The breaking news that is grabbing a major part of the headlines is Gerrard’s appointment as Villa manager on a 3 and a half year deal. Gerrard was appointed after the rather surprising sacking of Dean Smith after Villa just two points above the drop.
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Gerrard has acclaimed Villa for its long tradition in English football. He is certainly pleased to have been appointed by the Villa board. Gerrard now comes on the back of a successful season with the Rangers in the Scottish League. He has mange to end the dominance of the famous rivals in Celtic. As Villa is now having a rocky spell with no wins in 5 games and few big names yet to find form, there were a few key aspects of his setup at Rangers which Gerrard could look to add on in this Villa team.
Now let’s see what all things Gerrard can do
1) 4-2-3-1 shape
Rangers mostly use a double pivot in their build-up with their left midfielder Joe Aribo taking a more attacking position on the left side of the pitch with Ryan Kent and the left wide forward shifting inside to operate in the Number 10 position
2)Man-oriented/Zonal pressing scheme out of possession
This causes issues for opposing teams during their build-up
3)Overloading system
When in possession, they overload with the intention of not just providing more options to the ball carrier but also in case they lose possession, to win the ball back with numbers.
WHO CAN GERRARD IMPROVE?
1) Buendia is one that has all the qualities to be a top No.10 and luckily for him he got a decent club to play at in the PL as his levels were high for championship standards. With more to fight for in a big club, Gerrard could probably put more focus on him as he did with his No.10’s at Rangers.
2)Ings is one of the well-known names in the PL currently struggling for form, getting him to partner with Watkins or play as a lone striker could be something to watch out for.
POSSIBLE TRANSFER WINDOW ADD ONS?
He could probably add players from the Scottish League as he’s been there for a year and the ad has good knowledge of the players. One thing he is not famed for yet is his knowledge of the European market but he has tried with young European players showing his will to carve out talent. The Midlands club has conceded 20 goals in their 11 Premier League games so far and sorting out Villa’s leaky backline will no doubt be a priority. The Liverpool legend clearly knows his former club well and it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if he unearthed another couple of gems from Afield. Ryan Kent was a certain example signed by him.
CONCLUSION
Given these few systems that Gerrard used at Rangers, we can say that they were a hardworking side and that these systems can thrive with the right players. Aston Villa does have a wealth of talent at disposals such as the new arrivals of Ashley Young, Leon Bailey, Danny Ings, and Buendia and luckily for them they aren’t fighting a relegation battle, they need a spark and with Gerrard’s intense style another mid-table finish can be o the cards, whichever formation he opts for. Having built a team from scratch
In the bigger scheme, this is the right test for Gerrard’s credentials for the Liverpool job, his boyhood club, not making the early jump such as Lampard or other club heroes did in the past.
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