Who do you want the next Villa manager to be?

[auntiesledd]

That would be funnier if the old lady was lost at the seaside and could not find her coach when Randy drew alongside in his limo and addressed her. "You looking for a coach........etc etc"

It would indeed be funnier; as would a yarn about a certain Randolph Lerner playing a round of golf with 2 full sets of irons in his bag, when he comes across a player stuck in a bunker - who's in desperate need of a sand wedge...

[Exeter 77]

Was Given in goal that day?

No, McLeish signed Given the following close season.

[aj2k77]

If I remember correctly, Carew missed a penalty before the goals started going in.

You are correct. We were all over them to start with. It looked like (I think) Young and Downing were going to run riot.

Even at half-time, I was still convinced we'd win. But it seemed like every time the ball came within 25 yards of our goal, it ended up in the net.

We were getting twatted by half time weren't we? I remember after the first 15 minutes it being a demolition job and us barely having the ball. I got bladdered on the train coming back and had a pathetic drunken row when I got home. All in all a shite day.

[Percy McCarthy]

Was Given in goal that day?

No, McLeish signed Given the following close season.

I think he meant for them.

He would have been at Man City though wouldn't he?

[Big Dick Edwards]

''But after three years in charge, following many years as, among other job, academy director and first-team coach, he could not continue. He was physically and mentally drained. The pressure took its toll and the expectation, combined with the lack of resources, made for a challenging time at the club. In 2014 he decided not to renew his contract and take a sabbatical.''

Don't like the sound of that. If he thinks he was under pressure at Lyon he'll be in for a major shock at Villa.

[The Edge]

Sorry if this has posted already

Sorry if this has posted already

BY JULIEN LAURENS

about an hour ago
Aston Villa target Remi Garde close to realising his Premier League dream


Remi Garde is considered the favourite to replace Tim Sherwood as Aston Villa manager.
On Sunday, former Lyon manager Remi Garde was looking forward to paying a visit to Old Trafford, where he would commentate on Manchester United vs. Manchester City for French television

Over the last 16 months, Garde hasn't missed much of the action in the Premier League, partly due to the work commitment he took up after leaving Lyon, but also because it is his favourite league by some way and the one in which he has always dreamed to coach.

As it transpired, Garde never made it to Manchester and the French public didn't hear his voice commentating on the Manchester derby. The reason? Well, he is now the odds-on favourite to land the Aston Villa manager's job so you can put two and two together!

The aftermath of Tim Sherwood's sacking, which was announced hours before the Manchester derby, led to a change in Garde's plans. Instead of taking a position on the TV gantry, he began talks with the Villa hierarchy.

It is no surprise that Garde, 49, tops the wish list of club owner Randy Lerner and chief executive Tom Fox. Around Europe, Garde is seen as a bright and promising manager and, last season, was offered the chance to replace Alan Pardew at Newcastle. He turned the offer down. Garde was also approached by Sunderland recently, while German clubs also made enquiries over the summer.

With Lyon, Garde finished fourth, third and fifth in Ligue 1 between 2011 and 2014. He also won the French Cup in 2012, as well as the French Community Shield in the same year and then, two years later, took the team to the Europa League quarterfinal against Juventus.

Garde achieved all of this on a tight budget, as he had to compensate for the previously lavish spending by some of his managerial predecessors to balance the books. With no say, he saw Jeremy Toulalan, Miralem Pjanic, Hugo Lloris, Cris, Kim Kallstrom, Dejan Lovren and Lisandro Lopez leave.

In return for losing his best and most dependable players, Garde turned to the club's academy and gave Nabil Fekir, Clinton Njie, Jordan Ferri and Rachid Ghezzal their first professional contracts. He also launched Alexandre Lacazette's career.

Lyon played good football under Garde and club chairman Jean-Michel Aulas rated his manager so highly that he almost begged him to stay. Such was the esteem in which Garde was held that Bernard Lacombe, the club's former striker and now officially Aulas' advisor (but actually more like the club's sporting director) had a nickname for him: "Remi Gardiola".

Apart from losing on penalties to Apoel Nicosia in the 2011-12 Champions League last 16 and a League Cup final loss against PSG in 2014, Garde's time at Lyon was a success. He was one of the club's favourite children, a prodigy who had been club captain at 22 before one day returning as manager.

But after three years in charge, following many years as, among other job, academy director and first-team coach, he could not continue. He was physically and mentally drained. The pressure took its toll and the expectation, combined with the lack of resources, made for a challenging time at the club. In 2014 he decided not to renew his contract and take a sabbatical.

