Why was McLeish sacked?

[ChicagoLion]

Lambert is the worst Villa manager I have ever seen. I'm only 23, so not sure about worst in our history...but definitely the worst in my lifetime. How anybody can think he is anything other then shit is beyond me.

I'm 52 and he's comfortably in the worst four I have seen. I completely concur with your last sentence. I've given up wondering why people can't see it and have resigned myself to knowing absolutely in my mind he's shit but realising everyone else thinks I'm wrong. I don't have a problem with that

Well I don't think you are wrong, the others being  McNeill, Turner and  DOL or TSM.

[Monty]

Other than the tactics, which were both prehistoric and embarrassing, the thing I disliked most about McLeish was the way he would pass the buck increasingly with every post match interview. Eventually he'd essentially shrug his shoulders and say 'it's not my fault, lots of injuries, young players' which just said to the young players, very impressionable and struggling and doing their best in very tough circumstances and with really poor tactics, 'it's your fault entirely we're as bad as this.' I thought it was terrible.

[pauliewalnuts]

Other than the tactics, which were both prehistoric and embarrassing, the thing I disliked most about McLeish was the way he would pass the buck increasingly with every post match interview. Eventually he'd essentially shrug his shoulders and say 'it's not my fault, lots of injuries, young players' which just said to the young players, very impressionable and struggling and doing their best in very tough circumstances and with really poor tactics, 'it's your fault entirely we're as bad as this.' I thought it was terrible.

I still had my season ticket in the McLeish season, and my abiding memory of that season is waking up on match day morning, thinking "Fuck this, I really don't want to go".

I appreciate things at home aren't good under Lambert, but I will take trying but failing over not trying and failing every single time.

[Dave Clark Five]

The fact that there's only one single person on this forum who feels that McLeish was harshly treated says it all really.

To be fair, Dan seems to agree as well, so that's two people. But based on his conspiracy nonsense he does seem to be the suggestible type.

Nothing less than would be expected.

[Monty]

Lambert is the worst Villa manager I have ever seen. I'm only 23, so not sure about worst in our history...but definitely the worst in my lifetime. How anybody can think he is anything other then shit is beyond me.

I'm 52 and he's comfortably in the worst four I have seen. I completely concur with your last sentence. I've given up wondering why people can't see it and have resigned myself to knowing absolutely in my mind he's shit but realising everyone else thinks I'm wrong. I don't have a problem with that

Well I don't think you are wrong, the others being  McNeill, Turner and  DOL or TSM.

So it's bottom five, really. Not that it detracts from your point much, just it is bottom five. I think I might have to agree with you, as it happens, although I think Lambert will go on to be a better manager than Gregory or Sir Brian.

[Dave]

The fact that there's only one single person on this forum who feels that McLeish was harshly treated says it all really.

To be fair, Dan seems to agree as well, so that's two people. But based on his conspiracy nonsense he does seem to be the suggestible type.

Nothing less than would be expected.

Quite. Surprised that you agree though.

[Dave Clark Five]

McLeish on Sky Sports tonight. Obviously a football man of long standing. Just a pity he was treated so badly at Villa Park.

He seemed a decent bloke, but he was a dismal failure as a manager at Villa Park however you decide to look at it.

He was treated horrendously by the fans and given no support from Lerner.

Generally treated well until half a dozen games before the end of a season when everyone expected a damp squib of relegation, when everyone got a bit upset by us losing to a shit Bolton side.

At least he was treated well by those who happened to drink at the same Friday night pub as he did.

He did seem to be a pleasant bloke though. Even though he was a shit football manager.

I agree, he seemed a nice bloke, but this "treated horrendously by the fans" thing is utter nonsense, it really is.

He got plenty of support.

The vast majority of us would give him a go once he got the job. The only thing he could have done to make that support evaporate was revert to type and start playing like he had Blues playing, and that's exactly what he did. That is pretty much exactly the time the crowd turned on him.

He actually got longer than the manager before him did. We turned on Houllier much earlier than McLeish.

I've never been as embarased to be a Villa fan as i was at times under him with the way he sent us out. I genuinely couldn't give a flying fuck that he came from Small Heath. Had he been a decent manager rather than a byword for defensive negativity, the fact we'd taken him from them would have been a *bonus* not a stick to beat him with.

He wasn't, though, he was a horribly negative manager who blew his only chance at the big time.

I think to that team he sent out at White Hart Lane and I honestly get more embarrassed than I do when I think back to some of the severe beatings we took in the mid 80s.

The fact that there's only one single person on this forum who feels that McLeish was harshly treated says it all really.

So many things wrong in one post.

[Dave Clark Five]

The fact that there's only one single person on this forum who feels that McLeish was harshly treated says it all really.

To be fair, Dan seems to agree as well, so that's two people. But based on his conspiracy nonsense he does seem to be the suggestible type.

Nothing less than would be expected.

Quite. Surprised that you agree though.

No chance.

[Ads]

Lambert is definitely in the bottom 1. Well, as long as we ignore Turner, McNeil, Venglos, O'Leary and McLeish.

I wish there was a hyperbole button so you could switch off the hyperbole poorly masquerading as considered opinion for a while. It's far too Villa Talk for me.

[Monty]

McLeish on Sky Sports tonight. Obviously a football man of long standing. Just a pity he was treated so badly at Villa Park.

He seemed a decent bloke, but he was a dismal failure as a manager at Villa Park however you decide to look at it.

He was treated horrendously by the fans and given no support from Lerner.

