Manager or players?

[Holte132]

I'm asking this as a genuine question - not trying to either attack or defend McLeish. How much blame for our current situation rests with the players? After all, it is they who misplace passes, commit fouls, don't tackle, don't shoot etc. Is it the way they are coached? Can't they disregard the manager if they feel that his tactics aren't right?

[SheffieldVillain]

A lot, with the senior players. Dunne, Collins, Warnock in the first half of the season were particuarly to blame. Ireland has only produced in fits and starts although started to come good lately. Gabby has done nothing for weeks. Heskey is Heskey. No leadership from any senior player on the pitch bar Petrov.

You'd almost think some of them don't care. Which to be fair is probably the case.

The same players have let us down two seasons running, under four different managers. And while undoubtedly the manager needs to go, so do the majority of the 'senior pros'. None of this 'fresh page' talk from whoever the new manager is.

[WA Villan]

The senior players, Ginge close behind, followed by Faulkner for not telling Randy how it is and then Lerner for being a niave dickhead in squandering his daddy's money. Absolute shambles.

[pbavfckuwait]

Both

[not3bad]

The thing is it was the return of experienced pros that saw us safe last season, and was the reason for our improved performances against the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool at the end.

But now without Bent and Petrov and with the innefectiveness of the defence, and Gabby and Heskey, we're f*cked.

[N'ZMAV]

The fucking lot of them need their heads banging together.

[darren woolley]

I think the players and manager need to look at themselves.

[MarkM]

All of them

Owner, board, manager, trainers, players

Only the groundsmen come out with any credit this season, but perhaps we should make the VP pitch more crap in order to make it harder for teams to play on

[Rick_avfc]

I say a mixture of both but mainly the manager.  He has been the wrong appointment from day one and with the players we had, we should not have been in this position.  Im not saying we should have been in 8th position or anything but we should have been past the 40 point mark ages ago.  I have great sympathy for the younger players who have had to come in at a difficult time and as a result some fans have been getting ontheir backs which I think is out of order.  The more senior players need to take a long hard look at themselves for their performances at the start of the season and ask themselves why didnt they perform better.

[ROBBO]

Correct about senior players, we were woeful until they all came back from injury then went well at the end. Oh we had Ashley Young then as well.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Blandy Lerner has to take the majority of blame.

The Manager is a simpleton, but who put him there?

[steffo]

Manager 100%. Take a look at the noses team he sent down. Foster, Ridgewell, Johnson, Dann, Carr, Ferguson, Bowyer, Larson, Gardner, Zigic, Fahey, Jerome, Beausejour.

How many if any (Foster) would you start or even have in the Villa squad? He has started with a much better squad. Due to his negative and narrow tactics, we are where we are.

It was summed up last night. For once Zog gets to the byline, pulls the ball back, result is a goal. More of the same please, but no - he takes off Albrighton and puts him in the middle.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

In the end its neither.

Lerner is the owner, he hires and fires, he signs the cheques, he has the final say, he is the one there every day making decisions and telling us what is going on.

[Irish villain]

Our relegation fight is a symptom of bad ownership but the immediate reason for this squad's level of underachievement is the manager.

[royvilla949]

Manager 100%. Take a look at the noses team he sent down. Foster, Ridgewell, Johnson, Dann, Carr, Ferguson, Bowyer, Larson, Gardner, Zigic, Fahey, Jerome, Beausejour.

How many if any (Foster) would you start or even have in the Villa squad? He has started with a much better squad. Due to his negative and narrow tactics, we are where we are.

It was summed up last night. For once Zog gets to the byline, pulls the ball back, result is a goal. More of the same please, but no - he takes off Albrighton and puts him in the middle.

i agree totaly gingers fault