AVFC statement - McLeish sacked.

[Dave Clark Five]

The Villa board just did a really shitty job that summer and should be banned from making future decisions.

Who do you recommend bans them?

[pauliewalnuts]

Is the Wolves job becoming as toxic as the Villa job was last summer? The more the media announce names in the frame the more affronted the candidates become. The more they approach who then turn them down, the more those who are subsequently approached are offended that they were second third or even fourth choice. Walter Smith has now turned them down for this reason. It's an interesting situation, as you'd think with all the unemployed managers out there they'd be knocking the doors down.

If our job was toxic last year it was almost certainly because of the spending limits placed on the incoming manager.

I suspect Wolves are telling applicants the same thing. Mind you, this "job till the end of the season" stuff probably doesn't help.

Getting knocked back by Curbishley, though, is worse than getting knocked back by Martinez.

[Compass]

I don't see how having 17 million to spend is limited. Do you think McLeish should have had all the Downing/Young money plus more? I don't think we would be much better off. The man is a complete muppet at wasting money. Young for fucking Hutton is terrible trading. He spent an extra 2 million to bring in his deadwood buddy who's a downgrade. And he also spent over half of the summer budget on N'Zogbia who he has had fights with (his own bloody player) and now chooses Heskey over him, despite Heskey being played out of position. And he's bloody awful at his best position. There's also Given who I admit is a good player, but he was brought in at 50k wages. Not ideal for a club who's suppose to reduce the wage bill.

How much has Pardew spent? His lost major core players in the Newcastle squad since he's arrival, but he has managed to improve the team on a shoestring budget. They're not challenging for Europa spots, but CL spots! I want a manager like that who can bring in quality players who are very cheap (or free) and on low wages because I know times are tough at this club atm, but it's still possible for us to improve, especially when we have a group of promising kids. Why give money to McLeish? He'll just burn it. The players he'll bring in will guarantee relegation for us. Remember, he spent a fair bit at SHA (higher than the likes of Wigan, Wolves etc) and brought them down. That was his team and they played one of the worst football in existence with very little goals and points.

[pauliewalnuts]

I don't see how having 17 million to spend is limited. Do you think McLeish should have had all the Downing/Young money plus more? I don't think we would be much better off.

It doesn't matter how McLeish spent the money if you're looking at who we approached before he was appointed, though.

I can't see how anyone can not notice that the main thing we've had to do this season is reduce our wage bill. Have you not noticed that?

[Dave Clark Five]

Didn't he take Small Heath down twice? I'm sure I read it somewhere Compass. Surprised you didn't mention it.

[Greg N'Ash]

I'm not sure why Citeh was the tipping point for people. Bottom line is they're miles better than us. and should we be doing better than where we are? I think it comes down to whether you think we underperformed last season - I didn't think we did, and 9th was where we were, but then all i heard from the Houllier out mob was "this team finished 6th last season" when in reality we'd lost our star name in Milner and others got past it.. If you think we did finish about where we should of last season, then losing Young and Downing would certainly knock you down a few places.

The bottom line is the team is poor apart from Bent, Gabby and Given - the better players were sold and we kept the junk mainly - its a lower premiership team and IMO poorer than the one MON inherited. I can't say i'm happy with some of the performances or the transfers buys, but bring in a new guy and he's got the same problem -  a surplus of shite players that he can't replace because he's got no money and they're all on massive wages. In those circumstances we're gonna struggle to attract anyone much better even if we give AM the boot - no-one decent's gonna want a job that entails keeping a motley collection of deadwood and youth players in the premiership with a championship budget unless you're completely desperate to leave your current job or just desperate for a job. Which is probably why AM is here now

[pauliewalnuts]

I'm not sure why Citeh was the tipping point for people. Bottom line is they're miles better than us. and should we be doing better than where we are?

Man City wasn't about the result - that was hardly a surprise - it was about the total lack of ambition. It also didn't stand in isolation. Man United, Spurs, Liverpool were all as bad.

I can stand losing. It happens. I can't stand being so desperately unambitious, though.

[Greg N'Ash]

I doubt he would have got any credit if we had attacked Citeh and took a hammering paulie. This place would have been full of posts calling him tactically niave instead of unadventurous. He's on a loser whatever he does now. It was alwyas going to be a car crash appointment from the start but the next guy is unlikely to have a better record or style of football because good ones won't come under Lerner's conditions

[Somniloquism]

I doubt he would have got any credit if we had attacked Citeh and took a hammering paulie. This place would have been full of posts calling him tactically niave instead of unadventurous. He's on a loser whatever he does now. It was alwyas going to be a car crash appointment from the start but the next guy is unlikely to have a better record or style of football because good ones won't come under Lerner's conditions

When we played them at their place we tried to have a go and lost. Most of the post match thread apart from the usuals knew we had tried (more then Houlier against them) and conceded that they were just the better team.

In fact most of the time, the only times McCleish gets slagged in the post match thread is for playing defensively or playing Heskey in midfield. When we have tried to attack and take the fight to the opposition in matches, we normally dropped points because of individual defensive errors and he wasn't (always) being slagged off then.

[Greg N'Ash]

Citeh was in October though and before this home run - he was given a bit more (if limited) slack back then. It was also away even though citeh are just as likely to stuff us at home. thing is, looking at the bottom of the league we're not any worse off really in relation to the amount of points seperating us now than 4 months go, but people's perceptions have changed.

[Clampy]

It's not just the City games though, like Paulie mentioned, Man Utd and Liverpool at home were very defensive displays and if you even go back to the games like Swansea away when we did'nt even start attacking until the likes of Ireland and Bannan came on. I think Heskey was in midfield that day as well.

Arsenal at home on the other hand was much more like it, we lost but you left the ground feeling good about what you'd just watched and it gave us all a lot of optimisim. We've only won 2 games since then though.

[Phil from the upper holte]

and they were against teams we should have beat as well, i'm really hoping we go for it tomorrow

[Phil from the upper holte]

We need maximum points from the next 3 games in my opinion

[Merv]

I'm not sure why Citeh was the tipping point for people.

Not exactly the tipping point for me, more that it was further confirmation of my view of McLeish: that, tactically and technically, he just does not have the ability. He doesn't understand the game. I knew it before he arrived, I know it now. Which I why I don't subscribe to the view that he needs to be judged on a full season.

[Greg N'Ash]

I'm not sure why Citeh was the tipping point for people.

Not exactly the tipping point for me, more that it was further confirmation of my view of McLeish: that, tactically and technically, he just does not have the ability. He doesn't understand the game. I knew it before he arrived, I know it now. Which I why I don't subscribe to the view that he needs to be judged on a full season.

mebbe. I'm just getting a huge feeling of deja vu from this time last year when everyone wanted GH out because there was someone better available. and there wasn't. well not with what Lerner offered the candidates.

anyway, with the games coming up with the teams below us it may all be over for him. Certainly he needs to win a home game soon as the majority of people don't go away and they want to occasionally see us win for the cost of the ticket. He may get a stay of execution if he does that, otherwise......pfffftttttt.