AVFC History interviews Gerrard

There’s very little point in a Forest preview, two clubs in difficult positions, both for entirely different reasons.

• We could implore Gerrard to stop the time wasting.

• We could implore Gerrard to play our most effective attacking players.

• We could even implore Gerrard to change his attitude and demeanour to stop dragging the team, club and fans down.

But what’s the point? Until NSWE act nothing is going to change.

Local media doesn’t help either with sycophantic nonsense such as this:

“As ever, Gerrard was fantastic with the media in what is a testing period for the Villa boss. Being asked tough questions about results and performances comes with the territory, but he handles it all very well.”

So let’s try out our own Gerrard pre-match interviews. We make no apologies for the sarcastic and spiky questions but these are real responses to real 'journalists', in context, in his Forest pre-match presser.

Steven, who would you say is your most important player?

“Ashley Young's turning out to be the most important signing we’ve done.”

Steven, Ashley Young was signed by Dean Smith on Thursday, 1 July 2021. You arrived at the club on 11 November 2021. But that aside why is Ashley Young important Steven? :

“Because he’s come in at right-back, he might have to come in at left-back.”

Steven, you sold Matt Targett, banished Frederic Guilbert, bought £100k per week plus injury prone Lucas Digne and loaned in a player with a handful of games in three seasons, whilst sending our brightest prospect out on loan for the season. It’s not difficult to work out whose to blame for Ashley Young need to be so important is it Steven?

“He’s been impeccable since day one. I’m talking about even when he’s not playing, he still plays his part and his role. Don’t under-estimate the role he has played since I’ve been in the building, he’s been fantastic.”

Is the dressing room divided Steven?

“I think Ashley has helped me drive people into better form. We’ve got more people now closer to where we need them. If we can get two or three more, we’ll be all right. I’m confident of that.”

Steven that sounds like a more talented Grant Holt under Paul Lambert, are you suggesting you have a swathe of players underperforming because they don’t respond to you?

“He’s the one who has driven us to turn this corner and given us a small platform for us to build from. He’s epitomised everything we needed to do and get back to. Standing up, rolling your sleeves up, being professional, getting back to basics, training well, doing the basics well, communicating on the pitch, driving other people to be better.”

Steven, you talk of turning a corner and a small platform, but this team without your signings finished 11th before you came in and played noticeably more positive football. Give us as example of the “corner” and “platform” for which we should be thanking you for providing.

“There’s been an improvement but what I will say is we need to keep striving for more improvement and better results.”

Steven, that’s not an answer, can we have a real example please?

“I felt as if the weekend was a missed opportunity to take maximum points – not just on the back of them going down to 10 men, but on the back of the opportunities we created. On the overall performance, we did enough to win that game.”

Steven, we all felt it was a missed opportunity before, during and after the game, 11v11 Villa should easily have the beating of a side like Leeds, let alone one down to 10 men but at no point did we look like winning, how do you explain that?

“We’re a goal away from being around the mid-table places. If we score against Leeds, we’re in a much healthier position.”

Steven, with respect that is complete nonsense and fantasy. We didn’t score. If we did score are you suggesting Leeds wouldn’t have scored? Is it first goal wins in your mind? We’re struggling to think of a team that wouldn’t be significantly more successful than they actually are if they had always got the goal that they didn’t actually have. That’s kind of the point of the game isn’t it?

“We’ve got another opportunity against Forest to go away and try and build on our recent performances and try to get an away win. If we do, we’ll creep closer to where we want to be.”

Steven, you’ve not clarified your previous point yet but as you have brought it up “try” and “creep” are not the words we want to hear about any Villa game let alone one against a struggling, promoted club on the back of five defeats. Do you understand why your language is so concerning to many, including the players.”

“Recent performances have given us a platform but there’s no one on the inside at Villa who thinks we’re there. We know we’ve got to keep pushing in every way, shape and form. Once we get players where we need them, we’re a good team, and we’ll be where we want to be.”

Steven, you’re repeating yourself and using that same negative language again to accentuate what you presumably think is a positive. Surely if we’re a “good team” there must be an issue elsewhere in the club with all these non-performances?

“I’m looking for opportunities to be better, the group, my staff, I’m using everyone to try and demand more to get us in a better position.”

Steven, you’re repeating yourself again.

