Steven Gerrard’s time as Aston Villa’s boss has ended somewhat prematurely to some, only to be replaced by former Villareal coach Unai Emery, whose only other time at the helm of an English club was realtively stunted. Understandably there are those who can’t help but question if the Spaniard can bring success to a Premier League side this time around.
The writing had already been scribbled on the wall for Steven Gerrard long before his ill-fated Fulham game. His Aston Villa side were facing the Cottagers in a do-or-die encounter for the former Liverpool legend. In the end, a humiliating 3-0 away defeat saw him quickly cast as the ‘Villian’ in the latest plot and he was subsequently handed his marching papers at Villa Park.
The Villa result post-Gerrard saw them trounce an accomplished Brentford side 4-0, indicating that the former England and Liverpool captain had well and truly lost the dressing room before his departure from the club.
Rumors and speculation for Gerrard’s future in management immediately started to make the usual rounds, ranging from a return to the helm at Ibrox in Scotland to the possibility of moving in on the faltering reign of Jesse Marsch in Leeds United.
The good news at this point is that time is on his side and it could be more prudent for Gerrard to let the dust settle on his managerial term before anxiously leaping back into the game.
Villa have certainly been quick in finding Gerrard’s replacement with Unai Emery quickly confirmed as the club’s new manager, starting November 1.
The Spaniard is taking charge three days after Villa’s challenging away clash with Newcastle United today. Hence if the Villans should fall to the in-form Geordies, at least it won’t be a stain on Emery’s record. His opening game wis also not expected to be a leisurely stroll in the park, as they face an improving Man United a week later.
Emery’s appointment could possibly have raised some eyebrows as his short term at Arsenal was definitely not viewed as a success story. His Emirates tenure was unfortunately truncated ahead of time and engendered a fair amount of criticism from the Arsenal faithful then.
However, in retrospect, he was a lot more successful than the subsequent years following his tenure, right up until the recent improvements under Mikel Arteta.
Unfortunately for Emery he had taken over immediately after the departure of an all-time Gunners legend, Arsene Wenger. Unfair comparisons with the French doyen led to some harsh criticisms of his management skills and an unjustified analysis of his managerial record.
Although Emery only had one full season with the Gunners, it was no worse than Wenger’s last, and actually perceptibly better than the two seasons that followed. Yet he was still perceived as a failure, with perception trumping statistics.