Ruben Amorim is too similar to Steven Gerrard for Aston Villa – Glenn Murray
Ruben Amorim is too much in the same sort of “mould” as Steven Gerrard for the Aston Villa job, according to Glenn Murray.
The former Rangers boss was sacked on Thursday (20 October) following the 3-0 defeat at Fulham, leaving the Villans teetering above the relegation zone in 17th place and with only two wins all season.
Sporting manager Amorim, 37, is highly rated after winning the Portuguese title in the 2020/21 season after nearly two decades of dominance from Porto and Benfica, but Murray thinks that is a negative point.
Speaking on Football Focus on Saturday (22 October), the former Brighton and Crystal Palace striker said: “I’ve seen the Ruben Amorim thing for the job and last time I looked he was favourite.
“But for me he’s very much that Steven Gerrard mould. He’s won a title in Portugal for Sporting Lisbon for the first time in 19 years, that’s exactly what Steven Gerrard did, in what is probably a lesser European league.”
What?
You have to hand it to Murray for coming up with some novel analysis but it seems an odd thing to be concerned about.
Winning the Scottish title with Rangers after a decade of dominance from Celtic was some achievement from Gerrard, but the Portuguese giants’ regular presence in the knockout stages of the Champions League may beg to differ if Murray is suggesting it is a weaker league than the SPFL.
And for all the faults that can be found with the former Liverpool captain’s time in charge, the fact that he was a title winner when he arrived is surely not the cause.
Clearly Gerrard turned out to be the wrong man, as his tactics never developed once it became clear they weren’t working, and he didn’t particularly connect to the fans.
But if there is one lesson to learn from his appointment, avoiding young managers who have won a championship against the odds isn’t it.
If the headline names like Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino aren’t interested then it seems like Amorim would be a prime candidate to be offered the job, considering the ambitions of the ownership.
It could be an appointment that doesn’t work out, just as any could, but his title-winning credentials won’t be the reason if it doesn’t.
In other Aston Villa news, Gabby Agbonlahor has slammed Gary McAllister on his way out of the club.