Next Villa manager (Poll added)

[avfc89]

we need to keep that going, not go back to 1 dimensional football

That is a myth. Hughes's teams are positive from what I have seen of them.

[wildwood]

I know it's really ambitious but do you think Andre Villa-Boas may be on the list.

If Randy really wants a top class manager, he should go all out to convince Villa-Boas to join and pay the £13 million compensation.

It's easy spending someone else's £13 million isn't it?!

Personally, if he was going to spend £13m on the club I'd rather it be on signings.

[Chindie]

I still cant get over people saying Ancelotti is the wrong man for the job!?!?!

:bonk:

I genuinely don't think he's the right man for scrapping in midtable in the Prem at least (and arguably perhaps any league - he's done it once with Parma, but that was a Parma side that had some top players in it - Buffon for a start).

If we were a top side, cruising with no issues, he'd do well, steady the ship and lead it to good things until things had to change drastically. But for a side that needs work, a fair amount of work, and isn't up there in terms of quality throughout the side, I really think he'd struggle to get far. It's not his bag imo.

[irreverentad]

Well Fulham fans want him to stay but are increasingly in numbers accepting that he might be off

Nobody is denying the fact he is good for Fulham.. Without being disrespectful to them but I consider Villa to be a very big club and a very big catch for a top manager.

Our facilities and backing are top notch.. Villa Park is a great stadium and we amongst the top clubs in England when it comes to the managerial package we can offer..

We really should be aiming alot higher than Mark Hughes or David Moyes.

Instead of looking at us in Premiership terms...Look at us in European terms instead.

Then ask the ask the question...If we want to rule Europe once again what must we do? I dont think appointing Mark Hughes is getting us on the ladder of such goal..We need to broaden our search and options...Its vital we get the right man that can transform us into a modern day "European" team...Not just a team to get by in the Premiership.

Before we look in European terms, we HAVE to concentrate on the English Premier League to qualify.

We need a manage who fits into the ethos and needs to prove themselves. Not a guy who will be shoehorned into Villa because he has a fancy name/reputation.

[Maradona10]

Spot on Chindie, In Chindie we trust, one of the main ones said Houllier was wrong and stuck to it through-out the season. So who you think Chindie?

[mjmooney]

Rumours about it being between Jol and Hughes.

Both plausible candidates, both available, either could do the job.

[wiggyrichard]

I still cant get over people saying Ancelotti is the wrong man for the job!?!?!

:bonk:

I genuinely don't think he's the right man for scrapping in midtable in the Prem at least (and arguably perhaps any league - he's done it once with Parma, but that was a Parma side that had some top players in it - Buffon for a start).

If we were a top side, cruising with no issues, he'd do well, steady the ship and lead it to good things until things had to change drastically. But for a side that needs work, a fair amount of work, and isn't up there in terms of quality throughout the side, I really think he'd struggle to get far. It's not his bag imo.

Rubbish, Ancelotti is one of the best managers in Europe.

Ive got to ask how you know he could do the job we require better than Hughes or Moyes?

[VillaAlex]

I still cant get over people saying Ancelotti is the wrong man for the job!?!?!

:bonk:

I genuinely don't think he's the right man for scrapping in midtable in the Prem at least (and arguably perhaps any league - he's done it once with Parma, but that was a Parma side that had some top players in it - Buffon for a start).

If we were a top side, cruising with no issues, he'd do well, steady the ship and lead it to good things until things had to change drastically. But for a side that needs work, a fair amount of work, and isn't up there in terms of quality throughout the side, I really think he'd struggle to get far. It's not his bag imo.

Rubbish, Ancelotti is one of the best managers in Europe.

Ive got to ask how you know he could do the job we require better than Hughes or Moyes?

Reputation means nothing else chairman would be appointing them on it all the time and no new managers would come through.

It's about who is most suited for the job. Have you see his record of bringing through youth players?

[Alec]

this is the most imortant signing of the summer, sign a hughes = a meh at best from the fans and no doubt the best players in the team, sign ancellotti - deschamps - rijkaard and it sends a message right through the club as to what the ambitions are

People have to stop seeing this appointment in such black and white terms. It's not simply a question of the board deciding 'let's go and appoint Ancelotti or Deschamps or Rijkaard' - those men have got to want to come here. As of right now, we can't offer Champions League football, we can't offer the immediate prospect of challenging for Champions League football, we can't offer them the chance to contest the domestic league title and we can't promise them an unlimited warchest - all of which they may well find elsewhere from other prospective employers. We have to have some perspective that extends beyond our own bias and affinity for Villa in order to properly evaluate what our realistic options are. The signs are that it is going to be too much of a stretch to persuade David Moyes to leave Everton as we represent little more than a sideways step for him - once you accept this, you have to arrive at the conclusion that world-renowned coaches with an even higher pedigree are not going to think otherwise.

