Rémi Garde has gone and I don't think I'm alone in thinking he had a rough time. It looks like and I have to stress, that it just looks this way, that he was well and truly shafted by the club and pretty much everyone connected to it during his time here.
Reports came out last week that none of the players he wanted in January were even approached and this after he was, we assume, told that he'll be able to bring in his own players. But truth be told and just so I don't hold any punches, he wasn't the right man in the first place. Let's not forget that. It was a costly mistake. And while we are not officially relegated at the moment, it does appear that Garde played his role in relegating us, because he simply didn't get the players playing.
And you know what, I don't think I will blame Garde for that and I'll instead blame the players this season, or some of them for sure. Some of them this season have been a disgrace. If I don't see Gabby or Micah Richards in a Villa shirt again, I'd not be bothered. I took a lot of stick for writing things about Richards earlier in the season, but I think many would now agree and most would prefer to see Hutton at right back instead of him.
As for Gabby, we all like him because he's a local boy. But he's never had a good season and it does feel as if he's stealing a living. Eleven seasons and 72 league goals. I'm not sure his salary but I'm fairly confident each goal has cost us at least £100,000. Not good enough and he can go. And I suspect I'm not alone in thinking that he's part of the problem at the club.
Back to Garde
So it's actually a surprise it's taken this long to get rid of the manager. But I do hope he held out for all the money he was due. And if that really was the hold up - shame on you Aston Villa. Shame on you. But this is now where the club can go after David Moyes.
I hope Moyes accepts, but I do think this will mean the football board getting broken up or Hollis leaving. I don't think you can have all of these cooks in the kitchen because the truth is that the right manager will know more about football than anyone at the club, so why should there be people in his way?
But I don't need to go into that again. It's clear as day.
Eric Black
So until the manager is appointed, Eric Black will be taking over. For those that are interested in things like this, as a manager or caretaker manager, he has won 21 games. A third of that is seven. We have seven games left. If, as caretaker manager, he won the last seven games, we would possibly stay up. Would he deserve the job then?