An ex-manager speaks

[ez]

As others have said, it still shocks that despite everything the club went ahead and appointed him. There was no logic to it and it turned out even worse than I feared it would. Settling for draws or even low scoring defeats, Heskey on the wing, fewest home wins ever, McLeish punching the air after drawing at home to Stoke. It was all wrong. I'd have loved him to have done well with us for one it would have hacked off small heath but we were lucky the season finished when it did.

I believe he lives somewhere not far from me and I've seen him around Stratford a couple of times. I never spoke to him but my partner's daughter waited on his table once in a restaurant. She said he was very polite and a generous tipper too.

[peter w]

I really don't care that much for him. I can't have anything but a one-way feeling of enmity towards him. He made my team horrible towatch and he was awful.

he's not in the O'leary file which has one member.

Nor in the wankers file which has Mc and O'Neill as its lead members.

He's in his own fuck-off you shouldnt never have been here you useless shit file.

admittedly, he does speak well of us and comes across as being someone who genuinely felt honoured to be our manager. Its nice to read what he says about us.

But, I can only judge him in football terms. And, for that he can sod off.

[Steve R]

Because of where Martin O'Neill got them, the expectation levels are that they should be up in that top six.

It has fuck all to do with O'Neill.

It's surprising how many ex-managers I dislike more than the ex-manager who was one of the least competent.

[ciggiesnbeer]

I think the signing of Holman was a sign of how he would have shaped our squad. Industry, good attitude but very little quality.

Agreed. You can add "and unlikely to get any better" to that list.

I think McCleish managed like you would expect an old school defender to.

Understood how to keep it tight at the back, only had a vague idea of what to do attack wise and believed players hit their peak at around 30.

To be fair to him Holman was good for us for half a season. But he was not going to develop, like all of McCleishes signings (with the exception of Enda who was a youth bet that didnt work).

[Ads]

I think he looked at the squad; Warnock, Collins and Dunne, with Stan, Ireland, Bent, Gabby and thought if he could add one or two, he could see us comfortably mid-table. N'Zogbia had played well the previous season, Given is a solid keeper and he obviously thought Hutton was a good replacement for Young.

On paper, there appears the makings of an ok team. The fact only one player remains two seasons later tells you everything.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

I forgive him.

[Chris Harte]

He's in his own fuck-off you shouldnt never have been here you useless shit file.

But, I can only judge him in football terms. And, for that he can sod off.

Sorry, but I have to agree with Peter.

From the outset, my opinion was that I didn't want him at the club because of where he'd come from. The fact that some protested on Witton Lane at the very prospect for me made it a case of the club's custodian doing it to prove that he was in charge when he was finally employed. At least that's how it felt. And then we had the season that we had. Despite my feelings I tried to not act in a negative way at games, as that may (if multiplied) have been further detrimental to performances.

And I'm aware of the argument that Peter Withe and others of his type came from there (often via somewhere else) and were hugely positive, but that's how I felt.

[supertom]

Of all managers we've had since I've been a fan, I don't think I've ever been as sure of what we were in store for as I was when McLeish took over. Often with a new boss there's a sense of unpredictability. It might work, it might not. We watch and see how things unfold. I think we all new from day one what sort of football we were getting, and that we'd be struggling somewhat. I felt we'd be bottom half but comfortable from relegation. As it happens the shiteness exceeded expectations and we scraped through by the skin of our teeth.

We all knew what we were going to see on the pitch. There was largely an air of inevitably about the brand of football to expect and in the end no real surprise that he struggled and lasted a year.

[KevinGage]

He's in his own fuck-off you shouldnt never have been here you useless shit file.

But, I can only judge him in football terms. And, for that he can sod off.

Sorry, but I have to agree with Peter.

From the outset, my opinion was that I didn't want him at the club because of where he'd come from. The fact that some protested on Witton Lane at the very prospect for me made it a case of the club's custodian doing it to prove that he was in charge when he was finally employed. At least that's how it felt. And then we had the season that we had. Despite my feelings I tried to not act in a negative way at games, as that may (if multiplied) have been further detrimental to performances.

And I'm aware of the argument that Peter Withe and others of his type came from there (often via somewhere else) and were hugely positive, but that's how I felt.

His B-lose connections genuinely didn't bother me.

If he had been a hot up and coming young manager -the next big thing- I'd have been delighted to take him off their hands. If anything, it would have made it sweeter. 

