Steven Gerrard should have been the man to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager… but after failing at Aston Villa and struggling in Saudi Arabia his chances of ever …

This should have been the moment Steven Gerrard stepped forward to fulfil his destiny. From the moment he hung up his boots, everything seemed to point towards Gerrard becoming Liverpool manager one day.

When Gerrard moved from Rangers to Aston Villa, Jurgen Klopp predicted that he would follow him at Anfield. Yet now Klopp has announced he will leave at the end of the season, few expect Gerrard to replace him.

Upon joining Villa, Gerrard had to fend off suggestions that he was treating the club as a stepping stone on the route to Liverpool. He won’t have to handle too many of those at Al-Ettifaq, who are eighth in the Saudi Pro League and without a win in eight.

It had all started so positively for Gerrard. Arriving at Villa Park after leading Rangers to the Scottish title the previous season, Gerrard collected four wins from his first six league games. He would taste victory in only nine of the next 33 and was sacked on October 20, 2022, without even completing a full year in the job.

In those 11 months, Gerrard turned himself from favourite to succeed Klopp into outsider. His chances of ever being in charge at Anfield look slim, unless Liverpool decline so rapidly in years to come that they need a legend in the dugout to unite the supporters. 

Steven Gerrard was once favourite to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool before failing at Aston Villa

Klopp (right) even once suggested that the Liverpool legend could be his successor at Anfield

Gerrard will now likely never manage Liverpool unless the club decline so rapidly in years to come that they need a legend in the dugout to unite the supporters

Villa owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens backed him in the market, but the decision to sign his former Liverpool team-mate Philippe Coutinho permanently, even though he was clearly a fading force, will forever haunt his time in the West Midlands.

Had the Coutinho deal been Gerrard’s only misstep, it would have been forgivable. Instead, it was the symbol of a reign which never seemed to have a clear idea of where it wanted to go or how to get there.

One of the finest midfielders of his generation, Gerrard operated more as a traditional ‘manager’ figure than as a head coach. Much of the work on the training ground was undertaken by his team of lieutenants led first by Michael Beale – now at Sunderland – and then Beale’s replacement Neil Critchley. The modern player expects more from a leader than that, and Unai Emery’s 24/7 approach sets Gerrard’s in an unfavourable light.

The majority of the squad respected Gerrard and wanted to do well for him yet after Beale’s departure for Queens Park Rangers in summer 2022, certain players felt the standard of the training sessions slipped a little. ‘One insider mentioned a lack of ‘depth’ to training after Beale left and the safety-first style of play became a grind for many.

Some were also unsettled by Gerrard’s handling of Tyrone Mings, a forceful character with allies in the dressing room. Mings was stripped of the captaincy barely a week before the 2022-23 season started, dropped for the opening game at Bournemouth, criticised publicly by Gerrard – and then restored to the starting XI for the next fixture at home to Everton.

These decisions are a manager’s to make, but the timing and messaging could surely have better, even though Gerrard and Mings maintained a professional relationship. There are also thought to have been moments in Gerrard’s first season when certain players were given such a dressing-down by after matches that they feared they would never be picked again – only to find themselves still in the team for the next fixture. While there is plenty to be said for keeping players on their toes, it rarely pays to make them feel permanently insecure.

There were similar accounts relating to Villa’s transfer dealings during the Gerrard era. What did he think he had spotted in the 2022 version of Coutinho that every other club had missed? Did he ever ask himself why Villa had been given a clear run at a once-great player?

For one summer 2022 target, a highly-rated winger, the framework of the transfer was in place and Gerrard seemed enthusiastic – only to go cold during a brief Zoom meeting with the man in question and letting it be known Villa should forget about him. While no manager should have to work with a player he does not want, it felt like a U-turn based on emotion and instinct rather than analysis.

Another, a proven Premier League centre-back, was highly regarded by Gerrard and believed he would sign for Villa, but then suddenly found himself off the list. He duly joined another club became a key man.

Klopp’s announcement that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season means a new manager is needed, but it’s not likely to be Gerrard

Gerrard was sacked by Aston Villa after less than a year in his role and is now managing in Saudi Arabia

Some of Gerrard’s decisions at Villa were questioned such as stripping Tyrone Mings (left) of the captaincy and signing Philippe Coutinho (right)

The relationship between Gerrard and Johan Lange, who was sporting director, is not always thought to have been harmonious. Yet while Gerrard is at Al-Ettifaq, Lange is now pushing for the Champions League at Tottenham. A sobering verdict for Gerrard’s many backers.

Gerrard’s dedication could never be faulted, and luck was often against him. Key signings Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos under him made just 10 appearances between them before suffering significant injuries. Matty Cash and Jacob Ramsey improved under his guidance.

Gerrard never ducked any difficult issues, never tried to avoid responsibility and never compared his own playing career with those of his squad. One of English football’s biggest names was never ‘big time’ and carried himself with dignity throughout.

In the end, though, Gerrard was sunk by that deadly combination for managers: fed-up fans, boring football and bad results. Surely not the credentials to make Liverpool knock at his door again in the next few weeks.