The board are in a much better position to make a good appointment than they were last year when circumstances couldn't have been more difficult - and this appointment will be one borne of pragmatism designed to get us competing at the right end of the table so that we may once again establish ourselves among the chasing pack and be able to challenge the likes of Spurs, Liverpool and Everton. Only then can we realistically expect to mount a charge for that elusive Champions League berth because the plain facts of the matter are that we have slipped considerably down the pecking order.

We need a manager that will see the potential that is here, recognise the size of the club and the opportunity that it can realistically provide in the near future. A figure like Mark Hughes will see the job in its full light and be well aware of what needs to be done to claw our way back into contention. He's ambitious and still hungry to prove himself, knows the league inside and out and has proven he can adapt to the varying demands of different clubs with both slim and vast resources. I would be very optimistic he can at the very least get us back to where we were under Martin O'Neill and as much as I'd like to think we could make the kind of headline-shattering appointment that may arrive with all guns blazing and announce our newly drawn plans for European domination, to do so is as futile as it is delusional.

If, as reports indicate, Hughes is the chosen man then I think we can look forward to a new campaign in which we will be consistently competitive and go some way to restoring a reputation that has been tarnished and a position that we have slipped from. When we've accomplished that we can start thinking about what lies beyond.

so you think it is better to appoint a short term manager and then if we improve get rid of them for a better manager? rather than apoint a better manager to start with? really?

Not exactly - I'm merely explaining that there's a ceiling on both the type of individual we can currently attract and what we can realistically aim for in the next couple of years. Though by no means guaranteed, I believe that somebody like Mark Hughes could possibly take us further if he can first re-establish us on the fringes, depending on the form of some of our rivals, and so he represents both a good appointment in the short-term and potentially for the long-term. But they key issue is sorting out the immediate situation and ensuring we are in good shape for the short-term before we can even contemplate greater successes, which at this moment in time are some way off - as are the kind of managers currently competeing for such honours at that level. If you can't see that, you you're only setting yourself up for disappointment - and it will be your basis of assessment that will be to blame rather than any lack of ambition on the part of the club.

[NottingVilla]

What's all this "stability" bollocks? Doesn't Randy ever want to see a return on his investment? We need a winner not some unproven mr average who has won jack shit.

Randy: Hey Ash, Downing Bent I've come some great news for you about our new manager. You'll be wanting to stay when you hear who it is and what he's done in the game.

Ash, Downing and Bent: Well, who is it then??

Randy: Mark Hughes ! We're going places guys..

Ash, Downing and Bent: Byeeeeeee

[wiggyrichard]

I still cant get over people saying Ancelotti is the wrong man for the job!?!?!

:bonk:

I genuinely don't think he's the right man for scrapping in midtable in the Prem at least (and arguably perhaps any league - he's done it once with Parma, but that was a Parma side that had some top players in it - Buffon for a start).

If we were a top side, cruising with no issues, he'd do well, steady the ship and lead it to good things until things had to change drastically. But for a side that needs work, a fair amount of work, and isn't up there in terms of quality throughout the side, I really think he'd struggle to get far. It's not his bag imo.

Rubbish, Ancelotti is one of the best managers in Europe.

Ive got to ask how you know he could do the job we require better than Hughes or Moyes?

Reputation means nothing else chairman would be appointing them on it all the time and no new managers would come through.

It's about who is most suited for the job. Have you see his record of bringing through youth players?

He's trying to win the Premier League and Champions League for God's sake, he's going to go with his best team week in week out, if the kids arnt good enough they dont play.

Reputations mean nothing you say?? One name my friend, Gerard Houllier.

And for what its worth, Kakuta, McEachran and Jeffrey Brouma all made Chelsea league debuts under Ancelotti.

[steaknchips]

Well Fulham fans want him to stay but are increasingly in numbers accepting that he might be off

Nobody is denying the fact he is good for Fulham.. Without being disrespectful to them but I consider Villa to be a very big club and a very big catch for a top manager.

