Alex Mcleish - good or average start?

[Vanilla]

I didn't hear too many complaints after the Blackburn game, Monty. Three games and admittedly the Wolves game was no end-to-end local derby ding dong but let's put the wigs, false bosoms and heavy make up away for a week or two.

In my mind, to date, McLeish has only really made one mistake and that's not playing Bannan in the advanced midfield role. Get that right and whisper it but we could have the most entertaining and points at Villa Park in a very long time.

Very true, but I think the fact that he doesn't do it but plays Heskey in that role could be taken as indicative. Like I say, I hope not, but there is certainly a listless feeling around the club at the mo.

The main problem I'm worried about, is that this is supposed to be the easy start where we could fill our boots until we hit the big guns. Yet, as you say, it just seems a bit listless.

The manager is not really starting with alternative line ups (Why can't Albrighton start?), which means he don't like/trust anyone else at the moment. (The point has already been made hundreds of times already, that we have started with 3 strikers on the pitch in 3 games, and only scored in one of them). This will cause problems when injuries kick in.

The team still feels like it's a patched up before our big names come back. Obviously we have no big names to come back from injury, suspension, or well, anywhere.

[brian green]

As I said on the post match thread I came away from the Wolves game feeling very old and very tired.

Setting aside all the issues of points won and lost, substitutions good, bad and incomprehensible, defence tweaking, offence creaking, I have seen all three games and they have all been excruciatingly dull meat and two soggy veg offerings.

Two big red lights should have started flashing for Alex McLeish last Saturday - the size of the crowd and the pissed off expression on Darren Bent's face at the wild shooting and bad service from those around him getting rushes of glory pangs.

If the crowds slide away it will not matter a monkey's whether we are ninth or twelfth and if Darren Bent says he wants away the policy of retrenchment will immediately become a policy of damage limitation and survival.

Whether Alex McLeish can or cannot play attractive attacking football, whether he knows how to play attractive attacking football or whether the board provide him with the funds to acquire players of attractive attacking football the club will be locked into a downward spiral if the gates fall away and the best players continue to leave.   He has no choice.   The entertainment value of the games in which we play has to be improved.

We cannot afford the luxury of safety first football.   It is like thinking the slower you ride your bike the less likely you are to fall off.   The financial structure of football is such that the damage you sustain by excessive caution is greater than the damage you sustain by excessive ambition.

We have seen in the last two days the chickens come home to roost big time for Arsene Wenger.   He is paying the entirely predictable price of excessive caution.   Of course rash expenditure can destroy a club but the notion that Premiership security can be achieved while simultaneously slashing expenditure is false.

[AV82EC]

Cracking programme on 5Live tonight about the perfect number 10 and rather sums up the current debate we're having on Heskey vs Bannan/Ireland.

I was thinking just that. Also, surprise surprise nobody's mentioned Sid.

I nearly texted it in but couldnt be arsed.  Great programme from 5live, they should get Richard Williams on more often, instead they give airtime to utter fuckwits like Gobby Cabbage and Alan Green.

Agree with that, even though Williams can be a really annoying right-on sort of guy sometimes.

Well he does work for the Guardian.  ;-)  However I'd rather that over the utter banality and lowest common denominator output 5live seem to think they need to come out with to compete with the utter abomination that is Talkshite.  As Pat Nevin said there is plenty of room for educated and intelligent debate about Football without talking down to fans.  I still can't believe that erudite fans are not given more of a punditry role within the media rather than the tired ex pro's who invariably have a brain the size of a pea.

[AV82EC]

As I said on the post match thread I came away from the Wolves game feeling very old and very tired.

Setting aside all the issues of points won and lost, substitutions good, bad and incomprehensible, defence tweaking, offence creaking, I have seen all three games and they have all been excruciatingly dull meat and two soggy veg offerings.

