Benteke no match for Lambert in summer scuffle
thesun
Benteke no match for Lambert in summer scuffle
NEVER mind Christian Benteke.
If I was Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner I would be drawing up a lucrative new contract for Paul Lambert pronto.
The ruthlessly efficient Scot is by far the biggest asset Villa have had in years.
Benteke may have doubled his money when he agreed a bumper new, £56,000-a-week deal last week.
But the real winner was Lambert, who took control of a potentially catastrophic situation for Villa and turned it to his advantage with the minimum of fuss.
The way Lambert dealt with Benteke reminded me of the master himself, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Whenever Fergie came into conflict with an errant player he had a knack of strengthening his own hand, whatever the outcome.
From the early days when he did the unthinkable and showed Paul McGrath the door, Ferguson managed to tighten his grip on United in virtually every confrontation with a player during his stellar career.
McGrath went on to become a Villa legend after he left Old Trafford.
However Ferguson sacrificed a truly great defender and fans favourite to draw the line in the sand he needed, to demonstrate NOBODY was bigger than the club.
Contrast that with Eric Cantona.
Ferguson stood by his prize jewel because he knew it was in his, and Uniteds, best interest to do so.
Jaap Stam was jettisoned. Bryan Robson … revered. Beckham was binned. Ryan Giggs … shifted around masterly to prolong his greatness.
Roy Keane … culled when he started calling the shots too often for Fergusons liking.
Paul Scholes … granted leave to retire, then cajoled back to oversee another title win. Sheer Genius.
Wayne Rooney would have left United vulnerable if hed gone to rivals City a couple of seasons ago. Now who is in the driving seat
Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a move to Real Madrid on the understanding he could leave without fuss the following summer.
Fergie had the player for another season and controlled Ronaldos inevitable exit. It was crisis management at its best.
Likewise, Lambert dealt with Benteke brilliantly.
When confronted by his star player demanding a move, Lambert didnt blink.
Any criticism was shrewdly aimed towards the players advisors, rather than Villas top scorer as Lambert cleverly avoided burning any bridges with his prize player.
The worst accusation Lambert aimed at Benteke was that he was young, a bit naive and was receiving poor advice.
Lambert was ever-so-subtly driving a wedge between player and his agent.
Then came the carrot. Stay and enjoy a stable build-up to next summers world cup when you can really put yourself in the shop window.
Score goals in Brazil and it wont be Spurs who are coming for you … it will be the really big boys of world football like Barca, Real, Bayern and Manchester United. With a good world cup you could become a GLOBAL star.
Lambert knew a long time ago he had a potential problem on his hands with Benteke this summer.
So it probably wasnt any coincidence he signed Nicklas Helenius, a 6ft 5ins striker, with the dust barely settled on the old season.
There was a subliminal message that if he needed to sit Benteke on the bench a la Darren Bent Lambert had another option open to him.
It was a gentle flexing of his managerial muscle.
Then when Bentekes transfer request landed on his desk Lambert shrewdly withdrew slightly and conceded ground.
He gave the Belgian an extra week off to re-assess the situation.
Can you imagine the problems at that point if Lambert had been jumping on a flight to Asia, Australia, or the States, like the majority of the Premier League
Im sure Lerner wouldnt have been averse to pocketing a few quid for Villa by hawking his players halfway around the globe for sponsorship and marketing opportunities.
But after a strength-sapping tour of the States last year Lambert laid down the law this summer and said Germany, his spiritual home, was as far as he was going with his players.
He got his way. And he got his man because he was able to return home swiftly to tackle Benteke when he got back from his period of contemplation.
Amy chance of resolving the situation would have been weakened if Lambert had been on the other side of the world in a different time zone.
Instead he was there to welcome Benteke back personally when the big Belgian returned a week later.
Unlike Bent, Steven Ireland, Alan Hutton and the rest of the Villa Bomb Squad, Benteke wasnt sent into exile on a far-flung training pitch.
Unlike Bent, who has been publicly stripped of his coveted No 9 jersey, Benteke wasnt humiliated.
He wasnt sent off to sulk, he worked on his own while Lambert got to work on him.
First-team carrot on one side a stick dubbed the Bomb Squad, on the other side.
Whatever he said to him on that first day back, Lambert got inside Bentekes head and got what he wanted for Villa.
He kept his top scorer and, just as importantly, he kept the striker happy by doubling his wages.
The kid striker didnt lose face and will return to work this season with a positive attitude.
Whether Lambert also kept Benteke sweet by promising he could leave without fuss next summer is between manager and player.
On paper Villa have the Belgian for the next four years.
Instead of being left in limbo, Lambert emerged from the Benteke saga looking like Rambo in the eyes of grateful Villa fans.
The Belgian hitman may be 6ft 3ins of rippling muscle... but Lambo is the real iron man at Aston Villa.
