Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: villa for life on April 09, 2012, 01:56:02 PM
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There's so much criticism of managers and players these days, I was wondering when it was that the last player or manager had our full support. I came up with Paul McGrath as the natural choice and then wondered if he had been playing in the age of the internet, with every kick being analysed etc, whether some on here would also have found him wanting in some if not several areas. MON had loads of critics, Houllier did, McLeish does. Downing had loads, Young was criticised for going to ground to easily, crossing awfully and being awful at dead ball situations. We said Barry was fat and slow etc, the list goes on.... How about Milner, maybe him??! He was pretty much praised all round, oh..hang on, no several people said that with Ireland we were getting twice the player....Is there someone out there who has had our wholehearted support, and if so did they come before the onset of villa fanzines and chatrooms etc, someone like Ian Taylor? Also, are other fans as fickle or critical? Do Man U mans slate Rooney and Everton fans Rodwell? Do Stoke fans say Crouch is shit and QPR fans say Barton is a waste of space?
Is it us?
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It's the nature of humans. No matter how good we have it, we always want more.
That said, I think we've actually been a pretty reasonable and hopeful lot over the last few years. However, perhaps we are guilty of only recognising what we have when we've lost it (not MON - the Emperor's lack of clothes has been exposed over time there, but perhaps with some players and even GH, to be recent about it).
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I can't ever remember moaning about Barry, Milner or even Downing.
They had off days but mostly played well.
Managers get more stick as the buck stops with them, a decent player can get away with a few shit games if the team are doing well and winning, the Manager can't as it means almost certain defeat if he makes shit decisions and plays negative football.
As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.
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I think we do a lot of face saving, saying we get twice the player in Ireland for Milner is plainly bollocks, but it does help us feel better about losing our best player for the second year running. Same with Young and Downing.
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As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.
Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year
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As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.
Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year
I agree too. There's plenty of anti McLeish feeling at the ground but it has hardly ever resulted in mass displays of dissatisfaction.
Houllier, who had a far more modern outlook and has forgotten more than McLose has ever known about management, got the banner treatment far earlier.
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Houllier got hounded though because he openly had more feelings for Liverpool than he did us. McLeish may have not produced the kind of football most would want to see, but he has never had a bad word to say about Aston Villa, quite the opposite. Despite his limitaitons, McLeish is clearly aware of how big a club we are and our tradition.
RVB - Are you serious you can't remember Downing being criticised. Go back a few hundred pages and he was being called all manner of names related to how spineless he was, and for that matter, what a silly fool MON was for buying such a crock.
I am genuinely interested whether other fans are as critical of their staff as we are of ours.
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As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.
Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year
I think its so self evidently obvious and universally accepted that Mcleish is crap that if you shouted abuse your preaching to the converted.
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RVB - Are you serious you can't remember Downing being criticised. Go back a few hundred pages and he was being called all manner of names related to how spineless he was, and for that matter, what a silly fool MON was for buying such a crock.
I am genuinely interested whether other fans are as critical of their staff as we are of ours.
Of course they are.
Take a look at RAWK and gauge some of their opinions of the same player you mention above if you want an idea of that.
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RVB - Are you serious you can't remember Downing being criticised. Go back a few hundred pages and he was being called all manner of names related to how spineless he was, and for that matter, what a silly fool MON was for buying such a crock.
Sorry, I was referring to me, not the fanbase in general.
I always felt he'd come good after his slow start and he was arguably our best player last term.
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Most rational people have not criticised McLeish for the sake of it. He's a good, honest man, who has only ever said good things about the club and generally the opportunity in front of him. However, he has done himself no favours at all with some of his tactical/playing decisions this season. It's pushed those same rational people to the edge of despair at times. I know I include myself in that (ok, the despair bit anyway ;))
I don't care about his past. I only care about what he does for us, and I have given him every opportunity to prove himself to be the right man. I haven't completely given up on him either as I genuinely believe that a manager should have the chance to build his own squad, plus there are internal playing members that are bad influences that need to purged out of the system.
That all said, it's for him to prove the doubters wrong, not for us to be lenient on him. I think for the most part he's had it relatively easy. There will always be those that hate him. Did so from the start, never gave him a chance and will never do so. That's fine. But most people have been balanced and are just being pushed to their limits.
