AVFC statement - McLeish sacked.

[Monty]

Then again: "The fans aren't seeing the top Villa side, they are seeing a lot of inexperienced kids. Sometimes there are more kids in the team than there are experienced players, so they have to take that into consideration. That would be the only thing I would ask that people understand from that point of view. Just because you wear that badge, doesn't mean to say you're European Cup quality."

I mean, these are the kids we're going to have to rely on in this crucial relegation battle - and we will have to rely on them as he himself constantly alludes to, partially due to injuries - and the man thinks this is the way to motivate them. On the eve of a crucial derby. I mean for fuck's sake, he doesn't half make life difficult for himself.

[Irish villain]

Wolves have never gone down that 'rather lose 4-3 than win 1-0' road. If he got them back up they'd love him and they probably are about his level. He's not a bad manager, he's just not good enough for us.

To hear you say that so openly gives me hope that something has tipped.

[dave.woodhall]

Wolves have never gone down that 'rather lose 4-3 than win 1-0' road. If he got them back up they'd love him and they probably are about his level. He's not a bad manager, he's just not good enough for us.

To hear you say that so openly gives me hope that something has tipped.

Don't take it as Gospel, it's just my thoughts on the situation.

[Irish villain]

Wolves have never gone down that 'rather lose 4-3 than win 1-0' road. If he got them back up they'd love him and they probably are about his level. He's not a bad manager, he's just not good enough for us.

To hear you say that so openly gives me hope that something has tipped.

Don't take it as Gospel, it's just my thoughts on the situation.

Of course, and I wouldn't like to pressure you in such a way. It's just that your opinion carries a lot of weight and any little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel is very welcome. It's nice to see that (various signs indicate) it's looking increasingly likely that a parting of the ways will happen regardless of our end of season plight.

[dave.woodhall]

Wolves have never gone down that 'rather lose 4-3 than win 1-0' road. If he got them back up they'd love him and they probably are about his level. He's not a bad manager, he's just not good enough for us.

To hear you say that so openly gives me hope that something has tipped.

Don't take it as Gospel, it's just my thoughts on the situation.

Of course, and I wouldn't like to pressure you in such a way. It's just that your opinion carries a lot of weight and any little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel is very welcome. It's nice to see that (various signs indicate) it's looking increasingly likely that a parting of the ways will happen regardless of our end of season plight.

Please don't think it's anything other than me talking last-night shite 

[Lowendbehold]

Wish it wouldn't say, "Go down" at the top of each page!

[andyh]

Just watching that YouTube clip of then end of the Bolton game, how fucking quick did Bannan run to get off the pitch and down the tunnel? He must have been worried about making last orders.

[KevinGage]

Saw him on Midlands Today and his demeanor was that of a man who has already been told that he's gone at the end of the season no matter what happens in the next three games.

I expect to see an official announcement the day after the season ends.
Is it too early to start a 'McLeish's Next Job' thread?

He'd be perfect for Wolves.

Being sent to Coventry would be more fitting.  He could keep his brand new house in Lapworth too,   easy enough commute. 

[Matt Collins]

Reading the article in the Telegraph it's hard not to sympathise with him. I'm starting to feel like it wouldn't just have been better for us if he'd never been appointed, it'd have been better for him too. It can't be easy to have so many people calling you incompetent. Vulgar abuse you can brush off, but people questioning how good you are at what you've devoted your life to, that can't be pleasant. Especially when, as is sadly the case here, that questioning is justified.

I feel very sorry for him. He's a thoroughly decent man and a nice guy. I never thought he'd be good enough or positive enough for us. But some of the bile spat at him leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The suggestion he doesn't care is just wrong.

[Matt Collins]

Just watching that YouTube clip of then end of the Bolton game, how fucking quick did Bannan run to get off the pitch and down the tunnel? He must have been worried about making last orders.

Perhaps he's a 22 yr old kid who's been getting loads of abuse from villa fans on twitter and wanted to escape that atmosphere as soon as possible?

[kipstone]

This man is the worst possible thing to have happened to the club since relegation to the 3rd division. His incompetence and inherent defence both with his tactics on the pitch and his lack of admission of responsibility off the pitch shows how incapable his skills are. The replacement players (e.g. Hutton) have fallen short, the youngsters have made huge efforts but even if Young, Downing and Milner were still with the club it is unlikely that Villa under McLeish would have been in any better position.

