Next Manager Speculation and wishful thinking thread

[Neil Hawkes]

Can we hurry up and appoint someone before Wednesday night (Cyprus time), as I'm having my weekly scoops with my Spurs supporting mate and want to have something to gloat about, (or weep into my beer), while listening to the Conte roadshow.

[lovejoy]

Its just too difficult to decifer wether Gerrard is ready for the step up to the Premier League based on what he's done at Rangers due to the domestic competition being nowhere near any good.

But out of curiosity I had a look at his record in Europe were he's arguably playing against teams on par with Rangers and its miles ahead of what I was expecting to see.

Played 53
Won 26
Drew 17
Lost 10

I still dont want him though.

I'm guessing this includes Europa league matches against teams we've never heard of (and probably division 2 standard). What's his record in the champions league group stages?

[Smithy]

If it is to be Gerrard, then so be it, he'll get my full support when he comes in (as will any manager). 

But - and I'm sure this is true for many Villa fans - he has ZERO credit in the bank with me, he's probably at a credit deficit in fact, so he'll get nowhere near as long as Dean did to get the team performing before the fans get restless.

I was always happy to back Dean, and to support him even when results weren't great - I would always look for the positive wherever I could find it, because I wanted the Villa fan to succeed.  I don't see me doing that with Gerrard.

All that said, if you'd told me in the summer of 2017 that I would end up feeling quite fond of John Terry, I'd have laughed at you.  So you never know.

[Luffbralion]

Gerrard would not be my choice either.

Not sure whether it has been mentioned earlier, but I always find him a very uninspiring interviewee.
Doesnt smile and has a monotonous drone that makes "Mr Mumbles" Lambert sound like an orator.

(Mind you .... I can remember a Liverpudlian who only smiled when it was really merited!)

[lovejoy]

If you gave me a choice between Gerrard and sticking with Smith, it's Smith every time.

[Monty]

Well, good things have happened for bad reasons. We finally nationalised healthcare because of WWII. Don't trust this process or way of thinking for one second, but let's hope they get lucky.

[RichardBatchelor]

The positives on Gerrard
✔Winner played and won at highest level
✔huge name in the game
✔has a excellent coaching team around him
✔mccalister knows the club
✔gerrards tough. He wont take no nonsense from someone like mings
✔passion - no one can question  that.
✔can attract massive names to the club

The negatives
❌could use us a stepping stone
❌ no experience in england
❌liverpool wankfest when we play them

Those "positives" are all absolute nonsense.

✔Winner played and won at highest level

Complete irrelevance, see Bruce, Di Matteo, Sherwood, etc.

✔huge name in the game

So was Diego Maradona, didn't make him a good manager

✔has a excellent coaching team around him

If they're so excellent why have they won less than St Johnstone?

✔mccalister knows the club

So do Eric Black and Kevin MacDonald, should we bring them back?

✔gerrards tough. He wont take no nonsense from someone like mings

Absolute drivel, and what evidence do you have of any "nonsense" from Mings?

✔passion - no one can question  that

Great news! If we are appointing a manager based on traits that were considered vital by Little Englander Chairmen in about 1973. Exactly the same logic that would have made Tim Sherwood seem an ideal candidate.

✔can attract massive names to the club

We are Aston Villa and we have loads of money. Our Board should be able to do that. If it is just based on the Gerrard name, how many megastars play for "Rangers"? Did Ronaldo consider joining Derby County because Rooney is there?

Spot on.

I like Gerrard but you forgot

X He likes Phil Collins.

[andyh]

Could Dean Smith have done at Rangers what Gerrard has done over the last couple of years?
I reckon so.

Could Gerrard have done at Villa what Dean Smith has managed over the last couple of years?
I doubt it.

Gerrard is NOT an upgrade on Smith. No way.

[cdbearsfan]

The positives on Gerrard
✔Winner played and won at highest level
✔huge name in the game
✔has a excellent coaching team around him
✔mccalister knows the club
✔gerrards tough. He wont take no nonsense from someone like mings
✔passion - no one can question  that.
✔can attract massive names to the club

The negatives
❌could use us a stepping stone
❌ no experience in england
❌liverpool wankfest when we play them

Those "positives" are all absolute nonsense.

✔Winner played and won at highest level

Complete irrelevance, see Bruce, Di Matteo, Sherwood, etc.

✔huge name in the game

So was Diego Maradona, didn't make him a good manager

✔has a excellent coaching team around him

If they're so excellent why have they won less than St Johnstone?

✔mccalister knows the club

So do Eric Black and Kevin MacDonald, should we bring them back?

✔gerrards tough. He wont take no nonsense from someone like mings

Absolute drivel, and what evidence do you have of any "nonsense" from Mings?

✔passion - no one can question  that

Great news! If we are appointing a manager based on traits that were considered vital by Little Englander Chairmen in about 1973. Exactly the same logic that would have made Tim Sherwood seem an ideal candidate.

✔can attract massive names to the club

We are Aston Villa and we have loads of money. Our Board should be able to do that. If it is just based on the Gerrard name, how many megastars play for "Rangers"? Did Ronaldo consider joining Derby County because Rooney is there?

What a load of negative waffle.

