Indecent haste?

[Mazrim]

Hiddink would still be my choice.

[Toronto Villa]

at this stage of their careers neither Van Gaal or Hiddink would come to what they would consider a poxy mid-table English football club that's not even in Europe let alone the CL like us. Harsh, but the truth nonetheless. I think if we are to go continental we'd have to take a flyer on a rising star. A bit like Mourinho was when he won it all with Porto.

[Stu]

Hiddink would still be my choice.

I'd prefer van Gaal in terms of age (he's 5 years younger) and his success at club level football. Seems like an arrogant fucker though.

[WikiVilla]

Arrogance goes with the territory with these top coaches, see Mourinhio, SAF

[Stu]

at this stage of their careers neither Van Gaal or Hiddink would come to what they would consider a poxy mid-table English football club that's not even in Europe let alone the CL like us. Harsh, but the truth nonetheless. I think if we are to go continental we'd have to take a flyer on a rising star. A bit like Mourinho was when he won it all with Porto.

Yeah, probably. But trying to unearth the next Mourinho/Ferguson will be a next to impossible task. And even then we'd only just see him for about 4-5 seasons. The best thing for us to do is not to strive to be better, just putter along in mid-table for the rest of eternity, changing managers every 4 seasons. Ah, now that's the Villa I like.

[eastie]

Just back from work, is it true that Gerard has been given the all clear regarding his heart, and does this mean he is likely to continue as manager?

[Toronto Villa]

Just back from work, is it true that Gerard has been given the all clear regarding his heart, and does this mean he is likely to continue as manager?

he'll be released from hospital in the next few days. We won't see him again this season on the touchline, though I imagine he'll be at the last home game of the season in some capacity, ironically against Liverpool where his major heart issues began off course. The club/GH will likely make a decision on the long term picture in the new few weeks once they've had time to reflect.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

at this stage of their careers neither Van Gaal or Hiddink would come to what they would consider a poxy mid-table English football club that's not even in Europe let alone the CL like us. Harsh, but the truth nonetheless. I think if we are to go continental we'd have to take a flyer on a rising star. A bit like Mourinho was when he won it all with Porto.

It's not about getting the 'best' manager out there but the 'right' manager for Aston Villa.

Take Ron Saunders, sacked by Norwich and Man City, came to Villa and understood the potential, the work necessary to achieve success, had aplan and executed it. The rest is history. Mourinho could turn up at Villa Park tomorrow but I doubt he would ever make us European champions. We'd probably be difficult to beat and win lots of games 1-0 but we'd probably complain about something or other.

I think Randy Lerner got it right when he appointed Houllier, it's just that we never got his defence coach Patrice Bergues along too. Just imagine what this season could have been with a solid defence. Sad, isn't it?

[eastie]

Mark, also don't underestimate the work of phil Thompson with houllier at anfield, Thompson did a splendid job as boss during gerards long abscence and he was a key part of organising the defence at anfield- in fact when GED took the villa job thommo had agreed to join him and gave notice to sky only to change his mind after discussing it with his wife for family reasons.

I think if Thompson and bergues had arrived here we would have had a much better season.

[Toronto Villa]

Thompson had/has a lot of respect at Anfield and being GH's "heavy" carried more weight in the dressing room than McAllister has with us. He's also a better coach and a former defender to boot.

Mark, I agree entirely. I hope GH is able to continue above all else. I think we are starting to see the shoots of what has brought to the club. He believes in youth development, in discipline, and buying quality. I think three things we can all live with. If he gets the summer to rid the garden of the weeds, and then brings in some of his own players and coaches, then we'd see a big difference next season.

I have never seen reason to question his drive and commitment, despite the fact th he's made some errors along the way. I think his mind is as sharp as ever. I just don't know if his body can keep up.

[citizenDJ]

If he is available and if we can afford it...maybe we could hire Louis van Gaal.

You can see why the Dutch A-Team never really took off....

[Villa'Zawg]

If he is available and if we can afford it...maybe we could hire Louis van Gaal.

You can see why the Dutch A-Team never really took off....

Very good.

[Toronto Villa]

If he is available and if we can afford it...maybe we could hire Louis van Gaal.

You can see why the Dutch A-Team never really took off....

you bastard. Now I have the A-Team theme tune in my head for the rest of the day. Louis Van Gaal as Hannibal, Stephen Ireland as Howling Mad Murdock, John Carew as Face, and NRC as BA.

[KevinGage]

The think about the Everton sides Moyes puts out is that they are organised, hard working and competitive - get the impression he's a great motivator.  These are the qualities I find most lacking in Gezza.  Where he has a weakness is a limited style of football and no real flare, which may be down to financial constraints, and these are the areas Gezza seems strong in.

So, in many respects a combination of Moyes as manager and Gezza as DOF may be ideal.  Add the idea of him bringing some of his own players in and we may be looking at, in a 4-2-3-1:-

Robinson (Not a Moyes player - just my choice)

Walker
Lescott
Collins
Baines

Fellani
Makoun

Albrighton
Delph
Downing

Bent

See, I just couldn't imagine Everton being receptive to allowing the likes of Baines and Fellaini go - on the off chance that they do actually release Moyes (by no means a given). It would be too much to stomach, particularly if they bailed to the same club that he did.

So what you'd be hoping for is that Moyes has had his eye on a few players over the years and follows up on those deals, with the financial restrictions removed. He's spotted some bargains over the years but -in truth- they were largely closer to the start of his tenure. Some of his more recent deals -particularly the big money ones-  have probably been more miss than hit.

I know even the mention of Mark Hughes' name has a few on this site breaking out in a cold sweat but the more I think about it the more the idea has merit. He's had a positive impact at most of the sides he's managed; getting Wales, Blackburn and Man City to perform above the level they were at when he arrived. As a manager you can't really ask for more than that. Admittedly this might have been a bit easier at Citeh with their financial resources. But with that comes it's own pressure (a pressure he seemed to be managing reasonably well until the owners got impatient).

The core of that Citeh side currently going for 4th are made up of his signings, and most of them were unhappy to see him depart. You'd also like to think that if he got a gig as big as the Villa he'd be itching to prove Garry Cook and all that lot wrong. His playing career marks him out as a winner, so it's unlikely that he'd want to come to a club such as ours and settle.

Even at Fulham, despite having a number of key players out injured throughout the season he has them on course to finish roughly where they did under Hodgson - quite possibly higher than we'll manage this year despite spending infinitely more.

[eastie]

Why is there still such speculation about a new manager when houlliers dr has said his heart is working perfectly normal? I would expect given his condition being much better than expected that he would be eager to carry on and Reshape his squad in the summer.