Steven Gerrard was sacked almost immediately after his side Aston Villa was thrashed 3-0 by Aston Villa. The hierarchy of the club couldn’t wait to send him packing as joined the team bus on their way to Birmingham to say his final goodbyes. Ronaldo’s reactions at Manchester United’s last game against Spurs were always going to breed a follow-up reaction from the management and he got served.
STEVEN GERRARD GOT THE SACK
To be honest, we all saw it coming and our money was on Fulham to hit the final nail in the coffin. Winning just 2 games this season and currently sitting just above the relegation zone isn’t going to cut it as a Premier League manager.
He has been at Aston Villa just under a year after arriving from Rangers, where he delivered the first title for them in 10 years but the Premier League is different gravy. He finished 14th place last season, 3 places below the season before and it showed all the warning signs getting into the new season. Losing against Bournemouth at the opening day was a trigger for what has just arrived, games against Leeds and Nottingham Forest made sure he was the target and yesterday against Fulham saw him go down.
In a statement, the club said: “Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that Head Coach Steven Gerrard has left the club with immediate effect.”
Steven Gerrad said after the match “We will see what happens. I’m a fighter, I will never, ever quit anything whether it’s football or in life.” Unfortunately, his last words as Villa manager.
We certainly never forgot that legendary slip that gifted Manchester City the title 8 years ago, and last season he team blew a 2-0 lead as Manchester City claimed another title. That’s two very low moments that Gerrard won’t be proud of being remembered by, especially as both occasions costed Liverpool the title.
RONALDO GOT AXED
Cristiano Ronaldo has hardly had a break from being the centre of attention at Manchester United and also from the media. After a failed attempt to leave the team in the summer, Ronaldo missed all of United’s preseason games as he’s on a race against time to be at full form and fitness for the World Cup which starts in about a month.
His antics against Spurs was wrong and he has rightly apologized, but only after the club announced that he will be out of the squad. As new reports suggests he refused to come on when asked.
United would release a statement on Thursday saying the following: “Cristiano will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s game against Chelsea. The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that.”
Ronaldo on Instagram, posted a passionate response, saying that he tries to treat colleagues, adversaries and coaches respectfully, but he did add that “the heat of the moment gets the best of us.”
“As I’ve always done throughout my career, I try to live and play respectfully towards my colleagues, my adversaries and my coaches,” wrote Ronaldo.
“That hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed. I’m the same person and the same professional that I’ve been for the last 20 years playing elite football, and respect has always played a very important role in my decision-making process.
“I started very young, the older and most experienced players’ examples were always very important to me. Therefore, later on, I’ve always tried to set the example myself for the youngsters that grew in all the teams that I’ve represented. Unfortunately that’s not always possible and sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us.
“Right now, I just feel that I have to keep working hard in Carrington, support my team-mates and be ready for everything in any given game. Giving in to the pressure is not an option. It never was. This is Manchester United, and united we must stand. Soon we’ll be together again.”
It is left to be seen if indeed he has played his final game (again!) for Manchester United this season as there are reports that Erik ten Hag wants his contract terminated or maybe he may be sold in the winter transfer window after the World Cup, but for now he won’t even be on the bench anymore.