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Houllier got hounded though because he openly had more feelings for Liverpool than he did us. McLeish may have not produced the kind of football most would want to see, but he has never had a bad word to say about Aston Villa, quite the opposite. Despite his limitaitons, McLeish is clearly aware of how big a club we are and our tradition.
Even McLeish must realise any reference to his former employers would likely result in a lynching by some of our less enlightened followers
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As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.
Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year
I agree too. There's plenty of anti McLeish feeling at the ground but it has hardly ever resulted in mass displays of dissatisfaction.
Houllier, who had a far more modern outlook and has forgotten more than McLose has ever known about management, got the banner treatment far earlier.
Indeed. I think the better question is are we critical enough?
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No. We pay lot of money to watch so being critical comes with the ticket.
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As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.
Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year
I agree too. There's plenty of anti McLeish feeling at the ground but it has hardly ever resulted in mass displays of dissatisfaction.
Houllier, who had a far more modern outlook and has forgotten more than McLose has ever known about management, got the banner treatment far earlier.
Indeed. I think the better question is are we critical enough?
I think we are trying to find the line between rightly voicing negative opinions about an awful manager, and not looking like small time, "hate him cos he's Blues" dickheads, which the media are gagging for
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No. We pay lot of money to watch so being critical comes with the ticket.
I don't think it does. I think on most of the literature it says come and support the team. If you went to the theatre and didn't like what you saw would you shout abuse or just get up and leave in a civilised manner. I think the message gets out across. I for my season ticket for me and my 2 lads and the rule is never ever boo and encourage in every respect that we can. As doentodays match. My appendix decided they wanted to come out this morning but other than that it is support all the way!
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Football isn't the same as going to the theatre, though, so that argument is a bit flawed.
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Houllier. Not my cup of tea. Had put the loser out of my mind.
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NO!!
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Q: Are we to critical.
How, how can we possible be to critical, points is we are not critical enough.
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Football isn't the same as going to the theatre, though, so that argument is a bit flawed.
maybe paulie. I just hate negativity in the ground.
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My criticism of Mcleish is that he has artificially lowered expectations. I feel certain that at that meeting in corsica he persuaded Randy we were certain to go down this season, and anything else would be a success. He has persuaded the players that a defensive draw is the best they can hope for. He has confected an air of crisis to insulate himself from blame. I support the club and support the team and want to support the manager but he makes it so hard when he is so pessimistic. I just don't believe we're as bad as he thinks.
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My criticism of Mcleish is that he has artificially lowered expectations. I feel certain that at that meeting in corsica he persuaded Randy we were certain to go down this season, and anything else would be a success. He has persuaded the players that a defensive draw is the best they can hope for. He has confected an air of crisis to insulate himself from blame. I support the club and support the team and want to support the manager but he makes it so hard when he is so pessimistic. I just don't believe we're as bad as he thinks.
Well said.
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Houllier was hounded on here. As have many, if not all managers.
Houllier tried to change the style of one dimensional MON and got criticised by the aloof footballing geniuses we have on here.
The reality is, he identified our inability to defend for 90 minutes nor set pieces and called the team in for twice daily training. The players who needed the additional coaching, Primarily Dunne and Collins were most notably the most vocal from the squad in their resistance. Low and behold, the current manager in his attempts to get the same most vocal players in the squad has been let down by the same players.
Let's no let that cloud reality though, Houllier is now seen as visionary!
I even read on here about Makoun being an answer to some of our problems from the same tactical genius's that frequent the board that were overly critical about the experienced CL player.
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I liked Houllier.
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They're only opinions, Bobby. Don't take them too personally.
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not critical enough after the last two seasons.
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Houllier was hounded on here. As have many, if not all managers.
Houllier tried to change the style of one dimensional MON and got criticised by the aloof footballing geniuses we have on here.
The reality is, he identified our inability to defend for 90 minutes nor set pieces and called the team in for twice daily training. The players who needed the additional coaching, Primarily Dunne and Collins were most notably the most vocal from the squad in their resistance. Low and behold, the current manager in his attempts to get the same most vocal players in the squad has been let down by the same players.
Let's no let that cloud reality though, Houllier is now seen as visionary!
I even read on here about Makoun being an answer to some of our problems from the same tactical genius's that frequent the board that were overly critical about the experienced CL player.
