Gerard Houllier: Aston Villa's New Manager and His Time at Liverpool

With Martin O'Neill leaving Aston Villa just before the beginning of the new season, it was assumed by all that a new man would be put in place before the end of the transfer window. Caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald was given the run of the team for the opening matches of the season and, though he started well with a win over West Ham United, subsequently suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat against Newcastle United and was knocked out of the Europa League by Rapid Vienna.

In the end, owner Randy Lerner bided his time before picking his man and eventually plumped for current French Technical Director Gerard Houllier, who returns to manage in the Premiership six years after leaving Liverpool.

In signing up Houllier for the position, Lerner is showing that he is looking for several things in his new boss: firstly, someone with experience in managing in England's top flight; secondly, a manager who has the aura and respect that winning trophies commands; and thirdly, a manager who has an excellent network of scouts and knowledge of players around the globe, something which may well be important given the implied limited resources of Aston Villa in the transfer market.

Houllier has already made approaches to assign Phil Thompson, his assistant at Anfield, the same role now at Villa Park, which "Thommo" has decided to turn down. Due to his media commitments and where he lives at the moment, he doesn't feel he would be able to give the job the undivided attention it needs. Houllier is therefore expected to make an approach for Gary McAllister, who he signed as a player while at Liverpool and was an inspirational part of the team which won the UEFA Cup in 2001.

While at Liverpool, Gerard Houllier transformed the club which was, off the pitch, falling way behind the necessary level. The Melwood training complex, so long the base from which managers down the years plotted their routes to success, was out of date and no longer provided the manager with the platform to prepare his team adequately. State-of-the-art equipment was introduced and the pitches were improved no end. Changes to the reserve team and the Acadamy base at Kirkby were also apparent.

The biggest changes, however, were on the pitch, as familiar faces departed and a new breed of foreign signings were ushered in. Players like Vladimir Smicer, Sami Hyypia, and Stephane Henchoz all arrived in a short space of time, and once the ill-fated double management team of Houllier and Roy Evans had run its course, Houllier was allowed to shape the side exactly as he wanted it.

Liverpool had endured a run of pretty football but lack of success under previous manager Evans—who should not be derided for that given what he had to work with after taking over from Souness—but Houllier quickly brought about an era of hard work, professionalism, and, in time, incredible success.

There are those who questioned Houllier's judgement in the transfer market and it is hard to disagree with those signed from 2002 onwards, but from 1998 until that point he signed some of the best players Liverpool have had in the modern age.

Defenders Markus Babbel joined on a free transfer, Sami Hyypia was an absolute steal at £2.5m, and Didi Hamann was a rock in Liverpool's midfield for seasons to come. Houllier also oversaw the development of players such as Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard.

In 2001, Houllier won his first silverware with Liverpool in a League Cup penalty shootout victory over Birmingham City. Houllier claimed at the time that "the first trophy is the hardest to win," and his words appeared to ring true as Liverpool claimed a mind-boggling five trophies in six months including that first one.

Next up was the FA Cup Final. The Reds had had a kind route to the final but came up against an Arsenal side whose passing and movement had a spell-binding effect on many teams. Indeed, it seemed only a matter of time before they scored the goals to win the trophy themselves, but after trailing 1-0, Liverpool turned around the game courtesy of two Michael Owen goals.

Off went the triumphant Reds to Dortmund to play in the UEFA Cup final against Spanish outfit Alaves. Liverpool had had a very tough semifinal against Barcelona to reach this far, and perhaps the most entertaining UEFA Cup Final ever saw them triumph again to win 5-4, with an extra time Golden Goal own goal adding to earlier strikes from Gerrard, McAllister, Babbel, and Fowler.

Liverpool signed off that season with a win over Charlton to seal Champions League football the following season, which they begun with Charity Shield and European Super Cup wins over Manchester United and Bayern Munich respectively, to take Houllier's haul of trophies to five.

That season, 2001/02, saw Houllier fall seriously ill and taken to hospital in the middle of a game to have a life-saving heart operation. His time out of the game that season was hard for him to take but assistant Thompson steered the club through the turbulent time and eventually Houllier returned to the dug out in time for the UEFA Champions League clash against Roma, inspiring the Reds to victory.

However, although Liverpool did finish second in the league that season, that summer saw the beginning of the end for Houllier as a string of poor signings (such as Diouf, Diao, and Cheyrou) and lack of attacking performances saw Liverpool drop out of being title contenders and finish in only fifth place, with scant consolation coming in the form of a second League Cup triumph, this time by 2 goals to 0 over rivals Manchester United.

Houllier that summer again failed to recapture his verve and inspire Liverpool to greater things and eventually left the club in the summer of 2004. Though under his stewardship Liverpool had failed to live up to expectations in the past two seasons, he had signed a wealth of players who were to become a big part of the team which had success over the next two years.

Houllier left Liverpool without feeling that he had fully realised the potential of the club, but had, on and off the pitch, at least brought it back into the mainstream of successful sides and given the supporters a new clutch of players to love.

Since leaving Liverpool, Houllier had success back in his homeland of France with club side Lyon, steering them to two domestic titles in two years, before leaving them in 2007.

Houllier is a manager with undoubted talent and a very clear idea of what he wants his teams to do. He is regarded as a disciplinarian by many outside his clubs but many of his previous players have said that he is also very caring about the players' personal lives and likes to look after his "football family."

If he can recapture his enthusiasm and belief from his early years at Liverpool, and usher through the ranks of exciting young players that Villa seem to have at the moment, such as Albrighton, Bannan, and Lichaj, then Randy Lerner will have netted himself a very good manager indeed to steer Aston Villa forward.