AVFC statement - McLeish sacked.

[kippaxvilla2]

I'm still coming to terms with the original look of horror on my own face (I know this the wife told me) when I saw the front of the Mercury that day in June (was it June) bellowing the headline VILLA WANT MCLEISH.  Now as far as I know Villa were not in the same farcical position as Wolves are now.  And whilst it was reported that Martinez had turned us down (reality he never spoke to us), Rafa and Ancellotti were not impressed with the transfer budgets, McLaren had his interview cancelled, there were still plenty of candidates out there eminently more capable of doing the job than Alex McLeish - one of them had left his club days earlier.

Under these circumstances it still absolutely beggars belief that not only did Alex McLeish get appointed, he was actually headhunted by the owner via a private jet to his holiday destination, was followed by false wailing and gnashing of teeth by the owners at the Chinese Laundry, and ended up with £3m being handed to them which ironically has perhaps just helped the fuckers stay afloat in the bargain.  If you were going out of your way to piss your customer off, a more perfect storm you would find hard to imagine.

[PeterWithe]

I hear you brother

[paul_e]

This is what I mean, nearly everyone had pretty poor expectations of what we were getting and the only way he could've dispelled those was to massively overachieve, this was always going to be the requirement and never likely to be the reality, so it felt from the start like an appointment that was doomed to fail.  I don't think anyone wanted that to happen but it was hard to see a scenario where it didn't, and nothing in the last 25 games has made any difference to that.

I think the slightly improved performances from arsenal until recently were him attempting to respond to this but the problem he's had is that he doesn't really know how to play a system that is more reliant on attacking so we were trying to do it without really having the foundation to work from.

Even during those games everything seemed disjointed because his approach to playing attacking football has felt like he's just slid the markers on the board 10yards further forward but done nothing to change the training or approach so yes, we had more people forward and were creating chances but we were leaving gaps at the back and letting off form defenders be singled out and pressured into making mistakes.

The lack of improved results means he can now convince himself that he's tried being attacking and it wasn't successful so he can go back to his more familiar defensive style.  The 'excellent game plan' and unlucky comments make me think more and more that he's convinced himself that he will get success playing that way against the big sides.

**Edited the first line for clarity**

[atomicjam]

I'm still coming to terms with the original look of horror on my own face (I know this the wife told me) when I saw the front of the Mercury that day in June (was it June) bellowing the headline VILLA WANT MCLEISH.  Now as far as I know Villa were not in the same farcical position as Wolves are now.  And whilst it was reported that Martinez had turned us down (reality he never spoke to us), Rafa and Ancellotti were not impressed with the transfer budgets, McLaren had his interview cancelled, there were still plenty of candidates out there eminently more capable of doing the job than Alex McLeish - one of them had left his club days earlier.

Under these circumstances it still absolutely beggars belief that not only did Alex McLeish get appointed, he was actually headhunted by the owner via a private jet to his holiday destination, was followed by false wailing and gnashing of teeth by the owners at the Chinese Laundry, and ended up with £3m being handed to them which ironically has perhaps just helped the fuckers stay afloat in the bargain.  If you were going out of your way to piss your customer off, a more perfect storm you would find hard to imagine.

Totally agree. I still do not understand what Randy saw in him, why he paid money for him, how he could believe that he would suddenly become a good Manager and win games and with that everyone over. AM is just not a very good Manager at Premier League level, the stats are there to show this and AM is adding to those stats this season with the best players he has ever worked with. I think we will survive this season. I am not so confident about him keeping us up two seasons running.

[itbrvilla]

29 goals in 25 games.  Thats how he manages a team. Low scoring shit football is a recipe for disaster, scoring just over a goal a game is relegation fodder.
Has he ever managed a team that has scored much more than a goal a game?

think someone posted some great stats on here showing Rangers league goals before he arrived and his time there. They showed a rather rapid and large decrease in the number of goals scored. Think it was ~ 85 season before to ~ 50 something 2 years later.

[paul_e]

29 goals in 25 games.  Thats how he manages a team. Low scoring shit football is a recipe for disaster, scoring just over a goal a game is relegation fodder.
Has he ever managed a team that has scored much more than a goal a game?

think someone posted some great stats on here showing Rangers league goals before he arrived and his time there. They showed a rather rapid and large decrease in the number of goals scored. Think it was ~ 85 season before to ~ 50 something 2 years later.

That was me, on the 'mcleish could be the man to take the club forward' thread, I kept hold of them because they do show that the only time he's averaged a decent number of goals (in a league worth caring about) per games has been using van gaal's team at rangers.

94-95 - Motherwell - 50 in 36
95-96 - Motherwell - 28 in 36
96-97 - Motherwell - 44 in 36
98-99 - Hibs(scot 1st div) - 84 in 36
99-00 - Hibs - 49 in 36
00-01 - Hibs - 57 in 36
02-03 - Rangers - 101 in 36
03-04 - Rangers - 76 in 36
04-05 - Rangers - 78 in 36
05-06 - Rangers - 67 in 36
08-09 - Blues - 54 in 46
09-10 - Blues - 38 in 38
10-11 - Blues - 37 in 38
11-12 - Villa - 29 in 25

Repeated with this seasons figures updated.

[LamBeast]

Garbage.His visit from Small Heath will never be accepted.

I feel sure there are better managers on here,championship at best.