So you throw a couple bad examples like bruce out there and suddenly its nonsense. For every  bruce there is a Guardiola.

Well, quite. Good players can make good managers or terrible ones. So discussing how good a candidate was as a player provides no clue as to how good a manager is and is, therefore, a complete irrelevance.

Bruce was appointed at a time when he seemed the best bet. RDM had a good CV amd didnt he win the CL with chelsea? Oh dear that must have slipped your mind.

Not really, I can't say I've given it too much thought. Both were good players and terrible managers, for Aston Villa. So, again, being a good player provides no evidence that anyone will be a good manager. Both Brian Little and David O'Leary were great players, if you want further examples. One was a successful Villa manager, the other, not so much. So, again, playing career is irrelevant.

Yeah eric black and k mac are the same aren't they. Remind us where they currently are at the moment??

I've no idea and even less interest. I don't see knowing the Villa as any great guarantee of success (or failure). In any case there is probably only one player who played under McAllister and he now plays in a different position.

Well gerarrd won them the scittish league with the help of his backroom team didnt he? And has made some really poor players look half decent.

They have won one out of three leagues in a league that only two teams can win. Add in zero out of six cups. Unless you think the St Johnstone manager and coaching staff should be viable candidates for Villa then there is no argument that Gerrard and pals should be considered other than pure Liverpool starfucking.

Nothing wrong with abit of passion from a manager not sure why so negative about a bit of passion.

I'm not negative about it, it's just meaningless, like saying we should appoint a manager who has hopes, fears or kidneys. 99% of managers have "passion". Not all of them display it by jumping up and down on the touchline but that's hardly relevant.

You are away rangers is a small league and they dont ahve the budgets of premier league clubs?? So how do you expect them to attract the superstars you are referring to??  Explain that to us?

Well, quite. So it isn't a manager that attracts players, but the league and the club doing the bidding. Exactly as I was saying. The fact that our manager was a great player will be as irrelevant in attracting players as it was when we were managed by all those other great players who, generally, didn't attract star names. Gerard Houllier had no playing career to speak of and, arguably, signed a bigger name than any of the others in Darren Bent.

[tomd2103]

Learning on the job especially at the top level is always going to be hard to do. That’s the biggest risk in all of this. But the board will have seen Vieira start to do it at Palace without significant experience most recently. Gerrard will certainly raise the profile of the club and possibly attract a certain type of footballer. We all hope that if it is him more than anything he finds the ability quickly to perform as a PL manager. All of the other stuff around him is just noise.

Vieira is on his third club.

One of those was in MLS so pretty much two jobs he's had in his career.

Gerrard's is in the Scottish Premiership so pretty much no jobs.

Having lived and worked in Glasgow in the past, I think there is a misconception south of the border about how difficult managing the Old Firm teams is. 

Yes the standard is not the same as the Premier League in England, but the pressure to win every game they play is immense and there is no escape from it in and around the city.

I would equate it to managing a club like us in the Championship which proved pretty difficult at times.  For every Gerrard, Rodgers and O'Neill who have had varying levels of success up there, there have been some absolute disasters who have sunk.

I lived in Scotland for ten years, and I agree with you. Rodgers, O'Neill and Smith proved time and again that they were up to it. Gerrard hasn't.

Agree that he can't be put in the same bracket as the other three you mention.  I'm not advocating his appointment, but I do think he deserves some recognition for overhauling Celtic and winning the title, given the gap that existed when they re-entered the top flight. 

[RichardBatchelor]

Its just too difficult to decifer wether Gerrard is ready for the step up to the Premier League based on what he's done at Rangers due to the domestic competition being nowhere near any good.

But out of curiosity I had a look at his record in Europe were he's arguably playing against teams on par with Rangers and its miles ahead of what I was expecting to see.

Played 53
Won 26
Drew 17
Lost 10

I still dont want him though.

I'm guessing this includes Europa league matches against teams we've never heard of (and probably division 2 standard). What's his record in the champions league group stages?

Surely Rangers can't have played 53 European matches already under Gerrard???!!!!

[Monty]

Rangers had a fine season, undefeated no less, but Celtic absolutely exploded. If he hadn't won the league that year he should have retired to a cave in the Outer Hebrides.

[VinnieChase84]

Gaultier, Favre, Fonseca in that order for me

Gut feeling - Gerrard

As its now clear, looking like my gut was accurate

[algy]

Gaultier, Favre, Fonseca in that order for me

Gut feeling - Gerrard

As its now clear, looking like my gut was accurate

Well, if it's Gerrard then I guess we'll just have to get behind him.  Can't say that I'm overly enthusiastic about the appointment, but it could be much worse.

[cdward]

We have had managers who were successful in Scotland, MON and TSMI.
Their records are relatively similar up there, 2-3 league titles, 2 or 3 league cups, 1 or 2 Scottish cups.
For me it is a risk, but with the club set up and squad we currently have, and the youth coming through, I am expecting any new manger to be a relative success.
Villa haven’t finished in the top half of the PL since 2010/2011, so any new manager should be aiming for that. If Gerrard can achieve that then all good, which currently is only 5 points above where we are now.
If he can’t achieve a top half finish, then we should have stuck with Dean Smith.
MON achieved top half finishes, TSM didn’t.