Quote from: ZoggyAlways on February 13, 2012, 10:51:21 AM"We were never going to go gung ho against City because we haven't got the players to do that"He was saying similar things when he managed Blues He said at the beginning of the season he would achieve more with better players hereI think he would be capable of relegating anybody with his negativity and inferiority complexGo nowIt's infuriating, in that he doesn't seem to learn his lesson and falls back to old habits. I know City are a good side (although in a bit of a slump, they'd had some iffy results away from home of late, and weren't at their best yesterday), but you have people paying 40 plus quid to go and watch that, you at least owe them an attempt to actually get something from the game.For all the bleating on about how fans don't like him because of x, y and z, and how the irritation of the fans passes through to the players on the pitch, compare and contrast yesterday's ambition-free bilge with the approach against Arsenal.Yes, we lost both matches, but were incredibly unfortunate to do so against Arsenal, having had a right go at them, and got applauded off the pitch, and then went on to win at Chelsea.I would really hate to be the person in charge of selling season tickets next season, as I really think we are going to struggle to sell tickets to watch us toil and struggle to keep the score down against big teams (whilst failing to do much against weaker teams).McLeish's post match interviews made the situation even worse. No, Villa fans do not just want to see players sweat blood, Alex, and no, we were not in any way unlucky to get nothing from the game. We deserved what we got - fuck all.We are gradually becoming the sort of team the rest of the league hates and would be glad to see go down, and that's down to one man, the manager.
"We were never going to go gung ho against City because we haven't got the players to do that"He was saying similar things when he managed Blues He said at the beginning of the season he would achieve more with better players hereI think he would be capable of relegating anybody with his negativity and inferiority complexGo now
I've done a lot of thinking this morning. Randy will not sack McLeish. Not a hope. I've arrived at a few inconvenient truths too. Bear with me. As fans, we are emotionally involved so we often don't see the wood for the trees. We have a passion for what happens at the club so it is difficult for us to coldly analyse events as they unfold. We live and breath the club and kick every ball, jump for every header and dive into every 50:50. By nature we are divided into optimists and pessimists. Some of us wish to see a positive outcome in everything that happens Aston Villa. Others can instantly see the pitfalls of every possible scenario. Few of us can see the immediate consequences of what unfolds. As an optimist, I usually try to find a positive. I found a positive when we went out of the Uefa Cup after Martin fielded a weakened side(though I later became critical of this decision). I found a positive when O'Neill left. Surely this meant Randy had woken up to the fact we'd reached our ceiling with MON and needed a top class manager to break through to the top four. Surely this meant some quality players from the continent would arrive and the place would freshen up. When Houllier was appointed I thought we'd got a manager with a good track record who might surprise us. hen Bent was signed I thought, 'here we go', this is the Aston Villa of ambition that I knew we had got when Randy Lerner took over. When we parted with Houllier I thought we'd get a manager who was a better fit and that we'd finally start building again. I expected players would leave but that new ones would arrive. Even when we got McLeish I thought 'Randy knows what he's doing', I looked at his record and was swayed by some of the 'He's MON without the money' arguments on here. I reasoned that he'd stabilise us as a top ten outfit then be given the green light to push on towards top 6 again. Even though galled that top players were not replaced last summer, I reasoned there was some masterplan at work and that come January we'd make three or four top signings (like in 2007).Having spent the morning reflecting on Aston Villa, a few things have struck me. As a season of torture has unfolded, it's hard to conceptualise how far we have fallen in eighteen months. (By the way I don't want people jumping on me for being negative here or for talking the club down or anything. This stuff means a lot to me and I spent a bit of time committing this to keyboard. )Here's a few quotes to sum up how I feel right now. Go back to the day MON walked. Randy said 'Martin and I no longer shared a common vision of how to move forward'. Go back to the day Houllier was appointed villa manager. Houllier said 'Aston Villa are the kind of club that belong 7th to 12th in the Premier League'. Go back to last summer. Why do you think Martinez turned us down? He was being asked to do an impossible job. He was being asked to come in to dismantle the remnants of the side that had been top 6 three seasons in a row and to rebuild with no funds available. Martinez decided Wigan was a better bet. In desperation, the board chased McLeish. The manager who relegated our rivals twice! (Again, don't jump on me. I have never ever had a problem with where he came from. I have always given him a chance. I only mention this because it was sure to be a factor in how the new manager would be accepted by the fans). It was an appointment that was sure to divide the fans. So we got the worst of all possible worlds with McLeish. He didn't arrive with a clean slate, he arrived with considerable baggage and was sure to divide our supporters. His appointment was a statement of mediocrity and lack of ambition. He was then expected to cut our wage bill and accept bids for our senior players. Attendances were sure to fall as it was the most unambitious summer down Villa Park since the dark days of Doug Ellis. We are in the midst of the perfect storm. We need to be united, we need to pull the club out of this (the way we did last season by getting behind the team), but we are being given nothing to cheer. We have had the heart ripped out of us. We'll have to just get behind the team and manager now. Randy will not sack McLeish, he can't. He appointed him, he probably doesn't care so long as the wage bill is reduced and we are more self sufficient. I'd wager Randy doesn't een know where we are in the table. Randy has made a right mess. As fans, we have to hope and do our bit to claw us out of it.