“There are managers under pressure, I don’t think I’m out the woods but when you take over these big projects, big challenges, you’ve got to expect periods of suffering, digging in.”

Steven, again this is familiar territory and your seeming go to response is to throw at least a section of players under the proverbial bus, but that aside, why is this a big project, a big challenge? Why the suffering, digging in? You took over a club that had finished 11th after a disappointing end to the campaign that could and probably should have been a top eight finish. You have then added a myriad of new players to that squad. Can you explain why we are not only seeming to, but are actually going backwards?

“You do not listen too much to external noise and focus on what you believe in. I back myself to get this team in a better place and I will continue to do that.”

Steven, again it’s almost a stock response, but have you thought of a little humility? Listening is a talent in itself, or how about laying off the continual passive aggressive criticism of the squad. That may at least win over some to give you more time. Before that however how can you justify continuing in post given you now have the worst loss record of any manager after 37 games in Villa’s history?

“I’m living and breathing it around the clock, even when I am switching off it still is in the back of my mind.”

Steven, it’s your job, a well paid one at that, with great responsibility. I’m not sure anyone would expect anything less.

“I think your schedule gives you opportunities to switch off, obviously being around your family and doing different things, you have opportunities to switch off. I’m all in here and I’m doing everything I can around the clock, not just when I’m at Bodymoor or at Villa Park, every minute of every day.”

Steven, we’re all for work/life balance but this isn’t a situation where anybody should be grateful for you bothering to turn up for work when you could be enjoying time on your yacht. I think this is likely to be one of the major issues with your management style raising its head here. It is as if you think we should be grateful to you for deigning Aston Villa with your presence. Have you noticed we’ve stopped asking questions, we’re just reacting to you now? That isn’t the sign of confidence, clarity or control in your message. Can we have a more focussed evaluation of the season please?

“We were conceding too many goals, we weren’t getting the results that we wanted."

Steven, agreed, conceding too many goals, will on average prevent you getting the results you want, can you provide any examples and what you have done about it so we can understand the “corner turned” and the “small platform” that many of us have missed.

“We got off to an extremely poor start, the result against Bournemouth and the performance and we needed to regroup and go back to basics, become more difficult to play against. I think we have found our base if you like, our defensive structure, organisation and we believe that in the coming weeks when people come back to their best form in the forward areas that we will become better and get better results.”

Steven, yes undoubtedly the draw against Manchester City was a creditable result, no doubt your best since joining the club nearly 12 months ago, but both the win over Southampton and the draw at Leeds were very poor performances in the context of the relative squads and circumstances of the game. Southampton were one of the worst sides we have faced in many a year, whilst Leeds looking destined for the drop, kept us at bay with ease with 10 men. We’re grateful for a three game unbeaten run and five points but we’re struggling to see any genuine signs of a “corner” or “platform”. Can you elaborate why we should be seeing things differently?

“It feels slightly different off the back of the last three or four games, it gave us a little bit more belief and confidence back. It’s difficult to go on runs in this league because of the standard and level in this league but we’re three unbeaten which is slightly more positive than where it was.”

Steven, a feeling however good, isn’t a movement. It isn’t momentum. It’s simply thought and hope. The difficulties of runs is also a strange concept. As is the standard and level. We’ve lost to newly promoted Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, West Ham and failed to beat Leeds. Our run in to the end of this month includes Forest, Fulham, Brentford and Newcastle. These are not games our squad should be failing to take three points from, let alone losing. What can you say to help us understand the “corner” and “platform”?

“We have an opportunity to go away to Forest and put a strong away performance in and hopefully get maximum points because we were so close to maximum points at the weekend, so we’re not far away but the message to our supporters is nobody thinks or is settled where we are off the back of the last two or three, we want to push for more, demand more and move up the league table as quick as we can.”

Steven, we’re back to square one, “hopefully” beating a newly promoted team on a five game losing run is not good enough. In the same way that being close to maximum points, because if you’d scored and the opposition hadn’t would mean victory, is clearly the rantings of a fool. We’re going to need you to do better than that. So once again, from where is your confidence stemming, given it appears that only you and your media friends are seeing it?

“We can change our system slightly. That’s what we’ve been working on all week. Is it better for us to try something completely different? Or do we ask one of the lads to go in there and do us a professional job? We’ll find a solution. We won’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ll do what we need to do.”

Steven, we give up.