7500 To Holte

Aston Villa Owner Randy Lerner In Norway; Talks With Solskjær To Continue

2012-05-17T21:59:53Z

In what has to be one of the fastest moving stories I can recall, a man that no one had on Aston Villa's shortlist until late last night, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, could be poised to become the next manager at Aston Villa. Just around lunchtime, the staff of 7500 to Holte was discussing the merits of messing around with the whereabouts of Villa owner Randy Lerner's private jet. It turns out, thanks to one of Norway's major online news sites, Dagbladet, that Lerner actually is in Kristiansund and has plans to speak with the current Molde manager and former Manchester United star about the Villa job.

To add to the speculation we have a mysterious report that was originally published by the Guardian and then taken back down only to be promised to be reposted at some point tonight. I was personally skeptical because this is the weekend during which most Norwegians are celebrating their independence. It's a massive holiday for the country. Not to mention Solskjær's current club, Molde, has a match this coming up this Sunday for which they must prepare.

And yet here we are, on the verge of hiring an unknown managerial entity who has one of the most sparkling resume's that any football player could possibly boast and who, in limited time as manager, led his original club to their first league title in 100 years. If you're not excited about this possibility I full understand. This is a big time risk and nobody could have seen this coming. The swiftness of this move leads me to believe that Lerner and Co. have been eyeing their man for quite some time now and somehow managed to keep it completely under wraps. This time let's hope they brought enough to convince Solskjær to come aboard.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær The New Favorite?

2012-05-17T17:53:29Z

A new name has emerged in the Aston Villa managerial rumor mill; former Manchester United winger and current Molde FK manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær. The 39-year-old Solskjær is of course best known for his 11 seasons and 235 appearances for the Red Devils, but his brief managerial career has been an impressive one; three successful seasons coaching the United reserves (during which time he was offered the Norway national team job) and one season at Molde, during which he led the club to its first-ever Tippeligaen title. That's not exactly an extensive track record, but it as least one of success.

To be completely honest, I have no idea how to feel about this, and that's kind of fun. I'm used to having an immediate reaction whenever a new and plausible sounding rumor emerges, but this time? Nothing. And that hasn't really changed all that much despite my having spent the morning reading up on Solskjær and Molde, mulling over the possibility all the while. That's not really something I'm used to, but I feel like it could very well be a good thing. I do my best to judge managers on their performance, but there's no question that my emotions come into play. I was willing to give Houllier a lot more time than I was McLeish because I like Houllier a whole lot more, despite the results not being much better for a good portion of their time in charge. I'd like to think the contrast between Villa's end-of-season performance these past few years justifies that somewhat, but the point remains that no matter how analytic one hopes to be, emotion and opinion are bound to come into play.

If Solskjær ends up being hired, that's not likely to be the case (for me, of course. Plenty of Villa fans seem thrilled with the idea, and I'm sure there are plenty ready to buy a crate of bedsheets as soon as word comes down.) Like I said, that's new. And it's important to keep in mind that this rumor came out of nowhere and has been at least in part influenced by betting lines, a notoriously awful source of "news." But there's no reason to think that the interest isn't real, and that's yet another indication that the board may well be approaching this from a completely different angle than they have in the past. Seeing as how the restrictions they placed on themselves the last few go-arounds have significantly limited their options, that's a highly encouraging sign of progress.

Villa Not Pursuing A Director of Football

2012-05-17T08:14:20Z

Villa Not Pursuing A Director of Football

This isn't surprising, but it kind of sucks. Partially because I was working on a post about the benefits of a Director of Football and now I have to re-write large portions of it for it to make any sense, and partially because of the reasons I talk about in that post of which large portions have to be re-written.

Bent Claims McLeish May Have Found Sacking To Be A "Relief"

2012-05-16T23:15:25Z

Bent Claims McLeish May Have Found Sacking To Be A "Relief"

He's probably not too far off. Lots of other good stuff in there as well.

Robbie Keane Looking Awkward In Front Of President Obama

2012-05-16T04:47:14Z

Robbie Keane Looking Awkward In Front Of President Obama

The Managerial Speculation Megathread

2012-05-15T19:26:12Z

As Aaron noted earlier, some front-runners have started to emerge as possible candidates to the Aston Villa manager's job. This post is meant to describe (and in some cases, defame) potential heirs to the throne, tarnished though it has been over the last season. It contains two parts, first listing managers currently employed by a Premier League club and then some legacy candidates who have managed in the Premier League. The very nature of these things means that it's incomplete, but there is, as always an open invitation to make your very own rash speculations in the comments.

Poachable in the Premiership:

Paul Lambert: On the first day of the League One season in 2009, an unremarkable Colchester United team laid a 7-1 beatdown on the freshly relegated Norwich City at Carrow Road. The man in the Colchester dugout was Paul Lambert, and by the next weekend, the Canaries had plucked him away from their local rivals. That was the start of an incredible run of back-to-back promotions, as Norwich would win League One that year and finish second in the Championship the next. Upon arrival in the Premier League, Lambert made a series of decidedly non-notable additions, such as Steve Morison (Millwall) and Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield Town.) They finished 12th in the Premier League, level on points with the two teams above them, and over ten points north of the relegation zone. Understandably, their front office is not at all receptive to the suggestion that the man that they inducted into the club's hall of fame two months ago might be plying his trade elsewhere next season. Lambert himself was evasive when asked about the prospect of moving to Aston Villa after beating them on Sunday, and many observers (including at least one writer for this site) seem to think he could be swayed. Personally, I've long admired Lambert with a vigor that borders on lust, but I think actually hiring him would require a significant financial commitment from Lerner, with the implicit understanding that Aston Villa are "a project." Would the promise of Paul Lambert be enough to soothe the itchy trigger finger in the boardroom (and just as importantly, the Holte End?)

