It was officially announced late last night that Dean Smith would become the new manager of Aston Villa. Former Villa defender John Terry has returned to the club as the new assistant manager.
On Monday, Thierry Henry was nailed on for the job with all bookmakers. It was later reported that he turned down the offer due to a different approach from Monaco. Reports went on to say that the former Arsenal striker would prefer a role in his home country.
Terry could have been the manager
After those reports, names began to once again fly around. Sky Bet quickly made Terry favourite to take over with Dean Smith out at 18/1. John spent his final season in professional football with Villa and has made it very public about how enjoyed his time at Villa Park. In one article he even stated that he felt that he had unfinished business.
Many believed that he would return to the club as a defender despite former manager Steve Bruce stating that the new owners wanted to take a new approach.
At the start of the week, John Terry announced his retirement from professional football. This, of course, stirred the rumour pot a little more. Just how close was he to becoming the new manager of Aston Villa? Or was it all 2 + 2 and crazy betters splashing their cash?
A huge risk
As I already mentioned, Smith became the manager and all the talk of Terry becoming manager quickly disappeared. Just how much of a risk would it have been?
Terry has never managed a team before and it would be very risky to give him a massive club like villa as his first job. Some would argue though that you have to start somewhere. There is no doubt he was one of the best defenders in the English game and that would have only benefited at us at the back. He would have also had the dressing room on board.
He settled in excellently last season and knows what all the players are about and their best qualities. The main worry was his lack of experience as a manager. Every new manager comes with a risk and Smith or Terry are no different.
Appointing him as an assistant manager could see us get the best of both worlds. In Smith, we have a man who supports the club and has experience at this level with Brentford. In Terry, we have a man who knows the majority of the current dressing room and his playing experience could prove vital.
Maybe one day Terry will become a manager. Who knows, it could even be of Aston Villa.
[…] JT – Back to finish unfinished business […]
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