It seems as though Steven Gerrard is either an amazing manager or a terrible one.

If Rangers win, then people heap praise on him and if they drop points then his appointment was too risky and he’s not experienced enough for the role.

In truth it’s only the start of November and it’s still a bit extreme to try and judge the Gers manager.

It’s not just the opposition fans criticising the Gers gaffer as some in the media seem quick to pounce on any negative result:

“Under pressure.”
I find Steven Gerrard immensely likeable…but what a dire risk by Rangers. A huge job, a key role, to a rookie manager. https://t.co/xIaGKa3aRs

— Graham Spiers (@GrahamSpiers) October 31, 2018

At the moment things have gone alright for the rookie boss. He’s spearheaded some good things at the club and he’s struggling with some issues too.

In Europe, Rangers have been fantastic. They’re still unbeaten in the Europa League and along with La Liga cracks Villarreal they top their group.

Domestically the Ibrox side haven’t lost a game at home. No team in the Scottish Premiership has scored more than Gers twenty-three goals so far this term. When they are in top gear they look very fluid and can carve teams open at will.

They look a bit more streetwise than they looked under either Pedro Caixinha or Mark Warburton. Plus Gerrard looks to have done pretty well in the summer transfer window, although I don’t fancy Jon Flanagan and Umar Sadiq doesn’t seem to be up to scratch either.

While it doesn’t sound great that they’re in fourth place, if they win their game in hand then they’ll move up to third due to their superior goal difference and they’d close the gap on league leaders Hearts. Talking about the Jambos, Rangers are still the only team in the Premiership to beat the team currently occupying top spot. It should also be noted that the Light Blues are just four points behind bitter rivals and treble winners Celtic.

They’re hardly on dire straits.

On the other hand Rangers have looked poor away from home in the league. That away form has meant that the Govan side have struggled to put together a convincing run of wins. If you are going to win silverware then you need to have enjoy successful winning runs, both home and away.

Consistency is the key at Ibrox and it’s cost Pedro and Warburton their jobs, so it’s definitely something that Gerrard needs to sort out.

They’ve struggled to create clear cut chances in recent weeks. I’d expect another creative player to come in when the January transfer window opens. Another striker might be a possibility too as they might need another face to challenge Alfredo Morelos and Kyle Lafferty.

The performance against Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-final wasn’t good enough and the Gers boss didn’t get the reaction he’d have wanted from his squad in the game against Kilmarnock. But we can’t forget that Killie and Aberdeen are very decent teams and they got their results because they stuck to their game plans. Rangers can’t simply turn up and expect to win games, our game is becoming more competitive and that should be praised.

Ultimately we need to see how things pan out, rather than have knee-jerk reactions to every Rangers result. You can have a middle ground, Steven isn’t a great manager nor is he a terrible one. Gerrard is still learning as he goes and he’s done OK so far.

Now if they are trophy-less come May and finish fourth in Scotland’s top flight then we can call Rangers’ season a failure but it’s still too early to fully judge Gerrard, in my opinion.

 

Posted on November 1st, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article