Journalist Dan Rolinson believes Steven Gerrard will be left ‘on thin ice’ at Aston Villa if results do not pick up in the following weeks, after the Midlands club lost the Premier League opener.
As opening days go in the Premier League, Aston Villa can’t have done much worse as they were comfortably beaten by a newly promoted side.
From the off against Bournemouth, Gerrard’s side had a nightmare, conceding within three minutes courtesy of Jefferson Lerma’s goal. The hosts then sealed all three points in the last 10 minutes as Kieffer Moore found the back of the net.
The defeat means that Villa have won just twice in their last 10 Premier League games, in what is a worrying record for Gerrard. Speaking on the Claret and Blue podcast, Rolinson revealed that the Villans’ form could leave the manager in danger of losing his job, saying: “If we don’t get some half-decent results in the next 6-8 games, Gerrard will be on thin ice. I think fans will turn.”
TIF Thoughts on Gerrard…
We’d have to agree with Rolinson, here. Gerrard’s record is one to worry about, especially given how much he has been backed in the transfer market since arriving, with Villa welcoming a total of nine new players since January. And with a full pre-season behind him on top of that, there are no real excuses for the former Rangers boss.
Up next for Villa is a game against Everton, who narrowly lost to Chelsea on the opening day. Given that Villa are at home against a side that battled relegation last season, this already feels like a game they must win. Lose that, and the pressure will continue to increase on Gerrard.
Of course, there’s still plenty of the season left to play being only one game down, but in that one game, Aston Villa were far from impressive.