Well last night when I originally wrote this post, I thought it would only be a matter of time before McLeish went and today we got the news we all wanted to hear. Personally for me Martinez is the man, but I don’t think he will join us although the fact we have moved so quickly makes me think the board already have a target in mind.

I am a Management Consultant by trade and part of my job is visiting companies that are struggling, assess where they are, discuss their expectations and then work with them to build an action plan to help them to meet their goals, at whatever level that may be. So I thought for my first article, I would try and do that with our great club. Of course another part of my job is then putting out my action plan for review and I am sure I will receive plenty of feedback, and I look forward to hearing from you all.

So for me, if I look back at Villa over the last 30 years I have always felt that Villa has been an attacking team by nature. We have always had one fast front man and when we have had someone who can tap in the goals as well, then we have been a real threat. Agbonlahor/Carew, Vassell/Angel, Atkinson/Saunders have for me, been great combinations. We have also had exciting wingers, again with a bit of pace, but occasionally they have even been able to pass the ball and we have been a team that have created plenty of chances, even when we haven’t been able to put those chances away. Then we come to the great defensive partnerships. Melberg/Laursen, Southgate/Ehiogu, Mcgrath/Teale.  We also have had some pretty good goalkeepers in our time. We can look at Given, Friedel, James, Bosnich, Spink.

However for me the problem areas have been full backs and attacking midfielders. Merson for me was our last half decent attacking midfield and he was rather inconsistent at best. So historically we know where our short falls are, but also where our strengths have been. So now let’s look at the current squad of players we have.

Again this is only my interpretation, and I am sure you will have your own ideas!

• Given as GK I think is fine for another couple of seasons but we need to look at younger alternatives.
• Warnock LB – I actually rated him at one point, but has suffered with confidence and general performances issues.
• Dunne CB – On his day, excellent, however how many times have we seen that day over the last 2 seasons?
• Collins CB – For me is someone who doesn’t get a lot of credit. He reminds me of Shaun Teale as someone who although individually was nothing special, when paired with the right person is a solid performer.
• Hutton RB – I have spoken to Newcastle and Spurs fans and they said early in his career he really showed a lot of promise but really lost his way. He has shown improvement but I don’t believe is good enough.
• NZogbia  LW – Massively underperformed. He has the potential to be brilliant but we simply haven’t seen the best of him.
• Albrighton RW – Had a great season last year but this year he hasn’t had the same opportunities and looks to be low on confidence.
• Petrov  CM – A work horse player, Mr dependable and I sincerely wish him all the very best, but I think he was reaching that time where we need to look at alternatives.
• Ireland CM – A great midfielder who has bags of potential but I don’t think he has been handled right and I do believe he could still have a massive part to play for us.
• Bent  SC – A top finisher who I think if is given the service will bang in 20 a season regularly
• Agbonlahor SC – I think he has had a rough ride the last 2 years. Played out of position, lost his scoring touch, if you get this man firing on all cylinders I think he and Bent could be a great partnership.

Now you will notice I have gone for a 4-4-2 as I believe that best shows the strength of the squad. Obviously there are the other squad players, but I believe IF we were firing on all cylinders, that would probably be our team.

So just bear with me for a minute. That is MY assessment of where we are at. The next question is the fabled roadmap of where we want to go. What should our expectations be? This is a highly emotive subject and one of the things I am taught as part of my role is to take the emotion out of the situation and just look at things objectively. Are we a top four club? No. Are we a top six club? No. Are we a top 7 or 8 club? I think with our current squad if we had over performed we could have got eight.

So then again being purely objective I am saying that 8^th place is the absolute minimum we should expect, however for the size of club we are, we should be making serious inroads in the cup competitions and for me that is where we start as a club. It is about a change in mind-set and starting to get that winning mentality at the club. If we start to win silverware then that keeps the fans happy and is improves the stature of the club. Yes we should always try to aim as high as we can but we also can’t run before we can walk.

If we do make it to Europe then we should be an active member and play to win, not throw it away like so many English clubs, devaluating the cups has always been a personal bugbear of mine.

So then let’s go back to the where we want to go. How do we do that? We have established that we can’t outspend our competition, so we have to out think them. That comes with experience, or by a completely fresh thinking manager. Again, looking historically we are at our best when we attack and I have to say I was always a big fan of 3-5-2 which could revert back to 5-3-2 when needed.

