Wigan Athletic v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[villadelph]

We have a ten million pound winger.

Why are we not using our ten million pound winger?

[TimTheVillain]

As dire as dire can be.

I now think that McLeish should be sacked, he's had a good enough go at the job and he'll never , ever succeed.

He is a poor Manager, Managing a team of players who need a good Manager, especially the Gardners coming through.

Get rid as soon as we're safe.

[pauliewalnuts]

Can't defend that performance (only saw the second half but the match thread leads me to believe it was no better in the first).
We won't go down, but the board have to realise that no matter what, they have to replace him as soon as the season finishes, not now because there is no one available who will significantly improve this bunch of disinterested fuckwits.

We could always put Kevin McDonald and Sid in charge until the end of the season.

I would do this immedaitely.

You don't have to be particularly perceptive to see that we're on a downward slide, that the squad is bereft of spirit or confidence, and that the support are getting more and more disillusioned.

There is an air of doom around the club at the moment.

[Disco01]

That today has done it for me. I have tried to support him and wanted him to do well for the Villa but after leaving Ireland and N'Zog on the bench against Wigan and then bringing that useless lump Heskey on i'm sorry that is just unbelievable.

I fear we are going down.

[PeterWithesShin]

Never mind this league, we must be one of the worst sides to watch in any of the 4 leagues.

[Compass]

We have a ten million pound winger.

Why are we not using our ten million pound winger?

And fans want him to spend more money in the summer. 

Surely even Randy should ask why, but again he's too stupid to realise. Can't believe all the effort he made of bringing in this rubbish manager.

[tarzansbrother]

I don't think McLeish deserves this.

It's like attacking Anne Widdecombe for not winning Strictly.

He is just a poor prat promoted above his abilities by an incompetent board of directors who know very little about football and care even less.

Alex McLeish is just a decent bloke totally and completely out of his depth and hung out to dry by his employers.   I feel very sorry for him.   He must go of course but the board will even screw up the timing of his departure.

He fully deserves it. He got a 3 year double your money deal to manage our great club. Both fuckin barrells, get rid.

[caster troy]

Can't defend that performance (only saw the second half but the match thread leads me to believe it was no better in the first).
We won't go down, but the board have to realise that no matter what, they have to replace him as soon as the season finishes, not now because there is no one available who will significantly improve this bunch of disinterested fuckwits.

We could always put Kevin McDonald and Sid in charge until the end of the season.

Ronald McDonald and Sid Owen would be a step up for us at this point.

[damon loves JT]

Its like we have a huge python wrapped around our club and its squeezing the life out of us.

I prefer the analogy of a sucking gunshot wound to the chest, slowly filling our lungs with blood. But your python is OK.

I prefer to think of it as a big ginger man taking a giant shit on all of us, one after another. All the while demanding that we pay him £30 each for him to do it.

There used to be a club upstairs at a pub behind London Bridge station where it was only £15. Inflation sucks

[villadelph]

fuck knows how MOTD are gonna get highlights from that I wouldn't bother

MOTD producers say that every week with the Villa match.

[Virgil Caine]

If McLeish had any sense of dignity he would resign tonight.

[TonyD]

I don't think McLeish deserves this.

It's like attacking Anne Widdecombe for not winning Strictly.

He is just a poor prat promoted above his abilities by an incompetent board of directors who know very little about football and care even less.

Alex McLeish is just a decent bloke totally and completely out of his depth and hung out to dry by his employers.   I feel very sorry for him.   He must go of course but the board will even screw up the timing of his departure.

RL may have employed him but god he makes shit decisions.  You cannot feel sorry for him - he is digging his own grave.

[gervilla]

There is absolutely nothing positive to say about that performance. Nothing.

Warnock didn't give a goal away.
That's it though.

[Simmons]

Well, that was pretty mediocre, wasn't it? I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the starting line-up. No-one played particularly poorly but there's just nothing there, is there? What's the problem? McLeish picked a decent side. Are some of the players not as good as we think/hope? Is it the way he's telling them to play? We are crying out for better off-the-ball movement. Never thought I'd say it but we're really going to miss Keane when he goes. Also can't help feeling we still really need a bastard in midfield.

On the stream I was watching, one of the commentators expressed their surprise that Gabby was captain today. He reckoned that either Collins or Hutton should be. Seriously? What kind of research do these guys get paid to do?

It's worrying. Some combination of the players we have, the staff and the general air of decline around the club really spells trouble. You can't see Lerner getting rid of McLeish either so I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. And it's not going to get immediate-relegation worse, it's going to get increasingly dull, grinding out draws, regularly finishing in 14th worse.

Given - 7 - stayed alert and made a couple of decent stops at the end.
Hutton - 7 - I don't rate him and think his crossing is terrible but he was very good today.
Collins - 6 - meh. Didn't do anything wrong but doesn't inspire confidence.
Cuellar - 7.5 - MOTM - looked solid, dependable, and a step up from Dunne. Hope he gets that contract.
Warnock - 6 - a better performance.
Albrighton - 6.5 - I like him. He tries and looks a threat. Tracked back well.
Gardner - 6 - he's going to be a good player and needs the game time so we should stick with him throughout. He battled well.
Bannan - 6.5 - anything good we were going to do was going to come through him or Keane. Good vision and just like Gardner needs a run of games.
Agbonlahor - 6 - didn't show much but I don't think sticking him on the left wing is the answer to anything.
Keane - 7 - always looking for opportunities for one-twos and through balls. The kind of player we need.
Bent - 6 - he really is one-dimensional. Poor in general build-up play and if the ball isn't running for him doesn't look like that great a finisher either. In his defence, he was really feeding off scraps again today. Injury looked worrying.

Heskey - 6 - why, why, why, why? I don't want to be a Heskey-basher but his star clearly waned some time ago. And he's not a right winger. Or an attacking midfielder. Or much of a striker anymore. Waste of a sub. I know N'Zogbia didn't do much when he came on but it would have been preferable.
Ireland - 6 - didn't get into the game.
N'Zogbia - 6 - didn't get into the game.

[MarkM]

Consider that if we stay up, we will have another season of this shit to look forward to