Alex McLeish

[daviebee]

No way he's voluntarily walking away from that salary when he knows nobody else wants him.

So we scrape a win against Cyprus in June? Do you seriously want Belgium running at a defence organised by him a few days later???  FFS I was brickin masel whenever San Marino were in oor half!

[RenfrewBlue]

4 hours ago, Marky said:

Hmmmm.

I don’t profess to know Alex McLeish’s financial position, but lets assume after a pretty successful career at the top of the game, that money is not a particular issue for him. On that basis I’d like to think that he viewed taking on the Scotland job again as a labour of love. So if he’s making an arse of it, I’d expect him to have the decency to step down. That is not the same as your analogy of equating it to one of us walking voluntarily from our job.

If he’s skint and doing it for the cash, that’s a different matter.

I've no idea of his finances but pretty sure he'll be worried about the old EBT debacle. 

Perhaps that's what is driving his behaviour. 

That or he may truly believe he can turn it around. 

But realistically how many managers actually walk away from a job without a payoff? I'd suggest less than 1%.

[Chripper]

14 hours ago, RenfrewBlue said:

Sorry but the bit about being at Rangers at the right time is utter shite. He was the manager during a significant cost cutting exercise and his success was very much unexpected. 

Celtic should have been strolling the league but thanks to them making mistakes and McLeish keeping us consistent we won. Helicopter Sunday being the very best example. 

He may not have been a world beater but he was a good manager back then. 

Fine, maybe you know better, seeing as I'm not an Old Firm fan. I'd look into the players that McLeish bought/had, but I can't be bothered.

He was a good manager and now he's useless? Awesome, we have the Scottish Jose Mourinho...

[euan2020]

On 3/25/2019 at 6:06 PM, RenfrewBlue said:

I've no idea of his finances but pretty sure he'll be worried about the old EBT debacle. 

Perhaps that's what is driving his behaviour. 

That or he may truly believe he can turn it around. 

But realistically how many managers actually walk away from a job without a payoff? I'd suggest less than 1%.

Strachan @ Middlesbrough

[RenfrewBlue]

3 hours ago, euan2020 said:

Strachan @ Middlesbrough

So 1 out of how many hundreds. Not really a big percentage, is it? 

[ParisInAKilt]

Fuck McLeish. Plain and simple. He’s entitled to pick up a wage but to the detriment of his legacy, unless the unlikely happens and we become a team again. 

[Parklife]

Sacked yet?

Actually incredible that he was employed despite clearly not being in his previous fully fit self. Anyone who'd watched him as a TV pundit during his sad wee pitch to get the Rangers job could see this. Yet, in a complete show of incompetence, the SFA gave him the managers job.

Fuck the SFA and fuck Alex McLeish.

[PASTA Mick]

1 hour ago, Parklife said:

Sacked yet?

Actually incredible that he was employed despite clearly not being in his previous fully fit self. Anyone who'd watched him as a TV pundit during his sad wee pitch to get the Rangers job could see this. Yet, in a complete show of incompetence, the SFA gave him the managers job.

Fuck the SFA and fuck Alex McLeish.

Spot on. Most people on here could see how bad an appointment is was. 

[Tartan Chris]

Obviously help the rumoured health issues are well wide of the mark.

People might think he's a s*** manager nowadays which is probably true but a poor football manager dosen't deserve that ailment.

Anyway I wasn't that fussed with him coming back as he did well before but yeah the Kazhakstan game was tipping point, he couldn't really continue long term after that mess.

Just let him go with some dignity.

[Parklife]

28 minutes ago, Tartan Chris said:

Just let him go with some dignity.

Only he is in charge of that. A resignation and I think his legacy to most will be clear of mention of the last 18 months.

[Terry Munro]

The shambles in Israel should have been enough for him not to be handed the Euro groups.

Sacking Strachan who seemed to have turned it around a bit with an undefeated 2017 and replacing him with Mcleish made no sense whatsoever. 

We all knew it would be him though. The cheap option. Whored himself around for jobs for ages, no cunt wanted him, yet the SFA saw fit to give him the most important job of them all. Useless bastards 

[PASTA Mick]

24 minutes ago, Terry Munro said:

The shambles in Israel should have been enough for him not to be handed the Euro groups.

Sacking Strachan who seemed to have turned it around a bit with an undefeated 2017 and replacing him with Mcleish made no sense whatsoever. 

