Phil Thompson has explained why he had to turn down Gerard Houllier’s offer to return to coaching in the Premier League and, despite what you might think about him, it’s difficult not to respect him, both for his rationale and his honesty.

Phil Thompson
Had circumstances been different, I would have been delighted to accept the chance to join Gérard Houllier and work with him and Patrice Bergues once again at Aston Villa.

But I had to weigh up the pros and cons and while it was both flattering to be asked, not to mention hugely enticing, I really had no other choice but to turn the offer down.

When you work with Gérard, you are signing up to 12 hour days; on top of that, you have to go to reserve games, scout players and also head off to check up on forthcoming opponents – in other words, you have to be totally committed.

I would have been cheating Gérard, the club and the fans and that would not have been fair. Aston Villa are a terrific club with a great history and I remember only too well being on the end of a 5-1 drubbing there in 1976

I skipped over Phil’s explanation of how he didn’t want to disrupt his family, but didn’t feel this was a job he could do on a commuting basis, the full article is worth a read.

What I was interested in was Thompson’s quick sketch of Houllier the manager and his approach to the job.  On that same subject, Phil McNulty’s blog is also worth your time, I particularly enjoyed this anecdote:-

Phil McNulty
He will bring meticulous planning and an almost slavish attention to the details of tactics and preparation to Villa Park. After once asking Houllier to help with a rundown of teams for the 2002 World Cup in Japan, I arrived at his Melwood office to find him armed with pages of notes detailing his thoughts on the qualities or otherwise of each side in the tournament. Lack of preparation was not an option.

And for the fans concerned about commitment, it’s just been confirmed that Houllier has signed a three year contract, not the two that was widely reported.

Finally, you may have noticed that Thompson mentioned Patrice Bergues, someone Houllier has frequently worked with throughout his career. Bergues joined Lens as a youth coach a year before Houllier moved on to PSG and he stayed with the club for 12 years, rising to manager himself in 1992.

Bergues joined Houllier at the French Football Federation in 1996 and then went with him to Liverpool where he was an assistant coach for 3 years before rejoining Lens as sporting director. Finally, when Houllier took over at Lyon, Bergues again joined him as an assistant coach.

It sounds almost certain that he will be a key member of Houllier’s coaching staff, we’re still waiting to hear what role Kevin MacDonald will have, but I’m assuming, and hoping, it will be something similar.