Twentytwo13

Gerrard’s Liverpool future on hold after Aston Villa sacking

In May, when it was announced that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had extended his contract until 2026, fans immediately turned their attention to Kop legend Steven Gerrard.

The Aston Villa manager, whom many saw as a future Liverpool boss, would also see out his contract in 2026.

It was too much of a coincidence, or so they thought, but any dream of Gerrard returning to his former playground is unlikely to happen for the foreseeable future following his sacking by Aston Villa last night.

The former Liverpool and England captain was appointed the Villans’ manager 11 months ago. In that time, he managed only 13 wins, eight draws and 19 losses in 40 games.

This season, he has only managed three victories in 12 games and just nine points from 11 Premier League matches.

Villa is fourth from the bottom, ahead of Wolves on goal difference, two ahead of Leicester and three up on Nottingham Forest.

Before returning to England, Gerrard had worked wonders in Scotland, leading fallen giant Rangers to the league title in the 2020-2021 season.

That was Rangers’ first title since 2011, but it entered administration in February 2012 following years of financial mismanagement and losses.

They were removed from the Scottish top division, and a new business was established, trading as The Rangers Football Club Ltd.

Led by club legend Ally McCoist, Rangers began the 2012-13 season in the third division, the fourth tier of Scottish football.

It finally returned to the Scottish Premier League in 2016, and two years later, Gerrard left Liverpool’s youth teams for his first senior management role.

It took Gerrard some time to impose his style on Rangers, but everything finally clicked in the 2020-2021 season as the club finished the season undefeated to deny old rival Celtic a 10th straight league crown.

That achievement saw many clubs clamouring to sign Gerrard. He finally left Rangers last November.

Villa was seen by many as an audition for Liverpool, but following his disastrous spell, Gerrard became the fourth manager to lose his job in the Premier League this season.

The others were Scott Parker (Bournemouth), Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea) and Bruno Lage (Wolves).

Gerrard’s future is uncertain, and Klopp’s assistant Pepijn ‘Pep’ Lijnders is now the favourite to replace the German if he does not extend his contract beyond 2026.

FIXTURES (Malaysian time)
SATURDAY

Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool (7.30pm)
Everton vs Crystal Palace (10pm)
Manchester City vs Brighton (10pm)

SUNDAY
Chelsea vs Manchester United (12.30am)
Wolves vs Leicester (9pm)
Aston Villa vs Brentford (9pm)
Southampton vs Arsenal (9pm)
Leeds vs Fulham (9pm)
Tottenham vs Newcastle (11.30pm)

TUESDAY
West Ham vs Bournemouth (3am)