Al Ettifaq Management Make Changes to the Technical Staff But No Goodbye to Steven Gerard…Just Yet
Steven Gerrard will continue as Al Ettifaq manager after the former Rangers and Aston Villa manager held crisis talks with the club’s management. After a poor start to the 2024-25 season, Gerrard’s role at the club came under threat, but after consultations, the Al Ettifaq hierarchy opted to terminate the contracts of assistant manager Dean Holden and sporting director Mark Allen.
After a poor start to the season where Al Ettifaq recorded only one win in their last seven matches, the fans turned against the players and the coach and marked their dissatisfaction with poor matchday attendance, booing the players and, in one instance, telling Gerrard directly to his face that it was time to leave the club.
The international break provided an ideal moment for the club to sit down with Gerrard and discuss his future at the club. He went into it with several factors playing in his favor. First, Gerrard’s £15 million-a-year contract with Al Ettifaq is set to expire in January 2027, making it very expensive for the club to terminate it with just over two years remaining. Secondly, Gerrard is one of the prominent faces featured in the Saudi Pro League: Kickoff Netflix documentary set for release on November 21st, and firing him would harm the documentary’s publicity.
Eventually, Al Ettifaq opted to release two members of Gerrard’s staff with the hope that some changes to the technical bench could help turn the club’s form around. First out the door was Mark Allen, who served as the club’s sporting director. Allen only joined in January and was formerly an academy coach at Manchester City. The other victim of the axe was Dean Holden, the assistant manager who only assumed his role in February.
In a statement to the press confirming the changes, the club said, “The board and everyone at the club deeply appreciates the unwavering support of Ettifaq fans despite recent unsatisfactory results. We remain optimistic that better results are on the horizon.”
With the international break, Gerrard will have time to figure out how to turn things around. He hopes that once action resumes in the Saudi Pro League, his players will start winning matches and secure his role for the foreseeable future.