Houllier was not hounded on here at all. He was rightly criticised for first of all his ability to put his foot in his mouth at every available opportunity and secondly for not sorting out our defence which constantly let down the rest of the team. I was worried last year at the results but the attacking football was light years away from anything O'Neill could have summoned up and was in a different galaxy to anything Mcleish will ever be able to deliver. As numerous people have said he was the right man for DoF where he could influence styles of play and development. I'd have him back in that role tomorrow.
As for your point about Makoun, sorry it doesn't make sense.
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I liked Houllier.
I didn't after Liverpool or Man City. In my weaker moments I did think he genuinely had a plan that could have taken forward. With the incumbent useless article I only think his plan will bring us at best boredom and at worst the gut wrenching misery of relegation.
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The Liverpool incident didn't actually bother me that much. The surrender against Money City really pissed me off though. I think he saw the bigger picture and could have moved us on to better things. There's no way we'd be in the situation we are now if he was still in charge.
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The Liverpool incident didn't actually bother me that much. The surrender against Money City really pissed me off though. I think he saw the bigger picture and could have moved us on to better things. There's no way we'd be in the situation we are now if he was still in charge.
Is the right answer. In getting rid of him Lerner was playing to the crowd, playing the look at me and what big balls I've got, done entirely for the benefit of the boo boys who weren't happy at the Liverpool and Man City incidents. I was pretty pissed off myself at those incidents but I was willing to give the guy a chance and see what the summer would bring.
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Unfortunately, his health issues dictated otherwise.
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The Liverpool incident didn't actually bother me that much. The surrender against Money City really pissed me off though. I think he saw the bigger picture and could have moved us on to better things. There's no way we'd be in the situation we are now if he was still in charge.
I agree. The parallels with Moscow were annoying, but I couldn't quite blame him for having a soft spot for a club which he clearly felt for (even though he went massively OTT, but that is Houllier). He was taking us somewhere, laying the groundwork for a modern, attractive, progressive club. The difference between then and now is so stark as to begger belief.
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No. The guy is clueless.
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As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.
Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year
In fairness I'd say we had a much better team, with far fewer injures.
And yes, we are far too critical, and it annoys me greatly.
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I am more worried about the apathy, what is said on here is irrelevant compared to the faithfull trudging up to Villa Park accepting thier lot and trudging home again, every week the number of trudgers gets less.
Now that is really worrying.
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Agreed on the apathy. I think apathy is more dangerous than anger as at least anger shows you still care. The people who have lost interest will be far more difficult to get back than those who have stopped going because they don't like McLeish or the direction the club has taken.
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As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.
Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year
In fairness I'd say we had a much better team, with far fewer injures.
And yes, we are far too critical, and it annoys me greatly.
We had the worst injury list I can remember any team ever having at one point last season.
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There are plenty around me in the ground who never stop moaning. If one of our players make a desperate clearance off the line, they whinge if it doesn't turn out to be an inch perfect pass to our nearest player.
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The old Houller vs. McLeish question: Results are very much the same. Houllier had better players. McLeish the benefit of a complete pre-season and not having to deal with the immediate turmoil created by MON's exit.
For me, Houllier at least (seemingly) had a plan. I don't know if he would have been able to carry it out. But he had an idea of how he wanted the team to play, what kind of players he needed to get the team playing that way, and what they needed to do in training to progress towards that aim.
McLeish just seems to be clueless. I don't mean that (necessarily) in a "oh, my God, he's shit" kind of way. Just that he doesn't seem to really know how his team should play. Only that they should do their best and scrap for points. And that's what we do: scrap for points. And that's probably what we'll continue to do if McLeish stays in charge: scrap for points. It's hard to get excited about that.
With Houllier it was at least possible to believe that we might be going somewhere. Even if it was just a pipe dream.
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I liked Houllier.
I did too. It was a shame the illness saw him off. The football was good and he wouldn't have pandered to the likes of Dunne Collins et al in the long term. He could have completely changed outlook of club, not just team. He just made enemies too quickly!
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Not at all, and I agree with the above it's more apathy now. The owner doesn't appear to care, and everyone knows what will happen in every game we play. We either go behind and lose or we take the lead and then sit back until the oppostion equalises. It's mindnumbingly predictable.
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I too was a big Houllier fan and was willing to give him more time as he was changing things at the club. I strongly believe we would have been playing the sort of football that everyone wants to see - attacking, possession football. I also believe he would have developed our youth players into more technical minded players, the kind that think while on the ball and make the right runs etc.
