A slew of managerial speculation once again surrounds Villa following Houllier’s sad illness

Modern football is a stressful business and a dicky ticker isn’t an ailment that respectfully sits alongside the running of a top flight club, something which Gerard Houllier has unfortunately found out for a second time.

He has had many well wishers from within football, for which he has expressed his gratitude, but it seems unlikely that he will return to frontline management, particularly considering his previous heart scare in 2001.

The press have seemingly been slow to come to this realisation and perhaps that’s a mark of respect to a well liked person and manager, but Villa once gain find themselves in a position of potential re-birth, as speculation surrounding his possible successor increases.

Many media outlets have been non-committal on his future, refusing to entirely rule out the possibility of his return to Villa Park. The Guardian, however clearly has no time for fence-sitting, as they offered a strict and practical assessment of the situation.

Professional argumentative wafflers talkSPORT have doubtlessly chucked in their two penny worth on the situation, but the station’s most authoritative statement came from an interview with Chelsea’s cardiologist Dr Duncan Dymond, which was reprinted in The Independent.

“My own assessment, without knowing Gerard Houllier or having seen him, quite frankly he’s had one brush with the grim reaper already and now’s he had one serious warning, and to put himself through this again with the stresses and strains of being a football manager, I think he should call it a day.”

The red tops have stuck to what they know best and they’ve begun to set the wheels of the rumour mill in motion by speculating about the 63 year-old Frenchman’s potential successor and it’s largely the same list of candidates that were touted at the beginning of this season.

For Villa fans, a change could represent a barrier to progression, or for some it could be viewed as an opportunity to rebuild under a new manager, following a difficult season that’s predominantly been spent at the wrong end of the table.

Supporters will undoubtedly not have wanted the scenario to present itself in the way it has, but the tabloids seem unconcerned by this.

Instead, The Mirror has closed one avenue back into football for Houllier by asserting that he’ll be unable to return to the comfort of his previous desk-job at the French Football Federation, as his position has now been filled.

And The Sun has seemingly reprinted the same speculative article it bandied around after the departure of Martin O’Neil in August last year, similarly hyping Mark Hughes and David Moyes for the hot-seat, with the latter appearing to be increasingly discontent with the lack of financial clout available to him at Everton.

Villa once again find themselves in a period of transition, potentially caught in limbo between the influence and direction of another manager.

Whatever the outcome though, I sincerely hope Houllier returns to the game in some capacity and according to BBC Sport he’s in a comfortable condition and in relatively good shape, but his latest scare could force him to prioritise his health above the rigours of front line management. And if he does the wheels of speculation will begin to gather some serious speed.

Tags: Aston Villa, David Moyes, Everton, Fulham, Gerard Houllier, Mark Hughes, Premier League