Villa set to make bad decision for assistant manager

Aston Villa, as everybody knows, need an assistant manager. Paul Lambert saw his two most-trusted lieutennants (Gary Karsa and Ian Culverhouse) sacked at the end of the season for, among other things, bullying. In the wake of their dismissal, Gordon Cowans and Shay Given were promoted to take their place. The response from players was exceptional as they got used to coaches who apparently used more positive tactics.

So the news that Aston Villa are on the verge of hiring Roy Keane as their assistant is a bit worrisome. You see, Keane has a history as being exactly the type of manager Villa just replaced. as an example, it's never a good thing when you step down from leading a club and the players celebrate as happened when Keane relinquished his post at Sunderland. At the time, one of his players said that "he ruled by fear." Just what Villa need!

The deal seems to have Keane splitting time between Villa and Ireland, where he would keep his duties as assistant manager. Of course we've heard that confirmation of this move is imminent before and it hasn't happened, so who knows what will become of the story. If Keane does become the newest memeber of Villa's back room staff, though, it strikes me as a move in the wrong direction. There is always the possibility of change, but Keane's long track record suggests that we probably won't see that.