Source: FOOTYMAD
Time to Get Behind Alex
A full weekend has passed now and, like most other Villa fans, I have had chance to reflect on the McLeish appointment. Admittedly, I was not in favour of Randy’s choice of manager, but the simple fact remains that he is the Villa manager. There is nothing that can be done about that now, and no amount of negativity or criticism will change that. The forums still seem to be alive with anti-McLeish posts and they will achieve absolutely nothing. We only need to look at the way in which McLeish was appointed to see that- the Villa board refused to listen to the Villa faithful then, so they will certainly not listen now. They will not wake up tomorrow, realise they made a mistake and give Alex his marching orders. It is time to get on with things, and all supporters need to refrain from the criticism until he has had a chance. If he makes a mess of it by Christmas, by all means boo your hearts out at Villa Park. But to do that on day one would be catastrophic. Any player that runs out to boos and abuse at the first home game will not want to be a part of it. It will also work in favour of the opposition. Similarly, any player that reads all of the negativity and criticism that is still circulating now may yearn for a club with more ‘togetherness’ between club and fans. A lot of the criticism is ridiculously unfair. McLeish stated that he would play attacking football without compromising defensive integrity. That, to me, is exactly what you should do and it is what happened under O’Neill. Sadly, a lot of the posted comments criticise McLeish for saying even that. I’m not accusing fans of picking flies, but give the bloke a chance and realise what he is trying to say. McLeish may well turn out to be a monumental error, but for now he is our manager and it would be a bigger mistake for the supporters to be against him (and, indirectly, the players) even before the season has kicked off. Besides, if would probably annoy Blues fans even more if we all get behind him.