Okay, let me turn it around a little. You’re Randy Lerner, you’ve appointed a manager against all fan advice because you’ve been told, and firmly believe, that there is no man better qualified to lead Villa through a difficult period of cuts. Over the last couple of seasons you’ve forked out millions in compensation to failed managers and now 24 games into the tenure of this new manager (of whom you’ve had to compensate his old employers) it’s going wrong. You stand to lose millions of pounds on top of the millions you’ve already paid out for previous decision AND to make things worse, you stand to have fans and press alike scream ‘I told you so’ at you. What would you do, if you were Lerner?
After yesterdays approach to the game and then his interview afterwards he should walk.
What was the fans reaction at the end of the game? My stream stopped working in the last min.
A few quotes from non-villa fans on that Guardian thread.."That was far from Villa's worst performance of the season. Anybody who watched their 11 men behind the ball display whilst 3 goals down to Spurs will testify to that. I'm no Villa van, they can get relegated or finish 10th for all I care, but I can't stand to see McLeish in charge at what should be a top half Premier League side. Everybody, never mind the poor Villa fans who pay to go, can live without his pathetic brand of football. I mean, Heskey, one of the very least technically gifted footballers of all time, on the wing? In the process, putting Albrighton, one of your better players, onto the left out of position? Whats the logic? Where's the logic in doggedly defending when you are already losing? I just can't get my head around it. Unless he has decided that his one ambition for Villa, former European Cup winners, 40,000+ stadium, productive youth system and all, is to avoid relegation and he is worried it will come down to goal difference. Perverse.""Mcleish on the other hand, crickey!When he made the move to Villa, these blogs were full of outraged Villa supporters; they kept being told "Oh, its only because he used to coach your rivals, don't be so tribal, give the man a chance".... Now do you see why they were like this""I've watched Villa a few times on the box and saw them at Spurs this season. Their performance could only be described as meek. I was robbed of the joy of victory because how can you claim to have beaten someone if they haven't even tried to play? Wigan, Wolves, Blackburn et al maybe at the bottom but they cannot be faulted for effort. Villa were pathetic. They play as if Mccleish has instructed them to Get out there, roll over, and die.What's strange is they actually have a good squad of players. Villa fans-what the fuck is going on over there?""McLeish is the advocate of defeatism. Sets up his team to do fudge all for 85 minutes only to try and nick something out of the match in the last 5 minutes. Pathetic.Manchester City didn't even have to defend other then that Hart save -- which came at the end. So glad they got the three points.""There's probably only a single person on this Earth who thinks playing Emile Heskey as a rght sided defensive midfielder is a good idea. And by the strangest of coincidences, he's found himself managing Aston Villa.""Commiserations to the Villa fans too, how do you put up with McLeish flavoured football every week? Their's a decent team there too, why play such a drab and grinding brand of football?""Aston Villa are absoutely terrible to watch.There is no other team in the Premier League who are consistently devoid of effort and belief.That was exceptionally poor stuff""Give McLeish the England job so I never have to watch one of his teams play football again.""The worrying thing for Villa is McLeish can do the Birmingham double. What the hell was Lerner smoking when he appointed him? On the basis of winning a cup with a freak goal at the end and a club with money they didn't even have to buy players?At least with Steve Kean, Blackburn set up to try and win games. Other than the Arsenal game last week and Manchester City a few weeks ago, they have been in every single game, trying to give their best."
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Topic: AVFC statement - McLeish sacked. (Read 1841962 times)
