Can Gerrard get the fans onside like Cooper has?
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STEVEN GERRARD would never swap owners with Steve Cooper but the Aston Villa boss would give a great deal for the love tonight’s opponent enjoys among Nottingham Forest fans. Cooper’s stunning achievement last season, when he led Forest to the top flight for the first time this century after taking over when they were bottom of the Championship, means it will take more than five straight Premier League defeats for the crowd to turn on him.
The backing given to Cooper by supporters, who chanted his name even as they were sliding to the bottom of the table by losing 4-0 at Leicester last Monday, is thought to have changed the mind of owner Evangelos Marinakis. Three days after he had seriously considered sacking Cooper, Marinakis handed him a new three-year deal. With Villa’s owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens far less volatile than Marinakis, Gerrard is unlikely ever to experience a U-turn like that.
Yet 11 months into his reign, the former Liverpool and England captain is struggling to convince the fans that he is leading the club well. And as the Cooper chaos last week proved, supporter opinion can influence those in charge. Gerrard succeeded Dean Smith on November 11 last year and although it is likely he will complete a year in the job, he is not nailed on to do so. Recent results — draws with Manchester City and Leeds either side of a win over Southampton — have been better, and Gerrard has had dreadful luck with injuries, as his major summer signings Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos are sidelined for the long term. But have Villa improved? Apart from the initial bounce of four wins in his first six games, Gerrard has struggled to stamp his mark on this team.
Sawiris and Edens have a net worth of £10billion and want to return Villa, European champions in 1982, to English football’s elite. After a year with Gerrard at the helm, and a £52million net spend, they are scarcely any closer to that target. At 42, Gerrard is still a young manager and despite three and a half years in the Glasgow goldfish bowl with Rangers, working in one of Europe’s top five leagues is a different matter entirely.
He also lost his hugely influential first-team coach, Mick Beale, who has made a super start to life as QPR manager. It will take his replacement Neil Critchley time to make his mark. Alongside the highly questionable decisions, such as the signing of Philippe Coutinho and the treatment of Tyrone Mings in the summer, there have been some successes. Mings is back to his best and Matty Cash and Jacob Ramsey have made clear progress under Gerrard (left). Logic says he should be given more time. Time is not readily granted by Premier League owners, however, who are not known for their patience. Every Premier League chief executive knows Mauricio Pochettino is available, and the reputation of Mainz coach Bo Svensson is growing rapidly. November 13 is the final day of action before the league shuts down until Boxing Day for the World Cup. Clubs do not want to change manager before then unless they believe the team is damaged beyond repair. Villa are certainly not at that stage — but how Gerrard could use a win at the City Ground. The same is true for Cooper, despite his new deal. All the talk of clarity and commitment is mere fluff if Forest lose here and at Wolves on Saturday.