Generally treated well until half a dozen games before the end of a season when everyone expected a damp squib of relegation, when everyone got a bit upset by us losing to a shit Bolton side.

At least he was treated well by those who happened to drink at the same Friday night pub as he did.

He did seem to be a pleasant bloke though. Even though he was a shit football manager.

I agree, he seemed a nice bloke, but this "treated horrendously by the fans" thing is utter nonsense, it really is.

He got plenty of support.

The vast majority of us would give him a go once he got the job. The only thing he could have done to make that support evaporate was revert to type and start playing like he had Blues playing, and that's exactly what he did. That is pretty much exactly the time the crowd turned on him.

He actually got longer than the manager before him did. We turned on Houllier much earlier than McLeish.

I've never been as embarased to be a Villa fan as i was at times under him with the way he sent us out. I genuinely couldn't give a flying fuck that he came from Small Heath. Had he been a decent manager rather than a byword for defensive negativity, the fact we'd taken him from them would have been a *bonus* not a stick to beat him with.

He wasn't, though, he was a horribly negative manager who blew his only chance at the big time.

I think to that team he sent out at White Hart Lane and I honestly get more embarrassed than I do when I think back to some of the severe beatings we took in the mid 80s.

The fact that there's only one single person on this forum who feels that McLeish was harshly treated says it all really.

So many things wrong in one post.

Would you care to elucidate what is wrong and why it is? Paulie didn't make that many points there.

[Monty]

Lambert is definitely in the bottom 1. Well, as long as we ignore Turner, McNeil, Venglos, O'Leary and McLeish.

I was there was a hyperbole button so you could switch off the hyperbole poorly masquerading as considered opinion for a while. It's far too Villa Talk for me.

Venglos is an interesting one, because he's probably a better manager overall than JG or BL, but a worse manager for the Villa. I think Lambert will probably have a better managerial career than those last two, but he may turn out to be simply a worse manager for us.

[dave.woodhall]

Lambert is definitely in the bottom 1. Well, as long as we ignore Turner, McNeil, Venglos, O'Leary and McLeish.

I was there was a hyperbole button so you could switch off the hyperbole poorly masquerading as considered opinion for a while. It's far too Villa Talk for me.

Venglos is an interesting one, because he's probably a better manager overall than JG or BL, but a worse manager for the Villa. I think Lambert will probably have a better managerial career than those last two, but he may turn out to be simply a worse manager for us.

Venglos wasn't a particularly good manager but if there was such a thing as a professor of management he would have been the best.   

[Monty]

Lambert is definitely in the bottom 1. Well, as long as we ignore Turner, McNeil, Venglos, O'Leary and McLeish.

I was there was a hyperbole button so you could switch off the hyperbole poorly masquerading as considered opinion for a while. It's far too Villa Talk for me.

Venglos is an interesting one, because he's probably a better manager overall than JG or BL, but a worse manager for the Villa. I think Lambert will probably have a better managerial career than those last two, but he may turn out to be simply a worse manager for us.

Venglos wasn't a particularly good manager but if there was such a thing as a professor of management he would have been the best.   

That's a nice formulation, I like that.

[Ads]

Lambert is currently seeing us mid-table, but at least on an upward turn, slow and grinding at times, with every inch attritional- like Ivan clawing hard by yard back from the 6th Army, but it's progress, slow and bloody.

That puts us on a par with at least one season with some of our more successful managers of the past 25 years; 13th under BFR, 11th under O'Neill, who can remember 2000-1 under JG?, SGT dreadful and ill fated second spell, while Little fell off the cliff and didn't get the chance to see us take the plunge or come close. Lambert has different circumstances to work under and different competition to deal with, but only time will tell if he shares O'Neill's destiny of being mid-table but on the up. I think so. 12-10th this term, higher there after.

[Dave Clark Five]

McLeish on Sky Sports tonight. Obviously a football man of long standing. Just a pity he was treated so badly at Villa Park.

He seemed a decent bloke, but he was a dismal failure as a manager at Villa Park however you decide to look at it.

He was treated horrendously by the fans and given no support from Lerner.

Generally treated well until half a dozen games before the end of a season when everyone expected a damp squib of relegation, when everyone got a bit upset by us losing to a shit Bolton side.

At least he was treated well by those who happened to drink at the same Friday night pub as he did.

He did seem to be a pleasant bloke though. Even though he was a shit football manager.

I agree, he seemed a nice bloke, but this "treated horrendously by the fans" thing is utter nonsense, it really is.

He got plenty of support.

The vast majority of us would give him a go once he got the job. The only thing he could have done to make that support evaporate was revert to type and start playing like he had Blues playing, and that's exactly what he did. That is pretty much exactly the time the crowd turned on him.

He actually got longer than the manager before him did. We turned on Houllier much earlier than McLeish.

I've never been as embarased to be a Villa fan as i was at times under him with the way he sent us out. I genuinely couldn't give a flying fuck that he came from Small Heath. Had he been a decent manager rather than a byword for defensive negativity, the fact we'd taken him from them would have been a *bonus* not a stick to beat him with.

He wasn't, though, he was a horribly negative manager who blew his only chance at the big time.

I think to that team he sent out at White Hart Lane and I honestly get more embarrassed than I do when I think back to some of the severe beatings we took in the mid 80s.

The fact that there's only one single person on this forum who feels that McLeish was harshly treated says it all really.

So many things wrong in one post.

Would you care to elucidate what is wrong and why it is? Paulie didn't make that many points there.

The treatment of Alex McLeish by our supporters at Norwich was an utter disgrace. It was wholly because he came from Blues.