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Steven Gerrard & Rangers

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Adam Lewis has just been released from his loan at Amiens. He should go on loan to Rangers. Gerrard absolutely loved him when he was in the under18s, expecting him to do as well as Trent ('I want to keep him for as long as I can,' he said at the time, 'but for me, he’s such a threat on the left side. Going forward, I haven’t seen anyone as good as him at that age, in terms of quality and what he can deliver in the final third'). He's still got the ability as a left back, wing back, even attacking midfielder when needed, but he's lost his way a bit, his confidence is gone. A season reunited with Gerrard might see us get a good young player back.
we need $$$$$$$$$$ €€€€€€€€€€€€€ ££££££££££££££ so don't care if he comes back. We have Kosta.
 
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So Rangers win 5-0 when some people were questioning whether they can go the complete season unbeaten. Still a long way to go but encouraging signs if ever Klopp has to go.
 
[article]Celtic manager Neil Lennon has already conceded this year's title may be beyond his team, but can Rangers rub further salt into the wounds by matching their feted invincibles in the league and complete the Premiership season unbeaten?

Steven Gerrard stands on the cusp of securing the Ibrox club's first major trophy in a decade, while ending Celtic's quest for a record 10th straight Scottish top-flight title.

Rangers' Premiership superiority this season is demonstrated by the 23-point gap at the top and has invited comparisons with the feat of Brendan Rodgers' 'invincibles' in season 2016-17.

With that now the realistic target to aim for, BBC Scotland examines Rangers' prospects.

Thirteen games from history
Rangers have won 22 of 25 fixtures - their only dropped points came in draws away to Livingston, Hibernian and Motherwell - leaving them 13 games from completing the league season undefeated.

That would emulate the achievement of Celtic four years ago - with Rodgers' team also unbeaten in the cups on the way to a domestic treble - but how do their respective records compare?

Rodgers' team amassed 106 points in finishing with 34 wins and just four draws as the current Leicester City boss made history in his first campaign in Glasgow.

To beat that tally, Rangers have to win all 13 remaining games to finish on 108 points. A big ask, but by no means beyond Gerrard's men as their recently ended 15-match league winning streak shows.
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To match that Celtic total, Rangers can afford one more draw. By the same stage of the season, Celtic had dropped just two points, with 73 from 75 compared to Rangers' current haul of 69.

Gerrard's men have been flawless at home, winning all 12 games, while Celtic's 100% record on their own patch lasted 14 matches until successive draws with the Ibrox club and Partick Thistle.

Celtic finished that season 30 points clear of closest challengers Aberdeen, with Rangers nine further back in their first top-flight season in four years.

Nine more victories would ensure Rangers eclipse their biggest points total, the 97 accumulated in 2003 under Dick Advocaat when they pipped Celtic to the title on goal difference.

Defensive trail blazers
A miserly backline has been the foundation of Rangers' title charge. While Celtic's invincibles had conceded 16 goals by now, and ended with 25 against, Rangers are on course for the best-ever defensive record in the Scottish top flight.

The current milestone is the 14 conceded by Celtic in 1913-14 over a 38-game season, an average of 0.368 per game. In modern times, Celtic's 17 in 2014-15, Ronny Deila's first in charge, is the best (0.447).

Yet, having let in just seven goals in 25 matches, Rangers' current rate is just 0.28 per game.

And it's not only on the domestic scene where Gerrard's side are setting the standard. In Europe's top 30 leagues ranked by Uefa co-efficient, Opta data shows the Ibrox club have the best defensive record, comfortably clear of the next tightest sides Red Star Belgrade (0.37 per game), Olympiakos (0.39) and Slavia Prague (0.4).

Rangers have already kept 19 Premiership clean sheets - six more than the invincibles' season total - and their defensive organisation is highlighted in allowing 43 shots on target in 25 games. That, and the 0.73 expected goals against, are both the best in the division.

Spreading the scoring burden
Rangers' 5-0 rout of Ross County on Saturday has burnished their scoring stats to leave them just two short of Celtic's haul of 67 at the same 25-game mark.

Rodgers' men ended the campaign with 106 goals scored - a Scottish top-tier record - meaning Rangers need to net an average of 3.2 goals per game in their 13 remaining fixtures if they are to match that total.

Having been heavily reliant on the goals of Alfredo Morelos in recent years, Rangers now have an impressive spread of scorers, with 16 players having netted in the Premiership.

