Premier League - Villa appoint McLeish

Fri, 17 Jun 19:00:00 2011

Aston Villa appointed Alex McLeish as manager less than a week after the Scot triggered a legal dispute by quitting neighbours and arch-rivals Birmingham City by email.

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The move to interview McLeish, who was unable to prevent Birmingham being relegated from the Premier League last season, resulted in protests at Villa Park this week by a number of die-hard fans.

McLeish, who faces a legal challenge from his former club over his departure, succeeds Gerard Houllier who resigned on June 1 through ill health.

"I am honoured to have this opportunity to manage a club with such a fantastic history as Aston Villa's," said McLeish, a former central defender who served Aberdeen and Scotland for many years.

"I know some of our fans have voiced concerns and I can understand why.

"It will be up to me to convince you I am the right man to drive the club forward and I intend to give absolutely everything to prove I can be a success at the club."

Birmingham are unhappy at the way McLeish left his post last Sunday and stated their intention to "vigorously pursue the matter".

"We are very disappointed with how the club and its fans have been treated by Mr McLeish given the way we have supported him over the years and we are still looking into whether Aston Villa's conduct has been in line with Premier League rules," the club said on their website.

"As the club is currently enforcing its legal right with Mr McLeish, the matter is in the hands of our lawyers, and it is therefore not appropriate for the club to make any further comment at this stage."

The 52-year-old McLeish established his managerial reputation at Scottish Premier League clubs Motherwell, Hibernian and Rangers before taking over as Scotland manager in January 2007.

The national team appointment did not last long as he moved to England to replace Steve Bruce at Birmingham in November of that year.

Birmingham were relegated at the end of his first season but he took them straight back up to the top flight for the 2009/10 campaign where they finished ninth, their highest position for more than half a century.

This year proved to be a mixed one as McLeish went from the highs of stunning Arsenal in the League Cup final to the lows of a dramatic decline in league form which ended in relegation on the final day of the season.

Villa had a lacklustre season, finishing ninth, and Houllier was forced to relinquish control for the last five games of the season after he was confined to bed for eight days in April, a decade after undergoing open heart surgery.

The 63-year-old Frenchman then stepped down and Villa approached Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez, among others, to fill the vacancy but the Spaniard opted to stay put and McLeish became available soon after.

"We believe we have appointed the right man for the job," Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner said.

"Unquestionably, Alex meets the criteria we set out at the beginning of our search which was based on proven Premier League experience, leadership, a hard-working ethic and, most importantly, a shared vision for Aston Villa."

Reuters

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  1. cokrowinoto #212
    There's just a minority of­ supporters (if that's what they are) who don't­ want him.
    You'll find the vast majority of us­ might be sceptical but feel it might just work.
    How do­ you know the players don't believe in him? From­ what I've read and heard they're pretty­ excited.

    From anon, on Sun 19 Jun 17:39

  2. As a blues fan I can honestly say that I am glad­ Mcleish has left us. Okay he won the Carling Cup and we­ had a great run the season before when we had our­ longest unbeaten run for god knows how long. However,­ his style of football is boring. His teams are­ definsively good but struggle to score goals. You sit­ there praying for the ref to give a corner or a free­ kick as you feel that is the only chance you are going­ to score! I like the man himself but believe he will­ become a Premiership journey man. He took us as far as­ he could with the funds etc avaliable. If I was a Villa­ fan I would be dissapointed that he has been appointed­ when there are many other good managers out there.­ However, give him a chance - you never know you might­ finish the season in the top half having drawn most of­ your games. On a Blues front, I feel that we are back­ where we belong. At least we might have some­ enjoyingment watching a few more wins and some goals­ going in. That is unless we decide to appoint Josef­ Vengloss. Keep right on. Big T.

    From tonenkat, on Sun 19 Jun 4:26

  3. A mutual speaking here... I must say I am shocked that­ Big Eck has gone to Villa.. He is a brilliant manager,­ yeh Birmingham didn't do too well last season, but­ riddled with injuries through out the season and not­ sure if the funds were not available to even loan­ players.. I think he'll do a gr8 job, don't­ knock him till u've tried him! Good luck to both­ teams next season.. See u @ Brighton.. Birmingham! :)

    From Marie, on Sat 18 Jun 16:57

  4. im a liverpool fan so it isnt like this is anything to­ do with me, but a clubs fans knows its club better than­ anyone, look at all the nonsense we put up with when we­ made it clear roy hodgson wasnt the right manager for­ us, but was we right??... instead of those people who­ criticised us havin the b.alls to say "yeah,­ results in the second half of the season suggest you­ were right" they now use the cop out of "­ yeah, but kenny got more backing" .....
    its all­ nonsense, stick to what you feel..........you'll­ come out on top in the end

    From ROGO, on Sat 18 Jun 16:48

  5. I'm glad he's going to the Villa and hopefully­ he'll do such a great job there like he did at the­ Blues and get the Villa relegated too!!! Keep right on­ to the end of the road........Villa fans have a great­ season sweating every game to being­ relegated........See yu Jimmy!!!

    From H, on Sat 18 Jun 16:24

  6. How I admire Aston Villa's Championship ambitions

    From T N, on Sat 18 Jun 16:07

  7. This is simply another Roy Hodgson-Liverpool drama once­ again. The fans don't want him, the players­ don't believe in him and the results would cut­ short his reign as manager. What a pity.

