Guest Blog: Aston Villa’s Next Manager

As the hunt for a new manager seems to be in full swing, with a new favourite every day, @kerrylynn21 shares her thoughts on how the Midlands’ biggest club (!) should approach the appointment.

At the moment, despite what the latest odds are saying, there’s been no official statements of intent from the Board or the club and no informing the fans of how the manager search is being conducted. This however is no surprise for many Villa fans: the club and the fans are two separate entities at present – the connection between the two has been worn down so far it’s practically non-existent.

Let me delve a little further, starting with Lerner’s statement following the sacking of McLeish… ‘We need to be clear and candid.. with our supporters about what we have lacked in recent years‘. So what have we lacked? What qualities do the club believe need to exist within the new manager in order to prevent a re-occurrence of the previous season’s nightmare? Sure, every fan has an opinion, but do they match those of the Board, the ones responsible for contracting the man to take us forward? They certainly didn’t take much notice when signing Eck up last summer.

Next he went on to say we need a manager who ‘embraces our collective expectations‘ and meets our ‘long term objectives‘. Now forgive me if I’m wrong but does anybody actually know what our collective expectations/long term objectives are? Again I have an idea of what I’d like them to be – Europe and silverware – but for next season entertaining, attacking, winning football and top half table success will do. Targets must be realistic, not only in the eyes of the Board and the manager but in the eyes of the fans, only then can expectations be considered collective. Lerner actively hides away from the eyes of the public, so maybe a fan’s forum as has been suggested by a few would be a good chance to embrace the reconnection the fans desperately want and the club desperately need.

We as a club have experienced an almighty fall from grace, from the dizzy heights of the top 6 to the pits of the bottom 5, and those who believe that a simple managerial swap will be the end of our problems are somewhat deluded. McLeish was only part of the problem, we need to rebuild confidence, restore the winning mentality, we need to know exactly what funding is available not just for the summer but for the coming seasons, we need to have the club’s objectives outlined to the fans, whether they be baby steps or huge strides, we need a sense of direction and most importantly the club needs to reconnect with the fans. Lerner is, at the end of the day, a businessman and his ultimate aim therefore is to put bums on seats; something that can only be achieved when the supporters have faith in the club. He must ensure the feel good factor is restored by being open and honest, and setting frank achievable goals. We can be a great football club once more: form is temporary, class is permanent, or so they say.

This post was written by Kerry Lenihan, follow her on twitter or read her blog.