Delphinho123

Let's face it. We have an owner/chairman that shows less day to day interest than Doug Ellis ever did and the worst manager since Billy McNeil so it could be concluded that we have not progressed at all.

You forgot to mention all the money we've pissed away on Compensation, wages and transfer fees for shit players.

I cant believe the position we are in as a club at the moment given how much we have spent in the past 4 years. Id go as far as to say it couldnt get any worse at the moment.

You know, I still wake up at night and wonder if this whole Mcleish thing is a nightmare. Seriously, it hasnt sunk in yet.

Why was he hired? Just....Why?

Im well aware of McLeishs previous form in relegations and well aware of his diabolical win ratio with us.

6 wins in 24 games is embarrasing. 3 wins at home and its now February is indeed ridiculous.

but seriously theres no real chance of relegation IMO.

But what annoys me is this squad shouldn't be in the dunces half of the league and would not be if we had appointed a better manager.

Yes the squad has faults but is not THAT bad .

No matter how detrimental McLeish is he wont relegate us this season. We'll just bumble along cira 12th- 16th . We'll win a couple against the dunces and draw a few more.

I rmber doing the BBC predictor thing and i had us finishing 15th.

You say there is no real chance of us getting relegated and then back that up by saying we finish only 3 places above relegation?

....? So that means theres 'No' chance of it happening? What if we lose just a couple of extra games here and there and the likes of Wolves etc. pick up a few extra points against decent opposition.

Im telling you now, When it comes to it, these teams below us are gonna start fighting and picking up more points because there managers will motivate them to do so. I dont see our manager instilling any confidence into our players.

If I had to liken Mcleish to anything, It would probably be Famine.

He's one of those players that has the talent but hasn't really found his position yet. I think he is definately a centre half but needs to bulk up a little more in order to play there.

FWIW, I dont think it helps any young player playing with Hutton, Dunne, Collins and Warnock at the back. Your going to look silly most of the time alongside these clowns.

Ahhhhh to have Bouma---Mellberg----Laursen----Young....as our back 4. Those days are long gone.

I'm by no means happy with Mcleish, nor have I ever really wanted him at our club, but are there any realistic alternatives out there right now? I'm not saying this to be argumentative, I'm just curious as to everyone's opinions.

Alternatives? About 6,999,999,999?

Your not being argumentative, im just saying Id rather have my 3 legged cat as manager than Alex Mcshite.

Well Kids, he will stay until his position becomes untenable, be that through time (years of bad performance) or Attendances falling to unacceptable levels.

Personally i still say a boycott is the way forward and would have carried on my thread if some children hadnt decided to post immature things in there and cause its closure.

To me its either we let them know or we arent really doing our job as fans.

I'll boycott with you. I am 37 (my regular attendance goes back to Graham Turner days) and this season has been a total rip off for my money in terms of my season ticket purchase. That free pie I nearly choked on against Liverplop.

Anyhow, I had a 'dizzy spell' on 83 minutes against Swansea such was my anger and rage at what I was watching. No fight, no passion, silly subs, silly starting line up (some say) etc. Going to the Villa has gotten me so wound up, making me miserable and feeling as though I am not getting value for money/entertainment, that it is starting to impact on my health and welfare. That in turn has the potential to impact on my family. One of my friends is concerned about depression...

As such, I am away now for the rest of the season and do not expect to be returning. I know that I need to take a chill pill and not take it so seriously... but football gets you, and grabs hold of you and makes you hold on too tight. I'm at the stage where I can't just sit there and watch that week in week out and seeing zero progress. It takes up too much of my hard earned free time that I should really spend with my lovely family.

This isn't the beautiful game any more - it's all lies, overpaid fancy dans, false dawns, false hope, shit refs etc etc. And then there was MON's debacle... and then Gerard's pointless era... and then Eck... I said last summer that I thought it inhumane to appoint somebody that would not benefit from a honeymoon period (I guess the early fixtures were a tad kind to him) and who would be under so much pressure had they lost to Blackburn as the first home match. And so it is panning out. And I really wanted him to do well and prove me wrong. I don't give a toss about his SHA connections.

