"It's a no from me" - Bristol City urged to avoid Steven Gerrard possibility | OneFootball

FLW's Bristol City fan pundit Tom Sandy has urged the Robins to steer clear of appointing Steven Gerrard.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bristol City are in the hunt for a new manager, after Liam Manning departed Ashton Gate in favour of a move to Championship rivals Norwich City.

The former Oxford United boss enjoyed a strong 20-months in the South West, leading his side to the Championship play-offs last season, where they were comfortably beaten in the semi-finals by Sheffield United.

However, after Johannes Hoff Thorup was sacked by Norwich, reports emerged that the Canaries were closing in on the shock appointment of Manning, having finished below the Robins last season.

It was believed that the 39-year-old opted for the switch to Carrow Road amid budget concerns at Bristol City. Manning was said to have cut a rather frustrated figure in interviews towards the end of his time at Ashton Gate.

Now, the defeated play-off semi-finalists must quickly move on from any disappointment left by Manning's departure and seek to appoint a new head coach.

One of those currently available on the market that Bristol City could consider is former Rangers and Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard, who left Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq in January 2025.

Bristol City told to steer clear of Steven Gerrard

Whilst there are no concrete links between the Robins and the Liverpool legend, Football League World quizzed their resident Bristol City expert, Tom Rawle, if he thought Gerrard would be a good fit for the vacancy.

Rawle responded: "Steven Gerrard - it's a no from me.

"Whilst he could be a good coach, I don't really see it being something that we're going to be doing purely for the money that he's on and the sort of transfer budget he's going to be expecting.

"If he is to come to a club, he's probably going to want a decent amount of money to do something with.

"Reading between the lines, there probably isn't going to be much of a budget this season," Tom continued.

"For me, it's one of those show-off manager jobs - a little bit similar to Frank Lampard at Coventry. That's not to say that Lampard hasn't done a good job at Coventry.

"But you're always going to be known as 'Frank Lampard's Coventry City' or 'Steven Gerrard's Bristol City,' so for me, it would be a no.

"I don't really know much about his playing philosophy as a coach, so I couldn't even tell you if he's a good coach or not either - it'd be a no from me."

Where Bristol City head with next appointment remains unclear

If the fears regarding next season's budget are true, it could be a long and painful summer for Bristol City supporters, following an excellent season fighting at the sharp end of the Championship.

As Tom mentioned, some managers will be out of reach as they will be expecting a healthy budget to play with in the transfer market, which they likely won't get at Ashton Gate.

There have been no concrete links with regard to the vacancy yet, with the usual candidates of unattached managers being the talk of social media since Manning's departure.

It will be interesting to see where the Robins head with their next appointment, and what sort of calibre manager they can attract, despite rumblings of a lack of budget next season.