Brendan Rodgers: Unlike Lambert, Rodgers is the heir to a system at Swansea City. The Bob Paisley to Roberto Martinez's Bill Shankly, Rodgers has been able to surpass the achievements of his predecessors by becoming the first manager to take a Welsh club into the Premier League. Swansea's elegant style was one of the highlights of the past season, and Rodgers was able to integrate a number of intelligent purchases into a pre-existing system with little trouble. Like Lambert, Rodgers is a young manager with a long and successful career ahead of him. However, Rodgers may have already passed Villa by, as he has already been linked to Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea (where he worked under Jose Mourinho.) Honestly, I think Rodgers is too attached to Swansea to even give Villa a second thought. There's not really anything here for him.

Roberto Martinez: The Wigan magician has been the subject of adulation around these parts since Gerard Houllier took his leave, if not even earlier. However, can we really believe that the events of this season will have convinced Spanish Bob that the Aston Villa job is in any way more desirable than it was when he turned it down last summer? All signs point to no, particularly with the gradual crescendo of murmurs linking him to a potential vacancy at Liverpool. And really, if you're going to drink from a poisoned chalice, why not pick the biggest one on offer?

Owen Coyle: Not technically in the Premier League anymore, Michael Cox's old punching bag has suffered significant blows to his reputation in this campaign. Despite the injuries to vital players, Bolton's 2011-12 campaign was riddled with ineptitude. He's been on the receiving end of a lot of puffery about the style he's brought to Bolton, but it's mostly nonsense. He's a longball lover, but compared to Bolton's last few managers, I suppose the lines start to blur a bit. Saying that Bolton play like Barcelona is like saying that Tony Pulis looks like Pep Guardiola. There are a few very basic similarities, but anyone with a functioning pair of eyes would call you an idiot. In a reverse "you can't fire me, I quit" moment, Coyle has announced that he'll being staying at Bolton along with "White Heskey" Kevin Davies.

Steve Kean: This has been an excuse to draw your attention to Steve Kean being an idiot in a pub. Which I think is something we can all identify with.

David Moyes: If someone tells you that they think David Moyes would go to Villa, they've either been hit on the head or have travelled here in a time machine from the distant past. Ask them to kill Hitler and see what they do.

Roberto di Matteo: This is the best chance Aston Villa will have at a manager that's appeared in a Champions League final and if you say the name Avram Grant in response to this I am going to hunt you down and exact my revenge.

The Old Boys Club:

Mick McCarthy: He's not been out of a job all that long, but his abilities have already been overrated due to Wolves' precipitious decline. Don't fool yourself, they weren't *that* good before he left. His recent dealings in the transfer market have been questionable at best and "Roger Johnson for £7 million" at worst. He's decidedly unfit to manage a club like Villa, but that doesn't mean we won't have to hear his name a lot.

Andre Villas-Boas: Disregard this. It's just an excuse for idiots to make terrible puns.

Steve Bruce: Just in case Randy Lerner wanted to hire yet another ex-Birmingham boss with no managerial ability and a face that looks like something you'd send back at a restaurant because it spent too much time under the heat lamp. It'd be nice for him to be closer to his daughter, though.

Roy Hodgson: Because you think he'll be fired after the Euros too.

Rafael Benitez: I'm not sure he'd be the most popular hire, particularly as he'll receive a lot of the same abuse that Houllier got. That isn't fair, and the man deserves far more credit than he gets. A brilliant manager who would nonetheless require a substantial investment and a massive shift in Lerner and Faulkner's vision for the club. I'd like to see the Benitez option explored seriously, but I don't think the timing is right for either party.

Gary Megson: Clubs don't hire Gary Megson, they contract him. Like syphilis, but ginger. While he acquitted himself reasonably well at Sheffield Wednesday, that is League One football and we're not that hard up. I'm barely comfortable with the thought of Gary Megson watching Villa games on television, much less from the manager's dugout.

Sven-Goran Eriksson: I think I owe an agent £100,000 just for mentioning Sven as a possible candidate. Let me get back to you on this one.

Alan Curbishley: For a man that's been out of a job since I was still in college, his name sure comes up a lot in these things. He's got a respectable enough resume, as the man who rescued West Ham United from relegation and who has a pre-existing relationship with Darren Bent from his long stint with Charlton Athletic. But like 30 Rock, he hasn't really done anything interesting since 2009 and it's hard to work up any excitement about him. Besides, one has to imagine there's a reason he's been out of work so long, and "suing for constructive dismissal due to transfer policy" is an unwieldy but familiar phrase for Villa supporters.

New away kits? I saw this on the Twitters this morning. I like them if they are. (Ed. Note: Bumped...

2012-05-15T15:10:50Z

New away kits? I saw this on the Twitters this morning. I like them if they are. (Ed. Note: Bumped to front page. Take it with a grain of salt as always, but they look plausible.)

Aston Villa Pay £2 Million In Compensation For Sacking Of McLeish And Grant

2012-05-15T06:24:28Z

Aston Villa Pay £2 Million In Compensation For Sacking Of McLeish And Grant

A bargain at twice the price.