Exit of 42 y/o ‘key’ after Gerrard sacked at Villa Park

Aston Villa are on the lookout for a new head coach after sacking Steven Gerrard and the impact of Michael Beale’s Villa Park exit should not be ‘underestimated’, according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.

Gerrard was axed on Thursday, less than two hours after the Midlands giants were consigned to a 3-0 defeat by newly-promoted Fulham.

What’s the latest news involving Beale?

Having followed Gerrard from Scottish giants Rangers after his appointment as head coach last November, Beale walked away from Villa during the summer.

The 42-year-old was unveiled as Queens Park Rangers’ new boss in June and has already enjoyed an eye-catching start to his Loftus Road reign.

A comfortable midweek victory over Cardiff City resulted in the west Londoners moving to the top of the Championship table and he has been linked with a Premier League job in recent days.

It emerged that Beale had worked his way onto Wolverhampton Wanderers’ radar as they continue their search for a long-term Bruno Lage replacement following his sacking earlier this month.

However, the former Villa assistant head coach turned down an approach from Molineux and, instead, has opted to remain with QPR.

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What has Dharmesh Sheth said about Beale?

Sheth believes Beale’s decision to embark on his own managerial journey by leaving Villa was the beginning of the end for Gerrard.

The Sky Sports reporter understands that he was rated highly by the players at Villa Park and his exit was a pivotal moment.

Sheth told GIVEMESPORT: “I don’t think you can underestimate the impact Michael Beale leaving the coaching set-up at Aston Villa has had.

“A lot of the players speak really, really highly of Michael Beale. They said that he was a fantastic coach at Aston Villa and a fantastic coach at Rangers.

“Look at what he’s doing with QPR – their midweek victory over Cardiff took them to the top of the Championship.”

Did Gerrard deserve to be sacked?

It is never nice to see a manager lose his job, but a woeful start to the season has left Villa only separated from the Premier League’s relegation zone thanks to scoring more goals than Wolves.

Co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens clearly needed to make a change in the dugout sooner rather than later if they wanted to turn their season around and they wasted no time, sacking Gerrard on the team bus before leaving Craven Cottage.

During his time at the helm, Gerrard led Villa to just 13 wins from 40 matches and sustained 19 defeats along the way.

It is clear that is not good enough form, particularly considering the 42-year-old set himself a long-term target of leading the club back into Europe.

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