Aston Villa expert issues three-word verdict on Steven Gerrard’s future after latest
Gabriel Agbonlahor has insisted Steven Gerrard needs to be given time at Aston Villa.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Villa striker said Gerrard needs to change the side’s style of play as “a lot of teams are expecting it”.
The Villans have lost two out of three of their opening Premier League games, including a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday (20 August).
As revealed by SofaScore (29 August), the poor start to the season means they have won just three of their last 14 games in the English top flight going back to the 2021-22 season.
On Tuesday (23 August), Gerrard’s side recovered from going 1-0 down to beat Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup.
When asked by Football Insider if Villa may be starting to regret appointing Gerrard, Agbonlahor issued a three-word verdict: “Not at all.
“I think Gerrard deserves time. I just feel that sometimes when I watch Aston Villa, I understand the way Gerrard wants to play where the two number tens or two number eights come inside and get the ball to the fullbacks. But sometimes I look at Aston Villa and feel I’d like the wingers to stay out wide.
“I think other Aston Villa fans feel like it’s a choice between [Philippe] Coutinho or [Emiliano] Buendia, you get [Leon] Bailey on one wing, if there’s [Ismaila] Sarr he’s on the other wing and then [Ollie] Watkins and [Danny] Ings.
“It’s always been the Aston Villa way, tricky wingers. The way that they are playing at the moment, a lot of teams are expecting it, there’s no plan B. I feel that it would be nice to see the wingers take defenders on 1v1.“
In other news, Gabriel Agbonlahor issues ‘frightening’ Ismaila Sarr claim after Aston Villa source’s update.