No, it was his dull as ditchwater football under them and the fact that he was pretty close to the sack there that made the move such a perplexing one. The £2 million plus compo we gave that rabble probably kept them in existence too.

As Peter W says, he's not as big a shit as O'Dreary and a few others.  But he was quite capable of spinning yarns.  Telling the media he wasn't a defensive manager because he'd picked three forwards in his starting XI (doesn't matter if you have ten men behind the ball though, does it) and coming out with some very O'Leary-esque drivel about fans expectations (no divine right to top 4 just because we've won the European Cup once). 

I don't think anyone expected or demanded top 4 (or even top six) under him.  We did expect a wee bit better than the worst home record in out entire history and the same points tally that seen his SHA side relegated the year previously.    He can spin it all he likes, and his mates in the media can help him, but he didn't get the boot because Villa fans didn't give him a chance.  He got the boot because he was pish.

[ez]

He's in his own fuck-off you shouldnt never have been here you useless shit file.

But, I can only judge him in football terms. And, for that he can sod off.

Sorry, but I have to agree with Peter.

From the outset, my opinion was that I didn't want him at the club because of where he'd come from. The fact that some protested on Witton Lane at the very prospect for me made it a case of the club's custodian doing it to prove that he was in charge when he was finally employed. At least that's how it felt. And then we had the season that we had. Despite my feelings I tried to not act in a negative way at games, as that may (if multiplied) have been further detrimental to performances.

And I'm aware of the argument that Peter Withe and others of his type came from there (often via somewhere else) and were hugely positive, but that's how I felt.

His B-lose connections genuinely didn't bother me.

If he had been a hot up and coming young manager -the next big thing- I'd have been delighted to take him off their hands. If anything, it would have made it sweeter. 

No, it was his dull as ditchwater football under them and the fact that he was pretty close to the sack there that made the move such a perplexing one. The £2 million plus compo we gave that rabble probably kept them in existence too.

As Peter W says, he's not as big a shit as O'Dreary and a few others.  But he was quite capable of spinning yarns.  Telling the media he wasn't a defensive manager because he'd picked three forwards in his starting XI (doesn't matter if you have ten men behind the ball though, does it) and coming out with some very O'Leary-esque drivel about fans expectations (no divine right to top 4 just because we've won the European Cup once). 

I don't think anyone expected or demanded top 4 (or even top six) under him.  We did expect a wee bit better than the worst home record in out entire history and the same points tally that seen his SHA side relegated the year previously.    He can spin it all he likes, and his mates in the media can help him, but he didn't get the boot because Villa fans didn't give him a chance.  He got the boot because he was pish.

We actually got one less point than blues did the season before when they were relegated.

[Villa in Denmark]

I'll never forget switching on for that spuds game to be met by the bemused tones of the commentators trying to work out the formation from the starting line-up, then seeing them line up and saying that they'd never seen such a defeatist line up.

That season summed up in 1 quote.

Oh and never mind how nice a bloke he appears to be, he managed to put my son (8 at the time) off watching Villa games with me, and pretty much off football altogether.
For that he'll never get anything other than a dose of the fuckems from this side of the North Sea.

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

Because of where Martin O'Neill got them, the expectation levels are that they should be up in that top six.

It has fuck all to do with O'Neill.

It's surprising how many ex-managers I dislike more than the ex-manager who was one of the least competent.

That guff about O'Neill is the bit that annoys me the most.  This media-perpetuated myth that O'Neill hoisted us to some previously unknown heights.  Until McLeish came along, only Sir Graham (2nd spell) and Houllier failed to crack the top six in the Premiership era.  And none of the others had the budget O'Neill blew.  Yet the popular press would peddle it that we should be grateful to the stroppy little git.

[VillaZogmariner]

That bluenose bastard should never have been signed by the Villa.

[peter w]

But its something that resonates with the rank and file fan. You get into conversations about football and people still seem bewildered when I say I was happy to see O'Neill go because he was shite. he just had enough money thrown at him to hide it for a bit. They always bring up us finishing 6th for3 seasons under him and again can't understand why I'm now getting apoplectic. They all believe the media shite. Even when I point out his many flaws and how he's helped to fuck us up, they'll still disbelieve me and say I'm wrong.

He's won the media alright.

[Jon Crofts]

I've no axe to grind with him, he was the wrong man and I always thought deep down he knew it.  He's clearly a proud man and has maintained his dignity, like it or not he's got Aston Villa on his CV, there's many proper football people out there who'd like to be able to add that to theirs.