'Extortionate' Aston Villa fines stun Peter Crouch

Aston Villa players faced huge fines under Steven Gerrard

Peter Crouch and Steve Sidwell have expressed their shock at the fines handed out by Steven Gerrard while he was Aston Villa manager.

The former Liverpool star had a torrid time with Villa yet still ran a tight ship with fines and penalties. While Gerrard left Villa back in 2022 and is now in charge of Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League, his financial punishments are something that are still discussed.

On the latest edition of 'That Peter Crouch Podcast', Gerrard's reputation as a strict disciplinarian was brought up by co-host Chris Stark and put to Gerrard's former team-mate Crouch and ex-Reading star Sidwell. Gerrard's fines are said to have ranged from a hefty £500 for being late to training, while turning up late for a meeting, or the team coach would set players back a stunning £200 a minute for every minute they missed.

Gerrard, who lasted less than a year at the helm at Villa Park, would reportedly also extend his penchant for fining players to those who wore the wrong attire on a matchday, a faux-pas that would land players a £100 fine for every disallowed garment worn. The former England international also reportedly ran an uncompromising dining room where those who would leave plates, cups and more at the dinner table were hit with a £100 punishment for every item they failed to clear.

Told of Gerrard's relentless dedication to fiscally punishing his players, Crouch shared his dismay. Referencing Gerrard's rule of sanctioning players who missed meetings by the minute, the ex-Stoke man declared: "£200 a minute? What if you forget and don't turn up for two hours?"

Sidwell then chimed in insisting that there must have been a limit on the severe penalty, adding: "I think I've seen this before and, I don't know whether it was true or not, purely because of the amounts. Because that is extortionate."

However, the Liverpool icon's financial forfeits gradually became more outlandish. One such rule reportedly said that if a player was sent off during a game, they then had to take the team out for a meal within four weeks of receiving the red card. However, both Crouch and Sidwell admitted to admiring that particular rule - although Crouch did share some misgivings.

"What happens if it's a professional foul and it saves your team?," The ex-England forward said. "It might save you a point and you still have to take them for dinner? Maybe someone could chip in like, 'you helped us out there, let me put some money into this'"

While at Villa, Gerrard also reportedly insisted that the worst player on the small-sided games prior to the first game of the season, as voted for by the winning team, would have to wear a jumper emblazoned with 'I was the worst trainer'. Sidwell then confessed he had a history with that peculiar ruling. The ex-Chelsea man then revealed the origins of the rule. He also explained that, with the stakes higher, it would mean players would up their game in training to intense levels.

"That's matchday minus one, so the day before the game you do a few set-pieces, and it ends in five-aside which, nine times out of ten gets heated, as everyone wants to win the five-aside," he said. "The worst player from that has to wear the jersey for the following Friday before the next game."

Crouch also lifted the lid on a strange custom at some of his former clubs. The 43-year-old opened up on a series of strange retributions for players who underperformed or broke the rules.

"We did it at Stoke and Portsmouth, where we had the A-Team car, the three-wheeler and you had to drive it in, and you had to add something to the car (If you broke club rules)."We also had, at Stoke, if someone gave the ball away then someone would shout 'contender' and then you'd be nervous (about keeping the ball)."

Sidwell added that, during his time at Villa in the early to mid-2000s, there was a humiliating ritual players would have to endure. He said: "We had one at Villa, and it was just a yellow t-shirt, and it just had loads of stuff written on it like 'donkey' or 's**t player' and after the session Wally the coach would then go around and collect votes on a piece of paper (to see who the worst trainer was) but sometimes you knew, like: 'It was a horrendous day, boys - just give me the shirt'."