Barring Bolton Wanderers making up a 17 goal difference between ours and their points on the last game of the season, Aston Villa are safe. We’re not technically safe in mathematical terms, but it would take a run of unfortunate luck to put us down, and one of mammoth proportions.
So, whether due to quality or, perhaps more likely in the eyes of some, sheer luck and ineptitude of teams below them, Villa will most likely compete as part of the 2012/13 season in the Premier League.
Birmingham City, regularly lauded for their quality of manager and play, may not even get as far as the play off final as they currently nurse a first leg loss to Blackpool. So, it turns out maybe Alex McLeish, despite the derision of his quality, may well be better than Chris Hughton after all.
The songs at the end of the Tottenham Hotspur game left little doubt in the mind of a neutral as to what many of the fans want. Some made much of the fact that McLeish did not participate in the “lap of honour” at the end of the game, but this is largely down to security reasons, and little else. Whatever your thoughts on the man, I doubt many would actually want him to get physically hurt by a missile thrown from the crowd.
So, to that end, I don’t think people should read too much into these sorts of decisions. Yes, one can cultivate an argument that the performances have been poor, and a low league placing would certainly support such a belief. However, there is far more to these sorts of choices than simply knee-jerk reactions can cultivate.
I agree that the performances have been poor. I also agree that, at times, our team has performed as though it is being subdued by a desire to defend first rather than attack.
However, I also know from watching games all season that there has been far more to the problems that we have experienced than one man setting the tactics a certain way. This foolhardy belief that the team can only do well when it “breaks free of the shackles imposed by the manager” is ridiculous.
Even though fan hatred and anger may well be beyond boiling point towards the manager, at least some of the statements offered make no sense. Some fans have made suggestions tantamount to the fact that McLeish wants to do badly, that he wants the team to play poorly, and that he wants to somehow ruin or besmirch the name of Villa.
These are all pretty ridiculous beliefs. I understand wholeheartedly about disappointing results, remember I’ve attended them, but McLeish has become a scapegoat, a sole focus for the anger and disappointment that this team has cultivated during this season.
The fact of the matter is that, on numerous occasions, stupid individual decisions by players have given up critical errors. Players have ended up giving away penalties, making stupid challenges, conceding free kicks, and ending up being unable to stop the opposition from scoring.
The fact that these issues have, again, been stuck solely on the manager’s shoulders seem remarkably short sighted. Nobody is saying McLeish has been a success, or that his record has been fantastic for the club, but to use him as a sole scapegoat while the players dodge bullets is ridiculous on every level.
After all, have you been happy with the player performances? McLeish bought Alan Hutton, so he may have to take the slack for that, but who else has he bought in that malfunctioning defence? Enda Stevens? He hasn’t even played.
The squad is, whether fans care to admit it or not, very poor. Cuts made to it by the owner, not the manager, have left us woefully underpowered and without cover in many positions. People have said things should change, but often such changes suggested are out of hope more than anything else.
A team that once operated on wingers breaking at pace, now operates, and has operated for at least a season before McLeish arrived, at a slow pace. The only true senior winger that we have is Marc Albrighton, with players like Charles N’Zogbia and Samir Carruthers being more suited to wide midfield roles rather than being dedicated wingers.
So is it any surprise that we have to play with width via the full backs? People have criticised the lack of defensive play in the existing full back pairings, but look at how much they are far up the pitch. It isn’t a rarity, and players can only be in one place at one time. Some have lambasted McLeish’s desire for N’Zogbia to defend, but his defenders attack.
This kind of movement is, if I am honest, probably a bit too complex for some of Villa’s current charges to handle. Back in the “successful” era of Martin O’Neill, players operated in rigid roles, with many players only occupying single phases of play.
McLeish’s tactics, in much the same way as many of Gerard Houllier’s tactics last year, are a tad more sophisticated. Defenders have to be active in all phases as the game changes as do attackers, but the sad facts are that the players we currently have are not that good, or are unsuited to such movement.
We’ve already head about N’Zogbia’s statements in French paper L’Equipe that he is expected to defend as well as attack, with the tone of the article implying that he was unhappy with such a setup. However, if a talented and creative player like Stephen Ireland can adopt a strategy that lets him attack and defend, it is hard to see why N’Zogbia should be treated any differently.
The bottom line is that, despite McLeish not appearing for the lap of honour, it would be unwise to read anything into such a move. Will McLeish stay for another season? Many will hope not, but with potential reinvestment, and a series of solid arguments on why the problems run deeper than any one man, I would be far from surprised if Randy Lerner fails to axe the unpopular man from Barrhead.
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