The former England captain's reputation has kept him in a job for far longer than it should have, but he's now belatedly on the verge of the sack
Steven Gerrard made a surprise appearance on charity stream in aid of Zoe's Place Baby Hospice a couple of weeks ago. It was a lovely touch by the Liverpool legend to show his support for such a worthy cause. His participation unquestionably boosted viewing figures and, consequently, contributions. Gerrard even jokingly called on those watching to help him raise more money during his time on air than previous guest – and former Reds team-mate – Jamie Carragher.
It was another quip, though, which eventually landed the Anfield icon in hot water with the fans of the club he is currently coaching, Al-Ettifaq.
When Gerrard was asked if he and ex-Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, who is working alongside the 44-year-old in Saudi Arabia, were following the progress being made by Arne Slot's side this season, he replied: "Myself and John have got more than one eye on it. We've put all our schedule around the Liverpool games! The players are onto me now – we've been training at nine or 10 at night!"
It was a comment clearly made in jest – but it's fair to say that Al-Ettifaq fans didn't see the funny side. Indeed, as far as they were concerned, this was just further evidence of Gerrard not taking his job seriously enough – and why he should be removed from his role during the upcoming international break…
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Gerrard represented quite the coup for Al-Ettifaq, who are not one of the traditional Saudi Pro League superpowers supported by the country's Public Invest Fund (PIF). The Dammam-based outfit have a solid fanbase, but the belief was that hiring a legitimate Premier League icon would boost the club's profile, thus making it easier to attract players and commercial partners – and so it proved.
Clearly, the colossal sums of money on offer in Saudi Arabia have been integral to the influx of overseas stars in general – but it's clear that Gerrard was key to Al-Ettifaq landing two former Liverpool players in Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum, while the former England international also unquestionably played a part in the arrival of former Fulham, Celtic and Lyon striker Moussa Dembele.
The problem, though, is that Gerrard has never appeared sufficiently satisfied with the strength of his squad – or fully committed to the cause in the eyes of the fans, who view the fact that he has elected to live in Bahrain rather than Saudi Arabia as a lack of respect for the job, club and country.
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Of course, this might not have become such an issue if Al-Ettifaq were playing good football and winning games – but they're not. Results have too often been as poor as the performances.
After a bright start to Gerrard's tenure – five wins from the opening seven rounds of last season – his team went eight matches without a win before the winter break, which saw them drop to eighth in the SPL standings. Consequently, supporters were astounded when Al-Ettifaq extended Gerrard's contract until 2027 in January.
"This is very pleasing for myself and my family and feels like recognition for a lot of hard work and commitment," he said at the time. "We had to put in place new infrastructure, like building a new training ground in phases and building a new stadium. But a lot has been achieved.
"I understand where we are in the league, but I am very confident we will improve. The [transfer] window is open at the moment and we're working to try to identify players who could come and support the current group of players, to make us more competitive at the top end of the table."
However, there were no notable arrivals in January – or during the summer for that matter – and, after another strong start to the current campaign, Al-Ettifaq's form has fallen off a cliff once again.
Getty Images Sport'The English plumber'
Gerrard's side weren't expected to challenge for this season's Pro League title, or even finish in the top four, but the fact that they're presently sitting 11th in the standings is staggering.
Al-Ettifaq have lost four of their past six league games, while they were also dumped out of the King's Cup at the last-16 stage by second-tier Al-Jabalain – which sparked a bitter backlash, with some supporters derogatorily referring to Gerrard as a "the English plumber" and a "comedian" that had reduced the club to a "laughing stock".
In that context, it wasn't the least bit surprising that the timing of his 'joke' about scheduling training around Liverpool matches didn't go over at all well with Al-Ettifaq fans, who are understandably feeling a little short-changed by one of the highest-paid managers in the world.
Getty Images Sport'All-in'
Gerrard was unsurprisingly unhappy with the controversy caused by his comments, pointing out that most Saudi clubs train at night because of the extreme temperatures during the day – even during the winter months.
"I am aware of where this has all come from," he said on the eve of Saturday's derby against Al-Qadsiah. "I was on a podcast trying to raise money for a children’s charity to make the charity survive and continue. I was asked if I still followed Liverpool and I said 'Of course I still follow Liverpool.' They played a huge part in my life and shaped me as a player, person and coach.
"But I want to make it abundantly clear my priority is Ettifaq, I have a contract with Ettifaq and I am in a real privileged position. I respect all my previous clubs – Liverpool, Aston Villa, Rangers and LA Galaxy – but my main concern is this job and trying to make this club as good as possible, on and off the field. I am all-in and I will continue to be all-in."
However, Gerrard's declaration did little to quell the anger of the fans, and things came to a head the following day, with the manager booed off the field after failing to prevent his side from slumping to a 2-0 loss to their local rivals.