The whole Liverpool thing didnt really bother me. I was a little bit annoyed about the man city game but i think he wanted us to be safe in the league first before challenging for a cup.
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No we are not too critical - we care about the club and are hurting seeing the present state of things , we will be here long after the likes of lerner, mcleish and the players have gone.
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The Liverpool incident didn't actually bother me that much. The surrender against Money City really pissed me off though. I think he saw the bigger picture and could have moved us on to better things. There's no way we'd be in the situation we are now if he was still in charge.
Is the right answer. In getting rid of him Lerner was playing to the crowd, playing the look at me and what big balls I've got, done entirely for the benefit of the boo boys who weren't happy at the Liverpool and Man City incidents I was pretty pissed off myself at those incidents but I was willing to give the guy a chance and see what the summer would bring.
That's not true, though, is it?
The bloke spent the latter end of the season in hospital for a serious heart condition, which was the cause of his departure.
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The most worrying thing yesterday was the total apathy amongst supporters.
A resignation that's disturbing.
The general mood seems to be 'We're shit, we're staying shit so we're just going to have to put up with it. McLeish is going nowhere and the chairman simply doesn't care anymore.'
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I dont think we or should I say I, am being too critical. Ive always said that i'd be happy with a midtable finish as we are in a transition and believed that the squad we had/have was enough to acheive that. We are playing poor, poor football and most of the times, we are hoping the teams below us mess up to save us. I think Mcleish is out of his depth here and should walk but he wont.
Villa park yesterday was the quietest it has been all season not to mention the lowest attendance as well. This is probably a sign of things to come under the current regime
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The most worrying thing yesterday was the total apathy amongst supporters.
A resignation that's disturbing.
The general mood seems to be 'We're shit, we're staying shit so we're just going to have to put up with it. McLeish is going nowhere and the chairman simply doesn't care anymore.'
I'd say that's pretty much bang on. I wonder if there are many clubs with more apathetic/disappointed fans than ours at the moment. This decline is completely board driven and they really don't have a clue.
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Even Lawrenson acknowledged the mood of supporters on MOTD last night, saying the fans are getting 'disaffected' with the club
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The Liverpool incident didn't actually bother me that much. The surrender against Money City really pissed me off though. I think he saw the bigger picture and could have moved us on to better things. There's no way we'd be in the situation we are now if he was still in charge.
Is the right answer. In getting rid of him Lerner was playing to the crowd, playing the look at me and what big balls I've got, done entirely for the benefit of the boo boys who weren't happy at the Liverpool and Man City incidents I was pretty pissed off myself at those incidents but I was willing to give the guy a chance and see what the summer would bring.
That's not true, though, is it?
The bloke spent the latter end of the season in hospital for a serious heart condition, which was the cause of his departure.
Fair point paulie, I suppose what I'm trying to say is Lerner acted in haste in removing him completely when a move upstairs to carry on his work may, admittedly in hindsight, have helped maintain some continuity. That said there's no guarantee it would have worked or been a success especially if they'd carried on and appointed McLeish.
I suppose another one to mark down under the "what might have been...."
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How can we be too critical, considering the situation we are in?
The football's awful and insipid, the club is going nowhere, the manager is staying, crowds are falling. We'll stay up this season because the teams below us are even worse.
If we can't be unhappy at this, when can we?
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The Liverpool incident didn't actually bother me that much. The surrender against Money City really pissed me off though. I think he saw the bigger picture and could have moved us on to better things. There's no way we'd be in the situation we are now if he was still in charge.
Is the right answer. In getting rid of him Lerner was playing to the crowd, playing the look at me and what big balls I've got, done entirely for the benefit of the boo boys who weren't happy at the Liverpool and Man City incidents I was pretty pissed off myself at those incidents but I was willing to give the guy a chance and see what the summer would bring.
That's not true, though, is it?
The bloke spent the latter end of the season in hospital for a serious heart condition, which was the cause of his departure.
Fair point paulie, I suppose what I'm trying to say is Lerner acted in haste in removing him completely when a move upstairs to carry on his work may, admittedly in hindsight, have helped maintain some continuity. That said there's no guarantee it would have worked or been a success especially if they'd carried on and appointed McLeish.
I suppose another one to mark down under the "what might have been...."
