Inevitably, Steven Gerrard was sacked by Aston Villa.

In last few weeks, the former Liverpool captain being showed the exit door at the Birmingham side was a question of when, not a matter of if.

Only two wins from the opening 11 Premier League games is simply not good enough for Villa, who are now just one place above the dropzone.

Yesterday’s defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage was the last straw.

It was the Claret and Blue’s heaviest defeat since April and one which made the club’s leadership make up their mind.

They coudn’t even wait for the next day to dismiss the former Rangers manager.

Gerrard’s exit will be music to the ears of Zimbabweans and the reason for that has a name —Marvelous Nakamba.

The Warriors midfielder has not featured for Villa this season and the general consensus is that he has fallen down the pecking order.

Villa were exposed defensively at Craven Cottage last night and how Nakamba fails to feature, remains a mystery.

The Hwange-bred midfielder has however been handed a lifeline not only because of Gerrard’s dismissal.

Brazilian holding midfielder Douglas Luiz was shown a straight red card last night and will serve a 3-match suspension.

With new acquisition Boubacar Kamara out injured, Nakamba might be one of, if not the only option for that holding midfielder role.