What now for Aston Villa?

Aston Villa are a bit of a enigma to me. They are a big club in England’s second city but in my generation have never fulfilled their potential.

Villa has the potential to be one of the biggest clubs in England, but they never seem to find the winning formula.

Struggle

For most of this season Aston Villa have struggled in the bottom half of the Premier League.

In fact until a few weeks before the end of the season Villa still had relegation worries. A decent end of the season  has seen the Midlands club finish in ninth position in the English top flight.

Manager

Villa boss Gerard Houllier missed the final month of the Premier League season due to a heart problem. I have never hidden my feelings about the Frenchman. I didn’t think he was the right man to bring success to Villa.

With all due respect to Houllier and his condition I still do not think he will bring the club the success the Villa fans are craving. I think if Villa are to move forward then they need to let Houllier go and recover and hire a replacement.

Replacement

Villa would have a hard time finding a quality replacement for Houllier though. They have been heavily linked with Everton boss David Moyes but the Scot has denied any interest in the job.

There are not many top managers out of work that would take the job without reassurances that they would have major funds to spend. One boss that I can think of who would be a fantastic replacement for Houllier would be Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian has declared his interest in staying in English football, after being sacked by Chelsea last weekend. The question is would he be prepared to take the job. If he was given funds then I’m sure Aston Villa would be a good job for him.

Rebuilding

Whoever is in charge at Aston Villa when the transfer window opens could have a fight on their hands keeping their best players. England internationals Ashley Young and Stewart Downing are both being heavily linked with moves away from Villa Park.

This season has arguably been Downing’s best in a Villa shirt and according to reports is now wanted by Liverpool and Tottenham. There has also been speculation over Ashley Young’s future for along time.

Manchester United and bitter-rivals Manchester City are favourites to sign the England winger this summer. It looks as though Young is now looking to ready to leave Villa.

Signings

If the Villa do as expected lose some of their star players then the club will need to strengthen their squad heavily this summer. It will be hard to attract top class players without European football but the club need to do their best to attract the best quality players possible.

Europe

Next season the club have to be aiming for a place in Europe next season. When the club qualified for the Europa League the management didn’t really take the competition seriously. They took the competition for granted.

However to move forward the club must strive to get back into the top six of the Premier League next season. It will be a hard challenge for the Villa management and players next season though. The likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton all looking to make a step up and won’t make it easy for Villa to progress.

The first thing Villa need to do is clarify the managers position as soon as possible. One of the Villa directors has came out and stated that they are going to make a decision in a ‘timely manner’ and this is vital if Villa are going to be successful next season.

Should Gerard Houllier be replaced as Aston Villa manager?