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‘He owes Steven Gerrard an apology!’: Gabby Agbonlahor blames Philippe Coutinho for his poor performance for Aston Villa and says the Brazilian star contributed to the manager’s downfall
- Gabby Agbonlahor criticizes Philipe Coutinho’s performance this season
- Former Villa striker says Brazilian owes fired boss Steven Gerrard his apologies
- Coutinho has yet to score or assist for Aston Villa in 11 games so far this campaign
- Agbolahor also says Villa became too boring and predictable under Gerrard
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Gabby Agbonlahor believes Philippe Coutinho owes sacked Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard an apology for his performance since joining the club permanently.
Coutinho was seen by Gerrard as a smart asset when he was loaned to Villa from Barcelona in January and showed his quality in his early appearances. The Brazilian scored on his debut against Manchester United and scored five goals in 19 games last season.
His impact was enough to see Villa make the transfer permanent in the summer, for a £17 million transfer fee, and has been seen as a key factor in the club’s evolution.
Gabby Agbonlahor has taunted Philipe Coutinho, saying he owes Steven Gerrard an apology
The Brazilian has yet to score or assist in ten Premier League games for Aston Villa this year
However, the 30-year-old has underperformed Villa so far this season, failing to score a goal or assist in his 11 appearances so far this season, having not yet played a full 90 minutes.
Coutinho’s form has coincided with Villa’s poor run, dropping them to 17th in the league table, and saying goodbye to Steven Gerrard after the 3-0 defeat to Fulham last week.
Talk about talkSPORTAccording to Agbonlahor, Coutinho abandoned the man who signed him and owes Gerrard an apology.
Steven Gerrard was sacked by Aston Villa as manager after the 3-0 defeat to Fulham
The former Villa striker said: “Coutinho was his man and he didn’t play for him. Coutinho owes Gerrard an apology to me for the way he performed, Gerrard supported him.”
Aston Villa have won just two games all season and are only in the bottom three of the Premier League on goal difference.
In addition to Coutinho’s achievements, Agbonlahor also thinks Gerrard’s tactics were wrong, as he felt the game had become too predictable and that it was only a matter of time before the former England captain lost his job.
Coutinho celebrates his goal on his Villa debut against Manchester United but has failed to live up to the same expectations this season
He added: ‘The formation didn’t work, he wanted the fullbacks to have the width, but it didn’t work. He (Gerrard) got rid of all the wingers, and that annoyed the fans a bit.
“We became predictable and boring and with too many balls in the penalty area where the attackers were not going to head.
“The tactics were bad and it was only a matter of time. Aston Villa wants to penetrate Europe, not fight against relegation.’
Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Sean Dyche have been linked as possible replacements for Gerrard, but first-team coach Aaron Danks will take on the squad for Sunday’s game against Brentford at Villa Park.
Gerrard had supported his star player by making his move permanent in the summer