Remi Garde set to be dismissed by Aston Villa 
John Percy
20 MARCH 2016 • 10:46AM
Remi Garde is set to be dismissed by Aston Villa this week as the Premier League strugglers continue their preparations for next season. Garde’s nightmare five months in charge could be officially ended on Monday, with former Leicester manager Nigel Pearson already emerging as the No. 1 target to succeed him in the summer. Villa chairman Steve Hollis will sack Garde after the sixth successive league defeat at Swansea on Saturday in a ruthless cull which has already seen chief executive Tom Fox and sporting director Hendrik Almstadt axed. Garde has been a dead man walking since the January transfer window closed and forecast that he would be sacked before the end of the season.
The Frenchman is alleged to have told Fox that he would not survive until the summer after Villa failed to make a single signing in the window, leaving him badly exposed as manager with an underperforming squad.
Villa’s board had promised Garde money to spend in the talks leading up to his appointment in November.
But a number of players including Seydou Doumbia and Lovre Kalinic slipped through his fingers and since the window closed Garde’s mood has changed dramatically at the training ground.
He has pushed for the departure of Paddy Riley, the head of recruitment & scouting, but he remains at the club while all communication with owner Randy Lerner has been broken off.
In February he annoyed members of the squad by questioning their commitment and his body language in press conferences and during and after games has concerned Hollis and the new board.
Pearson is likely to be targeted in the summer as the board prioritise a manager with experience of the Championship. Steve Bruce, the Hull City manager, has been discussed but his connections with bitter enemies Birmingham ensure a move is unlikely.
Kevin MacDonald and Eric Black, Garde’s No. 2, could take over for the rest of the season when Garde leaves. Garde has only managed two Premier League wins and suffered 12 defeats with the team heading for an inevitable relegation. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/03/20/remi-garde-set-to-be-dismissed-by-aston-villa/ [ 此帖被羅力亞在2016-03-30 12:10重新編輯 ]
