Manager suggestions - Now with added poll

[Matt C]

Sean Dyche would be perfect but - can't believe I'm saying this - Burnley are a more attractive option these days so we've got to find the next one. Dean Smith.

[paul_e]

I was one of those who was relatively happy with the Bruce appointment but he's just as bad as the rest of them, when he was appointed there were quite a few on here who were obviously looking forward to being able to say "told you" when things didn't improve, I was one of those who thought he might turn things round and was probably the best we could get at the time.

The Fulham manager would be great wouldn't surprise me if Curbishley or Brian Little were the next manager of our basket case of a club. Or of course John fucking Terry.

I probably fit in this group but I really don't want to do that, I gave high expectations for him because I didn't see any point in a short-term signing like Bruce unless it delivered short-term success.  As soon as that didn't happen he should've been moved on but all along I've wanted to be proven wrong, I wanted him to deliver football that I didn't think he was capable of.

[aj2k77]

No Villa fan wants to see this. It's bordering on humiliating at a football level now to see how we've become.

[Dave]

Because Alan Hutton is under strict instructions to launch 50 yard punts to Hogan?

Have a word with yourself.

If he isn't, you might wonder why he keeps doing it.

You have the choice. The manager wants him to do it. Or the manager doesn't want him to do it and doesn't do anything about it.

Neither reflects particularly well on InBruceWeTrust does it?

On this specific point I believe there is some mitigation. Grealish being crocked, Elmohamady going off, Kodja unfit - arguably our 3 best attacking options all missing. That does not excuse anything that happened yesterday but it does suggest Hutton launching it 50 yards was not a plan but a consequence.

Don't we have the players responsible for creating the most and second most goals in the league last year, neither of whom are on your list above? Why not see what Hourihane was doing at Barnsley and try to get him to replicate that, instead of using him as an auxiliary left-midfielder?

We were launching balls at Hogan for a lot of last season as well. It's not like yesterday was some sort of anomaly.

[Toronto Villa]

I would put money on Brentford not launching long balls to Hogan when he scored for fun for them.

[mrfuse]

Because Alan Hutton is under strict instructions to launch 50 yard punts to Hogan?

Have a word with yourself.

If he isn't, you might wonder why he keeps doing it.

You have the choice. The manager wants him to do it. Or the manager doesn't want him to do it and doesn't do anything about it.

Neither reflects particularly well on InBruceWeTrust does it?

Totally agree.

Individually or Collectively, Bruce is paid a lot of money to be ultimately responsible. 

[Jimbo]

I get the similarities to the Bruce appointment but I do think there is a difference in that Bruce plays the same and is reluctant to change. Don't forget he doesn't believe in tactics or whatever he said. With Allardyce, we will assess each game, the oppositions weaknesses. He did play long ball at Bolton because that was the effective method at that time. He didn't play that way all the time at West Ham or with Defoe up front at Sunderland. I really think he has more tactical knowledge than Bruce and would get us up.

He's a completely different prospect to Bruce. The only similarities are he's English and he's been around the block. He would have a definite pattern of play in mind and would have us fully prepared.

We're in a pickle that seemingly only Aston Villa could get itself into. We're going to have trouble attracting the Wagners and Jokanovics of this world, because why would they come here? Then, if we can tempt them to join, we are so impatient for any success they'll have around one season to get it right before they are hounded out like the others.

I fear their way of doing things will require longer-term rebuilding here - fine if we're already in the PL - but what we actually need right now is a short term fix to get us out of the Championship. The games are already running out.

We're caught between two worlds and may have to settle for an unattractive option (literally) like Allardyce to turn us into a team capable of going up, before we get that 'progressive' manager we need.

I think we need to do the rebuilding in the Championship. If you look at the most successful recent promoted teams (with the insane exception of Leicester), they did their groundwork in this division to be ready for the top division - Swansea, Bournemouth, Southampton, it's all based on long term planning. I want that. And I really don't want another 'well he'll get them organised' manager because that's just not enough.

