The Ultimate Choice

[Mr Diggles]

As it is, when I look at our history and see the spells of the second and third tier football in our record books I shudder; the top flight is the only place for Villa

I understand what you're saying but there are many people who consider our days of second and third division football to be amongst our finest. I don't shudder when I look back at the second division days - I loved it.

Then again, rose-tinted specs and all that

Yes, it does appear that the general perception is that unless you're in the top league you're nowhere, not necessarily something I agree with. Only a small proportion of the teams in the premier league really enjoy themselves, for the rest its a long, unrewarding struggle to mid-table anonymity or worse. Football is still played in this country outside of those 20 teams, and the Championship looks a competitive old-fashioned league where surprise winners can come from almost any of the teams competing. If we dropped down it would be bad of course, but there are things to look forward to also.

[atomicjam]

I don't want us relegated. I do not want AM as the Manager. The latter prospect will almost certainly mean another season of the worst football I have ever witnessed at Villa Park. More bigging up of the elite clubs and other crap about the 'Theatre of Dreams' and the constant blaming of individuals. His interview on the OS yesterday when he singled out Baker, and then said 'but I do not blame him' is some of the most cowardly words of contradiction I have ever heard from a Manager.

If we go down there is no promise that AM will go anyway. I want Randy to wake up, see the mess that we are in and act by sacking the failed Manager he chased and employed. I do not think that is likely to happen, unfortunately. So I sit on the fence regarding the original question- if Randy does not act it is a lose lose situation for me.

[PaulWinch again]

I just desperately want him gone. He is as bad as I can remember at Villa, he's worse than O'Leary genuinely.

[WarleyWonder]

After yet another poor performance and thats putting it mildly I ask the question what are the Villa about at the moment? what do we actually bring to the table? Entertainment is zero - Performance is always poor apart from the energy of the kids - AM is a joke (enough said). When you actually sit back and review the matches this season have you been entertained? Do you still want to go the match? We all know the feelings of fans (and more are becoming vocal in the past few months than ever before and yet fans still do not give him stick at home games. Why not?

[Fergal]

As has often been said before, we at least thought with McLeish we would have a defensively sound set up.  How wrong were we?

What I also thought we'd get with him is a spirit for fighting till the last kick, how wrong was I?

My thoughts exactly.  I wasnt happy when he became boss but I was expecting a few hard fought 1-0's at least . A bit of passion and spirt and better in defence. 

Thirded. It's as though he's got rid of the things he did right and kept the rest.

Perhaps those things were not by design as many thought, me included

I don't watch much Scottish league football, but the Blues model mentioned above is pretty much how the Scotland national side played under him aswell, so I'd go for 'design'.

But I'm at a loss to explain why it's gone so badly wrong for us this season.

I'm not, he is absolutely out of his depth in the premiership.

[django]

As has often been said before, we at least thought with McLeish we would have a defensively sound set up.  How wrong were we?

What I also thought we'd get with him is a spirit for fighting till the last kick, how wrong was I?

But what I didn't really expect is this grovelling up to the opposition that we've witnessed in his after match interviews, "different agendas" on more than one occasion and "theater of dreams".   God knows what goes on in his pre match motivational speeches, does he even give them?  Earlier in the year we had all that arse licking you tube clip of our lot overly pally with Man City players prior to the game at their place where we were stuffed, and again yesterday, we had smiles for Young and Rooney, this, again after the same treatment.  What is he doing about this, would the ManU players be doing the same had we beaten them?  Not a chance.

Who the fuck in the club cares about our predicament, not the manager or the players it appears.  We need someone to galvanize a mentality to at least try and make us winners, something to show the fans that the players and manager care. Not this 'we're here to make up the numbers' attitude that affects us at present.  We're Aston Villa for Christ sake.

This last paragraph sums it all up for me.

[flybo]

Only two teams in Scotland Rangers and Celtic and he still managed third

[Dave Cooper please]

Only two teams in Scotland Rangers and Celtic and he still managed third

And second with Motherwell.

Sorry, just like throwing this in to annoy people!

[PaulWinch again]

Thing is I don't really care what he's done elsewhere. He's been fucking atrocious with us and that's what matters.

[JUAN PABLO]

change of subject - FA Cup Final 5.15 saturday . I HATE MODERN FOOTBALL

[JUAN PABLO]

Those comments were on a par with Houlliers sickening Anfield love fest and for that reason alone he needs to be fucked off.

 I can kind of understand Houliers love for 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' and it was cringe worthy but AMC with Manure is not acceptable.

  Could you imagine him showing loyalty to Villa and Lerner?  He'd be off to an "elite club" before you could could blink.  I see absolutely no positive in the appointment of McLeish.

Billy , hes got no chance of an *elite club *   , I wish he would just f**k off to Wolves .

[john e]

change of subject - FA Cup Final 5.15 saturday . I HATE MODERN FOOTBALL

wont that conflict with the X factor !

[luke25]

If its a straight choice between the Championship without McLeish or the Premier league with McLeish then i'd personally rather take the relegation.

[mrfuse]

I wish I knew the solution to this conundrum? Everyone that doesn't want relegation what will be the way forward?

Dross football and the hope we can can get past the first stages of the cups?

I really cant see a way out of this Mess unless we get rid of McLeish and employ a young Manager who wants to at least try playing football.

[joe_c]

Both Brian and the Guardian article offer compelling reasons as to why we should think the unthinkable, embrace the abyss. And yet…

Allow me to go off at a tangent. When I was at University and we were approaching the end of our first year in the halls of residence and thoughts turned to house sharing for the following year. In our social group there was a one lad, a text book annoying Student Grant type, who nobody wanted to live with but who everyone agreed would tolerate if it came down to it.

The day arrived where we all went to the bar and delivered the bombshell that we didn’t want to share a house with him. He urged us to give him another chance and we agreed to do so and started looking for a bigger house. But we all knew as soon as we agreed to include him that we REALLY didn’t want to spend the next year in the same house as him and a second and final bombshell was dropped a week later.

The point I’m making in what is a very roundabout way is that while it remains only a possibility, we can all entertain thoughts of how it might not be so bad and how there may be benefits to be enjoyed but if it becomes a reality I don’t think that’s going to be the case. Be careful what you wish for and all that.