Gerard Houllier looking to bring in old friends at Villa Park & David Silva unsettled at Manchester City
Gerard Houllier the new Aston Villa manager is hoping that he would be able to sign some of the backroom staff that he had at Liverpool 6 years ago. Patrice Bergues was one of the key members under Houllier at Liverpool, and the Frenchman is looking to sign him at Villa Park.
Bergues has been with Houllier for a while now, he also worked alongside him at Lens and Lyon and also back in 1990 he was at the French Football Federation with Houllier.
Phil Thompson was the assistant manager for Houllier at Liverpool, and the new manager wanted him to join him at Aston Villa. But Thompson is now a football analyst and has decided to keep his job and does not want to return to football management.
Thompson who works for Sky Sports now said that if things had been a little different he would have loved to have reunited with Houllier and Patrice Bergues.
He added that but now he has to weigh up his options, and after looking at the pros and cons of the job it may not be a good idea to go back into management.
Phil said that he is very flattered to have been offered the job, but he is at a stage of his life where he just can’t put in the long hours anymore. He said that working under Houllier means 12 hour shifts and staying away from home. He said that his wife and 2 kids would not be able to adapt to such a lifestyle so he had to put down the offer.
Gerard Houllier will take official charge of Aston Villa on Monday; he is set to be unveiled to the Brtish and world Media at Villa Park on Saturday.
The former Liverpool manager is set to meet the players and support staff before the unveiling. Houllier said that he is very excited about the new job and knows that he can take Aston Villa places. He said that the club has immense potential and all it needs is to be guided in the right direction.
The new manager went on to say that, he is very familiar with the English games and it would be a big advantage for him. He said that when he was with Liverpool there was always that question of remaining in the top 4, so he knows how to take a team to the top 4 of the league. The Frenchman said that Aston Villa would easily have made it to the 4th spot last season, if they had not missed some crucial chances at the end of the season.
Meanwhile the caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald will remain at the club, but his new designation is yet to be confirmed by Villa.
Manchester City spent 130 million pounds this summer to bring a while host of players from Europe to Manchester. But there is always a question of keeping everyone happy when you have so many big names in one team. Spanish world cup winning midfielder David Silva is believed to unhappy at City due to the lack of chances in the early part of the season. There is speculation that the left sided winger may well be on his way back to Spain in a shock move to Atletico Madrid.
Silva came to Manchester City from former Spanish Champions Valencia for a deal worth 24 million pounds. It is believed that Silva is not entirely happy at City and not on great terms with the Italian manager. In the first 3 games of the season, the Spaniard has only been able to get one start.
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