Gerrard's Rangers beginning to falter

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thebeautifulgame
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Gerrard's Rangers beginning to falter

Post by thebeautifulgame »

The arrival of Steven Gerrard at Rangers rightly gained a lot of exposure and to be perfectly honest (as a Celtic fan) I was quietly impressed by the manner in which he began his new role. My team were pretty woeful for the first handful of games and Rangers appeared to have the bit between their teeth. Alas the cracks are now showing and their form has dipped somewhat as Celtic are improving and threatening to accomplish yet another treble (all be it in a sub standard league).
To confuse things a little Rangers are currently doing an admirable job in Europe (for now) whilst Celtic continue to struggle. Gerrard should be congratulated that they sit top of their Euro group but their big issues lie on the domestic scene. Recently knocked out at the semi-final stage by an average (at best) Aberdeen side and sitting equal fourth with Hibs in the Scottish Premier League, Gerrard is now already feeling the heat of the Glasgow fish bowl and what it means to be a poor second to your main rival.
Gerrard must pin his hopes of securing Scottish Cup success as he does not have a side (certainly not this season and for the foreseeable future) to seriously trouble Celtic over the distance. If he manages to secure Scottish Cup (a big if IMO) it would buy him time to strengthen the squad but in this lies a huge problem. It was announced that Rangers are operating at a loss of 14.3 Million UK pounds (approximately 25.7 Million A$). Gerrard commented that if his current players did not improve they would be shipped out and others of better quality would be brought in- easier said than done, even if you are one of the most respected names in European/World football. More money thrown down the drain and not for the first or second time.
More worrying for Gers fans (and the Board no doubt) is the lack of real funds available AND Gerrard's domestic record in comparison to his last THREE predecessors.
Gerrard's Rangers have won 5, drawn 3 and lost 2 in the ten matches played this season, giving him a win percentage of 50%.
Murty had a win record of 52.3%, Caixinha 55% and Warburton 61.7% (though this included matches in the lower grade Championship). Warburton's record in the Premier League equated to 50% (currently equal to Gerrard's record).
If I were a bluenose (God forbid) I would seriously question why under the leadership of Gerrard he is not capable of getting a team on the park that can consistently compete with teams away from home. Don't be fooled with the 1-0 loss to Celtic at Celtic park as it should have been 4-0 and that is being kind. Celtic aside Rangers should be dealing with it a lot better domestically but they are actually struggling. To make matters worse their home form is also beginning to dip and I would imagine that this is a sign of the wheels beginning to fall off.
My hunch is that Gerrard won't be in it for the long term if success is not achieved fairly quickly. His reputation as a player will never be questioned but as a Manager he may have found an easier place to cut his teeth. I think the next few months will show if Stevie G has what it takes to be a successful Manager. If he finishes second to Celtic in the League and somehow manages to win the Scottish Cup I think he will have proved his worth. A run in Europe will never hurt either.

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Re: Gerrard's Rangers beginning to falter

Post by Old Master »

To be fair to Gerrard, I think his brief for this year is simply to stay in the top division and finish in a reasonable position, as the club cannot afford to compete with Celtic until their debts are wiped out, or a Sheik or two takes them over.
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