Villa a hop to Kop job for Gerrard
REDS ROLE AWAITS IF STEVE’S A SUCCESS
And if things go his way he could even be at Anfield this time next year. Stranger things have happened.
Gerrard will be Liverpool manager one day. He is on the right path. I’m sure that’s his aim. He will have a plan. This is part of the journey.
Sitting here today you would think he’s got no chance of being Liverpool manager next season.
But things change quickly in football. If you’d said to me this time last year that Dean Smith would be out of a job I’d have said no chance.
It’s all about timing. If Liverpool start next season badly or Jurgen Klopp wakes up one morning and decides to walk away, who else are they going to go for?
If Gerrard does well at Villa in the Premier League then surely he is the first one Liverpool would turn to.
This is a much tougher job than Rangers because there is so much competition. And it’s a nightmare start because the players are away on international duty.
He has a hard first game too in Brighton. They are a good team but the fans will expect to beat them at Villa Park so there’s a bit of pressure on his debut.
The thing is, Villa surely don’t think they are getting into the top six this season. If Arsenal and Tottenham are struggling why should Villa think they can walk right in there?
So all he really has to do is steady the ship, get them safe, and if they finish mid-table he’s had a result in my opinion.
They’re not going down. They wouldn’t have gone down under Smith either. So it’s not that hard of a job really.
I was surprised they sacked Smith. I thought he’d have enough brownie points in the bag. He kept them in the Premier League last season.
He’s bang unlucky. They’ve just been on a bad run at a bad time. But I’m sure he would have turned it around.
It looks to me like he’s paid for bringing in the players he did. Danny Ings hasn’t really worked out. Neither has Leon Bailey.
Nobody has filled Jack Grealish’s boots. But it’s not easy selling a £100m player, buying a load of replacements and getting them to gel from the off.
Smith will be back in the game before long I’m sure. He’s too good a manager. There are other Premier League clubs who would be lucky to have him – like Norwich for example.
Villa did it now because they knew Gerrard might be available too.
Leave it a couple of weeks and they could have turned things around and then it becomes difficult. Villa really
INTERVIEW
wanted Gerrard. He’s done an unbelievable job at Rangers but he’s going to an unbelievable club at Villa.
This is a big, big football club. If you’re Gerrard you have to take a job like that in the Premier League when it comes up.
No disrespect to Rangers. They’re as big as many Premier League teams. But how much further can Gerrard take them?
They’re not winning the Europa League. They’re not winning that for the next 10 years. They just don’t have the TV money to compete in European competitions.
Gerrard can’t lose really. Villa are not in serious danger.
They’re just on a bad run. Steady the ship and you’ve done your job for the season.