Aston Villa Vacancy: Who is the Best Man for the Job?

On 9 August, Martin O’Neil resigned as manager of Aston Villa, five days before the start of the new 2010/11 season. Since then the club has been linked with a number of candidates for the job. Below is a small description of each of the candidates with my opinion of the likelihood of any of these candidates getting involved with the valiants.

Kevin Macdonald

Kevin is a solid candidate for the job having club connections with Aston Villa due to him being their reserves manager. Macdonald has vital experience in the caretaker role and previously as assistant manager to Steve Staunton when he was manager of the Republic of Ireland squad.

Since becoming caretaker of Villa, he has been involved in an embarrassing 6-0 defeat to Newcastle, as well as elimination from the Europa League earlier this week. This job, in my opinion, is too big for Macdonald and it is too big a role for him to take on.

Mark Hughes

Hughes was unfortunately sacked at Manchester City last season. Before then, he had successful spells as boss of Blackburn and Wales. Hughes would have been the No. 1 choice for Villa, but unfortunately he has not long taken the job at Fulham.

If the episode had occurred a few weeks earlier, before Roy Hodgson left for Liverpool resulting in Hughes taken charge of Craven Cottage, I have no doubt that he would now be in charge of the Villa.

Martin Jol

Personally, this would be my No. 1 candidate. He has experience across Europe and has been successful with teams of similar calibre as Villa. Jol was undeservedly sacked a few years ago as Spurs manager after leading them to consecutive top-six finishes.

I firmly believe that Jol’s influence has laid the foundations to the success Spurs are achieving so far. Jol is currently the manager of Ajax in Holland. The question is, would he leave Ajax for Villa? The answer is No. Why would he leave a team that has a genuine chance of silverware and is involved in the Champions League?

Sven Goran Eriksson

Sven, on paper, is the most successful of all the candidates. A very experienced manager with spells at Roma, Lazio, Manchester City, Sampdoria, Gothenburg, and Fiorentina. This does not include time spent as head coach of England, Mexico, and the Ivory Coast.

Sven would be quite the coup for Villa, and in the long term would suit the Midlands club. The only stepping stone is wages. Sven would be very expensive, with Randy Lerner publicly stating his desire to evaluate the club's position, this shows that funds may not be available for the man himself, not just his desired transfers.

Bob Bradley

Bob is a very solid coach who has worked wonders for the USA national team. Since being in charge, he has helped develop the USA national team to be a force to be reckoned with on the national stage.

But with no experience in Europe, let alone the Premier League, this appointment would be a very big gamble. Personally, I would steer away from this appointment and look for more domestic experience in European competition for the aspirations Villa will want to progress to.

Phil Brown

Browny, although not bookies' favourite, should be seriously considered for the role. Brown has lots of experience as a coach and assistant manager in the Premier League. Brown even managed to guide unfavourable Hull City into the Premier League and keep them up in their debut year.

Although it all fell apart for Brown last season, the man is excellent at his job. He manages to motivate individuals, is an excellent man manager who can get he best out of most of the players he has come across. As Brown may not be a big name for fans, this may lead to him not being considered for the position.

Steve MacClaren

This guy, although a complete failure in charge of England, has worked wonders elsewhere. Won the League Cup and got to a European final with Middlesbrough. Won the Dutch League with little-known FC Twente, leading them to their first ever appearance in the Champions League.

Then there is huge experience as a coach and assistant manager at Manchester United. He was part of the treble-winning setup. Unfortunately, he has just taken a job in Germany, therefore, it is highly unlikely he will want the job. He seems hell-bent on building his tattered image abroad.

Diego Maradona

Unlike Phil Brown, this man is a big name. Although the jury is out on his capabilities as a manager, as well as his theories and methods, the name alone would interest any a football fan.

Diego started off to a slow start as manager of Argentina, and when you consider the level of talent the man had his disposal, he should have really have progressed further than he did at the World Cup of 2010. This man is a license to himself, with this in mind Villa should steer clear.

Ronald Koeman

Former Dutch international Koeman has publicly indicted his desire for the job. He has a lot of experience in Europe, but without much success. During 2001-05, he was manager of Ajax and only one one league title.

He then went on to Benfica, where he only one one Portuguese Super Cup. He then went on to PSV, Valencia, and AZ, winning only one championship at PSV. Although Koeman was a quality player and has some experience over Europe with some former big European heavyweights, i can’t help but thinking that this job could be a little too big for him.

Alan Curbishley

Alan did a superb job at Charlton. Due to the over-performing success of the team, Charlton fans began to not appreciate the work this man did at their football club as they felt the team should be progressing.

Now with Charlton in League One, maybe they can appreciate such a good job Curbishley did for them. After leaving Charlton, Alan took charge of his boyhood heroes West Ham. After starting with a superb win over Manchester United, the rest of his time there was filled with incidents that led to his departure.

A club the size of Aston Villa should be looking to progress on their success rather than consolidate each year. If Curbishley took charge, he would steady the ship no doubt, but I do not feel that he is the man that could take them forward.

Where does that leave us?

There seems to be no managers available. Candidates are either tied up to other clubs, been out of the game too long, or have no experience of the Premier League. I personally would give it to either Gerard Houllier or Gareth Southgate.

Houllier because he has genuine experience in the top flight and has managed some high profile teams—France, Liverpool, and Lyon to name a few. He knows the Premier League, has a lot of experience working with youngsters, and will be able to get some genuine talent for little money.

Southgate, on the other hand, is the other end of the scale. He is cheap, has some prior experience in the Premier League, and has club connections being a former Villa captain. Would the league benefit from another top young English manager in our top league?