Kevin MacDonald the next Manager???

[Monty]

Whilst I'm not advocating he has the job after one match I would like to point out ot people who says top clubs don't promote from within by mentioning the Liverpool Boot Room for 30 odd years and more recently Pep Guadiola at Barcelona who was Reserve Team coach when he took over from Rikjaard.

For each Guardiola or Fagin, it's possible to point to probably half a dozen caretakers who failed.  History tells us it is a move than is far more likely to fail than succeed.

I'm not saying it cannot work but the odds are very much stacked against it.

I would have to agree with this. As delighted as I am that we obviously have such a good coach, and especially the philosophy he's instilled in the youngsters, you just get the feeling that in the long run it might just unravel and we're forced into a situation where we lose a great coach because we expected a bit too much from him.

[Toronto Villa]

After the Wrist Ham result, I was all for K-Mac becoming our next manager.

Having had a chance to sleep on it and let the relief/exiliration of not having to watch a joyless MON team subside, a list of pro's/con's comes to the surface.

On the plus side, he knows the players very well (a new manager will take some time to get up to speed).
He's had the MON rejects playing at a level that's won the reserve league so, if we're talking about motivation, surely to God he must leave MON (or rather, the myth) for dead in this regard.
He seems tactically astute.
He's obviously not afraid of youth or substitutions.
As he's been at the club a long time, he clearly has the respect of senior management.
He already has the fans on-side.

On the downside, we've not yet seen how he reacts (at least on a first team level) when things aren't going so well (both during a match and if we go on one of those bad runs). Having said that, we also can't say how any new manager will react either.

He's not had to deal with transfer markets. Obviously, he's inherited players that are off-cuts from the 1st team or have been shunted up a grade from the youth squad. To counter that arguement, I could point at our transfer thread and the knowledge-base there, knowing that his may well be every bit as good.....and he has a senior team to do the negotiating for him.

To be honest, I'd be giving him 6 months. We'll know then whether he's up to it and, indeed, if he even wants it!

Interesting to see he had Tony Mc on his bench (a man highly regarded on these pages) and the discussions seemed (without the ability of lip-reading skills) to be intelligent. I always got the impression with MON and Robertson that exchanges were along the lines of:

Robbo - "What to we do now?"
MON - "Heskey?"
Robbo - "Not Delfouneso?
MON - "No, that's what the want"
Robbo - "There's always Sidwell."
MON - "Don't confuse matters. Just pick one. Surprise me"

It's kind of what I was saying yesterday Troy. In my opinon we need to calm down a bit. KM clearly did a top job in a diffuclt week coaching and preparing the players. Additionally he is respected by the players, and if Petrov is publically endorsing him then it will go a long way in the eyes of the owner. However, managing and coaching are very different. Coaching is an important element of managing, but at the top level you have top deal with host of other things that you'd never have to deal with as a coach. The media, fans expectations, the board, dealing with the egos of multi-million pound players, HR issues with your own staff, scouting and transfers, the sponsors requests, league manager meetings, public appearances, your life being made very public. To become a manager with no experience of any of that is difficult enough, let alone at the top level of the game where the expectations will be huge.

We are all pleased now, but we will demand success and we won't be happy, irrespective of how good a bloke KM is, if the results don't come as we expect. It would be a shame if a man with 15 loyal years at the club was to become in any way unpopular. It's also very important that he wants the job and knows what he is getting into and one game won't convince him of that. I'd prefer him to become an assistant manager first, but I would certainly support the choice if he and Randy felt it was the right thing to do having searched and exhausted all other options.

[paul_e]

I'll back up TV totally on that, a stint as an assistant followed by getting the job next time would be my opinion.  However I'd rather he got than giving it to the wrong person purely to  say we've got a manager.

[Shrek]

I think he needs at least till christmas, we dont need to disrupt things this early in the season.

If we wait till around christmas time, we may have a few more options to choose from, for example if Jol is out of the CL with Ajax, Moyes has a row with the chairman (wishful thinking) etc.

[dave.woodhall]

Roy Aitken did well in keeping things ticking over in the days following O'Numpty's departure but no-one seriously expected him to get the job. The same situation goes for Kevin Mac.

[andyh]

I really wouldn't want Moyes. Another manager whose press is better than his reality.
Everton are very inconsistant and haven't done any better than us for a few years.
I don't think Moyes would be a massive improvement on anything we have had in recent years.

[KevinGage]

I must admit, I am not to sure he wants the job. The interviews from tonight BBC & Sky gave me the impression he really enjoys coaching the reserves and youth and he does not want to risk that.

That's the concern for me too.

You have to want this job, be ambitious enough and determined enough to go through a rough trot when it occurs and still have unwavering belief in your own ability. If you're not sure you want it, you're probably not cut out for it.

I like the noises coming out of VP. The players seem to respect him, want to play for him and he'll know the reserves and youths inside out. Continuity (with a better standard of football) has it's appeal.  But I genuinely hope we give him a run of games before we make a decision of this magnitude. Reading what RL said yesterday, it almost sounds like the job is his if he wants it. I think it's way to early to come to that type of decision.

[nechells]

I must admit, I am not to sure he wants the job. The interviews from tonight BBC & Sky gave me the impression he really enjoys coaching the reserves and youth and he does not want to risk that.

That's the concern for me to.

You have to want this job, be ambitious enough and determined enough to go through a rough trot when it occurs and still have unwavering belief in your own ability. If you're not sure you want it, you're probably not cut out for it.

I like the noises coming out of VP. The players seem to respect him, want to play for him and he'll know the reserves and youths inside out. Continuity (with a better standard of football) has it's appeal.  But I genuinely hope we give him a run of games before we make a decision of this magnitude. Reading what RL said yesterday, it almost sounds like the job is his if he wants it. I think it's way to early to come to that type of decision.

