Football performance under McLeish

[CJ]

I haven't had the oppurtunity to visit VP this season as I now work and live in London (cancelling my 15yr long season ticket just to costs if I'm honest travel etc) but anyhow I digress, my grandfather went last night and this is a mail he sent me this morning of his summing up of the game last night and where we are, as I said I haven't been up this year so don't know how much of this rings true but I think he does hit the nail on the head regarding "non football people" at the top but here we go;

"No I'm deeply depressed today, I'm a kill joy I had the envious luck of Ryan getting me a  ticket and went up to watch the dross, around a 25k attendance which has to be applauded.
 
Honestly I think we're in serious trouble, In my opinion he (McLeish) wasted 10million on N`Zog when we needed a tackler in midfield, loans out Makoun and gets in Jenas ( don't even let me start!! ha-ha! ) Gets shot of Lukey Young and gets in my opinion an "average" Hutton, we still persist to keep Ireland and I do appreciate how hard it is to sell players ( not our best ones though but outside factors did play a part in a few ) but how many more chances does this "profesional need!!! One shot on target and that was the traffic cone Collins in around the 89th minute it was moribund , no movement couldn't even string two passes together Bolton's reserves destroyed us, Petrov thinks he's lampard, Dunne and Collins need a silver bullet, Delf and Gabby are Championship at best and our midfield got over ran time and time again, but don't worry we're tighter at the back apparently?!?!

We're on a hiding to nothing nearer Christmas, honestly Craig I wouldn't be surprised if our sponsors pulled the plug as we were using them for far east exposure it's shocking!! the football is beyond negative.  Plus the shambles that was the appointment of McLeish I wouldn't put any money on Randy getting it right again, we need Steve Stride back in the boardroom not the wet blanket that's Faulkner we're a mess! No football men at the top!!!!!"

Not here to stir just posting the opinion of a 50yr supporting Villa fan and he's my grandad so don't be too harsh

do you think he's got a point about bringing in a "Steve Stride" type apoointment and apologies for the long post.

Think your grandad's got it pretty spot on to be fair! The only thing I'd really disagree with is Gabby being Championship standard - I'd agree with him about the Fonz though. Oh - and the attendance was 22261 (including 261 Bolton fans) not 25k!

[Dave Clark Five]

I have lost all faith in Mcleish.

At least under Houllier we tried to play. We have let 5 players from the starting 11 go and only replaced the goalkeeper, (N'Zogbia hasn't turned up yet)

Do you really think that McLeish had much say in who left and who didn't come?

[pauliewalnuts]

I have a real conundrum.

I have worked in London for 16 years now, and have 2 boys aged 6 and 8 who were born down south.

I was adamant that I wouldn't buy them anything other than Villa stuff, and wouldn't take them to anything other than Villa games. Their friends support Arsenal, Chelsea etc. but I am desparately keen for them to follow the true path aof light and virtue.

It is becoming increasingly clear however that I may well be setting them up for a life of despair and misery. I was thinking of taking them to their first Villa game (Wigan at home - our best chance of a result and so the best chance of inoctrinating them).

No conundrum there, ev, you know what you have to do.

[paulcomben]

I have a real conundrum.

I have worked in London for 16 years now, and have 2 boys aged 6 and 8 who were born down south.

I was adamant that I wouldn't buy them anything other than Villa stuff, and wouldn't take them to anything other than Villa games. Their friends support Arsenal, Chelsea etc. but I am desparately keen for them to follow the true path aof light and virtue.

It is becoming increasingly clear however that I may well be setting them up for a life of despair and misery. I was thinking of taking them to their first Villa game (Wigan at home - our best chance of a result and so the best chance of inoctrinating them).

No conundrum there, ev, you know what you have to do.

Villa have never beaten Wigan at home in the Premier League.

[Pat McMahon]

I have a real conundrum.

I have worked in London for 16 years now, and have 2 boys aged 6 and 8 who were born down south.

I was adamant that I wouldn't buy them anything other than Villa stuff, and wouldn't take them to anything other than Villa games. Their friends support Arsenal, Chelsea etc. but I am desparately keen for them to follow the true path aof light and virtue.

It is becoming increasingly clear however that I may well be setting them up for a life of despair and misery. I was thinking of taking them to their first Villa game (Wigan at home - our best chance of a result and so the best chance of inoctrinating them).

No conundrum there, ev, you know what you have to do.

Villa have never beaten Wigan at home in the Premier League.

So maybe ev's kids could be there to see history - cheaply too from what I hear.

[Lee]

What we need is to find the next Big Ron Atkinson to bring in the players and crowd and proper football. I am sick off too many poor/unispiring performance. I want big games and big performance and entertainment. Villa deliver none. We were poor once Little resigned. O'Leary, Gregory, O'Neill and Houllier and McLeish are not good enough.

agreed.

I said it on here before - McLeish won't last 12 months at Villa.

I've been  saying Xmas or thereabouts since he was appointed.

[Hookeysmith]

The scariest thing about last night was on paper not one of the players that started worried me on lack of ability or fitness.

Yet the amount of times players were looking to the bench to ask where they or others were meant to be it looked like they had all met in the car park 5 mins before kick off

Do they actually do any training?

