Aston Villa in talks to appoint Remi Garde as Tim Sherwood successorFormer Arsenal defender and Lyon manager has been approached and could be appointed this week 
Aston Villa are in talks to appoint Remi Garde in a move inspired by Arsenal after sacking Tim Sherwood as manager. Sherwood’s brief reign was officially ended on Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after the 2-1 defeat against Swansea City, becoming the third Premier League managerial casualty of the season.
Villa are bottom of the league after eight defeats from 10 games and Sherwood, 46, leaves the club after just eight months with £2 million in compensation.Tom Fox, the chief executive, was pivotal in the decision after extensive talks with the chairman, Randy Lerner, on Saturday evening and is leading the hunt for a third head coach in less than 12 months.Garde, the former Arsenal defender and Lyon manager, has been approached and could be appointed this week with a view to his taking charge for the league game at Tottenham Hotspur a week on Monday.
Fox, previously Arsenal’s chief commercial officer, is understood to have spoken to Arsene Wenger about Garde while the sporting director Hendrik Almstadt, who also worked at the north London club, is aware of his abilities.
Villa have also considered moves for David Moyes, but the Real Sociedad manager is determined to stay in Spain, while Brendan Rodgers is not ready to return despite being available following his sacking at Liverpool.
Garde has emerged as the clear front-runner and is highly regarded after impressing in charge of Lyon, winning the Coupe de France in 2012. He left the French club in 2014 and is understood to have held talks with Newcastle United this year.Villa have many French-speaking players in their squad, many of whom were signed this summer, and Garde would appeal to the Villa hierarchy as they bid to avoid dropping into the Championship.
Sherwood’s position had been uncertain for weeks and he paid the price for a disastrous start to the season, five months after leading the club to the FA Cup final.
His coaches Ray Wilkins and Mark Robson have also departed.
The club’s statement read: “The board has monitored the performances closely all season and believes the results on the pitch were simply not good enough and that a change is imperative.
“However, the club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Tim for all his efforts during a difficult period last season and for the many positive contributions he has made to the entire football set-up during his time with the club.”
Sherwood had known that the writing was on the wall for some time and his final months were played out against a backdrop of turmoil surrounding the club’s transfer policy.
His working relationship with Almstadt had also disintegrated, so six defeats in a row were always going to signal the sack.
In his final game against Swansea, his team selection was again baffling and there seemed a clear strategy to exclude the summer signings which had been brought in for such hefty fees. There have also been strange substitutions and unfathomable formations as Sherwood desperately tried to find the formula for a victory.Yet while he has paid the ultimate price, Lerner should be demanding a root-and-branch review of how it has all gone so wrong which places the key decision makers including Almstadt, the director of recruitment Paddy Reilly and Fox under the microscope.
It was Fox who appointed Sherwood and then this summer he raided Arsenal for Almstadt, while the decision to over-promote Reilly, previously an analyst under Martin O’Neill, is a gamble that has badly backfired.
There is understood to be a realisation in the boardroom that a drastic improvement is required at all levels – yet Sherwood is the one out of work. Sherwood warned Lerner in August that the squad was weaker than that which narrowly escaped relegation last season and that grim prophecy has appeared accurate.
Christian Benteke, who scored or contributed to nearly half the club’s goals over three years, was always going to prove difficult to replace but the decision to recruit players with no experience of English football was bewildering.
While Sherwood had campaigned for experience, Villa wanted young players with resale value.
Sherwood wanted Leicester’s player of the year Esteban Cambiasso, Emmanuel Adebayor and Aaron Lennon while Villa’s recruitment team identified the three Jordans, Amavi, Ayew and Veretout.
Sherwood also wanted Asmir Begovic but Villa’s £3 million bid was instantly rejected by Stoke City and the Bosnian goalkeeper was always going to sign for Chelsea. It left Sherwood with a huge challenge to build a winning team but the decline in performances has been alarming.
Villa had wanted to give Sherwood time to mastermind a revival but the lure of next year’s mammoth TV deal was always going to figure in their thoughts.
He only increased the uncertainty after the Swansea defeat by declining to carry out media duties for daily newspapers and in his final press conference bemoaned a “lack of quality” available to him.
Villa have not won at home in the league since May and Sherwood’s departure overshadowed Swansea’s own return to form.
Garry Monk, the manager, had been under pressure after six games without a win but this pointed to a brighter future.
Despite falling behind to a goal from Jordan Ayew, they responded through Gylfi Sigurdsson’s excellent set piece and a close-range finish from Andre Ayew, the older brother of the Villa striker.
“I’d hate to think what it was like if there was a crisis,” Monk said. “It’s a circus isn’t it? Everyone gets on the bandwagon. My focus was on trying to get three points and get back to what we’re good at.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/11954367/Aston-Villa-in-talks-to-appoint-Remi-Garde-as-Tim-Sherwood-successor.html