While Morelos - who accounted for a hefty 26.1% of the team's goals across all competitions in each of the past two seasons - has netted just six this term, Kemar Roofe has made a telling impact.

The 28-year-old striker has 10 goals in just 15 league appearances following his move from Anderlecht last summer.

And captain and full-back James Tavernier leads the way with 11 goals - including six penalties - complemented by eight assists, both more than any other player in the division.

'No evidence to suggest they won't do it'
Former Rangers striker Steven Thompson on BBC Scotland Sportsound

Rangers can absolutely end the season without losing. There's no evidence to suggest anybody can beat them. They have been so incredibly consistent and their numbers are incredible.

When they've been asked questions, they've answered them all season long. They are playing with such a clear idea of what they want to do. And Gerrard has so many options in each position now, which is the big difference from last season.

The last month or so - Saturday aside - the performance level had dipped although they were still winning games. They missed a bit of their mojo, but that came back on Saturday in spades. They were outstanding and that might just give them the boost to kick on again.

[/article]
 

[article]Steven Gerrard has learned not to take anything for granted in a title race, but the man who has long been touted as Jurgen Klopp's natural successor as Liverpool manager is on the brink of writing history with Rangers. He's suffered too much sporting heartache to entertain the prospect of glory just yet, but pulling Rangers back to the summit of Scottish football will be no small achievement.

Rangers, without a league championship since 2011
, travel to Hibernian on Wednesday (2:45 pm ET, stream live on ESPN+) sat 23 points clear at the top of the 12-team Scottish Premiership (although second-placed Celtic have three games in hand), unbeaten in the league all season and knowing that nine more wins will secure the club's 55th title.

In their last game, Rangers coasted to a 5-0 win at home to Ross County to emphasise the apparent inevitability of their impending success, but Gerrard is refusing to accept that the title is even close.

"When it's done," Gerrard said, when asked when he would start to believe. "When it gets done..."

In 2019, Gerrard told ESPN of the "wound that will not close," his slip while playing for Liverpool against Chelsea in 2014, which led to a goal in a loss that blew Liverpool off course in the Premier League title race (eventually won by Manchester City). Liverpool's collapse that year was not solely down to Gerrard's moment of misfortune, far from it, but it became the defining image and the former midfielder would end his playing career having won every major club honour with the club apart from the Premier League.

In that context, his reticence when asked to focus on winning the Scottish title is perhaps understandable.

"It doesn't make any sense to be getting ahead of ourselves in terms of where we are right now," Gerrard said.

But such is Rangers' dominance this season in Scotland, it is becoming increasingly clear that the club will be crowned champions, ensuring that they both create and prevent history at the same time.

Winning a 55th league title would not only extend Rangers' world record for most domestic league titles, currently shared with Northern Ireland's Linfield, but more importantly, it would stop bitter rivals Celtic from becoming the first Scottish club to win 10 successive titles. Four words -- "10 in a row" -- have dominated Scottish football and haunted Rangers for the best part of a decade, as the Celtic juggernaut threatened to tear apart the record books.

Paul Lambert, former Celtic midfielder, said after the club's ninth successive title was confirmed last year: "If Rangers lose 10 in a row now, the history of Rangers is gone."

The history of Rangers and Celtic is intertwined with a rivalry that transcends football and extends into religion and Irish politics: Rangers are traditionally backed by Protestant and Loyalist communities and Celtic, who have Irish origins, drawing their support from those with Catholic and Republican backgrounds. Despite being Scottish teams, the Irish tricolour dominates at Celtic Park, while Union flags and the Flag of Northern Ireland (Ulster Banner) are widespread at Ibrox.

Rangers and Celtic, the so-called "Old Firm," have won 105 of the 123 championships since the Scottish League began in 1890 and no club outside of Glasgow's big two has been champions since Aberdeen -- then managed by Sir Alex Ferguson -- in 1985. It is a rivalry regarded by many as the most intense in world football and one which has deepened further since 2012, when Rangers were demoted to the fourth tier of the Scottish game as a result of a financial scandal that led to the club being liquidated and re-formed.

Imagine Barcelona or Real Madrid being forced to play in Spain's fourth division, among amateur teams at tiny stadiums whose clubs have an average attendance of fewer than 500 people. That is the fate that befell Rangers, and their climb back to the top has been long and arduous, made more unbearable by Celtic winning every domestic title during that period.

