Alex Mcleish - good or average start?

[john e]

Didn't Want Mcliesh because of his ultra defensive style of football, having said that he's not played that way yet, when he was at Blues he played 1 up front and packed the midfield,
He's played with 3 strikers in every game so far, anyone saying that's a team going out for s draw and not to lose is talking utter shit and is not worth getting into a football debate with, the problem isn't negative tactics it's forwards who need to score, so maybe as others have suggested we need a bit more creative play from the midfield.

We also had all this crap last year when we were losing to the likes of Wolves at home, that we needed to get the points on the board before we met Liverpool and Arsenal as they would certainly be giving our pants a severe thrashing, as it turned out we beat them both

I didnt want Mcliesh, but i'l judge him on what I see and hear, not what I want to see to fit on withy view of him,
So far so good for me

[pablopicasso_10]

putting 3 strikers on the pitch with one of them wide left and the other in midfield, is not playing with 3 strikers...

[nigel]

Your nickname tells me all I need to know.

I really cannot be bothered to check the results but how did Houllier, MON, DOL etc do in their 1st 3 games against sides outside the SKY4 ? I doubt their points haul was radically different. Were there any threads with the knives out after just 3 games for them ?

Clearly you are not going to accept the guy under any circumstances barring an absolutely miraculous set of results. But you could at least wait till he actually loses a game, be it next game or after xmas, before you have a go.

I am guessing you are one of three things.
1) One of the banner waving fools who were on the Holte steps for the cameras and still unable to accept reality.
2) One of the new class of supporter who frankly I despise. Anything less than a comfortable 2-0 home win with a 90 minute 5star performance is always greeted with booing the moment the ref blows the full time whistle. They want instant continual success and every manager is just two defeats from being a useless incompetent. 
3) Here from the dark side making mischief.

Agree 100%, once I'd seen his user name it seemed pointless replying.
Like you, though, I felt I had to.
Unfortuately we could go unbeaten for 20 games, lose a couple and this chap would want him out. He can't win with these narrow minded few.
I reckon 99.9% of us would take this start given what happened last season.

[TopDeck113]

We're one point better off from last season's equivalent fixtures.   Considering all of last season's travails I would therefore say an average start based on results alone.

The plus side is that the defence seems to be more secure.  Whisper it quietly, but I can't see us conceding six any time soon.

[DrGonzo]

McLeish said this was to be a season of 'steady improvement'.  What I think he meant is that he wants points on the board and a platform to build from.  I think we are looking for around 30 points by xmas so that relegation won't be an over-riding issue.
I think we'll be seeing similar team selection until then, i.e. putting the onus on the experienced players and blooding the youngsters by ones and twos in the league.  A system that seems to be paying off thus far, Delph is settling nicely, Herd looked really good yesterday, Albrighton has been bright in his cameos as has Bannan.
By Xmas McLeish will have a better idea of his squad depth and the positions that really need strengthening or those that can be filled by the youngsters. 
No action in the market until then except Hutton from Spuds.

Slow and steady wins the race in this new world of fiscal prudence.  I'm much more content than I thought I would be and am looking forward with some hope to the rest of the season.  6.5/10

[hilts_coolerking]

Slow and steady wins the race in this new world of fiscal prudence.

It doesn't though does it.  In the Premier League slow and steady wins you absolutely nothing.

[Dave]

Slow and steady wins the race in this new world of fiscal prudence.

It doesn't though does it.  In the Premier League slow and steady wins you absolutely nothing.

Also, there isn't really a new world of fiscal prudence in the Premier League apart from the one at Villa Park.

And Everton I suppose.

[brice jovial]

Alex mac start is as it is and as table shows.

All our strikers have scored and we have kept two clean sheets.

We have made a good start as table suggests.

More tests still to come.
The transfer window.
Injuries
and pressure games
looking forward to each and evry game   

[D.boy]

Strong username

And spelt wrong.

[PaulTheVillan]

Good start. 3 games, 2 clean sheets. Dunne & Collins looking like new players. Sadly Warnock isn't.

[nick harper]

I was there yesterday and I found myself thinking this must have been like watching Birmingham at St Andrews for the last two or three years.

This may have been something to do with sitting in a ground that looked half empty but it was an overall impression that the team were huffing and puffing without any real conviction and sneaking a one nil was the best we could hope for.

All a bit unfair on McLeish but he's now a symbol of the way the club is realigning itself to general mediocrity and survival.

[john e]

putting 3 strikers on the pitch with one of them wide left and the other in midfield, is not playing with 3 strikers...
[/quot

It's still way of what he installed at blues though, I know calling Heskey a striker at any level is a bit of a stretch, but your talking about the formation, they are all three classed as strikers, there to try and score goals as the main priority,

Personally I was expecting a far more rigid and defensive tactics, I admit my expectations of football were very low under AM, so although I don't think he's become a football purist,
I have been pleasantly supprised so far, at least he puts the personal out to try and
win the game,
The standard of football so far is no better or worse than GH or MON and I thought it would be, although that's not saying to much

[john e]

Dont know what happened to the quote above, it all went wrong somewhere

[Greg N'Ash]

Would have been B+ if we'd beaten wolves, so C- but then factor in the financial restrictions he's operating under so C+

[willywombat]

while we are unbeaten against some pretty uninspiring opponents, its been appalling on the football front and i dont see that changing anytime soon...

Appalling? You really, truely think we've been appalling?