Former Lyon boss emerges as top candidate to replace Sherwood at Aston Villa

And here they come: it's time for "Who will replace Tim Sherwood" rumours to commence in full. We've heard about Brendan Rodgers and David Moyes for a couple of weeks, but now a new named has emerged as the bookies' favorite to replace the just-fired Sherwood. If they are to be believed, the Villa front office might be looking to continue their French recruitment strategy from this summer and tab former Lyon boss Remi Garde as the next in charge at Aston Villa.

Garde spent three years at Lyon and compiled a 63-26-31 record in his time there. While none of Villa's players went through the storied French club (and thus none have worked under Garde), his experience in Ligue 1 could make him a prime candidate to get the most out of the bevy of Ligue-1-trained players that Villa purchased over the summer.

Before being a manager, Garde had a long career as a defender and defensive midfielder, including stints at Lyon and Arsenal. One would think with that sort of experience he might actually be able to organize a Villa defense that has been prone to individual mistakes all season.

But a big point in Garde's favor is that Lyon are a club who have worked with the director of football/moneyball style of management that Aston Villa seem to be trying to set up at the moment. If rumours are to be believed, one of Sherwood's greatest downfalls was his unwillingness to bend to the larger plans of the club. That resulted in players like Jordan Veretout and Jordan Amavi being sat for more "Sherwoodian" players. Garde demonstrated an ability to have success in a system in which he gives away some of the control, and that could be a huge help at Aston Villa.

What do you think? Are Villa actually going to look at Garde? Should we be excited? Let us know below!