GERNEY OF A LIFETIME
RANGERS have travelled a long and winding road to reach Seville but the first steps of this incredible 19-match journey were more of a stagger than a confident swagger across the continent.
Alashkert of Armenia should have been a formality in the Europa League play-off, the round into which Steven Gerrard’s men were parachuted after the shock of losing to Malmo in the Champions League qualifiers.
Given the Swedes played most of the second leg at Ibrox with 10 men, it was as much of a blow to Rangers’ bean counters, who saw a £30m payday disappear, as it was to the players and management team who had been desperate to perform on club football’s biggest stage.
In fact, that exit may well have been the sliding doors moment for Gerrard, who was to leave three months later for Aston Villa. Would he have been so quick to check out of Govan if Rangers had been involved in the Champions League? We’ll never know.
Back in August, though, the Scouser’s immediate concern was to make sure his team made the Europa League group stages. Prestige-wise it was vital; poundsshillings-and-pence-wise more so.
Now, 18 games later, Rangers have raked in the money they lost from failure to reach the Champions League and have given their fans the rollercoaster journey of a lifetime.
And yet, they could have ordered off the ride before the music started.
Alashkert were supposed to be brushed aside with the minimum of fuss on August 19 but it didn’t quite pan out that way.
Rangers, whose confidence had been dented by losing at Tannadice in the league, huffed and puffed but couldn’t blow away the Armenians at Ibrox. John Lundstram, now a cult hero but back then struggling to make an impact, was red carded wo minutes before the break.
Alfredo Morelos’ assured finish after being sent through by James Tavernier midway through the second half gave Gers a lead to take on the 2500-mile trip to Yerevan a week later.
Gerrard fumed and said: “The performance in the first-half was nowhere where I needed it.”
Rangers boarded the flight a week later without their manager, captain Tavernier, Ryan Kent and top two keepers – Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin – because of Covid-related issues.
Gary McAllister led the ravaged squad, supplemented by a crop of kids on the bench, and combating stifling heat. They ground out an ugly 0-0 that was helped by Alashkert attacker James Santos’ red card for catching keeper Robbie McCrorie’s head with his boot before the interval.
McAllister said: “We came to do a job and we’re in the draw for the group stages. The Champions League would have been better but the Europa League is brilliant for the players.”
The group stage draw threw the Scottish champions in with Lyon, Sparta Prague and Brondby. On first sight, it looked like a fight with the Czechs for second spot behind the powerful French outfit and after the opening two fixtures, chances of making the knockout stages were looking grim.
Lyon came to Ibrox and looked every inch the classy outfit Rangers had been expecting. A counter in each half, albeit the second one an unlucky own goal off Tavernier after Connor Goldson had made a goal line clearance, gave the Ligue 1 outfit the points.
Next up was a visit to Prague and a match that was dominated by the after-taste of the previous season’s encounter with Slavia and the racist abuse suffered by Glen Kamara.
Covid restrictions meant that no Rangers fans were in the Czech capital but Sparta allowed entry to 10,000 schoolkids and their parents, who booed Kamara’s every touch.
The Light Blues lost 1-0 in their poorest display in the competition, only Allan McGregor’s brilliance keeping the score down. Kamara also saw red and after two games, Rangers had no points and no goals.
Gerrard said: “At this level, which is improving year on year, if we want to keep growing and going to the next level we need to spend big money. It’s simple.
“In the last two windows we haven’t spent a penny, so there has to be some realism.”
Rangers finally got up and running with a 2-0 win over Brondby at Ibrox on October 21, thanks to Leon Balogun and Kemar Roofe.
“We deserved the victory, we played with a lot of control and style, we could have maybe got another couple of goals,” was the manager’s take as Gers moved to third in the table, a point behind Sparta with Lyon top.
A week later, a hard-earned point in Denmark, thanks to Ianis Hagi levelling Balogun’s own goal, meant the Scots and Czechs were tied on four points.
But by the time Gers kicked another ball in Europe, three weeks later, it had all changed. Gerrard was gone. Gio van Bronckhorst was in and a campaign that looked a damp squib was about to catch fire...