Southampton are struggling in the Premier League under manager Mark Hughes but could he have done a job in the Championship with Aston Villa?
It was all change at Aston Villa this month. Not only did Dean Smith replace Steve Bruce as manager and John Terry arrive on the coaching staff, Jesus Garcia Pitarch rocked up at Villa Park as the club’s new director of football.
Pitarch is a man with huge experience, having held a similar role at the likes of Atletico Madrid and during two spells at Valencia, gaining a reputation as an intelligent transfer market operator having signed the likes of Diego Forlan and Jose Antonio Reyes during his time in Spain.
But, writing in his column for The Mirror (23 October, page 51), former Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore has put forward another name who the Midland giants should have considered for the director of football role – the under-pressure Southampton manager Mark Hughes.
“I don’t know what Mark Hughes brings to football clubs as a manager – I can’t pigeonhole him and there doesn’t seem to be a unifying thread between all his clubs,” said Collymore of the former Manchester City, QPR and Fulham boss.
“But what I do know is that, as a very bright guy who understands the game as a player and a manager, he’d make a very good director of football and I’d have loved to have seen him taking that role at my club, Aston Villa.”
Now, Hughes has never worked as a director of football and it must be pointed out that he has been questioned by some for his recruitment, particularly during the final few months of his Stoke City tenure when the likes of Gianni Imbula and Kevin Wimmer arrived for massive fees and struggled to impress.
Aston Villa, then, are probably better off with a man boasting experience and a proven track record like Pitarch.
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