With Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa tenure now over, there could be a fresh start for the squad as we look to firstly steady the ship and move away from trouble in the Premier League table this season.
First-team coach Aaron Danks will take charge of our game against Brentford on Sunday, while the Villa hierarchy have confirmed that the search for a permanent successor is underway.
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As with most coaches, Gerrard had individuals that he heavily relied upon and those who didn’t convince him enough to be more involved in his plans. Having now departed the club though, it gives all involved in the first-team squad a chance to impress both Danks and the new coach to establish themselves in the starting XI moving forward.
Naturally, the next coach will have his own ideas and plans for the team and so these individuals and others in the squad may not fit into that long-term strategy regardless of what they do on Sunday and beyond, but ultimately they will be given a fresh opportunity now having struggled under Gerrard.
Emiliano Buendia
Of those mentioned in this list, Buendia was the most involved under Gerrard, but he rarely appeared in consecutive games under the now former Villa boss and struggled to find any continuity or consistency in his performances as a result.
He made a positive impact whenever he was involved off the bench and looked our most creative threat in the final third. However, coming in and out of the side constantly can’t be easy for any player looking to find their best form, and so it’s now hoped that he gets a regular run of games particularly now with a coaching preference for Philippe Coutinho not as prominent.
While it’s perhaps too much at this stage to argue that Villa should build around him in the final third as he has to prove he can deliver week in and week out to earn that level of responsibility, there is no doubt that he should be a pivotal figure in the side moving forward and it’s hoped that he’s given the opportunity to be that in the coming weeks and months.
Morgan Sanson
Despite featuring heavily in our pre-season schedule and seemingly working his way back into Gerrard’s plans after struggling to get into the side regularly last year, Sanson has yet to play a single minute of football this season.
The 28-year-old has struggled with injuries ever since he joined us in January 2021 which would have been a major frustration for him more than anyone, but when fit and involved in the side, he has made a largely positive impact.
Especially when you consider that the likes of John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey have been out of form, it really became baffling to not see the Frenchman given more of a chance by Gerrard this year and so he’ll be itching to get a fresh shot having been close to an exit this past summer.
Marvelous Nakamba
Similar to Sanson in many ways, as after initially being an integral part of Gerrard’s plans when he arrived last November, Nakamba was ignored after he returned from a lengthy spell out with a knee injury.
The signing of Boubacar Kamara saw him fall down the pecking order further given we had a top-class No.6 available, but after our summer signing suffered a long-term injury himself, it was questionable as to why Nakamba wasn’t given a chance to come in and do a job in front of the defence.
Ultimately, there is an argument that Nakamba will never be a long-term solution for us in midfield with his limitations on the ball. However, whether it’s a formation tweak or absentees around him, there is a role for him with us and he should have perhaps been utilised more over the past year.
Cameron Archer
While there’s no doubt that Gerrard thought highly of Archer, evidenced by his decision to keep him at Villa this summer rather than loan him out again, he should have given the youngster more playing time.
Not starting him in our Carabao Cup tie with Bolton was questionable, and with both Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings both struggling for goals this season, with neither finding the back of the net in their last eight league appearances, Archer should have been given more chances to make an impact.
He’ll hope the new coach will have seen what he’s capable of and will also want him around, and if his more senior teammates continue to struggle to deliver goals, it should open the door for a bigger role under the new boss.
