Big ‘Eck? Big Risk?

June 16, 2011 by
Filed under: Guest Blogs, Villa Manager 

The latest instalment of Aston Villa Blog’s partnership with fellow fan site Aston Villa Life has been sent in by editor and guest blogger Matt Turvey and is based around the potential appointment of Alex McLeish and the potential ramifactions. UTV!

With Aston Villa having held an interview with Alex McLeish yesterday, the possible ramifications for the club and it’s fanbase are huge.  I’ve already seen on social media, in bars, at workplaces, and anywhere else that you care to mention that this move is a very contentious one.

You see, we’ve just had a poor season based on what was perceived by some as the appointment of a poor manager.  In comparison, the furore I’ve seen explode regarding McLeish makes the public view of Gerard Houllier’s appointment seem like the appointment of Jose Mourinho.  A lot of people aren’t happy.

To some extent, I can understand why people are upset.  It is a man who has managed a team that has been relegated.  A manager of a team that we aren’t the biggest fans of to say the least.  What does this say about Villa’s ambition?  What does it say about our transfer budget?  What exactly does it say about our chairman?

Let me answer those questions sequentially:

Villa’s ambition is a contentious issue anyway.  One can argue that some have a fairly self-inflated view of the expectations of the club. Some thought we were aiming for top four a few seasons ago, when it wasn’t really ever likely.  Hopefully seeing what happened last season might make fans realise we aren’t a top six side anymore.

Regarding our transfer budget, it is a case of wait and see.  We really can’t afford to not buy players, so I can’t see it being a problem.  With Ashley Young going, and Stewart Downing possibly following, that has to be at least £40m worth of transfer capital.  Factor into that the money I would hope that Randy would input into the club, and it means we probably have around £60m to play with.  £60m that needs to potentially go on at least 5, and if not 10, players who will be first team squad members.

As for Randy himself, well it looks like a dichotomy.  On one hand, it could illustrate the steely determination of a chairman and manager who are going to play through an invariable baptism of fire.  On the other, it shows a naive foolishness, a view that appears disrespectful of the fans, of a man either having his last roll of the dice or of a man who has lowered his expectations of the club’s ability.

Anyway, I digress from the main point which is that McLeish is going to be a divisive appointment if he does become the next Villa manager.  He is accused of playing defensive football, of buying low quality players, and of being relegated.  Countering that he was in charge of a team tipped for relegation, that attracted players of their level (and with players like Bentley and Martins arguably above their level), and of fighting a possibility that any Blues manager faces.

Blues are, in reality, a yo-yo club.  They were a yo-yo club before McLeish took over.  They will be a yo-yo club in years to come.  Getting relegated with Blues isn’t underachievement, it is the level they are at.

So if you must make a judgement of McLeish, base it on his whole career.  Believe it or not, the difference between him and Martin O’Neill isn’t as different as you might think.

I won’t be happy if he does get appointed, but I will support him because he will be the manager of Aston Villa Football Club.  To that end, I’m Villa till I die.

Comments

4 Comments on Big ‘Eck? Big Risk?

  1. Tony on Thu, 16th Jun 2011 6:06

    2. I am tired of hearing journalist telling us Villa fans how we should accept our current position and learn to live with it.
    The Board may have accepted that we are a mid table stay in in the premiership type of club, but the fans have not.
    Aston villa is a great club with a great history and great fans,who have claret and blue blood running through their veins, my uncle played for Villa in the fifties ,villa are in my blood, i do not accept and i will never accept that Aston Villa can not be great again, and anyone in charge of Aston Villa that does not have the same ambition in my opinion should sell up and leave.
    Randy Lerner has done some wonderful things at Aston Villa, and put his money wear his mouth is and he should be applauded for that, but these deeds do not give him the right to ignore the strong feelings of the fans.We are not suggesting that we should choose who our Manager should be,that is Mr Lerners choice,but we are aking him to take into consideration that these are exceptional circumstances,and our feelings about the possible appointment od Alex Mcleish can only be truly understood by those that understand english football.
    Mr Lerner you have not advanced enough into our game to truly know how we feel and i not being patronising believe me, it is something you have to born into to understand it,and together we can help you get it,so i ask you please on this occasion listen and take the fans collective advice and do not appoint Alex Mcleish as our next Manager.

  2. Pongogidman on Thu, 16th Jun 2011 6:31

    3. The nightmare scenario: A slow start to the season, a run of bad results, supporter unrest, fans boycotting vp, attendances falling, loss of confidence by players, Villa once again rooted in the relegation zone…this appointment has disaster written all over it. I hope I’m wrong for all our sakes I really do.

  3. TIm W on Thu, 16th Jun 2011 8:22

    4. Honestly, you lot need to wake up and smell the Coffee, you’re a total bunch of Hypocrites. The fact that a manager we are Interviewing has been the Blues manager has no relevance. If they had signed Messi last year and we had the chance of poaching him from them, you would all be well up for it.
    The only thing that matters is that the owner believes that whoever he appoints will go a good job for us.
    We all pay our money to watch and for merchandise etc, but how much do you think Randy has personally put into our club already?? We’re not a big club, we’re a family club with good tradition for loyal supporters and with some past success.
    Does anyone really think that graffiti and protests are going to entice europe’s elite players to our club??
    Support the owner and support our players, support our team…
    What’s wrong with you?

  4. Bill on Thu, 16th Jun 2011 9:00

    5. Villa fans are being ridiculous. We could have had McClaren but they whinged, so we didn’t interview him. Martinez would have been decent, but he didn’t want to leave Wigan. Ancelotti wants a year out of the game. Moyes won’t come. Benitez won’t come unless we have a Man City style million transfer budget. Who else is there? I will tell you – Hughes and McLeish. Hughes has done absolutely nothing in his management career, McLeish has won it all in Scotland, won a cup with Blues, did well with the Scottish national team. He took Rangers to the Champions League quarter final – is that not a good achievement? Who do you want? Ferguson, Mourinho, Wenger, Guardiola? Of course they’d come to Villa. Everyone really wanted Martinez, yet Wigan finished just above Blues with a lucky win on the last day.

    Alex Ferguson could have been in charge of Blues and they’d have still finished in the bottom 3 or 4 places – they are that sort of team and can’t attract the players to do better. It happens to all teams who get promoted – they go up and down a few times before eventually stabilising in one of the leagues (they either stay up and push on, like Stoke, Bolton, or they stay down and do worse, like Sheff Weds, Leeds, Charlton, Reading, etc.).

    Do you expect him to play Barcelona football with the Blues squad? Do you expect him to attract the likes of Rooney, Vidic, Bent with a small transfer budget and then to a small club? Of course not. At Villa he will play better football and buy better players because he has a better squad, a bigger club, more money, etc.

    Or would Villa fans rather we wait another month or two to get a useless manager like Chris Hughton and then have no time to buy any players? That would be great wouldn’t it.

    We support the club, not the manager. All this talk of not renewing season tickets is pathetic and you’re clearly not real fans. Why don’t you go down the Blues and watch them because you like their manager, or maybe you could go to watch Fulham because you like Martin Jol. Bunch of idiots.

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