Mcleish - 'I Accepted the challenge'

[Vanilla]

Mcleish quoted in Daily Mirror on Sat 24th 'I accepted the challenge. I know a lot of other managers wouldn't have, and I think some didn't accept the challenge before i did'.

Why do we think other managers didn't want to come here, and would anyone else have been able to do any better considering the situation? He states that it's not an overnight job and losing Young and Downing were a big loss. That said, he knew those players would be leaving anyway, so can he use this as an excuse?

[PaulWinch again]

I think the way the board have acted has showed why other managers didn't want to come here.

[Chris Smith]

Losing Young and Downing isn't an excuse, it's a reason. They were our two best players and we're now having to find a way to do without them, that takes time.

I assume if anyone turned down the opportunity it was that they did not want to work under the current financial restrictions.

[kippaxvilla2]

I accepted the challenge.  Jesus, it wasn't hard to accept was it.  Sitting in your apartment in Corsica, contemplating life in the Championship under possibly the worst owners since the Kumars, then an American billionaire rocks up to double your wages for a job with a Premier League side used to challenging for a top 6 place.  Let me think.

[Iago]

McLeish is lucky to have another job in the Premiership, especially at a club this size.

I see the excuses have already begun with AM.

[Iago]

I accepted the challenge.  Jesus, it wasn't hard to accept was it.  Sitting in your apartment in Corsica, contemplating life in the Championship under possibly the worst owners since the Kumars, then an American billionaire rocks up to double your wages for a job with a Premier League side used to challenging for a top 6 place.  Let me think.

True, these people need a reality check.

[brian green]

I sense that too Iago.   Those big boys made me do it Miss.

[pauliewalnuts]

I can see it from both sides. Obviously, the challenge is to work under an owner who is slamming on the spending brakes in a way which puts George Osbourne to shame. As Chris saud, losing Downing and Young is not an excuse, it is a symptom of the new financial reality.

And to think we thought we might get Ancelottii or Benitez!

The other side i can see too - it isn't much of a big decision when your managerial reputation is looking buggered, you've just been relegated for the second time in four years, you're facing working in the championship for an owner who is flirting with jail, and someone offers you a job at a much bigger club for much bigger money. You don't even have to move house.

The sad thing in all this is that the club has come to this after five years. I also think those who think we are takng a breather before having another go at it are misguided. They've made it pretty clear that this s the new reality, live within our means. Like Everton. I suspect we'll enjoy I about as much as Everton fans do, too.

[German James]

I accepted the challenge.  Jesus, it wasn't hard to accept was it.  Sitting in your apartment in Corsica, contemplating life in the Championship under possibly the worst owners since the Kumars, then an American billionaire rocks up to double your wages for a job with a Premier League side used to challenging for a top 6 place.  Let me think.

     I bet it wasn't as easy a decision as you think: An American billionaire who's not prepared to spend anything at the moment, and tells him that he'll have to "make do and mend"?
     The utter chaos following O'Neill's bailing and continuing through Houllier's reign which went on for most of the season won't have escaped his attention either and I think the last sentence should read "...a Premier League side that used to be challenging for a top 6 place."
     I agree the wages must have been some incentive, but I genuinely believe he was/is interested in the challenge. Whether he's bitten off more than he can chew is another matter, but I admire his bravery.

[Clampy]

It's a definatley a challenge for him though, in more ways than one and although i did'nt think he should have been considered, fair play to him for having a crack at it. Martinez did'nt have the balls for it, he's got the comfort knowing he'd still have a job even if he took Wigan down.

[brian green]

Yeah.   He had to think about it all the time Mrs McLeish was fetching an extra coffee cup.

[pauliewalnuts]

I know what you mean, Clampy, and from that side, fair play to him and I wish him luck (obviously).

[pauliewalnuts]

Yeah.   He had to think about it all the time Mrs McLeish was fetching an extra coffee cup.

McLeish doesn't strike me as a coffee man. I reckon he's a traditional, "builders tea" man, really milky with three sugars.

In one of those pint mugs with "you don't have to be mad to work here, BUT IT HELPS" written on it.

[ROBBO]

So even by his own admission he was the only one silly enough to take it. It really is laughable now looking back at threads linking us to Ancelotti and no wonder Hughes was never in the running, they didn't tap AM up he was way down the list and desperate enough. What a way to run a football club.

[PeterWithesShin]

It's a definatley a challenge for him though, in more ways than one and although i did'nt think he should have been considered, fair play to him for having a crack at it. Martinez did'nt have the balls for it, he's got the comfort knowing he'd still have a job even if he took Wigan down.

I think there is more to Martinez than not having the balls. It seems he has a real affection for Wigan, I wrote this a few months ago.

"I'm currently reading Northern Soul which is about Wigan and their first season in the top flight. It's quite interesting, and had these snippets which may be of interest/relevance to us.

As well as covering that season, there are a few flashbacks, one of which was about when Wigan signed the 3 Spaniards and the author spoke to Martinez who was playing for Swansea at the time (2006) and he said this. "The chairman said he had a five-year plan to get into the Premiership, in the end it took ten and my only regret was that I never got the chance to play for them when they got there. That would have been special. To me Wigan Athletic will always be my club, always be in my heart".