- Steven Gerrard signed a £15.2m-a-year contract with Al-Ettifaq last summer
- He is now under increasing pressure from fans after a dismal run of results
Fans and pundits have called for Steven Gerrard to resign as manager of Al-Ettifaq after his side suffered a shock exit from the Saudi Cup at the hands of a second-division team on Wednesday night.
Gerrard is 16 months into his £15.2m-a-year contract at Al-Ettifaq, and led the club to sixth place in the Saudi Pro League last season.
But they are down in 10th place this term having failed to register a league win since September 14, and slumped to a new low on Wednesday when they were beaten 3-1 by lower league outfit Al-Jabalain to exit the King Cup at the last-16 stage.
Gerrard decided to start with former Celtic and Lyon forward Moussa Dembele on the bench and his team selection backfired disastrously. Gerrard’s tactics have left fans perplexed, with some fearing the Englishman could drag Al-Ettifaq down even further if he remains in charge.
Following last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Al Feiha, a fan posted on social media: ‘By God, Gerrard is making fun of himself. I have never seen a failed coach who has a lot of excellent names and doesn’t know how to employ them properly.
Steven Gerrard is facing calls to resign from his Al-Ettifaq job by supporters
Gerrard signed a £15.2m-a-year contract with the Saudi club last year
He left England behind to move to Saudi Arabia, but it has not worked out for him
Al-Ettifaq fans have turned on Gerrard following a dismal run of results, with some questioning his tactics
‘Dembele is a substitute and he is the top scorer, and Majed Duran is one of the best talents. May God help Al-Ettifaq fans.’
Another supporter added earlier this week: ‘Al-Ettifaq’s situation will not change with Gerrard at the helm of the technical staff.’
Complaints about Gerrard’s starting XIs have become commonplace in recent weeks. After losing 3-2 to Al-Orobah on October 20, another despairing supporter wrote: ‘I was very optimistic before the match, but when I saw the lineup, I washed my hands of it. In every match, there is confusion and changing of names.
‘It has confused me and all the experts about how to draw the lineup that Mr. Gerrard has been in for seven or eight rounds so far. He has been around since last season and he doesn’t know how to put together a lineup.’
Saudi-based sports journalist Turki Al-Ajmah also believes Gerrard’s time is up after Al-Ettifaq’s latest humilitation, while his colleague Mohammed Al-Sadaan branded Gerrard’s situation ‘sad’ and urged him to step down.
The pressure is mounting on Gerrard, and he did little to endear himself to Al-Ettifaq fans when he recently admitted that he arranges training sessions at the club for certain times so he can watch his beloved Liverpool play.
Gerrard recently admitted he organises training sessions to not clash with Liverpool matches
Speaking to The Redmen TV, he said: ‘John [Achterberg, goalkeeping coach] and I have got more than one eye on it. We put all our schedule around the Liverpool games.
‘The players are onto me now; we’ve been training at 9 or 10 at night.’
That schedule does not appear to be working for Gerrard and his side at the moment as their search for their first league win in over six weeks goes on.
Their dire form has left them just five points above the relegation zone, and fans are concerned that they could be set for a dogfight at the bottom of the table if things don’t change quickly.
Gerrard is still yet to convince on the touchline after leaving England behind to move to the Middle East.
He enticed his former Liverpool team-mate Jordan Henderson to Al-Ettifaq last year, but that reunion proved shortlived as the England international left Saudi Arabia in January to join Ajax.
Results have not picked up since for Al-Ettifaq, and Gerrard may now be running out of time to save his job.
He has now taken charge of 46 games at Al-Ettifaq, and currently has a mediocre record of 17 wins, 15 losses and 14 draws.
