Gabby Agbonlahor
Aston Villa’s 2011-2012 season under Alex McLeish ended in disappointment, with the club narrowly avoiding relegation. McLeish, who had previously managed Birmingham City, faced a challenging tenure at Villa Park. The appointment was met with skepticism, given his recent relegation with Birmingham, and ultimately, McLeish’s winless streak in the final nine matches sealed his fate.
Gabby Agbonlahor said: “Alex McLeish, the season before, say a month before he got the job at Villa, he got relegated with Birmingham City. That season, they had knocked us out of the League Cup. We were all thinking, ‘Hmmm, all the managers available in the world, and you have gone for him.’ Apparently, he gave a good interview with Randy Lerner, and he got the job. It was never going to work. The fans were rioting at Villa Park when he got announced; trying to get into the stadium, they were fuming. Whenever we dropped points, there were boos and screams around Villa Park.”
Agbonlahor, a key figure in the Villa squad, also touched on his personal experience with McLeish, noting that despite the turbulent season, he had a positive relationship with the manager who entrusted him with the captaincy following Stilliyan Petrov’s illness.
The rivalry with Birmingham City was another focal point for Agbonlahor. Known for his knack of scoring against Birmingham, he recounted an instance where he silenced the opposition fans with a winning goal at St Andrew’s.
Gabby Agbonlahor said: “I had a habit of scoring against Birmingham City. Whenever we warmed up, me being a local lad, I’d get some insults, and I’d be like, ‘Okay, I’m pumped up even more now.’ I remember the first time I played at St Andrew’s and I cleared a ball off the line, and then ten minutes later I went and scored the winner. It doesn’t even feel noisy; it just feels silent. But then the Villa fans are going crazy, I jump in the crowd, the referee books me because the stewards are getting squashed. It was chaos, and then all those Blues fans giving me stick during the warm-up, I just held my finger to my lips with a ‘shhhh.’ They are then trying to get on the pitch, and I am making it worse. I was all over them. I’d never been on the bench before against them.”
Agbonlahor’s reflections highlight the complexities of football management and the intense emotions tied to local rivalries. His candid remarks provide a glimpse into the challenges faced during McLeish’s tenure and the passion that fuels one of English football’s fiercest derbies.
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