Bodymoor Heath daubed with graffiti.

I must say, while I understand why it's been done, it embarrasses me. Is this really what we've become?

I can't think of a more uninspiring appointment than this if it's confirmed today. Villa may as well got Gary Megson.

We might as well stick with Gary Mac. I would honestly prefer him.

Jol would have been perfect but Al Fuddy acted quicker.

Who's out there? Van Gaal but he'd probably cost a fortune. Ruud Gullit? Premiership experience

It is a shame it has to come to this but the Villa board need to realise what they are doing.

There's loads...

Hughes, Van Gaal, Rijkaard, Rafa, Flores.

We would even prefer lower ranks such as Hughton and Di Matteo.

They're all FREE agents.

Our board are clueless football people. Extremely clueless if they hire McLeish. There's no logical reason in this whatsoever.

Have they tried to get Mick McCarthy? Not seen his name mentioned anywhere.

No I don't think so. I don't think he would come anyway. He seems settled at Wolves.

You would think though if the board actually made an effort of making a phone call to someone like Rijkaard, he would actually come.

But instead, our pathetic board are after Premier League experience. Yeah, a man who relegated a team twice in three seasons in the Premier League with negative football is the ideal candidate.

I don't think he would go either, but it doesn't make sense to me they are trying for McLeish when they haven't bothered going for McCarthy.

There are exceptions to every rule, to name but 1 I'd say 5-4 in a Uefa cup final was somewhat positive.

Well from the majority on this thread you wanted Houllier out pretty quickly, then it was Gary Mac can go too, then a large mix of names that you didnt want.

Now it seems you'd be better off having stuck with the initial ones you wanted out if Mcleish is the man

the biggest mistake was allowing o'niell to leave,which is when it went belly up....three top six finishes led villa to believe they were a big club...they became complacent,took their eye off the ball,and the shit hit the fan...they're not the first and certainly won't be the last

McLeish might do quite well at Villa. His teams are always hard to break down, it's just scoring that was the problem and with guys like Bent etc that should take care of itself. He's already experienced success and pressure at a big club (Rangers) and did well at international level too. He's definitely a step up from the clueless Houllier.

bent scoring is not a given though.... next season,without young and downing his effectiveness will be diminished....you're only as good as the players around you,and villa are going backwards..

As an outsider I find it incredulous that Villa, a top ten Premiership club aren't setting their sights higher in terms of the calibre of manager they employ. To even consider bringing in McLeish from their arch rivals and the inflamation it will cause with supporters defies all logic.

But the next manager even if it was Mourinho would be without Young etc. Bent will get you goals, even if the service is iffy (like it was at Sunderland). A Downing or Young can be replaced, but Bent's goals are why he was worth what he cost. In my opinion I'd have liked to have seen a Holloway type at Villa, but McLeish will bring that gritty determination to the team if he goes there.

Yeah right, clueless but has won 3 trophies in a season and many a French league trophy too, titles included.

Compared to the league they are minor competitions. He signed Pires for Vlla when he was 37, I mean come on.

McLeish is not a good manager though, he's just got Birmingham relegated.

He got them promoted, guided them to 9th 2 seasons ago, won the cup this season with them and got them into Europe. He obviously is a good manager. It's the £80 million of supposed investment that didn't materialize that I'd question, not McLeish.

He spent a lot of money, took them to the brink of financial ruin and then got them relegated. Forget the cup, every Birmingham fan in the country would swap that for staying up.

The £80m may not have materialised but he was hardly operating on a shoestring was he?

yes he should shoulder a lot of the blame for that but so should the chairman - the whole thing leaves a nasty taste in the mouth and yet again highlights the lack of loyalty in the game.

Well yes it's the Chairman's fault for letting him spend it, but there seems to be this myth that he's done well at a little club. Look at what West Brom and Wolves have spent and compare.

Wolves spent about the same amount. Finishing 9th should have been something that was built on, but the lack of investment and injuries killed them.

Wolves wage bill is considerably lower and we're still in the Premier League.

This injury myth is another thing. Dann and Zigic were injured, that was about it, every club has injuries.