steaknchips

I think its a prime possition, to be Villa manager. Benitez obviously has A.Madrid on hold. Deschamps has Roma on hold. Ancelotti is tight lipped on where he is going.. They all may want this job...Its no secret on the board being good to their managers..Look at all the Houllier out stuff, yet they stood by their man..Its a very strong possition in a very good league..

I just have this feeling that if Houllier does go, he will still have some kind of imput on the next appointment or advisory kind of role..I cant see him naming Hughes. I think he will want to protect what he has started which includes Makoun and Duverne...Just cant see him abandoning them..

elvis turning up at VP with Lord Lucan in tow leading shergar to graze on the VP pitch has more chance of happening than Deschamps getting the job Hey you never know :winkold: Who guessed at Houllier when MON walked??

Thank **** for that....(puts 2p in the swear jar) Hey mods...Time for a new poll? Anychance of naming a wider selection(maybe the selection the bookies offer) this time so we can get a better indication of who the fans favourite is? Also call it who we would "like" as manager...Rather than who we "think" is going to be the manager? Im curious to who the fans favour..

Just put £5 on Deschamps for next manager..Managed to get 80/1

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_6957496,00.html Clutching at straws mate. Mourinho and Guardiola MAY both be leaving Spain next year but you won't see them rolling up at B6. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/summer-move-to-england-on-cards-for-deschamps-2265347.html

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_6957496,00.html Also http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/summer-move-to-england-on-cards-for-deschamps-2265347.html

We will never be in a better possition than now to appoint Deschamps. Its now or never.. Its must to go all out and get this man..Use Houllier and Duverne to help pull strings if you must.. If we appoint Hughes, Moyes and co' its just like wasting another 4years..In the sense that we wont climb into the top 4..Because like ive said, the Arsenal way, is the "only way"...We cannot compete financially and Moyes and Hughes are managers that need funds to become successful..Neither are anywhere near the Wenger type.. We are just wasing time as a club..It could go on for another 10-15 years, until one day some clever twit says..We need to try a differant approach because we cant compete with the rich boys.. And only then will you be looking for that Deschamps/Wenger.. :|

If Arsenal can't rule Europe doing things the Arsenal way, what chance have we got? Every chance.. Wenger has taken Arsenal repeatedly into the CL,season upon season..Yet with very little net spend over his tenure at the club.. Add a manager to Villa in a similar frame to Wenger, yet WITH funding and it could yeild a decent possition for us on the European stage. Bigger picture - I can see where you're coming from and recognise the virtue in changing the club's philosophy from the ground upwards. But I think the only way to do this with the realistic options availale to us would be gambling on somebody like Roberto Martinez - it wouldn't be a Deschamps or a Rijkaard because I just don't believe they would entertain the idea at present (again, I'll happily stand corrected if proven otherwise). This is not an idea without merit - from what I understand of Martinez' techniques, everything about his coaching is about ball retention and technical ability. He is apparently known to be very lenient with his players who get caught out on the pitch if it has been in an attempt to play the game the way he wants it to be played. That he has put such methods into effect at a club like Wigan AND managed to keep them in the Premier League is a minor miracle and it would indeed be interesting to see what he could do at a bigger club with a better playing squad. Unfortunately, he won't be afforded anywhere near the same degree of latitude that he enjoys at Wigan where their agenda and expectations are very different to a club like Villa so I can't help but feel that the pressure to make such an approach work in a very short time period would likely prove insurmountable. Patience is not something the modern football fan has in abundance - and Villa fans especially - so that kind of an appointment does represent a huge risk. If we ultimately want to develop a side that plays the Arsenal way - or the Barcelona way if we actually want to win something - this is where we'd probably have to start looking but we would have to be prepared for a long, slow climb to where we want to get to and the fact is that the more established likes of Hughes or Moyes would have us competing a lot nearer to that level much quicker, even if they are unable to take us all the way. And I think Mr. Lerner is almost certainly going to play things safe right now and go for the man who is most likely to get us back among the top six before contemplating anything else. Martinez may well play a nice style of football, with ball retention as his main philosophy...But we need more than that.. We need a manager with the pull and knowledge of the game on a wider scope..Not just a tactical brain.. I cant see why you assume it would take years to achieve.. Seriously if we were to appoint Deschamps in the next couple of weeks, I would think the following; *Duverne would stay..Which is good for the kids and existing squad,as its a face and fitness training program they have all now become acustomed to. *Makoun "may" be player he would build his midfield around, he is leader type player and Deschamps would have seen alot of him in the French league. *He would target and bring in some decent players from Marseille(most managers tend to sign 1 or 2 of their own).. *The style of keeping possession that Houllier has started would most likely continue. There is also talk that if Houllier does go, he could stick around in an advisory role. *He knows whats needed to beat the big sides..He understands the pace of the game. He spent time as a player at Chlesea..And has come against Manchester United in the CL.. *The pull he has to attract players is massive.. Martinez dosnt come close. I would say his knowledge of future decent players on the continent is also pretty good. *Marseille hadnt won a title in 18 years, he has practically re-built them into a very decent team..It wasnt a long slow climb for them/neither was it expensive.. No comparison Martinez to Deschamps.... I agree with you though...Its unlikely the board will try this. Its not something they would know about.. Now if Houllier had a say in the next manager appointment, things may be differant..

