AVFC statement - McLeish sacked.

[OzVilla]

A few years ago we used to talk about Mancini and Hiddink replacing MON. Now we're wondering if Rogers and Lambert would think we're an attractive proposition.

Two years ago we were preparing for a wembley final, chasing a champions league place and going well in the fa cup- what a shocking state we are in now- how did it come to this?

I think it's the dizzying speed with which we have fallen that is most shocking. Our collective mind has not been able to cope with the speed of events. Our minds are still stuck in the early days of the revolution, hence our reluctance to criticise the board. If the decline had taken longer, we'd be better prepared for it.

Well from a staunch Lerner supporter i'm totally over him now.  I think this just shows that all along Lerners tenure at the Club, he's basically been a silent partner.  With MON running things from top to bottom we got ourselves into a good position to realise our potential.  As with most Managers in the transfer market, MON signed some quality and some dross but unfortunatley he paid handsomely for all of it and overpaid in wages with his Britisg first approach.  That was his major mistake.

I'm fast coming to the view that MON saw and heard from Lerner what we have been seeing for the last 18 months hence we scuttled off sharpish.  Leaving Lerner and the clueless Faulkner to start really running the place for the first time - and so the farce began.

We can blame AM all we like, as we did GH last year and MON for his disappearing act - but Lerner, that's where our problems originate and will keep on repeating until something changes.

[andyh]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

[PeterWithesShin]

Most frustrating thing is he was showing signs of winning the fans over. The performance against Arsenal at home and then the win at Chelsea got most but the "he managed the blose u know" brigade off his back.

But he seems to have learnt nothing. The way the crowd reacted after the Arsenal game showed that as long as there was fight, desire and an attempt to compete and try and win that regardless of result we couldn't ask for more. Yet he then gives up the ghost before a ball is kicked against Citeh and made no real effort to win the game today.

As nice a bloke as he comes across, it's almost as though he's determined to alienate all the fans including those that want him to succeed.

I wonder if he realises he's bringing a lot of it on himself?

[SheffieldVillain]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

Look at QPR. Most people would have thought that swapping Warnock for Hughes would be a step upwards. They've now got 4 points out of the last 18. Changing a manager at this point doesn't always give the boost intended.

Edited for right stat.

[Villanation]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

I agree, its a mistake that many club have made and many clubs have paid the price for keeping faith with a sinking ship, act now....

There are a good few managers out there who are sitting on there bums doing nothing, even if they take over now short term till the end of the season to see how they go would be a better option.

[SheffieldVillain]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

I agree, its a mistake that many club have made and many clubs have paid the price for keeping faith with a sinking ship, act now....

There are a good few managers out there who are sitting on there bums doing nothing, even if they take over now short term till the end of the season to see how they go would be a better option.

Are there? Who? Curbishley, McCarthy, Bruce, Sven... that's all I can think of.

[andyh]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

Look at QPR. Most people would have thought that swapping Warnock for Hughes would be a step upwards. They've now lost six in a row I believe. Changing a manager at this point doesn't always give the boost intended.

I agree SV to a point, but our squad is a damn sight better than QPR's.
With the rght manager, tactics and approach to games, there is a decent team in our squad.
Sadly, we aint got a management team to realise ths potential

[charlie]

Under Eck we will NOT prosper. He will not convince the very fans he 'needs', so many many reasons come to mind, some linked with his time as a swineherd, some with his ability to relegate  but mostly it is the style of football played. we have attacking players, young and senior, who seem shackled by some kind of defensive force field imposed by management. maybe its an unfair assessment, maybe a wrong perception, but it has to be said that many many fans detest the whole Eck scenario. The excuses don't ring true, the football is p*** poor, the 'entertainment??' is dire, the fans chanting 'we want our Villa back' are right. We do not even play Nose football as we lack the grit and bloody mindedness sometimes found at the sty. It was a desperately unaware appointment, one bound to divide and antagonise, and it has not worked. It suggests to fans that Randy no longer cares, maybe that is the case. In the 70s I loved to sit in Trinity B, before the matches, listening to Baker Street echoing round the stands. With apologies to the memory of Gerry Rafferty, the tune now is...If we get it right we'll get it wrong next time''.