"It felt like a jail sentence," David Edgar, of the Heart & Hand Rangers podcast, told ESPN. "Coming back up the divisions was something the club had to get through and the novelty of playing at the lowest levels wore off very quickly.

"I remember seeing Rangers lose at home to Annan Athletic in the fourth tier. That was a real low, but I think the worst point was when we lost to Raith Rovers in the Challenge Cup final -- a cup for lower league teams -- in 2014.

"The Challenge Cup was sponsored by Ramsdens, a chain of pawnshops, that year so it seemed to sum up everything about Rangers at the time."

Rangers would spend four years outside the top division, winning three promotions in four seasons to reclaim their place in the Premiership and renew the rivalry with Celtic, but the journey wasn't over.

"Once we were back in the Premiership, that's when the real punishment started," Edgar said. "The financial gap between Rangers and Celtic had become so big that it seemed insurmountable and you began to wonder whether we would ever win the title again."

When Gerrard was named as Rangers manager in May 2018, leaving his role as youth-team coach at Liverpool, the challenge facing the former England captain in his first management job was immense. Rangers had finished third the previous season, 12 points behind Celtic, having been beaten 5-0 and 4-0 in league and cup by their rivals a month earlier.

"Those defeats could both have been double figures," Edgar said. "The Celtic players were high-fiving and laughing at each other. Rangers needed a leader, somebody to give us confidence and professionalism again, and Steven Gerrard walked in, and pretty quickly, he showed that we weren't going to be a joke anymore."

It has taken Gerrard almost three years to get to the point of being able to topple Celtic, though, with the manager trusting players like captain James Tavernier, Ryan Kent, Ryan Jack and Ianis Hagi, son of Romanian star Gheorghe, to help turn the tide. Gerrard has also introduced a slick passing game, mixed the experience of Steven Davis and Jermain Defoe with the raw talent of volatile striker Alfredo Morelos and winger Joe Aribo, and learned how to blank out the incessant noise that comes with managing one of the Old Firm.

But it has not all been plain sailing, with fears that the 40-year-old would quit last season after he spoke of needing "to do some serious thinking" after a Scottish Cup quarterfinal defeat against Hearts that left him "the lowest I have felt since I came here, by a long way."

"Stevie took that defeat really hard," a source close to Gerrard told ESPN. "He takes a lot of pressure on himself and he always has, but I think that side of his character was really shaped by carrying the weight of being Liverpool captain for so long. When they lost to Hearts, you could see he was feeling it and doubting himself."

Three weeks later, however, the coronavirus pandemic led to Scottish football being suspended -- the season was cancelled in May with Celtic announced as champions. The new season began in August, when a revitalised Gerrard oversaw an opening day victory at Aberdeen that laid the foundations for the unbeaten run that now leaves them in pole position to win the title.

"You can see the difference in him from the aftermath of the Hearts game to today," the source close to Gerrard said. "The flip side of him taking the pressure on his shoulders is how convincing he is when things are going well. He knows he is in control of the situation now and Rangers are flying."

Gerrard's team are also earning plaudits from their rivals, with Ross County manager John Hughes making clear his admiration of Rangers' football during their 5-0 victory on Saturday.

"We were up against a top-class team," Hughes said. "I hope all my players come back and say 'that's how to play football.' If you are a professional footballer and you think you are half-decent, after that you should think 'I've still got a bit to go.'"

A win against Hibernian at Easter Road on Wednesday will be Gerrard's 99th victory as Rangers manager from just 151 games. It will take a maximum of nine wins from this point to win the title, but with Celtic so far back, the championship could yet be sealed in seven games' time when they travel to the east end of Glasgow to face their rivals on March 20.

Yet with football in Scotland being played behind closed doors throughout this season due to the pandemic, Rangers are facing the prospect of making history without their fans being able to witness it.

"It's tough, but it's just where the world is right now," Gerrard told ESPN. "It's not an ideal situation and we really feel for the supporters not being able to come and support the team. We know they are with us, in a different way, but we have to accept where the world is at the moment.

"It's fantastic to see that the [COVID-19] numbers are improving and dropping, so hopefully, at some point in the near future, it will safe enough for the fans to return because they play such a big part here and that is what the club has been built on. We want the fans back as soon as possible."

