Next Aston Villa Manager: Moyes retreat leaves Villa with two paths

Michael Lintorn
23 May 2016

David Moyes has reportedly asked to no longer be considered for the Aston Villa vacancy

Join

Twitter

Facebook

View the Betslip

Roberto Di Matteo is once against favourite for the Aston Villa job following David Moyes' exit from contention...

"Whereas they were initially glued together at around the 2.6 to 2.8 mark following Moyes’ retreat, Di Matteo has since strode inwards as the most probable appointment at 1.715/7, with Pearson sliding out to 3.211/5."

It has been a dramatic few days for David Moyes backers and layers in the next Aston Villa manager betting market on Betfair.

Having been a frontrunner when the position first became available, the former Preston, Everton, Manchester United and Real Sociedad boss drifted as far out as 240.0 before re-emerging as the 1.81 favourite in the aftermath of Dr Tony Xia's takeover.

However, no sooner had he resurfaced as market leader than it appears as though he is completely out of the running. The BBC report that he has pulled out citing a reluctance to drop into the Championship, which feels like a strange realisation to have over five weeks after their relegation was confirmed.

Indeed, it seems almost nonsensical that he was interested when Randy Lerner was still in charge, board members and advisers were walking out weekly and there was no guarantee of any transfer funds to rebuild a squad which had been woefully inadequate, yet would withdraw when investment and hope of revival finally arrives. A drift to 21.020/1 indicates substance to the speculation though.

The Scot's decision is likely to be to the benefit of one of two former favourites, with the BBC claiming that Xia will now choose between Roberto Di Matteo and Nigel Pearson, and they anticipate that call being made by the end of the week to give the new manager plenty of time to sculpt their side.

Whereas they were initially glued together at around the 2.6 to 2.8 mark following Moyes' retreat, Di Matteo has since strode inwards as the most probable appointment at 1.715/7, with Pearson sliding out to 3.211/5.

The Italian is the more glamorous option - being able to match the Brit's feat of achieving a promotion from the Championship and boasting Champions League and FA Cup winner medals on top of that - and the more in-demand one too having recently been linked with the Lazio vacancy.

However, the outsider of the two definitely performed better in his last job than Di Matteo, guiding Leicester - who he had already lifted from League One to the second-tier play-offs in his first reign - to 14th in the Premier League in his second.

By contrast, the ex-Chelsea boss was last seen surviving less than a year at Schalke, ending their run of three successive Champions League qualifications in 2014/15.

Click here to check out more of Betting.Betfair's Championship tips and analysis