McLeish Football Focus interview Sat 6th Dec

[supertom]

We never got hammered under Mcleish did we ? Certainly no embarrassing 0-4's or 1-4's at home or 8-0's !

Until losing Dunne at the back we were reasonably solid under him. Of course scoring goals was the major issue. We also didn't help ourselves with giving away so many free-kicks around the edge of the box so often during Hutton's shit days, Collins and Warnock (who was utterly horrendous that season).

Our gameplan last season and this has been essentially exactly the same as McLeish. Defend most of the game and try and nick a result. Go a goal up and hold it. A goal down and most times it's game over.

I do think McLeish had the most horrendous injury hit of recent years though. Losing three key players long term/permanently in the course of month. Turning us from comfortable mid-table to probably another 2 games from relegation had the season been 40 games instead of 38. We were entirely reliant on Bent getting goals. Likewise Stan was still one of our top scorers that season when he got injured too.

Houllier wins the injury award hands down....think at one point in November that year Sidwell, NRC and Petrov were all injured at the same time so it was incredibly Hogg (warming the Huddersfield bench) and Bannan as the midfield two. Gabby, Heskey and Carew were also injured at the same time so the Fonz started a few games around that period.

I think Houllier at least had the benefit of being able to go and sign Bent and give us a huge jolt that season.
Sadly for Eck he was only allowed to bring in Robbie Keane for about 8 games. That long drawn out winless run was gut wrenching.

[PeterWithesShin]

The McLeish season is the only time I got virtually no enjoyment from to games and stopped looking forward to going to VP, from about Feb onwards I actually started hating going to games. As shit as it's been at times under Lambert, i've never felt that way during his time.

[peter w]

I still feel to this day that the Bolton game was a major turning point for me as a fan, it was the night a i started to fall out of love with football.

I'd actually mostly written a piece for H&V that night about footballing myths such as Rene Higuita's scorpion kick (the whistle had already been blown so as spectacular as it was it wasn't as the game was being played). The other one was about sides being at their most vulnerable after scoring. Then we went 1 up and Bolton went up the other end and equalised.

[saunders_heroes]

The McLeish season is the only time I got virtually no enjoyment from to games and stopped looking forward to going to VP, from about Feb onwards I actually started hating going to games. As shit as it's been at times under Lambert, i've never felt that way during his time.

It's all about opinions of course but for me the Lambert era at Villa is the most painful I've ever experienced in all my 37 years as a regular at Villa Park. McLeish was bad but at least it didn't last long.

[Gregorys Boy]

The Lambert era seems worse because it has gone on much longer. At the end of McLeish's one season I think most Villa fans agreed that things would not improved if he got a second and that the chairman was right in his call to sack him.  After Lambert's debut season most of us were willing to give him another season because we did at least finish the season strong, and there were bright sparks along the way.  The difference between the two is that McLeish benefitted from still having a lot of players from the MON days and so actually made a decent start to the season, and picked up one or two good results (Chelsea away) along the way.  Lambert had it tougher as he has had to rebuild almost a whole side/squad.

[silhillvilla]

The lowest point for me was that Xmas under lambert that went 0-8, 0-4 and 0-3 then the cup exits v millwall and the Bradford debacle.
That period for me topped any of the mcleish travesties.

[Gregorys Boy]

The lowest point for me was that Xmas under lambert that went 0-8, 0-4 and 0-3 then the cup exits v millwall and the Bradford debacle.
That period for me topped any of the mcleish travesties.

Agreed, but still think that overall McLeish is worse.

[Exeter 77]

I felt the same as PWS and began to dread going to games in the McLeish era. To put it in a different context I moved house on 22nd March 2012 and Villa didn't win a game for 6 months after that (Swansea in September) - I thought the house was cursed.

[AV82EC]

The Houllier season was one of those what might have been. As someone alluded to we had appalling injuries in Oct/Nov/Dec but I'll never forget that half hour against Man United when we should have had 5 and ended up hanging on for a 2-2. But as someone rightly points out, Wolves at home that season, uuurgghhh! Oh and throwing the Cup game at Citeh to be ready for Bolton and somehow losing 3-2 despite tearing them a new one. And the night at Anfield, oh dear.....

[enigma]

The lowest point for me was that Xmas under lambert that went 0-8, 0-4 and 0-3 then the cup exits v millwall and the Bradford debacle.
That period for me topped any of the mcleish travesties.

Agreed. I'll be forty at the end of this month and that's the worst time I've ever had as a fan. The worst times I've known at Villa Park have come under Lambert but that particular spell was just horrendous.

[saunders_heroes]

The lowest point for me was that Xmas under lambert that went 0-8, 0-4 and 0-3 then the cup exits v millwall and the Bradford debacle.
That period for me topped any of the mcleish travesties.

Spot on. He should have been sacked there and then but he was allowed to stay and fester.

[richard moore]

The lowest point for me was that Xmas under lambert that went 0-8, 0-4 and 0-3 then the cup exits v millwall and the Bradford debacle.
That period for me topped any of the mcleish travesties.

Spot on. He should have been sacked there and then but he was allowed to stay and fester.

Exactly, that was far in excess that anything McLeish managed to do

[saunders_heroes]

The lowest point for me was that Xmas under lambert that went 0-8, 0-4 and 0-3 then the cup exits v millwall and the Bradford debacle.
That period for me topped any of the mcleish travesties.

Agreed. I'll be forty at the end of this month and that's the worst time I've ever had as a fan. The worst times I've known at Villa Park have come under Lambert but that particular spell was just horrendous.

I've said this many times before, but after Bradford scored at Villa Park I witnessed the worst tactics I've ever seems from a Villa manager in my life and I'm not exaggerating. I've seen better tactics between a game of 6 year olds on a playground.

[richard moore]

The lowest point for me was that Xmas under lambert that went 0-8, 0-4 and 0-3 then the cup exits v millwall and the Bradford debacle.
That period for me topped any of the mcleish travesties.

Agreed. I'll be forty at the end of this month and that's the worst time I've ever had as a fan. The worst times I've known at Villa Park have come under Lambert but that particular spell was just horrendous.

I'm over fifty and the period under Lambert (and latterly Lerner) has been the worst ever for me. At least when it was shit before, you knew Doug would get rid and it was oddly exciting because of that. This unremitting mediocrity we now serve up season after season with no change has left me clinging on dear memories of previous decades

[saunders_heroes]

The lowest point for me was that Xmas under lambert that went 0-8, 0-4 and 0-3 then the cup exits v millwall and the Bradford debacle.
That period for me topped any of the mcleish travesties.

Agreed. I'll be forty at the end of this month and that's the worst time I've ever had as a fan. The worst times I've known at Villa Park have come under Lambert but that particular spell was just horrendous.

I'm over fifty and the period under Lambert (and latterly Lerner) has been the worst ever for me. At least when it was shit before, you knew Doug would get rid and it was oddly exciting because of that. This unremitting mediocrity we now serve up season after season with no change has left me clinging on dear memories of previous decades

You've summed up my own thoughts in one post.