Gerrard New Villa Head Coach
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As opposed to your immediate "Pfft...he'll get them relegated"? You have a habit of throwing out an exaggeration to disguise your own, moping around at the other end of the spectrum.
Let's face it, you were never going to say anything else.
That's still my bet. He should have started with a Championship team.
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Dreamy to start with.
[article]Steven Gerrard will relish the battle against the Premier League's best coaches and will hold 'no inferiority complex' after swapping Rangers for Aston Villa, according to his former team-mate Jamie Carragher.
Gerrard, 41, was confirmed as Villa's latest manager on Thursday morning and he will now start work ahead of his first game in charge against Brighton on November 20.
Villa have made a surprisingly poor start to the campaign and boyhood fan Dean Smith was shown the door with the club 16th in the Premier League.
For Carragher, who enjoyed rich success as a player at Liverpool alongside Gerrard, his close friend was presented with a decision to join and it was a 'no brainer'.
'His presence around the club, the aura he has, and the demands he places upon himself and expects of others could be transformative,' Carragher wrote in his Telegraph column.
'It is the most exciting Villa appointment in years, and brilliant for the Premier League to have a force of personality and world superstar such as Gerrard on the touchline.
'He will have no inferiority complex taking on the world-renowned coaches, that’s for sure.'
Gerrard will not have to wait long to cut his teeth against the Premier League's big-name bosses with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool coming up in the next five games.
'Every ambitious manager wants the chance to take on Klopp, Pep Guardiola, Thomas Tuchel and now Antonio Conte,' Carragher added.
'Gerrard is inheriting a good squad. It does not need major work to oversee a big improvement at Villa Park. The nucleus of the team is there.'
Gerrard was Villa's No 1 target to fill the vacancy, with the club's owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, as well chief executive Christian Purslow impressed by the job Gerrard, 41, has done at Ibrox, his first in management.
Gerrard won the Scottish Premiership title last term, breaking Celtic's sequence of nine in a row and going the entire league season unbeaten, and although he has shown fierce loyalty to the club, he has decided to embrace the challenge on offer at Villa Park. Rangers have been paid £2.5million in compensation.
Having proven his credentials in Scotland, bringing success back to Rangers and ending Celtic's dominance in Glasgow, he will now be under the microscope at Villa in staving off the immediate relegation threat.
'Aston Villa is a club with a rich history and tradition in English football and I am immensely proud to become its new head coach,' Gerrard said after being appointed.
'In my conversations with Nassef (Sawiris), Wes (Edens) and the rest of the Board, it was apparent how ambitious their plans are for the club and I am looking forward to helping them achieve their aims.
'I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everybody associated with Glasgow Rangers for giving me the opportunity to manage such an iconic football club.
'Helping them secure a record-breaking 55th league title will always hold a special place in my heart. I would like to wish the players, staff and supporters the very best for the future.'
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Might be the perfect place to hone his skills in preparation for the LFC job.
Oh, it is... He was fired because they'd lost 5 straight, show no sign of improving and are hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone. To call a new manager 'only' taking this team from 17th and how they're playing right now to 11th and playing well in a few months (if he does it) a failure is ridiculous.
I think he will probably do fine, and good luck to him.
I don't really accept that if they don't finish in the top half this season then it's a failure.
Although Villa have a decent squad, and really shouldn't be battling relegation, they are far from great, and I assume that the owners are looking at a long term plan. It will take a manager a while to put that plan into place and start getting results. Coming in halfway through a season, Gerrard will surely be looking at what system he wants, whether the players can fit into that and, if not, where the gaps are.
Remember, we have had a few managers come in mid-season before, we have tended to have been in a better position than Villa were when they took over, and have rarely seen much in the way of success in that first part season. but things often start to look better the next season.
I don't really accept that if they don't finish in the top half this season then it's a failure.
Although Villa have a decent squad, and really shouldn't be battling relegation, they are far from great, and I assume that the owners are looking at a long term plan. It will take a manager a while to put that plan into place and start getting results. Coming in halfway through a season, Gerrard will surely be looking at what system he wants, whether the players can fit into that and, if not, where the gaps are.
Remember, we have had a few managers come in mid-season before, we have tended to have been in a better position than Villa were when they took over, and have rarely seen much in the way of success in that first part season. but things often start to look better the next season.
Would anyone have predicted Arsenal would go from bottom to challenging top 4?
It doesn’t take a massive run to climb the table.
Coutinho to Villa in January?
Not the most suitable of examples, is it?
Arteta had a full pre-season and they splashed the cash (£142m) on players. This isn't Gerrard's team yet.
Arsenal were bottom after 3 games(?) and 2 of those defeats were to Chelsea and Man City. It's 11 games played and 5 straight defeats for Aston Villa.
Arteta had a full pre-season and they splashed the cash (£142m) on players. This isn't Gerrard's team yet.