We all knew it would be him though. The cheap option. Whored himself around for jobs for ages, no cunt wanted him, yet the SFA saw fit to give him the most important job of them all. Useless bastards 

I think it probably was time for Strachan to go.  A new manager just needed to make a few tweaks to improve us.

This was Strachans last squad.  I think that only 8 or 9 of them were in the last squad.  We made big changes to a side that were on a pretty decent run.

I think that Malky MacKay can shoulder some of the blame as he made mass changes for the game he was in charge and then went to the press to talk about how the new manager should pick the same players. 

[DaveyDenoon]

The SFA made a complete hash of hiring the new manager and now they can’t even sack him properly. Double incompetence.

For all we might be pissed off with McLeish dragging us down to depths which we have never before plumbed, this situation should not be dragged out the way it is and he should’ve been put out of his misery yesterday, particularly if his health really is an issue. This is really unfair on the man and even if his health is fine then this is a very undignified way of ending his contract.

We all know the sack is coming coming sooner or later, whether it be next week or if he somehow hangs on until the June games.

There’s nothing more undignified than watching the public humiliation of a failing man clinging to his job whilst continuing to fail.

So for the good of all concerned, including McLeish himself just pull the trigger now, get it done and move on.

Edited March 29, 2019 by DaveyDenoon

[dezmondo]

I do feel a bit for McLeish. He's a passionate Scotsman, served his country well as a player, had a great spell as manager last time around, and is obviously trying his best at the moment. I don't buy into "he walked out on us last time " stuff, he came in during the middle of a campaign, done a good job and at the end of the campaign decided he wanted back into club management. He's also been let down by some of his players and they should be equally to blame. 

He won the nations league albeit with a poor result and performance in Israel but the flip side was a resounding 4 0 won and performance in Albania. 

As far as the friendlies go I was never too concerned. He had a second string squad in Peru and Mexico, we played quality teams in Belgium and Israel whilst still experimenting with his personnel. 

San Marino.......we won, we could've easily had 2 or 3 more goals. We laboured a bit but not too surprising given the journey to Kazakhstan beforehand and the changes to the squad. 

Kazakhstan was a disaster. There's one thing getting beat but to get pumped 3 0 is unacceptable. I listened to an interview prior to the game and McLeish talked about how they had done their homework on them, watched loads of matches of teams managed by their new manager, and I was confident that we'd get the result. I think it's obvious that he was out foxed and worryingly for me he didn't know how to change things early on....how there were no subs until 60 mins is unbelievable. 

Overall, I don't think he's as bad as he's been made out. Levein and Burley were worse. He's also operating with no proven strikers really available to him and trying to blood a new defence. I can totally see the argument for him getting sacked but our problems run deeper than McLeish and if he stays on he'll get my support. 

On another note, I'm not seeing this whole "he doesn't look well" stuff. He just looks older to me. I watched a number of his interviews last night and he does come across different than years ago but I don't see someone ill or someone with health problems, I just see him maybe slightly slower in his responses, possibly stressed, I suppose time will tell. 

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by dezmondo

[bonny78]

4 minutes ago, dezmondo said:

I do feel a bit for McLeish. He's a passionate Scotsman, served his country well as a player, had a great spell as manager last time around, and is obviously trying his best at the moment. I don't buy into "he walked out on us last time " stuff, he came in during the middle of a campaign, done a good job and at the end of the campaign decided he wanted back into club management. He's also been let down by some of his players and they should be equally to blame. 

He won the nations league albeit with a poor result and performance in Israel but the flip side was a resounding 4 0 won and performance in Albania. 

As far as the friendlies go I was never too concerned. He had a second string squad in Peru and Mexico, we played quality teams in Belgium and Israel whilst still experimenting with his personnel. 

San Marino.......we won, we could've easily had 2 or 3 more goals. We laboured a bit but not too surprising given the journey to Kazakhstan beforehand and the changes to the squad. 

Kazakhstan was a disaster. There's one thing getting beat but to get pumped 3 0 is unacceptable. I listened to an interview prior to the game and McLeish talked about how they had done their homework on them, watched loads of matches of teams managed by their new manager, and I was confident that we'd get the result. I think it's obvious that he was out foxed and worryingly for me he didn't know how to change things early on....how there were no subs until 60 mins is unbelievable. 

