MR_Black_AVFC

When you look at his record, it looks impressive. However, the reality is somewhat different.

Alex McLeish's honours /managerial record compared alongside MON. There is not much between them - that is why I believe he was given the job. Club honours Motherwell 1994–1998 Scottish Premier Division runners-up (1): 1994–95 Hibernian 1998–2001 Scottish First Division winners (1): 1998–99 Scottish Cup runners-up (1): 2001 Rangers 2001–2006 Scottish Premier League winners (2): 2002–03, 2004–05 Scottish Premier League runners-up (2): 2001–02, 2003–04 Scottish Cup winners (2): 2002, 2003 Scottish League Cup winners (3): 2002, 2003, 2005 Birmingham City 2007–2011 Football League Championship runners-up (1): 2008–09 Football League Cup winners (1): 2010-11 P768 W357 D196 L215 46.48% Win Ratio Martin O'Neil Wycombe Wanderers Football Conference (1): 1992–93 FA Trophy (2): 1990-91, 1992-93 Football League Third Division Play–Offs (1): 1993-94 Leicester City Football League First Division Play-offs (1): 1995–96 League Cup (2): 1996-97, 1999-2000 Celtic Scottish Premier League (3): 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04 Scottish Cup (3): 2000-01, 2003-04, 2004-05 Scottish League Cup (1): 2000–01 P853 W451 D203 L199 52.87% Win ratio

This is it. Whatever decision this idiot of a manager makes turns out to be the wrong one. I have gone away, watched a bit of telly, and reflected on this season. Apart from the dramatic wins away at Wolves and Chelsea, there has been absolutely nothing of note. It has been quite simply the worst season in living memory. Someone else mentioned the coaching. As much as I hate McLeish, I do actually wonder if it is actually him who is responsible for the garbage we keep being served up. Peter Grant upset the applecart at SHA, and according to a certain source inside Bodymoor Heath, there are a number of players who are getting sick of the way he operates. If Lerner isn't prepared to sack McLeish, at least let us have a new coach on the training field as it is clear that Grant is not up to the job.

Utter garbage once again. Yet, if you didn't watch the game and just listened to the McLeish interview you would think we had played well and were just unlucky. Young diving didn't help matters, but anyone who thinks we would have come away with a point or a win are as deluded as McLeish. We were second best by some distance and would have lost regardless of the penalty. I know we are playing with a lot of kids - but sadly with a full-strength team we probably wouldn't have faired much better. McLeish has the perfect excuse now - injuries. We are a club in disarray and looking at the fixtures, we need to avoid defeat against Bolton and Sunderland. If we lose those games then relegation beckons for sure as I can't see us winning the others.

^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^ I think we could lose 10-0 tomorrow and he won't be sacked. Lerner has paid enough out to previous managers. He is unlikely to shell out any more. We are in a struggle. I am just glad that Blackburn and Bolton have referred to type and QPR can't seem to win away. I think we are safe now.

A little bit of research and you will see how financially wasteful McLeish has been with all of the clubs he has managed. This is why I do not understand why he is trusted in improving the financial side of the club. He has always been backed in the transfer market by his previous employers. The Chinese at SHA backed him last season, spending beyond their means - that is why they are in the mess they are in. My Bluenose mate told me that Hleb was on £70k a week yet he was always on the bench!!! He often leaves a trail of destruction behind. All of his previous clubs have been left in the shit by him, and if we get relegated, he would do the same to us. Motherwell suffered financial problems, as did Hibs (along with relegation), Rangers are in administration, SHA are in a mess along with being relegated. The guy is a chancer, nothing else.

Regardless of the fans wishes, unless Lerner has a serious change of heart, it is becoming more and more clear that McLeish will be here next season. That alone is scary. The players he will be looking to recruit over the summer will be similar to those he had at SHA. It wouldn't surprise me to see McLeish will trying to sign Roger Johnson and Scott Dann over the Summer as replacements for Dunne and Collins. McLeish likes cloggers. But even if he had £100m to spend he would still bring in players of the same ilk and play the same tactics. Its garbage.

