Reputation alone won’t guarantee Gerrard’s survival

STEVEN GERRARD’S reputation in football makes him a powerful figure. A hard man to cross. Yet Michael Owen doesn’t restrict himself to upsetting Alan Shearer in his new book. He also alleges that Liverpool wanted to dispense with their legendary captain two years before they did. Claiming Gerrard (right) had become ‘bigger than the club’, Owen suggests Stevie G was so symbolic and powerful during his final days at Anfield, no one had the heart to tell him his time was up. It’s clear Dave King is nowhere near that point at Rangers yet. But the £7million capture of Ryan Kent is a powerful indicator of where the real power lies at Ibrox. A move to sign the winger from Liverpool had been all but ruled out. One 2-0 home defeat to Celtic later and the cash was pulled from a magic money tree. Hong Kong investor Julian Wolhardt put in a rare appearance at Ibrox last Sunday. It’s not clear if he’s the reason the club felt they could go and sign the second most expensive player in their history. Or if it all came down to Europa League qualification and a panic attack after losing to Celtic. Either way, it seems the Rangers board are willing to give Gerrard whatever it takes to win the league. No one denies that Ryan Kent is the kind of player they have to sign to get better. But if the money was there to sign him, the time to do it was surely before last Sunday’s game. Not after. For all that he’s a talented footballer, the winger didn’t stop the Parkhead side reaching eight-in-a-row last season. Asking him to come in now and halt nine is a pressure Clark Kent would struggle with, never mind Ryan. Mercifully for him, the real onus to halt Celtic now lies with the manager. This summer, the Ibrox board have backed Gerrard with transfer funds of £10m plus. It’s time to give them something back. And if he fails, that big reputation might not be enough to save him.