I'd have been happy for Houllier to take an upstairs role, but the bigger question is would Houllier? It's not as easy as saying Randy should have offered him it, especially when you consider he left a similar job in France as he wanted to return to front line management.
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Ultimately I feel sorry for Houllier. After a difficult season the fruits of his labours we beginning to come through, but his health problems made the prolongation of his tenure impossible. That must have been hard to take, but seeing what's happening at the club now, with that work essentially having been all for nothing - well, I would love to ask GH what he thinks now.
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How can we be too critical, considering the situation we are in?
The football's awful and insipid, the club is going nowhere, the manager is staying, crowds are falling. We'll stay up this season because the teams below us are even worse.
If we can't be unhappy at this, when can we?
One home win in five months. FIVE MONTHS.
The board and McLeish deserve every criticism thrown at them.
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My criticism of Mcleish is that he has artificially lowered expectations. I feel certain that at that meeting in corsica he persuaded Randy we were certain to go down this season, and anything else would be a success. He has persuaded the players that a defensive draw is the best they can hope for. He has confected an air of crisis to insulate himself from blame. I support the club and support the team and want to support the manager but he makes it so hard when he is so pessimistic. I just don't believe we're as bad as he thinks.
100% nail hit on head - very well put
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My criticism of Mcleish is that he has artificially lowered expectations. I feel certain that at that meeting in corsica he persuaded Randy we were certain to go down this season, and anything else would be a success. He has persuaded the players that a defensive draw is the best they can hope for. He has confected an air of crisis to insulate himself from blame. I support the club and support the team and want to support the manager but he makes it so hard when he is so pessimistic. I just don't believe we're as bad as he thinks.
100% nail hit on head - very well put
Say what you like about his outlook, he inherited a team that had just finished 9th, then had to sell his two most creative players and recuce the wage bill.
Maybe not a crisis, but definately a challenging set of working conditions.
Hence why I'm slower than some to put the boot in, as from a purely results perspective we shouldn't expect to be too many more places up the league.
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My criticism of Mcleish is that he has artificially lowered expectations. I feel certain that at that meeting in corsica he persuaded Randy we were certain to go down this season, and anything else would be a success. He has persuaded the players that a defensive draw is the best they can hope for. He has confected an air of crisis to insulate himself from blame. I support the club and support the team and want to support the manager but he makes it so hard when he is so pessimistic. I just don't believe we're as bad as he thinks.
100% nail hit on head - very well put
Say what you like about his outlook, he inherited a team that had just finished 9th, then had to sell his two most creative players and recuce the wage bill.
Maybe not a crisis, but definately a challenging set of working conditions.
Hence why I'm slower than some to put the boot in, as from a purely results perspective we shouldn't expect to be too many more places up the league.
I disagree entirely - when he joined, even with the loss of Downing and Young he had man for man a better squad than he had at Blues yet over time he has transformed us into them. He has made the better players worse and unless we get a good coach in with some bottle and some tactical nous the great crop of youngsters will not progress with him at the helm.
When Weinmann scored that great goal on Monday i turned to a colleage and jokingly said "dont worry he will soon coach that out of him"
I cannot think of one player under his reign that has improved as a footballer - FFS he cannot even play them in the right positions to give them a chance
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I disagree entirely - when he joined, even with the loss of Downing and Young he had man for man a better squad than he had at Blues yet over time he has transformed us into them. He has made the better players worse and unless we get a good coach in with some bottle and some tactical nous the great crop of youngsters will not progress with him at the helm.
When Weinmann scored that great goal on Monday i turned to a colleage and jokingly said "dont worry he will soon coach that out of him"
I cannot think of one player under his reign that has improved as a footballer - FFS he cannot even play them in the right positions to give them a chance
I think Herd has improved this season, whether or not AM had anything to do with that we can all decide for ourselves.
I'm not defending the job he has done, I also think he's been poor, but I will take that into context with the mandate he was handed by Randy. I do think that if he's given the money to give the defemce a much needed revamp we'll see a better Villa team from him. Not hugely entertaining, but more competitive and safer in the league.
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When the final whistle went last night, the reaction of pretty much every Villa fan was to sigh in resignation, as we'd thrown away two points at home to Stoke.
The reaction of the Aston Villa manager was to smile, clench a fist and wave excitedly at someone in the Trinity posh seats. He'd done well to hold on to a point at home to Stoke, he thought.