For Edgar, a lifelong Rangers fan who has experienced the highs and lows following the club, this season has been a challenge and a much-needed distraction.

"There are lots of frustrations among Rangers fans about not being able to salute this wonderful team," Edgar said. "But at least we have been winning, so in many ways, the team's success has been a rare shining light for many people in such difficult times.

"Some people think that football should have stopped completely during the pandemic, but you cannot quantify how the game has helped so many people through it.

"But when or if [title] No. 55 is confirmed, there will be an explosion of joy and relief among Rangers fans and I just hope the authorities are prepared for that. They can't be King Canute and hope that celebrations won't happen."

For now, however, it is only the supporters who are allowing themselves to think so far ahead. Gerrard is only interested in the next game and the next points. And Hibs, third in the table, are a clear and present danger to his team's unbeaten record.

"They are a good team and they won't make it easy for us," Gerrard said. "They have always been one of the strongest teams in the league, so it will be a challenge and a test.

"We know what we have to do because Hibs are going to try to do everything they can to be the first team to beat us in the league this season."

Gerrard won't take his eyes off the prize until it is firmly within his grasp, with history made and, for Celtic, history denied.[/article]
 
https://www.skysports.com/football/...handling-ibrox-heat-and-learning-as-a-manager
[article]Steven Gerrard has reached the milestone of 150 games as Rangers boss but what has life really been like in the Ibrox hotseat?

Rangers turned on the style as they marked their manager's landmark with a 5-0 rout of Ross County, moving 23 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

How enjoyable a ride has it been so far?

I've enjoyed every minute of it. We've had some ups and down along the way, that's always going to be the case - the same when you're a player; the highs are fantastic and the lows are not as nice, but that's the way it is, that's the job we're in.

To sit here and have 150 games under my belt, from a personal point of view, makes me really proud, but it's all about what happens moving forward, and it's about now pushing as hard as we can to try to become a successful team.


That's always been the challenge from day one. We're a lot close to that, of course we are, but it's very a case of taking each challenge as it comes.



You were aware of the size of the task ahead of you when you joined the club, but has anything surprised you about being Rangers manager?

I wouldn't say surprised, because I certainly knew what I was signing up to.

I knew the history of the club, I knew the tradition up here, I looked in from afar and followed this club. I knew it was a fantastic club and institution, with great support, but it's not until you actually get in and you're actually in this seat that you do feel the intensity and the size and the magnitude of the challenge and the role that I'm currently in.

It's not until you're in the seat that you feel the heat.



Management can be a pretty precarious business, and a lonely one as well. This was always something you wanted to do when you finished playing, but have there ever been moments when you've thought, "This is tougher than I thought?!"

We've had some tough days, of course, but I've never sat there and thought, "I didn't expect this" or "This is too much for me".

I think in those moments, you're looking for your support staff alongside you, which they have - they've been an absolute rock for me. The experience of Gary (McAllister), the quality of Mick (Beale), Tom (Culshaw) Jordan (Milsom) and Colin (Stewart), as my football support staff have been outstanding, the outer layers of that staff around the club and the training ground have been superb.

But the key to it all is the board. My relationship with Ross (Wilson), Mark (Allen) previously, Stewart Robertson, Dave King originally and now Mr Park (Douglas Park) who took over from him - in your tough days and times when it's maybe not going how you want it to be, that's when they show their class and their support and as an individual, I've had that from day one.



Are you a good delegator - and because of the team around you, does that ease some of that pressure on you?

I think we all try and share that pressure and demand. The buck stops with me, of course it does, but I knew signing up for this, when I had the original chats with the board before I signed up for it, I knew it wasn't always going to be perfect, and an uphill journey.

I knew there were going to be bumps and some challenges and some tough days. The questions you ask then are, "are you going to be with me when they happen, for us to grow and learn and improve?" The support I've had so far has been phenomenal.



You often talk about trying not to get 'too high' or 'too low' when results vary - is that easy to do though in a job of this intensity?

No, it's not, because football is about emotions, and I can be emotional.

That's the way I played; I tried to play on the edge, I tried to be real and authentic. I wouldn't be the person, the player, the coach or the manager I am without being emotional.

It's very hard to control them, it's something I'm trying to adapt to and learn and get better at, but I'm going to continue to be myself. When we win an important football match, I'm going to be myself, and if we have a different result, I'll also be myself, but it is something I'm trying to adapt to - to be a little more balanced around the results.



