Pannu Confirms Villa Interest?

Blues acting Chairman Peter Pannu has gone public over an email received from Aston Villa concerning Alex McLeish.

Ok first off, this is confirmation that quite a few people didn’t want to come tonight, tomorrow or frankly at all and stems from a much earlier Twitter post by Tom Ross today.

However, I urge people to think before they post, comment, kick the cat, smash the TV or anything else they may be inclined to do.

Pannu is clear as he suspects effectively that we have tapped McLeish up, but IF you really read his words he has proof of nothing, and our response as a club to his email enquiry actually in no way suggests we have, are, want to, or will approach the man who has overseen their relegation.

Maybe I’m splitting hairs, maybe I’m hoping beyond hope the board wouldn’t be so blind after everything they have achieved at the club…I hope to be proved right, even though as I said earlier on the board I am bloody nervous and I’ve already said an appointment of McLeish would be a serious two fingers to those who have supported the board throughout certain hiccups and it would clearly be the first and biggest real mistake, given it’s wholly avoidable.

Pannu told the press…these quotes from the Daily Mail but they aren’t alone in carrying them.

‘I don’t want Alex McLeish back, if he is going to go I want the money. I just got an email from Aston Villa, as expected their legal department said ‘now that Alex is a free agent, having resigned, we are free to speak to him.’

Pannu continues by saying.

‘This confirms all suspicions, the second year compensation starts on July 1 and the urgency of this email coming from Villa shows they can’t even wait 15 days.’

Now it has to be said, Villa are responding to an email Birmingham sent, what would Pannu prefer, us to wait two weeks before acknowledging him??? If we wanted to truthfully save £2 odd million as once his first year expires the compensation fee goes down, why have we waited this long for him to resign – why didn’t he resign AFTER that date?

It doesn’t stack up and in some ways even if Pannu is right, his reaction is flawed. Houllier left how long ago, McLeish has only just quit? Yeah ok, whatever, it’s about money and being cheap, so we haven’t waited for that date to expire?

At no point do we say we are interested, we say simply if we were, we are free to talk to him.

Pannu is angered, he’s already claimed Blues have opened negotiations with four players identified by McLeish for next season and he’s already clearly said their owners have backed him to the hilt and he’s responded by giving them relegation and a snub. But he was also apparently in the press saying McLeish’s job was safe, in effect, as long as he got promotion next season.

This is not cut and dry nor black and white, Pannu is angry and is looking to blame the nearest he can find. And I actually don’t blame him. McLeish resigned by email after overseeing their relegation.

If Pannu is right, he allowed the board to continue business on next season and couldn’t even resign face to face.

That to me, seriously sends this man’s reputation down in my eyes, so I don’t blame Pannu for angry.

All that concerns me is simply we responded as we did to his enquiry in that manner because he is of interest to us (please God no) or it’s the old case of lawyers being clever and thinking a hammer of a comment will reassert their humanhood when in fact, a more reasonable response is far more appropriate.

I pray to God it’s the latter.

Pannu wasn’t finished there though, he continued.

‘I can put one and one together, he thinks he can walk away because the £5.4m is too much for Villa and he cannot let this opportunity pass. He is not willing to fork out £5.4m himself, even though if he goes to Villa he is likely to be on £2m a year. I will be getting an injunction preventing Villa from hiring him.’

Pannu adds either Villa pay up, or he’ll go to a Premier League panel.

For a start, get the injunction, we don’t want him. For a second on what planet does Pannu think he knows what McLeish’s wage would be? For a third, we finished outside of the relegation places so £5.4m is small change for us.

As said it’s not black and white.

Pannu is looking to blame, and our board better be far more intelligent than to prove him right.

I do however have to quote the Express now who carry the same quotes, with different dates and the hysterical….

‘The urgency of the whole thing, with this email from Villa shows they can’t even wait 17 days when the compensation is lower. It shows what this is all about, because of this, what option is left to Alex and his advisors, to make allegations against Carson Yeung, against the board, for interference or whatever bullshit excuse to show constructive dismissal.’

As said, Pannu is looking to blame, and our board better be more intelligent that to prove him right.

Vital Villa on: