| MacDonald expects Houllier to succeed • Coach ends caretaker spell this weekend• He was not offered assistant manager roleKevin MacDonald will oversee his final game as Aston Villa's caretaker manager against Bolton Wanderers tomorrow before handing over control of a team that he believes has the potential to "go places" if Gérard Houllier can harness their collective talent.Houllier will be watching from the stand at Villa Park before formally taking over as manager on Monday after finally coming to an agreement with the French Football Federation over the terms of his release from his position as technical director. The Frenchman has spoken to MacDonald on a daily basis since Monday's defeat by Stoke City and he could visit the dressing room after the Bolton match.MacDonald, however, has been given responsibility for picking the side and, before his last match as caretaker, he has extolled the strengths of the squad Houllier will inherit, including the promising academy graduates he has selected. "There's a lot to be excited about around here," MacDonald said. "There is a young, vibrant squad allied to some very, very good senior professionals. If he can manage that and bring them forward, the club is going to go places."Villa are hoping that Gary McAllister, Middlesbrough's first-team coach, will be alongside Houllier for the Carling Cup tie against Blackburn on Wednesday. Villa and Middlesbrough are discussing compensation for McAllister, who has made it clear he would like to join Houllier in the Midlands.MacDonald was offered the chance to work with Houllier, although he said one of the reasons he declined the opportunity was because "when managers come in they should have their own staff". It has emerged, however, that Houllier did not ask MacDonald if he wanted to be his assistant and instead offered him a position that came without a specific title and was more of an administrative role, something that would not have appealed to the Scot, who is happiest coaching.MacDonald, who will return to his post as reserve-team manager next week, has yet to make a decision about staying with Villa in the long term. He was "disappointed" to be overlooked for the manager's position but believes his time as caretaker has helped to change his profile. "For me to have an interview for a manager's job at this football club, alongside Gérard Houllier, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Alan Curbishley, that's a pretty big step I've taken in six or seven weeks."Aston VillaPremier LeagueGérard HoullierStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
QB stability: some teams don't care By BARRY WILNER 2010-09-23T22:37:02ZCall it the QB Shuffle. Or the QB Quandary.... hosted.ap.org |
Vision d'Etat can rule the roost in Champion Stakes at Newmarket • French challenger rates a good bet at 4-1 on offer• Form of recent Group Three victory has been frankedVision d'Etat should probably be favourite to win the Emirates Champion Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday week and looks the wrong price at 4-1 with Bet365 and Stan James, the only two firms brave enough to take a chance upon forming a market for the contest.After winning the Prix du Jockey-Club in 2008, connections understandably took the view that Vision d'Etat was going to be at his best over a mile and a half, a decision seemingly vindicated when he battled home in the Prix Niel later that year.After all, he was bought with the Gold Cup more in mind than a Flat campaign having been seen as a jumping prospect when first put into training as a two-year-old.But Vision d'Etat has defied his pedigree and having looked a non-stayer when a close fifth to Zarkava in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, he again failed to get home in the same race 12 months later. Instead it is back at a mile and a quarter that he has registered his two best two performances, victories in last year's Prince of Wales's Stakes and Hong Kong Cup, the latter race seeing him and home-trained runner-up Collection come home 2½ lengths clear of Luca Cumani's Presvis, who at that stage was at the very top of his game.A failed tilt at the Dubai World Cup (a race best disregarded for form purposes) saw him rested through the summer, and while the likes of Twice Over and Snow Fairy have been keeping busy on a regular basis throughout recent months, Vision d'Etat has had just one race, a Group Three at Deaville last month.While that may not have been the greatest of races, the form was given a notable boost last weekend when Cirrus des Aigles and Budai, who finished third and second respectively having proved no match for the winner, came home first and second in the Group Two Prix Dollar at Longchamp.The selection is effective on any ground conditions, and thankfully trainer Eric Libaud - whose wife is a part-owner of the horse - has seen sense this year with Vision d'Etat and bypassed a third tilt at the Arc in favour of this race.Despite winning one of his four Group Ones in Britain, he doesn't have an exciting profile and his presence in the line-up won't be putting bums on seats at Newmarket. But he comes into the contest on the top of his game and having avoided the sort of heavy campaign which sees the form book regularly thrown out of the window at the tail-end of the Flat season, he rates a good bet.Horse racingHorse racing tipsWill Haylerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
With Harangody, Jackson gone, can Notre Dame stay in Big East hunt? Hanging high over the floor at the Joyce Center, a banner sporting Luke Harangody's No. 44 is hard to miss. Harangody, one of the most prolific ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
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