After a season filled with incredible highs and lows - winning the Carling Cup, then getting relegated - Alex McLeish has quit his post as manager of now-Championship club Birmingham City FC. He has now become the latest manager who has been linked via wild speculation to the vacant manager's post at Aston Villa.
McLeish was heavily praised for getting Birmingham into the Premier League, then keeping them there despite a limited budget. His team appeared to be turning the corner from relegation battler to becoming a solid mid-table team when they defeated Arsenal in the Carling Cuip final, but the season ended poorly for the Blues and they were relegated after a final day loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
Aston Villa have turned down Mark Hughes and been turned down by Roberto Martinez so far in their search for a new manager. They have also been linked to Rafael Benitez, who is said to be uninterested, and Martin Jol, who is the new Fulham manager. Now Villa are linked to McLeish, the former manager of their bitter cross-town rivals, and saying that Aston Villa fans are disappointed would be a massive understatement. As a whole, they're more or less devastated that their club is considering hiring McLeish.