Manager suggestions - Now with added poll

[ASHTONVILLA]

The biggest concern I have about Bruce is that at no point in his career does he seem to have been able to turn around a slide.

When he has been relegated it has been after long runs of abject form. When at Villa he has had bad patches he has just sat it out and waited for some luck. He does not seem to be able to inspire confidence to get out of a rut. I fear we are entering a run where he will just sit and shrug until we scab a victory somehow.

The more I think about it, the more I think we should be on the phone to Fat Sam. He is a lot smarter than most give him credit for, and I am sure he would arrest the slide and find tactics that suit the squad. He is also more than capable of keeping us up once promoted and establishing us for 2-3 years before we appoint someone more exciting to kick on with.

[Dave]

The more I think about it, the more I think we should be on the phone to Fat Sam. He is a lot smarter than most give him credit for, and I am sure he would arrest the slide and find tactics that suit the squad. He is also more than capable of keeping us up once promoted and establishing us for 2-3 years before we appoint someone more exciting to kick on with.

And given that he retired from a Premier League job a year ago, why exactly is our shambles likely to be of appeal?

[tomd2103]

Point is still valid.

The top 6 were

Benitez
Hughton
Stam
Carvalhal
Wagner
Jokanovic

Bruce has more promotions than all those added together. This much lauded championship experience is bollocks. A good manager is a good manager.

Hughton aside, they are all fairly young and from other countries as well.  You do have to wonder whether the older, tried and tested British managers are falling behind the times.  There's only Pulis and Hughes of that school left in the Premier League now really.  Howe and Dyche are younger and seem to be much more imaginative.         

[john e]

the biggest draw in football is money, has been for a long time now

one of the best players in the world today just moved from one of the great european super power clubs to an inferior league to play for a club with very little history because he wanted 'the challenge' when we all know it was really just very very big pots of cash that swung it

we haven't got the money to get any manager we want but we have got enough to turn the heads of a few decent enough choices i'm sure, managers are greedy buggers
 
when i see  'why would he leave X and join our poisoned club'  the answer is simple....Money

the most powerful thing in the world (apart from Love of course)

[Drummond]

the biggest draw in football is money, has been for a long time now

one of the best players in the world today just moved from one of the great european super power clubs to an inferior league to play for a club with very little history because he wanted 'the challenge' when we all know it was really just very very big pots of cash that swung it

we haven't got the money to get any manager we want but we have got enough to turn the heads of a few decent enough choices i'm sure, managers are greedy buggers
 
when i see  'why would he leave X and join our poisoned club'  the answer is simple....Money

the most powerful thing in the world (apart from Love of course)

Who then?

With regards to the player you're talking about, the money is astronomical, he's moving to what is regarded as being one of the best cities on the planet and playing for a team challenging for the national league title and in the Champions League. It's hardly surprising he moved there.

In convincing someone to come to Villa, you're talking about a club that hasn't won anything for over 20 years. It hasn't won the league for 35, the FA Cup, well let's not go there. Then there is the fact we're in the second division, have a set up that has fucked up for 10 years, with a bunch of fans who are rarely happy with anything (and who can blame us?) and it's Birmingham (nice enough but it isn't London or Manchester).

[ASHTONVILLA]

In convincing someone to come to Villa, you're talking about a club that hasn't won anything for over 20 years. It hasn't won the league for 35, the FA Cup, well let's not go there. Then there is the fact we're in the second division, have a set up that has fucked up for 10 years, with a bunch of fans who are rarely happy with anything (and who can blame us?) and it's Birmingham (nice enough but it isn't London or Manchester).

Birmingham is a far better city than Manchester, which is not even the best city in the North West (that would be Liverpool). I live in the North West, and every time my better half goes into Brum she cant believe how it has such a dowdy reputation. It is high time we started bigging our city up a bit, it has come a long way since the 70s.

Manchester is a dump, don't believe the hype.

[AVH87]

Point is still valid.

The top 6 were

Benitez
Hughton
Stam
Carvalhal
Wagner
Jokanovic

Bruce has more promotions than all those added together. This much lauded championship experience is bollocks. A good manager is a good manager.

Hughton aside, they are all fairly young and from other countries as well.  You do have to wonder whether the older, tried and tested British managers are falling behind the times.  There's only Pulis and Hughes of that school left in the Premier League now really.  Howe and Dyche are younger and seem to be much more imaginative.       

Also what they've done and the type of clubs they've managed in those countries is very important as well, they've come from clubs expected to win, which is very similar to the challenge when coming into Second Division Aston Villa.

Jokanovic - Partizan Belgrade and Maccabi Tel Aviv
Wagner - Borussia Dortmund
Benitez - Real Madrid, Napoli, etc etc
Carvalhal - Sporting Lisbon, Besiktas, Braga, etc
Stam  - Ajax

It's why I think Leeds have got the right idea going for Thomas Christiansen, on the face of it everybody says who? But he's just won the league having come from the biggest team in that country. Although it's Cyprus, he's managed the expectations of winning most weeks and got the winning habit, I'd rather go down that route than somebody that has overachieved at Hull or Norwich.

[cdbearsfan]

the biggest draw in football is money, has been for a long time now

one of the best players in the world today just moved from one of the great european super power clubs to an inferior league to play for a club with very little history because he wanted 'the challenge' when we all know it was really just very very big pots of cash that swung it

we haven't got the money to get any manager we want but we have got enough to turn the heads of a few decent enough choices i'm sure, managers are greedy buggers
 
when i see  'why would he leave X and join our poisoned club'  the answer is simple....Money

the most powerful thing in the world (apart from Love of course)

Who then?