Our facilities and backing are top notch.. Villa Park is a great stadium and we amongst the top clubs in England when it comes to the managerial package we can offer..

We really should be aiming alot higher than Mark Hughes or David Moyes.

Instead of looking at us in Premiership terms...Look at us in European terms instead.

Then ask the ask the question...If we want to rule Europe once again what must we do? I dont think appointing Mark Hughes is getting us on the ladder of such goal..We need to broaden our search and options...Its vital we get the right man that can transform us into a modern day "European" team...Not just a team to get by in the Premiership.

Before we look in European terms, we HAVE to concentrate on the English Premier League to qualify.

Then sink?

Im talking about building the modern day European style team now..Not in 4 years time when Hughes has spent 100m to get us a top 6 finish and a LC..

Go out and appoint the manager now that will modernise us into a side that can compete in Europe.. Blimey, Man United are the best team in the Premiership yet were made to look like a division 2 side v Barca..AND THATS MAN UNITED!

Do you seriouslY think whilst the rest of Europe moves forward we have the time to watse arsing about with backward tactics? We need to make that move NOW!

[brummybloke]

I still cant get over people saying Ancelotti is the wrong man for the job!?!?!

:bonk:

I genuinely don't think he's the right man for scrapping in midtable in the Prem at least (and arguably perhaps any league - he's done it once with Parma, but that was a Parma side that had some top players in it - Buffon for a start).

If we were a top side, cruising with no issues, he'd do well, steady the ship and lead it to good things until things had to change drastically. But for a side that needs work, a fair amount of work, and isn't up there in terms of quality throughout the side, I really think he'd struggle to get far. It's not his bag imo.

Rubbish, Ancelotti is one of the best managers in Europe.

Ive got to ask how you know he could do the job we require better than Hughes or Moyes?

Reputation means nothing else chairman would be appointing them on it all the time and no new managers would come through.

It's about who is most suited for the job. Have you see his record of bringing through youth players?

reputation is pretty much EVERYTHING

how do you think a reputation is made? through magic? or through results, style of play, winning things?

would you employ someone with a poor reputation , for getting average results or someone with a good reputation, who gets good results?

while nothing is guaranteed in life, there are small risks and big risks, buying something with a good reputation over something with an average or poor reputation is plain old fashioned common sense asit proviodes a lesser risk

i prefer to not make large risks in the hope that a 1000/1 shot comes good.

which is why i would like us to get a top quality manager but every one has their own opinions

[Chindie]

Spot on Chindie, In Chindie we trust, one of the main ones said Houllier was wrong and stuck to it through-out the season. So who you think Chindie?

I wasn't massively sold on Houllier but I did think of the list of candidates we had he wasn't the worst by a long chalk, I guess you can say that when he was given the job I wasn't happy with it but I relieved it could have been worse. I wanted Jol at that moment in time IIRC.

Anywho... I think it'll be the obvious choice, Hughes. And I'll be fairly happy with that, I think he's the kind of manager we need at the moment. All of his sides he has taken over have had flaws or weaknesses and generally he's looked at what he has and played to it's strengths (compare his Blackburn side to his Fulham side - his Blackburn side started out rough and hard to beat, then he adjusted them as he gained players to become less reliant on being rough and they started to play a bit. His Fulham side became resilient and can also play a bit now). I think we need a man who can look at the squad and say 'Right - we're good at this and this, we'll play to those strengths and sort out the rest as we can'.

I don't actually like Hughes as a man - I find him to be a bit of arse, and despised the way he acted at Citeh, but I'm happy to see him come in, he's realistic, gettable and will do well for us I feel. He's also fairly young, he could, if successful, make a proper side in his image of us for a while yet.

[VillaAlex]

I still cant get over people saying Ancelotti is the wrong man for the job!?!?!

:bonk:

I genuinely don't think he's the right man for scrapping in midtable in the Prem at least (and arguably perhaps any league - he's done it once with Parma, but that was a Parma side that had some top players in it - Buffon for a start).

If we were a top side, cruising with no issues, he'd do well, steady the ship and lead it to good things until things had to change drastically. But for a side that needs work, a fair amount of work, and isn't up there in terms of quality throughout the side, I really think he'd struggle to get far. It's not his bag imo.

Rubbish, Ancelotti is one of the best managers in Europe.

Ive got to ask how you know he could do the job we require better than Hughes or Moyes?

Reputation means nothing else chairman would be appointing them on it all the time and no new managers would come through.