BY JULIEN LAURENS

about an hour ago
Aston Villa target Remi Garde close to realising his Premier League dream


Remi Garde is considered the favourite to replace Tim Sherwood as Aston Villa manager.
On Sunday, former Lyon manager Remi Garde was looking forward to paying a visit to Old Trafford, where he would commentate on Manchester United vs. Manchester City for French television

Over the last 16 months, Garde hasn't missed much of the action in the Premier League, partly due to the work commitment he took up after leaving Lyon, but also because it is his favourite league by some way and the one in which he has always dreamed to coach.

As it transpired, Garde never made it to Manchester and the French public didn't hear his voice commentating on the Manchester derby. The reason? Well, he is now the odds-on favourite to land the Aston Villa manager's job so you can put two and two together!

The aftermath of Tim Sherwood's sacking, which was announced hours before the Manchester derby, led to a change in Garde's plans. Instead of taking a position on the TV gantry, he began talks with the Villa hierarchy.

It is no surprise that Garde, 49, tops the wish list of club owner Randy Lerner and chief executive Tom Fox. Around Europe, Garde is seen as a bright and promising manager and, last season, was offered the chance to replace Alan Pardew at Newcastle. He turned the offer down. Garde was also approached by Sunderland recently, while German clubs also made enquiries over the summer.

With Lyon, Garde finished fourth, third and fifth in Ligue 1 between 2011 and 2014. He also won the French Cup in 2012, as well as the French Community Shield in the same year and then, two years later, took the team to the Europa League quarterfinal against Juventus.

Garde achieved all of this on a tight budget, as he had to compensate for the previously lavish spending by some of his managerial predecessors to balance the books. With no say, he saw Jeremy Toulalan, Miralem Pjanic, Hugo Lloris, Cris, Kim Kallstrom, Dejan Lovren and Lisandro Lopez leave.

In return for losing his best and most dependable players, Garde turned to the club's academy and gave Nabil Fekir, Clinton Njie, Jordan Ferri and Rachid Ghezzal their first professional contracts. He also launched Alexandre Lacazette's career.

Lyon played good football under Garde and club chairman Jean-Michel Aulas rated his manager so highly that he almost begged him to stay. Such was the esteem in which Garde was held that Bernard Lacombe, the club's former striker and now officially Aulas' advisor (but actually more like the club's sporting director) had a nickname for him: "Remi Gardiola".

Apart from losing on penalties to Apoel Nicosia in the 2011-12 Champions League last 16 and a League Cup final loss against PSG in 2014, Garde's time at Lyon was a success. He was one of the club's favourite children, a prodigy who had been club captain at 22 before one day returning as manager.

But after three years in charge, following many years as, among other job, academy director and first-team coach, he could not continue. He was physically and mentally drained. The pressure took its toll and the expectation, combined with the lack of resources, made for a challenging time at the club. In 2014 he decided not to renew his contract and take a sabbatical.

Thanks for that.  I know very little about the guy and I'm very worried about the club once again rolling the dice with the club's future. This article has gone some way to settling my mind. If it is to be the frenchman what else can we do but welcome him with open arms and throwing our support behind him totally and hope for the best.

[Monty]

You only posted about half the article there TV! Here's the other half:

Lyon's 2014-15 campaign, which saw them finish second in Ligue 1 under Hubert Fournier, came from a solid foundation as Garde's legacy lived on. "Lyon benefits now from the quality of his work. It was a job where he was a lot under pressure because in Lyon the demands are very high, but he did very well" said Arsene Wenger last summer. 

Garde and Wenger go back a long way. In 1996, alongside Patrick Vieira, Garde was Wenger's first signing at Arsenal and stayed three seasons at the club. Like Wenger, the midfielder had previously played for Strasbourg.

The two men had endless talks about tactics, managing and the evolution of the game through the years. They have always remained in contact and Wenger would no doubt be delighted to see one of his disciples getting the Villa job. For Garde, Wenger is more than a mentor. He is the perfection, the path to follow, the guide.

Garde has no Premier League experience as a manager but nor did Wenger. As a modern-day comparison, Slaven Bilic is proving at West Ham that it is not an issue. If a manager is good enough, he will succeed.

Garde's knowledge of English football stands him in good stead and he feels ready to take on the Villa challenge. Villa want him too and the only foreseeable issue is that he wants to take his two former assistant managers from Lyon -- Gerald Baticle and Bruno Genesio -- with him.

