Steven Gerrard on Villa shortlist for manager vacancy
MOTHERWELL, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 31: Steven Gerrard, Manager of Rangers FC is seen wearing a remembrance poppy badge as he arrives at the stadium prior to the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell FC and Rangers FC at Fir Park on October 31, 2021 in Motherwell, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
The Steven Gerrard exit rumours have begun again after Dean Smith’s departure from Aston Villa, but while the Newcastle story was all press nonsense, Gerrard genuinely is in the frame to take the Birmingham giants’ job.
The board at Villa Park have got it down to five candidates, and they have two favourites – Gerrard and Belgium’s Roberto Martinez.
Now, we completely laughed at the Newcastle links, but in that case the club is a basket case going through much turmoil and upheaval and Gerrard would have been on a hiding to nothing taking it.
Hence Unai Emery rejected it and the best they could do was unemployed Eddie Howe.
But Villa, despite their current form, are a much more stable club – so their interest in Gerrard is more serious and more confirmed, and while we still doubt Stevie would be tempted by them, he’d be more so than he was for Newcastle.
Will he leave?
99% no. Not for Villa. The only club he wants to manage aside the Famous is of course his boyhood team, Liverpool.
He will barely consider anything that isn’t Liverpool.
There are also a tonne of reasons he isn’t interested – most of them sound like CL, Rangers, £50M, and 56.
Villa have nothing to offer aside PL action (which is admittedly a big carrot).
But yes, we definitely have to be wary that they may well make him an offer, or try to.
We just doubt there’s a dog in hell’s chance he’d even consider, never mind accept.