I agree totally. Lerner's appointment of Houllier was a disaster. There were times where the football was atrocious. Then when he was took ill, he took the club to the cleaners. The only thing good that came out of the Houllier era was the signing of Darren Bent who ultimately kept us up with his goals. Its a tricky one to see how McLeish would improve this squad. I said a few pages back that we are unlikely to bring in any 'marquee' signings. The Holman signing is a sign of things to come I believe. Add a few midfield 'cloggers' and the signings of Johnson and Dann, and I think that will be our team next year.

Not sure if any of you listened to the phone in on Gold tonight. Tom Ross said that he has been told by Falkner that McLeish is here for the long term, and will be backed in the Summer by Lerner to build his team.

I don't agree, I think we're on par with Barcelona. We play dynamic, attacking football or haven't you heard?

I doubt McLeish's ability if he was given £100m in the summer, but given our financial situation, it is unlikely that he will be able to sign anyone of any class. McLeish's tactics, mixed with Bosman's, loans and cloggers to join. The future doesn't look very bright, does it?

I'm not sure about anyone else, but it is coming across more and more from McLeish and a certain radio presenter that the reason we are in this position is down to the fact that the squad are not good enough. "The fans do not like him because he came from Birmingham." "Villa sold Young and Downing - what else do you expect?" "The ball doesn't stick up front unless Heskey is on the pitch - that is why the midfield sit so deep." "Arsenal are an elite club - we don't expect to come here and win." Please.... These are some of the quotes I am hearing and reading. I wasn't aware of his reputation in Scotland. All I knew was that he got SHA relegated twice with the team he had built over 2-3 years. Once I delved into forums of his previous clubs I quickly came to the conclusion that he has forced his brand of anti-football on every single club he has managed and fans were often glad to see the back of him.

Presumably it's because he's not a big name (yet) or because he's doing well this season therefore might be a "one season wonder". Possibly. But for now we have a "no season wonder". Indeed. B-b-but he's a nice man I would say that McLeish's only saving grace is that he comes across as simple. I hate the man, I really do.

I think that this thread proves once and for all what a ludicrous appointment McLeish was. We were all led to believe that with 'better' players, his reputation at SHA for being a defensive manager wouldn't count for anything. He had to set them up defensively as they were a newly-promoted side - I get that, and it made sense. But he has integrated the same mentality here. Defensive, drab football that is painful to watch with 2-3 goalscoring chances a game - if we are lucky. Sometimes we have struggled to have a shot on target all game. Over the season, there have been many people in the media who have all stated the same - McLeish is too negative, defensive, playing players of of position etc. etc. Dig a little further back than SHA and you will fine he is despised by fans of most of the clubs he has managed. He has spent fortunes and delivered shit football, then to add insult to injury, walked out and leave his clubs in the shit financially. Motherwell had financial problems after a McLeish spending spree, so did Hibs, look at Rangers now, Small Heath, and if we are relegated we could go into financial meltdown. There can be no defending the man any longer. He has to go. MCLEISH OUT

Neither Houllier or McLeish were good appointments. I won't be drawn into comparing the two. We needed to appoint a good young manager with a vision for the club. The two mentioned are prehistoric when it comes to tactics/management.

