Football’s most unpopular managerial appointments: McLeish, Graham, Grant, Hodgson, Roeder and more

Aston Villa's appointment of Alex McLeish as manager has been met with disgust by some of the club's supporters.

As many as 600 Villa fans protested outside the ground this week at their club's decision to appoint a man who only resigned as manager of fierce city rivals Birmingham after taking them down for the second time.

It puts the Scottish manager up there with George Graham and Roy Hodgson in our top ten list of the most unpopular managerial appointments in English football.

Here's our round up of the others...

ROY HODGSON - Liverpool

A disappointing 7th placed finish and the departure of Rafael Benitez in 2010 left Liverpool fans crying out for an inspirational appointment. What they got instead was flavour of the month Roy Hodgson, still buzzing from guiding Fulham into the dizzy heights of a Europa League final, but ultimately not strong enough and too negative to lead a club of Liverpool's ilk. Kenny Dalglish was ignored before Hodgson's appointment despite expressing an interest in the position, but following a mid-season takeover at board level, a poor run of form and growing pressure from fans, he eventually took over in January when Hodgson was sacked.

GARY MEGSON - Bolton

Replacing Sam Allardyce proved a thankless task for Bolton, who oversaw a dramatic decline in form and collected five points in ten games under Sammy Lee before moving for Gary Megson in October 2007. Wanderers were lying at the foot of the table and Megson declared on his first day: "I have to accept that maybe I'm not their number one choice." He wasn't wrong. Bolton had failed to land Steve Bruce and the fans felt Megson wasn't capable of inspiring top-half of the table finishes. Again, the fans were right. Megson guided Bolton to safety in his first season, albeit by a point, and finished 13th the year after. A dreadful run of form in his third year - taking 18 points from as many games - was the final straw and he was sacked in December 2009.

BRIAN LAWS - Burnley

When Owen Coyle jumped ship to Bolton to replace Gary Megson, Burnley were forced to find a manager capable of keeping them in the Premier League as quickly as possible, but their choice was a strange one. Brian Laws had recently been fired at Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday, so had it not been for his successful playing days at Turf Moor in the early '80s, his arrival would have been met with even greater resistance by the club's supporters. Burnley were relegated under Laws, while Bolton stayed up with Coyle and he didn't last too long at Turf Moor in the second tier.

Danny Wilson - Sheffield United

Relegation into League One last season was bad enough for Sheffield United fans, but for many the appointment of a former Sheffield Wednesday player and manager added insult to injury. To make matters worse for passionate Blades, he replaced a man in Micky Adams who held the club close to his heart. Time will tell whether Wilson proves a shrewd appointment or an 'Owler.

AVRAM GRANT - CHELSEA

There was uproar in West London when The Special One got the boot from Roman Abramovich, despite clinching Chelsea's first league triumph in more than 50 years. Add to that another Premier League title, FA Cup, two Carling Cups and it's easy to see why the fans needed a stellar appointment to be convinced about their Russian owner's surprise decision. Step forward Avram Grant, a man who oozes blandness as much as Mourinho lights up post-match interviews. There were demonstrations by supporters, to no avail. Grant did lead the Blues into a Champions League final that year - losing out to Man United on penalties - but was sacked in the summer. Since then he's suffered successive Premier League relegations with Pompey and West Ham.

JOE KINNEAR - NEWCASTLE UNITED

A bizarre choice as interim boss for Newcastle when Toon hero Kevin Keegan quit following a long running feud with the board in 2008, Joe Kinnear had been out of work for nearly four years (his last job provinga struggle at second tier Nottingham Forest). Newcastle's fans were already up in arms at owner Mike Ashley, accused of failing to provide the necessary financial support to make Newcastle challengers for Europe and silverware. Kinnear, meanwhile, fell ill towards the end of the season with Newcastle deep in relegation trouble and not even Alan Shearer - who stepped in for the final eight games - could save them from the drop into the Championship. Kinnear was tipped to return for the following season but Chris Hughton - placed in caretaker charge - took over after a positive start.

GEORGE GRAHAM - Spurs

A fierce North London rivalry with Arsenal ensured a barrage of discontent from the Spurs faithful when the club saw fit to appoint former league and cup-winning Gunners boss George Graham in 1998. Aside from links with their rivals, supporters felt Graham's 'boring, boring' brand of football would fail to inspire a return to the glory days of Bill Nicholson, something Graham had promised on his arrival. And in truth it never did, although he did lead them to a 1999 League Cup triumph over Leicester at Wembley. That bought him some time at the Lane, but Graham failed to finish above tenth in the league and his cup success wasn't enough to win over fans tired of mid-table mediocracy. The legacy following his 2001 dismissal? Well, there was the League Cup win of course, but many point to the £11m he wasted on Ukrainian flop Sergey Rebrov.

GLENN ROEDER - WEST HAM

Glenn Roeder was sacked by Watford in 1996 with the Hornets in trouble at the foot of the second tier and didn't take up another managerial post until five years later, when West Ham offered him a crack at life in the Premier League. Most Hammers fans were hoping for a bigger name following Harry Redknapp's controversial departure, but the new man responded with an impressive 7th placed finish in his first season in charge, proving to be the pinnacle of his time in charge. West Ham were plunged into a relegation scrap the following year and with three league games remaining, Trevor Brooking took temporary charge when Roeder suffered a brain tumour. Although he eventually made a full recovery, West Ham were relegated and Roeder returned for a new season in the Championship. He was dismissed soon after in August 2003.

BILLY BONDS - MILWALL

The former Hammers defender spent over 20 years at Upton Park, making 663 league appearances and later became West Ham manager, so it was little surprise there was discontent from Millwall fans when Theo Paphitis handed him the top job at the Den in 1997. Stuck in English football's third tier, Bonds' only season with the Lions saw them finish a disappointing 18th, five points clear of safety. He was sacked in the summer and replaced by Keith Stevens.

Who do you rate as the most unpopular managerial appointment in football? Let us know by leaving a comment below…