Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
POCHETTINO, EMERY GOOD OPTIONS FOR VILLA
STEVEN Gerrard has been fired by Aston Villa. He failed to bring any improvement to the Midlands outfit after succeeding Dean Smith as their manager last season.
Gerrard leaves Villa outside the relegation zone only by virtue of goal difference.
With the calibre of players he had, including Ollie Watkins, Philippe Coutinho and Emi Martinez, the team should have been challenging for European football rather than languishing close to the drop zone.
It is likely that Gerrard is eyeing the management role at his beloved Liverpool once Jurgen Klopp eventually vacates the hot seat, however, he needs further refinement in his man management and tactical skills if he wants to manage the Reds one day.
His time at Villa was not a good audition for the role but at 42-years-old he has a lot of time to learn and grow as a tactician.
The following are top candidates who could potentially succeed Gerrard at Villa Park
Mauricio Pochettino
Pochettino’s stint as manager of PSG, which ended at the conclusion of last season, hurt his reputation.
Despite having a star-studded team, he failed to lead them to their elusive Champions League trophy and also lost out on the Ligue 1 title in his first campaign.
Pochettino’s spell with PSG is unlikely to generate him many immediate offers from the big guns of world football and he may need to rebuild his career somewhat.
In Villa, he could join a team which will allow him to do just that.
He could also return to the Premier League where he made a name for himself following impressive spells at the helm of Southampton and
Tottenham Hotspur.
Sean Dyche
Like Pochettino, Dyche is a free agent.
He knows how to stick it out.
He impressively had a 10-year spell with Burnley before he was sacked and replaced by Vincent Kompany earlier in the year.
A two-time Premier League manager of the month, Dyche has plenty of experience and should have the abilities required to keep Villa in the league.
However, his name is not associated with the top half of the table which really is where Villa want to be. His name also does not have the star power as compared to that of Pochettino.
Unai Emery
This one could be hard to pull off as Emery is contracted to Villarreal.
However, he has plenty of experience competing in and winning the Europa League which is where Villa will want to be.
Emery will also feel that he has unfinished business in English football after Arsenal released him in 2019.
Emery is believed to have rejected the Newcastle job earlier in the year as he wished to remain in Spain so it will be hard to see him listening to Villa’s advances.
If Villa do recruit him it will be a strong statement of intent from the club.