Who Should be Aston Villa Manager ? Now with new, revised poll

[eamonn]

Reyes is shite anyway...

Does this mean Roy Aitken will return to Villa? How odd will that feel for him? (Actually, I've just read that he joined Dolly out in the middle east last year).

[ozzjim]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Aston-Villa-news-Quique-Sanchez-Flores-who-lead-Atletico-Madrid-to-Europa-League-triumph-2010-wants-job-if-fan-anger-keeps-Alex-McLeish-out-article747872.html

This just makes it all the more baffling 

If we turn down Flores for ANYONE else we've been linked with, we've already failed.

Very sad if true.

[caster troy]

The big question for me now is, will I get a refund? £550 quid I haven't got, paid out of blind loyalty, thinking that we would get at least a half decent manager and they go and do this?

I feel so let down it's untrue.

Fair play to those who are still going to go down, but I just can't face it or justify the expense. If I can't even look forward to the games, what is the point?

[roblivion51]

Is it just me or has the whole saga of the last few weeks been all about showing villa fans that they will never be pleased?

Take Houllier. Who chose to have him at the helm? Very few people, I'm sure. If I remember correctly, there was a lot of opposition to him taking the job as manager of the mighty AVFC. After a few matches in charge he was far from loved by the fans. 

Maybe this was fair enough. I can't really say I was his biggest fan either and the results were far from those that we expected. 

Then the end of the season comes round, Houllier was taken ill and I would think that I wasn't the only one that was calling for the club to let him go. And they ultimately did. 

Then the search for a manager began, as would be expected. 

Clearly Gary McAllister couldn't be considered, he's far too inexperienced. 

So a shortlist was drawn up. Rafa, Hughes and Schteve?! What kind of shortlist is this?!

Nobody wants Rafa, he only won anything at Liverpool with Houllier's team, and besides-he wants money to spend. No. 

Hughes? Well I can't really say that I've been on this site frequently enough recently to fathom why he wasn't considered more strongly, but I'm going to presume that there were reasons there. 

Schteve? Don't be ridiculous! He failed massively as England manager so who can forgive that?! (For the record I was in the same camp).

Moyes and Ancelotti were clearly coming nowhere near. 

So, that left Martinez. Who wanted Martinez when they first heard that news?! I'm being serious here. When I first heard that I thought it was ridiculous. First and foremost, he was under contract for Christ's sake. At a second rate club! He'd done a good job at Swansea (who continued on their promotion trail without him) and he saved Wigan from relegation (just about, when there were worse teams in the division), but big woop. He was not a big enough name to manage villa. 

Rijkaard. Now we're talking! At least we are if you believe the fed tops that have sod all else to write about, but if he was genuinely interested, surely he'd have at least been interviewed? Right?

So then McLeish resigns. And immediately we're linked. Just as quickly the backlash begins. 

Now, I'm not saying that I'm not amongst those who would rather see Jozef Venglos back at VP than to bring in a dour, boring, bluenose shitebag who has been at the pinnacle of every villa fan's hate list for the past four years, but there is part of me that wonders if we would ever be pleased with the appointment of a new manager. 

MON had his faults, but in comparison with the alternatives, he was a bloody god. How we managed to bag him was beyond me at the time, but for 4 years we enjoyed the success that he brought with him (although some bright spark has changed his wiki page to say he managed Blose for that spell, bravo). To expect a similar calibre of manager is probably a bit too much. 

And I do wonder if Randy isn't teaching us a lesson by refusing McLaren to bring us McLeish...

[Holte L2]

Welcome to the best club in the world, Alex.

I for one like you and think you'll be a success.

Well done to the board too.

Competely agree. Now lets get back to the football.

[maidstonevillain]

McLeish and the General have not in any way deserved the very personal abuse they've received from some people on here and on other sites. It's completely uncalled for. This is about a football manager. McLeish isn't a child molester or rapist, yet some of the vitriol was incredible. Everyone is entitled to an opinion on who should be manager of our club, something that we are very passionate about. But when it's uncontrolled it's pure aggression, and this isn't a topic that should ever make any of us that upset or angry. I'll only ever get that way when somebody hurts my family or friends. Not about football.

You don't have to like the appointment. I'm not a fan of it. But, I'll give him a chance to have his say, and take on the task of making us successful. He knows what he's walking into, and he'll already have a thick skin having managed one of the Old Firm. I wish him the very best as our manager and hope that we look back on this episode embarrased because it went so well.

Well said mate.

Can I add to that. I am not happy with the appointment, but that is not AM's fault. He has always struck me as good, genuine, and likeable bloke, who will do his utmost to be successful.  You have to applaud him for taking oin the job in the face of the vitriol he is receiving from the noisy minority. I am coming round to the view that he is the best available, and it might work. As my Bruv just texted me, at least he only paid £2m for Curtis Davies.