[andyh]

29 goals in 25 games.  Thats how he manages a team. Low scoring shit football is a recipe for disaster, scoring just over a goal a game is relegation fodder.
Has he ever managed a team that has scored much more than a goal a game?

think someone posted some great stats on here showing Rangers league goals before he arrived and his time there. They showed a rather rapid and large decrease in the number of goals scored. Think it was ~ 85 season before to ~ 50 something 2 years later.

That was me, on the 'mcleish could be the man to take the club forward' thread, I kept hold of them because they do show that the only time he's averaged a decent number of goals (in a league worth caring about) per games has been using van gaal's team at rangers.

94-95 - Motherwell - 50 in 36
95-96 - Motherwell - 28 in 36
96-97 - Motherwell - 44 in 36
98-99 - Hibs(scot 1st div) - 84 in 36
99-00 - Hibs - 49 in 36
00-01 - Hibs - 57 in 36
02-03 - Rangers - 101 in 36
03-04 - Rangers - 76 in 36
04-05 - Rangers - 78 in 36
05-06 - Rangers - 67 in 36
08-09 - Blues - 54 in 46
09-10 - Blues - 38 in 38
10-11 - Blues - 37 in 38
11-12 - Villa - 29 in 25

Repeated with this seasons figures updated.

This is very intersting Paul and good information.
It really does show how moulds a team to fit his 'style' over time.
I think it proves that a leopard cannot change its spots, and that we can look forward to continued, dour, uninspiring football until he is gone.

I wonder if Randy and Faulkner considered his history when performing their due dilligence over whether he was the right man for the job................obviously not !!

[TimTheVillain]

I don't know how true the takeover rumours are but I can't see a multi-billionaire owner wanting him in charge.

Until that happens, indeed if it does, we are 'lumbered' with AMc and that's that - as long as he keeps us in the Prem.

He'll never win the fans over under a Randy budget, and in some ways, you have to feel a bit sorry for him.

[pauliewalnuts]

And whilst it was reported that Martinez had turned us down (reality he never spoke to us)

But, he did turn us down.

"Dave Whelan, Paul Faulkner here, can we talk to Roberto Martinez? "
"Yes, you can"

"Hi Roberto, Paul Faulkner here, we'd like to interview you for our position of manager"
"Sorry, Paul, I do not want to be considered"

Didn't want to interview for the job = turned down the chance to be considered for the job

Under these circumstances it still absolutely beggars belief that not only did Alex McLeish get appointed, he was actually headhunted by the owner via a private jet to his holiday destination, was followed by false wailing and gnashing of teeth by the owners at the Chinese Laundry, and ended up with £3m being handed to them which ironically has perhaps just helped the fuckers stay afloat in the bargain.  If you were going out of your way to piss your customer off, a more perfect storm you would find hard to imagine.

Yep

I have said this before, but if you were an evil force who had inhabited Randy's mind, and decided to do the most damage to the club in a short period of time, it is hard to see how you could have done a "better" job of it than Randy did.

It just beggars belief on all sorts of levels.

The worry I have is that, even if he gave AM the bullet (which he won't, anyway), they'd approach the manager search with "PL experience" at the top of the list again, which is totally stupid.

It's extra stupid if that "PL experience" is all that matters even when said manager's experience includes two relegations in four years.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

McLeish will be gone in the Summer and I have a good idea who will replace him.

Now pause the thread because what i'm about to say to you all is so damn twisted,
Not only have we got a new manager lined up, but the man... is a MIDGET!

[brian green]

Please don't tell me the Krankies are splitting up.

[The Laughing Policeman]

McLeish will be gone in the Summer and I have a good idea who will replace him.

Now pause the thread because what i'm about to say to you all is so damn twisted,
Not only have we got a new manager lined up, but the man... is a MIDGET!

Gian Franco Zola?   He's only 5' 5".

[LamBeast]

More Ronnie Corbett!

[Fergal]

29 goals in 25 games.  Thats how he manages a team. Low scoring shit football is a recipe for disaster, scoring just over a goal a game is relegation fodder.
Has he ever managed a team that has scored much more than a goal a game?

think someone posted some great stats on here showing Rangers league goals before he arrived and his time there. They showed a rather rapid and large decrease in the number of goals scored. Think it was ~ 85 season before to ~ 50 something 2 years later.

That was me, on the 'mcleish could be the man to take the club forward' thread, I kept hold of them because they do show that the only time he's averaged a decent number of goals (in a league worth caring about) per games has been using van gaal's team at rangers.

94-95 - Motherwell - 50 in 36
95-96 - Motherwell - 28 in 36
96-97 - Motherwell - 44 in 36
98-99 - Hibs(scot 1st div) - 84 in 36
99-00 - Hibs - 49 in 36
00-01 - Hibs - 57 in 36
02-03 - Rangers - 101 in 36
03-04 - Rangers - 76 in 36
04-05 - Rangers - 78 in 36
05-06 - Rangers - 67 in 36
08-09 - Blues - 54 in 46
09-10 - Blues - 38 in 38
10-11 - Blues - 37 in 38
11-12 - Villa - 29 in 25

Repeated with this seasons figures updated.

If you take out the Rangers stats it looks even worse, mind you he did manage to score 34 goals less in his last season than his first.
Also lets face it Rangers play in a league where they can get docked 10 points and still be comfortably in second place so it might be fair to say that even an incompetent manager could manage that team.
We really need this Manager out of our club before he turns us into an outfit like the shit down the road.