Growing Pressure On Alex McLeish

Well, it is all going on. I`m going to try to make a bit of sense of it and link to what is being said right now!

There have been numerous times I`ve been asked to organise protests etc, I`m sure other ‘old time` protestors and web editors have had the same. One thing I have done is send a, I hope, fair communication to the Board. They have confirmed they have read it. That is that as far as I`m concerned! See the thread: Click Here as I don`t deem it suitable for front page publication.

I`ve also had a bit of a say in The Express. I must admit, I never thought I`d be in the same article as Kylie Minogue. There is hope for me yet! lol

I`m trying to be fair. I have faith that this is a mistake that can be corrected and that all Chairmen/owners make some good, bad and downright ugly appointments.

Some of the quotes I sent to John Wragg were:

For the first time, in a long time – especially as Villa fans have an undeserved reputation of being perennial moaners – the atmosphere at Villa Park on Tuesday night v Bolton turned poisonous, hate filled and angry.

I`m not sure if the Club fully realise it yet, I`m not sure that Alex McLeish realises it yet, but his position has become, amongst the vast majority of Villa fans, untenable.

On the fact that he has now presided over the worst home form EVER for Aston Villa, (bearing in mind our proud history and heritage in the game, including founding the league) and that fact alone, Alex should have tendered his resignation to the Board of Aston Villa straight after the match.

He spoke of wanting to achieve a God like status the same as Martin O`Neill has at Sunderland. This was never a realistic aim for a manager pretty much no Villa fan wanted and although the press will often insist that is because of his Blues connection, it simply isn`t. It is his reputation as a negative manager and his awful Premiership record. He was simply never good enough for a Club of this size.

For the good of the Club and for the good of himself, he should resign, or be removed from his post immediately. Although with three games to go that might seem ridiculous, he`s let us down tactically throughout the season (and we can`t blame bad luck and injuries for the whole season) and our reserve set up might just be able to galvanise the team who clearly are not behind or playing for the manager, in order to achieve safety. If we rely on Alex McLeish, then we rely on the results of other clubs as most of us aren`t convinced we are able to win any of our remaining fixtures with him.

Randy Lerner, also now under pressure from a section of the fans, took a risk, his manager has let him down and although a clear mistake has been made, Randy can rectify it and with a decent appointment and some summer spending. Bridges, I am sure, can be re-built for all but the most veracious of fans.

If no action is taken, I`d look very closely at our attendances next season, mugs like myself will be there without question but many thousands won`t follow our blind allegiance and I`m very sad to say, with Alex McLeish`s ‘anti-football` I don`t blame them.

I`m amongst many thousands of fans who didn`t want him but once appointed, said ‘give him a chance`. I personally feel let down to see Aston Villa set up the way we have been this season and to see us roll over v the likes of Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. Our fans are a proud bunch, a fan base that is at the very least used to being the top team in the Midlands. We are currently third best!

I am also one of the many fans who haven`t wanted to join protests against the manager. On a human level it all seems petty and small time to do so. However, at the moment, there appears to be an ‘us v them` feeling building and without a summer overhaul, next season could become an even more unpleasant experience and protests will grow, or even more dangerously, apathy will increase.

Neil Moxley gets it and also mentioned the the poisonous atmosphere at Villa v Bolton and sticks up for us that it is NOT being about McLeish being a blue nose. Listen to the interview at: Doug Wades In Over McLeish – Might Surprise A Few!fans-attitude-mcleish-was-hateful-170672 ‘ target=’blank’>www.talksport.co.uk/radio

A blog on the Guardian saying Villa fans were right, this was never a good fit for manager/club: McLeish and club do not go together

I actually read the joint statement from Randy/Paul with hope yesterday. Others see it differently, that they are backing the manager. I honestly read it differently, in fact, it wouldn`t surprise me if McLeish already knows his fate. However, maybe they have a point that now we`ve waited this long, all that matters is survival and so there are the three games for the team and manager to get us out of the mess. Time will tell. Statement: Click Here

Protests are being talked about at the Spurs game. Lets hope we have achieved safety by then, a win v WBA would surely see us fine? That would also break the Baggies fans hearts (!) as they want to see us down (which I have no issue with, this is what football is all about and we have Lorded it over all Midlands teams for decades lol) but for them to give us the points to stay up would be nice! If we aren`t safe by Spurs, I`m sure the debate will rumble on, do you protest and upset the already fragile balance or not. I have no answers to that one!

UTV