I think that as a 50 year old coach of a reserve side,this could be an opportunity to secure his financial future if he was offered the job.

People need to put aside all these romantic notions-These people are in it for money.KM probably has 10 years max left as a coach,earning decent money or maybe 3 years as a manager,earning enough money to retire on.If I was him,I'd take the job if offered-Just as I would move to Man City if I was in Milners shoes.

[TonyD]

Wisdom would say that KM is not the right man to take us forward long term.  I have to say that his attitude and the affect on the team and the way they played yesterday made me very proud of Villa.  No more did they suffer from the glare of the watchful eye or the overbearing and controlling grip of the supreme headmaster/ critical parent.     They played with the potential we know they have.  I would give KM and at least another 8 games.  In that time we will know what he is made of and if he is the real deal.  This would give RL the time to look at more CVs.   I thought KM has been awesome this week in front of the media.  He has made me very proud of my club.

[KevinGage]

I don't know his personal circumstances, but I'd say he's comfortable at this stage.
Being in the game for as long as he has.

Perhaps he just prefers to be out of the spotlight, wouldn't want the negative press after a few bad results, the Barry/ Milner- type scenario's happening on his watch, trying to motivate unresponsive players, copping flak for bad transfers et.c

There is a lot more to consider than financial security.
It's job satisfaction/ peace of mind too.

[dave.woodhall]

During my Villa-watching career we've recruited in-house (or almost) on three occasions. The first time, with Vic Crowe, was eventually a success as the foundations were laid for the following decade's triumphs. The second, with Tony Barton, is difficult to assess objectively. He won the European Cup (I don't think we woud have with Saunders still in charge), was the best scout in football and was also the most decent man imaginable. But whether he did as well as he could at re-building the side and dealing with Doug is another matter altogether. With the benefit of absolute perfect hindsight we should maybe have said "Thanks Tony, you've done a wonderful job but you're a great number two. We're bringing in someone to work over you." But you can't exactly say that to the man who's just won the European Cup. 

Then there was John Gregory, who may as well have been regarded as another internal appointment. Like Barton, he had a great start and again, with hindsight, summer 1998 should have seen a thanks and here's a Big Boss to help you.

All these appointments were the safe option. If the last two had been done with a bit more vision, gambling, whatever the word is, history might have been a lot different.

[KevinGage]

This is true Dave.

But a new guy might come in, have very different ideas and marginalise some of our younger players. Playing it 'safe' as it were. It could be a very costly error, in many ways.

You could point to Guardiola at Barcelona and even Pigface initially at Leeds (that's likely to be the last time you see those two in the same sentence) as examples of a guy trusting the youth and other unfancied players as he'd worked with them.

[dave.woodhall]

This is true Dave.

But a new guy might come in, have very different ideas and marginalise some of our younger players. Playing it 'safe' as it were. It could be a very costly error, in many ways.

You could point to Guardiola at Barcelona and even Pigface initially at Leeds (that's likely to be the last time you see those two in the same sentence) as examples of a guy trusting the youth and other unfancied players as he'd worked with them.

But equally a new manager should realise what he inherits and make the most of it. Yorke under Little was the best example.

[TonyD]

During my Villa-watching career we've recruited in-house (or almost) on three occasions. The first time, with Vic Crowe, was eventually a success as the foundations were laid for the following decade's triumphs. The second, with Tony Barton, is difficult to assess objectively. He won the European Cup (I don't think we woud have with Saunders still in charge), was the best scout in football and was also the most decent man imaginable. But whether he did as well as he could at re-building the side and dealing with Doug is another matter altogether. With the benefit of absolute perfect hindsight we should maybe have said "Thanks Tony, you've done a wonderful job but you're a great number two. We're bringing in someone to work over you." But you can't exactly say that to the man who's just won the European Cup. 

Then there was John Gregory, who may as well have been regarded as another internal appointment. Like Barton, he had a great start and again, with hindsight, summer 1998 should have seen a thanks and here's a Big Boss to help you.

All these appointments were the safe option. If the last two had been done with a bit more vision, gambling, whatever the word is, history might have been a lot different.

Quite possilby I am still bathing in the warm sun of the future without the last manager and that yesterday was like somebody giving me more sangria.   All I know that we are in safe hands until the right manager comes along.  I feel that we can relax a little and take our time.  I think that the future is better than when MON arrived. Or more exciting .

[nechells]

During my Villa-watching career we've recruited in-house (or almost) on three occasions. The first time, with Vic Crowe, was eventually a success as the foundations were laid for the following decade's triumphs. The second, with Tony Barton, is difficult to assess objectively. He won the European Cup (I don't think we woud have with Saunders still in charge), was the best scout in football and was also the most decent man imaginable. But whether he did as well as he could at re-building the side and dealing with Doug is another matter altogether. With the benefit of absolute perfect hindsight we should maybe have said "Thanks Tony, you've done a wonderful job but you're a great number two. We're bringing in someone to work over you." But you can't exactly say that to the man who's just won the European Cup. 

Then there was John Gregory, who may as well have been regarded as another internal appointment. Like Barton, he had a great start and again, with hindsight, summer 1998 should have seen a thanks and here's a Big Boss to help you.

All these appointments were the safe option. If the last two had been done with a bit more vision, gambling, whatever the word is, history might have been a lot different.

Crowe got us out of the 3rd Division-Barton won the European Cup & Gregory had us challenging again.

I would not say they were "safe options" more "steadying options" in which men were bought in who the players wanted to play for.

In all three instances,the reason these men were appointed is because there was no-one suitable who was available at the the time.

There may be some mileage in your claims that the long term effect didn't work but in the short term,all three were great for the AV,just like KM would be.