Who do you want the next Villa manager to be?

[puppyfeat]

Well according to The Telegraph, the Garde deal is in danger of going belly up because of problems with getting his preferred backroom staff released from their current employers.

Just throw some money at the problem. Outside of PSG there are zero French clubs who we cant just dangle some Euros under their noses and they will release whoever we damn well want.

Even if the clubs are prepared to release them, there's no guarantee that they'd want to come here, for any number of reasons. I imagine there are plenty of Brits who wouldn't want to move to Birmingham, and probably even more French.

[Villa in Denmark]

It's heartening to know someone else cares even if he is treating us like his nursery club:

"For Aston Villa, Remi Garde has become a priority because Arsène Wenger has pushed them to go for the former Lyon manager. Wenger has reportedly encouraged Chief Executive Tom Fox and Sporting Director Hendrik Almstadt to appoint Garde, the latter individual of course being a former employee at Arsenal.

Garde is very much considered by Arsène Wenger as a possible replacement for him at Arsenal, but Remi Garde must prove his credentials in the Premier League first."

Who said this? The idea that Wenger would be pushing Villa to appoint a manager is ludicrous.  I don't doubt Fox would have sounded out various people's opinions of Garde but to turn that into some narrative that Villa would be grooming him to succeed Wenger is ridiculous.  If Arsenal want to groom him to be their boss they can make him their number two.

So Garde will just be using us as temporary stopping off point before heading south to London?

That must mean that his appointment would make him Garde du Nord.

[cdbearsfan]

Sky saying it's hit the buffers as we can't get permission to speak to Lyon about one of their staff.

[Toronto Villa]

Sky saying it's hit the buffers as we can't get permission to speak to Lyon about one of their staff.

For an entire summer Sky had us signing Andros Townsend. And numerous other tat. I'll believe Sky the day after the player/manager has been introduced at Bodymoor and even then cautiously.

[Percy McCarthy]

Sky saying it's hit the buffers as we can't get permission to speak to Lyon about one of their staff.

For an entire summer Sky had us signing Andros Townsend. And numerous other tat. I'll believe Sky the day after the player/manager has been introduced at Bodymoor and even then cautiously.

I'd agree with that if we hadn't heard it here first hours ago.

[brian green]

If Popeye Doyle is still in Marseille we should send him round to sort out these recalcitrant backroomers.

[ozzjim]

Nice idea wasn't it...

One thing I would say is after the bollocking about trying to get any tom dick or gary to be Gerard Houllier's number 2, then getting Sherwood minus Ramsey who was clearly the brains of the operation, and having the issues with Lambert and his assistants, unless we can sort the issues out for Garde, then don't bother. It doesn't work very well without the proper team around the manager.

[cdbearsfan]

IF it's true, there's a few possibilities.

Firstly (perhaps the most likely), this is brinkmanship on Lyon's part, they're trying to maximise their compensation payout (which they're more than entitled to do).

Secondly, they mean it. In which case Garde needs to decide whether he is happy to stay out of work, seemingly forever, or wait until Lyon have sacked their coaching staff and this guy becomes available. As that could take years, it doesn't seem a very wise course of action for an up and coming young manager. Of course there is the argument, that if he can't get the backroom staff he needs, he might not be such a wise appointment anyway.

Either way, it sounds like a potential delay which is a shame. I want the new guy in for Southampton preferably, but if not then for Tottenham. Don't want it dragging on too long past that.

[saunders_heroes]

Well according to The Telegraph, the Garde deal is in danger of going belly up because of problems with getting his preferred backroom staff released from their current employers.

Just throw some money at the problem. Outside of PSG there are zero French clubs who we cant just dangle some Euros under their noses and they will release whoever we damn well want.

Even if the clubs are prepared to release them, there's no guarantee that they'd want to come here, for any number of reasons. I imagine there are plenty of Brits who wouldn't want to move to Birmingham, and probably even more French.

Nonsense. It's not like they're going to move to Ladywood or Bordesley Green just because they're joining the Villa is it?

[Louzie0]

I'd just like ( soon to be) Our Remi to go a bit A la recherche du temps perdu* and bring back the good times, s'il vous plait.

The Cup finals, the League championships, the European nights.  Formidable, as Big Ron our old French teacher used to say. Merveilleux. Terrifique. Le chien...
I'll leave it there.

( *not the 70's)

[mrfuse]

I'm still not sure about Remi Garde.
If we were mid-table then it could be inspired, but will he have the experience to keep us up.

I'm wondering if we need a specialist that will just keep us up, even if its just a short term fix.

[Mr Diggles]

It's crazy how in football's alternative universe a club apparently owns you if you have a contract with it.

If Garde's guys want to join him they can resign. What's the problem? Unless they don't want to join him.

[Salsa Party Animal]

The problem is Lyon - Remi want Gerald Baticle (Coach of Lyon) for his assistant manager job. Lyon doesn't want to talk.
 

[Brian Taylor]

Is Ron Saunders still about? Or big Ron come to that? Either would do better than last three incumbents.

[cdbearsfan]

I'm still not sure about Remi Garde.
If we were mid-table then it could be inspired, but will he have the experience to keep us up.

I'm wondering if we need a specialist that will just keep us up, even if its just a short term fix.

I'm struggling to see why someone with the skills to improve the team long term wouldn't also have the managerial ability to see us overhaul the likes of Bournemouth, Norwich, Watford and Sunderland over the next six months.

No short-term fix for me. Even if we stay up, we'll be back in the shit this time next year, when, no doubt, you'd want another short-term fix to save us.

Plan for this season, AND the future.