Bob's an option, not because he's American, but because he has a conservative approach and doesn't have the "star power" to demand a big transfer kitty. If Lerner is feeling the financial crunch and wants to get the most out of the squad he has (minus Milner who will leave regardless of who the manager is), then Bob wouldn't be a bad choice. Jol, Sven, Klinny, even Curibishly, to a lesser degree, are going to demand a transfer kitty; Bob would be willing to get by on income from further player sales, plus perhaps 2-4M GBP of the Milner transfer fee.
He's vastly more qualified for the position than Bob. Harry won't take the job of course, so that's another thing.
I guess O'Neill has had it with the player sales (probably wanted Ireland and whoever in return for Milner). The guy is a quality manager and will be a candidate for every semi-decent job opening out there. The funny thing is that Marty was a great hire with Villa ... but if you look at Lerner's NFL head coaching carousel (Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini), then Bob Bradley is his type.
As I posted in the Donovan thread, as a Browns fan this interests me on SO many levels. Lerner is a smart cat and his main operating motives, IMO, revolve around him trying to avoid being public enemy #1. In Cleveland he has shelled out crazy money to put really qualified people in charge. At the same time, the team (in general) has been pinching pennies. I've thought a lot about this recently and I'm convinced that Lerner is spooked to spend money on play-things in a bad economy (browns, villa). He is, however, willing to spend a boatload of money on talented guys to actually run the team. That way he can deflect any of the blame. It will be interesting to see what he does with this vacancy. I doubt Bob is considered because of what I said above.
Lerner's management of the Browns has been rather inept (Phil Savage, George Kokinos). Maybe he understand soccer better. But I wouldn't bet on it. I think he just lucked into O'Neill but wasn't able to appreciate what Marty brought to the table.
why- all things being equal- would Lerner take the risk of hiring 'the Yank' and- if things go bad- allow himself to get absolutely hammered because he hired the first Yank as a Premiership? He hires Bilic, and fails, no one is calling him a Yank idiot or Yank lover, etc And the job is really a bad fit for Bobl: Bradley at Villa would be entering a job in which he's underfinanced, inexperienced in the Prem and English football and expected to finished in the top 4 in order to be labeled a success. Talking about setting oneself up for failure! In this respect, the Fulham job made a helluva lot more sense (lesser expectations, history with Americans, foreign owner)
Lerner has no idea what he's doing in regard to the NFL. He makes every decision based upon the advice of Robert Kraft and some others.
Well, for YA purposes a well-sourced rumor (with link) is enough to qualify for news. If the British bookmakers are taking this seriously, then I think we're allowed to, as well.
I'm sure he appreciated O'Neill. It was O'Neill that walked away. There aren't many clubs in the UK that are actually spending money. So if he's looking for a better job than Villa right now, he'll have to wait until one of the guys at the big clubs is fired or retires. ManU fans think he'd be a great successor for Ferguson......but when is he retiring? Wenger's not going anywhere. Ancelotti just won a title, so he probably has a little leash at Chelsea. Hodgson will be given some time at Liverpool. Redknapp ain't leaving Spurs. I guess the most likely exit at a big club would be if Mancini starts poorly with Man City................ Or what if Lennon starts poorly at Celtic? Can he go there again? He'd be great for England.
manager swap! seriously though, one poster already said it. the expectation would be too high for bradley to succeed. if he wants to get into europe he should try and find a championship club on the up-and-up and lead them into the premier league.
I generally agree with this assessment. I just can't see how Randy hires a candidate like Bob given all the circumstances (big name coach leaving 5 days before start of season, likely sale of Milner and general questions about the strength of the playing squad). If you've followed Lerner at Villa you know that he has worked hard to cultivate a good image among fans and the community (donations to charities, rebuilding a pub, work on the stadium, bringing back old players for special recognition, etc.). Hiring a candidate like Bob is a one way ticket to being the most hated man in B'ham (and as I noted before, Lerner's past actions would suggest that he doesn't want to be hated).
ya but there's probably been a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that we're not privy to. Marty wanted to resign last season (that made the news) for whatever reasons. I assume it was because Randy wouldn't splurge for a striker like Gudjohnsen or, who knows, maybe even some who could put Villa over the top. My take is that it had less to do with the size of Villa than with the promises made and (not) kept. And there are no good jobs currently available but it's not like Marty needs cash. My bet is Newcastle within 2-3 months. They have funds, fandom and an unproven manager. Bad start and there'll be calls for his head. Lennon has started poorly at Celtic ... but I think O'Neill doesn't want to go back to the small pond again. Wrong nationality.
I believe he was mentioned as a serious candidate for the job prior to Capello being hired. As to your other points about MON's relative merits as a manager, I think you're really overlooking his faults, SFS. He is widely criticized for his seeming inability to look outside of the UK for transfer targets. Randy Lerner has provided him with considerable funds over the course of the past 4 years and lots of people think he has not done a terribly good job spending that money (see Steve Sidwell, Stuart Downing, Emile Heskey, etc.). He also has a penchant for playing players out of position and an unwillingness to rotate his squad (look at Villa's poor finishes to the past few seasons, which some people would contend is the result of tired players).
The problem with Sven and Jol is that money issues seem to be the reason O'Neill resigned. Sven did well with Man City in 07/08 and Jol did well with Tottenham, but they both had extensive monetary support. Are they willing to accept less at Aston Villa? (especially Jol after he cried to Ajax to get a higher transfer budget)
Yes but they're on the pro-English kick right now. He built an English style team by seeking speedy/athletic English players. This isn't Chelsea's smorgasbord of flags or Arsenal's France United. And, yes, I happen to think the guy is an excellent coach who has to compete against coaches of similar ingenuity and often greater budgets. His three consecutive Top 6 finishes are a credit to a job well done.
hmmm....good point. Everything this offseason is being weighted down by the economy. Thriftiness has had more of a say in decisions than it has in awhile. If this does go down the circus it will be when he brings in Michael Bradley will bring awesomeness of epic proportions.
Exactly! Lerner is VERY, VERY conscious about public opinion. Moreso than any owner that I can think of. Listen, Lerner is NOT cash strapped and he's not going broke. He just doesn't want to lose money on his toys (the Browns and Villa). That's exactly what was happening at Villa and he won't stand for it. He'll make a popular hire and still sell Milner and Young, I'd bet.