Mantis

Draw. McLeish sets up for draws away from home anyway but the pressure from the fans is really starting to intensify now which will just encourage him to set up negatively even more.

Sunderland are in desperate need of a striker now. As we all know MON's pretty shit when it comes to signing strikers so I'm looking forward to seeing who they sign. Hopefully Heskey.

That's very true, but we'll still probably be in a relegation battle. It was bad last season but at the same time we had a lot of upheaval and it was a really competitive season. Being in a relegation battle in a much less competitive season and playing the football we're playing right now will be **** embarrassing.

What so you think he wants to see us fail?

I think his heart's in the right place. If we can mobilise enough support for our cause maybe he'll listen?

I'm a firm believer that we need to keep going to games to support the team. However, I'm just not sure how we can get through to Randy. I'm starting to think that maybe something drastic is needed such as a large-scale one-game (preferably on TV) boycott. We'll see how things go but I'm getting really worried now. It's not so much the results as it is the way we're playing. Games against the top 6, home and away, are write offs. Even against the lesser teams we rarely have a go. I agree. We have to act in the next 28 days or so. There are feasible alternatives available who are out of work, so it shouldn't be a problem getting them in.

My word that is **** scary. We need to do something. He's going to take us down.

It's astonishing how many successful double agents we've sent to them over the years. Unfortunately the best, the 007 if you like, is their very own Alex McLeish.

They might not necessarily win but they'll certainly out-play us and have more possession.

Had to be a B Rovers team didn't it?

McLeish basically has all of Houllier and MON's negatives but not a single one of their positives.

Last season VT was plagued by infighting. I wouldn't say Houllier was popular but he had a fair few supporters, which meant there were always arguments between the pro and anti Houllier camps. Now with McLeish we're all pretty much united over this, which is perhaps the one small benefit of him being here. We're in for a horrible time with McLeish, but at least we'll all be relatively united.

Arguments, about what? It's almost universally agreed upon that McLeish must go.

The thing is I'm actually fine with the squad. The defense is a bit shit but we have some good attacking players in there. There are many things out of McLeish's control but the main things people are complaining about - style of play and tactics - are completely in his control. It's silly really because if anything our squad is more geared towards attack.

Randy's invested a lot of money into the club. By far his biggest mistake was appointing McLeish, and I think most will agree with me there. That's why I find it so odd that you can be against Randy but not McLeish.

Alex McLeish? Honest? He's one of the most prolific liars in the league.

Perhaps a couple may have been waiting for him to fail, but again I must stress that the mood around here in August/September was one of "let's give him a chance". We wanted to be proved wrong. I absolutely hate seeing us play like this. If we had been winning games I don't think many would care, but the fact is we're losing/drawing most of our games and playing absolutely diabolical football at the same time.

That's very odd. Can't understand how you can possibly be no to Randy but only unsure about McLeish?

People were protesting because he'd just been relegated and his SHA side had been playing dire dire football all season. McLaren never got those sort of protests a) because he has achieved more and isn't known for playing the worst football ever seen and it was just a bit of press speculation, whereas with McLeish by the time the protests went down there was much more weight to the speculation.

Not going to happen is it tho? Mark Hughes was deliberately ignored in the summer for whatever reason. I believe we bypassed him due to some sort of respect our club had for Fulham's owners and the circumstances in which he left them. However, I will say that, if we get to a certain point in the road (i.e. staring relegation in the face come January) then all bets are off, and Hughes could be in quickly. Funny thing is I was very anti Hughes last summer, and now it would be like a godsend if we saw his appointment. Boy do I feel like an idiot now... I'm in exactly the same boat as you. The first thing I said when MON walked was "I'm just glad Hughes is taken". However, since then I've come to realise that he's a fairly decent manager and would be good for us. After every game and abject performance I'm starting to like the prospect of Hughes managing us even more. He's becoming somewhat of an elephant in the room now. While he's out of a job he simply can't be ignored. We must get rid of McLeish and get Hughes in before somebody else snaps him up.

I reckon appointing someone like Mark Hughes would give the club a massive lift. The players seem rudderless and completely unmotivated EVERY game. The fanbase are deeply unhappy. McLeish's football is some of the worst to ever grace the league. Hughes is currently unemployed, and we know he's decent. He's gettable too. He would be treated like the messiah if Randy went out and appointed him now.

He has to go.

Unsure. He's done a lot of good for the club. He dropped an absolute clanger in appointing McLeish but there is still time to turn things around and get rid of him.

No it's not. If you'll look back most people on here (myself included) were giving him a chance. However, he sets the team up so negatively that it's only a matter of time before people get on his back.

"Convenient" heart trouble? Wtf!? :| Whatever your opinions on the man were I think it's a bit low to call a potential life threatening heart scare as "convenient". Even when looking at Aston Villa, it was anything but convenient. It was Houllier's departure which led to McLeish's appointment. Anyway, I want him gone. I'm aware that my attitude towards McLeish is quite different than it was towards Houllier and there's a very good reason for that. Last season, we were inconsistent in that we'd put in a heroic performance and then straight after that do the opposite, then put in another excellent performance a few weeks down the line etc etc. This season we've achieved consistency - we're now always poor. It's just a question of how poor. McLeish is so negative it's unbelievable. He's the worst manager in the league. Also, I liked some of what Houllier was doing with regards to playing style. McLeish's style however is just hoof hoof hoof and it's not working.