"He'd really suit that job" - Pundit says sacked Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard would be perfect for Premier League side
Former Birmingham City player Curtis Woodhouse has backed recently-sacked Aston Villa coach Steven Gerrard to succeed Jesse Marsch as Leeds United’s manager.
Steven Gerrard was dismissed by Aston Villa after they succumbed to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Fulham on Thursday night (October 20). Gerrard’s side, who currently sit in 17th place in the Premier League standings, went into the clash on the back of two draws and a defeat. The Villans have only picked up nine points from 11 Premier League matches this season.
Steven Gerrard has been sacked by Aston Villa 📉 https://t.co/JHfE50UIuL
Marsch’s Leeds United also find themselves in the same boat as Aston Villa. The Whites, who also have nine points to their name (10 games), have not enjoyed a Premier League win in two months and find themselves in 16th position. Unless things improve, Marsch could soon find himself on the chopping block, and Woodhouse believes Gerrard could be his worthy replacement. When a fan on Twitter commented that he would take Gerrard at Leeds if Marsch was dismissed, Woodhouse replied by saying:
“I think he’d really suit that job 👌🏾”
The fan’s comment came under Woodhouse’s post regarding Gerrard’s dismissal, in which the former Hull City player-turned-pundit blamed Aston Villa players for simply going through the motions. Woodhouse tweeted:
“Gutted for Stevie G, must kill him watching some of these players go through the motions when he was all in every second of every game he ever played. Legend, he will be back”
Steven Gerrard took charge of Villa on November 11, 2021, and managed them in 40 games, averaging 1.18 points per match.
Steven Gerrard insisted that he had improved Aston Villa over his tenure
In his pre-match presser ahead of the match against Fulham (October 19), Steven Gerrard claimed that there were improvements at the club. The Englishman insisted that their string of poor results was primarily down to injuries to key players and not necessarily due to tactical reasons.
Lampard was better than Gerrard as a player and is better than him as a manager. https://t.co/HBYmG083mA
Gerrard claimed (via the Daily Mail):
“Yes I do (think we're better than when I started, in November 2021). I have total trust and confidence and belief in myself and this group of players. It's well documented we're missing big players at the moment.
“A lot of improvements we tried to make in the last window are not available to help us at the moment. I believe we might have been in a healthier position with that support, but they're on the way back. I think that's a positive.”
He concluded by saying:
“Every coach and manager you speak to will always speak about time, but I'm not going to hide away from anything. I want to be judged in the now as well. I totally understand the situation we're in and how important it is to have a positive week.”
Unfortunately for Steven Gerrard, Aston Villa did not share the same belief, dismissing him a mere 11 months after hiring him.