Faced with the challenge of Ange Postecoglou in November 2021 Steven Gerrard abruptly ended his Ibrox love affair to take charge of Aston Villa, leaving David McCallum in charge for a League Cup Final.
After a behind closed doors success as Neil Lennon self destructed across the city the return of supporters and a credible management team at Celtic spooked the Liverpool legend into upping sticks at the first offer to come his way.
His record of one trophy win in nine suggested that he would toil with matches controlled by neutral match officials backed up by VAR. Cup defeats to Aberdeen twice, St Mirren Celtic and St Johnstone suggested that Gerrard didn’t have the bottle for management.
After just 13 wins in 40 matches Villa paid the England legend off, appointed Unai Emery as his successor with the Spaniard winning eight of his 17 matches in charge. The fear of a relegation battle at Villa Park has been avoided.
Gerrard was back in his comfort zone today, on home soil with friendly officials, Anfield where he never won a single league title but achieved Tavernier like Legend status.
Knowing that his dream of succeeding Jurgen Klopp is dead is a tough one for Gerrard to come to terms with, perhaps if he ad stayed at Ibrox, saw off Postecoglou and avoided Villa that dream would still be alive.
Showing how deeply he has been sucked into Ibrox culture Gerrard put a story together on Instagram showing three separate clips of him scoring against Celtic in a charity match.
As the wait for an offer to return to management extends into the close season and beyond the man with 114 England caps can console himself with scoring against the Celtic veterans.
Strangely, almost 18 months after walking out on Ibrox Gerrard hasn’t been back to watch his old club in action, not even to provide his good friend Micky Beale with some backing from the Directors Box.
CLICK HERE for Gerrard’s Instagram story.
In fairness he celebrated like it was April 2014.
HH
Good player not so good as a manager.
Editor: Seriously over rated player like the rest of his Golden Generation, hopeless manager, Warburton levels.
Gerrard was warned by Liverpool not to become a manager. Cen fath?
Well, I suppose it ‘s because he can never replicate or equal what he did as a player with ‘Pool.
I mean, that night in Istanbul, when his side were 3-0 down at half-time, I even switched the telly off myself. I never thought that they’d come back from that. But he did!
So, how can he ever better that as a manager. It is a virtual impossibility.
So, hang up your boots and put your feet up!
You are never going to better that achievement, no matter what you achieve as a manager. So, why bother? You are wasting your time!
But he never listened. Headstrong and vacant, he drifts from pillar to post!
The guy is already “Immortal”, as Shankley would put it. But he won’t listen!
He don’t need the money, so what is he trying to prove?
He’s a Legend because of what he done in Istanbul. So sit up and bask in the glory. What you did then can’t be bettered, so why bother trying?