Class of Ten

[dave.woodhall]

Mr R strikes again.

https://www.heroesandvillains.info/forumv3/index.php?topic=61378.msg3847473;topicseen#new

[FatSam]

Mr R strikes again.

https://www.heroesandvillains.info/forumv3/index.php?topic=61378.msg3847473;topicseen#new

The only ex-Villa player currently managing in the top four tiers of English football that I'm aware of is Neil Cox at Scunthorpe.

I often thought during our slide towards mid-table in the Championship that we didn’t have many friends or allies. It felt like we had a distinct lack of influence in the game, whether that be the hard power of players and managers, or the soft power of the media.

I remember Doug comparing his appointment of Gregory, following Little and Atkinson, to the succession of the Anfield boot room. At the time it seemed like there were managers with Villa connections making their way in the game. Since then relatively few of our ex-players have gone on to have serious coaching or management careers (other than the notable exception of the current England manager).

On reflection, this might not be specific to Villa. Perhaps it is inevitable that there have been fewer ex-Villa players managing, during a period where tactics have been revolutionised by overseas coaches and managers. Dean Saunders didn’t come across as particularly progressive during his time at Wolves for example.

Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh, but other than Townsend (who left Chelsea for Villa because he wanted to win trophies), it feels like the ex-Villa players in the media (Dublin, Merson, Richards etc) are there to provide some light relief. If we had enjoyed sustained success they might be taken more seriously. I suppose in recent years it has been difficult to know what we stand for as a club. Our better players (Young, Milner and Barry etc) are all more associated with the other clubs where they have had more success.

Anyhow, it’s heartening that the man who is in the process of returning us to our rightful position, whilst not an ex-player, is definitely a Villa man.