How do you feel about Alex McLeish being the next manager?

[PaulTheVillan]

If AMc then I'm going to have money on him not lasting the season. The pressure he'll be under from the fans will be unreal.

If he loses his first game then we'll be after his head.

[Outcast2006]

If he loses the first friendly actually we will be after his head.

[Rigadon]

I've actually come around a little bit to AM (I've even initialled his name look).

I think he might surprise some people in a good way but it would take a hell of a start to get the chance.

[Ger Regan]

I voted no, for the obvious reasons of not particularly rating him (and again, couldn't care less about the blues connection), but hypothetically, if he does have a good transfer window, that could easily get the fans on side, in the short term at least. Things were bloody low before the Bent signing, but that, along with the citeh win gave the place a real lift for a month or so. Which might be all the breathing space he would need. Not convinced he'd be a success at all, mind.

[PeterWithesShin]

He's definitely a Villa fan.

He treated the club like shit when he was a player here,

He had clinical depression, which you may or may not dismiss with a derisory "But he's a rich footballer, what has he got to be depressed about?" but the fact remains.

Having had personal experiences with people who have had varying levels of depression I have every sympathy for anyone who suffers from it.

But, it only seemed to effect him when he was at the club he "loves". If it was me in that in situation I would have made a statement of some kind to the fans to explain things etc, or asked to be paid less etc while I was contributing nothing to the club. He just carried on taking the money for doing nothing.

Plus, I remember him scoring for the dippers in front of the Holte and taking great delight goading us, a bit like he did to the Albion fans in the 3-0 cup game.

Villa fan my arse.

The mistake there is that you're assuming clinically depressed people always think rationally.

They very frequently don't

I know they don't, I know of people who have literally lost everything because of depression. Their homes, self respect, possessions, everything. It took every ounce of effort for them to be in a position where they are just around today. But in every case they didn't have the potential support network someone in collymore's position would have or the resources to get the help they needed to prevent things getting that bad.
Just having money etc is in no way a guarantee depression won't strike, although a major cause of it, it can be a relationship ending, a bereavement a mix of all or many other causes.

The statement comment I made for example, could have been one made years later, but i've never seen anything tangible from him that he's bothered about his time at VP.

The only evidence of his Villa support is now, when it's benefiting his career. Amazing how it was often him covering our European games on 5, or now the go to Villa "expert" on talkshite.

And as I said about the Liverpool incident, can you imagine Taylor scoring against us in front of the Holte and going to the Holte and standing there facing us arms raised gloating?

[russon]

If AMc then I'm going to have money on him not lasting the season. The pressure he'll be under from the fans will be unreal.

If he loses his first game then we'll be after his head.

then choose not to call for his head, quite simple. How about we all grow up over this and rise above BCFC and all who sail or have sailed in her

[Ger Regan]

then choose not to call for his head, quite simple. How about we all grow up over this and rise above BCFC and all who sail or have sailed in her

If he does become manager, then I agree. It'll be counter-productive calling for him to be sacked straight away, and in any event, what makes anyone think they'd get it right the next time? Once he's here, he should be judged on his performance here (including signings, interviews, performance levels as well as results), and that alone.

I really don't think that the BCFC ist as big of an issue for people as you suggest though.

Again, I don't think he's the right man for the job based on past performances, but I won't be going on any marches or unfurling any banners too quickly into his tenure. I'll give him a reasonable amount of time to see if it might work, although I really doubt it will.

[PeterWithe]

Fuck that, starting a 'McLeish out' campaign before he actually gets here seems far more fun.

[Eigentor]

Answering the topic title, I will be disappointed that we didn't appoint someone better -- and slightly bemused that the board, settling for a candidate at McLeish' level didn't choose a less controversial candidate, like Chris Houghton.

Secondly, I would wonder why the board made such a bad choice:

1. Poor judgement and poor advice from outsiders?

2. Confusing finding the best candidate with finding the candidate that is easiest to work with? (Possibly only reason to consider McLeish ahead of Hughes and Benitez)

3. That they have drastically reduced their ambition?

[Ger Regan]

Answering the topic title, I will be disappointed that we didn't appoint someone better -- and slightly bemused that the board, settling for a candidate at McLeish' level didn't choose a less controversial candidate, like Chris Houghton.

Secondly, I would wonder why the board made such a bad choice:

1. Poor judgement and poor advice from outsiders?

2. Confusing finding the best candidate with finding the candidate that is easiest to work with? (Possibly only reason to consider McLeish ahead of Hughes and Benitez)

3. That they have drastically reduced their ambition?

3. can only really be considered after the transfer window. If we don't spend a decent amount of money, then it's quite possible, but until then I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

[The Situation]

I'm just scared what he'll do to the team leaving us in yet another relegation fight.

I really don't think I could handle another season like the one gonne by, it just wasn't healthy. Seriously.

I want the club re-installed with ambition. I want us up there challenging for the top 6 spots again, playing in Europe etc... Those were the fun times, those were the times which put a smile on our faces, those were the times of optimism where we believed we could actually achieve something we're striving for.

I like having star players like Downing , I don't want them taken away because our board hired a manager in a naive way.

[Eigentor]

Answering the topic title, I will be disappointed that we didn't appoint someone better -- and slightly bemused that the board, settling for a candidate at McLeish' level didn't choose a less controversial candidate, like Chris Houghton.

Secondly, I would wonder why the board made such a bad choice:

1. Poor judgement and poor advice from outsiders?

2. Confusing finding the best candidate with finding the candidate that is easiest to work with? (Possibly only reason to consider McLeish ahead of Hughes and Benitez)

3. That they have drastically reduced their ambition?

3. can only really be considered after the transfer window. If we don't spend a decent amount of money, then it's quite possible, but until then I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Tbh, I don't think 3. is the case at all. If McLeish is appointed, I believe it will be a combination of 1. and 2.

[pauliewalnuts]

If AMc then I'm going to have money on him not lasting the season. The pressure he'll be under from the fans will be unreal.

If he loses his first game then we'll be after his head.

then choose not to call for his head, quite simple. How about we all grow up over this and rise above BCFC and all who sail or have sailed in her

Because it isn't entirely about the fact he managed Blues.

Personally, I don't give a flying one he managed them. In fact, if he'd done really well there, I'd see the fact we were stealing him from them as a bonus.

It is the fact that his experience in the PL has consisted of getting relegated twice and playing some of the most dire, unadventurous football the league has seen for a long time.

[The Situation]

If he didn't get Blues relegated twice I don't think it'd seem as bad but I wouldn't exactly want him anyway. It probably wouldn't seem as bad though.

The two relegations just killed any sort of 'success' he had there. Lets put it bluntly, the Carling Cup was a fluke. Draw no-mark teams at home scraping past, get two teams below them in the league in the QF's and SF's at home and score the most unbelivable goal ever scored at Wembley in the 90'th minute.

Seriously, who the fuck appoints a manager who has relegated his team not only once... but twice!!

[KevinGage]

The B-lose connection is only an issue insofar as he would be coming directly from  them.

If-for the sake of argument- he had rebuilt his career somewhere else for a few years and then came to us I wouldn't be dead against it.

But his recent record (taken over the last three/four years) has largely been dire. Two relegations, his signings at B-lose and the style of play he implemented there should be the main reasons at to why he is nowhere near consideration for a job like the Villa.