Sports

Aston Villa Sack Gerrard After Fulham Defeat

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2022

Steven Gerrard was sacked as Aston Villa manager less than two hours after his struggling side crashed to a dismal 3-0 defeat at Fulham on Thursday.

Gerrard paid the price for Villa’s wretched start to the season, which sees the club languishing just one place above the Premier League relegation zone.

Villa have won only two of their 11 league matches this term and their tame surrender at Craven Cottage proved the final straw for the club’s hierarchy as they axed Gerrard after just 11 months in charge.

Gerrard and his players had been booed off at full-time by Villa’s furious fans after the loss at Fulham extended their winless run to four matches.

“Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that head coach Steven Gerrard has left the club with immediate effect,” a statement said.

“We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future.”

Gerrard led Villa to a 14th-place finish last term after arriving from Rangers to replace the sacked Dean Smith last November on a three-and-a-half year contract.

The former Liverpool and England star was expected to push Villa higher up the table this season, but instead he leaves with the club firmly embroiled in a relegation battle.

Gerrard won the Scottish title with Rangers in 2021, ending Celtic’s long period of dominance.

But he has been unable to build on that impressive work since moving to Villa Park, failing to win over the club’s supporters with some lacklustre performances.

– Villa eye top Gerrard successor –
Despite being given significant transfer backing, including a swoop for Barcelona’s Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho, Gerrard was unable to deliver the “continuous improvement” that Villa chief executive Christian Purslow demanded.

Gerrard was also hit by injuries to summer signings Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara, as well as left-back Lucas Digne.

Speaking at his post-match press conference after the Fulham game, Gerrard had vowed to save his job.

“I’m a fighter, I will never, ever quit anything whether it’s football or in life. We will see what happens. I’ll continued to fight unless I’m told differently,” he said.

But just minutes after Gerrard had spoken to the media, Villa announced his sacking.

Gerrard won just 13 of his 40 games in charge of Villa, losing 19 of those matches.

It is a major blow to Gerrard’s managerial career after the Liverpool legend was tipped as a potential long-term successor to current Reds boss Jurgen Klopp following his success with Rangers.

Now Gerrard must bide his time as he waits for an opportunity to rehabilitate a reputation tarnished by his disappointing spell with Villa.

Villa, owned by billionaires Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, are reportedly prepared to pay one of the highest salaries in the Premier League to land a top replacement for Gerrard.

Former Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has been linked with the post, along with ex-Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel.

Whether Pochettino or Tuchel could be persuaded to join a club in Villa’s perilous position remains to be seen.

Other contenders could include Villarreal coach Unai Emery, who had Premier League experience with Arsenal, and former Burnley boss Sean Dyche, a veteran of numerous relegation battles with the Clarets.

Villa midfielder John McGinn insisted Gerrard wasn’t to blame for the team’s plight.

“It’s embarrassing to be part of. We’ve let the travelling fans down and let the manager down,” McGinn said.

“It doesn’t matter who is in charge of that team. It’s nothing to do with the manager – the players have to look at themselves in the mirror.

“The support are very demanding. You’re playing at a top level and if you’re not performing, you get criticised.”
AFP

Sports

Tobi Amusan Hits Season’s Best At Paris Diamond League

Published

17 hours ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

Nigeria sprint icon, Tobi Amusan has emerged as the winner of the Diamond League trophy for a third consecutive time.

World record holder Tobi Amusan delivered a powerful performance at the 2025 Paris Diamond League on Friday, recording a season-best 12.24 seconds in the women’s 100m hurdles to secure a strong second-place finish.

This marks the Nigerian star’s second-fastest time ever, trailing only her world record of 12.12s set in 2022.

Amusan surged in the final stretch, narrowing the gap on the USA’s Grace Stark, who had an explosive start and clinched victory with a lifetime best and meet record of 12.21s—making her the fifth-fastest woman in history over the distance. Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent followed closely in third, clocking 12.30s.

The race in Paris was a thrilling continuation of Amusan’s resurgent 2025 campaign. After beginning the season with a pair of fourth-place finishes in Xiamen (12.74s) and Shaoxing (12.66s), she rebounded in style, winning the Rabat leg of the Diamond League in 12.45s—a season-best at the time and a meet record.

Paris marked Amusan’s fourth Diamond League appearance this season, and the consistency she’s building suggests she is rounding into peak form just as major international competitions approach.

She faced a stacked field that included the likes of former world silver medallist Keni Harrison, Jamaican rising talent Ackera Nugent, Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska, Dutch national champion Nadine Visser, Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas, and the in-form Diamond League leader, Grace Stark.

Despite the fierce competition, Amusan showcased her experience and rising form, finishing strong and scoring valuable points in the race toward the Diamond League Finals in Zurich.

She now sits fourth on the Diamond League leaderboard with 10 points, trailing Stark (23), Danielle Williams (15), and Marione Fourie (12).
(VANGUARD)

Sports

Enabulele Hails Edo-born Athletes’ International Feats

Published

2 days ago

June 19, 2025

Editor

The Executive Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, Hon. Amadin Desmond Enabulele, has expressed delight over the outstanding performance of Edo athletes representing Nigeria on the international stage.

Enabulele, while describing the athletes as worthy ambassadors of the state and the country in general, singled out the impressive participation of seven Edo kickboxing athletes in Team Nigeria at the African Union Kickboxing Championship in Cameroon.

In a congratulatory message signed by his media aide, Edoko Wilson Edoko, Enabulele lauded the accomplishments of Flora Ugwunwa and Christopher Michael, who clinched gold medals at the 2025 World Para Athletics (WPA) Grand Prix in Tunis, Tunisia.

INFO DAILY reports that Ugwunwa bagged gold in the F54 women’s shot put and discus events, while Michael emerged victorious in the T11 men’s 100m event.

He said: “The remarkable performance of the country’s para-athletes in Tunisia, where Nigeria finished second overall out of 42 participating nations with 10 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze medals, is highly commendable.”

The Edo sports boss, while recalling the impressive performance of Team Edo during the recently concluded National Sports Festival (Ogun 2024), where Edo kickboxers secured 20 gold medals, said the feat which earned many of them national call-ups.

Enabulele reaffirmed the Commission’s unwavering commitment to grassroots sports development and consistent support for para-athletes and other promising talents who continue to bring pride to Edo State and Nigeria.

“I’m proud of our athletes. Flora, Christopher, and our kickboxing team have done exceptionally well. This is what we want to see—Edo athletes in large numbers representing Nigeria at global events,” he emphasized.

Enabulele added that the achievements of Edo athletes reflect the deliberate investments in sports development by the current administration.

Sports

Full List: Maresca No Longer Needs Nine Players At Chelsea

Published

3 days ago

June 19, 2025

Editor

Chelsea are preparing for another major squad overhaul this summer, with as many as nine players set to leave Stamford Bridge.

New manager Enzo Maresca is keen to trim the squad further, targeting players who no longer fit into his long-term plans.

According to BBC Sport, the Italian tactician has identified nine players who are now available for transfer.

The players reportedly on the exit list include Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi, Djordje Petrovic, Armando Broja, João Félix, Renato Veiga, Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu.

Sterling and Félix were both omitted from Chelsea’s squad for the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. Sterling, who spent last season on loan at Arsenal, struggled to make an impression at the Emirates and failed to secure a permanent move.

Félix, meanwhile, was on loan at AC Milan from January until the end of the campaign, but the Serie A club have reportedly decided against making the deal permanent.