Steven Gerrard: The New Man at Villa

Steven Gerrard, former Liverpool captain, has been hired as the new manager at Aston Villa.  The former England captain has agreed on terms to a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club.  In his time as a player, Gerrard netted 12 goals against Villa while playing for Liverpool, including his first professional career hattrick in 2009. 

(avfc.co.uk)

Gerrard comes to the club after managing Rangers, a very well known Scottish club. During his time in Glasgow, he led the club to their first Scottish League title in 10 years. During that campaign, Rangers went undefeated on the season.  Gerrard served as the manager for 3 and a half years, from 2018-2021, in his first managerial position.  

The new appointment comes off the back of the club sacking former manager Dean Smith.  After a successful eleventh place finish in the 2020-21 season, the club lost their largest player Jack Grealish. Grealish was sold to Manchester City for 100 million pounds. While they attempted to sign replacement such as Leon Bailey, no one has been able to fill the void left by Grealish.  On the season Villa have dropped to sixteenth place, losing their last 5 games and conceding the third most goals out of the twenty clubs in the league.  Smith joined the club in 2018, ending a 3-and-a-half year stint for himself.