Eck Speaks

[VillaAlways]

Bit of a contradiction I'd say

'The last day at Norwich was brutal. I knew I needed to be out of the job'.

Prior to that he says


‘I’ll prepare a dossier on what we need to do this summer as quickly as I can,’ said the club’s manager.

But McLeish sensed immediately that a dossier wouldn’t be needed.
It’s not going to happen, is it?’ McLeish said, taking a look at his boss’s face. ‘You don’t have to say it.'

[VillaAlways]

Bit of a contradiction I'd say. The bloke talks utter shite

'The last day at Norwich was brutal. I knew I needed to be out of the job'.

Prior to that he says


‘I’ll prepare a dossier on what we need to do this summer as quickly as I can,’ said the club’s manager.

But McLeish sensed immediately that a dossier wouldn’t be needed.
It’s not going to happen, is it?’ McLeish said, taking a look at his boss’s face. ‘You don’t have to say it.'

[Jimbo]

Bit of a contradiction I'd say

'The last day at Norwich was brutal. I knew I needed to be out of the job'.

Prior to that he says


‘I’ll prepare a dossier on what we need to do this summer as quickly as I can,’ said the club’s manager.

But McLeish sensed immediately that a dossier wouldn’t be needed.
It’s not going to happen, is it?’ McLeish said, taking a look at his boss’s face. ‘You don’t have to say it.'

I think when he says: "I knew I needed to be out of the job," I think he means: "I knew the chairman, the players, the fans, the ground staff, the programme sellers, the stewards, the blokes selling hotdogs and burgers under the Aston Expressway, the publicans of Witton, Newtown and Perry Barr, and anybody who had the remotest speck of interest in watching Match Of The Day without feeling the compulsion to stab themselves in the stomach needed me out of the job."

[Risso]

Even in the season that Blues finished 9th, they struggled to score an average of one goal a game.  He was the very epitome of a cautious, dull manager.  What a deluded fool he is.

[sid1964]

He is obviously putting his name forward for Ipswich / Derby jobs, when they become available!!!

[N'ZMAV]

The fucker has put a few lbs on.

[Concrete John]

This bit I agree with:-

McLeish adds: ‘Randy Lerner had asked me to work on a project. He said, ‘‘We want you to work with the club, rather than at the club. We must drive wages down while remaining competitive’’. But when you lose the likes of John Carew, Ashley Young, Stewart Downing, Gareth Barry, James Milner ... the quality Villa had out on the pitch was diminishing. It was going to be a tough ask. It was a rebuilding job.

‘I understand, given what happened towards the end of last season, that  it was difficult for me to stay. But  no-one is able to complete a project of that size in 12 months. I was confident I knew what was needed. There were big changes in my mind ahead of this season. We needed players. An influx of quality. It’s no secret, if you bring in a better quality of player, you produce an improvement in results.

He may have been the wrong man for the job, but the rebuilding he's talking about is true.  Lambo has now brought in 8 players, including Holman, and we're all accepting he needs time.

[Concrete John]

Even in the season that Blues finished 9th, they struggled to score an average of one goal a game.  He was the very epitome of a cautious, dull manager.  What a deluded fool he is.

That's the bit I never get when he is interviewed.  He's either lying to protect his reputation or completely unselfaware of his own managerial style?

[TheTimVilla]

I was thinking that. And the article said he'd lost weight!

[rjp]

He's correct that the Norwich game was brutal.  The home game against the baggies (Edit: it was of course Bolton) was bad but the fans en masse really let go that day.

[pedro25]

This bit I agree with:-

McLeish adds: ‘Randy Lerner had asked me to work on a project. He said, ‘‘We want you to work with the club, rather than at the club. We must drive wages down while remaining competitive’’. But when you lose the likes of John Carew, Ashley Young, Stewart Downing, Gareth Barry, James Milner ... the quality Villa had out on the pitch was diminishing. It was going to be a tough ask. It was a rebuilding job.

‘I understand, given what happened towards the end of last season, that  it was difficult for me to stay. But  no-one is able to complete a project of that size in 12 months. I was confident I knew what was needed. There were big changes in my mind ahead of this season. We needed players. An influx of quality. It’s no secret, if you bring in a better quality of player, you produce an improvement in results.

He may have been the wrong man for the job, but the rebuilding he's talking about is true.  Lambo has now brought in 8 players, including Holman, and we're all accepting he needs time.

Barry was sold ages before and replaced in part by Sidwell in advance and latterly Downing and Delph to various degrees.  But in terms of the other four they were on paper replaced with 4 good quality players for decent money, not bargain basement players,
Bent 24 mill, Makoun 6 mill, Ireland 8 mill, N'Zogbia 9.5 mill.  The fact McLeish got soo little out of them reflects more on him than the quality of those 4, which when signed was not really in question.

[Jon Crofts]

Wrong man, wrong place, wrong time, wrong club, wrong universe, just wrong.

[dave.woodhall]

Nothing here that wouldn't be expected from a very poor manager who would like another job in football.

But where do they find these ignorant journalists? "In terms of size, the two cities are comparable."

Population of Glasgow - 592,820
Population of Birmingham - 1,016,800

Depends on your definition of Glasgow city. They've been comparable in size for most of their history. Anyway, wrong man, wrong club, wrong time. He's touting for his next job and no manager is ever going to not make excuses for their failings.

[N'ZMAV]

The Bolton game at home put that final nail in his coffin

[PaulWinch again]

He needs to stop talking about it all now, move on Mcleish.