Aston Villa fans are grateful that the Steven Gerrard reign lasted less than a year, any longer and the club probably wouldn’t be in this current position.
Everything and anything was going wrong under his stewardship, before Unai Emery came to the rescue and showcased how it should be done.
The form of individual players went backwards, the home form was one of the worst in the Premier League, boring style of play and heading towards relegation rather than Europe.
One player who massively struggled under Steven Gerrard and just couldn’t find his dancing boots was Leon Bailey.
The Jamaica star was signed by Aston Villa in 2021 for £25 million when Dean Smith was in charge, but months into the season he was sacked.
That didn’t help matters because it just resulted in instability for everyone, but despite Steven Gerrard coming in, it was pretty clear that things just weren’t working.
For Leon Bailey himself, he admits there were ‘issues’ with those who came before Unai Emery and how ‘things weren’t clicking’, as he told The Let’s Be Honest Podcast.
But now the 26-year-old has claimed that this is the best season of his career ‘in terms of contribution’.
Why shouldn’t it be?! He has eight goals and eight assists in the Premier League, whilst in all competitions, he has 23 goal contributions, and the season isn’t over yet!
A stark change from when Steven Gerrard was at Bodymoor Heath to the trophy-winning coach now making the orders.
Leon Bailey admits to ‘issues’ under Steven Gerrard
“I would say (my) best season in terms of contribution,” said Bailey. “I think I scored more goals in one season, the season before I went to Aston Villa. This season is my best season, in terms of contributions
On what changed: “I just got my foot on the ground in the right way and the coach came in and did a lot.
“The previous coach I had issues with the coaches. Things weren’t clicking. When the new coach came in, that’s where everything turned around for me. He helped me a lot to be where I am today. I just felt more comfortable, more confident and everything just felt like it should have been.”
Leon Bailey thriving under Unai Emery
From hardly making a noise under Gerrard to now being one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Not only has Bailey’s form drastically changed, but he has also helped Aston Villa to higher heights and the hope of securing Champions League football this term.
The team is still sitting fourth in the table, so destiny is still in our hands, but after the international break, that’s when the men will be separated from the boys.
Not only that, there is also the chance to win the Europa Conference League. We came in as favourites and are now starting to show why it’s going to be difficult to stop us from winning this whole tournament outright.
