What the Eck is goin on?

Seems an email was sent B'ham asking about his employment status. Reckon there are two extreme possibilities here:-
1) Villa are taking a very broad ranging approach in taking a look at whatever possibilities there are, and this was just someone checking on whether McLeish should be added to the long list
2) Villa are desperate to appoint someone, anyone, and have jumped with both feet to grab McLeish while they can (or maybe they really think he ticks all the boxes)

The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Whatever, it is extremely worrying. There were enough class candidates available, and still are, for McLeish to be nowhere near the shortlist. Have Villa asked Fulham if they can speak to Hughes before June 30th? If not, why not?

i cant believe the board would consider taking Mcleish for one minute, it just dont stack up for me, im really worried about which way our club is heading right now and how much ambition randy lerner has for our club.
if we are to believe we are chasing 3rd rate manager's then maybe randy isnt going fund a massive spending spree this summer, if that is the case then were in for a major struggle again this coming season.

The difference between McLeish and Martinez this season is about 10 minutes of football defining their seasons yet the animosity to McLeish is considerably higher.

Whilst I don't like the bloke's tactics at Blues I think he was playing to their strengths as they lacked attacking players. It doesn't mean he'd employ the same tactics at VP.

There seems to be too many hot-heads posting on the forums who are too bluenose-blinded to see the situation clearly.

I trust the board to do the right thing as they have the inside knowledge that fans don't.

villaMTB
if villa are to go forward then we do need a manager who can bring in players who will take us to the next level!.
im sorry but Mcleish dosent have that pulling power for me, and i wouldnt be surprised if half the team say they want out either.

villaMTB
if villa are to go forward then we do need a manager who can bring in players who will take us to the next level!.
im sorry but Mcleish dosent have that pulling power for me, and i wouldnt be surprised if half the team say they want out either
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Villa don't have A) either the money or B) the profile to bring in a top name.

AM has done top work at Rangers, and took the blue to 9th and then their first cup for years, his playes switched off after winning the cupm and he had no money, look at who he had in his team, Carr, Bowyer-- christ he even had Philips as his go to sub Birmingham never backed him with even a small aount of cash, learner did but his man has a dickie ticker.

If McLeish could bring in Dann, Foster and Johnson to get rid of Collins and Dunne then that's a pretty good start in my book

Villa may not be able to hand a manager blank cheques, but they're well enough off to put in place a sensible strategy for moving forward. That's what GH was working on. Combination of internal development and strategic signings is what we're capable of, backed by a club with great supporters and now with great training facilities. We've already got some cracking talent. That's enough to attract some pretty good managers.

When blues won the FA cup they had a good chance of finishing above Villa. The players lost it. But that's down to the manager; he failed. In contrast, I'm only just realising how well GM (and the players) did, particularly those last two superb results.

That's enough to attract some pretty good managers.
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No it's not.

If it was they would be knocking on the door. Villa have had only two decent managers in the last 20 years, MON & John Gergory. If I recall you then need to go back to Saunders in the 80's, so you can't afford to be too picky.

You only need to look at GH, he was and is a burnt out old manager who had been out of the front line for about 7 years, is that really the best you can do?

On the other hand you could have AM who has won a trophy this year and has a great record in Scotland, got Birmingham to 9th and all with no money from his chairman.

dependabledennis, what the hell are you talking about?

Villa aren't Man U but equally we're not a poor club. If you honestly think we can't attract better than McCleish then you really have lost the plot. We had one of our worst seasons in recent memory last season yet still managed to finish 9th. We haven;t finished outside the top 10 for four years. We are higher up the table than such supposedly "big" clubs like Tottenham and Man City in an all-time Premier League table. This might not account for much now, but it tells you that over the years we have been more successful than these two clubs who are both now pushing for top four status. It doesn't help if Lerner won't invest, but that doesn't automatically move Villa down to a third rate club. We're still in the same bracket as Everton without a doubt, and I'm sure someone like Mark Hughes would take the Villa job in an instant. The same goes for Rijkaard, who said as much.

I think the best thing will be for Lerner to sell up to a more prosperous owner if he thinks that appointing McCleish will appease the fans. He might as well go and get GH back: he might be past it according to some, but he sure as hell can buy top players and has a great knowledge of the game.

If we appoint McCleish we are showing ourselves to be a poor club. If Lerner has any respect for the fans and the club as a whole he will appoint someone like Hughes or Rijkaard, give them some money to spend, and help take this club forward. The joke that was last season should indicate to him that we need investment, and if he can't provide this then I'm sure we won't be short of interested parties who can come in and help the club financially.

That's enough to attract some pretty good managers.
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No it's not.

If it was they would be knocking on the door. Villa have had only two decent managers in the last 20 years, MON & John Gergory. If I recall you then need to go back to Saunders in the 80's, so you can't afford to be too picky.
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So Atkinson was a bad manager? It's a long time since we had a bad manager, plenty who started out OK but fell under lack of resources and deadly's self-preservation instincts.

There's a few clubs in the PL with loads of resources. We're somewhere around the top of the next tier, clubs with a lot going for them but no cash mountain. Something like Spurs, except they spend less than we do; did 'arry say "I'm off you're too poor"? Managers above all want opportunity. Villa have quality players, young players who with the right coaching will become star players, a good training set up, a great ground and above all great supporters.
Hughes as far as we know hasn't said no. McClaren (who is a good manager) wasn't given the chance to say yes. GH was pretty keen to get in when given the chance; whatever you think of him he saw the potential, and he knows a lot more about good football the the average like Eck.

Yes Villa should be ambitious. Martinez went for attractive football and Wigan stayed up, good for them. Eck went for the negative and was sunk.