Unai Emery

[Lastfootstamper]

It was told to me by someone who'd heard it from someone that knows people ("Hey Google, define 'tenuous'") involved in coaching that Gerrard was highly regarded as The Bright Young Thing amongst English up-and-coming coaches. I've no idea who was second on that list. Bruce, mebbe?

[Risso]

I still don't understand that. Surely you'd book a hotel room for the night, or get a taxi back. Why put yourself through that?! Glad he did though.

I remember booking the last room in a Manchester hotel once, as Mark Hughes had just been sacked as QPR boss the day before they played Man U away.

[Clampy]

To be honest, I thought it was an intriguing appointment at the time. I can kind of see why we went for him. He started well from memory but he seemed to play the 'I'm Stevie G' card too much. The Tyrone saga was the beginning of the end.

[algy]

Happy Steven Gerrard being sacked day everyone.

Thank feck he wasn't even moderately competent as it may well have meant no Unai. Thanks Steve, money grabbing action man haired twat.

Honestly, that performance that night was one of the worst and most miserable, relatively speaking, of modern times and that's including the hot mess of the 2010's in general.

But when I think back to it now I treasure it, not just because it funeralled Gerrard's tenure, but because of the joy bought by the no-fucking-around post match dismissal, the absolute relief of knowing that those in charge would not be having this shit any longer.

Seen with the hindsight of it heralding the arrival of a mad genius wizard in his place gives it more, but it's important to remember just how happy I was, and everybody I know who cares about us, that carpethead was gone.

The Bournemouth one was worse for me, the catastrophic realisation that we had appointed someone who, given a summer to work on the team made them much, much worse. Then you have the depression that sets in because you know that he will be given time and you have to watch it all unfold dreadfully, to a soundtrack of brainless comments from the man himself and ill-informed support from his mates in the media, none more so than Tony Gayle during that Fulham match.

Yep, that was the game I turned.  Up to that point, I'd thought - yeah, this could work.  High profile front man sitting in front of a top level head coach, selected by ability rather than being a 'name'.  Then Bournemouth happened, it become more apparent that Gerrard was a high profile front man sitting in front of a Championship-standard head coach.

It's turned out alright, though

[Axl Rose]

I hated him before he signed, hated him whilst he was here and couldn't bring myself to watch many of the games he was manager for.

A rubbish ******

[Sexual Ealing]

I hated him before he signed, hated him whilst he was here and couldn't bring myself to watch many of the games he was manager for.

A rubbish ******

I had no opinion of him before we got him. I thought it was a risky/bad appointment and I wanted him gone almost from the get-go. I am always wrong, apart from sometimes.

[Somniloquism]

To be honest, I thought it was an intriguing appointment at the time. I can kind of see why we went for him. He started well from memory but he seemed to play the 'I'm Stevie G' card too much. The Tyrone saga was the beginning of the end.

The Tyrone saga seemed to come out of nowhere. Just before the first match of the season he comes out with the captaincy removed which was a shock. Then followed it up with Tyrone needing to "look him in the eye" and prove he is ready to play after a 2-0 opening day defeat. His previous statements from both the player and manager were normal stuff, so why the need to be so confrontational after just added to the fans loss of faith and pretty much was all self-inflicted.

[Smithy]

There have been a few games that have felt like an absolute disaster at the time, but have proven to be the catalyst for something absolutely brilliant in the longer term.  The night Gerrard was sacked is one, but it's probably second to the play-off final loss in terms of the long-term benefit to the club.

Both games against Fulham.

It's getting to the point that if we ever lose to Fulham again, I'm going to buy a lottery ticket.

[Axl Rose]

I hated him before he signed, hated him whilst he was here and couldn't bring myself to watch many of the games he was manager for.

A rubbish ******

I had no opinion of him before we got him. I thought it was a risky/bad appointment and I wanted him gone almost from the get-go. I am always wrong, apart from sometimes.

😂 You're brilliant, mate. I hope things are bearable

[Lastfootstamper]

It was two months shy of 10 years since coming away from Anfield with 3 points courtesy of the Andi & Chris show. What a monumentally shit decade between. All troughs with three peaks, two of which were in the second division and for the third we weren't allowed to watch.

[pablo_picasso]

I hated him before he signed, hated him whilst he was here...

...& I hate him even more now he has run his stank through my club.

The entitled piece of shit should have been nowhere near a club of our size & wouldn't have been had he not had a decent, but cheating shit-house, playing career.

And proves once again that a managers playing career reputation has absolutely fuck all to do with their managerial ability.

Lego headed twat.

[brontebilly]

To be honest, I thought it was an intriguing appointment at the time. I can kind of see why we went for him. He started well from memory but he seemed to play the 'I'm Stevie G' card too much. The Tyrone saga was the beginning of the end.

The Tyrone saga seemed to come out of nowhere. Just before the first match of the season he comes out with the captaincy removed which was a shock. Then followed it up with Tyrone needing to "look him in the eye" and prove he is ready to play after a 2-0 opening day defeat. His previous statements from both the player and manager were normal stuff, so why the need to be so confrontational after just added to the fans loss of faith and pretty much was all self-inflicted.

Gerrard is an ego maniac so I'm afraid man management will never be his strength. Making an already struggling McGinn captain and dropping Mings was unbelievable really. Gerrard made so many other rookie errors like signing Coutinho permanently, trying and failing to accommodate Buendia/Coutinho and Ings/Watkins in the team. There was little or no evidence of patterns of play under him, just hoping for a bit of random magic to score for a finish. The game at Palace early that season should have been the end, players downing tools all over the pitch.

[The Edge]

The thought that Gerrard is probably earning a whole lot more in Saudi than Emery is here is a sad indictment on the beautiful game. SHA appointing Rooney has exactly the same ring to it as us appointing Slippy G. Some clueless twat thinks a top player automatically makes a top manager with the added bonus of raising the club's international profile. Oh how wrong Mr Purslow was and oh how wrong blues owners are. It's going to be joyous watching it all unravel at the sty.

[Simon Page]

Rooney has at least attempted to learn the ropes a bit. This is where we find out how much he knows. Side in the top 6, possible money to spend, all his own people.

Crash and burn, la. Crash and burn.

[Marlon From Bearwood]

I enjoyed that game on the basis that for every minute of the performance, you knew it was one step closer to having the chancer removed.

Same
I sat behind the goal in the nuetral bit and remember saying to my kids after the third goal there’s no way he’ll survive this
Then as he walked across the pitch at the end the Villa fans sang the slippy G song, I mean, when your own fans are singing that the end is nigh

I really enjoyed the night too. Bumped into a great group of Villa fans from Seattle in a pub in Fulham before the game (this was the 2nd of 3 Villa games they were over for, having seen the home defeat to Chelsea the previous Sunday*), took my son to Craven Cottage for the first time, quickly realised this HAD to be the end of Gerrard, then received the confirmation he’d gone by hearing the celebrations of other Villa fans on the train home as we passed through (no word of a lie) Gerrard’s Cross!

*Happy ending alert - the Seattle Lions made it to VP for the 4-0 win against Brentford on the Sunday after and also visited the Hen and Chickens for the full Desi pub experience!