On October 2, I concluded my column about Aston Villa with the following words.
‘They are determined to make sustained progress, so why shouldn’t their ambition be to put pressure on the top four? If I had three wishes, one would be to play a game for Dean Smith in peak physical condition. The club are moving forward. They won’t take their eye off the ball.’
I didn’t for one moment think the next time I wrote about Villa, it would be at the end of a sequence of five consecutive defeats and with Smith being sacked. The sentiment of that paragraph, though, has not changed.
Aston Villa have once again shown their ambition by hiring Steven Gerrard as manager
The Liverpool legend will make Villa's squad and club staff stand to attention to respect him
Villa haven’t taken their eye off the ball. They have once again shown their ambition.
As much as I have sympathy for Smith — he did a fantastic job to get Villa out of the Championship and his love for his boyhood club was pure — I cannot disguise my excitement about his successor, who I will always call “Sir” Steven Gerrard.
When Villa appointed him last week, every member of the squad will have felt the need to stand to attention: fix your tie, clean your shoes, stand up straight. The main man will be coming around to inspect things and you best not let him down.
There will be a feeling, I’m sure, of how it was at Manchester City when Roberto Mancini took over from Mark Hughes. Straight away you can see these people will not suffer fools and you know you have to get your a*** into gear.
Gerrard arriving at Villa can be compared to Roberto Mancini's (left) arrival at Manchester City
We’re not talking about someone who retired 20 years ago, whose achievements belong to a different generation. This is Steven Gerrard. I hear people saying he lacks the experience to be a Premier League manager but, believe me, his reputation means he already has a head start.
I was blessed to call Steven a team-mate when I was with England, so I got an insight into what makes him tick. The thing that will never leave me is how he saved me ahead of my first training session by letting me use a pair of his boots.
Stevie was staying in the room opposite me. I had rifled through my bag and realised I only had four left boots. I knocked on his door in a panic and asked him if he had any spare: ‘No problem mate, don’t worry — here you go.’ My first England training session in Steven Gerrard’s boots… wow!
That told me one big thing: Stevie was a superstar but he had that emotional side, an understanding and determination to look after people. There really is no edge to him but I was taken aback by how humble he was — he actually made me feel shy because I didn’t believe I belonged in his company.
As a player Gerrard (left) was a superstar but he had that emotional side to his game as well
Then there was the way he played football. You don’t need me to talk about the goals and passes, I want to tell you about his outstanding technique, the kind that makes the people he works with take a step back.
He never gave the ball away in ‘Rondo’ drills — one-touch passing — always perfectly delivered, always hitting the target. I used to watch him and Wayne Rooney pinging the ball around immaculately and couldn’t
