Just when our stomachs havent churned enough, up pops Tony Cascarino in today's Times........
It’s early days, so I could end up looking silly for saying this, but Steven Gerrard appears to be the best head coach of the generation of top players he came from. In only four games with Aston Villa, he has succeeded in making his team an expression of his character and personality. Villa play the way he did — they get the ball forward quickly, and they are direct and energetic. It is a real skill to make a team a reflection of the way you are — the most obvious example of someone who has done that is Sir Alex Ferguson.
I’ve not met Steven but I know some people who know him well and they all say that he carries himself brilliantly. He is humble but he commands respect, and his players at Villa will know that he has a ruthless side. He’s not going to be doing knee slides or going crazy on the touchline, it’s all much more controlled than that, but equally he’s not there to be friends with his players. Villa fans should be excited about what they have, and I don’t expect him to be the sort of guy who has a bit of success and then gets political about trying to get a bigger job.