 The clubs impotent executive management and ownership are derelict in their responsibility, their ignorance of their understanding of the Clubs fans and heritage by even considering McLeish as a viable appointment. This is blasphemy and  typical of the blind USA management ethics,  ignoring their customers and putting themselves first.

[Tom Sawyer]

I don't blame McLeish for our current situation. He was offered an unbelievable opportunity by Lerner and co which he'd have been mad not to jump at given his situation at the time. He wasn't good enough, but to be honest a 12 year old kid could have spotted that. The Villa board are the real culprits for our current situation.

[KevinGage]

From an article on bbc.co.uk

"They realise the tough job I've got and perhaps that's why they've chosen me because they've seen me getting through tough jobs like this before."

he must be living in his own little world.  He's had this same tough job twice before in the premier league and has failed both times.  Seems like a really strange thing for him to even bring up, he must realise how that will read to anyone who knows his record in the league.  I genuinely think he's given up even thinking about what he says now.

That is just incredible.

Tough job? For fucks sake. Nowhere near as tough as the one he bollocksed up last season.

Alex, the reason they chose you is because they're fucking clueless.

I genuinely have an even lower opinion of this bloke than I did of O'Leary.

He's not as condescending about the club as O'leary was.  But the increasing volume of excuses used to justify his piss poor performance has parallels.


The one positive in all this is he increasingly has less room to maneuver.

If the football had been poor but the results okay, it might be a dilemma.  But it's not.

In fact, even if he was a thoroughly smashing, decent chap and had had us playing football on a par with Brazil 1970 at times this year, it wouldn't be enough.  Ultimately it's a results business.  Remove the emotion, the pro/anti McLeish arguments, where he came from and all the rest of it. Without bias, and in cold, clinical terms the results just haven't been good enough.  Nowhere near good enough. That should do for him in the end.

[bertlambshank]

Reading the article in the Telegraph it's hard not to sympathise with him. I'm starting to feel like it wouldn't just have been better for us if he'd never been appointed, it'd have been better for him too. It can't be easy to have so many people calling you incompetent. Vulgar abuse you can brush off, but people questioning how good you are at what you've devoted your life to, that can't be pleasant. Especially when, as is sadly the case here, that questioning is justified.

I feel very sorry for him. He's a thoroughly decent man and a nice guy. I never thought he'd be good enough or positive enough for us. But some of the bile spat at him leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The suggestion he doesn't care is just wrong.

Nice man.He is screwing us over for 2million a year pretending to be a football manager.His style of football is leaving a bad taste in the mouth,the taste of sick.
If he was half a man he would of walked by now.

[paul_e]

Reading the article in the Telegraph it's hard not to sympathise with him. I'm starting to feel like it wouldn't just have been better for us if he'd never been appointed, it'd have been better for him too. It can't be easy to have so many people calling you incompetent. Vulgar abuse you can brush off, but people questioning how good you are at what you've devoted your life to, that can't be pleasant. Especially when, as is sadly the case here, that questioning is justified.

I feel very sorry for him. He's a thoroughly decent man and a nice guy. I never thought he'd be good enough or positive enough for us. But some of the bile spat at him leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The suggestion he doesn't care is just wrong.

Nice man.He is screwing us over for 2million a year pretending to be a football manager.His style of football is leaving a bad taste in the mouth,the taste of sick.
If he was half a man he would of walked by now.

Completely remove the job from the conversation and I'd accept he was a decent guy but I don't have any respect for anyone in management who publically points the blame for failings at other people.  You're job is to be the focal point.  If everything goes well you get the plaudits, if it goes badly you accept the criticism, that's the fundamental truism of good man management.  The opposite is this teflon-coated approach where nothing sticks to you that McLeish has increasingly moved towards this season.

If all the blame was pointed at the under-performing seniors it would be frustrating but more understandable, that a number of times the finger has pointed at a guy who has only played a handful of top flight matches (think of Baker after the Chelsea game) makes it infuriating.  I've had managers like this in the past and all it leads to, in any environment, is a situation where you do just enough to avoid criticism but you never step up in case you make a target of yourself or you get people who openly rebel.  Both are a great way of taking a comfortable mid-table squad and getting them into a relegation battle.