Both Liverpool and Aston Villa are among England’s most prestigious clubs, yet managers are hardly queuing up to take over. It shouldn’t be like this should it?
Liverpool and Aston Villa are both former European Champions, and are among the best supported clubs in the country.
It should be an honour for would-be-bosses to even be considered with managing either of the clubs, but both have been unable to attract their top targets.
A club of Liverpool’s stature should really be targeting the games top managers, bosses like Pep Guardiola, but instead they find themselves being turned down by Brendan Rodgers.
It looks at this point that Wigan Athletic’s Roberto Martinez is to be their chosen one. A fine young manager, and one supporters will give every chance to, but supporters will readily admit to feeling underwhelmed if the appointment goes ahead.
Aston Villa meanwhile were unable to persuade Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to uproot his family to come to the Midlands.
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Solskjaer himself is no proven quantity, with just one season of first-team management under his belt, surely he should have snapped Randy Lerner’s hand off when he were approached.
So what is the problem with either club right now?
Firstly, it must be considered both are shadows of their former selves. Aston Villa are coming off the back of a disastrous season and record low Premier League points total, which saw Alex McLeish sacked.
Liverpool are coming off the back of not just a disappointing season, but more than two decades since they last won the league, a wait their supporters find more and more chastening each and every year.
You would think that coming in, starting from such a low base, and working upwards, would be a ‘no-lose’ situation for managers, yet the top names are not being swayed.
What both clubs have in common, is American ownership. It is unclear whether an unspoken distrust and scepticism of their understanding of the game is putting managers off stepping forward.
There is a perception at Liverpool that FSG do not have the required patience for a rebuilding project, while at Villa, Randy Lerner’s lack of investment is seen as a problem.
Managers nowadays are wary of taking any jobs where they fear they will not be given the required time or money to get things right. In Brendan Rodgers case with Liverpool he felt more comfortable at Swansea. Seeing the vitriol and lack of patience aimed at Roy Hodgson by sections of the support will have been off-putting.
Whether Rodgers is ever offered the Liverpool job again in the future remains to be seen.
What we don’t know of course, is how many managers have privately put themselves forward for the roles behind the scenes, yet it appears any who have, are not being openly courted, as the owners stay away from the ‘usual suspects’ who may seek a job at Aston Villa.
We expect Roberto Martinez, if he does not take or get offered, the Liverpool job, may find himself a new home at Villa, he is still the bookies favourite for the position.
Right now, supporters of both clubs will be scratching their heads as to just how a man who has not won a single trophy is the odds-on choice for two jobs at England’s once most successful clubs.
Why are both clubs having such difficulty in appointing a manager?
image: © mollyig
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