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

[Concrete John]

So find out.

If McLeish does go, then I think when they draw up a list his name should be on it.

However, due to a number of factors I think it won't go much further than that.  One of those being the wages he'd be asking for and kitty to make sure he could make a good fist of it.

[PaulWinch again]

Villas-Boas or Martinez, I would be perfectly happy with. I just want someone who attacks and plays good football, we need to show some ambition at every level of the club.

[Mister E]

Martinez is a good manager, but I'm not sure that he's what we need right now.  Whoever replaces McLeish doesn't have a squad full of footballers who like to play attractiv football, plus he's going to have to try and improve the squad on the cheap. 

Martinez will, I suspect, end up elsewhere, in his own good time.
However, i disagree with your comment about the squad of attractive-playing footballers: we have some excellent players who need to be properly led.
And your comment about improvements on the cheap: whoever comes in will have this challenge. Managers like Martinez (Lambert, Rodgers, etc) have been doing that for years anyway. It's the way it is right now for most clubs.

[Mazrim]

So find out.

If McLeish does go, then I think when they draw up a list his name should be on it.

However, due to a number of factors I think it won't go much further than that.  One of those being the wages he'd be asking for and kitty to make sure he could make a good fist of it.

He's in his mid 30s and a fledgling manager. I'm not sure he can demand all sorts yet but if thats his mo good luck to him and we move on.
It's not like we haven't already been paying large salaries to our managers under Lerner (a proven failure like McLeish in the top 20 earners?).

And I'm sure he'd get money to spend. As any new manager will.
Again, any manager who depends on having a fortune to spend rather than trusting in his tactical nous and wheeling and dealing is not really the man we need anyway.

[PaulWinch again]

Villas-Boas or Martinez, I would be perfectly happy with. I just want someone who attacks and plays good football, we need to show some ambition at every level of the club.

Oh and Lambert or Schaarf or Bielsa. I'm not saying these are all realistic, but we have to move into the 21st Century and start playing possession football. It's much more enjoyable to watch and we might actually progress and win some games.

[garyellis]

Villas-Boas or Martinez, I would be perfectly happy with. I just want someone who attacks and plays good football, we need to show some ambition at every level of the club.

For me these two would be the front runners and the very credible but more risky alternatives are Lambert and Rodgers. AVB may be out of our reach but agree we should test the water. Other than that if they fancied Martinez last year what's changed as far as Villa are concerned?

[Concrete John]

So find out.

If McLeish does go, then I think when they draw up a list his name should be on it.

However, due to a number of factors I think it won't go much further than that.  One of those being the wages he'd be asking for and kitty to make sure he could make a good fist of it.

He's in his mid 30s and a fledgling manager. I'm not sure he can demand all sorts yet but if thats his mo good luck to him and we move on.
It's not like we haven't already been paying large salaries to our managers under Lerner (a proven failure like McLeish in the top 20 earners?).

And I'm sure he'd get money to spend. As any new manager will.
Again, any manager who depends on having a fortune to spend rather than trusting in his tactical nous and wheeling and dealing is not really the man we need anyway.

I'd imagine he wouldn't take a huge drop in his Chelsea salary, which I'm sure dwarfs the £2m a year we pay AM.

And our current man in the hot seat didn't get anything to spend, but rather half of what he could generate.

[Mazrim]

Yes, that was then, this is now.
If money was available to spend last summer you'd think they wouldnt have hired McLeish anyway.

[Toronto Villa]

the one thing I would be very confident about Martinez is that he will try and find players in every price range that can trap and pass a football. Swansea have shown that you don't need Man City money to find players that are technically gifted. Those players don't have the numerous other talents that Man City's money buys, but we don't need to concern ourselves "at this point in time" with competing consistently at that level. Walk first, and find players that make us competitive, committed and importantly, attractive to watch every weekend. As we become more successful and consistent we will naturally attract better players.

[Merv]

I'd like to think the majority of footballers would rather play a neat, attractive style of play and are capable of doing it, given the strategy, coaching and encouragement. I don't think our current squad get that.

As for funds, don't believe the manager, whoever he is, will get a huge amount to play with. But plenty of coaches would snap an arm off to have £20m to use. I'd prefer to trust Lambert/Martinez/Rodgers with £10m than McLeish with £20m.

[cb]

I think (and hope) that the board's financial plan has been to tread water until the big earners are off the books. Come this year we will be rid of most of our under performing high earners. This will give us considerable room for manouvre in terms of transfers. Maybe not mega-riches, but certainly for shrewd acquisitions, who will accumulate value in the future. Then there's the possibility of wheeling and dealing in the future based on that to grow the value of your squad and progress through sales. This is the kind of approach that the great managers do all the time. That's what we need - an up and coming great manager. For me Martinez looks like he could be. AVB might be. We don't know whether they will or not. I just want to see us this once NOT make the kind of appointment that we know definitely won't be this kind of manager. I would hope that this is what Randy will want too. He needs to realise that we will have to speculate somewhat to accumulate.

[PaulWinch again]

I think (and hope) that the board's financial plan has been to tread water until the big earners are off the books. Come this year we will be rid of most of our under performing high earners. This will give us considerable room for manouvre in terms of transfers. Maybe not mega-riches, but certainly for shrewd acquisitions, who will accumulate value in the future. Then there's the possibility of wheeling and dealing in the future based on that to grow the value of your squad and progress through sales. This is the kind of approach that the great managers do all the time. That's what we need - an up and coming great manager. For me Martinez looks like he could be. AVB might be. We don't know whether they will or not. I just want to see us this once NOT make the kind of appointment that we know definitely won't be this kind of manager. I would hope that this is what Randy will want too. He needs to realise that we will have to speculate somewhat to accumulate.

Unfortunately hiring Mcleish has resulted in the plan of 'treading water', actually becoming desperately floundering around and trying not to go under. Fortunately it looks like the HMS QPR might well throw us a life ring.

[Damo70]

I don't think Martinez would have a problem getting Villa to start playing good football. Surely following McLeish would be similar to following Bruce at Wigan in that respect. As for alternatives Lambert didn't exactly rule himself out with his replies to questions about the job recently did he? Same as Hughton hasn't ruled himself out of the Albion job from the interview I heard.

[PeterWithe]

Bruce Area - is he off those Fosters Gold ads? I think its about time up and coming Paul Ince was released back into the wild.

Regardless I'll be staying well clear of this circus - lost a packet last Summer, got a nice green book on betfair kept laying bits off on McLeish arrogantly convinced they'd never appoint him and then wallop. Can't wait for the mysteryman in the knows, the randy lerner jet spotting, the sponsored silence from the Villa hierarchy, the outraged Evertonians, no end of shitty clubs ruling out their managers and telling us how insignificant we are, then finally another civil disturbance as we leave no stone unturned to appoint Gary F%^&kin Megson!

*chuckle* Scarily feasible look into the future that.

[PeterWithe]

From oddschecker.mobi
Lee Clark 20/1

That's a decent price for a good young up and coming manager. Available for free too, the job he did with Huddersfield was fantastic.

But I bet our board has never even heard of him.

Didn't he have a comparitively huge sum of money to work with for League 1?

My Hudds mates reckons they were mostly glad to see the back of him, spent shit loads and left them four years later the grand total of one place higher than where they were when they appointed him. Also reckons his much publicised unbeaten run contained far too many draws from a strong position due to overly defensive tactics against weaker teams.

Also had a reputation locally for disloyalty and speaking to a lot of clubs about vacancies behind the chairman's back.