If Arsenal can't rule Europe doing things the Arsenal way, what chance have we got? Every chance.. Wenger has taken Arsenal repeatedly into the CL,season upon season..Yet with very little net spend over his tenure at the club.. Add a manager to Villa in a similar frame to Wenger, yet WITH funding and it could yeild a decent possition for us on the European stage.

% of foreign failures - 100% % of British failures - less than 100% This has no relevance.. Aston Villa is a football club...Its not a good/bad luck club for certain managers and their birth place. Wenger took over Arsenal, no English managerial experiance and they had a ground in worse shape than VP is now.. Yet you look at Arsenal today.. There are more Wenger type managers out there, you just have to find them..And the Arsenal way, is the ONLY WAY we are ever going to rule Europe again..We cannot compete financially with the top clubs.. So we MUST find a manager than can build, find, unearth, reshape the whole club into his image..This guy must be very knowledgable,Respected,in touch with the modern game and players all over Europe if possible. Hughes and Moyes do not fit into this catorgory. If they did, they would have done it at previous clubs..Its not JUST about money(which both of them seem to need in abundance to find achievement)..

Deschamps; *Very good player for Chelsea. *Will already know Duverne and maybe Makoun. *Can Continue where Houllier has left off, with possession football. *He is Young, ambitious and plays good style of football. *Gave Man United a very close game in the CL for Marseille. *Taken Marseille to the ligue 1 title for the 1st time in 18 yrs. *Has also had a good spell in Italy with Juventus. *Also won 3 domestic trophies in France with Marseille in his 2 seasons at the club. *The Premiership becons him. *He is well respected all over the world and could attract decent players to the club. *Aston Villa would certainly be a club where this man can make his mark as a top manager..He could build a legacy with us. Ticks alot of boxes..

Except another level for Villa at the moment is the best of the rest. We are not close to being that at the moment. How do you expect managers with the mentality and ambition you describe to see Villa as offering that kind of platform when we're not even knocking on the door? My feeling is they wouldn't even consider it. I stand to be corrected if that isn't the case but I'm still not sure I'd be convinced that either would be able to thrive in our league anyway and though I appreciate where you are coming from - that we need to gamble on someone who isn't just going to reproduce the consolidation football of previous 'proven' Premier League managers if we are to be successful - it would be a big risk after the failed experiment of the last year. Oh come-on mate...We are knocking on the door...Its what we've done for 30 bloody years. Look how quick we got to 9th with a season plagued with injury?