Nah GH got faaaaaaaaaaaaar more abuse then AMC Sunderland last season at home was just vile, the hostility towards Houllier was Blackburn esque. I think everyone has just accepted we're shit and we're boring to watch this season. So why hasn't it got to this stage with McTosser yet . There are two ways to sort this out, make the home games so damn volatile in terms of abuse towards McLeish or just stay away and vote with your feet, yes both ways could have a bad effect on the players but we are pussy footing around in our abuse of this clown, the board need to see first hand some Kean esq kind of abuse. My Ice Hockey team that I follow in Canada have just changed their coach as the General Manager said it would have been unfair to make him coach another home game due to the fans abuse and believe me they were pussy footing about compared to what Kean was getting at Blackburn, all I'm saying is we need to get a bit nasty now in either go pay the entrance fee and abuse McGinger to hell and back or stay away and make Villa Park like a ghost town, not good for the team but either McTwa.t will step down or thousands of empty seats should see Randy grow a pair of gonads. I think this approach would have been the way forward at the start of the season, but not with 8 games to go and our Premiership status hanging in the balance. We have a lot of young players who need our support, McLeish can wait. Unless Lerner has a serious change of heart, or snaps completely, this awful season is likely to go on to the bitter end. I am not sure what McLeish and Grant do on the training pitch, or what they actually see during the games, but how can they think these performances are acceptable or of the required standard of a Premiership side? The injuries cannot be used as an excuse as the performances have been consistantly bad all season. Neither can losing Young and Downing. The truth is, McLeish just cannot manage.

There have been a few games where the supporters have got restless but the game that stands out is the Wigan away game where the atmosphere turned extremely nasty during the second half and pretty much the whole of the away end sang anti-McLeish songs. Obviously the Fulham home game was another, although the last minute goal took the sting out of it.

Whatever way you look at it, McLeish was rewarded for failing at his previous club with a bumper contract and the opportunity to stay in the PL. Only at Aston Villa this could happen. It is also laughable to remark that McLeish is this nice man, full of integrity. I hate Small Heath as much as the next Villa fan, but there is no integrity in the way he treated them - taking them down, knowing full well that relegation would put the club in a precarious position financially, and then resigning by e-mail. The man is a coward. If he takes us down this season and is offered another PL job (which is unlikely, but still) he'd do exactly the same to us. Here is another one for you. McCretin.

So we add to the already long list. Mc cant Mcrelegator Mcdeluded McPassingandattackingwhat'sthatthenIhaven'tgotacluebecauseI'mauselessgingerwordremoved! Mc bullshit McClot. McNugget

I can't see McLeish being fired now, however much I want it. Unfortunately, this is going to go all the way to the bitter end - I just hope and pray that 'end' is not the Championship.

This is the problem. McLeish should have been sacked in January giving the new manager enough time to turn the ship around. He will not be sacked now - this will go all the way to the bitter end. The most concerning thing is that the general consensus from all of McLeish's previous clubs is that once it starts going downhill, he has no idea how to turn it around.

I would feel positive about climbing the table if I thought the team were playing well without getting our rewards - by the law of averages, it would only be a matter of time before we started winning games. Yet, the performances are getting worse, the teams below are slowly creeping up, we are losing key players long-term, we are struggling to create chances let alone score, and you believe we are capable of climbing the table???? The writing is on the wall where this is heading, although I admire your positivity.

McLeish on train after Scotland lost to England in the Rugby. The way he is going, he won't get another job in football again. Could you imagine him as a Rugby coach trying to play for a 0-0 draw?

I'm sure SHA fans felt the same. Yet for all their so-called 'battlers', they went down without a whimper. They lost 5 out of the last 6 games and only scored 4 goals. Wouldn't surprise me if we mirrored it.

I posted this the other day. Last season, Wigan were on 27 points and bottom with 9 games to go. Over those next 9 games they managed 15 points and finished on 42, sending SHA, Blackpool and West Ham down. People make the mistake of judging teams on how they have done up to this point. The reality is that they are fighting for their lives and they will always pull surprise results out of the hat. Not to mention, Martinez outwitted our leader at this stage last season. There is every chance that he will do it again. It is a surprise that QPR are down there given the strength of their squad. In saying that, they seem to click on Saturday and from what I have read, many fans are saying that was the best they have played all season. Bolton have improved, so have Blackburn. It will be interesting how they get on tonight against Man Utd. Apart from Wolves, it is not over yet.