The recent appointment to the assistant manager role of Neil Critchley to Aston Villa has raised eyebrows throughout English football, but all for the correct reasons.
Critchley opted to depart his role as first team manager at Blackpool to pursue an opportunity alongside the tutelage of Steven Gerrard at Villa Park, becoming the iconic English footballer's assistant in the Midlands.
The 43-year-olds decision to end his stint with a promising Sky Bet Championship club like Blackpool to become number two with Aston Villa seems like an odd decision for a manager who has worked wonders with the Tangerines, but there's also a lot of reasons why this is a great decision for Critchley.
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The promise of the Villains
The Summer transfer window is yet to open in the Premier League, yet Aston Villa have been grabbing headlines, not for rumours, but for completed signings.
The permanent addition of Phillipe Coutinho, Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamara to Villa Park have been phenomenal additions, with each set to improve the already high standard and direction the club are heading in. With that, world-class striker Luis Suarez is heavily linked.
All three of the already confirmed signings, alongside promising youngsters such as Jacob Ramsey, Carney Chukwuemeka,Ben Chrisene and Tim Iroegbunam, Critchley will be sure to aid their development and help them to flourish in the first team, as he had done when working wonders recently with Blackpool.
This also demonstrates the potential of this Aston Villa team, and with an accomplished coach like Critchley in the team, he can help push this team to the next level.
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Relationship with Gerrard
Not only has Critchley already got an existing relationship with Gerrard, they've grown with the same standards and expectations of a world-class Liverpool side.
Having worked in Liverpool's academy alongside Gerrard for a year, Critchley has always been in and around the first team too, even standing in for two games and boasting a decent 50% win ratio with the Reds.
Their existing relationship means they share the same values and will agree on several crucial points at Villa Park, which has often been a contrast between assistants and managers in the past. But with Gerrard and Critchley both familiar with a highly successful model like Liverpool and the same ethos as one another, it can only spell success and promise for the future.
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Managerial experience
Promotion from Sky Bet League One and establishing Blackpool in the Championship is not a casual achievement or one to be looked over, in fact Critchley has been linked with higher profile managerial jobs because of his class shown in the Tangerine hot seat.
So to acquire Critchley as a number two and not the sole centre of a club is a brilliant acquisition, and a surprise to many. Critchley has now done it all in a coaching aspect, from academy, to managerial and now to being an assistant. With that being said, Critchley has achieved a number of different skills and qualities which are key to being an accomplished coach, which he can bring to Aston Villa to take the Villains to Europe, which is the clear goal for next season. After all, Critchley even beat Pep Guardiola in receiving the Manager of the Season award at the annual North West Football Awards this season.