Aston Villa could appoint John Terry as their replacement to Dean Smith if they decide to sack him, The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has claimed per the 1874 podcast (March 12th).
What’s he said?
Villa are currently marooned in the relegation zone, sitting 19th, two points behind 17th-placed Watford.
They have not won any of their last four Premier League outings and are in severe trouble of falling back into the Championship.
And there has been a discussion as to who could replace Smith if the axe does fall; it remains to be seen when that could happen, particularly with the suspension of the Premier League until early April.
Nevertheless, Evans believes that Terry, though untested as a manager, could be the man to take the reigns.
Did he really play for us?! No Villa fan has managed to name all of these obscure Villans….
He said: “The issue they’ve got with Dean Smith is, if you lose six games on the bounce you start to think where does this end? Is this us now? Is this us done? Is this just going to be us falling into oblivion again? That will be in the owners’ minds.
“They’ll be thinking, do we go with potentially John Terry who is inexperienced as a coach and a manager but might bring fresh ideas, a fresh outlook and a fresh approach.
“That might be an option. Certainly Christian Purslow knows him well, and was part of the reason he came to the club.”
An easy answer
Giving the 39-year-old the job would be a simplistic approach but it could well work.
They won’t have to go and source a manager, and the club’s owners know exactly what the 39-year-old would bring to the job.
The former Chelsea defender hasn’t managed at the highest level but the same was true of Frank Lampard before his appointment at Derby County; he guided the club to the play-offs before taking over at Chelsea, where he is now in fourth.
Terry could easily follow in his footsteps, provided Villa give him the chance.
Of course, they could also give him the opportunity of managing the club in the Championship should they fall through the trap door; it would be a progressive step.
Meanwhile, Villa must avoid selling this man!
