Jamie Carragher has hinted that Steven Gerrard will need to address the lack of results at Aston Villa soon or he faces being one of the next Premier League managers to be sacked.
Transfer situation won’t stop Steven Gerrard facing being sacked at Aston Villa
Jamie Carragher has told Sky Sports that Steven Gerrard cannot rely on Aston Villa failing to make numerous transfers this summer to avoid being sacked following a disappointing start to the Premier League season, with the Villans only winning in one of their first five fixtures.
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The Birmingham natives welcome defending champions Manchester City to Villa Park this Saturday hoping to move out of the relegation places. Four defeats from their opening run has left Aston Villa just 19th in the early standings, ahead of only the winless Leicester City.
Aston Villa have also only managed to score four goals through their first five games, while shipping nine goals. Only AFC Bournemouth at minus-14 and Nottingham Forest at minus-nine boast a worse goal-difference, and the Cherries have already changed their manager.
Bournemouth became the first Premier League team this term to sack their manager with Scott Parker dismissed on Tuesday. His squad endured humiliation at Anfield as Liverpool won 9-0 last Saturday, following a 4-0 defeat to Manchester City and a 3-0 loss to Arsenal.
Results were not the overriding decision behind the south coast side’s decision to fire the coach who secured their promotion. Parker appeared to hit out at Bournemouth after the Liverpool defeat, suggesting his team was ‘ill-equipped’ for the task of top-flight football.
Steven Gerrard cannot compare summer spend to Premier League rivals
Only Leicester spent less than Bournemouth this summer, with the Foxes splashing £15m behind the Cherries’ £26m, per Sky Sports. Aston Villa handed over £56m in transfer fees, but Carragher notes Gerrard will know he cannot spend freely without recouping money.
In fact, Aston Villa had the fifth-lowest net spend this summer, having received £35m for player sales. In contrast, newly-promoted Nottingham Forest ended the window with the fourth-highest net spend at £157.3m, having not made back a single penny this summer.
Yet Gerrard cannot rely on a lack of comparable investment to save himself from the sack at Aston Villa, for Carragher. Instead, he must get results with what he has, as the Villans do already boast some top players like Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash and Jacob Ramsey.
“In terms of teams around them, maybe they haven’t spent those types of funds,” noted Carragher. “But Stevie knows that’s part of management. Sometimes, you get a club with lots of money to spend, other times you have to wheel and deal.
“He’s at a club where you have someone go out like Matt Targett, and you bring a Lucas Digne in. But that’s the nature of the game and as a manager, you have to get the best out of what you’ve got at your disposal and there’s some good players at Aston Villa, no doubt.
“The goalkeeper, the two full-backs, Ramsey in midfield, Ollie Watkins up-front. They’re having a tough time and a poor start to the season, and Steven knows more than anyone he’ll have to turn that around quickly because we know the nature of the Premier League.”
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