NEVER mind Christian Benteke.
If I was Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner I would be drawing up a lucrative new contract for Paul Lambert pronto.
The ruthlessly efficient Scot is by far the biggest asset Villa have had in years.
Benteke may have doubled his money when he agreed a bumper new, £56,000-a-week deal last week.
But the real winner was Lambert, who took control of a potentially catastrophic situation for Villa and turned it to his advantage with the minimum of fuss.
The way Lambert dealt with Benteke reminded me of the master himself, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Whenever Fergie came into conflict with an errant player he had a knack of strengthening his own hand, whatever the outcome.
From the early days when he did the unthinkable and showed Paul McGrath the door, Ferguson managed to tighten his grip on United in virtually every confrontation with a player during his stellar career.
McGrath went on to become a Villa legend after he left Old Trafford.
However Ferguson sacrificed a truly great defender and fans favourite to draw the line in the sand he needed, to demonstrate NOBODY was bigger than the club.
Contrast that with Eric Cantona.
Ferguson stood by his prize jewel because he knew it was in his, and Uniteds, best interest to do so.
Jaap Stam was jettisoned. Bryan Robson … revered. Beckham was binned. Ryan Giggs … shifted around masterly to prolong his greatness.
Roy Keane … culled when he started calling the shots too often for Fergusons liking.
Paul Scholes … granted leave to retire, then cajoled back to oversee another title win. Sheer Genius.
Wayne Rooney would have left United vulnerable if hed gone to rivals City a couple of seasons ago. Now who is in the driving seat
Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a move to Real Madrid on the understanding he could leave without fuss the following summer.
Fergie had the player for another season and controlled Ronaldos inevitable exit. It was crisis management at its best.
Likewise, Lambert dealt with Benteke brilliantly.
When confronted by his star player demanding a move, Lambert didnt blink.
Any criticism was shrewdly aimed towards the players advisors, rather than Villas top scorer as Lambert cleverly avoided burning any bridges with his prize player.
The worst accusation Lambert aimed at Benteke was that he was young, a bit naive and was receiving poor advice.
Lambert was ever-so-subtly driving a wedge between player and his agent.
Then came the carrot. Stay and enjoy a stable build-up to next summers world cup when you can really put yourself in the shop window.
Score goals in Brazil and it wont be Spurs who are coming for you … it will be the really big boys of world football like Barca, Real, Bayern and Manchester United. With a good world cup you could become a GLOBAL star.
Lambert knew a long time ago he had a potential problem on his hands with Benteke this summer.
So it probably wasnt any coincidence he signed Nicklas Helenius, a 6ft 5ins striker, with the dust barely settled on the old season.
There was a subliminal message that if he needed to sit Benteke on the bench a la Darren Bent Lambert had another option open to him.
It was a gentle flexing of his managerial muscle.
Then when Bentekes transfer request landed on his desk Lambert shrewdly withdrew slightly and conceded ground.
He gave the Belgian an extra week off to re-assess the situation.
Can you imagine the problems at that point if Lambert had been jumping on a flight to Asia, Australia, or the States, like the majority of the Premier League
Im sure Lerner wouldnt have been averse to pocketing a few quid for Villa by hawking his players halfway around the globe for sponsorship and marketing opportunities.
But after a strength-sapping tour of the States last year Lambert laid down the law this summer and said Germany, his spiritual home, was as far as he was going with his players.
He got his way. And he got his man because he was able to return home swiftly to tackle Benteke when he got back from his period of contemplation.
Amy chance of resolving the situation would have been weakened if Lambert had been on the other side of the world in a different time zone.
Instead he was there to welcome Benteke back personally when the big Belgian returned a week later.
Unlike Bent, Steven Ireland, Alan Hutton and the rest of the Villa Bomb Squad, Benteke wasnt sent into exile on a far-flung training pitch.
Unlike Bent, who has been publicly stripped of his coveted No 9 jersey, Benteke wasnt humiliated.
He wasnt sent off to sulk, he worked on his own while Lambert got to work on him.
First-team carrot on one side a stick dubbed the Bomb Squad, on the other side.
Whatever he said to him on that first day back, Lambert got inside Bentekes head and got what he wanted for Villa.
He kept his top scorer and, just as importantly, he kept the striker happy by doubling his wages.
The kid striker didnt lose face and will return to work this season with a positive attitude.
Whether Lambert also kept Benteke sweet by promising he could leave without fuss next summer is between manager and player.
On paper Villa have the Belgian for the next four years.
Instead of being left in limbo, Lambert emerged from the Benteke saga looking like Rambo in the eyes of grateful Villa fans.
The Belgian hitman may be 6ft 3ins of rippling muscle... but Lambo is the real iron man at Aston Villa.
