If McLeish was sacked, who would you want in?

[Compass]

An interview with Mat Kendrick in tomorrows Brum Mail... only quote given so far is

'Im not a Quitter'

Y'know... cause it doesn't count if you dont do it in person

He quit Blues by email for those with short memories


Should be interesting..

Stupid thing to say really considering Steve Bruce said the same recently (who is a quitter as well) before getting the boot. What it really tells us is that he's going to stick it out regardless of what happens at the club. He would still get his undeserved payout no matter what happens to him.

[Greg N'Ash]

I think we can safely say AM won't quit. As for the other method of departure, watch this space. This time next month and either we'll be looking back on some encouraging results over christmas or it will be the carcrash many of us predicted.

[KevinGage]

He's still got a lot of credit in the bank with me. He has my respect, he's done a lot of good for this club and i don't think any of us should forget that. If he feels we need to cut back financially and get the wage bill to a manageable level, then that's fine as well. He's got it horribly wrong with Mcleish though. I'm sure he could have found a manager who fitted in with what he wanted and one who would have got us playing a better standard of football. Small Heath managed it.

^^

My take on things too.


Maybe I'm one of the delusional types Chris was referring to, but I honestly look at that squad and think we should be in the shake up for Europe.   Not Europe as a bare minimum- with the sums others have spent even that relatively modest goal (as was) has become so much harder.

But if Europe is out of the question, I don't see that we should be going into practically every game handing the initiative to the opposition either.  As Iago said yesterday, we are a club founded on the ethic of competition.

[villa for life]

What I find ironic, though is that some of the names being mentioned now, like Hughes, got a really poor reception in the summer. Hughes would have been my choice after Houllier, and I remember being amazed at how so many were against him in the summer. If there had been a surge of support behind him, Lerner might have hired him. As it was, we were anti - Hughes, anti- allardyce, anti- Martinez and we ended up with McLeish. The only person who had general support was Ancelloti!!!!

Also ironic is the fact that everyone was moaning about Houllier had turned one of the best defences into one of the worst, yet now we are not happy because we are playing so defensively. I'm not happy with the current state of affairs...but I don't think we are doomed. Maybe I'm still in the honeymoon period after the Houllier episode!

[KRS]

I honestly look at that squad and think we should be in the shake up for Europe. 

I honestly look at the squad and think how the did the club manage to conspire to get us in this mess with an average at best squad and players who have lost their way as professional footballers...all of whom are more than happy to take home their ridiculous salaries. If we're being honest, theres a big difference between optimism and reality...the reality is that our squad was in urgent need of strengthening rather than weakening, and we are left with dross which is clearly reflected on the pitch.

[KevinGage]

Is that squad drastically inferior to the likes of Fulham, Everton, Newcastle, Sunderland, Stoke and co? 

Personally I don't think so.  Outside of the clubs who would target Europe as a bare minimum; Spurs, Liverpool et.c   ( I've already said that no longer applies to us)  I think our squad is at least the equal of- if not better than- most.

Some of those sides have individual players who would easily get into our line up.  But man for man I'd rather have our lot.

[KRS]

Probably about the same as the likes of those clubs, but with a lack of team spirit, leadership, and apparent lack of coaching and management, they could be worse. The fact that our squad is now comparable and on a par to the likes of those teams speaks volumes especially when compared to just a couple of seasons ago.

[KevinGage]

On that point I agree- and I think the level of cuts we have seen and the amount good players we've let go has done serious damage to our reputation.

With Barry we perhaps didn't have a choice due to his contract situation. It looked like we asked him for one more season to try to get into the CL and in fairness he got his head down and performed reasonably well (though not as well as his previous season).  The Milner deal looked to good to turn down at the time- and the money Citeh can throw at players will turn the heads of most.  With Ashley Young's contract situation we were again in a difficult position. It's also possible that we had asked him for one more year in the summer of 2010, when he was strongly linked with Tottenham.

I would have liked to see all those remain, but the one who we should have definitely put our foot down with is Downing.  Not because he was so unbelievably talented, but because most sides would struggle with two of their best players lost in he same summer.

Even if the money offered for him was in excess of his true value (always subjective, those kind of arguments)  selling him seems to have underlined our status now as some kind of finishing school.  If you're a really good player, you can't achieve your goals at Aston Villa. You just move there to make your name and then move on.

[ROBBO]

Most of us have called for changes in midfield and Saturday we got it, Bannon who may be a good player in a good side was hopeless in that set up, Bent may have well have stayed home for the last two matches, an England proven goalscorer who is left isolated, again an inditement on Mcleish, young Hird tries hard but needs quality around him. We are a rabble with no leadership on the field and none of it.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I'd seriously consider Kevin MacDonald. If we're really not now looking to invest sufficiently to challenge for top six/CL, I'd strip things back and bring in a coach like him who will put together a footballing side, bring out the best in our younger players. I can stomach bobbling about in mid-table for a season or two if there is at the promise of moving in the right direction in the longer term.

The problem is, he is our first team coach alongside Sid. Add to that Peter Grant was responsible for the Baggies playing like Brazil under Mowbray, you have to ask how come we have three coaches that understand 'progressive' football yet we play like we do. I can only thing it's a breakdown in communication somewhere down the line, eithat or the players are just doing what the hell they want.

Whoever is next to come in and I'd go for the thinking man's Martin O'Neill - Paul Lambert or Gus Poyet, they'll no doubt want to bring in their own staff, which will be curtains for Sid and KMac.

[Greg N'Ash]

I must say Lambert has impressed though these comparisons to MON i can't see, and put me off slightly. I don't really want another Hoof merchant, however good the players he's get to play it are.

[Merv]

Is that squad drastically inferior to the likes of Fulham, Everton, Newcastle, Sunderland, Stoke and co? 

No. It's weaker than the top six and I feel we've been let down in terms of players we've sold and those we've been able to bring in, but we have a stronger squad than all of those teams above, I believe. Everton and Newcastle are stronger in certain areas but we have more strength in depth.

There are many managers who could do a lot more with the current squad - which has remained mostly injury free to date - than McLeish. We certainly won't be challenging for top six but we are under performing; we look embarrassing against the best in the league and pretty mediocre against the average and lower placed sides.

[Chico Hamilton III]

I'd preplace McLeish with Clyde out of Every Which Way But Loose because he's funnier.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

And don't forget Schteve McClaren is currently unemployed...

[PaulTheVillan]

I would really love to know what Randy Lerner is thinking.