[Chris Smith]

If rpast elegation ruled out a candidate then Spurs would not have appointed Redknapp. The reason many, not all, are so violently against him is his Small Heath history. I heard the R5 report on the protest earlier and they pointed out that although when asked everyone denied it they were singing anti Blues songs throughout.

I didn't want him but am prepared to give him a chance and well remember that 12 months ago many on here were talking him up after giving them their best ever finish. I get the impression that he's a decent man and well liked and respected within football. He might just surprise us.

[pauliewalnuts]

Isn't it stating the obvious to say that we hope he does well if he gets the job?

I've nothing against AM as a bloke, he seems likeable and erudite when I see him on telly. I just dont think he's done anything to suggest he should be our manager.

It's a bit of a cop out to suggest there is some massive movement against his character, or that he's being portrayed as a child murderer or something. He isn't.

He's being portrayed as not a good enough manager to be managing our club, and it's pretty hard to get away from that, because there's plenty of evidence it is true.

[villa-love]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Aston-Villa-news-Quique-Sanchez-Flores-who-lead-Atletico-Madrid-to-Europa-League-triumph-2010-wants-job-if-fan-anger-keeps-Alex-McLeish-out-article747872.html


Edit: Did not realise it had already been posted. Apologies.

[TopDeck113]

Yes it is true,  in a year or two we might have a banner on display stating 'In Randy and in Eck we trust'.

But then again...

[Arsey]

Mirror exclusive saying he's agreed 3 yr contract and is bringing his staff with him- wonder where that leaves Sid and co?

Apparently sids on his way out, along with all the other back room staff.  Quoted on 5 live today. Gonna cost Randy £20 mill for this deal to go through..or so the 5 live lot worked out?...

oh that was such a load of bollocks.  That was Pat Murphy making up figures.  He was going on the following:

x millions compensation to MON (undisclosed - and this has nothing to do with McLeish);

5mil compensation for Houllier (undisclosed but 5mil is clearly balls and again this has nothing to do with McLeish, Houllier was not able to return to the job);

5.4 to Blues in compensation (never going to happen, Villa had to pay off MON before he possibly won his constructive dismissal case, so McLeish must have a fair case too)

Compensation for any of the other coaching staff who need to be sacked (other than McAllister, I can not see it being much.  We should try to persuade Sid to stay!)

Wages for McLeish, he claimed would be considerably more than 2mil per year (this also does not account for the fact we have to pay someone to be manager)

Wages for new coaching staff (again I find it hard to believe they will cost anymore than what we would be paying the current coaching staff, especially McAllister).


So this could potentially cost us, some compensation to Blues and McAllister of note, 20million??? Fuck off Pat.

[Dave Cooper please]

The General has been on the board the last few nights, obviously to garner opinion, but hasn't seen fit to post.

Do you fucking blame him? He'd get pelters, despite it not actually being his decision in any way whatsoever to appoint any manager.

[caster troy]

Isn't it stating the obvious to say that we hope he does well if he gets the job?

I've nothing against AM as a bloke, he seems likeable and erudite when I see him on telly. I just dont think he's done anything to suggest he should be our manager.

It's a bit of a cop out to suggest there is some massive movement against his character, or that he's being portrayed as a child murderer or something. He isn't.

He's being portrayed as not a good enough manager to be managing our club, and it's pretty hard to get away from that, because there's plenty of evidence it is true.

Spot on, I hope he makes me rue my decision to stay away. The trouble is, on the balance of probabilities,  he won't. I imagine the first sign of trouble will see the fans turn on him and Randy and Villa Park will be a miserable place to be. I really hope I am wrong, and he is a huge success, but logically everything points towards him being a failure.

[dave.woodhall]

Can't we just give them Stephen Ireland and call it quits?

[Rudy Can't Fail]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Aston-Villa-news-Quique-Sanchez-Flores-who-lead-Atletico-Madrid-to-Europa-League-triumph-2010-wants-job-if-fan-anger-keeps-Alex-McLeish-out-article747872.html

This just makes it all the more baffling 

To me that's just The Mirror making up stuff to make us feel even worse.

I think we're getting McLeish because we've basically run out of candidates. Who's left, Chris Houghton, Curbs.. that's about it really.

Not only am I extremely disappointed that we've end up with McLeish, I'm disappointed that with such limited talent available for a 'PL experienced manager', we never considered a quality manager from outside the Premier League. Even if the Mirror article is bullshit, which is not necessarily the case, it does go to demonstrate that with a bit of creative thinking, a solid alternative could have been found. Bringing in somebody like Flores with Ayestaran alongside him would have reduced the risk of having no PL experience. It would have created a buzz around the club, it would have been a contination of where GH was trying to take us, basically into the 21st century.

Instead we're left with MON MKII without the honeymoon.