Steven Gerrard has thrown down the gauntlet to Tyrone Mings after controversially stripping him of the captaincy at Aston Villa.
The Villains boss stunned supporters by officially taking the armband off Mings just days before the new Premier League campaign began, with fan favourite midfielder John McGinn being handed the responsibility. While McGinn was a popular choice to take over as skipper, the changing of the guard has sent shockwaves around Villa Park and become a hot topic amongst fans and pundits alike.
But Gerrard's contentious decision was thrust further into the spotlight on Saturday, as Villa lost their opening game of the season 2-0 away to Bournemouth. Mings was notably an unused substitute, while new £26million signing Diego Carlos started in his place at centre-back. After the bruising defeat, the 42-year-old issued a cold response when quizzed on his former captain's predicament.
Asked by BBC WM if his decision to bench Mings - usually a regular at Villa Park - was any consequence of the player's reaction to being replaced as skipper, Gerrard revealed: "It's a little bit of that. He's also missed some training time with an injury and there's a niggle in the background as well."
The Liverpool legend then made sure that his comments would make national headlines by adding: "When Tyrone is back at his best and looks me in the eye and shows that he's ready to play, he'll get opportunities."
Gerrard was also questioned on whether not having Mings' presence on the pitch at Bournemouth was a factor in the loss, but the former Rangers manager maintained that his starting XI should've won the game. "I think people might talk about that," Gerrard pondered post-match.
"The easy thing to do after a defeat is look at the people who weren't on the pitch. We had enough quality on the pitch to win that game. I'm confident of that.'
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The new-found controversy surrounding Mings' situation came as somewhat of a surprise in the wake of Saturday's defeat, as the England international had posted a classy tweet when the news was announced. "For me this isn't about John or I, it's about what's right for Aston Villa," Mings wrote.
"I have no issues with the manager's decision; I've loved leading this team. Anyone who knows John McGinn knows how infectious he is and it will be an honour to play underneath his captaincy."
A debate over Gerrard's call quickly ensued at the weekend however, with Villa legend Paul McGrath making his thoughts crystal clear on Twitter. "Tyrone Mings Is good enough for Aston Villa, in my opinion he ticks all the right boxes," McGrath stated. "So how do you lose the Armband and your place in seconds? You don't, so who said what to who, no one cares get him in the team. Respect."
Meanwhile, Graeme Souness has warned his fellow fellow Anfield legend about the ripple effects of dislodging Mings, who took over as captain from Jack Grealish a year ago and had previously only missed eight league games since he helped Villa return to the top flight in 2019.
"Let me tell you how a dressing room works," Souness began on TalkSPORT. "As a manager you walk in, you're a player, I'm digging you out. There's 25 players in that dressing room, listening to it. You sit there and look at me and don't say a word. When I walk out of that dressing room, you say to your best mate 'I'm not having that off him'.
"And then he's got a best mate, and it's a chain reaction. By the time they've had their shower, and they're driving out the car park, they've spoke to their agent.
"Me as a manager, I'm on sticky ground. I've fallen out with half a dozen of you who, collectively, might be worth £150m. And then one of the agents leaks a story, 'you know, he's fallen out with the dressing room', that's leaked to the press, chairman, etc. You're then on a sticky wicket."
Micah Richards added that he was "flabbergasted" by decision and told BBC Sport : "[Mings] tweeted when he lost the captaincy and seemed to take it well, but it's not like Gerrard to sort of throw him under the bus. He's normally straight to the point, direct. You feel as though he's a manager who will deal with anything internally, in the dressing room.
"He didn't need to do that. Maybe he was frustrated because they'd just lost the game, but normally Gerrard keeps that within the group. It's very interesting."