That comparison shows very well the problem with McLeish, and the reason he gets so much criticism.
Damon's point about lowering expectations is spot on.
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The most worrying thing yesterday was the total apathy amongst supporters.
A resignation that's disturbing.
The general mood seems to be 'We're shit, we're staying shit so we're just going to have to put up with it. McLeish is going nowhere and the chairman simply doesn't care anymore.'
Which is why thousands obviously thought "bollocks to this, I'll stay at home or go shopping instead."
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No, not at all - this season anyway.
Last season, yes - fans were WAY too critical of Houllier. The guy had from Sept - Jan before fans turned on him, no pre-season, only 1 transfer window and look who he bought in. Ok, the Anfield thing was annoying, and the man.city cup game was extremely poor to just give up, but i was still willing to look past it as on the whole, we looked to have a plan in how to play possesion football.
I'd kill to have Houllier back now (even with his dodgy ticker). He identified the trouble makers in Dunne, Collins, Warnock etc and would've shipped them out and started from scratch. Yes we wouldnt have Ireland, he'd probably either be rotting in the stiffs or wouldve been sold, but we would've had Makoun & Cabaye playing in CM and who ever else he would've looked to bring in.
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As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.
Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year
I agree too. There's plenty of anti McLeish feeling at the ground but it has hardly ever resulted in mass displays of dissatisfaction.
Houllier, who had a far more modern outlook and has forgotten more than McLose has ever known about management, got the banner treatment far earlier.
Mass demo.....when and where..... not that i am asking anyone to start one just before I get slagged off again.
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My criticism of Mcleish is that he has artificially lowered expectations. I feel certain that at that meeting in corsica he persuaded Randy we were certain to go down this season, and anything else would be a success. He has persuaded the players that a defensive draw is the best they can hope for. He has confected an air of crisis to insulate himself from blame. I support the club and support the team and want to support the manager but he makes it so hard when he is so pessimistic. I just don't believe we're as bad as he thinks.
100% nail hit on head - very well put
Say what you like about his outlook, he inherited a team that had just finished 9th, then had to sell his two most creative players and recuce the wage bill.
Maybe not a crisis, but definately a challenging set of working conditions.
Hence why I'm slower than some to put the boot in, as from a purely results perspective we shouldn't expect to be too many more places up the league.
I agree with everything you said.. including results...
However I expect there t be fight and passion and at least be trying too win games
I was embarrassed yesterday... there was no desire to attack and stoke are awful!
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I dont think we or should I say I, am being too critical. Ive always said that i'd be happy with a midtable finish as we are in a transition and believed that the squad we had/have was enough to acheive that. We are playing poor, poor football and most of the times, we are hoping the teams below us mess up to save us. I think Mcleish is out of his depth here and should walk but he wont.
Villa park yesterday was the quietest it has been all season not to mention the lowest attendance as well. This is probably a sign of things to come under the current regime
We only actually got behind the team once, think it was first half and created an atmosphere, other than that there wasnt anything...
http://www.epltalk.com/top-20-loudest-football-grounds-in-premier-league-31551 last year we were 3rd loudest despite people getting on Houlliers back...
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I think what’s so sad about this season is that the trust between the board and the fans has been shattered and there’s a growing belief that the board simply don’t give a sh*t about the fans, just correcting the financial mistakes that they allowed to occur.
I recall a comment from Lerner talking of merely being a custodian to this institution; it’s a comment that really resonated with me as it spoke of a man of integrity who understood Aston Villa and not some rich millionaire looking for a slice of the action. Sadly the course of this season has served to remove much of the sentiment behind the statement. If they fail to remove McLeish and prompt swaths of Villa fans to desert the club next season, then the statement will truly look like the rhetoric of a man eager to please at first, but who has shown his true colours over time.
There’s no doubt that last season, we were overly critical but I honestly think that this season we have been remarkably restrained at VP, given what we’ve had to put up with. Certainly were it Deadly still in charge, the torches and pitchforks would have been on full display. What is currently apathy and numbness will simply be transferred to more empty seats come the beginning of next season.
If the board truly believe that it is a small price to pay for their stubbornness to stick to pig headed decisions, then they will certainly have lost me until something is done, because no matter how deep my love for Villa is, I will not be treated like an ignorant supporter by an owner who has forgotten that he’s running a football club, driven by the passion of loyal supporter and not some faceless American corporation.