Who would replace Tim Sherwood at Aston Villa?

The last 'What If' article I wrote was pretty damn stupid. I dipped my toes into a hypothetical universe where Jack Grealish was born in America. Even though that article was expired over the to-and-fro between Ireland and England for Grealish's international future - I've decided on a more grounded 'what if' before I finally decided to complete my magnum opus and pen the future of Aston Villa Football Club if it was bought by Vince McMahon. Until then, I'll stick to reality.

As I write this, we may be looking at a future without Tim Sherwood. If we stay bound to String Theory, a world without him exists and that may be the path we take in this dimension. In the case this falls true, I want to ask the question: Who can replace Sherwood at Aston Villa?

Brendan Rodgers

Brendan has to be the top choice for the Villa role if it opens. He is the only manager from the Home Countries that I'd likely choose. Rodgers had a rough time towards the end at Liverpool and I'd find it hard to entirely blame him for it - not many people in the world can replace Luis Suarez.

Rodgers cemented Swansea City as a solid mid-table Premier League side. That in itself was no easy task and in a rare instance, he was able to build on the work of his predecessor, Roberto Martinez, instead of completely scrapping the systems implemented (Paulo Sousa came in-between, but Rodgers has got to be the true heir).

Aston Villa are currently built similarly to what I'd imagine a Rodgers Villa side to look like, and in my amateur opinion; he'd be the man to step straight into the job. Villa have a lot of coachable talent, Rodgers could work a wonder in B6.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær

Manchester's very own 'Baby-faced Assassin' would be a great choice for the Villa job should it become available. Not only does Ole have a strong footballing pedigree, he's worked his way to the top the hard way. Managing reserve teams, before dominating Norway with Molde FK. Solskjær's a passionate manager and I won't pin Cardiff's failures on him alone. If anyone deserves a second crack at the Premier League, It has to be Solskjær for me.

Ole was a lock for the Villa job before changing his mind and if he had been persuaded by Lerner, we could be looking at a very different Aston Villa right now.

Tim Sherwood

If you've gotten this far into the article, it's likely you haven't already taken to our Facebook page to tear me a new one about not giving Tim a chance. Here's the deal - I love Tim Sherwood. I think Tim is a great motivator and he's pretty much got the base talent to be a Premier League manager. If he get's a hang on his x's and o's quickly, he'll do great by us. Until the time that Tim can decipher the tactics board he will always be criticised in every single move he makes and that pretty much stems from his personality.

Tim is a walking personality paradox. Schrodinger's manager. Unless observed, he is both too laidback or too emotional at the same time. Whilst other managers can lock Villa into fifteenth place with a view to forward progress season-by-season, Sherwood can guarantee a white-knuckle ride from exhilaration into depression and back again.

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In any case, Tim Sherwood is the most important manager for Aston Villa simply because he is the man for us right now. There's heaps of negativity around Tim, his job and our club, but Aston Villa haven't got much of a choice right now simply because not a single person knows the bar that Sherwood can set for himself. The true answer to this question? Stick with Tim until Aston Villa say so.

Agree or disagree? Have your own fantasy choice for the AVFC job? Let us know in the comments section below!