Philippe Coutinho inconsistency costing Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard – Chris Sutton
Philippe Coutinho is so inconsistent for Aston Villa that Chris Sutton is close to sending out a search party to find him after an indifferent start to the season.
The Brazilian star has flattered to deceive so far this campaign after showing some signs last year that he would be the man to lift the standard’s of this Villa side on a regular basis.
Manager Steven Gerrard has come under pressure after a poor start, although a revival of sorts has begun with the past two results before some damaging injuries, and Sutton feels that his former teammate’s lack of output is a key reason.
In his Mail+ column Sutton said: “Steven Gerrard backed Philippe Coutinho. He got him in on loan at Aston Villa, signed him permanently, but he’s still waiting for that faith to be reciprocated.
“His inconsistency saw him miss out on the latest Brazil squad. In seven Premier League games this season, Coutinho currently has zero goals and assists.
“We’ve come close to sending out a search party to find him! He’s talented, but Coutinho needs to produce more for Gerrard’s sake.”
Frustrating
Gerrard will know better than anyone at the club what Coutinho can do when he is at his best, having witnessed it from alongside him as a player at Liverpool.
Everyone knows he still has the quality despite an unsettled time since his huge move to Barcelona, but he hasn’t hit the heights enough at Villa Park.
He might argue that nobody has so far this year, and it is sure to be harder to inject real quality into a performance when the whole side is struggling.
But missing out on international selection is an indicator that his personal levels have dropped too far of late, and the manager could be forgiven for growing frustrated.
Emi Buendia, admittedly a quality player in his own right, has overshadowed the arrival from the Camp Nou in the opening games, despite often being overlooked for him.
So perhaps Coutinho could do with a few games out of the side to fully appreciate that he needs to up his production.
As one of four headline signings since the manager replaced Dean Smith he is the only one who is currently fit, since Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne and Boubacar Kamara are out injured, so the pressure is on him to perform more than ever, and if he can’t do that he isn’t justifying his place in the XI.
In other Aston Villa news, Dan Bardell is expecting a tough return to action against Leeds.