Exclusive: Steven Gerrard switch of Aston Villa captaincy from Tyrone Mings could be a positive
We’re delighted to welcome The Athletic’s Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Dan Bardell believes there could be positives to come out of losing the Aston Villa captaincy for his favourite player at the club, Tyrone Mings.
It was reported by The Athletic on 27 July that manager Steven Gerrard had decided to take the armband off the England international defender to give it to Scotland midfielder John McGinn, and Mings immediately reacted on his Twitter account to squash any potential controversy.
Although it is no doubt a blow to the 29-year-old, Bardell feels that more important will be how often he is featuring in the team, and that if he gets games the switch of the armband could have a beneficial effect on both players.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News he said: “It’s going to be difficult to tell until the season starts [properly]. So if Mings is sat on the bench for the first few weeks I think it becomes a tough one for Tyrone Mings to take.
“I think if he’s playing and some weight’s perhaps been lifted off his shoulders a little bit, it could end up being a good thing for him.
“Now, I love Tyrone Mings. He’s probably my favourite player at the club. I like him as a player and I like him as a person as well, and what he stands for. He’s someone who’s been very, very good for Aston Villa in a multitude of ways.
“To be honest, as soon as Gerrard came in the captaincy was a subject that came up. It felt like from day one Gerrard was looking at the captaincy as something he wanted to change.
“I wouldn’t say that there’s a natural leader in that squad, a better captain than Mings. I can see why they’ve taken it off him, and perhaps they’re thinking that by giving it to McGinn it’s going to take his game up a few levels.
“Like when they gave [Jack] Grealish the captaincy in the Championship. Again, probably not a natural captain but it brought something out of him.
“I think they’re probably thinking it can elevate McGinn and it might alleviate some responsibility from Mings, because I know from when I went to an event with Tyrone Mings and he said he takes defeats very personally as captain, he carries a lot on his shoulders.
“So it could be something that works out as a positive. I just don’t that there’s a natural leader in the squad better than Tyrone Mings, but I can see why they’ve done it.
“Steven Gerrard knows what a leader entails better than I do.
“I think [Mings’ reaction on Twitter] just sums up the kind of character that he is. He’s not going to dwell on it. I think the key things for Mings will be, is he in the team?
“He’d be in my team. I’m not 100% convinced that he’s in Steven Gerrard’s best XI at the moment, from a Steven Gerrard perspective.”
The former captain remained on the bench for the duration of the 2-0 loss at Bournemouth in the opening game, with the Villans boss preferring new signing Diego Carlos and Ezri Konsa.
That is clearly not a positive sign for his long-term prospects, but the fact that the performance from the team that Gerrard put out was so underwhelming might have played in his favour.
If the positive results from the manager’s decision are to materialise it looks like it will take some time, since McGinn was clearly also not able to inspire his side to a better performance, so until there are a few games’ evidence the jury will have to remain out.
In other Aston Villa news, Richard Keys has heavily criticised Gerrard for the the captaincy move.