Who do you want the next Villa manager to be?

[OzVilla]

You can understand that they have a preferred choice of assistant etc, but it would be weird for a manager to not want to get back into managing unless he has certain people with him. What if they never want to leave the clubs they are at, is he going to leave himself the choice of manage one specific club or never manage again?

Yes but this has proved a negative career defining role for a lot of our previous managers (Gregory, DOL, McLeish, Lambert, possibly Sherwood) when it's gone wrong, I can understand him looking at the Villa job and thinking, If I get this right I'm set up for a success at the Villa and possibly the Arsenal job when Wenger calls it a day - but I'll need my 100% best team with me. 

This job is hard enough right now without having your tried and trusted team on-board with you.

[ciggiesnbeer]

re: Newcastle.

[Villa in Denmark]

Would Garde to Pearson be as big a leap as Martinez to Eck?

Bigger.
Garde has already managed in Europa and Champions League so a step up from Martinez.
Pearson comes across as an odious cock socket, and based on the behaviour of his players, including his son, he has some unsavoury values to boot. Not something you'd say about McLeish.

[CT Villan]

re: Newcastle.

Not forgetting such high brow Geordie literary fiction as Sid the Sexist, The Fat Slags and Roger Mellie.

[MattW]

If his assistants didn't want to come and Garde would only come with them we wouldn't still be talking to him.

End of the day, if they want to come they will do, as is always the case in football.

Maybe the delay is identifying and recruiting other assistants. Better to sort that out pre-contract, noting Sherwood experience.

[Toronto Villa]

I'm glad they are persevering. I would rather this than we end up with someone we don't really want and end up back I think position in 12 months or less. When in all likelihood we'll be in the division below us.

[Phil from the upper holte]

I've just read Richard's interview on SSN and unless he's said something else that i've missed, I don't see a problem with any of it.

I didn't like the way he made out that Sherwood brought fantastic free flowing football to Villa. Also that we've been really unlucky which we haven't.

Hope you're well Bud

[conman]

Julien Laurens said that Garde didn't feel Newcastle was the right club at the right time; he (Garde) is apparently convinced that Villa is both of those things.

He also said (at least I think it was him. Could have been Auclaire. These cerebral French journalists all look the same to me. They come over here, offering their insightful analysis of pan-European football. It makes my piss itch.) on 5 Live that it was Mike Ashley who didn't want to employ the two coaches, rather than them not wanting to go to Newcastle.

I thought it was more to do with Newcastle being a cultural vacuum?

talking of Newcastle ,,,remember that Ant and Dec banner ,,, good job we haven't got em this week
but guess who we got last home match of the season
last laugh springs to mind ,,,,,or he who laughs last ,,,,laughs loudest

[Percy McCarthy]

Off topic (a bit) - did Yorke ever score against us for Manure? I recall the badge kissing but can't mind if it was after he scored a goal or just a general wind up.

[IAmTheOneIanOlney]

Definitely at least once - a penalty on the first day of the season, '95.

[eric woolban woolban]

Garde has cancelled his french tv commitments for tomorrow

[cdbearsfan]

Off topic (a bit) - did Yorke ever score against us for Manure? I recall the badge kissing but can't mind if it was after he scored a goal or just a general wind up.

No. Scored a couple for Blackburn against us in a cup battering though.

[olaftab]

So the Lyon President has said there is no way he is releasing his coaching staff. Time for Garde to show leadership. Ask them to walk out or come without them. Piss or get off the pot time.

[saunders_heroes]

So the Lyon President has said there is no way he is releasing his coaching staff. Time for Garde to show leadership. Ask them to walk out or come without them. Piss or get off the pot time.

Precisely. If they want to join Villa show some commitment, quit your job and get your arses over here. No more dilly dallying.

[Holte L2]

Off topic (a bit) - did Yorke ever score against us for Manure? I recall the badge kissing but can't mind if it was after he scored a goal or just a general wind up.

No he didn't.  Yeah He scored a couple against us in the cup for Blackburn. The crowd sang some really vile stuff at him, like "Is The Baby Really Yours?" So I can forgive the badge kissing.

I work opposite OT and have been to the odd Yorkie Q&A at the Red Café, and he's always spoken very highly of us.
Therefore I don't bare a grudge at all.
In the 30 years I've been going he's in the elite bunch of players with Cowans, Mcgrath and Platt.
I think Yorke would be a decent addition on the coaching set-up, especially with the younger players.