Summary: Phil and Anto have a wonderful chat with former Aston Villa manager John Gregory about a number of emerging things about the club, Paul Lambert and a new focus and energy at Villa Park and how the supporters should start to believe that the direction has finally taken a positive step under its first year manager. We open the discussion about what Paul Lambert will bring, some the strategies that are underway with its scouting and work in the transfer market. We take a look back at a very disappointing season which serves as stark contrast where the approach was too negative by Villa standards and now with a renewed sense of accountability that has already begun to show itself in preseason. We also examine the factors that went into the Alex McLeish appointment and whether the move to Paul Lambert has restored a degree in faith in Randy Lerner now that this important change has taken place. We also look at Premier League finances and where Aston Villa fit into the landscape and we examine whether Aston Villa has looked at the structure of Newcastle United and have begun to replicate their model with some new continental scouting options, given the connections that Paul Lambert has to Germany from his playing career. We also discuss the state of British managers in the Premier League and readiness for national team duty and take a deeper look at the state of the managerial pool and explore whether the international nature of the England top flight, both in terms of player demographics and a new generation of club chairmen, is working against British managers who have yet to adopt to a more continental model. This includes identifying a couple of managers in Brendan Rodgers and Paul Lambert, as examples, who have begun to embrace more accomplished scouting networks into their plans like seen at Swansea City, Newcastle and other destinations within the league. Then we close on the matter of Robin Van Persie and Arsenal Football Club to gauge the similarities with a situation that John had with Dwight Yorke before he also moved from Aston Villa to Manchester United in the 1990s. John has some very interesting insights into how player power asserts itself and how managers are often the last to know when a player has already decided to leave a football club when his contract enters its last season. A very interesting listen on a variety of fronts. In part two we examine the situation with Aston Villa further and also consider whether Arsene Wenger made the right decision into the matter of moving Robin Van Persie at this point in time, as well as look at what awaits Paul Lambert in his first season.
