Mcleish....will the city of Birmingham please makes it mind up

I have to say im very much for Alex Mcliesh as a manager, As a stalwart of the famous aberdeen side in the 80s, he was known as a no nonsense player who defended resolutely. In many respects he has been a success at many of the clubs he has managed. For instance when he took over at Rangers they had limited resources, it was a hard act to follow walter smiths 9 titles at that point. He managed to bring silver whilst managing the purse strings. He then took over at Birmingham and stuck with them whilst they were relegated to the championship, he then took them back to the premier at first time of asking. He then mantained Birmingham in the top flight through changes of ownership. In the last season he guided them to carling cup truimph and through lack of squad depth and limited funds , tried his best to keep them in the league, but to no avail. The problem was as soon as Birmingham were relegated they issued a statement in that they would back mcliesh but only if he took them back at the first time of asking.

Couple that with the fact that there would be a major offloading of player to reduce the wage bill and the effect of not being in the top division meant he was fighting a losing battle. There was alot of calling for his head by Birmingham fans when they were relageted. Aston Villa saw they opportunity and should be commended for that, not an easy decision to make when he managed the other half of the town.

My problem looking at the situation is that Villa fans should be applauding a manager who has brought silverware to a club(even if it was birmingham), also the club needs stability after a season so many managers and caretakers. For Birmingham they really should just move on, I bet in some respects who ever takes the birmingham job on is on a hiding to nothing as the board expects a instant return on limited resources. It will be intresting to see where these teams are in 12 months time. Both will be mid table I presume.