Dan Bardell Exclusive: Aston Villa blow to lose Michael Beale but Neil Critchley is best possible replacement
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…
It can’t be denied that Aston Villa losing influential assistant manager Michael Beale this summer wasn’t a blow but the response was good says Dan Bardell.
Steven Gerrard’s right hand man left to take the top job at Queens Park Rangers so there is potentially a risk that the way the manager likes to do things could be thrown off course going into the new season.
But in Neil Critchley the club have managed to bring in the best possible replacement, so Bardell is hopeful that there should be minimal disruptions to the set up at the club.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News he said: “I think the way Villa have set up their coaching staff and the way Gerrard likes to, from his time at Rangers and what I’ve seen at Villa so far, is that he’s very much the face of the operation, the man manager of the operation.
“And of course he’s going to have his finger in the pie in everything, he’s going to be involved in everything, but there’s a lot of delegation to the coaches.
“Now, Michael Beale from what I understand was heavily involved in training and the set up of the team, that was his domain. So it can’t be dressed up that it’s a good thing that he’s left.
“I think fair play, he’s gone to test himself as a manager, and that’s exactly as you’d expect him to do. He’s waited for the right time. He’s waited for the right club and he fancies QPR, and good luck to him.
“It will be clear to see through the start of the season how much difference that’s made, but I think they’ve replaced him very well and very quickly, very efficiently.
“Neil Critchley did very well as a manager at Blackpool last season, get them punching above their weight. He’s worked at Liverpool and done good things with their youth as well. Gerrard knows him.
“I don’t think Villa could have got in a better replacement, and I think because Neil Critchley’s been a manager you think, ‘well, why would he leave a Championship job, a managerial job, to come and be an assistant at Villa?’
“It’s because of the way Gerrard delegates, because he’ll get so much say in what goes on. He’ll work with those players every day. He’ll get to make decisions. That’s why he left.
“There’s a qualification [the UEFA elite badge], there’s only [16] managers in the world that have got this qualification and Neil Critchley’s one of them [Liverpool Echo].
“So it’s a new voice and just as sometimes you freshen up your team, I know Gerrard hasn’t been there that long, you freshen up your playing squad, I’m actually surprised that teams don’t freshen up their backroom staff more often.
“Because sometimes you can get tired of the same voice. If I was a football manager I’d be looking to freshen up my backroom staff every couple of seasons. Sometimes players get bored of hearing the same voice.
“I actually think it will be interesting to see what Neil Critchley does, and he’ll be heavily involved because he would not have left that job at Blackpool unless he was going to have a massive say in what happens at Villa.
“Beale is very, very highly rated, and everyone that’s worked under him praises how he operates. Neil Critchley has done a good job at Blackpool, their fans were devastated that he left.
“He strikes me as someone the players will enjoy working under. He comes across as a good guy with good ideas, and quite inovative from what I understand at Blackpool.
“So hopefully, whilst you might see some subtle changes in the way Villa play, hopefully it won’t disrupt things too much.”
Beale was arguably more important as an assistant than many people who fulfil the same role at other clubs, so until things are properly in full swing for a while there will be a concern that his absence could affect things.
But if an assistant is that good there is always the likelihood they will eventually make the step up themselves, so it is one of the risks of having a top-rated guy.
All a club can do is react by replacing them well, and on paper they appear to have done that with Critchley, so in the circumstances fans should be as reassured as they can be.
In other Aston Villa news, the deal to sell Carney Chukwuemeka was incredible business.