Ah, Billy Davies. We haven’t spoken about you for a while.
‘King Billy’ has been pretty quiet in recent years. He hasn’t held a managerial post since leaving Nottingham Forest for a second time in 2014.
The Scot really made a name for himself at Preston, taking North End to two successive play-off campaigns before falling short to West Ham United and Leeds United respectively.
It was a great time to be a Preston fan. North End were hard to beat and rarely lost under Davies, whilst also enjoying a stunning defensive record in the 2005-06 season saw Preston concede just 30 goals in 46 games, losing only six times.
Fans adored Davies, but it all turned sour in the summer of 2006 as Davies left the club to join Derby County, taking a number of his staff with him to Pride Park.
Davies was far from popular at Deepdale after joining a Championship rival, and many will remember the anger on the Town End when he clapped the Preston fans upon his return to the club.
Some still love Davies; results-wise, he was outstanding for North End and took us closer to the Premier League than any manager since David Moyes.
Many can’t forgive him for his exit, but they at least haven’t had to see him in management for a while. Now, a return could be on the cards.
The Daily Record report that Davies could be a candidate for the Aberdeen job, which would see him return to domestic management in Scotland for the first time since leaving Motherwell in September 2001.
The report notes that Craig Brown is an advisor to the board at Aberdeen, and that could work out favourably for Davies – even though Stephen Glass is currently the favourite to replace Derek McInnes.
Brown has always been a big fan of Davies, first bringing him to Preston as his assistant before Davies proved to be his successor at Deepdale.
That relationship could emerge again, this time at Pittodrie, though just how Davies and his methods have stood the test of time remain to be seen after so long out of the game.