With regards to the player you're talking about, the money is astronomical, he's moving to what is regarded as being one of the best cities on the planet and playing for a team challenging for the national league title and in the Champions League. It's hardly surprising he moved there.

In convincing someone to come to Villa, you're talking about a club that hasn't won anything for over 20 years. It hasn't won the league for 35, the FA Cup, well let's not go there. Then there is the fact we're in the second division, have a set up that has fucked up for 10 years, with a bunch of fans who are rarely happy with anything (and who can blame us?) and it's Birmingham (nice enough but it isn't London or Manchester).

The fuck are you talking about? How to win friends and influence people, there mate.

[AVH87]

Based on pretty much all of the above, Newcastle would never have got Benitez.

[cdbearsfan]

Bielsa currently manages that global cultural hotspot, Lille.

I'm glad the likes of Drummond aren't in charge of the selection policy. There are plenty of people who want to slag off Villa without our own fans joining in.

The "yeah but all their trophies were ages ago" shtick is exactly the sort of shit Small Heath and Smethwick fans come out with.

[mr underhill]

mainly because it's true. I don't mind that sort of self criticism at all ; our current malaise is only going to heighten people's anger/frustration.

[AV5nobs]

Based on pretty much all of the above, Newcastle would never have got Benitez.

TBF Newcastle were still a premiership club when he took over.

[cdbearsfan]

mainly because it's true. I don't mind that sort of self criticism at all ; our current malaise is only going to heighten people's anger/frustration.

If we take that sort of defeatist attitude into account when appointing managers, it's no wonder we end up with such uninspiring dross as Steve Bruce.

I was talking to a Welsh couple on Saturday who were at pains to tell me how "massive" Aston Villa are. I get the same thing all over country watching Villa. It's odd how, other than our local "rivals", the only people that seem keen to talk down our history are our own fans. Usually those trying to explain that we should settle for our current shite form and/or incompetent manager.

Even if we didn't have a hugely successful and celebrated history, we've still been in the most watched league in the World for most of its history, and regularly beaten all the top clubs (well, except for one of them) in front of audiences of hundreds of millions of people. The fact that we've won twenty major honours further illustrates our largesse.

We are a massive club and need to start acting like it.

If Lille can appoint a World class manager, we have no excuse.

[Drummond]

the biggest draw in football is money, has been for a long time now

one of the best players in the world today just moved from one of the great european super power clubs to an inferior league to play for a club with very little history because he wanted 'the challenge' when we all know it was really just very very big pots of cash that swung it

we haven't got the money to get any manager we want but we have got enough to turn the heads of a few decent enough choices i'm sure, managers are greedy buggers
 
when i see  'why would he leave X and join our poisoned club'  the answer is simple....Money

the most powerful thing in the world (apart from Love of course)

Who then?

With regards to the player you're talking about, the money is astronomical, he's moving to what is regarded as being one of the best cities on the planet and playing for a team challenging for the national league title and in the Champions League. It's hardly surprising he moved there.

In convincing someone to come to Villa, you're talking about a club that hasn't won anything for over 20 years. It hasn't won the league for 35, the FA Cup, well let's not go there. Then there is the fact we're in the second division, have a set up that has fucked up for 10 years, with a bunch of fans who are rarely happy with anything (and who can blame us?) and it's Birmingham (nice enough but it isn't London or Manchester).

The fuck are you talking about? How to win friends and influence people, there mate.

Ah, I think my wording could have been better there.

I merely meant, that for most players, London or Manchester is where it's at, it's where other players are etc. They are the trendier places to be. I didn't mean to suggest in any way that the second city was in fact anything other than brilliant, though not quite as good as Sheffield.

[cdbearsfan]

the biggest draw in football is money, has been for a long time now

one of the best players in the world today just moved from one of the great european super power clubs to an inferior league to play for a club with very little history because he wanted 'the challenge' when we all know it was really just very very big pots of cash that swung it

we haven't got the money to get any manager we want but we have got enough to turn the heads of a few decent enough choices i'm sure, managers are greedy buggers
 
when i see  'why would he leave X and join our poisoned club'  the answer is simple....Money

the most powerful thing in the world (apart from Love of course)

Who then?

With regards to the player you're talking about, the money is astronomical, he's moving to what is regarded as being one of the best cities on the planet and playing for a team challenging for the national league title and in the Champions League. It's hardly surprising he moved there.

In convincing someone to come to Villa, you're talking about a club that hasn't won anything for over 20 years. It hasn't won the league for 35, the FA Cup, well let's not go there. Then there is the fact we're in the second division, have a set up that has fucked up for 10 years, with a bunch of fans who are rarely happy with anything (and who can blame us?) and it's Birmingham (nice enough but it isn't London or Manchester).

The fuck are you talking about? How to win friends and influence people, there mate.

Ah, I think my wording could have been better there.

I merely meant, that for most players, London or Manchester is where it's at, it's where other players are etc. They are the trendier places to be. I didn't mean to suggest in any way that the second city was in fact anything other than brilliant, though not quite as good as Sheffield.

Fair enough, apologies for my tone in that case. I like Sheffield by the way, brilliant city. Much better than Manchester, for starters!