Moving Target – Remi Garde

After sacking Tim Sherwood following the 2-1 home defeat against Swansea, Aston Villa appointed Remi Garde as their new manager on a three-and-a-half-year contract. The former Lyon boss takes over at Villa Park with the club rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, with just four points from their opening 11 matches.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Garde conceded he faces a difficult challenge given the club’s current predicament but is optimistic after watching Monday’s clash with Tottenham:

“Obviously we have a difficult task in front of us but I’m looking forward to the challenge with the support of everyone who loves Aston Villa. I am quite confident because there are some very good players in the team. The team is unfortunate at the moment, I think. Hopefully we can pull together and improve the level. The situation at the moment is very difficult for everybody. I am just arriving. I have some ideas, of course, because I have watched a lot of the games they have played since the start of the season. The spirit I saw on the field (against Spurs) was quite encouraging for me. I am going to work on that. I hope we will improve in different ways. It’s a very short time before the next game on Sunday. I have no time. I know that.”

THE HISTORY

Having enjoyed a successful playing career at hometown club Lyon, Strasbourg and Arsenal, while also playing six times for his country, Garde took his first steps on the coaching ladder at his former side Lyon in 2003. Following Paul Le Guen’s departure in 2005, Garde was promoted to the role of assistant manager under new boss Gerard Houllier. He was linked with a return to Arsenal as a director of football in 2007 with his contract at Lyon due to expire, but that move failed to materialise. The former Gunners midfielder also worked as a director at Lyon’s training complex in 2010 before being appointed the club’s new manager in the summer of 2011.

In his first season at the helm, Garde managed a fourth place finish in Ligue 1, which was seen as a disappointing campaign, despite having lost key players such as Jeremy Toulalan and Miralem Pjanic. He did guide his team to victory in the French Cup, though, which meant he was handed the chance to remain in charge.

The 2012/13 season saw further rebuilding of the squad, with young players such as Alexandre Lacazette and Clement Grenier afforded first-team opportunities. The third place finish was regarded as a relatively successful season, given the significant cutting of the wage bill, but after losing the Champions League qualifier to Real Sociedad at the start of the 2013/14 campaign, the pressure began to mount on Garde. The fourth place finish that ensued, meaning no Champions League football for Les Gones, saw Garde resign at the end of the season. His spell at Lyon was always going to be tricky given the club were looking to cut costs after some lavish spending under previous regimes, but he did demonstrate his talent for bringing through young players, something that may have appealed to the Villa hierarchy ahead of his appointment.

THE PREVIOUS REGIME

Sherwood took over at Villa in February with the club in danger of losing their top flight status. Victories against West Brom and Sunderland in his first four matches in charge helped raise the confidence levels, along with a memorable 2-1 win against Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final. Villa eventually finished 17th, three points above the relegation zone, although they did perform disappointingly against Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, losing 4-0.

Despite losing Christian Benteke, Fabian Delph and Ron Vlaar over the summer, the 1-0 win at Bournemouth on the opening day of the season offered hope that some of the new signings such as Micah Richards, Jordan Amavi and Rudy Gestede could prove to be adequate replacements. After picking up just one point from their next nine matches, Sherwood was shown the exit door last month.

Sherwood experimented with a few different formations, although he broadly favoured the 4-3-3 formation. Certainly, there are plenty of pacy options in attacking areas, with Gabriel Agbonlahor, Scott Sinclair and Jordan Ayew all in contention, whilst the likes of Carles Gil and Jack Grealish failed to flourish as creators either centrally or on the flank. Sherwood also experimented with a three-man defence and wing-backs, but that also failed to produce results.

It’s something of an understatement to suggest that Villa have struggled to convince at either end of the pitch so far. The midlands outfit have scored a mere ten times this season – only Stoke (nine) have managed less – whilst with 20 goals against, and no clean sheets since Gameweek 1, Garde clearly has his work cut out.

THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON

With 27 league fixtures still remaining, Garde takes over with sufficient time to turn the fortunes around at Villa Park. Having only managed a side that was vying for honours at the top of Ligue 1, though, the difference in the challenge facing the former Lyon boss could not be more stark.

The 49-year-old has been likened to mentor Arsene Wenger thanks to his calm demeanour and studious approach to the game. Whereas Sherwood was known for his fiery personality, Garde will provide more of a tactical focus than a motivational one. Gerald Baticle, one of Garde’s coaches during his spell at Lyon, outlined some of his main qualities back in 2012:

“When you work with him, he’s straightforward and honest. He is structured, well-organised and thoughtful in terms of how he designs sessions, manages things and, above all, in his discussions with players. He has a knack for always knowing the right thing to say to them. He rarely gets it wrong.”

During his time charge at the Stade Gerland, Garde mainly used 4-1-4-1 or a 4-3-1-2 (ie, a midfield diamond) systems. Key to this was a holding midfielder sitting in front of the back-four, allowing the full-backs freedom to bomb forward, whilst he also had a penchant for utilising natural strikers such as Bafetimbi Gomis, Jimmy Briand and Lisandro Lopez in the wide roles.

The Frenchman prefers a possession-based style of football, with an onus on taking the game to the opposition. His Lyon side conceded more goals than you’d have expected for a team challenging at the higher echelons of the table, though, which will be a slight concern given the fragility of the Villa rearguard.

In Garde’s final season at Lyon, left-back Henri Bedimo registered nine assists – a clear indication of his approach. In Jordan Amavi, Villa have a young player whose strengths lie in his ability to raid down the left flank and gets crosses in, having already notched two assists in nine league appearances this season. Similarly, Leandro Bacuna was often used by Sherwood at right-back, and could also be utilised in that position by the new manager. At 4.8 in FPL, he could appeal slightly more than Amavi (5.0) should he be able to hold off the challenge of Alan Hutton and earn a regular starting berth.

In central midfield, the likes of Idrissa Gueye and Carlos Sanchez could battle it out for the ball-winning role, then, with Ashley Westwood and Jordan Veretout perhaps playing slightly further forward.

When assessing Villa’s attacking options, it’s fair to say that Garde has numerous candidates at his disposal. Aside from the aforementioned Agbonlahor, Sinclair, Ayew, Gestede, Gil and Grealish, there’s also Adama Traore and Charles N’Zogbia to consider, depending on the new manager’s formation. Garde’s prospects of success may well rest on how much he can get out of the likes of Grealish. The 20-year-old may be short on experience, but with Garde’s history for developing young players, he may be entrusted with the number ten role under the new regime if the Frenchman opts for a midfield diamond. Grealish has only managed one goal and a single assist in his 26 league appearances, though, so there’s no doubt those numbers need to improve if Villa are to start picking up results.

Up top, Garde has favoured strong target men such as Gomis before, so Gestede appears likely to profit here, with Ayew and Agbonlahor possibly battling it out for the other spot, should the new man opt for two strikers. Both players have plenty of pace, and should be able to play off Gestede’s knock-downs and lay-offs – certainly, Ayew’s two goals in as many matches bodes well for his minutes.

Looking at the schedule, though, Villa’s upcoming matches (MCI, eve, WAT, sot, ARS, new) will certainly throw Garde right into the deep end, with Fantasy points looking hard to come by at both ends of the pitch. In essence, that will allow us to observe the Frenchman’s impact before the fixtures turn more favourably from Gameweek 19 onwards.