Jamie Carragher takes swipe at Everton as he leaps to defence of Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa
Jamie Carragher has taken a subtle dig at Everton as he leapt to the defence of his friend Steven Gerrard amid increasing pressure at Aston Villa.
Gerrard has seen his job come under question after four defeats in the opening five games, with his only win coming against Frank Lampard’s Toffees.
With both sides sitting on three points after five games, Carragher asked why one is under the pressure while the other isn’t and suggested that it’s because Villa are now on a global stage compared to Everton and that means higher expectations.
“There is an interesting contrast between Gerrard’s current stock with Villa fans and Frank Lampard with Everton’s,” he said, writing in his Telegraph column [2 September]
“While Gerrard is trying to retain his fanbase’s support, Lampard’s name is chanted at every Everton game.
“What is the difference? Both have the same number of points this season, and over the course of their short spells in charge even Lampard will admit his side is still a long way from where he wants them to be.
“But while Evertonians were relieved Lampard was appointed ahead of Vitor Pereira – and understood the difficulties he faced reconstructing the team – from day one there has always been a sense that there was a solid foundation upon which to build at Villa.
“Villa lost stardust on the pitch when Jack Grealish joined Manchester City. With Gerrard, they have it on the touchline. With respect to Smith, Gerrard’s appointment elevated Villa’s profile to a global stage.
“While Lampard has had an opportunity to manage Chelsea so is not viewed with suspicion by Evertonians as mapping out stages of his career, Gerrard has been fighting the perception that Villa is a stepping stone towards the ultimate goal of becoming Liverpool manager.”
No chance
Expectations are the big difference between the two right now, fair, but it’s also the manner of the situation they’re both in and the circumstances around them.
Gerrard went into a side that had a fantastic squad and has spent over £100m to arguably make them worse than when he arrived, while Lampard came into a side that had won just four times all season in January and helped them avoid relegation.
Add to that the fact he lost his best player this summer, had his star striker out injured for each game and had his next best thing being hounded by Chelsea and has only been beaten twice, while strengthening the squad with a shoestring for a budget he deserves a bit of credit.
Obviously Carragher wants to defend his friend, but using Everton and Lampard and taking a dig for no reason just wasn’t warranted and makes no sense.