LockStockVilla

I'm inclined to disregard pretty much anything he posts, but if we do end this window having landed Coutinho, Digne, AND Bissouma, that is huge! Obviously considering the club has no concerns around Bissouma from a legal perspective. This would really address some of our key areas of need and make it so that the Summer window would not have to be focused on a massive overhaul of the squad.

There was the obscure article back in March or April of this past year that mentioned the Villa owners were interested in bringing in Gerrard to replace DS. It was Football Insider, so obviously I didn't make much of it, but perhaps this was a contingency plan for a while.

But does that not signal consistent improvement? That’s what you’d want from a manager who is still developing.

Hickey would be class. I’m not sure about Goldson, but I would absolutely love us to take a punt on John Souttar from Hearts. Out of contract in the summer and doesn’t look likely to sign any extension. I think he is a Rolls Royce of a defender with great ability to bring the ball out from defense. He was hampered by a lot of injuries early in his career, but at 25, if he overcomes those for good, I have no doubts he can play at the top.

Pretty sure Gilmour was sold before Gerrard arrived…think it was under Caixinha. Not that it really hampers the point on youth development. I think it’s important to understand context of Gerrard’s time at Rangers and Scottish football in general though. Whilst trying to reassert themselves over Celtic, there would have been more of a reliance on established senior players (like Kent, Roofe, Kamara, etc). In Scottish football, Rangers (and to a greater extent Celtic) tend to either loan their youngsters out to other teams in the league for experience or just buy the best youngsters off the lower tier clubs once they are less raw and have more games under their belt. Developing youth just hasn’t been their main priority as of late. That’s at least my perspective as a Hearts supporter .

I’ll be quite active with the mute button the next couple of weeks

Some folks are really nailing their colours to the mast with this one. I’d suggest if this appointment bothers you that much, that you take a few months away from football. I get skepticism, but some of this toxic energy is beyond ridiculous.

This guy is usually clued in as it relates to Rangers. Based on this, the 7m total comp for the entire coaching staff would seem about right.

The more I think about it, the more comfortable I become with the prospect of Gerrard. For starters, our current group of players seem to be rock bottom in terms of confidence. Just look at the Targett interview after the Southampton match and it’s so clear to see. These players need a kick up the back side, but also someone who demands their respect and who can help get that belief back. I think Gerrard brings this, whereas I think a lot of these other names thrown around like Favre, Fonseca, etc. wouldn’t really form the connection needed with the players. I also believe he will be more motivated to succeed than a lot of the other candidates. There’s no doubt he wants to forge a long term managerial career in England and of course eventually land at Liverpool. As others have alluded to, the only way that happens is if he is successful at Villa. The other managers out there will indeed want to win, but they likely don’t have as much at stake. If they fail, they’ll just move onto another job in Europe. The main condition of bringing him on is that we need to allow him to bring on his own coaching team. I’m not sure about the rumors that some of the new hires this year were forced on Smith, but if that was the case, we need to scrap that. His assistant Michael Beale is very highly rated and largely regarded as the brains behind the operation. As a side note, as a Hearts supporter, I’m okay if this goes through as it may open the door to the title for Hearts with a destabilized Rangers.

If we went completely left field, he’d be my choice. The primary issue is that the one trophy he hasn’t won in Argentina is the league title, which he is currently on pace to achieve. Rumors are he wouldn’t leave before that happens, so the very earliest to get him in the door would be mid December when his contract is up. Unfortunately, that timeline would be awful as we don’t have any coaches capable of leading us in the interim. Btw: definitely wrong thread for this.

This is no time for jokes!

The Denmark manager would frighten me. He’s done well at the International level, but his club record isn’t anything spectacular. I really hope we’re going a few tiers higher in terms of experience.

I definitely expect a currently employed manager. The out of contract options are wildly unimpressive.

I don’t believe his time in Denmark would have overlapped with MacPhee, who would have been with Hearts at the time. Probably more the latter and our previous transfer activity in Belgium.

No clue. Played in MLS at DC United, but was a short spell.

Gallardo has been pretty successful though and won plenty of silverware. I think the length of his tenure at RP can be seen as a positive. You hardly see managers in that league spending 5+ years there, because their fans are pretty mental and you’d face the sack if results weren’t up to par. I don’t know everything about the guy but from what I’ve read he is also a very flexible tactician. We need that so badly.

I’d be very weary of Fonseca. Can’t say I’ve watched his teams much but just has the feel of a guy who has done a “satisfactory” job while in top level jobs..not the sort to really push us on. Gerrard would be a huge no because he’d bolt the minute the Liverpool job opened up. If we were to go the route of a manager with no PL experience, I’d love us to go completely left field with the River Plate manager, Marcelo Gallardo. If there is any truth to the links between us and Julian Alvarez, perhaps our setup has done some due diligence on him. Probably not, but it’d be a move I’d support

I think his participation in both the Copa America and Olympics has really benefitted him at the start of this season. Playing in well performing sides allowed him to pick up a bit of form, confidence, and consistency he was missing much of last season. I was worried he would come back absolutely knackered after not much time off, but so far so good. We'll need to manage his minutes, but luckily we have more squad depth than previous seasons. Hoping to see much more of the player we caught glimpses of at the tail end of the 2020 season.

A lot has been made of a need for a specialist DM. I still think a more progressive player to play in Front of a midfield two is more vital. Buendia can carry some of the burden, but we still seem very meek in the attacking half. Curtis Jones may fit the bill in that regard. I’d still love a player like Kamada for this type of position. We need someone reliable on set pieces with more emphasis there (not to add our Japanese speaking set piece coach ). Make it happen!

I don’t see this happening. This strikes me as a case of the agent offering him to us, getting us to offer decent wages, then using that as leverage for a better deal elsewhere (Juventus, for example). Just a pawn in the game like with JWP or ESR…But if it did happen, I’d be pleased

It may not be the most exciting signing ever, but you’d have to imagine there’s a reason the scouting team would be after him. Rob Mackenzie has unearthed some rather cheap gems in the past. Articles online seem to say Atalanta are interested in him as well, and they do pretty well for themselves.

Hmm, probably tosh, but I wouldn’t be against selling AEG and then using part of the fee to buy Cantwell.

100% on all of this. Deano has also worked with Ollie for a fair amount of time, so I’d trust him to know how he can best use/not use him.

My hope is that we see some of the form from the beginning of last season on a more consistent basis. It may take a few weeks before all the new players build better chemistry, but I believe they are all quality enough where they can make up for that. Assuming we make one or two more high level signings, then I'm optimistic that we can be battling it out between 6-8th, and perhaps be in reasonable distance to 4/5th places. Anything below 10th will be disappointing. I'd also like to see extended runs in cup competitions. With the additions we have made plus alot of the promising youth, we should be able to put out strong sides even with giving some of the first 11 rest.

Lol. Good thing folks smarter than myself are in charge of this.