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

[Louzie0]

From a positive point of view. AM seems to want the job, and if appointed Randy will back him. He must be confident he can succeed here, given the backlash that this has caused. I know that blues were dull under him (nothing new there) but with better players, then he can make it work.

. 


Balls of steel.  I've read it here and it is true so go for it, Alex.
Not going to bother with 'if appointed'.

[adrenachrome]

I will answer the question posed by this thread through the medium of song:

[switters]

adrenachrome

I'm drifting more towards the bereft disillusionment of 'People Ain't No Good'.

[KevinGage]

Legion, who's is good enough to take on the villa role?

Let's be realistic were not going to attract big names like Benitez or ancheloti because we simply haven't got the funds to invest in what they would want.

Mark Hughes would be my number 1 option now followed by moyes but I hear the later wouldn't be an option,

Apart from unrealistic big names who is good enough for Aston villa?

I wonder if it's that type of negativity or limited thinking that has gripped hold of the board.  Either that, or perhaps they contacted the usual suspects and they were initially interested - until they spoke to RL and Faulkner and were less than impressed.

Otherwise it just does not compute. We're very good at running ourselves down (and  I'm realistic enough to know that one European Cup win nearly 30 years ago doesn't give us a divine right to cherry pick the best managers) but I don't think it's delusional to suggest that the Villa job would -under normal circumstances- be a big draw. We're one of the bigger teams in the most popular league in the world, with a decent stadium, decent gates and -until recently- a go ahead board who have provided substantial resources with minimal interference.

Yet for some reason, we've embraced MON's myopic approach in looking to address the solution -  If they don't have Prem experience they're not good enough.

This means we'll discount plenty of talented individuals who have earned their stripes abroad and settle for a bloke who's experience of Prem management is made up of two relegations in three and a bit years. Yet -according to that statement issued- we think it would be unfair to discount him on the basis of his most recent experience, and won't hold that failure against him. The mind boggles.

I blame Barcelona for this "We must play wonderful football" malarky. I dont think I have ever seen Villa play particularly flowing football in my years watching them...

Odd, as your username contains a player who was part of a bright, attractive side in one of the most successful periods in the clubs history. We also had BFR's and Brian Little's sides who were entertaining in different ways.  Even GT's lot first time round could be pleasing on the eye with Sid pulling the strings and Daley skinning fullbacks. MON's side between 2007/08 scored 70+ goals in the league and provided plenty of entertainment.

That lot all pre date Barcelona 2011, so I'm not sure it's some new craze sweeping the nation -wanting a side who  increasingly cost a lot of money to watch actually look vaguely cohesive now and then.

I do know that quite a few B-lose fans were unimpressed with their side last year even pre relegation. Post relegation they were looking forward to him getting sacked so they could get a coach who might not stink the place out with dire defensive football.  If even the Heathens with their low standards couldn't accept it (despite the distraction of a new shiny tin pot), I'm not sure why we should.

In fact I'm pretty certain that we shouldn't. That doesn't mean I expect one touch Barca esque total football either. But there are many points in between that and Big Ecks anti football that might be a bit more palatable.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Just how spectacularly shit would you have to be as a manager to finish third in the SPL with Rangers?  A Big Eck level of shitness.

Not to mention 3 relegations, 1 Hibernian, 2 Blues.

Even Ellis wouldn't have appointed a Manager as shit as this.

It just proves that on footballing matters, this board haven't got a clue.

[itbrvilla]

Just how spectacularly shit would you have to be as a manager to finish third in the SPL with Rangers?  A Big Eck level of shitness.

Not to mention 3 relegations, 1 Hibernian, 2 Blues.

Even Ellis wouldn't have appointed a Manager as shit as this.

It just proves that on footballing matters, this board haven't got a clue.

You mustn't of seen the the Generals comments then.  He a proper amazing geezer just the right fit for us apparently.

[Dr Butler]

Just how spectacularly shit would you have to be as a manager to finish third in the SPL with Rangers?  A Big Eck level of shitness.

Not to mention 3 relegations, 1 Hibernian, 2 Blues.

Even Ellis wouldn't have appointed a Manager as shit as this.
It just proves that on footballing matters, this board haven't got a clue.

are you sure about this comment Rip ?  Billy McNeill took two teams down in one season if my memory is correct.

UTV
The Doc

[UsualSuspect]

Just how spectacularly shit would you have to be as a manager to finish third in the SPL with Rangers?  A Big Eck level of shitness.

Not to mention 3 relegations, 1 Hibernian, 2 Blues.

Even Ellis wouldn't have appointed a Manager as shit as this.

It just proves that on footballing matters, this board haven't got a clue.

100% correct

I mean when did the board know that Houllier was struggling health wise? March was it?

Why weren't they sounding people out behind the scenes then?

I think the board and RL are doing the whole AM thing partially out of spite to show that they are the one's running the club and it's all going to go tits up

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Just how spectacularly shit would you have to be as a manager to finish third in the SPL with Rangers?  A Big Eck level of shitness.