It's about who is most suited for the job. Have you see his record of bringing through youth players?

He's trying to win the Premier League and Champions League for God's sake, he's going to go with his best team week in week out, if the kids arnt good enough they dont play.

Reputations mean nothing you say?? One name my friend, Gerard Houllier.

And for what its worth, Kakuta, McEachran and Jeffrey Brouma all made Chelsea league debuts under Ancelotti.

They had plenty of chances to play, I'm not talking week in week out, just cameos when 3-0 up etc... go and ask any Chelsea fan. McEachren has been criminally underused and Kakuta was sent out on loan to the wrong club. Bruma is now going to HSV on loan as he couldn't get a game.

I'm not just talking about Chelsea either, its been the same in all his jobs.

You really think Lerner appointed Houllier based on his reputation? You're wrong.

Reputations are important but you don't appoint a manager just on that, he has to suit the structure and the long term plans of the club.

[quizme]

There's no way we would get another Marquee signing, not even a quality signing. I'm sure Hughes would only attract players like Sidwell where he could turn them into a better player. Hell, he may play Ireland and Warnock again. Who the hell wants to see them in our squad? His scouting level sucks.

I don't recall him playing much of kids either. How are we suppose to blood our youngsters then?

Would that be the same scouting system that identified Christopher Samba (£400,000 from Hertha), Roque Santa Cruz (£3.5m from Bayern Munich), David Bentley (£500,000 from Arsenal's reserves), and Ryan Nelson (for free, a Kiwi plying his trade at DC United!) - for Blackburn, all of whom have been outstanding for the club?

Or perhaps Vincent Kompany (£6m from Hamburg), Pablo Zabaleta (£6.5m from Espanyol), Nigel De Jong (£18m from Hamburg) for Man City, all of whom were integral to the success Mancini has had since taking over? (Obviously City have massive resources to throw at transfers - and have done so in spades - but these more 'modest' investments would point to a certain amount of acumen on the part of the recruiting manager?)

Or what about Moussa Dembele (£5m from Alkmaar Zanstreek) or Carlos Salcido (£1.6m from PSV) since joining Fulham?

It may also be worth remembering that at a time when City had Robinho and Adebeyor to choose from as partners for Tevez in a three-man attack, he often selected Craig Bellamy and Stephen Ireland ahead of them, both of whom played the best football of their careers during his time in charge and one of which was the kind of young player you feel won't be getting a chance here (and whatever you may think of that particular individual, if anyone - Mark Hughes or otherwise - can get Ireland back to that level of form at Villa, it would be very good news for the club).

In three wildly different Premier League jobs with massively different expectations and resources, Mark Hughes has proved highly effective at getting the most from what was at his disposal, young players and new signings alike. I know I wouldn't have minded having any of the above players at Villa and if he can bring both that eye for spotting talent and the ability to get the same outstanding value for money from any potential new signings, we will be in very good shape.

Great post Alec! I agree with everything you´ve written! Hughes for Villa!

[steaknchips]

Ancelotti is NOT the man for Villa.

[BOF]

What's all this "stability" bollocks? Doesn't Randy ever want to see a return on his investment? We need a winner not some unproven mr average who has won jack shit.

Here's a thought. Randy does want a return on his investment and (if rumours are true) maybe he believes Hughes is the right man to help towards that.

Remember that we're currently managed by someone who has won things. How did that turn out?

[Maradona10]

What's all this "stability" bollocks? Doesn't Randy ever want to see a return on his investment? We need a winner not some unproven mr average who has won jack shit.

Randy: Hey Ash, Downing Bent I've come some great news for you about our new manager. You'll be wanting to stay when you hear who it is and what he's done in the game.

Ash, Downing and Bent: Well, who is it then??

Randy: Mark Hughes ! We're going places guys..

Ash, Downing and Bent: Byeeeeeee

Totally disrespectful! The same Hughes who has more in his trophy cabinet than the whole of the Villa squad put together. Not every manager can win a trophy, over the years Ferguson and the top 4 have dominated as they have spent the money. Hughes will get money at Villa and he can spot players, he will not be restricted to these shores. His coaching staff are second to none, they play good stuff and as seen with Houllier we can can not completely evolve the club with the players we have, it needs to be started at youth level. Hughes will use our youth if their good enough.

[Rob182]

Alec = LOONNGGG RAMMBLLING poster of the year.

Fixed.

(Only messing Alec :winkold:)