Sporting director, technical director, director of football, general manager. Take your pick, all the same thing. I elected to avoid the director of football tag in the headline as it’s frequently been used in England and without success enough that just the mention of the term leads to assumptions of unavoidable failure.

It’s a system that’s been used in Europe for many years though and in places is regarded as the norm. Quite why it hasn’t taken hold in the UK, I’m not sure, but it possibly comes down to egos and tradition. I mooted the idea as being about the only way I could see Bob Bradley being able to step into the void MON left behind.

If I’m honest, I haven’t been overly convinced by KMac in terms of confidence and authority in relation to taking on the biggest of jobs at Villa, but like Bradley, maybe assuming a head coach role alongside a more experienced man acting as a sporting director could be the solution.

A handful of the interviewees have become semi-public knowledge this week and most, if not all, have failed to excite. It has to be said, in normal circumstances, I’d like to think that Alan Curbishley and Sven Goran Eriksson would be highly unlikely to get an interview, but given the timing and the amount of available talent, I can see why they’ve been given the opportunity to talk about their ideas.

Another name that emerged earlier this week was ex-Liverpool manager, Gerard Houllier, the man I will always remember agreed to a Milan Baros/John Carew straight swap with MON. I think we all know who got the better side of that bargain.

In the last couple of hours, Houllier has become the latest next Villa manager, following on from Bradley, Eriksson, Moyes, Curbishley and anyone else I forgot to mention. I can’t speak for the likelihood of Houllier being appointed in any role at Villa Park, but it does present a good opportunity to give some thought to the prospect of adopting the sporting director/head coach set up.

The most important factor for me during this whole process has been to see the need for continuity addressed and I was encouraged to find that tone in the last official announcement. David Moyes is a manager I think could do that, but he’s never really been likely to be in the frame for the job. Among the actual candidates we know about, I’m not so sure.

Under the circumstances, maybe someone like Gerard Houllier and possibly Kevin MacDonald as head coach would be the perfect solution. Houllier could get on with the task of repairing the coaching structure that’s left with a large MON shaped hole after he took his team with him, while also building a proper scouting system to put Villa in a stronger position to bring quality youngsters through the academy. KMac, or whoever is head coach, could do just that, coach.

As I said in the Bob Bradley piece, the success, or otherwise, of this style of management, I believe, comes down to the pairing. If the chemistry is right and they work together, it can be ideal, but if they don’t, well, it can be a disaster.

Whatever the solution, it looks almost certain to be in place before the Stoke game. Let’s hope Randy gets it right.