Pictures of Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard have emerged online which allegedly show him getting drunk at a pub in Liverpool while an enormous cloud looms over his future at Villa Park.
Fans were not particularly pleased to see the former Reds’ captain having a night out in Liverpool in the context of Villa struggling to keep up with their fans’ expectations, after spending ambitiously in the summer.
Villa Park has been growing increasingly disgruntled with each result, even as performances have been much better.
The claret and blues sit just one point above the relegation zone with 9 points from their opening 10 Premier League fixtures.
Their last win came almost a month ago against lowly Southampton, who have lost 4 out of their last 5 games.
Even as they raised their performance against the visiting Chelsea, Gerrard’s side were ultimately beaten 2-0 via a brace from Mason Mount.
It was a combination of poor luck and a lack of quality in his side that cost them on Sunday, as Tyrone Mings’ error in the 6th minute meant Aston Villa was chasing the game early at home.
The Villans did create more than twice the amount of chances leading to shots but were unable to find the back of Kepa Arrizabalaga’s net, who was in inspired form in the Chelsea goal.
Gerrard has been keeping a brave face throughout his time at Villa and says that he will keep trying what he sees best despite the pressure surrounding his position, which is a given for any manager in the Premier League.
After Sunday’s defeat, Footy Insider claimed that the former midfielder had already been relieved of his duties before Aston Villa communications director Tommy Jordan put an end to those speculations.
Despite seats emptying out before full-time in a few games at Villa Park and a strong undercurrent of dissatisfaction at the recent run of results, many fans still remain confident that Gerrard can turn things around at their club.
The Scouse legend already has the distinction of taking a club in Rangers who were down on their knees to their 55th Scottish championship, while remaining uneaten, in his fledgling managerial career.
Combined with the stature he carries, fans can certainly have reason to hope that he can indeed turn things around with what he has at his disposal, albeit time may run out on him.
Performances such as the likes of last month’s draw against champions Manchester City certainly showed that his side can turn up in the most difficult of challenges in the modern game.
However, it has been the inability to turn those performances into 3 points and their perceived lack of defensive consistency that has done them in.
Regarding his pictures that have surfaced, some fans have even gone so far as to defend him, while others have claimed that the pictures of him had nothing to indicate anything out of order from the lifelong Red.
Be that as it may, the sight of him enjoying certainly won’t sit well with most Villa faithful as long as the poor run of results continues.
Amongst those wanting to move Gerrard on, names such as Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel are already being floated on socials as possible replacements for the former England captain.
With the World Cup break fast approaching and offering many managers a chance to reset and regroup, Villa’s form certainly will be an interesting space to watch to see if Gerrard can survive until then, while he remains the prime candidate to get the sack.