Aston Villa fans' group in call to join protest against Alex Mcleish

[Rip Van We Go Again]

By Brett Gibbons, Birmingham Mail

FURIOUS Villa fans are planning more action against the team’s current plight with a protest before and after the clash with Chelsea at Villa Park.
 
Members of group We Want McLeish Out plan to voice their anger near the famous McGregor statue at 2.15pm on Saturday and repeat the demonstration after the game.
 
Previous protests have failed to gain too much support.
 
But the organiser of Saturday’s gathering wants fans to turn up the heat on club management, including boss Alex McLeish and chief executive Paul Faulkner.
 
Protest leader Chris Hearn said: “People will sneer and say it’s a waste of time, but if people want McLeish out then surely now is the time to act.
 
“We want a loud demonstration, but we will make sure it is peaceful and respectful. We don’t want people to use bad language or any offensive chants.”
 
Mr Hearn, a teacher, said he thought several hundred fans would join the latest action, compared to a few dozen at previous gatherings of disgruntled supporters.
 
He said: “A number of fans are happy to moan and groan online but when it comes to taking part in any planned action to show their discontent they refuse to take part.
 
“The larger the number present at the protest, the more serious we will be taken.”
 
But many fans feel the action would be counter-productive and all supporters should get behind the team for a difficult end to the Premier League season.

[andrew08]

The thing with footy protests by loyal fans is that they then go and ruin it by paying in to the game after. Does anyone know of a protest where thousands have turned up and then stayed outside during the game ?

Not a comment on this protest at all just an observation and good luck with it.

[Chris Jameson]

Perhaps they should form a coalition with Newcastle fans and arrange a swap, Ashley for Mcleish. Not sure i'd want to negotiate with Blackburn at this stage.

[curlytailavfc]

I would rather walk out at kick off

[garyshawsknee]

The last one was such a success and did everyone proud,so why not.

[Risso]

The thing with footy protests by loyal fans is that they then go and ruin it by paying in to the game after. Does anyone know of a protest where thousands have turned up and then stayed outside during the game ?

Not a comment on this protest at all just an observation and good luck with it.

I seem to remember a Celtic group trying a boycott years ago.

[montague]

The time for this sort of thing is the last home game when we are (hopefully) safe

[Phil from the upper holte]

It's a difficult one, on one hand Yes I've had enough but on the other,  will Randy or Mcshit listen? probably not. It's not worked for Blackburn has it?

[pauliewalnuts]

This sort of thing is really pointless.

They're going to wave placards for a bit, then go into the game.

If they really want to find some form of protest, they should just not go to the games. The club knows which season ticket holders are and are not using their tickets frequently. They'll notice something like that plus lower gates far more than they will a bit of chanting by the statue.

Also, there's the fact that the "hit the streets and protest" thing was kind of done when McLeish got the job. Anything that doesn't go further than that is now going to look a bit half arsed.

[Monty]

This sort of thing is really pointless.

They're going to wave placards for a bit, then go into the game.

If they really want to find some form of protest, they should just not go to the games. The club knows which season ticket holders are and are not using their tickets frequently. They'll notice something like that plus lower gates far more than they will a bit of chanting by the statue.

Also, there's the fact that the "hit the streets and protest" thing was kind of done when McLeish got the job. Anything that doesn't go further than that is now going to look a bit half arsed.

An ongoing protest outside the ground while the game is going on would be quite cool. Course, you run the danger of, you know, winning the match and hastily disbanding (or you recognise it was a flash in the pan and carry on, much to the amusement of neutrals who don't fully understand the situation).

[Dave Javu]

I look forward to the loud and peaceful demonstration.

I've heard that self-immolation is all the rage, these days.

[midnite]

I remember a protest but can remember the teams where the majority of fans stayed away from their seats for the first 5-10mins of the match so the players came out and kicked off infront of a vastly empty stadium. Then after the time the fans came out and cheered on the team as normal.

Something like that would be quite powerful. But again negative towards the team. We've paid out season ticket money so the club has that but we're not spending any money in food, beer or programmes while we're there. If the majority of the rest are doing the same then that has to be having an impact on match day revenue. It's a double egded sword though. Less money from these sorts of revenue streams then has an impact on what we can do next season surely with transfer funds etc.

[N'ZMAV]

I will not be protesting in this way.

[5ft811st2 Durham]

Completely pointless. The protests need to be aimed directly at Lerner, a man who for reasons only known to himself has decided to inflict on us supporters 2 seasons of abject mediocrity and given no reason for us to believe that the future under him will see any improvement.

This club represents England's second city and as such deserves better.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

William McGregor will be spinning in his grave.