No Young, No Martinez. No hope?

If Aston Villa fans genuinely believed that they support a big club then today's events must have left them seriously questioning their judgement.

Whether or not Villa ever got the chance to speak to him remains up for debate, with both clubs offering different tales as ever, but the fact the Roberto Martinez was unwilling to even discuss taking over from Gerard Houllier as Villa manager says very little for the club's status in English football.

While Villa fans may have been typically unenthusiastic about the prospect of the Spaniard taking over, my personal feeling is he would have been a breath of fresh air and would have rejuvinated a club which for so many years has been working so hard but getting so little. A bit of Spanish flair would have done wonders for the playing staff and fans.

And where do Villa go from here? We are back where we started with Mark Hughes at the top of the betting for the job. The Villa board are either biding their time in waiting until July 1st when he is officially free to join another club, he doesn't want the job or Villa simply are not interested. Who knows. Hughes would be a big name, but whether he would breathe life into a tired club remains to be seen.

Steve McLaren's name continues to be muted, but a simple look at Aston Villa message boards suggests he would not be a popular appointment. But then again, as previously mentioned, Villa fans tend to be pessimistic on any appointment and even Martin O'Neill was criticised during his reign which now seems so long ago. McLaren is determined to restore his reputation in English football and Villa too need a lot of work to justify their fans lofty expectations; McLaren's determination could be a perfect appointment. However, Lerner appears downbeat on that possibility, or with McLaren being a free agend he would surely have already made an offer.

And with all this uncertainty, it is unsurprising that Ashley Young appears to have finally made his decision to join Manchester United. Good luck to him. He has given four years to the club, which has been its most successful in recent years and like Martinez could have been, Young was a breath of fresh air in his time at the club. He will go on to justify the price tag at United after finally being given a chance to shine in an England shirt. It is a shame for Villa that he will not continue to build his partnership with Darren Bent, but with all the aforementioned managerial uncertainty and dismal season last year, who can blame him for joining the second best side in Europe.

But Villa fans should keep the faith. There are two months before pre-season friendlies begin and Lerner will rightly take his time in getting the next appointment right. Young's exit will signal a more prominent role in the team for Marc Albrighton, who was outstanding in flashes last season, and whoever the new manager is will undoubtedly bring in fresh talent.

Just who that man is, remains to be seen.