Alex McLeish has resigned

[Frogfish]

Birmingham have confirmed Alex McLeish has resigned as manager at St Andrews.

McLeish informed the club of his decision to resign in an email to acting chairman Peter Pannu.

As revealed by skysports.com the former Scotland boss is thought to be the front-runner for the manager's job at city rivals Aston Villa, with the 52-year-old believed to be keen to speak to their Second City rivals.

McLeish's future at Birmingham has been the subject of speculation for some time amid reports of strained relations with the club's board.

Email resignation

Birmingham backed McLeish in the wake of their relegation from the Premier League, but put pressure on him to win promotion at the first time of asking.

McLeish has now decided to quit St Andrews as he looks for pastures new and he could be quickly back in work with Villa targeting him as a replacement for Gerard Houllier

A Birmingham statement read: "Birmingham City Football Club can confirm that Alex McLeish has resigned as manager.

"Acting chairman Peter Pannu received an email resignation from McLeish earlier today while away on business in Amsterdam."

 

[Home and A Gay]

Presume he's taking the Villa job

 

[Avmenon]

That wouldnt go down too well with the Brummies tho ;D

 

[Rosco]

That's some switch he's making

 

[Pesam]

[quote author=Avvy link=topic=45715.msg1347924#msg1347924 date=1307898199]
That wouldnt go down too well with the Brummies tho ;D
[/quote]

It's brilliant, he'll piss off the Brummies and the Villa fans at the same time............the Villa fans certainly don't want a guy who got his team relegated. This will all end in tears.

 

[Portly]

Mark Hughes resigned from the Fulham job a couple of weeks ago . . . . . he must have another job lined up. I wonder where he will pop up? ???

 

[Spionkop69]

Aren't Villa fans and Birmingham fans all Brummies anyway?

 

[Pesam]

[quote author=Spionkop69 link=topic=45715.msg1348203#msg1348203 date=1307964204]
Aren't Villa fans and Birmingham fans all Brummies anyway?


[/quote]

Technically yes but footie allegiances as referenced by "Brummies" and "Villains".

 

[Friend no. 2]

Birmingham chief Peter Pannu insists that the club will not be giving Alex McLeish permission to talk to any clubs.

McLeish quit the Second City outfit on Sunday, via email, and is now believed to be in contention to take charge at arch-rivals Aston Villa.

But acting chairman Pannu says the club will try and block efforts, as they have been left angered by McLeish's departure.

"To get an email when I am on business in Amsterdam speaks volumes," said Pannu.

"He is still our contracted staff and Birmingham City does not grant him any right to speak to any outsiders until the matter is resolved."

Peter Pannu

Quotes of the week

"We have spent £40m and supported him all the way and what we get is a relegation and a snub."

Deals in place
Pannu insists they were totally behind McLeish, and offered the example that they have agreed deals for four new players this summer.

Marlon King and Chris Burke have both signed, whilst deals for Dutch star Danny Koevermans and Dundee United's Morgaro Gomis were also in place.

"Carson (Yeung, Birmingham owner) gave him unwavering support and did not sack him and declared his job secure and professed trust and confidence in him," he continued.

"So much so that we have just negotiated for four of his new first-choice players. I won't blame any outside clubs yet until I find out more.

"He is still our contracted staff and Birmingham City does not grant him any right to speak to any outsiders until the matter is resolved.

"I will be meeting my legal team and rest assured I will leave no stones unturned.

"It's about time some discipline is instilled into this game and I am unfortunately not a person who gets pushed about."

 

[King Binny]

ALEX McLEISH walked into Aston Villa yesterday - and will pocket a 150 PER CENT pay rise.

The Scot agreed a three-year deal worth £2million a year.

McLeish's contract at Birmingham would have seen his wages HALVED to £800,000 a year after the club were relegated from the Premier League.

Birmingham City's search for a new manager is building up a head of steam after Chris Hughton was interviewed for the post.

The former Newcastle United manager met with Peter Pannu at a Birmingham on Friday for talks.

Hughton is not the only candidate under consideration to replace Alex McLeish, who walked out on Blues to take over at Aston Villa.

But the very fact that Pannu has met him this quickly for preliminary discussions is an obvious indication that he is among the front-runners - if not the front-runner.

If they manage to get any form of compensation and hire someone of Hughton's calibre, it'll be a pretty ideal 'loss'.

 

[furyoo]

It's no longer the decent thing to do by putting in your resignation in person?

 

[SummerOnions]

Yeah, i thought resigning by email was a bit of a shitty thing to do?

 

[Gary25]

Maybe he was treated in a shitty way by the Birmingham board and this was his payback? Who knows.

It's not fair to criticise McLeish for resigning via email when we don't know the full story.

 

[localny]

Hughton is a very under rated manager. He'll turn things around

 

[El Pistolero]

For a minute there i thought he'd quit Villa.

 

[Portly]

[quote author=Gary25 link=topic=45715.msg1351817#msg1351817 date=1308498788]
Maybe he was treated in a shitty way by the Birmingham board and this was his payback?
[/quote]

I think there was some bad feeling because they fired his assistant without consulting him first.