Alex McLeish confirmed as manager

[jembob]

Certainly would not have been my choice for the job and up until now I have not been happy about this appointment. However, that stops here and he has my support because I want the club to succeed and if he is the man to do it, so be it. I hope every body else can put their negative views behind them and back the club.

[richard moore]

There's no bravery involved at all.  In the rare event that he does well, the criticism will die down soon enough, and if he doesn't he'll be sacked and get a huge pay off. 

Couldn't disagree more with the first part of your statement Risso

[Legion]

Alex McLeish's Claret and Blue army...

[richard moore]

An absolute unbelievable appointment made by a bunch of incompetent board of imbeciles!

And NO I don't welcome him to Villa Park at all!

And don't give me all this bullshit about bottle, its all to do with another payrise and paycheck, utter, utter crap!

Check out Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs sometime over the summer!

[bertlambshank]

Now he's here wecolme Alex,let's get behind him and hit the ground running.

[VillaAlways]

You have to say that Villa's agenda is totally different to our's - the bottom line is that they are a better team."

--- Alex McLeish

He's always loved us.Welcome Alex and good luck.Prove us all wrong please !!

[bez]

Alex McLeish's Claret and Blue army...

Sweet Jesus, that sounds horrific.

[pauliewalnuts]

Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Aston Villa, said: "We believe we have appointed the right man for the job.

"Unquestionably, Alex meets the criteria we set out at the beginning of our search which was based on proven Premier League experience, leadership, a hard-working ethic and, most importantly, a shared vision for Aston Villa.

Interesting to see no mention of "success" in the criteria they set out.

Not McLeish's fault and i wish him all the best. It isn't him who deserves the stick, it is the board.

[Concrete John]

Alex McLeish's Claret and Blue army...

Sweet Jesus, that sounds horrific.

"Big Eck's Claret & Blue army?"

[Risso]

Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Aston Villa, said: "We believe we have appointed the right man for the job.

"Unquestionably, Alex meets the criteria we set out at the beginning of our search which was based on proven Premier League experience, leadership, a hard-working ethic and, most importantly, a shared vision for Aston Villa.

Interesting to see no mention of "success" in the criteria they set out.

Not McLeish's fault and i wish him all the best. It isn't him who deserves the stick, it is the board.

It's almost funny to see Faulkner, who is clearly the wrong man for the job, talking up another wrong man for the job. 

[PeterWithe]

Indeed, they set the wrong criteria if McLeish met them.

[Phil from the upper holte]

Who's number 2?

[Villa'Zawg]

Although I think it's an awful decision, I hope that somehow he does well.
Nothing would please me more than to be proved wrong.

I also owe an apology to Villadawg for all the times I doubted his assertion that the boards ambition was waning.

No apology needed at all and please believe me, I wish with all my heart I had been apologising to you today.

Ever since I started questioning their ambition following Pelty and the General's extraordinary posts at the start of last pre-season I have been hoping to be proved wrong.

That quote from Ferguson, which has been so crudely edited on the official website does appear to finally confirm my worst fears. The ability to get the best from what you have at a club that isn't spending, is the only thing that commends McLeish above the other potential candidates.

[ASHTONVILLA]

I notice that in the Fergie article on Pravda the bit about the ability to work with no money being useful at Villa is cut off mid sentence.

"In all his jobs he's had to deal with that kind of situation of making do with what you have and making the best of it and that's a quality that."

I also note that the three relegations have been airbrushed from his potted CV in the announcement, which somehow reminds me of one of those photoshopped  blurred 'glamour photos' sold in supermarket foyers to past their best women.

This is as bad as anything HDE ever did.

[Iago]

Reading that statement - I am concerned about our future.