This week there has been tons of juicy Villa news for fans to read. Does Randy Lerner want to sell the club? Will Gardner earn a new contract and N’Zogbia and Okore are nearing a return from their injuries. But the one piece of news which has really stood out is Paul Lambert receiving a new contract. It’s going to happen, the deal is in the pipelines and Lambert’s new three-year contract will bring the end of the ‘transitional period’ that Villa have suffered throughout the last few seasons.
“I speak to Randy a lot, and things like that (a new contract) will take care of itself,” said Lambert.
“But I’m sure the discussions between me and the chairman will be the same as they’ve always been. They’ll be pleasant, with no problems either way whatsoever.”
“They (Lerner and Faulkner) see the vision and what’s happened,” added the Scot.
“They see the work that has been going on behind the scenes, to have that vision of what you want to do.
“If you have that vision, you need people seeing it and backing it, and Randy has been fantastic with that.
“He knows what’s happened, and he knows the way we want to go, and as I said, he’s backed it and been excellent.”
When Paul Lambert joined the club in 2012, his initial contract was pretty straight forward. Build a new team with young players on lower transfer fees and lower wages. This would ultimately push out all the high earners in the Villa squad. Richard Dunne, Stephen Ireland and Stephen Warnock have all been solid or released, saving Villa millions on wages per-season. Throughout Lambert’s reign the highest transfer paid was Benteke and Libor Kozak which both cost £7 million. In total Lambert has spent roughly £40 million on transfer fees over the last two seasons. Despite signing unknown players the likes of Vlaar, Benteke, Westwood, Lowton and Bacuna have become very good players for Aston Villa. Lambert has also managed to get the best out of Fabian Delph, Brad Guzan and Gabby Agbonlahor. Teams around us have been spending millions this year in an effort to avoid relegation. Villa deciding to do otherwise, this decision has ultimately help Villa nearly clearing it’s debt.
The transitional period will end at the end of this season. Surely Lambert’s goal/objective for this season has been to finish mid-tbale. Villa can’t be dragged into the relegation battle as it’s one of the most intense in years and fans would want to avoid a third year flirting with relegation. But more importantly the fans want to see progress under Paul Lambert and his ‘new’ team. Surely a mid-table finish would demonstrate the improvement of the Villa side.
Paul Lambert’s new contract will allow the club to change up a gear and spend more money on more quality players. Mat Kendrick reckons that Aston Villa will be willing to sign a player or two valued at 10 million euros in the summer. This money will most likely be spent on a quality attacking midfielder. Now that Lambert has added quantity to his side he can now focus on quality, which is surely what’s going to happen this summer.
Aston Villa’s sponsorships are growing at a rapid pace, the clubs name its being recognised internationally more each year. The club is heading in the right direction, whether or not you support Lerner. It’s been a tough few seasons, believe me it frustrates me see our previous rivals of Everton and Tottenham battling for a Champions League place this season. But Villa finally have all the pieces of the puzzle to seriously push on and challenge for trophies and a place in the Europa League.
