Could this manager be ‘in the picture’ at Aston Villa

With the club teetering on the brink of what many thought was an inevitable relegation from the Premier League, Aston Villa parted company with then-manager Remi Garde, as reported by the Mirror.

Stepping into the hotseat as Villa lost their top-flight status was Eric Black, with the club saying at the time: “Eric Black will take over as acting manager until the club appoints a new manager. There will be no further comment from the club at this stage.”

However, news has been bounding around that Villa are in the process of actively seeking a new man to navigate the West Midlands-based side through the 2016/17 Championship campaign and that appointment could be coming sooner than many think.

With local newspaper and website Express and Star saying that managerial big-hitters David Moyes and Nigel Pearson are in the frame, then obviously the appointment is hardly likely to be of a bargain basement nature. Bookies currently have the two mentioned by the Express and Star at odds of between 7/2 (Ladbrokes) and 11/4 (SkyBet) for Pearson and 12/1 (Bet Victor) and 16/1 (Coral) for Moyes, but these are not the front-runners for the job.

Currently leading the race for the Villa manager’s position is another big-hitting name in former MK Dons, West Brom, Chelsea and FC Schalke manager Roberto Di Matteo; a man with 209 games of managerial experience behind him and a 50.7% win rate and a 71.8% points gained rate (wins plus draws).

Di Matteo currently heads the pack chasing the Aston Villa manager’s position with bookmakers such as Bet Victor having him as short as 1/2 for appointment. With speculation being rife before any appointment, does the following picture add any credence to the possibility of an appointment at any point soon?

Seemingly not, with some reports, such as Sky Sports, saying that the former holder of the fastest FA Cup final goal (43 seconds vs Middlesbrough in 1997) is in Rome to be interviewed for the Lazio job.

Seemingly, this could very well be a time when the bookies have their odds in a twist.

[interaction id=”57403a04eac5f7343bb7d5cf”]
Previous Article
Retained List

Retained List: Colchester allow nine to exit

Next Article
Retained List

Retained List: Eight set to leave Blackburn

Related Posts