I hope you don't think I actually want Allardyce? Like you, I'd like to see a thoughtful, intelligent, bespectacled European with slightly foppish hair, and a ready wit in press conferences, slowly sculpt a team and shape a solid club ethos and style of play that will be our bedrock for the next few decades.

The vast majority of Villa fans simply won't give that bloke enough time. They look at how much we've spent and wonder why we didn't do what Newcastle did. They won't be happy if we're mid-table by Christmas. They will hound him out and we'll be back to square one.

[Monty]

Not sure about the foppish hair, think the stylish shaved head might be the new in-thing. Glasses and elegant jumpers are a must though, and a beard a plus.

More seriously, my problem with that analysis is that I think we either reform the club fundamentally or get stuck in a perpetual cycle of gloomy, cold-porridge football in the middle reaches of this division. Also, results can sometimes come quicker than people think with that playing style, and in my view will come quicker than just stodging along with more of the same. And Allardyce, Warnock, McCarthy, for all that they might talk better games than Bruce, are essentially more of the same.

[mrfuse]

I would put money on Brentford not launching long balls to Hogan when he scored for fun for them.

You only have to quickly look on Youtube to see that Brentford slipped some quality through balls to him which he more often than not hits first time. One of them is a flick on from a corner, To think you can actually be creative from a corner.

[Jimbo]

I'd suggest Allardyce is in a slightly different category to Warnock or McCarthy. But still, for the progressive type, I think we'll have trouble attracting one, and our desperation for success wouldn't allow him enough time before the inevitable hounding and point of no return. Of course, even Allardyce has said he doesn't want to manage again so we might not even get him.

If we're in this division for the medium to long term, which is very possible, then we'll have no option but to rebuild here. We'll only know that toward the end of this season, but I think a short term fix now might just get us up.

[CT Villan]

The Good Doctor should move Heaven and Earth to get Bielsa.

[KevinGage]

I'm pretty much at the same place I was back in 2011 when I wanted Martinez as manager.

Not that I necessarily thought he was THE manager. Winning trophies and writing his own piece of Villa history, or even securing top 6-8 or whatever might have proven beyond him with Lerner's new sleight of hand.

But I reasoned that should he leave after season or two, the green shoots of recovery might be breaking through.  Odds are that something approximating a modern style or pattern of play and even ludicrous concepts like movement off the ball might be taking root. Meaning he would leave the club in a somewhat better state than he found it. Then onto the next guy to take it further.

But we opted for McLeish, then Lambert, Sherwood and then Garde.  The latter of whom might have been the best of the bunch with time. But with our porous defence, Gestede/Gabby up top and no room to maneuver in the transfer market, he was doomed from the getgo.

Any manager coming in will know the FFP shitstorm we face if we don't go up this season.  But that penury might not put him off completely.  How many managers in the Championship operate with a completely free hand in the transfer market?  We will most likely need to sell to buy (again).  But that isn't out of the ordinary at this level either.

We might still (just about) be attractive to a Jokanovic, or the Wednesday bloke. I'd argue that the fans *might* be more patient if they see positive signs we are moving in the right direction too -even if we don't actually secure promotion this year.

[FranzBiberkopf]

We've cut our cloth with the appointments of Wyness and Round...old skool the both. Can you seriously imagine them  plucking a continental gem of an unproven, promising managerial appointment?

It'll be another attempt at Dyche (he'll turn us down like last time).
Followed by an attempt at whomever is flavour of the month in the Championship pacesetters (whomever they may be come October). Only to be turned down.
Then scrabbling around in desperation and giving the likes of Allardyce the glad-eye, before we end up gawd knows who, but someone ultimately underwhelming that's for sure.

[TonyD]

More convinced than ever that Bruce will be sacked and John Terry will be our next manager.

yes with Lampard as assistant

Yep.

[brian green]

Thinking about the foppish hair and reading about the new generation life-like sex dolls perhaps we could be the first club with a virtual manager.  Programme into it all the best qualities of the best managers.  No wages, no compo,  bit of lecky and we are up and running.  I suspect Man U already have one.  They call it Jose.