Villa managerial topic - Page 8 for 2012 edition

[MYTH]

[darkman]

Speaking to Martinez now

[HangTheDJ]

Not been on much lately due to exams, but tbh tt's not even worth reporting. Ancelotti, Benitez, Hughes, Martinez and now Moyes have all been front runners at some point. No one has a clue what's going on, who has or hasn't been interviewed.

All this Martinez rejects Villa stuff is a bit exaggerated as he was only offered an interview.

Who knows? Hughes probably although the way he left Fulham pissed Randy off.

[Guest Klitschko]

Nah FANTA = Tronics

[Rsonist]

JJ

Simon Grayson?

[HangTheDJ]

He's a Villa man. Prefer him to some of the shite. I want Hughes but Randy doesn't.

[Lieutenant]

Turned on SSN and see Mcleish fave for the Villa job, my first thought was JJ going mad

[HangTheDJ]

who told you learner doesnt ?

anyway just dropped some money on Hughes @ 6/1

depending what happens at chelsea. that should be cashed in on the 1st.

Maybe it will be Hughes, I'd love it. But you're not convincing me this endless pursuit of manager(s) and long interview process is all a front so it don't look like we've tapped Hughes up.

I still reckon it'll be Moyes, I don't want him but after today I'd be dancing on rooftops.

[Lenny]

Villa contact Birmingham regarding Mcleish

[Guest Klitschko]

Moyes is waiting for Ferguson to retire imo, he won't go anywhere till that happens.

[Mr Q]

But real talk, WHY?!?

/

And what a piss take Mcleish resigning by email.

[Flojo]

Birmingham City have refused to accept Alex McLeish's resignation as manager and are seeking financial compensation, BBC Sport understands.

The Scot has been linked with a move to Aston Villa, who on Monday contacted the Blues acting chairman Peter Pannu about his availability.

But BBC 5 live's Midlands football reporter Pat Murphy said Pannu insisted McLeish was not available for talks.

It is believed City are looking for compensation of up to £5m.

"Mr Pannu's response [to Villa's enquiry] was concise: 'It will cost you as he's still our manager.

The acting chairman is meeting legal representatives on Monday.

Pannu has described McLeish's resignation, via email on Sunday, as "irresponsible".

The former Rangers manager has two-and-a-quarter years remaining on the contract he signed at St Andrew's in November 2007.

Pannu told the Daily Express: "He is still our contracted staff and Birmingham City FC does not grant him any right to speak to any outsiders until the matter is resolved.

"It's about time discipline is instilled into this game and I am not a person who gets pushed about."

[HangTheDJ]

All I can say is sometimes it's not about the big name, it's about the right man.

I consider myself someone who looks for the positives when it comes to the Villa but I feel dejected and in total disbelief at it. He's a dour, boring man who's football is representitive of that. It won't give the fans a lift, it won't aid season ticket sales, it won't convince Downing his future lies here, he won't even offer exciting football like a Martinez would.

That Carling Cup win was an achievement but a very depleted Villa side in one of the worst seasons in recent memory should have knocked them out.

Randy is a shrewd businessman and knows how to play the PR game perfectly... This goes against everything he's done over the past 5 years.

I'm just totally baffled, and I doubt i'll believe it's happening until it's signed, sealed and delivered.

[TF S4DK]

JJ explain...

Edit: Right on cue...

Edit 2: Not that you explained the thinking behind this madness.

[Lenny]

Hughes will be manager.

McLeish? most definitely a wind up

[HangTheDJ]

Edit 2: Not that you explained the thinking behind this madness.

How do you explain the unexplainable?

Randy and Faulkner are not idiots - they've got very knowledgable people around them consultants.

The bad press is caused by their absolute avoidance of anything public until it's done, and they know it.

However I'm struggling to see any logical thinking behind this. It's nothing to do about his background (I'd love to take Johnson or Dann off 'em), but the fact he's got two relegations and plays absolutely tripe football.

[HangTheDJ]

The Nigerian Tribune think it'll be Rijkaard, that'll have to do for now.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/sports/23423-aston-villa-considers-rijkaard-as-houlliers-replacement

[Flojo]

pmsl

The Nigerian Tribune, the desperation is deep.

[Young £]

pmsl

[Guest M12 Part 2]

pmsl

[Mr Q]

Loool, the Nigerian tribune!

[Guest Klitschko]

[HangTheDJ]

If anyone's arsed, a decent read which sort of summarises my opinion (bottom three paragraphs inparticular) and the general feeling of disbelief:

It was the incomparable character of Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister who introduced us to the idea that the best way of criticising a poor decision was to describe it as “brave”. He’d have loved the developments on Sunday when news started to break that Alex McLeish had resigned as Blues manager and his appointment as new Villa boss was imminent.

At first it just wasn’t believed – things like that just don’t happen. Then the story gathered credence, with the Mail running it and various news sources in general agreement that it was more than likely. As things stand there’s a very good chance that before much longer Alex McLeish will become Villa manager. The question is, why?

There’s no doubt that for McLeish this is a major step up. He’s leaving a club in the Championship for one which, even in a bad season, finished in the top half of the Premier League. He will have money to spend and a board who know where their next penny is coming from.

For Villa, though, McLeish would be a major gamble. When Gerard Houllier left a successor was assumed to be waiting in the wings. After all, Villa seemed to go to some considerable trouble to get rid of the Frenchman, so surely a much better replacement was imminent. Carlo Ancelotti, maybe. David Moyes, Mark Hughes or Rafa Benitez. One by one, all were ruled out. Still we waited for the sort of leftfield appointment that would confound the critics and leave the media fuming that they hadn’t spotted the new appointment before it was made. Franz Rijkaard, Louis van Gaal, even Fabio Capello. Just as long as it wasn’t Steve McClaren.

Instead (and as I keep saying, if the stories are to be believed) it could be a manager who achieved the difficult feat of both his club’s greatest-ever achievement and relegation in the same season. A manager whose negative style of play and poor transfer record drew widespread criticism, not least in these pages, where there were calls for his dismissal after Blues went down.

Before that McLeish had been reasonably successful in Scotland, winning the league title twice with Rangers (not too difficult a task) and doing as well with the national side as any other modern-day manager. His is not a record that would normally attract a club with Champions League aspirations.

The fact that McLeish would be arriving from across the city is also of enormous concern. Personally, I’m not too fussed where Villa lure a manager from as long as he’s the right one. It would, though, be wrong to say that coming from St Andrews wouldn’t put many Villa supporters off the idea. In fact, the word ‘meltdown’ has been used to describe reaction to the potential appointment. McLeish would have to do an awful lot to win over the more vocal elements of the Villa Park crowd; one of the reasons why Houllier wasn’t popular was his association with Liverpool and such animosity would be multiplied many-fold towards a man who came direct from St Andrews.

On the face of it I can’t understand why Randy Lerner, a man who since he took over as Villa’s owner has shown an almost telepathic understanding of supporter feelings, would make such a dramatic appointment. He has built up an enormous amount of goodwill and despite the setbacks of the past nine months remains massively popular amongst supporters. The appointment of Alex McLeish would risk all that and should it fail, Randy would find himself facing the sort of bitter criticism which hounded Doug Ellis. It’s would be a brave decision, alright. The bravest since the Villa team told the Germans to stick their Nazi salute in 1938.

And now I’m reading that David Moyes is ready to resign as Everton manager and Villa are having second thoughts about taking on Alex McLeish. Time for a lie down.