Dan Bardell exclusive: Steven Gerrard might have three games to save his Aston Villa job
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…
If Aston Villa don’t win the two of their next three games then Steven Gerrard is going to be under “enormous pressure” says Dan Bardell.
Defeat in midweek at Arsenal made it just one win in five to start the new season and virtually all of the positive feeling that had built up over the summer has dissipated. Big things were expected this season after the manager got his first opportunity to have a whole preseason working with his squad, which had been boosted by top level additions in the transfer market.
In spite of the injury that has robbed him of one of those in Diego Carlos, it is not looking encouraging right now, and Bardell feels that with fans turning against the former Rangers boss an improvement is needed fast before it is too late for him.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News he said: “I think Christian Purslow would be very, very reluctant to get rid of Steven Gerrard. He hasn’t quite put himself on the line for Gerrard because he is part of the ownership of the club with the way that it was done.
“But Gerrard is very much his man, so he will be reluctant unless it’s going absolutely disastrously – which a lot of people would say it is at the moment – to get rid of Steven Gerrard.
“Now I’m never someone who would call for the manager to be sacked, but Gerrard said himself he’s in a bit of a tough spot at the moment. He’s in a difficult position.
“In 2022 Villa haven’t been good. I haven’t seen anything in 2022 that’s made me think we’re heading in the right direction here and I can see what we’re trying to be. It’s probably been the opposite, and it takes a lot for me to say stuff like that.
“I put a lot on preseason. It sounded like the club were putting a lot on preseason. A large proportion of the supporters would have been. Gerrard getting time to work with his players, come back, and let’s get off to a good start to the season.
“It’s ended up being just a continuation of last season at the moment, if not worse if you’re losing four of your first five games and you’re sitting 19th in the league.
“Looking at the fixtures Villa have had in the league, I don’t really care that it’s early in the season, they should be picking up more points and that’s going to be a problem later on.
“Manchester City on Saturday (3 September), nobody would expect Villa to get anything. I don’t think even the most optimistic Villa fan would expect us to take anything from them. It’s going to be those two games afterwards that are absolutely pivotal to Steven Gerrard.
“Leicester away, and Southampton at home. If Villa aren’t winning those games I think he’s under enormous pressure.
“The fans were already starting to turn at the West Ham game last Sunday (28 August). I sit in the Holte End and the boos were enormous after the game.
“And some of the soundbites that are coming out from him after games, and in press conferences, aren’t brilliant at the moment. It doesn’t feel like the club are particularly aligned, and over the last few years the one thing that you’ve felt is that Villa are run well, but at the moment nothing’s really coming out feeling right or sounding right.
“So I think he’s got three games and we’ll see where we are after those three games now. If we’re not getting four to six points I think he’s in trouble.”
Poor results can sometimes be ridden out if other elements are encouraging, but flat performances and general negativity emanating from the ex-England captain don’t look good.
No fans like to follow their team week after week and get nothing to enjoy in return, especially when their expectations have been increased before hand.
The transfer window has now closed with a couple of new additions in Leander Dendoncker from Wolves, and Jan Bednarek on loan from Southampton, while Douglas Luiz was kept in the face of bids from Arsenal, so perhaps the extra pieces and less uncertainty will be what the squad needs because they certainly need something.
In other Aston Villa news, finance expert Dan Plumley reacts to the club’s sponsor struggles.