Remi Garde Named Aston Villa Manager After Tim Sherwood's Sacking

Aston Villa hired manager Remi Garde after sacking Tim Sherwood on Oct. 25 following a start to the season that saw the club gain just four points from 10 matches.

"It is an unbelievable honour to be the manager of such an illustrious football club," Garde said in the club release.

"I've had extremely positive meetings with both the owner, Randy Lerner, and Chief Executive Tom Fox. They have ambitious plans for the Club, and I'm excited that they have turned to me to help them realise them."

On Oct. 26, John Cross and James Nursey of the Daily Mirror reported Bruno Genesio and Gerald Baticle, members of former Lyon manager Garde's coaching team, have not been given permission to speak to Aston Villa about joining Garde at the club.

Immediately following Sherwood's departure on Oct. 25, Garde was tipped to become the next manager, according to Garde’s now-former employers—television channel Canal+—who reported the Frenchman was in advanced talks with the Midlands club (h/t journalist Matt Spiro):

Garde spent four years at the helm at Lyon, helping them to a Coupe de France triumph in 2012 and winning several admirers in the process.

He stepped down from his position at Stade de Gerland for personal reasons in 2014, yet his managerial nous means that he’s been linked to many of the top jobs in football ever since.

Now, though, Villa have won the race to land the French leader, and journalist Julien Laurens thinks he’s a real coup for the Villans:

While Garde was the main target for Villa, on Oct. 26, Sky Sports News HQ reported Gus Poyet was on the club's "shortlist" for the vacant position. Poyet most recently managed Sunderland and famously helped the Black Cats avoid relegation in 2014 before being sacked in March of 2015.

While Garde is a talented manager, he's inheriting a sinking ship with holes that desperately need plugging.

Villa currently sit bottom of the Premier League without a win to their name since the opening day of the season, and many are labelling them as good as relegated already.

However, Garde certainly plans to have something to say about that.