and 7 days ago, Rangers published there accounts, and they are up shit creek unless money is ploughed into them before the end of the season.
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Football is different as there is so much personnel movement that is dictated by the identity of the person in charge. If we relate to my non-footballing role, I know if I was personally responsible for going out and bringing people in to work on my project, as Gerrard was at Rangers, I would consider the responsibility I have to them in how I ultimately leave that role.
As a manager, if youāre good, the opportunity for good jobs will always be there. I think the issue with Gerrard is heās not working towards a good job but THE job, and so feels he has to bit more cut throat in taking the steps necessary to get it. The obvious concern for Gerrard is not what happens if he is considered not ready by the time Klopp moves on, but what if the next guy is a success and lasts another 10 years? Itās very difficult to see a pathway in Gerrardās managerial career where heād be both available and still viable 15 years from now.
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Also, of course, most roles within football are fixed term contracts. They are less common for the vast majority of employees where moving to better jobs can just be done on proper notice and doesnāt normally involve breaching your contract of employment.
Hard to find an easy run of fixtures in a league like this.
You canāt hide, itās sink or swim.
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Iām at peace that at some point Gerrard is going to manage Liverpool. He will. Thatās obvious.
I really hope that he proves himself to be an elite manager at Villa or another step up after that, and he gets the nod to come on that basis. But equally if Gerrard doesnāt kick on as a manager, there will inevitably come a time at some point where Liverpool find themselves in the doldrums and turn to him.
I havenāt really followed his career much beyond Liverpool, but my doubts that he would be able to cut it as a manager were that Stevie was a very emotional and perhaps insecure player. Those arenāt traits that lend themselves to management. On the other hand, he had an obsessive, driven approach to improvement and competition, and that might stand him in very good stead.
I donāt think he will be the next Liverpool manager. I still believe Ljinders is being groomed for that role, learning from Klopp. But that might suit Gerrard. He is very young, with bags of time, and he might not want to follow Klopp.
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Emotions. Many people long for a former player managing their club into success and so on. It is very typical of fans really. But I am like you, I view such connections more as a hindrance (because it is more difficult to remove such a manager for those emotions in the fan base precisely). That having been said, I donāt mind a roll of the dice now and then, I am not the kind of type who view only Pep, Klopp and maybe 1-2 others as managers who can take a club further. However, I donāt want to even think such thoughts now, since I regard Klopp to be near perfect in every single way. Development of players, personality, friendliness, intelligence, club representation; he has it all like no other I know of.
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If he crashes and burns at Villa will he still end up here?
Iām not wishing it at all, in fact I hope heās a great success, but surely heās still to prove himself as a trainer in the PL.
Iād like Gerrard to get Villa into a solid 8th position. Thatāll push Everton into 9th
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looks like Van Bronckhorst might be getting the Rangers job. Was a really good player for them so their fans will be excited.
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Could be sacked on December 12 ā¦ 
The guy is way too nice to be a manager.
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If I was a Villa fan Iād be pissed off with all the Liverpool chat. I think Stevie will be soon too. Heās trying to kill it dead by saying things like he hopes JK gets a lifetime contract etc but the media just wonāt leave it alone and itās not helping him.
Checking out the Villa forums the general feeling seems to be that they are a bit underwhelmed with his appointment. I hope he does well but if he doesnāt it could turn sour very quickly I think.
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Theyāve been here before with Houllier.
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Who would they have preferred?
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Early favourites were Favre, Fonseca and Potter. Stevie didnāt get a mention until he was linked. My sense is theyāve come round to the idea of him being manager rather than being excited by it.
Favre would have been an interesting one for them, he has a spectacular record in developing clubs, bettering their youth formation etc. But Gerrard has obviously more reputation and contacts within the PL, which is surely the reason why, beyond his good achievements with Rangers, he got the job in front of such a seasoned and successful manager.
Letās see how it goes for him, itās really intriguing. It could go from a total plane crash (relegation this season) to getting a European place within the two next seasons. Itās a gamble, and it will be interesting to see if he can do something positive with that new challenge.
One caveat though: Iād be hugely wary of the presence of Purslow as Gerrardās boss. Heās more than capable of ruining any plans, even the most brilliant ones. We saw first hand how he treacherously fell into Rafaās back at the time and ruined all his plans. At the first difficulty, Purslow will sacrifice Gerrard, just how he sacrificed Smith, first and foremost in order to save his own skin as sporting director.
In that sense, I agreed with McManaman when he advised Gerrard not to take this job. My feeling is that Gerrard will need to perform flawlessly, right from the beginning, if he wants to stay a little while. Otherwise, heāll be quickly gone, and as you rightly say, the fans wonāt be too bothered.
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They may not have wanted the job. Favreau turned down at least one offer from PL team in the summer. I cant see Potter leaving Brighton mid season for a job outside a top 5 team. Not sure who Fonseca is.