    From Cokrowinoto, on Sat 18 Jun 12:31

  8. Why would Villa want this guy? I cannot understand­ this at all.

    From m m, on Sat 18 Jun 12:20

  9. it is like the worst night mere i ever had came true­ alex blue nose mcleish becoming the manager at aston­ villa it make me sick and gutted and it is a bloody­ big joke and as i said before it must be (april fools­ day )and with is track record it is not very good at­ all

    From ROBERT, on Sat 18 Jun 8:32

  10. He's already lied to Villa, fondmemories. He's­ convinced the buffoon Lerner that he can manage a­ Premier League football team.

    From DavidD, on Sat 18 Jun 6:53

  11. @ comment 204: Thats why every other supporter of every­ other team hates Man Utd supporters. Pompous @#$%

    From danger_moose, on Sat 18 Jun 6:52

  12. I used to think McLeish was a good manager, but then­ his decisions on playing certain players and even­ bringing on subs when needed, left a lot to be desired.­ We played well for a few months 2010/11, but seemed to­ collapse towards the end of the season and McLeish­ didn't seem to notice, OR didn't want to. His­ media interviews were so cleched they were predictable.­
    I was scared when we were relegated, then pleased to­ hear the words from his mouth that he was staying with­ the club. Ok, we'll give you another chance and­ maybe this season, he will get it right. Then came­ the rumours and his shocked resignation last sunday. ­ All this week we've listened to the stories he was­ going to Villa, I kept thinking, no, he wouldn't­ dare, surely not! How stupid am I?
    Why do I trust­ everyone, why did I trust him after he lied about­ staying at Blues. Well Villa, if he can lie to us, he­ can lie to you. His statement about joining Villa was­ predictable. He's going to prove to you that he­ is the right man for the job. Can YOU trust a man who­ lies?
    I have now changed my mind and I'm glad the­ guys gone. Ok, we will have to rebuild our team,­ learn to trust the next manager whoever that may be,­ and most of all get behind the manager and players. ­ The board are another matter. Look what they did to­ Bruce, who was doing okay afterall.
    Let's hope­ we've all learned a valuable lesson from this and­ start to enjoy the game of football next season and­ wait and see what happens. My only hope is that our­ wonderful supporters see some good football from our­ team and we can get promotion back to the premiership­ where we belong (regardless of what Villa and other­ supporters think). Let's all Keep Right On...

    From fondmemories, on Sat 18 Jun 6:30

  13. i wasnt being smug mate, all i am saying is that city­ now have considerably more money than you, or anyone­ else for that matter, and its f k ing great lol

    From John, on Sat 18 Jun 5:36

  14. Erm excuse me. Who is signing players down the­ blues..... Gomis. The board are trying 2 get compo from­ the vile and then we sign a player on a 3 year­ contract. Could we please concentrate on wots most­ important and get a manager in to make his own­ signings. Before we know it the season will start an­ teams like west ham who are already looking strong are­ getting a head start on ruturning to the prem. Whilst­ we piss @#$% about chasing compensation. McLeish has­ gone. And i only hope the vile get the sort or @#$%­ football we got served up. Move on please its boring­ now.. Keep right on..

    From Philip, on Sat 18 Jun 5:17

  15. houllier threw away our chances of progressing in the­ fa cup o neill took us to wembley twice in a season­ & lost twice he bought­ beye,shorey,davies,guzan,salifou,heskey,harewood,knight­ all of who did nothing but make up squad numbers he­ sold cahill & gardner .ireland didnt become a bad­ player overnight & if he stays mcleish will get the­ best out of him ,as for bcfc you were going up &­ down season after season long before the days of alex­ mcleish.the deal is done - get behind the manager &­ team whatever ..........UP THE VILLA.

    From JULIE, on Sat 18 Jun 4:47
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Who cares?????As a man u supporter, i dont care who­ manages the third tier in the premiereship lol, lol.

    From William, on Sat 18 Jun 4:45

  17. he was tapped up its obvious,he would not have resigned­ if he did not have another job,the villa board are­ scum,like other,teams who have broken the fa rules i­ hope they get a heavy fine and like other teams who­ have broken fa rules,,get a points deduction maybe 10­ points,villa are no different to any other team rules­ are rules,,,

    From DAVE, on Sat 18 Jun 4:40

  18. Agreed. Get over it, and get on with the Business of­ appointing your new Manager. Mr Pannu, 2 facts.

    1. The­ Villa job has been vacant since June 1, when GH stood­ down.
    2. Mcleish resigned and you confirmed that there­ had been no approach from any club.

    Welcome to Aston­ Villa, Alex.

    From un_too_slow, on Sat 18 Jun 3:23

  19. Elizebeth #199
    These " supporters" who'll­ boycott games and protest in my opinion aren't true­ supporters. You can express your opposition, I accept­ that, but, once it's done get on with it and­ support the team.
    AMcL wasn't my 1st choice either­ but now he's in I will give him and the team my­ full support. I'm actually excited about the coming­ season and will be renewing my season ticket.

    From anon, on Sat 18 Jun 2:56

  20. He took them down
    He took them down
    He took them down­ forever
    Come back up
    Will they heck
    McLeish loves the­ Villa!!!

    From anon, on Sat 18 Jun 2:21
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