Ole Gunnar Solskjaer All But Certain To Be Appointed Aston Villa Manager

By Chris Wright

‘Ello Ole

It would appear for all the world like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is about to be appointed as the new Aston Villa manager this morning. It’s all still a bit 2+2=∑ at the moment, but according to Sky Sports News, Randy Lerner’s private jet has been spotted in Norway and Solskjaer himself wasn’t present at Molde training this morning.

Apparently, Molde have also issued a brief statement on their website to say that they are ‘aware of the interest and contact from Villa’, and that the two parties are currently in negotiation. Word is Solskjaer’s now boarded Lerner’s plane and is heading to England to finalise the deal.

Should it come to be, Solskjaer would represent a very forward-thinking appointment from Villa – opting for a young, green coach with a fresh perspective – but it also has a whiff of the AVBs about it. It’ll pretty much guarantee a more attacking emphasis, but at the cost of a fair old wodge of the defensive nous that McLeish reveled in (so much so that it eventually cost him his job). It’s all about finding that balance.

Any thoughts folks?

Posted in Aston Villa, Man Utd, Managers

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11 Comments

  1. Anonymous says:

    No experience at this level. Nailed on failure.

  2. notsosceptical says:

    Just like Brendan Rodgers and Paul Lambert then, almost certain that Villa will go down next season just like Swansea and Norwich did this.

  3. Nick says:

    In times like these I like to revert to a classic Pros and Cons list

    Pros
    – Knows the Premier League intimately
    – Excellent reputation within the footballing community and likeability
    – Good grounding in coaching behind the scenes at United
    – Took Molde to their first title win ever, in a league which Rosenborg usually crush
    – Young and hungry
    – Bound to be more attacking then McLeish
    – Unlikely to cost much in terms of payouts or wages.

    Cons
    – No Premier League managerial experience
    – No proven experience in dealing with players that believe themselves to be big time.
    – No experience in dealing with the pressure of the intense media spotlight.

    And you know what, that’s it really. AV’s options strike me as having to weigh up how much ‘experience’ is valued ahead of anything else. And that’s very hard to weigh up.

    I’d say that unless you’re aiming for something very specific like the Champions League, or you wish to bring in world superstars as signings, you don’t necessarily need a manager who has done it all before.

    Personally, I think he’d be bright addition to the Premier League, which instantly makes Villa a more likeable addition to next year’s league.

  4. David Allison says:

    He is a likeable character, just not by us Newcastle fans:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkAz5CT6apM

    He got a standing ovation for it as well. >:(

  5. mal says:

    4 days ago I posted that a young, progressive coach would be a good thing & it’s seems we are going to get one. Better Ole than someone from the usual pool of duds with experience & not much else to offer. As long as they have told him he wont be splashing the cash, that the best players will be sold to the Mancs, the shit ones to Liverpool then welcome to Villa Park Mr Baby-faced Assassin.

  6. Big Al says:

    As a Villa fan, I would just be happy for him to tell the squad to go out to try and WIN games.

    I think it’s an interesting and exciting choice, which shows that Lerner is thinking outside of the box.

  7. Guff says:

    He will get Villa relegated.

  8. Bigrat says:

    As a united fan, im gutted that he isnt coming to us. Fergie as director of football and Ole as manager. Villa are lucky to have him, and to those predicting relegation? blow it out your Kean…

  9. Anonymous says:

    I’m actually quite optimistic about this one. Something tells me he’ll have a great first season with Villa.

    #Believe

  10. Harry says:

    Quality. May get my season ticket after all because after last season I’m not sure if I can stomach another one like the previous. UP THE VILLA.

  11. Joe says:

    @ the first commenter: That attitude exactly the reason why there’s only two vaguely decent English football managers around at the moment. Young managers need to take a club up from the Championship and then have a good season in the top flight to even be considered for any sort of job, whereas appointing someone with ‘no experience at this level’ has worked quite neatly abroad (Pep Guardiola, Frank de Boer anyone?).

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