Who do you want as the next manager? New poll option.

[James]

Sven's CV should keep him out of consideration at all - if ever there was a manager who only went anywhere for the money it's him! He's done fuck all anywhere for years!

It's also telling that Benitez has been unemployed for so long!

I'm not averse to a foreigh manager, but somebody up and coming rather than one of these 'has beens' please.

So you're rejecting one because he accepts any job offer that comes his way, and the other because he is very picky?

I'd reject Sven because despite the hype he hasn't achieved anything for years (even with Citeh type money) and Benitez because he thinks he's bigger than the club he's talking to (which he may well be by now, he always was a fat bastard!).

[Fasth56]

Two of the managers on my wish list for B6 are in the studio for the Chelsea v QPR game.

Would they come though? Not in the championship for sure.

I'm with you Porky, dream team of Hoddle and Wilkins, unfortunately I can see Hoddle being with England again soon.

[mr woo]

Rogers and Lambert,

 sounds like a packet of cigarettes

So how about we get Lambert in as manager, and to appease those who want a Villa man involved, we give the assistants job to ex 80's reserve keeper, Lee Butler.

[Dante Lavelli]

Lambert would be a good choice for the simple fact that I believe he would do well.

That confidence would be shared across the fanbase, throw in twenty odd million and a six or seven new signings and the whole mindset of the club is changed.

Agreed

Clearly Lambert has never had 20m to spend before but this area of his game and his MONball are my reservations about his management style.  He has history of signing older, british based players.

For the sustainability of the club we need to be signing younger players and then selling them on at a profit (and repeat).  This is that much harder  when signing 28+ year olds.

[tomd2103]

Sven's CV should keep him out of consideration at all - if ever there was a manager who only went anywhere for the money it's him! He's done fuck all anywhere for years!

It's also telling that Benitez has been unemployed for so long!

I'm not averse to a foreigh manager, but somebody up and coming rather than one of these 'has beens' please.

Lambert would definitely be my first choice, but I genuinely think Sven would be a decent option.  I saw his Leicester team play last season and was really impressed with the football they played.  Didn't work out for him this season, but they were only 2 points off the play offs when he left.  He certainly has the experience and more importantly, he has managed all over the world so would have good knowledge of the foreign markets which we will need if the budget is tight.  I think he would love another crack at the Premiership and was rumoured to be very interested before Houllier got the job.  He would certainly bring a buzz to Villa Park, but would be a bit of a risk.     

[Toronto Villa]

I'd have John Gregory or Sir Brian back with a younger upcoming coach like a Laursen or Melberg under them.

We need Villa men or people who 'get' the club involved

Their time has past. We need a young manager who acknowledges how big a club we are and can be. Ambitious, but knows that he can achieve a lot with us. I suppose in the Moyes mould that has stayed loyal to Everton for such a long time. It doesn't have to be from the UK either, but getting a foreign manager can have limitations as they might want to return home at some point. However, that shouldn't stop us casting the net out as far and wide as possible.

[villanois]

best choice out there for me is Moyes, he could turn things around but our chances of attracting him have gone from low to zero over the last few years.

[danlanza]

Moyes would never leave Everton to come to us.If Moyes could get some cash at Everton they would be knocking on the door of the top four every year.

[Toronto Villa]

Moyes ain't coming. We need to get past that.

[Dante Lavelli]

As Mazrim I think said earlier, a significant problem is the lack of football knowhow and maybe even vision at board level.

We either need to go european and appoint a DoF (insert your title here) and a head coach, or we need a guy that has the X factor to run the whole club.

If we appointed a DoF then I would like to see a young, passionate, progressive coach appointed who excels at motivation and game tactics.  The big guy upstairs can deal with scouting, sports science and developing the academy i.e. the infrastructure of the club.  Probably the best of this ilk is AVB.  Other names in this category are Poyet, Di Matteo, Solkjear, Rodgers and maybe Laursen.

Alternatively we need a guy that has the imagination and work ethic to run the whole club and not just the first team.  Moyes is probably the most viable of this ilk.  Other candidates are Lambert, Benitez and any number of the “old school” british coaches.

Personally I would like to see the club go down the DoF football route so, ironically, the actual manager (or head coach role) becomes less significant.  I do not think that one person (i.e. the traditional british manager) can fully understand and excel in all aspects of the game necessary to run a whole club (not just the first team squad).

Ultimately I would like to see the club make an appointment(s) that implies that they have an over all strategy from which the club can grow rather than the seemingly ad hoc decisions that they currently make.

[Tony]

If McLeish does go, I wouldn't mind us trying to get someone like Gus Poyet. Hopefully the board have learnt that proven premiership experience isn't the be all and end all.

[Matt Collins]

I'd have John Gregory or Sir Brian back with a younger upcoming coach like a Laursen or Melberg under them.

We need Villa men or people who 'get' the club involved

Are you having some sort of giraffe??!

[stubbsyandy]

Does anyone think Sir GT would come back as DoF? He seems to be freely quoted in the press on our plight recently?

[Matt Collins]

It will be interesting to see if the board pursue the same strategy as last time - proven premier league manager, not prepared to go and tempt someone out of a job without the club's permission, but no real war chest. If they do, it's hard to see who we'd get, perhaps Zola, or Roy Keane. If they interpret 'premiership experience' as having PLAYED here, then perhaps Solsjkear, Bilic or Poyet too. Obviously, if Chelsea don't appoint RDM he'd have a real chance, but I suspect they're going to have to!

If they don't pursue the same approach, other names look more realistic: Lambert, Rogers, McDermott. More interesting shouts would be Bielsa or Flores, though I'd be pretty surprised.


I actually feel there's more of a field than there was this time last year, although I felt Hughes and Jol were runners then, apparently not. I think my preference order would be in the following categories:

1. (not 100% sure but happy) Lambert, Rodgers, Bielsa, Di Matteo
2. (pretty happy) Martinez,
3. (unsure but interesting) Solskjaer, Flores, Zola, Bilic, MacDonald
4 (no thanks) Curbishley, McCarthy, Bruce (I'd go fucking apeshit), Bob Bradley, Keane

Realistically, top 6 is well out of sight for some time. So I really want someone who can get us playing football that is pleasing on the eye, positive and inventive, and who'll adopt somethign resembling a consistent shape and pattern of play.

[Tony]

Realistically, top 6 is well out of sight for some time. So I really want someone who can get us playing football that is pleasing on the eye, positive and inventive, and who'll adopt somethign resembling a consistent shape and pattern of play.

Top six is achievable with the right guy, Alan Pardew has shown that at Newcastle, but to expect top six, I agree with you that it's unlikely, not impossible, but we need to have patience with any new manager, if that's what happens.