As a player, you often took games by the scruff of the neck. When you're standing on the touchline and you're kicking every ball, but you can't do that, is that the biggest frustration?

At times, of course!

I wish I could've played football forever, but it's just not the way it is. Unfortunately, age catches up with you at some point and you have to do the right thing.

I loved playing, I miss it to this day, but this is different, it's a different role. My job is different on a daily basis with the routine, I need to support the players from a different way. As a staff, we try to do everything we can to give the players the best chance of getting good results.



Have you learned much about yourself as a person, being a manager?

I think you learn every day, not just being a manager. I think with life experience and also football experience, you try and learn from your lessons and grow and evolve and become a better person and a better coach.

It's still early days in terms of the journey I want to go on, and I'm just trying to be a sponge to everything in life and keep trying to learn as much as I can.



How impressed have you been by what you have seen in Scottish football since your arrival, and did it influence your decision to come here?

The name and stature of the club was the inviting thing for me, and the size of the challenge.

I'm someone that likes to be challenged, I like to challenge myself. I'd been up here and watched Scottish football live on the eye; I'd been to quite a few Old Firm games, and I'd watched many games on TV.

Obviously, I was aware of when Brendan (Rodgers) came up here, having worked with him, [which got me] looking in even more, and when the opportunity came for me, it was one I couldn't refuse because of the size and the stature of the club, and the opportunity that presented itself.



Do you have a highlight or significant moment that's been important to you?

The first day will always stick out in my mind, turning out and seeing the reaction of the supporters. That moment when I sat down in my quiet time to realise, "I'm now the Rangers manager" - that was a surreal moment and a wild moment for me, and one I'll never forget.

In terms of highlights on the pitch, we've had many, some real fantastic results along the way. We've had some tough ones as well, but that's always going to be the case, it is football.

You've got to realise what you've come into and where you're trying to get to, and that it was always going to be a journey, but it's one I'm very much enjoying. It's a work in progress and we're in a good place at the moment, but now is the time to push even harder and turn the dial and turn the heat up.



What do you hope your next 150 games look like?

As a manager, you're always looking to be successful. We're at a club that's built on success - fantastic teams and fantastic players - and my responsibility and role is to try and add to that.

That's the pressure and the scrutiny that I live under on a daily basis, but that's why you enjoy it because hopefully one day it'll all be worth it.[/article]
 
A way to expand fanbase?


[article]HAMBURGER SV and Rangers have enjoyed a long-standing friendship dating back to the 1970s. The friendship has now become official, with the signing of a co-operation agreement between the two.

A long-term friendship becomes official. After years of close ties between the two sets of fans, Hamburger SV and Rangers Football Club have now entered into a wide-ranging official partnership that binds the two clubs closer together heading into the future.

With HSV fans heading over in large numbers to Ibrox and Rangers fans visiting the Volksparkstadion every year, the next natural step was a club partnership between the two Bundesliga and Scottish Premiership sides.

As the friendship was initiated by the fans as far back as the 1970s, the HSV and Rangers supporters are at the heart of the agreement, with a number of initiatives planned to cultivate the relationship, including offers at the Volksparkstadion and Ibrox to welcome visiting fans.

Interaction between the two sets of supporters through official channels has already begun, with the first of a number of ‘Fan Talks’, including representatives from both fanbases, coming soon on social media.

This forms part of an integrated media campaign to strengthen the ties that already exist between the blue and white sides of Hamburg and Glasgow, such as the shared celebrations for Jörg Albertz’s 50th birthday at the end of January.

To ensure that the next generation continue to grow the friendship between HSV and the 54-time Scottish champions, plans are already in motion for the junior sections and their respective mascots, Dino Hermann and Broxi Bear, as well as activities between the HSV Fußballschule and Rangers Football Academy.

Commercial activities are in the pipeline as well, so that in the future HSV and Rangers fans will be able to show their support for each other, for example with co-branded merchandise.

Cornelius Göbel, Director of the Fan Culture department at HSV, was thrilled that the partnership has now become official: “As far back as the 1970s we have had a strong friendship with Glasgow Rangers.

"This foundation will be the basis of our work to press on with shared projects in the future, whilst also strengthening and energising the profound connection between the two clubs.

"We are convinced that with this partnership we will be able to implement the wishes of both sets of supporters in the long term.”

