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

[Summers]

After watching the vid, I think there is a good chance he might say no. He's signed a 4 yr deal, clearly loves the place and probably wants his kids to grow up there.

We wouldn't send a jet over to pick him up if he was going to say no.

[villadelph]

OGS is going to be gutted if and when he leaves Molde, it looks a stunning place to live.

My choice would still be Lambert personally but Solskjaer is a nice idea.

Agreed, lambert has a better track record over the last 4 years and more experience but if it is ogs then he will have my full support and best wishes.

Im just hoping he will be tough enough to boot out the deadwood and problem players , and not be a soft touch.

I think that's where this Director of Football role comes in.

[Big Dick Edwards]

Wigan give permission for Loverpool to speak to Martinez. SSN Breaking News ....

I must say, I'm surprised. I thought Liverpool still considered themselves one of the giants of British football despite evidence to the contrary. All Martinez has on his CV is that he's successfully avoided relegation several years running with unfashionable Wigan.  Appointing Martinez would be a huge gamble. I hope they take it and live to regret it.

[James]

After watching the vid, I think there is a good chance he might say no. He's signed a 4 yr deal, clearly loves the place and probably wants his kids to grow up there.

The four year deal was signed in 2009 though!

[frank black]

Pics of a wet plane av news. Apparently it's lerners in Norway, picking up OGS. Expect an announcement in 48 hrs etc etc.....

[Clampy]

All of Norway is beautiful like that. It's extremely boring though.

And expensive

Very expensive. A pint of Heiniken cost me something like £6 in our money when i went over. It's a stunning place though.

[eastie]

After watching the vid, I think there is a good chance he might say no. He's signed a 4 yr deal, clearly loves the place and probably wants his kids to grow up there.

I think hed jump at the chance to manage villa and his kids love england and according to him call manchester home. Throw in a villa supporting wife and a fat contract and he will snatch randys hand off.

[A|C]

I'm feeling rather negative so please excuse the following a little.

It feels like our stock has fallen massively, so now can't get a manager from either Norwich, Swansea or for crying out loud Wigan.  OGS might be brilliant but equally we could be heading for a hat trick of disasters, if we do appoint OGS a 1 year deal would be prudent with an option to extend if successful.

I feel totally under underwhelmed.

[Concrete John]

OGS is going to be gutted if and when he leaves Molde, it looks a stunning place to live.

My choice would still be Lambert personally but Solskjaer is a nice idea.

Agreed, lambert has a better track record over the last 4 years and more experience but if it is ogs then he will have my full support and best wishes.

Im just hoping he will be tough enough to boot out the deadwood and problem players , and not be a soft touch.

I think that's where this Director of Football role comes in.

According to the Evening Mail, they've said they won't be using the DOF model.

As an alternative, if he does some I'd like to see him with a proven and experienced number 2 like Ray Wilkins.

[ozzjim]

Guardian reckon he will say no. But then we have not even approached Lambert and they reckon he has said no, and Martinez turned us down after we offered him the job last year too....

[PaulWinch again]

Guardian reckon he will say no. But then we have not even approached Lambert and they reckon he has said no, and Martinez turned us down after we offered him the job last year too....

Hope they're wrong.

[brian green]

If 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' sign Martinez they will have the Thin Spanish Waiter.   Besides managers whose name ends in Z is always unlucky for them.   They should stick out for Vilas-Boaz.

[Chipsticks]

Guardian reckon he will say no. But then we have not even approached Lambert and they reckon he has said no, and Martinez turned us down after we offered him the job last year too....

Mourinho it is then.

[Ger Regan]

I would rather have Lambert or Rodgers who have proven themselves in the Premier League. Both would also be a show of intent as we would have to get them off a club that was pretty unwilling to let them go. Like we did with Atkinson and Little who both turned out to be good appointments.

If the Board think they can't get the above, then I appreciate their willingness to look abroad. It's about time we ditched the "Premier League experience" nonsense, rather than settling for any idiot who can find Birmingham on a map, like we did last year.

That said, there are far better managers abroad we could approach. While the likes of Villas-Boas are probably unlikely, McLeish was the twentieth best-paid manager in the World last year. I fail to see how we can't get a bigger-name who would help fill Villa Park again. Such a manager would hopefully have an extensive list of contacts to help us try to get some of the most promising players in Europe. I certainly prefer that option to a guy who may be tempted to phone some grumpy git in Manchester and say "Dad, sorry... Sir Alex, can we loan Jonny Evans please?".

If Martinez goes to Liverpool or Lambert or Rodgers go to Villa then I think Solsjkaer would make an ideal appointment at the likes of Wigan, Norwich or Swansea. If he proved himself at a club like that I'd have no problem with us appointing him in the future. I don't think he's ready for it now though.

The news that we are (probably) in for him, coupled with the news that we are not appointing a Director of Football says to me we are looking to do things on the cheap. Even if Solsjkaer turns out to be a managerial genius, he'll struggle to achieve anything at Villa if that's the case.

Sorry to be a misery-arse when many of you seem excited at the prospect, but I've had a season of trying to be cheerful in the face of adversity so now it's my turn!

There are loads of proven managers that we could appoint who would probably turn out to be the wrong choice for us. You and I don't know if he is good, bad or indifferent, and that's half the point. 3 examples of young managers that did very well early into their career would be AVB, Mourinho and Guardiola, and I don't think fans of Porto or Barca would regret the decision to appoint an unproven manager (note, this is just an example, i'm not suggesting he'll turn out like that).

You're perfectly entitled to have doubts about him, but to already label the potential appointment as ridiculous is, well, ridiculous in my opinion.

[villadelph]

Guardian reckon he will say no. But then we have not even approached Lambert and they reckon he has said no, and Martinez turned us down after we offered him the job last year too....

All going back to what A|C said a few posts ago, our stock has dropped massively.