Leekbrookgull
Well-known member
Avoid like the ****ing plague. Only an idiot would go there. Step forward . . . Steve McClaren.
Is the correct answer !
Avoid like the ****ing plague. Only an idiot would go there. Step forward . . . Steve McClaren.
Avoid like the ****ing plague. Only an idiot would go there. Step forward . . . Steve McClaren.
Felix Magath then, with his fantastic record of always saving his teams from relegation (except just the once!)
He'll be itching to come back from Greece, so maybeA new vanity project for the JEC
Terrible choice in the first place
Obviously he'd threaten to go and play golf if Villa were struggling after the first 12 games.A new vanity project for the JEC
It's a great opportunity for a manager that wants a long-term project building his own squad from the ground up as a good 75% of their players will leave at the end of the season. Would be perfect for Brendan Rodgers but he won't take it as he is clearly waiting for the England job shootself).
It's a great opportunity for a manager that wants a long-term project building his own squad from the ground up as a good 75% of their players will leave at the end of the season.
Will they though? Surely there can't be that many out of contract at the end of the season. If not out of contract, can't see many of them getting deals elsewhere to match their Villa salaries - I can see Villa having more of a problem with players they can't get rid of.
I disagree.
The problem Garde faced is that the club wouldn't accept they were doomed and needed a few years in the lower leagues to rebuild. He was pretty much shafted once he was denied the funds to refresh the team in January (and should have walked out then TBH).
Villa is a club where the owner wants out and has no interest in it.. Chief executives last just a few months, the finance director resigned a few months ago: I don't see what chance any manager had in trying to revive their fortunes.
There was a logic behind Garde's appointment. He worked extensively with the youth team at Lyon and built up from a secure base. When a club hasn't the money to spend (and Villa certainly hasn't) then the manager has to develop a team - if the powers-that-be are prepared to give him time. He also didn't take any crap from players, some of whom were looking to drift through the season. He may not have worked out but he wasn't even given a chance to go down this route.
I'm not sure what Villa's board is thinking. They haven't got the players to get themselves out of a hole - and clearly some have a bad attitude (and the board will tolerate them rather than support a manager). Nor are they prepared to swallow a relegation (or even two) and build from the ground up. Nor are they prepared to invest in a team. Garde is a scapegoat (as were Sherwood and Lambert) for some dreadful management decisions above them. I can't Villa getting out of the spiral any time soon
The thinking behind it seemed to be "well, we've gone and brought in a load of unknown French kids...Garde is French....I know, lets get Garde". Madness. He'd only ever been a number 2 in France, never managed in this country,
He'd been a manager for three years and had won the French cup, so he was scarcely an untried entity. And while he hadn't managed in the PL, he'd played in it so had a pretty good idea what was needed.
I agree that if the club wanted someone to firefight and do well in the short term, he was a poor choice but if they wanted someone to build from the ground up and stay there long term (which IMO is what the club should be thinking) then he'd be a good candidate