I don't think anyone is saying we are wholely "dependent" on luck, just that, as with any sport, luck (to a certain degree) plays a factor in the outcome.
But, yes, the better you are the less susceptical you are to the 'luck factor'....
And therein lies a fundamental flaw with the human species - jealously.
In my line of work (computers) I have no such qualms about parachuting in a 'highly paid guru' to fill a certain role on a given project. To me, people should be professional and understand that for the benefit of the team it is sometimes necessary to do this with a degree of "unfairness" as far as wages are concerned.
It's a natural human trait to compare pay with colleagues but my philosophy on life is that I should be happy with what I'm being paid for the job I'm doing - it doesn't bother me if someone else has negotiated a different pay level - fair play to them I say.
Lambert is either happy with what he's being paid for the job he's doing or he isn't, regardless of what others are being paid.
Anyway, back to being human....
Perfect outcome. Played well against a (weakened) Premier League team but no more Carling Cup games to interfere with League 1 game preparations. Just need to get knocked out of the JPT in similar honourable fashion now.... :-)
Or....
We looked at Butt and then decided to put out a statement about players looking for their last pay day to make Butt think we were no longer interested in him, in the anticipation that he then comes back to us with a revised valuation of his worth....
Or....
I thought his job was to do the best thing for the creditors of the club, not the club itself per se? Although I suppose the latter facilitates the former.
True. Although a 'marquee' signing can also galvanise a team and act as a catalyst (was going to use Cardiff's Bellamy as an example but that's a slightly different means to the same end)
And by the same token, they can also turn out to be a disruptive influence too of course
It's a very fine line though between being "not quite over the hill to warrant dropping to League 1" and "too old for League 1 even".
As Butt proved last year, playing in a tougher league than ours was doable at the age of 34/35 which sort of implies that he's probably "about the right age" to drop into League 1 now (assuming he's still relatively fit and injury free of course).
Exhibit A - Teddy Sherringham