Arsenal were bottom after 3 games(?) and 2 of those defeats were to Chelsea and Man City. It's 11 games played and 5 straight defeats for Aston Villa.
- Rodgers joined end Feb when Leicester was 11th (28 ply, 35 pts) and finished 9th (52 pts), avg 1.7 pts per game
- Moyes joined end Dec when West Ham was 17th (19 ply, 19 pts) and finished 16th (39 pts), avg 1.05 pts per game
- Smith's league pts avg per game for Aston Villa was 1.16 pts (32% win rate)
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Villa have plenty of talent. They’ll climb quickly and Gerrard is very astute.
Apples and oranges... Two very different situations.
2 of Arsenal's first 3 matches were the best two teams in the country. And they spent like drunken sailors in the summer - They were never not going to climb. And, challenging for the spots from 4th to 8th is probably where they should be, so yes, I'd say many people would have thought that they could improve over the next few months.
This is really set-up perfect for him and he knows it. They have a good squad with top half potential. If he does that, he will be a hero.
As long as he avoids the drop, he will have been a success managing someone else’s team, and have time and money for next year.
Even if they go down, they are going to give him a year to bounce back.
For a first premiership job, it is a perfect opportunity and why he jumped mid-season.
As long as he avoids the drop, he will have been a success managing someone else’s team, and have time and money for next year.
Even if they go down, they are going to give him a year to bounce back.
For a first premiership job, it is a perfect opportunity and why he jumped mid-season.
Villa have the squad to be top 10 easily even with Smith. With Gerrard I expect much higher. He didn’t just win the league in Scotland, it went much further.
To be frank, King Binny totally destroyed your point and all you can say is Villa have plenty of talent?
It's unlikely.... the ask is 50% win rate to scrape the bottom of top 10 with Aston Villa squad? When is the last time Aston Villa did something like that? If Gerrard manages that, then I think he is ready now to manage Liverpool right now......reality is far from it. That's why it is a fantastic challenge for Gerrard to overcome. It's a big test and not an easy one by any means.
[article]The former Rangers boss has taken influence from managers he's worked under in the past, but will also lean on a close ally for tactical detail
There is something particularly enticing about Steven Gerrard becoming the new Aston Villa manager.
Beyond the pairing of a Premier League legend with an historic English club, this is a match with huge risks but with potential rewards on both sides.
Villa and Gerrard are each stepping into the unknown, gambling on one another’s promising position in their respective development.
In theory, it is a good match. Gerrard's remarkable 2020-21 season at Rangers - an invincible campaign that ended Celtic's nine-year monopoly in the Scottish Premiership – suggests he is ready to test himself at Premier League level, something he needs to do before Liverpool can trust him as Jurgen Klopp's successor.
As for Villa, a progressive club with serious ambition to make it into the elite, they needed a manager who would continue Dean Smith's work towards adventurous attacking football – just with greater attention to detail.
It is fair to say Smith was not a particularly adept tactician. His game-plans often lacked structure, particularly when Villa attempted to build possession out from the back, as reflected in their poor record without Jack Grealish throughout Smith's three-year tenure.
Smith was a superb Villa manager, lifting the club from 14th in the Championship to a position whereby anything less than a European challenge was deemed unacceptable. In that respect he is a victim of his own success at Villa Park, but despite the perceived harshness of his dismissal, Villa were right to look for a tactical upgrade.
In Gerrard, and his close ally Michael Beale, Villa may have got what they wanted.
Beale is widely considered to be the ideas man behind Gerrard. A first-team coach at Rangers who Gerrard has brought with him to Villa Park, Beale worked in the academy at Chelsea and Liverpool before Gerrard took him to Scotland in 2018.
Gerrard's tactical philosophy
The new Villa manager has made it clear in interviews that his tactics are based on all of his former coaches, from Gerard Houllier to Rafa Benitez, which perhaps gets to the crux of the issue - Gerrard is not someone with a clearly identifiable or dogmatic playing style.
Rangers have changed a lot over the last couple of years, although there are core principles implemented by Gerrard and Beale that shed light on Villa's future.
Generally speaking, he attempts to dominate possession and press high up the pitch, in keeping with the fashion of the times. In this respect he is most like Jurgen Klopp, under whom Gerrard was briefly mentored as Liverpool academy coach.
Villa will press high up the pitch, aiming to retain compression between the lines via a high defensive line and intricately choreographed positional training.
Rangers, however, were happy to drop back when required and, as Gerrard says, there is some Benitez influence behind the club's impressive goals against tally of 13 last season.
How this translates to a mid-table Premier League club is hard to know. Rangers were always going to dominate possession and territory in the SPFL, and at Villa things won't be quite so smooth.
Nevertheless, on the whole Villa will try to suffocate teams and work patiently through them, rather than counter quickly – just like Smith attempted before him.
