NEXT ASTON VILLA MANAGER BETTING ODDS: MACDONALD VS HOULLIER

The race for the next Aston Villa manager job seems to be coming to a close in the next few days or so as Gerard Houllier has emerged as, supposedly, the only other contender still in the race against current interim manager Kevin MacDonald. 
Betfair's live exchange market has been one of the best indicators of who's in contention and who's not. 
There's been plenty of movement since the last update and we've seen Sven Goran Eriksson effectively ruled out by a price that now trades at 44.0. Alan Curbishley looked to have been a strong contender in recent weeks but he's staring at a 17.5 price tag. 
The only remaining plausible contenders are Kevin MacDonald and Gerard Houllier and there isn't a huge amount between them. MacDonald is hovering around 2.15 while the former Liverpool boss is priced at a competitive 2.5. 
I think that Houllier is a great bet for the post at this point as the sheer fact that they're interviewing other people (this has been confirmed by several former candidates) means that they're actively looking to replace MacDonald. 
In my opinion, for the past week and a half it's been MacDonald's post to lose and a solution outlined the other day about the management structure with Houllier at the helm of a three-man managerial team and MacDonald included in a more direct head-coach role. 
Houllier's price was holding steady for the better part of the week in the upper single-digits. I think his recent silence about the position is a potential indication that discussions were progressing to a serious level and he doesn't want media interference from preventing him taking the post. It may be part of the requirements to even enter negotiation. If he wasn't in the running then he would have denied it by now, but Houllier has still refused to distance himself from the position. Keep that in mind, as a decent 2.5 price will be available until further information, or a formal statement, emerges.