’t score goals).”

4 comments

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  • February 12, 2015 at 8:38 am
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    Well done. You helped get a decent man the sack. But he will probably walk away with more money that most of us earn in our career. So no losers?

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  • February 12, 2015 at 9:41 am
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    Somehow i don’t think Mr Lambert will be bothered one iota. He tried his best and it just wasn’t to be. The next man in charge will have two years (Maybe 1.5 years) and then be sacked and on and on it goes… Good luck for whoever replaces him

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  • February 12, 2015 at 10:04 am
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    I’d like to see a few managers demand the sack for editors of their local papers. If a string of bad results means the manager must go, then a succession of poor circulation figures …

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  • February 12, 2015 at 7:02 pm
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    No Lambert got himself the sack with his atrocious brand of football and his inability to inspire the team to do better, as well as his lack of ideas.
    He was very lucky to survive as long as he did. He should have gone earlier, as he was clearly out of his depth. At least the Birmingham Mail finally found the guts to call for his exit.
    It was the very least the fans (many of them readers) deserved.
    Still, he will be handsomely compensated for his incompetence.
    Perhaps he was a banker in a previous life.

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