Dont do it folks steer away from that BIGGER club, Not a good move IMO. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Roberto MartÃnez tops Aston Villa shortlist after Alex McLeish is axed ⢠Wigan manager fits profile set by club's owner, Randy Lerner ⢠Brendan Rodgers and Paul Lambert also under consideration Share3 Aston Villa may make a second attempt to lure Roberto MartÃnez from Wigan Athletic in the space of a year. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Aston Villa are finalising a shortlist that they hope will lead to a swift managerial appointment being made, possibly as early as the start of next week, after Alex McLeish was put out of his misery and sacked on Monday. Wigan Athletic's Roberto MartÃnez and Paul Lambert at Norwich City are the early frontrunners, with Swansea City's Brendan Rodgers also likely to come under consideration as Villa step up their search for a young and hungry manager capable of reinvigorating the club. MartÃnez is the early favourite for the post and it is understood that Villa's failure to land him last summer, when they were looking for a successor to Gérard Houllier and eventually turned to McLeish, would not discourage the Midlands club from trying to lure the former Swansea manager again. Lambert, who was coy when questioned about his future following Norwich's 2-0 victory over Villa at Carrow Road on Sunday, is in Villa's thoughts as well but is also believed to be on West Bromwich Albion's radar as they pursue a replacement for Roy Hodgson, the new England manager. While it is unclear at this stage how easy it would be prise MartÃnez from Wigan â Dave Whelan, the club's chairman, said last month that the Spaniard "will go to one of the top clubs in Europe with my blessing" â Norwich have sent out a defiant message regarding Lambert. "We would not welcome any inquiry for our football manager or any of the club's football players," David McNally, Norwich's chief executive, said. "We will do everything we can and fight this as hard as we have ever fought." McLeish's dismissal at Villa came as no surprise after a disastrous season in which the club did not secure their Premier League status until the penultimate match. They finished the campaign in 16th place, only two points clear of safety and amid mounting unrest among the club's supporters. Attendances fell away dramatically and McLeish faced ferocious abuse towards the end of the 2-1 defeat at home against Bolton Wanderers last month, which was watched by Randy Lerner and proved to be a tipping point for the Villa owner. From that point on McLeish's position was untenable and it became a matter of when and not if he would be sacked. Paul Faulkner, the club's chief executive, flew to America last week to hold talks with Lerner about McLeish's position as concern grew about the path the club were on with the Scot in charge. Faulkner met McLeish on Monday and told the manager that his three-year contract had been terminated before he had got as far as 12 months, leaving Villa facing another seven-figure sum in compensation on the back of the £12m spent in "exceptional charges" in 2010‑11 relating to changing the club's "management personnel". Villa's fans, however, will deem that almost any price is a price worth paying to get McLeish out of the club. They never accepted him from the moment he arrived, although that had more to do with his record of being relegated twice with Birmingham City and a reputation for playing dull football than the fact that he came from their arch-rivals. Villa won only seven Premier League matches during McLeish's time in charge and managed 37 goals in 38 fixtures. Entertainment was conspicuous by its absence. Lerner's comments in the statement that Villa released on Monday afternoon were damning in relation to both McLeish's tenure and Houllier's nine-month reign. "We need to be clear and candid with ourselves and with supporters about what we have lacked in recent years," Lerner said. "Compelling play and results that instil a sense of confidence that Villa is on the right track have been plainly absent. The most immediate action that we can take is to look carefully at our options in terms of bringing in a new manager who sees the club's potential and embraces our collective expectations." NOT THE BEST IDEA,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,STAY AWAY.
A reliable source ITK quoted two at the time to go after a meeting. The first happened as planed with the second to be a medical in the summer. Time will tell
How about Steve Bruce as the next Villa manager? He's available. I work with a Villa fan and he nearly choked on his pie when I suggested it. I wonder why.