The thoughts were echoed by Rangers’ Fan Liaison Officer, Greg Marshall: “We are looking forward to providing great fan engagement opportunities and strengthening the already strong links that our supporters share.

"This partnership originates in fan culture and we are delighted to be able to move forward and work together knowing that this exciting new partnership will appeal greatly to fans of Rangers and HSV alike.”

Commercial and Marketing Director for Rangers, James Bisgrove, shared similar sentiments with the announcement: “We’re delighted to join forces with Hamburger SV and formalise a long-time friendship between two of the most passionate and loyal supporter groups in European football.

"Both clubs have a shared ambition to enrich this unique official relationship and will be collaborating on a wide range of initiatives, including creating opportunities for supporters to unite between Hamburg & Glasgow in 2021 and beyond.”
[/article]
 
[article]Pete Winkelman fully expects to watch Steven Gerrard hold aloft the Scottish Premiership trophy in the next couple of months and admitted the sight will be a huge ‘what-if’ moment for him.

It’s just over four years since the charismatic chairman of MK Dons offered the former England captain his first opportunity in senior management.


Gerrard said the chance came too soon, the offer coming just after he had left LA Galaxy to bring the curtain down on an illustrious playing career.

The Rangers boss said at the time: “I spoke to MK Dons. I had a chat with the chairman, it’s a very exciting job for somebody else but it’s a bit soon for me. But it’s true, I did speak to them.”

Gerrard instead opted for an Academy coach role at his beloved Liverpool where he spent two years before accepting the huge task of filling the Ibrox hot-seat and the huge task of ending Celtic’s dominance.

Winkelman has appointed high profile ex-players Paul Ince and Roberto Di Matteo with much success since forming the Buckinghamshire outfit and had no doubts Gerrard would be a huge hit in the dug-out.

His only regret is that Rangers rather than MK Dons are set to reap the benefits of the 40-year-old’s burgeoning managerial talent as he prepares to lead them to an historic first title in a decade.

And for Winkelman it is confirmation that he was right to make an audacious bid to lure the Liverpool legend to the Stadium MK before he turned to Robbie Neilson who lasted just over a year.

Former Scotland stopper Russell Martin is now at the helm but Winkelman can’t help but wonder what might have been if an England midfield legend had taken the reins.

Winkelman told Record Sport: “Steven Gerrard was absolutely my first choice for manager four years ago for the job and when I see him doing so well at Rangers now there is no doubt I ask myself ‘what if?...’

“And there is a little bit of pride and satisfaction in the fact he’s doing so well at Ibrox because it confirms to me that I was right in believing at the time that he would go on to become a successful manager.

“We spoke on more than one occasion at the time with the first conversations taking place over the phone when he was still in Los Angeles before returning to the UK.

“I was then grateful when Steven agreed to meet face to face and I can only compare the feeling to my dealings with Paul Ince in that he was someone who commanded total respect.

“But he was someone who you could tell had a real plan of what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go. He knew exactly how he planned to be successful, probably the same as when he was a player.

“Unfortunately for us the timing just wasn’t right and we missed out on Steven. We now have Russell Martin, a name familiar to Scottish football fans, and we’re happy with the progress we’re making.

“Would we have got there quicker if we’d appointed Steven in 2016? We will never know but I’m convinced we would have been and his time at Rangers suggests that would have been the case

“We ended up appointing Robbie Neilson when we missed out on Steven as he had done a fantastic job at Hearts and has done a fantastic job at Dundee United and Hearts since returning for Scotland.

“Unfortunately for us it just didn’t work out for Robbie at MK Dons and I was so disappointed because he was such a nice guy but these things happen in football.

“It’s all about timing, taking on the right challenge at the right time, and that’s the thing about Steven Gerrard. He has made such good career choices and Rangers is another one.

“You have to give him credit because he took on a massive job in Rangers for his first crack at management but it looks like it’s been the right one because they are romping their way to their first league in a decade.”

Gerrard suffered a bump on that road to inevitable title glory after being held to a draw by bottom side Hamilton on Sunday but it will only delay getting his hands on the trophy.

And Winkelman said: “I’m sure I’ll watch Steven on TV when he lifts that trophy, whenever that moment comes. And I’ll be delighted for him because he deserves it for his hard work.

“There are so many players who go home after training and they just switch off and that is the thing when you appoint a manager who has just come out of retirement.

