Tomorrow is going to be a big day for Aston Villa and new boss Steven Gerrard, as he manages in the Premier League for the first time.

Villa will take on Brighton with the hope of ending their recent winless run in the league.

Having watched the job Gerrard did at Rangers in the Scottish Premiership for the last three and a bit years, I feel decently placed to let Villa fans know what to expect with Stevie at the helm.

Well he is very good in the press room and gets his points across well. He will stand up for his players and he’ll always talk up his team and their chances. His defence and his courage in speaking up of Glen Kamara after what happened to the player during a Europa League game last season (Source Sky Sports) spoke volumes about not just Gerrard the manager but also Gerrard the man.

The Premier League will always associate Gerrard with Liverpool but expect Gerrard to keep his focus and discussions on what he wants to do at Villa Park.

He already made that clear during his first press conference with The Villains:

“I’m all-in and I will give this job everything that it needs for it to be a success. I’ll be 100% committed and so will my staff,” said Gerrard.”

“[It’s] very unfair and you’ll never hear me saying it’s a stepping stone. For me, I’m really honoured and proud to be in this position.”

Via BBC Sport

He will no doubt create a good relationship between himself and his players. Gerrard is still a name that creates a buzz with footballers as he was a world class star during his own playing days. He will probably be a difference maker if Villa are in for a player with a club at a similar level just because that player wants to work with such a well known name.

Gerrard favoured a 4-3-3 formation whilst at Ibrox and his new side have played in that formation a few times in the past. I’d imagine he’d like to go for that tactic again but he’ll need to assess his squad first. Expect assistant Michael Beale to get heavily mentioned when it comes to training and formations as he was seen as a bit of a tactical mastermind during their time together in Scotland.

Steven and his management team were also fairly successful in the bigger occasions during his time at Rangers, except in the domestic cup competitions. With more games of magnitude in the Premier League, it will be interesting to see if he can keep up to the standards he set whilst at The Gers.

I am really interested to see what Gerrard can do with midfielder John McGinn. I’m thinking he’ll love to get even more out of the Scotsman and try and make him as talismanic for his club as he has been for his country. That might see McGinn being allowed to roam further forward again.

I also think he will look to Danny Ings and hope to get even more goals from the forward and get performances out of him that will win him a place back in the England set up.

The manager will know that all eyes will be on him as he takes charge of Aston Villa Football Club for the first time but he’s used to that. He had that as a player at Liverpool and with his national team. He then had that same scrutiny in Glasgow, he actually seems to thrive on the attention and showing what he’s made of. But don’t underestimate what that can do for his players. It can take the pressure off of them and they can then go about their jobs without any shackles or fear that their gaffer will throw them under the bus.

I fully expect Steven Gerrard to do well With Villa.

How well?

Well we will just have to wait and see!

Posted on November 19th, 2021 by scott
Filed under: Article