Warnock's trying to make himself even less popular...

[Lambert and Payne]

Whilst I'd like to blame mcleish for everything you can't blame him for individual errors, warnock speaks a lot of truth but It's a shame he didn't slam himself after QPR

He looked devasted, he rallied and had a good game after that, sometimes trying to hard

[Lambert and Payne]

I think he played well on Wednesday anyway, and I don't see a bit wrong with that! He's showing he's up- for the fight, it's put some fire in my belly and hopefull to the rest of them
Its time for everyone to stand up and be counted, lets make some noise and get behind the lads

[kingus]

I'm not sure I agree with him saying that it is up to the players when they get on the pitch. McLeish spends the whole game on the touchline, screaming at the players and pointing to where we thinks they should be - he doesn't let them get on with the job they have been paid to do, the job they have trained all week to do.  Sometime I think that the panic and indecision on the pitch is partly to do with the players not playing their natural game, and looking to McLeish for instruction.

[Boz]

Absolutely nothing wrong with what Warnock said.  The players are to blame for the loss for conceeding a sloppy penalty and then falling asleep for the 2nd bolton goal.  Im sorry but we should have been up 3-0 at half time with the game dead and buried.  Still hate mcleish though and his substitutions baffled me once again.

I'd agree with Warnock's comments as long as he includes himself in the mistakes he's made this season that cost Villa points.

What is McLeish's fault is his total ineptitude in the second half of games when other managers re-organise and McLeish has no plan to nullify their changes. Additionally, his substitute strategy beggars belief.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

From The Independent: Blah blah blah

Warnock manfully sought to deflect the criticism of McLeish on to the players. "It's our mistakes which have cost us, not the manager. He doesn't go to clear the ball and make a foul. That's our own individual errors and we need to learn from them," the midfielder said. "Now we need to go to West Brom with the belief that we can win. It's a must-win game, simple as that. Personally I feel we're not far off battering a team."

Like Mr Warnock, I too feel like I'm not far off battering a team.

[mr woo]

Or a manager.

[Monty]

I actually quite like Warnock, in spite of everything. I think he means well, and actually attempts to pass the ball properly from left back and midfield, which deserves credit for (even if he is too limited to always get it right!).

[WA Villan]

Who's to blame for the last 30 odd games then, and the other side in Birmingham getting relegated twice, was that the players as well. Mcleish is to blame for Blues and Villa and history will show that. I cannot believe that Mcleish has become a multi millionaire doing something so badly. It's absolute criminal.

[Martyn Smith]

It's no good blaming CC for that defeat. A team worthy of the c 'n' b should be seeing off a poor, relegation-bound Bolton at home with comfort, and should be able to afford one daft mistake...and the reason why we can't is down to the manager. He remains the one to blame, and it's with him that the buck stops.

[Martyn Smith]

From The Independent: Blah blah blah

Warnock manfully sought to deflect the criticism of McLeish on to the players. "It's our mistakes which have cost us, not the manager. He doesn't go to clear the ball and make a foul. That's our own individual errors and we need to learn from them," the midfielder said. "Now we need to go to West Brom with the belief that we can win. It's a must-win game, simple as that. Personally I feel we're not far off battering a team."

Like Mr Warnock, I too feel like I'm not far off battering a team.

Sorry, I don't think we could batter a piece of cod at the moment...

[villanic]

...by suggesting last night's defeat was King Carlos's fault, not McLeish's!

Aston Villa players are to blame - Stephen Warnock

Aston Villa left-back Stephen Warnock has backed under-fire manager Alex McLeish by blaming the players for Tuesday night's potentially costly 2-1 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers.

The match turned on a penalty conceded by Carlos Cuellar for his challenge on visiting midfielder Mark Davies.
But Warnock told BBC WM: "That's nothing to do with the manager.

"The lads have gone 1-0 up, are playing well and then an individual error gets them back into the game."

Bolton then instantly scored the winner, and Warnock, who had put Villa ahead just minutes earlier, admitted: "The lads have got to take the criticism.

"We're the ones on the pitch. The manager prepares us as best as he can for any game.[/b It doesn't matter whether it's Mourinho, Guardiola or any of the top managers, when you go out on the pitch it's down to the players."

Defeat by Bolton leaves Warnock's side just three points above the relegation zone, and the Liverpudlian - who came through a successful relegation battle with Blackburn Rovers three seasons ago - continued: "In this game, there's no time for inexperience and there's no time for learning. We've got to stand up and be counted.

"We need our experienced boys to rally the lads - we're in a massive battle now. It's the toughest battle these lads are ever going to face in their career and we've got to fight tooth and nail to get out of it. But it's one we're up for."

After Tuesday's game, Villa chairman Randy Lerner and chief executive Paul Faulkner insisted they were right behind manager McLeish.

"We will continue to support and rely on our manager and the squad and therefore give them our full support," they said.

But they admitted that "right now everyone connected with Villa is hurting badly", adding: "We very openly acknowledge the frustrations of Villa fans and share in them completely."

Villa are now only three points clear of 18th-placed Bolton, who have a game in hand.

