Steven Gerrard is well on his way to ruining his own coaching career, according to reporter Riath Al-Samarrai in the DailyMail. The English football great is in dire straits with Al-Ettifaq and seems to be following the same path as contemporaries Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, who have also not proven very successful as teachers.
It is a series that gives little hope for Gerrard. Al-Ettifaq managed to win only one of the last thirteen matches. In the last nine games, the team found the net only three times.
It has led to a significant increase in pressure on Gerrard. In England it is said that the former Liverpool midfielder can no longer afford to make any mistakes in his early coaching career.
Gerrard's side are eighth in the Saudi league and have not won for two months. And that with heavyweights such as Demarai Gray, Moussa Dembélé, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson in the ranks.
“They are within the Saudi master plan, but the results are not – nor is an average attendance of 7,800 in a stadium built for four times as much,” Al-Samarrai said in a painful analysis.
“Rooney's dismissal at Birmingham and Lampard's difficult coaching career give food for thought about the discrepancies between great players and great managers. Gerrard is moving far too quickly towards that list.”
“It's a slightly disturbing image for someone who has given English football so many great moments. His decision to move to Saudi Arabia smacked of a lack of ambition for a 43-year-old manager.”
The situation cannot be compared to that of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema, says Al-Samarrai. “Gerrard was a young manager at an important crossroads in his career. It was far too early to be making money at a dubious level, especially as he had a lot to prove after his spell at Aston Villa.”
“If he fails and Al-Ettifaq pulls the plug, Gerrard will be offered other opportunities because of his name. But it is unfortunate and a bit sad that a football great from these parts has put himself in such a worrying position.”
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