It is time for Aston Villa to abandon its preformed notion of conformity in relation to its managerial position, and take a chance on Remi Garde.
Aston Villa are not in a good position. Sitting dead last in Premier League play with four points out of a possible forty, the West Midlands side are well on their way out of the league they had helped found. It is blatantly obvious that Villa is in desperate need of a change, but the goal just shouldn’t be to stay up.
Understandably, safety is Villa’s number one priority right now, but making a “safe” hire should be anything but. This is now Aston Villa’s fifth straight year where the Claret and Blue are in a real danger of going down to the Championship, and this continuation absolutely needs to be addressed with the new hire. Hiring someone with the emphasis on this year’s survival, will simply take you onto the same old path that Villa have been floundering on for half a decade. Even though it goes against common rhetoric, Aston Villa needs not to focus on finding a manger who will help them avoid relegation this year, but find a manager who maximizes the current talent and will help progress the team farther up the table now and more importantly in the future. Although it may be an uncomfortable risk, that process begins with the hiring of Remi Garde.
Why Remi Garde?
Hired due to his complacency with a low Lyon budget and experience with handling youth, Garde impressed in his three years at Lyon despite being handcuffed by the front office. During his first year at the French club, Lyon slashed their transfer budget and Remi Garde was forced to find other ways to turn around the massive club from its mediocre state. An insufficient transfer budget, has been something that has been all too familiar for Aston Villa as of late, and a manager like Garde who can easily adapt and work around the issue can make for a really attractive candidate for this club, especially when looking towards the future.
Garde’s commitment to youth under his shoe-string budget led to starlets like Alexandre Lacazette and Clement Grenier blossom into stars under his attacking and progressive play. With an abundance of young players currently at the club, it is vital for Aston Villa to be able to develop the untapped potential of their youth, but also reek their current benefits. While previous managers Paul Lambert and Tim Sherwood shied away from the playing a youth-heavy side at rough times, Garde has been consistent in his playing of younger players and is not known to shy away from doing this. If Remi Garde is able to replicate what he did at Lyon and get out top performances from the likes of Jordan Amavi, Jack Grealish, and Adama Traore, Aston Villa could be on the way up in no time.
Garde’s Style of Play and Tactics
Remi Garde’s style of play is probably the most tantalizing thing about him. Free flowing and attacking in nature: football at its best. At Lyon, he had the entire team rallied around him as they embraced the style of play and succeeded while playing his typical 4-1-4-1.
This is a system that would perfectly fit Aston Villa and most of the players that they have brought in over this summer. With a holding midfielder like Carlos Sanchez or Idrissa Gana, protecting the permeable back line, the midfield can flourish at Villa like at Garde’s Lyon. Players like Jordan Veretout, Jack Grealish, and Carles Gil can roam free and protrude their creativity by feeding attacking players like Jordan Ayew and Adama Traore up top.
Although Remi Garde has strong belief in his players to express themselves on the pitch, Garde is not afraid to switch things up if necessary. At Lyon, the Frenchman switched formations (most notably a diamond) and players when imperative, creating versatility and flexibility within the squad.
The Verdict
It rings no truer than it does at Aston Villa when I say: things aren’t as always good as they are on paper. Remi Garde had his fair share of disappointing results and times of setback, however, that is completely overwhelmed by what he brings to the table as a manger for this club. Garde is able to work on a poor budget and rely heavily on developing and playing youth at the club. He has the ability to motivate and earn the trust of his players to go out and play free-flowing football but has the tactical intellect to switch things up, unlike Tim Sherwood. He has the ability to launch this club higher into the table not only this year but in the foreseeable future. Remi Garde would be a fantastic selection for Aston Villa to be their manager, for the present, and for the years to come.
