Are We Alex McLeish's Claret & Blue Army Now?

[Toronto Villa]

The thing that bothers me is that nobody gets time now to actually build something. Everything is analyzed instantly and one or two defeats, the sky is falling in. McLeish wasn't a popular choice because of his PL record and his ties to the shit which only added to the problem. But now he's here, we all may as well get behind him because the alternative is even more instability and greater failure. For me, he's evolving in front of our eyes. The last three games he's been far more balanced and we are finding you can actually succeed that way. That whacking the ball long only for it to given away actually puts more pressure on the defence that was already lacking in a bit of confidence. That keeping the ball gives the defence a chance to catch a breather. It also makes us far more potent going forward.

I hope that those who were dead set against him (and maybe still are) will open their eyes and minds a little more and if nothing else get back down to Villa Park and cheer the lads on. If it means that indirectly and without really knowing it you are cheering McLeish then good and you can keep that to yourself.

[villan from luton]

Well said Toronto. After the spuds and Liverpooll debacles, I wanted him out after being prepared to give him a chance. However, the Arsenal game may be the turning point that he realises we have to try and win against whoever. Lets hope this continues, we will lose games, I have no problem with that, but we need to have competed

[dave.woodhall]

One win doesn't make us world-beaters any more than one (or four) defeats meant we were going down. But it has shown what this team are capable of and maybe it's shown Alex that there's more than one way to get a result.

[villan from luton]

I think we need to give him a chance. Lets be honest, where did we expect to be at this stage?

[hawkeye]

One win doesn't make us world-beaters any more than one (or four) defeats meant we were going down. But it has shown what this team are capable of and maybe it's given Alex that there's more than one way to get a result.

That is the most pleasing thing, the team looks more balanced and are trying to play football. It was looking pretty bleak up until the Arsenal game. The last few games has given us hope that there is something to build on.
I just hope that AM has worked out that we can play and continues ith this approach.

[hawkeye]

I think we need to give him a chance. Lets be honest, where did we expect to be at this stage?

At the begining of the season i expected us to be about where we are, in November I thought looking at the fixtures and the way we were playing that we would be loooking over our shoulders at the bottom 4 or 5. The big difference is that I am looking at the rest of the season with some optimism.

[steffo]

As I repiled to Mr Faulkners letter dated 5th August. If Mr McLeish doesnt see out his contract you (faulkner will no doubt resign). However, if Villa result to free flowing football.... i will renew my season ticket.

[KevinGage]

I think we need to give him a chance. Lets be honest, where did we expect to be at this stage?

At the begining of the season i expected us to be about where we are, in November I thought looking at the fixtures and the way we were playing that we would be loooking over our shoulders at the bottom 4 or 5. The big difference is that I am looking at the rest of the season with some optimism.

The sad thing is, after two decent results, we are still closer to the sides with genuine relegation fears than the sides who will realistically be aiming for Europe.  Only 6 points (two wins) above the drop zone, 11 points (4 wins) off 6th.  A bad day at the office against Swansea and we are right back amongst it.

But yes, I too am a bit more optimistic than I was a month or so ago.  Hopefully something has clicked in recent games, and we have had the spark that might be the catalyst for really launching our season. Either by luck or by design, Clark has found himself in midfield and Ireland isn't only making selection but actually playing well. 

The first target this season still needs to be 40 points. A win against Swansea leaves us in good shape on that front, with only 14 more needed. How soon we acquire them will ultimately dictate our ambitions in the final third of the campaign.

[pauliewalnuts]

One win doesn't make us world-beaters any more than one (or four) defeats meant we were going down. But it has shown what this team are capable of and maybe it's shown Alex that there's more than one way to get a result.

That's pretty much my standpoint, too.

The last three matches have been encouraging, where the previous 15 were frequently horrible.

It's a good indication that we can do better, though, so hopefully we will. We needed to start picking up wins pretty sharpish, so three unexpected points yesterday are a good start.

[Somniloquism]

One win doesn't make us world-beaters any more than one (or four) defeats meant we were going down. But it has shown what this team are capable of and maybe it's shown Alex that there's more than one way to get a result.

That's pretty much my standpoint, too.

The last three matches have been encouraging, where the previous 15 were frequently horrible.

It's a good indication that we can do better, though, so hopefully we will. We needed to start picking up wins pretty sharpish, so three unexpected points yesterday are a good start.

I think that was the main issue with me and lots of others. Even the wins this season were quite often bad games. As this was the only way we saw the previous team he managed play over three seasons it seemed that was the best he could get in the English game. But since the criticism from across the board of the Manure and Liverpool displays (and coincidently wasn't Randy over for them) he has turned it around. Against the Arse we were unlucky, against Stoke we played well but just couldn't create a good chance,but against Chelski it all came together.

Something has definitely happened in the background and we now have an effective team. The only worry is if this new found team spirit is only down to players either playing for a move or playing as they are worried their places might be taken by new signings. We had the same Collins / Dunne improvement this time last season which then faltered after Jan 31st.