When it gets you so bad that you feel yourself wanting to lash out and you feel as though you are turning into a thug, outbursting profanity, the like of which you never considered yourself previously capable and making yourself look a fool, and then getting so wound up you think you're going to collapse - it's time to walk away. Time to leave it alone and put your money elsewhere. That's what I'm doing.

Sorry - I can spend 400+ quid on something that is guarenteed to bring enjoyment and last many years. I see all those players (not just at Villa) getting paid all that money to prance around the pitch like billy-big-balls on the pretence that they are professionals. Do you really believe that you get value for money from them? Do you really think footballers deserve all that doe? No... they really don't. When you've got firemen and little kids rattling buckets and begging me for a donation outside the ground - that's perspective for you.

Fickle? Half-arsed supporter? I'll take that on the chin... But I tell you this, my health means more to me and my family than it does to Eck and Lerner.

I'm better off health-wise and financially without the misery of VP 2011-12. Why put myself through it? If you don't enjoy it, and it makes you feel ill - it's time to stop.

I don't mind losing... this isn't about losing football matches. I almost enjoyed the Arsenal game. It's the nature of the defeat, the clueless and powerless performances on the pitch. That rankles - and straight back into the debate about whether you think footballers per se in the Premiership are really worth those wages. If I performed as badly in my job, I'd be down the road. Simple as that.

The club won't miss me, I know that... but I see a brighter future for me and my family than I do for the people that are hell bent on watching that clunge week in and week out for the remainder of the season, or however long the tenure lasts.

(tin hat on... retreat from the firework... fists up...)

Great Post

Seconded. My situation is slightly different, but I can understand your frustration. Good post mate.

Alex Mcleish is just a living nightmare. I go off my food when I hear/see the bloke. He makes me physically ill. Listening to his dross before/after games is embarrassing.

I know its been 6 months give or take....

But is this whole alex mcleish thing a joke?

What exactly are we debating here?

Where Lerner is....? Forget it. He aint interested.

We are a boring footballing team, with a squad full of average players. We are terrible to watch and our manager is clueless.

We are skint and to make matters worse, it looks like we are going to sell our most valuable asset again either now, or in the summer.

When will people realise that this club is an absolute shambles at the moment from top to bottom.

We are an embarrassment. Some sort of unfunny joke that you would have nightmares about.

Sorry for being so negative but my interest in AVFC at the moment is at its lowest in 10 years. I just have no desire to go to the games/watch the games. Call me a shit fan if you may, but speaking to lots of other fans, they feel exactly the same way. I Know a couple of season ticket holders that dont even bother going to the games and have just given up. Says it all really.

This club is in one hell of a mess. And if it werent for the dross being served out by Blackburn and Wigan this season, we would almost certainly get relegated.

I still wear me colours proudly, but when you look at who is running and working for the club from top to bottom, you sometimes question your own religion.

UTV

Does anybody else think Warnock is playing well? I like the way he actually likes to play the ball on the ground and look for a man.

This game could go either way. Our long ball tactics are a joke mind.

I've noticed he isn't diving in everytime this season, he stands his ground and jockeys his man until the right momemt/help arrives. Looks a totally different player to last year. Pleased with him, Petrov, Gabby and Nzog so far.

Heskey has done nothing but gift them the goal, ridiculous decision to play him today.

Agree with pretty much everything there.

Collins and Dunne drive me insane with there long ball nonsense. If you watch it closely in the second half it drives you mad! at least Warnock tries to play football.

Does anybody else think Warnock is playing well? I like the way he actually likes to play the ball on the ground and look for a man.

This game could go either way. Our long ball tactics are a joke mind.

This hoof ball we are playing is driving me mad.