The problem is that they are still part of the technical staff at Lyon, who don't want to let them go, especially after each of them signed a new deal with a pay rise last summer. Could Garde accept the Villa job alone? It is hard to say. He is desperate to come back to management and sees this as a great opportunity.

His last game in England as Lyon manager was in the Europa League Round of 32 against Tottenham on Valentine's Day 2013. Aston Villa's next league game? Away to Tottenham.

The concern about the backroom staff is very real. Despite his enthusiasm he's reluctant to come to Villa without them, which is really concerning.

[SamTheMouse]

''But after three years in charge, following many years as, among other job, academy director and first-team coach, he could not continue. He was physically and mentally drained. The pressure took its toll and the expectation, combined with the lack of resources, made for a challenging time at the club. In 2014 he decided not to renew his contract and take a sabbatical.''

Don't like the sound of that. If he thinks he was under pressure at Lyon he'll be in for a major shock at Villa.

This was what I mentioned when his name first came up. He walked away from Lyon, despite them being happy with his performance and despite Aulas repeatedly offering him a new contract.

I just wonder whether he is mentally strong enough for a relegation battle. And I know that it's still only October, and in theory we have plenty of time to zip up the table, in reality we are under massive pressure.

Having said all that, I'd still rather take a gamble on someone like Garde with a proper philosophy and a commitment to attacking, sophisticated play, than go for another old-fashioned British purveyor of scrappy, hoof-it football.

[Tayls_7]

You only posted about half the article there TV! Here's the other half:

Lyon's 2014-15 campaign, which saw them finish second in Ligue 1 under Hubert Fournier, came from a solid foundation as Garde's legacy lived on. "Lyon benefits now from the quality of his work. It was a job where he was a lot under pressure because in Lyon the demands are very high, but he did very well" said Arsene Wenger last summer. 

Garde and Wenger go back a long way. In 1996, alongside Patrick Vieira, Garde was Wenger's first signing at Arsenal and stayed three seasons at the club. Like Wenger, the midfielder had previously played for Strasbourg.

The two men had endless talks about tactics, managing and the evolution of the game through the years. They have always remained in contact and Wenger would no doubt be delighted to see one of his disciples getting the Villa job. For Garde, Wenger is more than a mentor. He is the perfection, the path to follow, the guide.

Garde has no Premier League experience as a manager but nor did Wenger. As a modern-day comparison, Slaven Bilic is proving at West Ham that it is not an issue. If a manager is good enough, he will succeed.

Garde's knowledge of English football stands him in good stead and he feels ready to take on the Villa challenge. Villa want him too and the only foreseeable issue is that he wants to take his two former assistant managers from Lyon -- Gerald Baticle and Bruno Genesio -- with him.

The problem is that they are still part of the technical staff at Lyon, who don't want to let them go, especially after each of them signed a new deal with a pay rise last summer. Could Garde accept the Villa job alone? It is hard to say. He is desperate to come back to management and sees this as a great opportunity.

His last game in England as Lyon manager was in the Europa League Round of 32 against Tottenham on Valentine's Day 2013. Aston Villa's next league game? Away to Tottenham.

The concern about the backroom staff is very real. Despite his enthusiasm he's reluctant to come to Villa without them, which is really concerning.

Only concerning in that it might complicate matters Monty but I like his attitude. Management is a team game and you are only as good as the sum of your parts. Brian Clough realised that.

[Toronto Villa]

Balls, thanks for filling in the rest Monty.

On the staff thing, hopefully it will be a case of money and we can come to an agreement with Lyon. At the end of the day this is a critical decision and I'd sooner we paid up front to get the right men in than paid compensation at the end of another dismissal for a poor hire.

[Villa in Denmark]

Balls, thanks for filling in the rest Monty.

On the staff thing, hopefully it will be a case of money and we can come to an agreement with Lyon. At the end of the day this is a critical decision and I'd sooner we paid up front to get the right men in than paid compensation at the end of another dismissal for a poor hire.

They've probably still not forgiven us for sending Baros in exchange for Carew.

I think the only thing he did of note whilst there was set a national record for highest speed on a speeding ticket. Something ludicrous like 180mph.

[LeeB]

Rapid Vienna at home was a really bad result as well. Forever remembered for some of the shambolic defending i've ever seen, including the comical clearance that went over our own crossbar.

Which led to the winning goal, just to top it off.

[TonyD]

Just in. Any news on Garde?

[LeeB]

Just in. Any news on Garde?

Are you challenging me to a dual?

[Hookeysmith]

Where is it that moves is out?