Steven Gerrard is coming up on the first anniversary of being appointed Aston Villa manager. The former Liverpool midfielder joined Aston Villa after managing Rangers for two and half seasons.
Gerrard got off to a strong start at Villa Park, but the results cooled. Aston Villa were able to string together results, but the Villains failed to win any of their last four matches in the Premier League. A 3-2 loss to Manchester City on the final day in which Aston Villa threw away a two-goal lead was a wholly disappointing result for the club.
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The Scottish Premiership-winning manager took over with Aston Villa in 16th place in November 2021. Gerrard oversaw 27 league matches helping Aston Villa move up to 14th place in the final Premier League table.
While ownership will want fans to have patience with the managers, many supporters have lost all tolerance for Gerrard at the club. Aston Villa has spent heavily since returning to the Premier League. The sale of Jack Grealish offset some of the club’s spending, yet money has continued to be spent on players.
Aston Villa’s 1-1 draw with Man City on September 3 was the Birmingham-based club’s best performance of the campaign. However, it was a performance that will likely delay the inevitable of Gerrard being sacked by the club.
Gerrard has overseen 35 matches at Aston Villa (as of September 3). The Villains have a record of 12W-6D-17L in all competitions in that period. Dean Smith, the man Gerrard replaced, spent around three seasons at Villa Park. Smith led the Villains into the Premier League courtesy of the Championship’s promotion playoffs.
Smith managed 138 matches at Aston Villa and posted a record of 56W-27-55L. He had a points-per-match figure of 1.41. Gerrard has a points-per-match average of 1.20. Plenty of fans have argued that Gerrard’s body of work at Aston Villa is no better than Smith’s. With an international break quickly approaching, Gerrard could suffer the same fate as Smith.
Gerrard has long been claimed as Jurgen Klopp’s successor at Liverpool. However, the Reds may stir clear of Gerrard if Aston Villa cut ties with him. The manager has been called arrogant and tactically unaware by some fans. Regardless of the labels given to Gerrard by fans, he hasn’t been able to get the most out of players. Many of the players Gerrard uses were handpicked, including Philippe Coutinho.
The manager resembles many of the coaches of old. Managers picked favourites and used initiation to sign footballers or starting XIs. The analytics craze has eliminated the old-school Harry Redknapp manager that signed players during the summer transfer window and discarded them 12 months later.
Gerrard’s 1-1 draw versus Man City put off the inevitable unless the results change. Aston Villa have struggled this season with four points from six games. Gerrard was supposed to lead Villa into the future, yet the Villains look like they are experiencing the same old issues.
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