Aston Villa have sacked head coach Dean Smith, following a spate of poor results by the team. West-Midlands outfit are now in the market for a new manager.
An African proverb says, “the opening of the day usually carries tidings of what the day will bring”. Many football clubs seem to follow this saying, which probably explains why several clubs quickly pull the trigger on their managers. It is not unusual for managers to be fired early in the season, with several managers receiving the boot before Christmas.
Since the Munoz axe in October, several other managers have joined him in losing their jobs. Steve Bruce was fired next at Newcastle, who are yet to replace him. Nuno Espírito Santo has also been replaced by Antonio Conte at Tottenham, while Daniel Farke has also received the hammer at Norwich City.
Aston Villa show Dean Smith the door
It is only 86 days into the new season, and Aston Villa have joined the band of trigger happy clubs by axing Dean Smith. Villa endured a painful run of games which saw the club lose five games in a row. The aftermath of the result is that the club now find themselves perilously a few notches above the relegation zone.
The results the team churned out under Dean Smith is a far cry from the club’s ambitions this season. Following the departure of Jack Grealish to Manchester City for a British record of €117.50m, Aston Villa invested the whole money on strengthening the squad. They brought in several players, including Emiliano Buendia from Norwich City, Leon Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen), Danny Ings (Southampton) and the loan and free transfers of Axel Tuanzebe and Ashley Young.
Following the latest defeat to Southampton, the club saw fit to axe the manager.
Steven Gerrard on Villa’s shortlist
A few names are in the running to take over the recently vacated position by Dean Smith, and one name that stands out in the list is Steven Gerrard.
As per the Mirror, snaring Gerrard from Ibrox halfway into the season looks highly uncertain. 41-year-old Gerrard has emerged as one of British football’s most exciting young managers.
Gerrard won the Scottish league with Rangers last season and currently sit top of the Scottish Premiership 4 points ahead of their closest rival Celtic.
Other names on the list
Should Villa fail to land Gerrard, Danish manager Kasper Hjulmand looks set to land the job. The relationship between Villa sportingctor Johan Lange and Hjulmand is said to be close. He may also be hard to convince to leave the national team job.
John Terry left Aston Villa before the season kicked off and is eager to get into management, but his name is yet to pop up at the club. Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is another name that interests Villa.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