So who do we need as priorities? Well for me we definitely need a new left back. It is a position that doesn’t get a lot of credit but it so important to get right. With regards to our CB it all depends on how good we think Clark is. I am a big fan of Ciaran but he needs to be playing regularly at the back and with someone like that you need an assured CB to support him. If you don’t rate Clark then we need two CB.

The jury is out with Hutton. He is someone who can do a job for now but we do need to look at other options and we may have that in Lichaj. With regards to our CMs, I think Makoun was treated very badly by the club and I would love to see him get a second chance at the club. I also think if Ireland can get his act together then he can own the midfield and I also still believe that if Delph can sort himself out, then we will be ok.

I think our left wing is ok again as long as we can get the best out of the player. I like Albrighton, but I think we do need another option here.

Then I really do like Gabby and Bent as a pairing and if we got the supply right then there are goals there.

Obviously I have missed out players like Bannan, Herd, Stevens and Weimann because they are talented but I am not sure at this stage how talented they really are.

So for me, whoever comes into this club as an absolute bare minimum we need a LB, CD, RW and another striker to keep our main pairing fresh.

I don’t want to talk about who those players should be because that will come down to whoever the manager is and the cash he has available to him.

So here is my final report.

Villa has plenty of potential but has suffered from two years of mismanagement. The club needs a change in mind-set and needs to change its focus. An attacking approach has historically led to the greatest success and we should look to continue in that tradition as it is also what attracts the fans to games. There should be greater consideration given to the cups as this realistically is the clubs best opportunity for success. The squad does have potential but is four key players short and as this season has shown, the club needs to have a greater depth of squad to help mitigate the risk of injuries.

The next season will be another transitional year, however the fans will accept it IF they can see an improvement in the football being played. There is a current perceived lack of communication between the club and its fan base. It is recommended that the club works on its short to midterm plan and then communicated it to the fan base.

Thank you for reading this and I look forward to your responses.

This is Jimmy B signing out.

Aston Villa lost 2-0 to Paul Lambert’s Norwich City side today, in a game that I didn’t even watch.

I don’t think I have ever NOT watched a Villa game weather it be at the game, or on some illegal stream on the internet.

Not only did I sell my ticket for today’s game, but I decided to go car shopping with the wife instead of watching my beloved Aston Villa.

Lets be honest, we knew we were staying up and we knew we would lose.

I am not going to bore you by telling you about a game I didn’t watch, but I will say keep your eyes out for a busy busy summer at Villa Park.

Bye Bye Alex McLeish

(PS. Sorry for such a short report)

I turned down a chance to go to The Hawthorns today, as I couldn’t bare a defeat, and instead found myself watching on my laptop with a pillow in front of my face at times.

It was the perfect chance for West Bromwich Albion to well and truly stick the knife in to Aston Villa, and wouldn’t their fans have just loved it.

As well as one eye on the game, I couldn’t help but keep an eye on results at both Wigan and Bolton, which didn’t exactly go our way in the end.

However, a point at the Hawthorns keeps Villa three points above the drop and their destiny in their own hands with just two games to play.

The away side had the best chances in the first half, with Gabriel Agbonlahor twice being denied by on-loan Birmingham goalkeeper Ben Foster.

Villa were also denied what looked a stone wall penalty when the ball hit Chris Brunt sticking out arm.

Both sides went in level at half time, and following our collapse in the second half at Villa Park against Bolton in mid-week, I began to work my way through my nails.

The second half saw West Brom push and it wasn’t long before they also had their own penalty shout – for again what looked a stone wall penalty when Alan Hutton looked to have punched the ball to deny a Baggies goal.

The final ten minutes were probably the most entertaining in a Midlands derby that both sides looked more like they didn’t want to lose, than they actually wanted to win.

Gabby Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey combined before laying the ball off to Ciaran Clark who looked certain to score only to be denied by Swedish defender Jonas Olsson.

West Brom then had their own chance to win the game but Peter Odermwingies shot was stopped on the line by Shay Given.

In the end 0-0 was probably a fair chance in a game that both teams wasted goalscoring opportunities and were denied what looked clear cut penalties.

