New run of money for AVB to take Reds reins

THERE have been some major moves in the lively manager markets today as Andre Villas-Boas returned to the head of the next Liverpool boss betting, while former favourite for the Aston Villa job Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's decision to rule himself out of the running for the Villa Park hotseat the night before forced bookmakers into a rethink.

Molde boss Solskjaer led the Norwegian club to their first league title last season and had been as short as 1-8 to take the reins at Villa at one stage, but the 39-year-old pulled out of discussions with the club and quickly drifted to 25-1 with bet365.

The firm admitted that they were finding the market tough to price up and bet365 spokesmen Steve Freeth said: “Solskjaer’s withdrawal has left us scratching our heads as to who to make favourite now.”

Roberto Martinez is front-runner in a volatile market – he was jostling for favouritism with Paul Lambert – and punters have found it similarly difficult to latch on to anything concrete in the Liverpool market, where Martinez has always been among the favourites.

Indications had led many to believe that Liverpool were not in a hurry to appoint a new gaffer to replace Kenny Dalglish, but that didn’t prevent punters rushing in to back AVB for the job after rumours surfaced that the Reds were closing in on a deal for the Portuguese gaffer.

He is odds-on with most firms and a best-priced 5-4 with Betfred and Boylesports, with Martinez drifting out to 11-4.

Louis van Gaal is 9-1 third-favourite but that looks surprising with the Dutch manager reportedly among the leading candidates to be the club’s new sporting director.

Fabio Capello is out to 18-1 to be named next Liverpool boss after reports he was not being considered.