If McLeish was sacked, who would you want in?

[PeterWithesShin]

As I just posted on another thread.

2010 Birmingham City PL 14 W3 D7 L4 GF 15 GA 17 GD -2 Pts 16 
2011 Aston Villa           PL 14 W3 D7 L4 GF 16 GA 18 GD -2 Pts 16

[Shrek]

I am firmly in the Mcleish OUT camp now.

There is nothing positive about Mcleish.

[Iago]

I am firmly in the Mcleish OUT camp now.

There is nothing positive about Mcleish.

Good.

[Rigadon]

The actions of the board over the past 18 months have been to scale back so inevitably that's going to mean us dropping down the table. We've sold 3 top class players and not replaced them with anything like the same quality. We're a make do and mend sort of a club at the moment.

I can see why people would argue against giving him money to spend but Lerner picked him so the very least he can do is to give him the opportunity to do the job properly.

Not sure I agree, Chris.  It's harsh, but if we're not going to trust him with the little money we seem to have these days and he doesn't seem to be making more of the players he has then I can't see the point in keeping him on at all. 

You're bang on about losing a couple of genuinely good players though.  It's hurt us badly and you can't blame the fact that N'Zogbia (what the fcuk is going on there?!) and Albrighton have failed to deliver anything like their best form on McLeish.  He must be privately seething about it in fact. 

The misty eyed reminiscing about Gerard Houllier's team is a bit much for me.  We were just as shite at times last season but he had an extra couple of match winners supplying Bent in Young / Downing.  I think we'd have struggled badly without those two last season.

He hasn't lived up the billing of sorting our defence out.  Aside from Given he's bought badly (or has been unlucky which ever way you look at it) and he doesn't seem to be able to direct the players we have in any coherent way.  This team looks like it's already given up on him too and there is no way back from there, especially when the fans turn too.

Since we don't seem to be able to afford half a new team, I think Lerner's only real choice, harsh though it is on a nice guy, is to get rid and stop the rot.

[jembob]

why do you want me to find something to be miserable about??!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd love to be able to find something to be positive about! The point is that it's not just the poor results or shocking coaching, it's the fact that the manager has clearly sent teams out expecting to lose and can only plan to minimise the damage. It's been appalling to see  Villa teams take to the pitch already beaten.

[charlie]

End of season, bottom 3, Wigan, Blackburn, Aston Villa. We are playing Small Heath football, even when we field attacking players we defend/stay back/lack inspiration/look tired/ look disinterested/ HAVE NO BLOODY IDEA!!!!
Awful appointment, awful season, deadly Doug would be in ''Clear your desk'' mode.
The stats showing same as Small heath after 14 games are frankly scary.
We look doomed!!!!!!!!

[Ads]

I think people are wide of the mark with relegation. People seem quick to jump to hyperbole, which is a pity, as there is more than enough to actually complain about.

[Shoody]

Desperately worried seeing those stats. He has to go. He wont...but he has to.

Lambert
Poyet
Solskjaer
Adkins

In that order. Get one in. Please.

[Lee]

Desperately worried seeing those stats. He has to go. He wont...but he has to.

Lambert
Poyet
Solskjaer
Adkins

In that order. Get one in. Please.

And we had a relatively easy start

[Chris Smith]

I think people are wide of the mark with relegation. People seem quick to jump to hyperbole, which is a pity, as there is more than enough to actually complain about.

Yep, the only teams to embarrass us are the current top 3.

We're disjointed, in my opinion, because we still haven't got the midfield sorted. We've got the strikers if we give them the service and the defence is adequate but can't get the middle of the pitch sorted and until we do we're going to continue to see disjointed performances. I thought after the Norwich game we were starting to get it right but since then it's been back to the drawing board.

When I heard the team in the pub yesterday I was genuinely optimistic, he had picked the type of line up we all wanted to see but they didn't do themselves justice. Everyone is pointing the finger at the manager but I think the players have to take responsibility for their own performances.

[dicedlam]

I think the job needs someone who would gain the respect of the players having played at the very highest level. Somebody who today's modern players  looked up to growing up as kids.

Not sure who I would go for, but Solskjaer could be a good shout.

Randy might even get another letter from SAF?

[Dante Lavelli]

These are a few tweets from Zonal Marking who is a bit of a football obsessive who studies the game:

"Aston Villa now have second worst possession figure in the league. 41.7%, 0.3% ahead of Stoke"
"Also second worst shots, and second worst shots on target (both also behind Stoke)"
"Villa are in a false position. Easy fixtures so far. Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal before end of 2011. They're awful."

[KevinGage]

What about Sid? Knows the club inside out, knows the players inside out, cheap internal promotion option without the fans getting on his back (because it is Sid), certainly has footballing ideals close to his heart. Hardly ideal, but the what we have now is much much worse.

Speaking to mutual friends a while back, I was told that Sid wouldn't want the job and all the pressure that goes with it.  A shame, as he would have been my choice too.

Someone foreign who can spot and attract young talent from abroad. Appointing the likes of Taylor or Laursen wouldn't do that and would also put Sid's nose (further) out of joint.

The Dortmund manager who won them the Championship and CL qualification after years in the wilderness came from lowly Mainz, so there are managers there who seem capable of making the step up.  Different conditions, I know. (Not suggesting he'd be mad enough to leave Dortmund for us, BTW).

Ralf Rangnick was a name that was mentioned a few times post MON walkout, but after a decent stint at Hoffenheim, he quit Schalke this September due to stress.

In the past, I've suggested Michael Laudrup -who looked like he had promise based on his success at Brondby and Getafe.  But his last two appointments (Spartak Moscow and Mallorca)  have been less than great.  Could he honestly be any worse than McLeish though?  And if he wanted a sidekick who knew the club inside out, there is a certain Danish CB who might be only too happy to take that call...

[Eigentor]

I'm at a loss to explain why we're so bad. Yes, McLeish is a poor manager, but while his Blues team were playing dull and defensive anti-football, it didn't look as disjointed and hapless as our team. I'm starting to wonder if Alex McLeish actually tries to make us play more positive, but the fact is that neither he or the players know how to do it, and the result is performances like the one yesterday. My speculation is partly based on his touchline antics and Dunne's obvious frustration. Maybe they're over-reaching.

[KevinGage]

Doesn't this seem like a lifetime ago now?

Van Basten praises O'Neill's Villa ahead of Ajax clash
Author:  Andrew Allen
Posted on:23 October 2008 - 3:59 PM



Ajax manager Marco Van Basten has paid tribute to Aston Villa ahead of the UEFA Cup group match between the pair on Thursday. The former World Player of the Year knows his young Ajax side face a stern test in Thursday's Group E opener at Villa Park. Van Basten told Aston Villa TV: "We have a lot of respect for a team like Aston Villa. They are a big club with a big name and a lot of history. It is a special game for the Ajax supporters.


Van Basten added: "We want to make small steps to re-establish ourselves in Europe. It won't be easy, especially against teams like Villa."

Nice words.  I wonder what he's up to now.