It is one point closer to safety for Aston Villa, as Albion reach the most points they have ever achieved in the Premiership.

Next up is Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday at Villa Park and we must work towards that game now.

I walked away from Villa Park yesterday feeling speechless and numb. The position Aston Villa currently find themselves in doesn’t just effect the club financially but it affects those who support the club – a lot more than just on a match day

You carry the clubs misfortunes with you as you go to work, or spend time with your family – it is always in the back of your mind – so why does Randy Lerner continue to stick with a man that can’t get the best out of the resources he currently has on offer.

Lets not kid ourselves – we don’t have the best squad in the world and especially in the Premiership but we do have a bunch of players capable of Premiership security but instead we find ourselves three games from possible relegation.

It is standard business practice in any walk of life that if a manager does not perform to expectations and get the best out of its resources then they would be sacked – and it shouldn’t be any different to Alex McLeish and Aston Villa.

I will hold up my hands and admit that I was one that thought if we just saw the season out with him, and got rid in the summer we could just dismiss this season like it never happened. But following the defeat to Bolton Wanderers last night, relegation is in fact a possibility and I, like the majority of those inside Villa Park last night, want this man gone – so we have a chance of Premiership survival.

The saying goes that when it rains, it pours and how true could this statement be right now.

Villa Park was tense last night, with fans getting behind the boys, but always likely to erupt had things not gone our way, and that was the way it soon went.

We dominated the opening hour of the game, coming close on plenty of occasions. Stephen Warnock and Charles N’Zogbia both came close but were denied by the woodwork and at half time I had a feeling that it could be one of those nights where we just couldn’t put the ball in the net.

However, the home side did break the deadlock on 61 minutes when N’Zogbia’s cross found Warnock who put the ball past Adam Bogdan in the Bolton goal.

Just when we felt things were good, the game was about to be turned on its head.

Two goals from Owen Coyles side in the space of a minute courtesy of Martin Petrov, from the penalty spot and David N’Gog gave the Lancashire side not only the lead, but eventually the three points.

Defeat not only means this was Villa’s worst EVER home form in a season, but we are now just three points ahead of the bottom three with three remaining fixtures.

This is, in fact, a worse position than Birmingham City found themselves in this time last season, when they were four points above the bottom three, but three defeats in the three remaining fixtures saw them relegated.

Pretty similar pattern – and one that a lot of Villa fans would of seen coming. Regardless of what happens – relegation or not, Alex McLeish must be sacked because, unless he is, things are only going to get worse for this once great football club.

‘Alex, You’re a T***’ was the chant raining down from the Holte End yesterday after yet another inept performance by the boys in Claret and Blue.

The media built the game up to be the ‘Return of Martin O’Neill’, but to most down to earth Villa fans it was just another game – and one we needed to win.

With four home wins all season, Alex McLeish is in very real danger of getting the record for our worst EVER home form and following our draw against Sunderland, Tuesdays fixture against Bolton has become a must win one at that.

A victory for either side would have been a generous result, in a game that saw former Villa midfielder and brother of Gary, Craig Gardner see red in injury time.

The home side could have taken the lead just 60 seconds in when stand in captain Gabriel Agbonlahor charged down Simon Mignolet’s clearance.

Andreas Weimann was first to react but Mignolet was able to get back and turn aside the Austrians chip.

Weimann was soon brought down by Michael Turner, and could of easily seen red but on an afternoon of strange decisions from the officials it wasn’t to be.

Villa lost both Agbonlahor and James Collins to injury and the ever growing casualty list gets longer and longer at Villa Park.

O’Neill’s Sunderland side did manage to put the ball in the net courtesy of Nicolas Bentdner but the linesman had judged it to be offside – something which was prooven to be wrong by television replays.

As I already said, a draw was probably the fairest of results but at a period of the season that Aston Villa need a victory – there just didn’t seem to be enough urgency.

I believe that Stephen Ireland should be used more as he looks the most likely to produce that killer pace but his calls for the ball seem to go on deaf ears as we prefer to try and get down the wings – only to be disappointed by the end ball.

We now take on Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday in a must win game. You may be missing the Barcelona v Chelsea game if you do take the trip to Villa Park – but they need the fans more than ever right now so get yourself down there!