MY ACCOUNT
Steven Gerrard got off to a flying start as Aston Villa boss — but the Villans’ form has dramatically dropped off since the turn of the year.
Starting with a 2-0 victory over Brighton in November, the Liverpool legend, 41, won four of his first six games in charge.
But early hopes of a push for the European places have been dashed following a run of just one win in seven league games — taking only a single point from clashes with relegation contenders Brentford, Leeds, Newcastle and Watford.
As Villa prepare to face Brighton once again on Saturday, we look at where things have gone wrong and what Gerrard must do to turn their fortunes around.
Defensive drop off
Gerrard’s reign kicked off with a much-needed clean sheet against the Seagulls — their first in almost two months.
After a resilient defensive display against Graham Potter’s side, Gerrard revealed that stopping Brighton from scoring was his number one instruction to the players before his first game.
He told the club’s official website: “I challenged the players before the game to, as a minimum, get a clean sheet.
“That allowed us to go and win the game because we suffered at times as a team.”
That philosophy appeared to carry into the next five games during victories over Crystal Palace, Leicester and Norwich — only being narrowly edged out by Manchester City and Liverpool during that run.
Yet since Gerrard has had more time to implement his philosophy, Villa are playing teams more on the front foot but are struggling defensively.
Since a 2-0 victory over Norwich in mid-December, the Midlands outfit have kept just one clean sheet in eight games across all competitions.
Attacking overkill
It is easy to see where the defensive issues are coming from.
Much like during his time at Rangers, Gerrard wants his full-backs to take up extremely advanced positions when in possession.
The arrival of Lucas Digne from Everton — a much more attack-minded left-back compared to Matt Targett — has only enhanced that, alongside Matty Cash on the right.
In theory, this allows marquee January signing Philippe Coutinho and Emiliano Buendia to cut inside and hurt opponents without the team losing its shape.
But it has left the Villans susceptible to counter-attacks — as Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Watford showed.
As would be expected from a home side against a relegation-threatened opponent, Villa spent much of the game with the ball in Watford’s half. However, they mustered just one shot on target.
Instead, it was goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez who was the much busier goalkeeper and, after Villa were caught on the break time and time again, Emmanuel Dennis eventually headed home a precious winner.
Midfield mishap
Problems at both ends could partly be down to a midfield currently not suited for Gerrard’s style of play.
John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Jacob Ramsey have all earned plaudits this season but are not known for their defensive qualities — particularly when their job is made more difficult by the space left by Villa’s full-backs.
They appear to have been lacking a tough-tackling, defensive option in their engine room ever since Marvelous Nakamba suffered a long-term injury against Liverpool.
Luiz has deputised in that deeper midfield role but tends to get forward and contribute to attacks much more than the Zimbabwean.
While undoubtedly enjoying a fruitful January transfer window, Villa’s inability to sign a defensive midfielder was a very public failure.
Unable to secure Yves Bissouma or other alternatives mid-season, and with Nakamba expected to be out until April, ex-midfielder Gerrard will have to find a way for it to work with his current crop.
A problem like Coutinho?
Villa securing the loan signing of ex-Liverpool star Coutinho made plenty of headlines and was hailed as a game-changing coup for Gerrard’s men.
That excitement was only heightened when the Brazilian scored just minutes into his debut during a 2-2 draw with Manchester United, before following up with an all-star display in his next home outing against Leeds.
But for all the games he has dazzled in, there seems to be an equal amount where he has struggled to connect with his team-mates.
Not least with strikers Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins, who are yet to score between them since the 29-year-old arrived.
Players of Coutinho’s quality almost instinctively force a team to set up around them and when they are unable to produce, other players are likely to suffer.
Villa’s poor attacking performances against Newcastle and Watford — where they managed just two shots on target over both games — showed that.
Striking a balance
The key for Gerrard looks to be striking the right balance between defence and attack.
That is certainly the opinion of former Villa midfielder Paul Merson, who gave a damning verdict of his old side’s chaotic recent performances.
He told Sky Sports: “One minute they are up here, the next they are down there. You have to get consistency, and that’s been the problem for Villa.
“They don’t keep enough clean sheets and are all over the place at times, so that needs to turn around.”
With that in mind, facing a possession-based team like Brighton may have come at the ideal time.
Without the ball and away from home, Villa will feel less pressure to dominate proceedings and being organised defensively as well as in midfield will be the order of the day.
Much like it was in Gerrard’s first game in charge, keeping a clean sheet could be key in providing the platform to allow their talented attackers to flourish.