Not to mention 3 relegations, 1 Hibernian, 2 Blues.

Even Ellis wouldn't have appointed a Manager as shit as this.
It just proves that on footballing matters, this board haven't got a clue.

are you sure about this comment Rip ?  Billy McNeill took two teams down in one season if my memory is correct.

UTV
The Doc

A poor one, but i'd counter with Sir Graham, Ron and Brian Little.
To be fair, McNeill hadn't experienced relegation on 3 previous occasions, unlike Fucking Eck.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Just how spectacularly shit would you have to be as a manager to finish third in the SPL with Rangers?  A Big Eck level of shitness.

Not to mention 3 relegations, 1 Hibernian, 2 Blues.

Even Ellis wouldn't have appointed a Manager as shit as this.

It just proves that on footballing matters, this board haven't got a clue.

You mustn't of seen the the Generals comments then.  He a proper amazing geezer just the right fit for us apparently.

Aye.
I read the drivel about 'Other people in the game say he's good'

Well, they fucking would wouldn't they?
And it's hardly going to take any skin off Alex Fergusons red nose to say that an old mate would be a good choice for us.

The whole thing is a fucking farce.

[garyfouroaks]

An incredibly uncomfortable read in the Guardian today:


Never mind the ethics of Aston Villa admitting an interest in the suddenly available Alex McLeish, the bigger question is why a club that was knocking on the door of the top four a couple of years ago and has been providing several players for England all season is now setting its sights so low.


No disrespect to McLeish, who seems to be a fairly capable if rarely inspiring sort of manager, but relegation is not normally a passport to higher things. Not immediately anyway, and certainly not when the move is across the same city to your fiercest rivals.


If Villa had wanted to make an uncomplicated appointment by simply finding a manager who was available, they had their choice from Mark Hughes and Steve McClaren. Rafa Benítez may have turned them down, but had they moved quickly enough they could have had the Dudley-born Sam Allardyce, and while bringing in Big Sam would presumably have attracted the same sort of terrace grumbling that his appointment provoked at West Ham, Villa fans could not have known that a month or so later they would be contemplating Big Eck.


Had Villa wanted to approach a manager currently in employment they could have asked for permission to speak to Roy Hodgson, Owen Coyle or Mick McCarthy, all managers who either kept their clubs up on limited resources or performed quick results turnarounds. Instead they opted to try for David Moyes, which was understandable but unlikely, and then Roberto Martínez, which was slightly puzzling in view of the season Wigan have just had. Another goal here or there on the final day of the season and Martínez would have been in McLeish's position, relegated without even the Carling Cup as consolation. Martínez talks a good game and ticks every box as a young, ambitious manager with a clear view of how he wants the game to be played, but Wigan spent most of the season in the bottom three. Until that vital win at Stoke on the last day, Martínez had never seen his side record back-to-back league victories in two seasons as the Wigan manager.


So even had Martínez said yes to Villa – and few in the north-west really expected him to step outside the comfort zone of his two-man mutual admiration society with Dave Whelan – it would still have been a strange appointment for a side wanting to be in the top half of the table and then some. Stranger than McClaren, who would have had to win over hostile fans but at least has a track record of actual achievement in two different countries. And much stranger than Hughes, who seemed a perfect fit for a club of Villa's status until it became clear that together with his high-powered agent he would always be on the lookout for a higher station.


But then again, what exactly is Villa's status at the moment? They never quite looked convincing top four material even at the absolute height of Martin O'Neill's time in charge, and fell away quite drastically last season to the point where they had to pay over the odds for Darren Bent to score the goals that kept them up. They are now in the process of selling their best players, with Stewart Downing expected to follow Ashley Young out of the club, so most of O'Neill's good work is being undone and it does not sound as if the new manager will be handed a massive transfer budget with which to source replacements. True, there are some good young players and prospects at the club, such as Nathan Delfouneso and Marc Albrighton, but the lesson of the season just ended is that experienced professionals are required to form the core of a Premier League team, and Villa have just parted with the still reliable Brad Friedel and cannot expect too much more from grizzled veterans such as Richard Dunne and Emile Heskey.


All things considered, it is quite a mess, and one can see why managers established at other clubs are not leaping over themselves to put their names forward. Villa may have a splendid stadium and a huge fanbase, but in a real sense such things complicate the situation these days for what would once have been referred to a respectable, mid-table side. There is no such thing as mid-table respectability any more unless you are a club like Bolton, Stoke, Fulham or Blackburn, confidently punching above your weight and gaining your end-of-season satisfaction from staying well clear of the relegation zone and maybe the odd cup run or Wembley appearance. Clubs below that level, such as Wolves, Wigan and whoever happens to be promoted, generally know they will be in for a relegation scrap most seasons. For clubs above that level – Everton, Villa, Spurs and these days even Liverpool – the only thing to aim for is fourth place and the Champions League. Clearly not all of them can make it – most seasons none of them will make it – but the choice is a stark one between coasting in mid-table and risking fans being turned off by lack of ambition, or going all out for Champions League status without worrying about failure or financial consequence.