“Some are shocked by the 24/7 nature of management and really need to be prepared for that. Paul Ince was like that and you just knew Steven would be the same.

“I watch so many of the Rangers games on TV now and I know they drew at Hamilton on Sunday which was a result that wasn’t expected but it’s unlikely to derail them in their quest to get to where they want to be.

“It’s incredible to think of the job he has done in shifting the balance of power in Scotland and if they clinched the league at Celtic Park then it really would be the icing on the cake for Rangers.”[/article]
 

[article]You may have noticed that Rangers currently top the Scottish Premiership, 18 points ahead of Celtic, 30 points above Hibernian and still unbeaten. They have won 25 of their 29 games. Perhaps most remarkable of all, they have conceded just eight goals and currently have a goal difference of 61.

When they inevitably win the title what will it say about Steven Gerrard’s managerial talent? A lot of people who don’t watch Scottish football think it’s some sort of joke. The assumption south of the border, all too often, is that the Premiership, let alone any of the lower leagues, is full of little more than glorified pub teams. They are wrong.

But then we’re used to being patronised in Scotland, we’re used to not being taken seriously and we know something about being ignored and disregarded and soon, we mean to do something about it to end it.

Because we know that Scottish football is brilliant entertainment and we know that English football, especially the Premier League, is up its own arse and isn’t anywhere near as good as it thinks it is.

So, if anyone thinks that Gerrard winning the league is no achievement at all, think again. Of course, the financial dominance of the two Glasgow clubs has turned the top flight into a duopoly, and for the last nine years, a monopoly. That has to be factored into the assessment of Gerrard’s job, as does the remarkable collapse of Celtic’s form this campaign (though they’ve only lost three games) but even so, it is the way Rangers have gone about having the title wrapped up in February that is impressive.

And this isn’t just domestic success. Their Europa League form has also been superb. They won three qualifying games by an aggregate total of 11- 1, including a 2-1 win over Galatasaray, to qualify for the group stage in which they were unbeaten in six games, winning four and topping the table over Benfica, Standard Liège and Lech Poznań. They now face Antwerp in the round of 32 and you wouldn’t want to back against them progressing.

The only game they have lost this season was to St Mirren in the League Cup quarter-final.

They blew up in the New Year last season after a strong start but this year they’ve been remorseless and have abolished the mistakes of the previous campaign. This season shouldn’t be branded as Celtic failing; this is Rangers succeeding.

So is Gerrard a really good manager? The answer is very much obviously yes. After the flop in the second half of last season, he has galvanised the team and organised an almost unbeatable defence, with captain James Tavernier top scorer on 17 in 40 despite being a right-back.

Many seasoned observers of the club say Gerrard just looks the part: he looks like a Rangers manager. Despite what people south of the border might think, Celtic and Rangers are two of the biggest clubs in world football and if you have the honour of managing either of them you are subjected to an intensity of pressure that is extraordinary and with few equals.

The comparison with Frank Lampard’s tenure at Chelsea is inevitable given their playing careers. The pressure at Chelsea is nothing like that at Rangers. It is very much the two-bar electric fire to Rangers’ blast furnace. Lampard was OK but a bit limp. He looked like an assistant, not a manager; a coach, not a boss. He wasn’t up to the task. Basically, the opposite of Gerrard.

Gerrard taking the Rangers job was, to say the least, a bold move. It could’ve gone horribly wrong and set his managerial career back by many years. But the heat of battle has annealed his managerial stones, not crushed them. He seems to have almost physically grown into the job in a way his former England midfield teammate didn’t.

He is still learning, obviously, and being at a club with a lot more money than Rangers would bring its own pressures and learning opportunities, but as he lifts the Premiership title, he will be one of the most in-demand rookie managers in the country and beyond. Do not underestimate the grounding and credibility provided by the job he’s doing at Ibrox. Do not underestimate his achievement because it is ‘only’ Scotland.[/article]

How Rangers boss Steven Gerrard can match two Walter Smith records within a week Rangers matched a club r
[article]Rangers matched a club record at the weekend – the likes of which haven’t been seen since the early-nineties when Walter Smith was first in charge at Ibrox.

The class of 2020-21’s run of 29 top flight matches without defeat matched one of the most popular, and most successful, teams of recent Rangers history from 1992/93 when the team stood on the brink of European Cup glory in the inaugural Champions League.