What do the fans want? The club is said to care for its fans, GK uses this site to comunicate..He said he tells Lerner what we say. If the fans pull together and urge the club to appoint a coach like Deschamps..Maybe they will discuss it? :shock:

No thanks... No failures but not much to shout about either. Excellent at wales and blackburn, shafted at city when he could have got them 4th. First season back and he has a fine season with fulham. He's a manager on the up in my opinion. I can't see him not getting strong backing from fans if appointed. I'd be cautious about Moyes, been at one club for so long hard to know I'd he could match that if he came here. Hughes would be the better option in my opinion. Hughes is rubbish.. He paid waaaay over the odds for Lesscott, Bridge, Santa Cruz, SWP etc... He basically does what any run of mill Premiership manager could do.. Moyes is also just another run of the mill Premiership manager.. If any of those get appointed, its basically Villa throwing in the towel over EVER being champions again..Neither have the brains to build the club into something special. We need a manager with vision into the future that will take the club forward...Not a manager that just thinks of boosting his own CV... Rijkaard would come in a build the club and would also give us great hope of becoming champions again. I would expect a similar goal from Deschamps too.These would build throughout! Ancelotti and Benitez are another 2 managers that will be no good for us. Because they wont build depth, it will be an half decent 1st team squad only.. But no future.. You can't judge those transfer fees as any kind of reflection of the valuation Hughes' may or may not have placed on those players - Man City pay over the odds by default due to their widely acknowledged wealth. What you can judge him on is his overall transfer record and the fact remains that though the likes of Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Santa Cruz, Bellamy etc. all drifted out of first team plans rather quickly when he departed, Hughes built the core of the side that has since gone on to finish third in the league and win the FA Cup - Kompany (for a bargain £6m!), Lescott (who for all of his first season inconsistency with them has gone on to form a very solid partnership with Kompany in Kolo Toure's absence), Barry, De Jong and Tevez. Of that group of players, none would have been unequivocally out of Villa's reach at the time that they moved - other than Tevez - if not for the game-changing amount of money the Abu Dhabi consortium were prepared to throw at the selling clubs in question. As I've said before, I think Hughes would be perfectly fine and represents a sensible option. What people are hoping for when they decry such suggestions (along with Moyes) is simply unrealistic. The kind of appointment you're alluding to - the kind that can essentially build a dynasty that can take us beyond fifth or sixth place to the Champions League - is one that I don't believe is remotely feasible at present. We have slipped from the level that we as supporters like to think should be seen as the bare minimum of achievements (top six) and until we get back there we are not going to look like a club that can fulfil the ambitions of a manager seeking a job that will put him on the biggest stage. There is nothing in the board's statements or actions - recently or otherwise - that would indicate that playing at that level is even in their thinking at the moment. Even if the likes of Rijkaard or Deschamps were potential candidates, I also don't see how they could possibly offer any kind of confidence that they would be committed to the long-haul, much less an understanding of the club they will be charge of any better than Houllier, or would even get to immediate grips with the rigours of a league that we cannot afford to lose any more ground in. A practical, if more modest, appointment will not be a sign of anybody throwing the towel in but rather recognition that stability is required - the kind of stability that comes with hiring the sort of manager who not only understands the club but appreciates the value and overall potential of the role, that understands that to get anywhere near to being in a position to genuinely challenge the top four again we must first re-establish ourselves among the chasing pack. The likes of Mark Hughes or David Moyes would be more than capable of doing this and that's why I think either would be suitable. I'm sure Benitez could too but the divisive nature of his personality marks him out as more of a risk. Whether any of them could take the club further I really couldn't say, but I know that those that are proven at that level won't be looking in our direction until we have at least put ourselves back on the immediate periphery - and it's going to take a lot of work to do that first. The sooner people take full measure of our current position and the way the club is currently perceived outside of our own hopes and expectations, the better prepared you will be to evaluate whatever appointment is ultimately made and appropriately temper what you think the short- and long-term goals should be for any new manager. The fact is that anyone who comes in who delivers a half-reasonable mid-table finish and any domestic trophy will automatically become our most successful manager for over fifteen years - which is a sobering thought. I'm not being dismissive of our history, stature or fanbase - we still have much to offer - but we are currently no more than perhaps the seventh most attractive club in the league for new managers or players to consider. The relative success of Martin O'Neill's tenure amply demonstrated how difficult it is to move beyond that so the prospect of Champions League glory shouldn't even figure in anyone's reckoning right now. Add to that the stark realisation of the past year at how quickly any progress made can quickly evaporate with the wrong appointment and I think it's obvious that now is a time for a little conservatism in our key choices. That may not generate a great deal of excitement - and certainly not the hysteria that greeted O'Neill's arrival - but it may just provide the kind of foundation from which we can compete in a sustained fashion and maybe even go further. We had the stability under Martin O'Neill, with 3 x 6th place finishes and a LC Final..Which in my opinion is similar to what Hughes and Moyes would also achieve. The leap up would have to come from a more knowledgable coach on the European stage...Look how Barca destroyed Man United. We need to move forward from this "Premiership experianced manager".. We need these continental tactics and know how to now be introduced, as to continue the good work started by Houllier.. Why go back? Hughes, Moyes, MON, Coyle, etc....They are all the same and will all just take Villa to "The best of the rest"...It is throwing in the towel with these managers.. Deschamps and Rijkaard can build from Youth up, to learn about movement, keeping possession, etc..They can also bring in the coaching staff and players to implement this..It can be another level for Aston Villa..