Two 10s, flying full-backs, and variety in midfield
In terms of the formation, Rangers have switched between a Liverpool-like 4-3-3, a 4-2-3-1, and a 4-3-2-1 over the last couple of seasons, finding most success with that latter system – in which the wingers move so far inside they essentially play as dual No.10s.
This forms an important part of Rangers' pressing, shutting off passing lines through the middle. It also allows for quick one-touch football between that narrow front three and creates space for flying full-backs.
A narrow formation inevitably draws the opposition infield, making room on the outside for full-backs, often found via sudden diagonal switches at Rangers.
It is telling that last season Rangers right-back James Tavernier scored 12 goals (albeit more than half came from the penalty spot) and assisted nine more, while left-back Borna Barisic amassed seven goal contributions. Full-backs are king for Gerrard; the clearest indication we have that he is a Klopp-ite at heart.
The midfield is harder to predict, such has been the variation in style, but Gerrard will expect very hard-working players and intelligent pressers through the middle in order to compliment a system that prioritises possession.
How good a fit is the Villa squad?
There is clearly a lot of joined-up thinking at Villa. Recruitment over the last few years has been suited to Smith's style of football, and therefore Gerrard's approximate similarity ensures the current squad is well-placed to absorb the new ideas.
In defence, confident ball-playing centre-backs like Axel Tanzuebe and Ezri Konsa should flourish, while Matt Targett and Matty Cash are much better going forward than defending. Gerrard may wish for an upgrade at left-back, but it is not a major priority.
John McGinn has the energy and positional sense to drive a Gerrard team forward, and Douglas Luiz's calming presence from the base of midfield will go down well. A January move for James Ward-Prowse would complete the trio.
In the attacking areas, Leon Bailey has experience as a pressing forward at Bayer Leverkusen and can play across the front line, while Emiliano Buendia should excel as the other winger/No.10.
Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins were both signed for their pressing abilities so, again, they fit the Gerrard mould very nicely.
Gerrard's in-tray
Theoretically, sorting Villa out should not be a problem in the short-term. This is a top-10 squad currently languishing on a run of five consecutive defeats and a new-manager bounce alone ought to lift them closer to the mean.
Villa's biggest flaw this season has been defending set-pieces, having conceded six in the Premier League – 30 per cent of their total. It bodes well for Villa fans that Gerrard's Rangers conceded just one set-piece goal in the whole of the 2020-21 season.
Beyond that, what Villa need most of all is more precise structure; a plan for where to stand and how to move in possession, which Beale and Gerrard will be striving to provide.
There are plenty of unknowns, plenty of reasons to believe it could go wrong, but from a tactical perspective Villa and Gerrard are a good fit.
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You can’t really blame Gerrard for taking the Villa job, the strain of trying to keep Rangers ahead of the genius and titan of modern football management that is Ange Postecoglou would have crushed other mere mortals by now.
Gerrard must be thankful he only has to take on B+ and below rated coaches like Klopp, Guardiola and Tuchel.
I hope Gerrard doesn’t shit himself too much when he sees the quality and depth of the Newcastle squad below him - he can only aspire to one day being able to coach players of the caliber of Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis.
Gerrard must be thankful he only has to take on B+ and below rated coaches like Klopp, Guardiola and Tuchel.
I hope Gerrard doesn’t shit himself too much when he sees the quality and depth of the Newcastle squad below him - he can only aspire to one day being able to coach players of the caliber of Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis.
[article]Speaking at his first Villa press conference, Gerrard admitted he's been in regular contact with his Liverpool counterpart.
He said: "I've been in touch with Jurgen since day one. I bump into him regularly when he walks his dogs, we live in a similar area.
"He’s a great man and coach, Liverpool are very lucky to have him at the helm. I'm a Liverpool fan so long may that continue.
"He sent me a message and he said he’s looking forward to a big hug on the side on December 11th so that’s something to look forward to."
Gerrard's appointment at Villa Park sees him follow in the footsteps of his "football father" Gerard Houllier.
Houllier - who passed away last December at the age of 73 - handed Gerrard his Liverpool debut in 1998 and the pair formed a close bond on and off the pitch.
The Frenchman spent a year in charge of Aston Villa before retiring from management in 2011 and Gerrard hopes to do his former mentor proud.
He said: "I'm sure he’s looking down and he's very proud. I'll be forever in debt of what he did for me.
"He really changed me as a person, he helped me a lot as a player and really improved my game intelligence and what it takes to stay at the top level.
"He went out of his way to talk to my parents, to see what I was eating and how I was getting on.
"I used to lean on him for advice, his advice to me was always ‘go and be the best version of yourself and you wont go to far wrong.’"
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He would be considered a success for keeping Villa up.
I like this new King Binny. His posting comments, showing his feelings. I think the Celestials have him a real boy.
I want Gerrard to do well, so he is a candidate when Klopp leaves.
From 17th to 15th in 1 game.
Another win and could be top 10.
Another win and could be top 10.
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