Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier looks set to be revealed as the new Aston Villa manager, as he weighs up departing his current role as technical director of the French Football Federation (FFF) in favour of a return to the Premier League following a six year absence.
Houllier looks likely to join Villa as manager, preferring the dugout over the director’s box, with current caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald in line to retain a position within the first team set-up following his brief three-week tenure of mixed success.
Houllier, 63, would become only Villa’s second non-British manager, though he has received the full backing of his only foreign predecessor, Jozef Venglos. Venglos, who suffered an ill-fated spell as Graham Taylor’s successor almost two decades ago, remains confident in Houllier’s chances for success. Venglos said: “I am sure that Aston Villa and Gerard Houllier are right for each other. It is a very good, well-run football club and Gerard is an excellent, experienced coach so they will work well together.”
Randy Lerner had previously stated that experience managing in the Premier League was of “crucial importance” for the role; given this, the likelihood of current caretaker boss MacDonald assuming the role looks increasingly doubtful. With alternative candidate Alan Curbishley showing diminished interest in the role, and David Moyes also distancing himself from the role indicating that he is "loyal to Everton", Houllier is now odds-on favourite for the position despite remaining tight-lipped on any speculation. “Never and always are two words you can’t use in football” Houllier told Press Association Sport.
Nevertheless, with France’s poor performance at the World Cup in June still a source of animosity amongst the French public and players, Houllier’s current position as technical director will no doubt be an uncomfortable one. With Lerner seeking a suitor to the vacancy before Villa’s next fixture at the Britannia Stadium against Stoke on Monday, a swift appointment of the experienced tactician may serve to ease the mounting pressures on managerless Villa to fill the vacancy.
