At manager, and Board level, we have been desperately short of football experience for some time. Hollis’s sackings and the appointments of Bernstein and Little are long overdue. But I am very concerned that Little’s tenure may be temporary. I am also concerned that the right appointments for next season need to be made now.
I am surprised that Dave is surprised about the need for football AND commercial tiers of expertise at Board level. The commercial side of football has had an easy ride at every PL club for years with the windfall growth of TV and advertising revenues. All they have had to do is bank the cheques. The football side has been under-represented at many clubs, Villa included.
At different levels, the success at Man City, and Stoke City over the past several years has been underpinned by an ownership prepared to invest a larger part of their windfall income in recruiting a football Brains Trust. Pullis had Peter Reid, Gerry Francis and Joe Jordan, City have had Kidd , Viera, Platt and Begiristain.
I don’t think that individually, our squad is appalling as their results say they are. But I have no idea who will be motivated to remain and get us back up again. More worryingly who at the club is there to make that decision? Chris Hughton showed that it is possible to get promotion with a team that has been relegated when he was at Newcastle, how many of our players could do that requires expert knowledge which simply isn’t at the club at the moment.
Remi Garde may be talented, but he should leave, while his reputation is not too severely dented. He can justifiably claim that he was handed an impossible task.
Two candidates seem to have traction, Pearson, and Moyes. Moyes is a proven PL entity, and would have done a good job to replace Lambert or Sherwood. But he has no Midlands football contacts, he showed himself to be heavy handed at Man U, and unadaptable in Spain. His credentials to fight a Championship promotion campaign are nil. Pearson is an abrasive big head. But he has Midlands contacts, knows the Championship, and can fight a PL relegation battle (a talent we may need if we gain quick promotion).His legacy at Leicester is there for all to see. There really is no realistic alternative than him. He may not be the man to lead a top six tilt, but we don’t need that, we need a “Dirty Harry”, someone to get the dirty job done.
I think the Cub can do something for the fans too. I would reinstate £100 season tickets for the under 16s and knock £100 off existing ST prices while retaining existing matchday prices with the intention of selling 30,000 season tickets and creating a buzz about the place again. A winning team on a promotion campaign will fill the remaining seats.
But if we wait till the summer to sack Garde , appoint a new manager and coaching staff, it will be July till the new team can start to reshape the squad- and that is too late. A new man needs to be in place before the end of the season so that who remains can be determined before their holidays, and new players brought in as soon as the window opens.
