Paul Merson: Cup finals awaiting Aston Villa, pressure on Steven Gerrard
Paul Merson says Aston Villa are facing some cup finals in the coming weeks as the pressure is cranking up on Steven Gerrard following their poor form.
The Villans have suffered defeat in three of their four Premier League games so far, and have won just three of their last 15 under Steven Gerrard in the top flight.
And writing in his Sky Sports column [29 August], Merson believes the coming fixtures against Arsenal and then Manchester City make the following games against Leicester and Southampton cup finals.
“The pressure is cranking up on Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa,” he said.
“It’s a results business. They’ve been beaten by Bournemouth, who have been slaughtered 4-0, 3-0 and 9-0 in their last three games. The Everton game, if that goes on another five minutes then you could definitely have seen that one end 2-2.
“However, they did manage to get over the line in that one but then they lose at home to West Ham, who had previously lost their opening three games.
“You follow that up with Arsenal away and Man City at Villa Park and before you know it, you are going to be in the bottom three after six or seven games and that is a dreadful start. That then makes the games against Leicester and Southampton like cup finals already.”
Must win
Considering we’ve just seen Scott Parker get sacked after three consecutive defeats to Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, Gerrard could be in big trouble.
He’s already lost three out of four and then has two huge games that he won’t be expected to win to follow, and having spent around £100m since coming into the club less than a year ago the expectations on him are high.
If he loses those two games the likelihood is that Villa will be in and around the relegation zone, and that makes the games against Leicester and Southampton must-win fixtures as we approach the first quarter of the season being completed.
Should he fail to do that, it will leave the board and the owners in a position where they must make a big decision on his future despite the big initial investment in the squad for him.
He must figure out his best starting lineup quickly in order to get the best performances from them, and a positive result against Arsenal and/or Man City would be a great start to relieving some pressure.
In other Aston Villa news, Stan Collymore blasts Christian Purslow for process of appointing Steven Gerrard