Hutton - worst FB i have ever seen in a villa shirt - prior to Everton Herd was MOTM - why the heck did we buy this dross

Bannan - MOTM in CM for Scotland - now played on the wing?

Ireland - he is more a CH than a CM so why the hell was he told to play there? If your going to play him then he fills the whole behind a striker

Fonz - a decent striker  - played on the wing??

I want to see sharp, concise passing in CM, i want to wingers (If we are going to play with them) getting to bylines and whipping crosses in, I want to see strong DM's chomping at the bit to get into tackles, i want to see full backs racing down the flanks and overlapping wingers

How fucking hard can that be?

The Randy argument about finances is for another day - the players we have are not bad players and most would get into teams outside the top 4/5


Where and more importantly how they are told to play is the problem


And that lies with only one person - i was prepared like most to stand by him and the board for his appointment but 5 games in he has reverted to type exactly as my nose mates said he would


Non entertaining dross where not losing is the KPI and anything else is a bonus - in fact speaking with a nose recently he spoke of MC as if he was watching him week in week out at VP

No flair, no imagination, and where we moaned about lack of plan B with MON - this guy does not even have a plan A

If we dont cut our losses its going to get even worse - the man is clueless

For the critism Houllier got you could see a plan taking shape and some of the football we played was pretty good (it was a few dissenting prima donnas in the camp that was his downfall) what i would give to have him back now

[SamTheMouse]

And that lies with only one person - i was prepared like most to stand by him and the board for his appointment but 5 games in he has reverted to type exactly as my nose mates said he would

And the best bit? The crowning turd in the waterpipe?

Randy paid 3m quid to SHA to take him off their hands. Pure genius.

You couldn't make it up.

[Compass]

And that lies with only one person - i was prepared like most to stand by him and the board for his appointment but 5 games in he has reverted to type exactly as my nose mates said he would

And the best bit? The crowning turd in the waterpipe?

Randy paid 3m quid to SHA to take him off their hands. Pure genius.

You couldn't make it up.

Just think we're probably cutting back our squad because the amount of cock ups Randy has made with the managers by paying out compensations each time. Unbelieveable. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss Doug Ellis  He may have been tight (like Randy is right now), but at least he cared and never in a million years would he have hired this farce of the manager we have right now.

[Hookeysmith]

And that lies with only one person - i was prepared like most to stand by him and the board for his appointment but 5 games in he has reverted to type exactly as my nose mates said he would

And the best bit? The crowning turd in the waterpipe?

Randy paid 3m quid to SHA to take him off their hands. Pure genius.

You couldn't make it up.

Just think we're probably cutting back our squad because the amount of cock ups Randy has made with the managers by paying out compensations each time. Unbelieveable. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss Doug Ellis  He may have been tight (like Randy is right now), but at least he cared and never in a million years would he have hired this farce of the manager we have right now.

Not so sure about missing Doug tbh but i agree totally that he knew / cared / loved the club enough to have not appointed such a bad choice as AM especially in regards to PR. I know DOL was a crap choice but he came with a decent rep, there is just no sense in AM unless it is to have a patsy to run the team on a shoe string

I did not want to beleive that Lerner had lost the plot - i even thought AM could show what an astutue bit of business Randy had done - regrettably my hopes were dashed and the invevitability of it all depresses me

[GJH]

Look at the start he had last season for Blues - not bad at all!

P 6 W1 D4 L1

Top 10 after 6 games, but 15 draws and 15 defeats 8 wins wasn't enough!

And for us:

P5 W1 D4 L?  - we haven't played anyone with any pedigree yet either, the run over Xmas and in April will be really tough.

[Lee]

Hookey, I think that your point on the KPI is bang on. I wasn't there last night I had far more pressing matters to do with family last night, but the reports and that I have heard and read worries me intensely.

I honestly feel that unless AMc manages to get some formula that turns things round, either by luck or nous, I think that we are looking at a Relegation battle

[hawkeye]

McLeish destroyed our midfield did he?

Maybe selling Young, Downing and letting NRC go on a free and Makoun on a loan might have been the problem, no? And replacing them with N'Zogbia and Jenas? I'm sure McLeish told Randy he didn't want the £40m, so yes, lets blame McLeish... *rollseyes*

Nail on head.

Yeh and offload L Young and replace with Hutton. Does anyone actually believe that Mcleish is in charge of transfer policy?

[Blackcountry Villa]

Look at the start he had last season for Blues - not bad at all!

P 6 W1 D4 L1

Top 10 after 6 games, but 15 draws and 15 defeats 8 wins wasn't enough!

And for us:

P5 W1 D4 L?  - we haven't played anyone with any pedigree yet either, the run over Xmas and in April will be really tough.

The problem at Blues was the clean sheets dried up and they very rarely scored which is a recipe for disaster. They scored 37 goals in 38 games which is laughable. As soon as we don't keep clean sheets on a regular basis we're fucked because we hardly have 2 shots on target let alone score 2 goals.

[ROBBO]

We are playing 70s style football again, with exprienced players that only know that one way of playing, that's why they were anti Houllier. Can you blame any of our better players for looking elsewhere?