Jamie Carragher has claimed that Steven Gerrard has had no choice but to ‘change’ the style of play at Aston Villa, just like Frank Lampard at Everton.
On Friday night, Villa recorded a much-needed 1-0 win over Southampton in the Premier League, with Carragher sharing how it’s a ‘challenge’ for Gerrard and Lampard to play expansive football at their respective clubs, especially in their current form.
When Lampard took charge of Everton, they were struggling near the bottom of the table, leaking goals for fun and morale on the floor after the now unforgettable reign of Rafa Benitez.
The Chelsea legend tried to play out from the back, but quickly changed it when the Toffees were hovering above the relegation zone and heading into the final few weeks battling relegation.
The same could be said for Gerrard when he replaced Dean Smith last November, the only thing is that Villa weren’t in the relegation fight those on Merseyside found themselves in.
Either way, both managers are in the dugout of big clubs, with a lot of money backing them, and aspirations of Europe, but nowhere near their goal, as Carragher shared his thoughts on the two, as he told Sky Sports PL.
“It’s interesting with Stevie, we always link him with Frank Lampard,” said Carragher. “If you notice last season with Frank Lampard, when he came in at Everton, he wanted to play a certain way.
“Probably a little bit more expansive than Rafa Benitez before him. But as the season went on, he had to change to try and get results. With Steven, he spoke to me when he first got the Villa job and he said the first thing that stood out was how many goals Villa were conceding at the time, so it’s about being solid. And then you do want to take it on.
“It’s interesting to see what he said about the coach (how Neil Critchley wants to move the ball forward quicker than Beale wanted). Different types of coaches, he knows them both really well.
“But every coach and manager is different. Maybe you want slightly different things. Maybe influence Stevie in a different way to be a bit more open and expansive. But that’s a challenge for every coach, especially when you haven’t got the best players.”
LEGENDARY PLAYERS… BUT A DIFFERENT STORY AS MANAGERS?
As managers, there’s no doubting the legacy these two have left, more so on the domestic stage.
They won it all and will forever be legends in the eyes of Liverpool and Chelsea supporters, but it’s a different story altogether now they are managers.
Many feel Gerrard got the Villa job more so because of his name rather than what he has achieved so far as a manager, the same would be said of Lampard, after also recently being in the hotseat at Chelsea.
But that reputation as players isn’t going to help them with their own supporters because, especially for Gerrard, if things don’t pick up, then they will be out of the door, sooner rather than later.
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