Steven Gerrard shows pull factor yet again with latest Aston Villa addition
Steven Gerrard has shown the massive pull factor his legendary status gives him with the latest addition to the Aston Villa set-up.
With Michael Beale stepping down as his assistant to join Queens Park Rangers as their manager, the Villans recruited Blackpool manager Neil Critchley as his replacement.
The pair once worked together at Liverpool and the Seasiders’ chief executive, Ben Mansford, has lifted the lid on the Lions boss’ phone call that was the catalyst for the move.
“It’s been a very disappointing situation, everyone knows how well Neil has done since he has joined the club,” Mansford told Blackpool’s club website. “It all happened very quickly.
“Neil has done very well for us and those calls can always come but this came out of the blue. I got a call from Neil late on Wednesday evening and said he had received a call from Steven Gerrard.
“Michael Beale has now joined QPR and Steven would like Neil to join him as his assistant and Neil was reasonably clear that he wanted to take that opportunity and it was right for him. He said Aston Villa would be in touch to finalise the formalities of the approach and Neil’s exit.
“I spoke to the board, John Stephenson and Aston Villa were in touch on Wednesday night. They conducted themselves properly and went through the right process.”
Legend.
The work Gerrard has already done in terms of transfers at Aston Villa is quite remarkable.
Not so long ago they wouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as players with the calibre of Philippe Coutinho, Diego Carlos and hopefully others to come but the boss has made that possible.
Make no mistake, he wouldn’t be able to do it without the financial backing of the owners – they deserve a lot of credit for backing the Liverpool legend in the way they have.
Despite his lack of experience as a manager in the Premier League, they have put their full confidence in him and hopefully, it pays off.
The signing of Critchley may not be as glamourous as signing a Champions League level player but it could be huge for the future.
Beale was very important to Gerrard’s backroom staff but the blow is undoubtedly softened by bringing in another familiar face who can do just as good of a job.
He was terrific at Blackpool and will certainly bring those qualities to Villa Park.
In other Aston Villa news, Aston Villa receive a response after contact was made with Tammy Abraham’s team for a potential move.