Steven Gerrard shielded by status but Al-Ettifaq job in the balance

Photograph: Adam Nurkiewicz/Getty Images

After a fine start in Saudi Arabia, Steven Gerrard is in trouble at Al-Ettifaq. The former Liverpool captain hit the ground running in the east of the country with five wins from the first seven games in the Saudi Pro League, but the Dammam club have not won in the last eight and, amid a six-week Asian Cup-induced break, the pressure is on.

Normally in Saudi Arabia, it would already be over. There have been 13 coaching changes in the 18-team league this season. Clubs can be, and usually are, brutal, with the glow of success lasting about as long as a Saudi winter. Nuno Espírito Santo was dismissed in November, just five months after leading Al-Ittihad to an impressive first title since 2009, while two of Gerrard’s former Liverpool teammates have fared even worse – Igor Biscan took the Al-Shabab job in mid-October and is now home while Robbie Fowler was fired in October after four months at Al-Qadsiah despite not losing a game.

Ettifaq have gone through more than 30 changes this century alone. History is, therefore, against Gerrard, and ultimately what has saved him is his status as a legendary former player. Even in the region itself few of the many coaching comings and goings generate many column inches, but Gerrard’s presence ensures international attention and, as such, a little more patience.

The question is how much? The good start was helped by the goals of Moussa Dembélé and the attacking play of Sweden’s Robin Quaison. Both were on the scoresheet in the famous 2-1 win over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in the opening game. Jordan Henderson, Ettifaq’s marquee signing, may have visibly struggled in the heat of those early season furnaces but the England international quickly established an understanding with Dembélé and it was all looking rather good. There was a lack of creativity but the introduction of another ex-Red in Georginio Wijnaldum helped in that regard.

Quaison’s goals dried up in September and while Dembélé’s didn’t, injury sidelined the French forward for a couple of months. He was badly missed. Only six teams have scored fewer goals than Ettifaq. The issues were evident in the final game of 2023; Ettifaq should have sealed the three points at home to bottom club Al-Hazm long before the visitors got an injury-time penalty to seal a 1-1 draw.

A few days prior, Gerrard met with club officials and called for more signings. “We need to be aggressive, we need to be ruthless, and we need to make a lot of changes to make this team more competitive,” he said.

“We need to show in this window, and also the summer window, that we mean business and we want to be competitive at the top of the league, and not where we are at the moment. It’s a collective thing – the players here and now need to give more, and people need to step up, and, at the right time, we will hopefully be able to make significant changes to the team and the squad. Hopefully, at the back end of January, you will see a different, stronger and more competitive squad.”

Such a public demand for transfer activity is not something that many foreign coaches do in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps that is because, in the past, they would sweep in from South America or the Balkans for a season at most before leaving with barely a mark on their résumé, either positive and negative. With Gerrard it seems different. After failure at Aston Villa, Saudi success may not restore his coaching reputation but another setback would be taken as further evidence that the former England midfielder does not have what it takes to be a manager. Certainly the Liverpool job, which appeared to be Gerrard’s destiny, looks a long way away.

Nobody was expecting Ettifaq, slightly lucky to finish seventh last season, to challenge the top two of Al-Hilal, 18-time champions, and Al-Nassr, or the Jeddah giants, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli, the other members of the “Big Four” who were taken over last summer by the country’s Public Investment Fund and showered with cash and big-name stars. There is less of an excuse when it comes to other teams, however. Unfashionable Al-Taawoun, expertly led by the supremely well-travelled Péricles Chamusca, are in fourth. Damac and Al-Fateh are also teams that have made more from less investment.

Fans are starting to complain. Gerrard’s stature in the game has helped him survive this long, and almost certainly will for some time yet, but it’s hard to say for how much longer.