After leading Norwich City to successive promotions in 2010 and 2011, Paul Lambert offered his resignation earlier today and has left the Norfolk club.
With the side moving in a positive direction under the guidance of Lambert, the Norwich board tried very hard to secure his services for another season in the Premier League. It now seems inevitable that Lambert is heading to Aston Villa after Alex McLeish was relieved of his duties in back in May.
Lambert established himself as one of the best managers to have taken charge at Carrow Road. The way he guided a team with minimal value and homegrown talent to a 12th place finish in the Premier League last season was a remarkable effort. It seems as if Lambert has developed a good group of players who can be a decent outfit in the Premier League for years to come.
The departure of the Scottish manager isn’t the only piece of bad news coming out of the Norwich camp. Lambert has said that Grant Holt, the 31-year-old striker, is his number one priority in terms of bringing players to Aston Villa. Holt has been a prolific scorer for many years, and many people thought he should have been on the plane to the Euros representing England after scoring 15 goals in the last campaign.
Villa will welcome Lambert to the club with open arms after being one of the standout managers last season. It will certainly be a challenge for him, with a passionate bunch of Villa fans eager for success after last season’s struggles.
Randy Lerner has expressed the fact that there are funds available to allow the squad to strengthen over the summer. Jordan Rhodes, the young Huddersfield star, is rumoured to be wanted by the West Midlands club. Acquiring Rhodes and Holt will play a big role in forming a formidable strike force for Villa next season.
The work starts now for Norwich as they will be thinking of candidates to take the vacancy. One of the early leading contenders is current Cardiff boss, Malky Mackay, with the rest of the list consisting of Neil Lennon, Chris Hughton and Steve Bruce.