Overall, I don't think he's as bad as he's been made out. Levein and Burley were worse. He's also operating with no proven strikers really available to him and trying to blood a new defence. I can totally see the argument for him getting sacked but our problems run deeper than McLeish and if he stays on he'll get my support. 

On another note, I'm not seeing this whole "he doesn't look well" stuff. He just looks older to me. I watched a number of his interviews last night and he does come across different than years ago but I don't see someone ill or someone with health problems, I just see him maybe slightly slower in his responses, possibly stressed, I suppose time will tell. 

 

he would have stayed if we had qualified for 2008.    

Didn't walk out on us.  It would have been 10 months before the next game if he stayed.   fk that. 

[PASTA Mick]

20 minutes ago, dezmondo said:

Overall, I don't think he's as bad as he's been made out. Levein and Burley were worse.

Disagree.  It's the same level.

As soon as players start withdrawing their services, the writing is on the wall.  All three saw players decide to stop playing for them - players that still had something to offer. 

[vanderark14]

7 hours ago, Parklife said:

Sacked yet?

Actually incredible that he was employed despite clearly not being in his previous fully fit self. Anyone who'd watched him as a TV pundit during his sad wee pitch to get the Rangers job could see this. Yet, in a complete show of incompetence, the SFA gave him the managers job.

Fuck the SFA and fuck Alex McLeish.

If he is I'll I genuinely feel sorry for him and I dont think we should direct too much I'll feeling towards him but it's open fucking season on the SFA if they employed someone with I'll health 

[Parklife]

48 minutes ago, vanderark14 said:

If he is I'll I genuinely feel sorry for him and I dont think we should direct too much I'll feeling towards him but it's open fucking season on the SFA if they employed someone with I'll health 

We'll all feel sorry for him if he's ill. However, there will be anger towards him for both taking the job and continuing in it, when it's clear he's not up to it. Rightly so too.

[ProudScot]

19 minutes ago, Parklife said:

We'll all feel sorry for him if he's ill. However, there will be anger towards him for both taking the job and continuing in it, when it's clear he's not up to it. Rightly so too.

This in a nutshell 

[JECK]

Does make you wonder what on earth happened to Mcleish. Ever since he got Birmingham relegated in 2011 his managerial career has essentially fallen of a cliff. Up until that point he was a successful rangers manager, 7/10 in his first Scotland stint, gets Birmingham promoted, excellent first season in PL and wins a league cup final v arsenal no less. Ever since it's nose dived dramatically unlike anyone else.

[bonny78]

rangers is a 2 horse race

 

finished below hearts one year too

[Barney Rubble]

Levein should have been p45d for 4-6-0 and Burley had Macedonia away, but McLeish has had two utter horror shows in Israel and Kazakhstan where in both cases performance and result have been unacceptable.

[vanderark14]

2 hours ago, Parklife said:

We'll all feel sorry for him if he's ill. However, there will be anger towards him for both taking the job and continuing in it, when it's clear he's not up to it. Rightly so too.

I'll agree to disagree, if hes unwell I wont hold any I'll will towards him. 

Football isn't that important 

[Tartan Chris]

8 hours ago, PASTA Mick said:

Disagree.  It's the same level.

As soon as players start withdrawing their services, the writing is on the wall.  All three saw players decide to stop playing for them - players that still had something to offer. 

Burley and Levein had easier qualifying groups imo.

All Burley had to do was finish second ahead of Norway, Macedonia and Iceland to get a play off. I would say losing 4-0 in Norway and 1-0 in Macedonia (the first match of the campaign which shows this nation never learns) is pretty similar to Israel if not quite Kazhakstan.

Remember in those times there was a reasonable feel good factor about NT due to coming close in 2008 so you had lots to build on given he inherited likes of McFadden, Brown, Ferguson and Miller still at their peaks or young.

Levein finished 3rd behind Czechs who were nothing special imo and needed 95th minute goal to beat Liechenstein at home. He also had the first four games of the 2014 WC, difficult group but again over before it started by drawing 1-1 at home to Macedonia in the first game.

Now you have Belgium and also a Russia boosted by succesful WC so 2nd was always long shot in this group.

[ParisInAKilt]

Harder group or not we’ve fell massively in the first game. Scotland fans are more than reasonable, probably more optimistic than most, finishing 3rd at the end of the campaign wouldn’t be a disaster but the manner of the defeat in Kazakhstan is unacceptable and there’s little hope for games against even Cyprus.