Two big red lights should have started flashing for Alex McLeish last Saturday - the size of the crowd and the pissed off expression on Darren Bent's face at the wild shooting and bad service from those around him getting rushes of glory pangs.

If the crowds slide away it will not matter a monkey's whether we are ninth or twelfth and if Darren Bent says he wants away the policy of retrenchment will immediately become a policy of damage limitation and survival.

Whether Alex McLeish can or cannot play attractive attacking football, whether he knows how to play attractive attacking football or whether the board provide him with the funds to acquire players of attractive attacking football the club will be locked into a downward spiral if the gates fall away and the best players continue to leave.   He has no choice.   The entertainment value of the games in which we play has to be improved.

We cannot afford the luxury of safety first football.   It is like thinking the slower you ride your bike the less likely you are to fall off.   The financial structure of football is such that the damage you sustain by excessive caution is greater than the damage you sustain by excessive ambition.

We have seen in the last two days the chickens come home to roost big time for Arsene Wenger.   He is paying the entirely predictable price of excessive caution.   Of course rash expenditure can destroy a club but the notion that Premiership security can be achieved while simultaneously slashing expenditure is false.

I must admit Brian some of your pre and early season ramblings I haven't agreed with one tiny bit but you strike a chord with me here.  In realising we have to cut our cloth accordingly I hope the board realise this needs to be done in a way which means McLeish has room to manouevre and not scrabbling around for a foothold in the division.

[Monty]

Cracking programme on 5Live tonight about the perfect number 10 and rather sums up the current debate we're having on Heskey vs Bannan/Ireland.

I was thinking just that. Also, surprise surprise nobody's mentioned Sid.

I nearly texted it in but couldnt be arsed.  Great programme from 5live, they should get Richard Williams on more often, instead they give airtime to utter fuckwits like Gobby Cabbage and Alan Green.

Agree with that, even though Williams can be a really annoying right-on sort of guy sometimes.

Well he does work for the Guardian.  ;-)  However I'd rather that over the utter banality and lowest common denominator output 5live seem to think they need to come out with to compete with the utter abomination that is Talkshite.  As Pat Nevin said there is plenty of room for educated and intelligent debate about Football without talking down to fans.  I still can't believe that erudite fans are not given more of a punditry role within the media rather than the tired ex pro's who invariably have a brain the size of a pea.

At the risk of going wildly off topic, I completely agree. I thought that a lot of their discussion missed the point, but at least they were having the discussion, and not being shy of tackling the slightly more uncomfortable to discuss aspects (such as the blame that fans must share for styles of football). As one french football writer whose name I've forgotten said, just as being a great player doesn't make you a great coach it also doesn't make you a great pundit.

[dave.woodhall]

I still can't believe that erudite fans are not given more of a punditry role within the media rather than the tired ex pro's who invariably have a brain the size of a pea.

There was a time when we were starting to be involved. Then the cult of celebrity took over and everyone talking about football now has to be an ex-player with the supporter input coming from reading blogs and confusing one man's obsessions with the opinions of teh majority. 

[brian green]

I don't ramble.  I reflect in print.

[AV82EC]

I don't ramble.  I reflect in print.

Apologies brian, I in no way wished to "dis" your enjoyable and erudite reflections even if I do disagree with some of them.

[hawkeye]

I still can't believe that erudite fans are not given more of a punditry role within the media rather than the tired ex pro's who invariably have a brain the size of a pea.

There was a time when we were starting to be involved. Then the cult of celebrity took over and everyone talking about football now has to be an ex-player with the supporter input coming from reading blogs and confusing one man's obsessions with the opinions of teh majority. 

The celebrity football pundit problem, the great majority of them are inarticulate idiots who just spout the stuff they read in the Red Tops. There are plenty of football fans that have a far greater understanding of the game than these idiots. Football though only recruits from within, look at the leadership quality and inteligence of most football managers. They would not be given the job of running a minor section in most businesses but are given millions of pounds of resources in football.