I think the biggest benefactor of the Mcleish appointment is Paul Lambert. Had he not followed McLeish I honestly believe the fans would have got Lambert the sack last season, most likely after the Christmas period. Personally i'm glad Lambert has been given the board's backing. As for Mcleish, always thought he was a good guy when he was at Blues but as a manager I don't rate him. The media put a large emphasis on his Blues connection as the reason he was unpopular at Villa and it's true there were fans who were anti McLeish because of this. However, had he been good at his job then I think even they would have been won over. I mean, does anyone care that Peter Withe played for Blues before us?