With players leaving Marseille left right and centre just at the moment, it would be an excellent time to make a move for him. However, I fear if we did it would only trigger bigger clubs to declare their interest (possibly Chelski). This is where Houllier could be useful for us.. Deschamps will be already acustomed to some of the training thats already set up by Duverne. It will also very likely keep Duverne at the club.. Deschamps would be a smooth replacement after Houllier, not too much change with what Houllier has already started. I'm pretty sure Deschamps has always worked with a DOF as well, so Houllier could probably carry on in that role if we appointed Deschamps. Its a perfect appointment...He very knowledgable, he has a fantastic season in France, he is still very young in manager terms.. And most importantly Makoun would have somebody to talk too

With players leaving Marseille left right and centre just at the moment, it would be an excellent time to make a move for him. However, I fear if we did it would only trigger bigger clubs to declare their interest (possibly Chelski). This is where Houllier could be useful for us.. Deschamps will be already acustomed to some of the training thats already set up by Duverne. It will also very likely keep Duverne at the club.. Deschamps would be a smooth replacement after Houllier, not too much change with what Houllier has already started.

I hope we can keep hold of Duverne and Cowans.

Its going to be one of; Moyes, Hughes, Benitez or Ancelotti.

One thing is for sure, we wont all agree. I bet EVERY Villa fan would agree with Rijkaard coming.. :winkold:

No thanks... No failures but not much to shout about either. Excellent at wales and blackburn, shafted at city when he could have got them 4th. First season back and he has a fine season with fulham. He's a manager on the up in my opinion. I can't see him not getting strong backing from fans if appointed. I'd be cautious about Moyes, been at one club for so long hard to know I'd he could match that if he came here. Hughes would be the better option in my opinion. Hughes is rubbish.. He paid waaaay over the odds for Lesscott, Bridge, Santa Cruz, SWP etc... He basically does what any run of mill Premiership manager could do.. Moyes is also just another run of the mill Premiership manager.. If any of those get appointed, its basically Villa throwing in the towel over EVER being champions again..Neither have the brains to build the club into something special. We need a manager with vision into the future that will take the club forward...Not a manager that just thinks of boosting his own CV... Rijkaard would come in a build the club and would also give us great hope of becoming champions again. I would expect a similar goal from Deschamps too.These would build throughout! Ancelotti and Benitez are another 2 managers that will be no good for us. Because they wont build depth, it will be an half decent 1st team squad only.. But no future..

According to the Mail we will only take a manager with Premierleague experiance.. So you can rule out any decent success in the near future unless we hire Mourinho, Fergy or Wenger.. The board need to be looking at managers that can "build" a legacy at the club. We need to go all out and appoint Rijkaard..

What a bunch of crap.. Sure hope Houllier is able to carry on. No Rijkaard or Deschamps?

Last week on the web chat, he was all in favour of signing a new contract...A week latter he is "at a crossroads in his life"... The guys been tapped up..

The only big decisions he's had to make since taking over (prior to this) are: 1) The distribution of his resources to the manager 2) The appointment of MON's successor. He's arguably got both of them wrong, although it's difficult to blame him for MON's poor signings. Not everyone would agree with point 2.. Ok Houllier has had health problems but so too have other managers yet they continue to work in the game.. Many fans would see the appointment of Houllier as the right man to take the club forward...And many fans are still hoping he will return to the job.