Villa are victims of this process as much as the risky appointment of Gérard Houllier as manager, which in turn was brought on by O'Neill walking out just days before the start of last season. If O'Neill's grievance was about good players being sold with insufficient funds for replacements, the situation does not appear to have altered much in 12 months. The underlying cause is that Villa will never be able to keep hold of their best players, or attract the top tier of new ones, until they establish themselves as a Champions League force, or at least send out a convincing signal that they are about to give it a good try. That's what Spurs did, but even then it only worked for a season. That's the danger, particularly when you have Manchester City and their money to factor into the equation. But at least Spurs gave it a good go, delighted their fans for a season, and are in a slightly better position than they were to repeat the exercise in the near future.


Everton made the top four once, only to fall at the first hurdle in Europe due to an unfavourable qualifying round draw that pitted them against the eventual semi-finalists in Villarreal, and are too skint these days to entertain realistic hopes of finishing above City, Liverpool and Tottenham. Everyone knows that, and everyone has a degree of admiration for the competitive sides Moyes turns out on a limited budget. That, sadly, is all Everton fans have to look forward to now. Moyes seems to have decided there was not that much to choose between his present club's position and Villa's. If you are serious about mounting a top four challenge you only have to look at Liverpool's recent spending to see what is required. Admittedly you ought not to need quite so many midfielders, but Liverpool are making a clear statement under Kenny Dalglish that they want their old status back and they have owners willing and able to back that ambition.
Alex McLeish fits bill for a club with lowered expectations like Villa

Despite Big Eck's credentials, one still feels this is another PR calamity waiting to happen, or perhaps already has happened


Can Villa say the same thing? No. Villa are not making any clear statements at all at the moment. It can be surmised from their pursuit of Martínez and now McLeish that they have lowered their expectations and are resigned to toughing it out in mid-table or below for the next few seasons, but even if belt-tightening has become necessary it would still have been more logical to appoint a survival expert rather than a manager just relegated. McLeish is not a bad manager, only Liverpool and Everton seperated his newly-promoted Birmingham side from O'Neill's Villa the season before last, and if appointed he will probably stick around and give the club good service. Yet one still feels this is another PR calamity waiting to happen, perhaps already has happened. The Scot's solid credentials may simply not survive the chaos surrounding Villa's selection process.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/jun/15/alex-mcleish-aston-villa-birmingham

[The Situation]

What to expect next season...

[Percy McCarthy]

Just how spectacularly shit would you have to be as a manager to finish third in the SPL with Rangers?  A Big Eck level of shitness.

Not to mention 3 relegations, 1 Hibernian, 2 Blues.

Even Ellis wouldn't have appointed a Manager as shit as this.

It just proves that on footballing matters, this board haven't got a clue.

Where is hilts where we need him, or Ozzjim who agrees with him? They have an entirely logical theory, that proves beyond any doubt and confirms as an undeniable truth, that Fuckin Eck is a better manager than David Moyes and Mark Hughes. Something along the lines of a manager with a record of winning trophies always being better than a manager who hasn't.

[Dr Butler]

Just how spectacularly shit would you have to be as a manager to finish third in the SPL with Rangers?  A Big Eck level of shitness.

Not to mention 3 relegations, 1 Hibernian, 2 Blues.

Even Ellis wouldn't have appointed a Manager as shit as this.
It just proves that on footballing matters, this board haven't got a clue.

are you sure about this comment Rip ?  Billy McNeill took two teams down in one season if my memory is correct.

UTV
The Doc

A poor one, but i'd counter with Sir Graham, Ron and Brian Little.
To be fair, McNeill hadn't experienced relegation on 3 previous occasions, unlike Fucking Eck.

to be fair Rip, Herbert had been there for many years appointing many managers,
Randolph has only been at the Villa for a few years and appointed two, the first running off like a spoiled kid and the other one having to "retire" with poor health.

UTV
The Doc

[Meanwood Villa]

Just how spectacularly shit would you have to be as a manager to finish third in the SPL with Rangers?  A Big Eck level of shitness.

Not to mention 3 relegations, 1 Hibernian, 2 Blues.

Even Ellis wouldn't have appointed a Manager as shit as this.
It just proves that on footballing matters, this board haven't got a clue.

are you sure about this comment Rip ?  Billy McNeill took two teams down in one season if my memory is correct.

UTV
The Doc

A poor one, but i'd counter with Sir Graham, Ron and Brian Little.
To be fair, McNeill hadn't experienced relegation on 3 previous occasions, unlike Fucking Eck.

to be fair Rip, Herbert had been there for many years appointing many managers,
Randolph has only been at the Villa for a few years and appointed two, the first running off like a spoiled kid and the other one having to "retire" with poor health.

UTV
The Doc

He didn't appoint O'Neill. So far this board has appointed one manager, after a lenghty drawn out process they came up with an uninspiring, some would say bizarre appointment that in my eyes was a disaster. I hope history isn't repeating with no 2.