On Thursday against Royal Antwerp, Steven Gerrard has the chance to equal another of Smith’s tallies – 23 victories in Europe as Rangers manager.

Currently on 22 from 41 games – a similar record to Dick Advocaat – Gerrard’s win percentage on the continent is the highest of Rangers’ modern-day managers since Jock Wallace and you must go back as far as Scot Symon’s reign to find a manager with more non-Scottish success.

For a man on the brink of achieving legendary status in returning the long-awaited league flag to Ibrox after a decade, it’s exalted company to share after three years of his first job on Edmiston Drive.

Not that you’d hear the Rangers manager mention it either. Humility has been at the forefront of his managerial career at Ibrox – particularly this season. “Don’t get too high, don’t get too low,” Gerrard has frequently said. That’s why there’s little chance too much will be read into it if he draws level with one of the most decorated managers in the club’s history in a second category within a week.

As impressive as Rangers have been on the continent – particularly this year against the likes of Benfica and Galatasaray – Gerrard has faced 11 qualifiers in three years and half a dozen wins have been credited against European minnows like Lincoln Red Imps, FC Shkupi and St Joseph’s. Tough games on the night for sure, but not really on a level with defeating Eric Cantona, Gary McAllister and Gordon Strachan’s English title winning Leeds United home and away, Russian champions CSKA Moscow or Club Brugge at Ibrox.

But times now, have changed. Scottish football’s standing, has changed.

Smith was rarely given the opportunity to play teams of such low-rank as Progres Niederkorn. His European record first time around was blotted by disappointing defeats to AEK Athens and Levski Sofia and only righted on his return with the run to the 2008 UEFA Cup final, defeating Lyon and Werder Bremen and drawing with Barcelona. Indeed his win record may be shortly matched by Gerrard in almost half as many matches, but under Smith Rangers were an undeniably hard side to beat – 23 wins are coupled with 26 draws across 79 European ties.

This Rangers side is proving just as difficult to break down this season and the progress being made across Gerrard’s 22 wins is slowly restoring a reputation where not quite so many qualifiers will be up for grabs as early-season gimmes in future.

He’s equalled Walter Smith’s stat once, now few would bet against him equalling another in Belgium this week.

After that, what’s next? Matching 2008? There's a long way to go, there are other priorities and other titles to be won, but you can be sure that until they are, no-one will get too high, and no-one will get too low.[/article]
 
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So a Scottish nationalist talks about the PL being up it's own arse .. and then proceeds to talk the same talk about Scottish football "two of the biggest clubs in world football". Fuck me. Not to denigrate Gerrard's achievement one bit.
 
I’m really pleased for him. What an amazing job. It’s clear that at some point he’ll be an LFC manager one day. The thing I can’t shake is the Souness thing. Legend manager leaves. Legend ex-Player joins after a massively successful spell at Rangers. Ex- Player then fucks it right up.

There is no sense in that but the thought does linger. I’m wrong about almost everything regarding footy so pay no attention.
 
I’m really pleased for him. What an amazing job. It’s clear that at some point he’ll be an LFC manager one day. The thing I can’t shake is the Souness thing. Legend manager leaves. Legend ex-Player joins after a massively successful spell at Rangers. Ex- Player then fucks it right up.

There is no sense in that but the thought does linger. I’m wrong about almost everything regarding footy so pay no attention.
Gerard is cool headed, Souness was not a cool head.
 
I've enjoyed every minute of it. We've had some ups and down along the way, that's always going to be the case - the same when you're a player; the highs are fantastic and the lows are not as nice, but that's the way it is, that's the job we're in.

Never a truer word said and it's worth remembering when the media and (some) fans are getting all knee jerk about Klopp. You have to just take the rough with the smooth sometimes.
 
I’m really pleased for him. What an amazing job. It’s clear that at some point he’ll be an LFC manager one day. The thing I can’t shake is the Souness thing. Legend manager leaves. Legend ex-Player joins after a massively successful spell at Rangers. Ex- Player then fucks it right up.

There is no sense in that but the thought does linger. I’m wrong about almost everything regarding footy so pay no attention.
He’s done an amazing job but I don’t think it’s clear he’ll be our manager one day. He’ll have to prove himself on a bigger stage and there is no guarantee he will.
 
Yeah, I think it’s a near certainty Stevie will manage LFC some day. His drive to succeed is out of this world and there is nothing he will want more than to manage this club and finally win his title here.
 
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