I really dont get the big deal of the premier league these days.

People some almost obsessed with being in it.

When the only really good thing is playing against better players, who end up beating us anyway.

Football is football, are all the people in leagues other than the premier league miserable, dont go and watch, dont enjoy winning or celebrating a goal? Bollocks.

We're not going to win the league, we're not going to get into the chumps league and nobody else wants to be in the europa league.

So why does everyone get so worked up about it?

Are you saying we should be in the championship?

Sometimes I wonder if it would be all that bad if we were....

Whoa, guys, cut the man some slack. Have you not read the Mcleish quote? He loves to start..he's that kinda guy...

Embarrassing comments from an embarrassing manager.

We have a decent manager for where were are right now.

Interested to know how you can say that after the first 9 games of the season.

Probably because I realise where we actually are right now. For the next couple of season's at least, we've moved from challengers to survivalists

Interesting. Does our manager specialise in survival then? Last time I checked he'd taken his previous team down twice in three years.

Herd is not a great footballer. His second touch is often a tackle and he probably does not have the footballing brain the likes of Clarke and Bannan do.

However, he has fight, desire and wants to win the ball back everytime he doesnt have it.

Lets not kid ourselves into thinking we are a great footballing side at the moment. We are probably going to be in a relegation scrap this season and players like Herd will help us scrape an extra point here and an extra point there.

When we were challenging for 4th with the likes of Milner, Barry, Downing, Young etc. Herd would have had a hard time even making our bench. Now however, he may well play an important role in keeping us in the premiership.

He was excellent at right back on his debut and he had a decent 45 against WBA. Give the lad a chance, he is probably no better on worse than Reo-Coker, one of our brighter players last term.

if we been 1-0 down at the hawthorns - and albion had a player sent off - could you honestly see this villa team storming to a 2-1 win ?

Actually a very good point. Yes its hard to play with 10, but we were poor today. Again.

We are in trouble.

sack AM. in a dominant position, playing good football and could have already been 2 up before the pen. have you people watched the game? great team selection, good performance until the crazy decision. but hey its all the garters fault. get a **** grip.

exactly.

Those that criticise the manager, heskey, etc after today are quite simply morons.

Who dares to criticise Ze powerhouse?

I think were going to see 8-9 pages here of 'The linesman/ref ruined the game'. And its true. They did.

We probably would have drawn/won the game if it hadnt been for that appalling decision by the officials.

Before getting into ratings I'd just like to point out that I thought Mcleish got the starting line up just about right. Bringing in Herd for Delph actually seemed to work. N'zogbia starting ahead of Ireland I believe was a mistake though as I thought the lad might just be coming into some form.

So, the ratings:

Given - 7. Not a lot he could do today. Made a couple of class saves again.

Hutton - 6. Probably would have been a '5' if it hadnt been for that tackle on Long. I hate that cocky little prick

Dunne - 8. Outstanding from start to finish.

Collins - 5. Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooof.

Warnock - 6. Put himself about a bit. Didnt do a lot wrong

Bannan - 7. Most of the good things we do come through him. Went missing a little when we went down to 10.

Petrov - 5. Never really does a lot. Annoyed me with his backward passing

Herd - 7. Until he got sent off. Second touch is often a tackle mind.

N'Zogbia - 5. His poor form continues.

Agbonlahor - 6. Looked Dangerous at times, poor end product.

Bent - 6. Scored. Missed a sitter.

Subs:

Cuellar - 5. Hasnt been a right back for the last 4 years. Still isnt one. Good to see him back though.

Ze Powerhouse - 10. Every team needs one

Albrighton - 5. Tad wasteful. Not on for long though.

At the end of the day, we lost. That isnt good enough. Ive said it before in most of the threads. We need to get points on the board before December, otherwise we are in serious trouble. Every man and his dog knows Mcleish is a poor manager, we just need to somehow scrape some points together before we get beat 3/4 nil 5 weeks straight.

