I would wager that the vast majority of them are feeling the same as most Villa fans and will see the former Bluenose as a catastrophic mistake. With this overshadowing all at the moment, I think it is more than likely that we will see most of our best players either leaving or wanting to leave.
Don’t forget that our players, on the whole, share our disdain for local rivals and will have spent the last few seasons bad-mouthing them (in a jovial awy, of course) as much as the rest of us. Now they stand to have their former manager come in an present himself as a Villain. It simply will not wash.
The players are, in the most part, professionals that will look to a manager based on his previous record. With Houllier, the fans were sceptical, but he brought a genuine European pedigree. McLeish, on the other hand, brings a League Cup and two relegations. That is all that will stick in their minds and it will be sufficient for them to want out.
Throw into the mix the fans reaction. Without singling out a specific person, Villa Park will be awash with boos on the opening day of the season. Players will not want that- they will want stability and unity to play their best football; something they will not get at Villa under McLeish.
I have been waiting on the Young and Downing sagas to reach a conclusion, and I firmly believe that they have been hanging on to see who the next manager would be. Someone like Ancelotti would have given a clear indication of the club’s ambition and may have persuaded them to stay on the grounds of having regular football. I would bet any amount of money now that the Villa board, in appointing McLeish, will alienate at least these two and we will lose them.
Troubling times lie ahead for Villa I think, and in hindsight we will regret giving Houllier such a hard time. Perhaps the stress the fans put him under brought this situation about. I’d have him back at the helm tomorrow, rather than McLeish.