Aston Villa are a club in crisis at the minute and their turbulent season took another twist this week, when manager Remi Garde was sacked after only 147 days in charge at Villa Park.
After only taking over in November, the Frenchman has failed to turn the stricken club around and leaves with the club almost guaranteed to be in the Championship next season.
It is unfair to blame Garde for their current position and there has to be some sympathy for Garde, who was always up against it but the figures don’t make good reading, he won only three of his 23 games in charge in all competitions, one which came against League Two side Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup.
A big rebuilding job needs to be done by whoever comes in to the Villa Park dugout and there are already no shortage of candidates lining up despite their problems, but here we look at FIVE which could replace Garde……
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE MANAGERS!
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David Moyes
Moyes has been linked with a number of positions in this country since he announced his intention to return to the English game, following his sacking by Real Sociedad in November of last year.
He still boasts a decent record, although his reputation took a hit during his ill-fated spell in charge of Manchester United.
He established Everton as a competitive Premier League side during his 11 years in charge of Goodison Park, even taking them to the Champions League.
He was on a hiding to nothing at Old Trafford when he tried to follow in the footsteps of Sir Alex Ferguson following his fellow Scot’s retirement in 2013, but will have gained valuable extra experience during his year long spell managing in the La Liga.
Nigel Pearson
Former Leicester boss Pearson is the current favourite to replace Remi Garde at Villa Park.
He is an experienced boss with previous management experience through two spells at Leicester as well as Hull and Southampton.
He took charge at Leicester the first time and guided the club to the League One title in record-breaking fashion by racking up a club record 96 points in the process.
After ensuring the club qualified for the play-offs in the Championship in their first season back at that level, where they were defeated on penalties, he went to Hull.
He then returned to Leicester and guided the club to the Premier League where against all odds kept them up last season with an amazing late run of form.
After his sacking in the summer for non-footballing reasons, the club have gone from strength to strength but Pearson can still hold his head high with his recent record in management.
Lee Johnson
Lee Johnson is one of the finest young English managers in the Football League at the minute.
After an impressive playing career he took his first steps into management in 2013 with Oldham Athletic, ensuring that the Latics avoided relegation at the end of that season.
After over 100 games in charge at Oldham, he was appointed Barnsley manager in February 2015 where he again achieved good results, taking the side from the bottom of the league at the start of this season to just outside a play-off place before being approached by Championship side Bristol City in February of this year.
He has lifted City out of the Championship relegation zone with some impressive results and looks to have a good future in the management ahead of him.
Neil Warnock
This one will be the most controversial candidate on this list but one thing can be guaranteed with Neil Warnock in charge, you will be in good hands.
Yes, he is a controversial character but there can be no doubting his record as a manager.
His managerial career has spanned over 35 years starting in non-league with Gainsborough Trinity.
His record of seven promotions with six different clubs speaks for itself and with nearly 1500 games under his belt as a manager his experience is unquestionable.
He returned to management in February this year with Rotherham United in deep relegation trouble in the Championship, but he has given them real hope of escaping the drop with some amazing results against sides at the top of the league.
Mick McCarthy
Another experienced manager who would ensure that Villa would be in good hands next season.
His management career now spans 20 years in charge of four different clubs as well as Republic of Ireland, who he guided to the knockout stages of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
He has won promotion from the Championship with two different clubs and nearly repeated it again with Ipswich last season, before they were defeated by Norwich in the play-offs.
Again, an experienced head that has seen it all in club management he has a record to be proud of in the Championship and would give Villa a good chance of success next season.
