McLeish Resign Now – For The Good Of The Club

It is worth laying my cards on the table. I was disappointed with your appointment as manager of Aston Villa as I felt that you did not have the credentials to lead the club or to improve on last year`s season which at times could only be described at bleak.

It was not for what in my mind is the pretty immature reason of where you had come from to take the job – I couldn`t care less where you came from – I just want Aston Villa to be a successful football club. My concerns were more to do with you previous seasons in the Premier League, where you had seen the same team through two relegations from the top flight with the brand of football being blamed partly on this relegation. Your spell in Scotland also, where amongst the trophies a finish of third with Glasgow Rangers can only be seen as a failure.

I feel it`s important to explain the above as despite still having my concerns, your comments to the various supporter`s groups who could attend the meeting shortly after you were appointed gave me hope that this club could achieve success with you as manager. In particular:

1. That you would utilize the attacking players we had at the club for a fast paced, dynamic style of play using wingers and raiding full backs.

2.That Stewart Downing would not be sold unless a massive – £50m was quoted – figure was offered.

3. That you wouldn`t disrespect the club by not playing our strongest teams in the cups, as had happened under previous managers throwing away chances of success.

4. That you would pair Gabby Agbonlahor with Darren Bent as Gabby is ‘wasted on the wing`.

These were the things that I wanted to hear. It gave me hope that I had been over the top in my fears.

But as I write this letter, I am sad to say that unfortunately my fears have come true. Perhaps I should have seen it coming sooner, once Stewart Downing was sold off – but the style of play, defensive tedium and number of points picked up in a relatively easy run of fixtures is not acceptable for Aston Villa.

Every promise mentioned above has been broken. We play the most dull and imaginative football in England – which either you have asked the team to play, or the team is ignoring your orders and playing themselves. We sold off Downing, and put out a second-rate, poor performance in the League Cup. We have only seen Gabby Agbonlahor and Darren Bent paired up together possibly once or twice, with Gabby often played out on the wing with the supply line cut off for our £20million striker Darren Bent.

We have seen dismally poor performances with no attacking intention against Fulham, Wolves, Newcastle (where Shay Given won us a point), QPR, West Brom and more recently Tottenham, Swansea and Manchester United.

am sure that you could not blame me for seeing the connection between your team last year being relegated because they did not score enough goals (despite losing five less games than a team that stayed in the division) and our very own problems. If we don`t try to create opportunities for our players to score goals, then we won`t score goals.

The team put out on the pitch for the game against Tottenham was very much the kind of insult that had been explained to you at that fans meeting. It had no intent on winning the game and when it had failed to keep Tottenham away from the goal early on, there was no change in tactics, plan or mentality. It was an insult to the supporters of this football club to go to Tottenham Hotspur with damage limitation as our number one priority.

I am not stupid. I do not believe that Aston Villa is capable of playing free flowing, beautiful football week in, week out. I do not expect that. But what I do expect is for the team to go into every game with the mentality of wanting to win the game. To create some chances. The greatest example of this is only last week Crystal Palace went to Old Trafford with – defensive stability at the forefront of their minds – but also a willingness to attack the home team and went home with a place in the semi-finals of the League Cup because of it.

Aston Villa are not winning games because they do not deserve to be. Any team with our currently mentality do not deserve it.

could completely understand my thoughts being written off as ‘fan panic`, or as someone who did not want you at the club. You are probably right if you did think this. Two recent polls as they stand give you a 3% and a 4% approval rating, so at least I`m not the only one if this is the case. However, people within football are damning your management of the club in the same way as the fans. John Barnes was quoted as saying “You can play that kind of football at Birmingham, but not at a club like Aston Villa”, which may be slightly condescending towards our neighbours makes an important point about the differences of the two sides and the performances that your teams are putting out.

The Guardian`s match report of the Manchester United game told us that “Villa, however, were nothing short of an ambition-free disgrace”. Kevin Keegan was just as damning saying “You have got a moral obligation to go and try to win a game at home…this is the worst home display I`ve seen from a team for a very, very long time”.

These aren`t biased Villa fans. They are the honest opinions of three professionals who work in the game.

And now we sit here on the same number of points, and goal difference as you had this time last year. When your team were relegated. Are you getting a sense of de ja vu? Can you understand why I am worried enough to write this letter?

What is your plan for Aston Villa FC? Why do you think things are going so wrong? Do you think things are going wrong? How are you going to improve the team?

Because as things stand you players are not responding to you. Your tactics are not working and we are struggling to win football games. Your tactics are driving away thousands of Villa fans because while it may be miserable to watch us lose a game, it`s even more miserable to watch us cross over the halfway line and lose. It is costing the club money in final league placing merits and match day revenue. It is breaking the goodwill and link between the club and it`s supporters.

How are you going to fix this? What words can you give to us to put confidence in you?

The vast majority of the club`s supporters do not want you here. The club`s players are not responding to you and the tactics you are employing at this football club are not working, just as they didn`t last season for your previous club.

Quite frankly, it is becoming clear that you and Aston Villa are not a good fit, and in your heart – you must surely be having similar thoughts.

You may not be a ‘quitter` – but you are a man with intelligence. And that is why, for the good of Aston Villa FC I urge you to resign from your position. This wouldn`t be ‘quitting`. It`d be an acceptance that the philosophies that both the football club and you hold are so far apart that it`s damaging the club.