Steven Gerrard - yes or no

[Nii Lamptey]

The whole point of sacking Dean and bringing a new manager in was to 'upgrade' and push us on. Everyone is pretty much comparing Gerrard to Dean Smith, but we shouldn't be doing this. Surely the question should be "Is he BETTER than what we had? Is there evidence that he will push us on to the next level" - In my opinion, it is a resounding NO.

Saying that, even if he was the second coming of a manager with the talents of Alex Ferguson, I wouldn't want him. The 'ditch Villa and manage Liverpool stepping stone' thread is already nauseating even at this stage. Thinking back, it was painful every time we traded blows with Chelsea with the John Terry link. Gerrard as manager would take this to a whole new level - Totally belittling the club.

It's a big FUCK THAT from me.

Out of the options being bandied around, my vote would be for Graham Potter, but if the owners are serious, I'd like to see the manager equivalent of the shock Danny Ings signing - A quality, highly respected manager completely out of nowhere.

[Drummond]

Thank god its not on TV

[sickbeggar]

Had an enjoyable night winding up my Liverpool supporting mate about it. He sort of views Gerrard going to Villa in the same way as a bloke who's been patiently waiting for a girl to leave her boyfriend, only for her to hook up with another guy straight away. Like us he's currently in the denial stage hoping it will all go away.

"It's gonna be Stevie Me's Aston Villa. His best mate Purslow has promised him 500m to knock Liverpool off their perch. Merchandising is going through the roof and everyone's buying scouser wigs on H@V. He's not just going to kiss the Villa badge, he's gonna use tongues."

 

[oishiiniku]

This may be damning him with faint praise, but I see more in Steven Gerrard's work as a manager so far and in the way he speaks about the game to suggest that he has a better chance of having a successful managerial career than the others from 'England's Golden Generation'. It's still a huge gamble on the part of our owners to go this route, but I'd rather see Gerrard in the dugout than Lampard/Terry etc. Not a huge endorsement granted, but hey, I'm looking for silver linings...

[Billy Walker]

As I said earlier, this is a Tony Xia kind of appointment.  It's the kind of thing you'd expect a Middlesborough or Derby County to do.  I'm not saying it won't work in the short-term and we could see a Sherwood-esque bounce that propels us through the season but, to me at least, it stinks of a lack of joined up thinking or long-term strategy.  It also makes me think NSWE have taken their eye off the ball and entrusted everything to their CEO.

Purslow needs to face a real interrogation over this, I want to know just how this appointment fits into the grand plan of NSWE. I read somewhere that they were after a "face" for their project?  They could have kept Grealish for that or broke the bank and brought in someone like Zidane (yes, Zidane!)  Gerrard is a halfway house screaming "convenience" and no real sense of direction.  If he and Purslow are still with us by the beginning of next season I'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Border villan]

As I said earlier, this is a Tony Xia kind of appointment.  It's the kind of thing you'd expect a Middlesborough or Derby County to do.  I'm not saying it won't work in the short-term and we could see a Sherwood-esque bounce that propels us through the season but, to me at least, it stinks of a lack of joined up thinking or long-term strategy.  It also makes me think NSWE have taken their eye off the ball and entrusted everything to their CEO.

Purslow needs to face a real interrogation over this, I want to know just how this appointment fits into the grand plan of NSWE. I read somewhere that they were after a "face" for their project?  They could have kept Grealish for that or broke the bank and brought in someone like Zidane (yes, Zidane!)  Gerrard is a halfway house screaming "convenience" and no real sense of direction.  If he and Purslow are still with us by the beginning of next season I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Or even unpleasantly surprised.

[Risso]

As I said earlier, this is a Tony Xia kind of appointment.  It's the kind of thing you'd expect a Middlesborough or Derby County to do.  I'm not saying it won't work in the short-term and we could see a Sherwood-esque bounce that propels us through the season but, to me at least, it stinks of a lack of joined up thinking or long-term strategy.  It also makes me think NSWE have taken their eye off the ball and entrusted everything to their CEO.

Purslow needs to face a real interrogation over this, I want to know just how this appointment fits into the grand plan of NSWE. I read somewhere that they were after a "face" for their project?  They could have kept Grealish for that or broke the bank and brought in someone like Zidane (yes, Zidane!)  Gerard is a halfway house screaming "convenience" and no real sense of direction.  If he and Purslow are still with us by the beginning of next season I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Jack Grealish had a release clause in his contract. If we hadn't agreed to that clause, he wouldn't have stayed for the extra year he did. To say then that "they could have kept Grealish" is just wrong. As to how Gerrard fits in, he appears to be working under a similar model at Rangers that the club are trying to instil at Villa, ie a "One Club" approach to transfers and way of playing, with a multitude of specialist coaches and support staff such as analysts. Whether he'll get the job, and then be successful at it, remains to be seen. Gerrard wouldn't be my first choice but I can see the logic in it.

[ozzjim]

I see the logic too. I want to be clear, I voted no, I don't want him as first choice, but I understand the thinking behind it.

[Scott Nielsen]

Interesting reads: https://www.skysports.com/football/story-telling/11788/12236762/the-evolution-of-gerrards-rangers; https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/07/steven-gerrard-pressure-rangers-champions.

Good reads, both. Thanks.

[Richard E]

I don't know whether I "want" him as such so I do not really have an answer to the poll, but the prospect of it being him does not cause me the major issues it seems to have for a lot of people. If he comes in, I'll judge him when we see how he behaves and how he performs.

[mr-villa]

I think the poll tally thus far says to me that the folks on here voting don't really represent a balanced perspective of our entire fan base. 

Of the alternatives mooted as on the shortlist the Denmark manager has already said not interested, Martinez the same given he is a year away from another world cup with Belgium (and I don't see why he offers anything Gerrard does not) and Hassenhutl has basically the same points record across the calendar year 2021 as the now departed Dean Smith.

[Risso]

I don't know whether I "want" him as such so I do not really have an answer to the poll, but the prospect of it being him does not cause me the major issues it seems to have for a lot of people. If he comes in, I'll judge him when we see how he behaves and how he performs.

Crazy behaviour.

[BC Villain]

Well, we've only got to wait a month for the love-in to really start.

Imagine our manager being more popular with the opposition supporters than our own. 4 games in to his tenure.

That Liverpool game is going to be an absolute circus

Its at villa park its when he goes Anfield thats when it will be bad. But i expect he will want the win more than going to anfield to say hello to afew scousers

It'll be a side show both times.  We went up there under Houllier and he behaved like it was a benefit game. 

[darren woolley]

I don't know about touching the anfield sign I'd kiss his arse if we got a top half finish under him.

[mrfuse]

I voted no but its not a resounding no.

The stepping stone is the dominant discussion, but could that leave us in a healthier position with a little bit of success and better options once Gerrard leaves?