MY ACCOUNT
Steven Gerrard looks to be clinging on as manager of Aston Villa after less than a year in charge.
The Villans have endured a miserable Premier League campaign so far with only two wins from 10 games despite heavy investment in the transfer market.
A positive performance in last Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea suggested there is life in Gerrard’s Villa yet, though large sections of the fanbase look to have already made up their mind.
Ahead of two potentially pivotal games against Fulham tonight and Brentford on Sunday, we look at whether the Liverpudlian’s time is up at Villa Park.
A poor year
Villa’s struggles go back much further than just the current campaign, with their form in 2022 making for grim reading.
In 30 top-flight games this calendar year, Villa have won only eight times. Of the six teams they have beaten, only four are still Premier League clubs.
Their win record of 27% is poor by any team’s standards but for one who have made no secret of their desire to challenge for Europe, it is nothing short of disastrous.
Given a similar run in 2021 led to popular predecessor Dean Smith’s dismissal, it is unsurprising to see questions being asked of Gerrard a year on — something the 42-year-old is well aware of.
He said of the pressure he is facing: “We need to turn these results into wins and try to move up the table.
“For me, it’s about protecting the players. There will be criticism and I need to take the responsibility away from the players.
“I have to keep fighting and I will take any criticism that comes my way and accept it.”
Tactical troubles
Poor results could be accepted if there were clear signs of improvement on the field but nearly a year into his tenure, it is still not clear what Villa’s identity is under Gerrard.
The ex-midfielder’s drive to implement his philosophy suffered a blow when assistant coach Michael Beale — now tipped to take over at Wolves — left to take the QPR job over the summer.
In the transfer market, Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara were the marquee arrivals as Gerrard looked to build a team of high-quality, established players who could play expansive football and dominate possession.
Long-term injuries to both those men, as well as January signing Lucas Digne, is a cruel turn of fortune for the Villa boss but his side were not exactly flying before they recent recruits were sidelined.
It has seen Gerrard switch to a more pragmatic approach in recent weeks but while the defence has improved, effectiveness in the final third has suffered — only Wolves have scored fewer than Villa’s seven this campaign.
The Villa boss recently admitted he was relying on “moments of magic” in attack from the likes of Philippe Coutinho and other stars, of which there have been few and far between.
Glimmer of hope
For all the disappointment of the current campaign, Sunday’s defeat against Chelsea provided plenty of positives.
The Midlands outfit could conceivably have scored two or three based on the chances they created, with their expected goals total of 1.94 their third highest of the season.
But defensive errors, poor finishing and a spectacular goalkeeping display from Blues stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga meant it ended all too familiarly for Villa, with defeat and another blank in front of goal.
And it seems a good display like that is no longer enough to appease the Villa Park faithful.
Boos and chants of “we want Gerrard out” were audible at the final whistle and would most likely have been louder had much of the stadium not already left by that point.
Crunch time
Results are now all that matter for the former Rangers boss.
“I want to prove to everyone that I can improve my position,” a bullish Gerrard has said.
“I am here to fight and lead every single minute of every day and I have complete faith and belief in myself that I can turn this situation around.”
Villa’s two best performances have arguably come against Manchester City and Chelsea this season but it is how they perform against the so called lesser teams where he will ultimately be judged.
Fulham and Brentford fall into that category and are sides Villa chiefs would expect to beat if their ambitious aims are to be reached.
Reports of the club sounding out an ambitious move for former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino suggest those high up may be ready to concede that the Gerrard appointment has failed.
How tonight’s away clash and Sunday’s home game play out could be crucial in the Liverpool legend convincing his bosses that he is still the right man to move Villa forward.