Wonder if Randy has been told the score yet?

UptheVilla.

If we win

Makounsgrin: 'Where are all the haters now, our glorious start to the season continues, look what happens when you actually support the team'

If we lose

Makounsgrin: 'I guess all the haters and boo boys are happy with this result, Its still been a decent start to the season'

I predict one of these quotes or something similar on either page 1 or 2 of the 'ratings and reactions' thread. Its boring as the bloke obviously doesnt go to the games and is a wind up merchant.

Selling Luke Young and bringing this guy in was terrible business. I dont care if Young was getting on a bit and had a bigger contract, at least buy someone who is 20/21 and let them develop.

This guy is such a waste of money. Utterly ridiculous decision from a poor manager. Sign of the times im afraid.

I would the say the combination of MoN, Randy's money andthe excitement of chasing the top 4 rebranded the Villa product in such a way that more people wanted to buy it.

I know people dont like thinking about Villa as a commercial entity but it is, Villa have done no more to retain our loyalty than say a person who only buys Rover(well did anyway) cars becauser their father and his father both worked there.

If the matchday experience is more attractive then more people will buy it, and during those years there was a genuine excitement around the club which made us more attractive to those who aren't part of the die hard 25-30k that will turn up regardless.

That's the reason there's Man Utd and Liverpool fans all over the world, its the reason in Kenya people paint Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea badges all over their buses and taxis, thses people dont have any historical loyalty to these clubs they just favour which ever brand gives them the most enjoyment.

Call it glory hunting if you want but I'd ask what glory those extra fans that went to VP ever found, but ultimately if we want to improve our position as a club we need to attract more and more of these peolpe to the club. Whereas the last 18 months or so has gone the other way and driven them onto more attractive uses of their time and money.

Well said.

With the price of a match ticket being so high, people will choose to spend there money elsewhere. Honestly, why would someone want to pay 40 quid to watch a team play for a draw?

And thats what it boils down to. Yes, there are the 25k-30k villa fans that will go week in week out but in order to get more, our product has to be better. At the moment, its very poor.

Thats football though. Simple maths.

20,000 fans @ 41 pound a ticket = 820,000

40,000 fans @ 20 pound a ticket = 800,000

The board dont care about us. They dont need the stadium to be full every week.

I dont really know what im getting at, All I know is that Randy doesnt give a **** and football is severely broken.

Next game id play:

-----------------Bent-------------------

Gabby--------Ireland----------Bannan

-----------Petrov----Jenas-------------

Warnock----Clark--Dunne------Hutton

-----------------Given-------------------

Ireland deserves to keep his place in the team. He wasnt brilliant today but his work rate was good and he found his teammates with most of the passes he attempted.

At the moment, Id rather have Ireland in the team than N'Zogbia, which says a lot about how Zog has started at Villa.

Well that's what happens when you start trying to run the clock down on 88 minutes.

Anyways Bannan motm for me, N'Zobia was very poor, and as much as i hate to say it Delph just doesn't seem to be making any progress.

Not a cause for wrist slitting but certainly not a case for having a quick one off the wrist.

88mins? It started from kick off.

Much better this, Bannan And Ireland looking tidy.

Awful.

Time wasting against a newly promoted side. Embarrassing.

We are playing for a goalless draw and with a bit of luck, might get one.

Its awful, Anti-football. There is little, if any entertainment on show here from us.

Im just waiting for 'Makounsgrin' to tell us all its brilliant and Mcleish is a master tactician. A bit of humour may brighten up my day.

I think I will see in end of May if I have an opinion on McLeish then. Think it is quite early and short sighted to have an opinion now.

Perhaps,

But..

Is it really that shortsighted? Have you seen the way we are playing?

Im not sure sacking him at this very moment is a good idea, but after 15-20 games and it hasnt improved, then we should be looking at a replacement before its too late.

May may very well be too late.