And their last three matches are from easy for McLeish, whose final day relegation with Birmingham City was greeted with glee by Villa's fans 11 months ago.

Villa start with Saturday's crunch derby against major rivals West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.
McLeish's men then host Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park, where they have won just four times in the league this season, before finishing the season at Norwich.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17844075

Well that’s the problem, He’s best is not good enough.

[supertom]

I don't buy this from Warnock, nor every other time a players come out and said we need to be playing better for the manager etc. We keep on hearing it, but then we keep on getting shite.

For all McLeish's faults and there are many, why on Earth do our players, and they do, run around without seemingly a clue what the fuck they're doing? We look like headless chickens at times. Why would a professional player be happy to look like that? Our seniors on the most part have let us down badly this season and indeed last season. Overpaid wankers.

The kids have too much pressure on them, and they'll always make mistakes. We have been extremely sloppy at times though. The goals we shipped at Bolton were unacceptable. McLeish should tear the bloody dressing room apart for it. Unfortunately when the players do shite like that, and then it comes to McLeish to do something tactically to try to redress the balance, he's of course incompetent. It's just one big giant cluster fuck at Villa right now. The only player we have at the club who wears the arm band well and seems to have respect from the entire dressing room is Stan and fate dealt him and us a cruel blow. Gabby or Carlos aren't captain material. Collins and Dunne probably divide opinion in the dressing room. I don't think they're brilliant examples personally or professionally and they've both been mostly bollocks in the last two season's. Dunne's been okay at best this, but that's generous on him IMO.

[l_mckay]

Warnock hasnt said anything wrong to be fair just speaking the truth,and I though he played better in midfield on wednesday than he has at left back at anytime this season. showed some fight which is what we need in the next 3 games

[paul_e]

I don't buy this from Warnock, nor every other time a players come out and said we need to be playing better for the manager etc. We keep on hearing it, but then we keep on getting shite.

For all McLeish's faults and there are many, why on Earth do our players, and they do, run around without seemingly a clue what the fuck they're doing? We look like headless chickens at times. Why would a professional player be happy to look like that? Our seniors on the most part have let us down badly this season and indeed last season. Overpaid wankers.

The kids have too much pressure on them, and they'll always make mistakes. We have been extremely sloppy at times though. The goals we shipped at Bolton were unacceptable. McLeish should tear the bloody dressing room apart for it. Unfortunately when the players do shite like that, and then it comes to McLeish to do something tactically to try to redress the balance, he's of course incompetent. It's just one big giant cluster fuck at Villa right now. The only player we have at the club who wears the arm band well and seems to have respect from the entire dressing room is Stan and fate dealt him and us a cruel blow. Gabby or Carlos aren't captain material. Collins and Dunne probably divide opinion in the dressing room. I don't think they're brilliant examples personally or professionally and they've both been mostly bollocks in the last two season's. Dunne's been okay at best this, but that's generous on him IMO.

In all honesty Warnock is the one senior player in the squad (who's liable to play again this season) that I can accpet saying these things.  In the last month he's been the only one of them to stand up to be counted for me.  After the season he'd had until feb/mar it could've been easy for him to hide away and quietly leave in the summer but he's actually put himself about and provided a bit of drive to the team.  He'd be the captain for the next 3 games for me.

[Ad@m]

He's at it again - on Pravda now...

Stephen Warnock insists it is time for Villa's players to "stand up and be counted" as they look to put their Bolton frustration behind them with a positive result at West Bromwich Albion.

Warnock insists Saturday's big derby showdown at The Hawthorns cannot come soon enough as the claret and blues strive to pick up points in the battle for Barclays Premier League survival.

And the full-back, who netted in Tuesday night's defeat to the Trotters, reckons belief will play a massive part as Villa look to climb out of trouble.

"It's a real test of character and we have to stand up and be counted now," said Warnock.

"There's only myself, James and Emile who have been in this situation and it's not a nice situation to be in.

"We need fighters now. I wish the next game was tomorrow.

"We've got to regroup, take the positives out of the game, learn from the mistakes and hope that will be enough to get us the win on Saturday.

"It is a six pointer again against Albion, it's a huge game, it's a must-win game and we've got to go there and win, it's as simple as that.

"We need to go to West Brom with the belief that we can win the game."

Warnock admits Villa paid for their lack of cutting edge in front of goal, having dominated in the first-half against Bolton.

He said the manner in which they conceded the two goals was "not good enough."

"We were positive in the game, tried to attack and do the right things and I thought we did," he said.

"We created chances and getting the goal was great and you think we are going to go on and dominate the game and there looked like there was only one team going to win it.

"To concede the equaliser so quickly was very disappointing and we were made to pay.

"It's not good enough, simple as that.

"We created chance after chance in the first half and in the second half.

"I'm not having a go at the strikers because it's a team game, but we need to be more clinical in front of goal."

I reckon Carlos has had a word with him so now he's picking on Gabby!

I particularly liked this bit...

"There's only myself, James and Emile who have been in this situation and it's not a nice situation to be in.

And Alex, Stephen.  Alex is chock-full of experience with these situations!