[Villanation]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

Look at QPR. Most people would have thought that swapping Warnock for Hughes would be a step upwards. They've now got 4 points out of the last 18. Changing a manager at this point doesn't always give the boost intended.

Edited for right stat.

But you can sight many situations where its worked the other way, you could say look at Wolves today, a magnificent come back at Newcastle, wouldn't mind betting under MM they would have sunk without trace, not because MM was crap but because he'd lost the groove to motivate the players.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Kick the fucker out.
I'd also like to see the back of the people who toe the club party line for their own interests.

[OzVilla]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

Look at QPR. Most people would have thought that swapping Warnock for Hughes would be a step upwards. They've now lost six in a row I believe. Changing a manager at this point doesn't always give the boost intended.

I agree, I also think you do have to look at the candidates (see Wolves search - same names for us) and look at the man who will be doing the hireing. 

And to be fair to AM, he's doing the job Lerner probably asked him to do - keep us up while I reduce the costs.  So based on this I'd still stick with AM until the end of the season - but only just.

What a state we are in though.

[TheSandman]

There are a good few managers out there who are sitting on there bums doing nothing, even if they take over now short term till the end of the season to see how they go would be a better option.

Steve Bruce? Alan Curbishley? Anyone else?

Look at the Wolves situation. None of the downright depressing options they looked at wanted to take on a job short term and with the risk of relegation. Our best option would be to either bear with McLeish then fuck him off at the end of the season and get in the best manager we can rather than getting a less good option now. If we do sack him then our best option for a short term appointment would be to temporarily promote Kevin Mac and Sid. But they are part of our current failling regime. Though on form we'll probably sack McLeish and bring in Steve Bruce on a five year deal. Sir Alex might write Mr Lerner, sir another letter of recommendation.

[Villanation]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

I agree, its a mistake that many club have made and many clubs have paid the price for keeping faith with a sinking ship, act now....

There are a good few managers out there who are sitting on there bums doing nothing, even if they take over now short term till the end of the season to see how they go would be a better option.

Are there? Who? Curbishley, McCarthy, Bruce, Sven... that's all I can think of.

Maybe someone like Coppell, great tactician and a very intelligent man, said he retired but then retracted that, IMO never had the right club, can't be any worse than McLiesh, give him a run till the end of the season so we get safe, if he does a good job, fair enough, if there is no promise there lets get after Flores who made it very clear he wanted the Villa job, now managing in the middle east but i'm sure he will soon drop that if he was sincere about Villa come the summer.

[tarzansbrother]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

I agree, its a mistake that many club have made and many clubs have paid the price for keeping faith with a sinking ship, act now....

There are a good few managers out there who are sitting on there bums doing nothing, even if they take over now short term till the end of the season to see how they go would be a better option.

Are there? Who? Curbishley, McCarthy, Bruce, Sven... that's all I can think of.

Poyet, Di canio are 2 managers. They would cost less than the current waster.

[TheSandman]

The argument to keep him because of perceived lack of alternatives is dangerous.
So, some are happy to fiddle while Rome burns ?

If the Villa job became available, then its down to the owner to make th job to good to turn down.
If he truly has the club at heart he would be abl to make the right appointmnt.

Mind you, there is the crux - does he anymore ?

(excuse typing - Jack D encroaching!!)

I agree, its a mistake that many club have made and many clubs have paid the price for keeping faith with a sinking ship, act now....

There are a good few managers out there who are sitting on there bums doing nothing, even if they take over now short term till the end of the season to see how they go would be a better option.

Are there? Who? Curbishley, McCarthy, Bruce, Sven... that's all I can think of.

Poyet, Di canio are 2 managers. They would cost less than the current waster.

But would they jack in their current clubs midseason? I'm guessing no. Wait until summer and approach them then and we'll probably get a positive answer.