[Chipsticks]

I was never really on his back to begin with, along with the protesting nutters who managed to break into our own club; yet neither was I in the overly agressive pro-McLeish crowd. Just sitting on the fence really.

I've gotta say that I've been growing increasingly frustrated with him, particularly during and after the West Brom debacle at VP, in which I've never left a game feeling so incensed and embarrassed to be a Villa fan. Albeit the recent good football we've been playing against top-notch sides in Arsenal and Chelsea is turning a few heads and has been injecting me with some much needed confidence and dare I say, optimism. I still feel, however, that we've got a lot of things to improve upon, most notably our home form and in particular our disability to put away teams that we should be stuffing, hopefully this will change tomorrow against the Swans (another game I can see myself slumping away from in tears.)

I'd say that he's won me over, for the time being, though this can change in true 'Fickle Villa' fashion if he repeats mistakes made by previous managers, most likely by continuing to stick by Heskey.

[KevinGage]

If he tries to somehow shoehorn Heskey into the starting XI, replacing either Clark, Ireland or Gabby- he should be fed to the facking pigs.

Fortunately I think/ (hope) he's not that daft.

[Chris Smith]

If you go back a month there were only a handful of us on here prepared to stand up against the overwhelming view that he was a rubbish manager. I got all sorts of stick for a relatively moderate view that 13 games was much too early to be writing him off but was told over and over again that things would only get worse, there was also a widely held view that we'd be in the reegation places by the end of the year.

I think there have been signs all season that things weren't as bad as suggested. The defence, other than a susceptibility at corners at times, has been good; Gabby has been on top form and he and Bent are the best pair of strikers outside the top 6; Petrov has had a great season and firstly Herd and now Clark have provided good support to him. The problem has been with the creative players. Both Albrighton and N'Zogbia have struggled for form and Ireland and Bannan have flickered occasionally without really delivering on a consistent basis.

The Boton game saw things finally click into place and although there was a blip against Liverpool we've carried that on in the last 3 games and much of the credit for that must go to the manager. We're not top 6 challengers and I'm sure there will be more ups and downs as the season progresses but we've shown that we're a decent side.

[Gulf Villa]

Interesting to hear the increased support for AM, I was and I am still not sure he is the man for the job, 100% certain he was not the best man for the job.
The club, may just have had it right, they have left us in no doubt, that money is not going to be splashed about like it has been, were they looking for someone who would stabilise the ship, after the departures of so many, not ask for to much to go and buy more overated dross, but give the players coming through a chance.
 As has been highlighted, to see Herd, Clarke, Bannan, hopefully Gardner getting their chance and other youngsters on the bench and involved with the squad, is probably the highlight of this and off the last couple of seasons. Also to try and get the  First Team playing the way the reserves and youth team 
(both have been very successfull over the last 5 years), not trying to get individuals to play to a system that is alien to them, when they come into the first team. This in my view is where we appear to be heading and dependant on results, (because after all it is a results driven business) time will dictate how quickly this happens.
I suppose the silence from the Board , if I am right and this is the direction they are looking at , has not helped A.M
Mind you lose today and go out of the Sacred cup on Saturday, all bets are off.

[garyfouroaks]

I was never against McLeish because of the Bluenose connection, but because I wanted an appointment that was going to energise the Club and fans in a way that he most definitely wasn’t going to be able to do.

He did brilliantly to win the League Cup last year, and relegation was largely attributable to forward’s injuries. Yes he was cautious, but most PL managers with limited resources are. His Rangers managerial career is a bit of an irrelevance, managing Celtic or Rangers is the closest thing to Football Manager 2012 known to man. At Motherwell he started well, then failed, at Hibs he did well. We have never been talking miracle worker here, just a solid experienced manager.

In retrospect you can see the attraction to Randy. A man who was grateful for the job (unlike MON who felt he was doing Randy  a favour), low profile, and who was happy to make do and mend rather than spend, spend, spend.

In truth what we have now is where we should be, after regularly selling our best players we are out of contention for prizes, but we have spent enough (Given and Bent) to keep the wolf from the door.

I have not been impressed by his signings. Hutton was always a Scottish Football (Welsh League) standard player not good enough for Tottenham, his limitations are obvious. Jenas was an unwise gamble which has not paid off.

But there is hope. Stephen Ireland is quite clearly bonkers. Howver he can also be a hugely talented and influential midfielder, as he showed at the Bridge. Fabian Delph is also capable of delivering much more. IF he can consistently get the best out of those two there could be brighter days ahead. Heskey is clearly a financial millstone around our neck, he is even worse in midfield than he was in attack (I use the word attack loosely), he should either be dropped and a deal done to offload him, or be used as an emergency central defender in extreme situations. But  Heskey isn’t Mcleish’s fault.

McLeish will never “succeed” because he will never be given the money to compete at the top like MON did. He is likely to “do a job”, but there is nothing in his CV to suggest that it will be more than that. He is the man for the moment, no more, no less.