A CHANGING OF THE GUARD IN GLASGOW
Celtic may have imploded, but Gerrard had Rangers in prime position to claim Premiership and complete revolution
OH, how they all laughed when Dave King compared Celtic’s dominance of Scottish football to “a pack of cards” in the wake of Steven Gerrard’s appointment as Rangers manager back in 2018.
The Ibrox chairman’s suggestion the balance of power in the game in this country could easily shift from the East End of Glasgow to Govan provoked howls of derision in many quarters.
The Parkhead club, who had just celebrated a seventh successive title success and would complete their second consecutive domestic treble weeks later, even promoted their own brand of playing cards on the back of the statement.
Well, the remarkable events of the past eight months have shown that King was bang on the money.
Celtic’s reign as kings of Scotland has come to an end in spectacular fashion this season and the major Rangers shareholder’s detractors have been left feeling like jokers for mocking him.
The 10-In-A-Row-chasing outfit have looked like a busted flush both on and off the park at times during the 2020/21 campaign.
None of their goalkeepers has been able to hold down a regular first team place, their defence has been porous, their midfield has chopped and changed and their attack has been erratic.
Key players have clearly been unsettled, new signings have disappointed and important personnel have been sidelined by injury and coronavirus.
Crisis became chaos in January when their much-criticised trip to Dubai ended in Christopher Jullien returning a positive Covid-19 test and 13 of his team mates and three members of the coaching staff being forced to quarantine. They promptly dropped six points in three games.
Neil Lennon finally bowed to intense pressure from irate supporters and resigned as manager last month following a 1-0 defeat to bottom-placed Ross County in Dingwall.
Yet, it does a disservice to both Gerrard and Rangers to suggest that Celtic have simply lost the Premiership this term. The defending champions’ troubles have unquestionably helped their city rivals’ cause. This, though, is a deserved triumph which has been earned on the park.
Would they have prevailed if Lennon’s team had performed at the same level as they had in the previous nine years? There is every chance they would have got their hands on the trophy for the first time since 2011 given how impressively they have performed. The margin of victory may not have been so comfortable. But they have been the aces in the pack and no mistake.
Goalkeeper Allan McGregor has, despite turning 39 in January, won games single-handedly in the league. Right back and captain James Tavernier has weighed in with 11 top flight goals and as many assists. Centre halfs Connor Goldson, Leon Balogun and Filip Helander have conceded just two goals at home and nine in total. Borna Barisic has been superb both at the back and going forward.
However, Gerrard’s men are more than just hard to beat. The make-up of the midfield in their 4-3-3 formation has changed regularly with Scott Arfield, Joe Aribo, Steven Davis, Ryan Jack, Glen Kamara and Bongani Zungu all taking their turns. There is usually little if any dip in standard when somebody
drops out and his place is taken by a team-mate.
Up front, they have, in Aribo,
Ianis Hagi, Ryan Kent, Jermain Defoe, Cedric Itten, Kemar Roofe and Alfredo Morelos, guile and goals.
Gerrard, too, has to take an enormous amount of credit for the accomplishment.
When the former Liverpool and England captain was brought in three years ago there was, along with the widespread excitement about his arrival, an acceptance he would need time. He was young and ambitious. But it was his first managerial role and he was inexperienced in the dugout.
He has certainly made mistakes and suffered some bad defeats. He has, early last year especially after Rangers fell behind in the league and
were knocked out of the Scottish Cup, come under pressure from fans at times.
However, he has learned and grown in the intense, high-profile position. His directors have stood firmly behind him when there have been rumblings of discontent in the stands and online. Both have been rewarded for their perseverance.
Crucially, Gerrard has steadily improved his squad. This season he has had two or even three quality options in every position in his starting line-up. That has made a huge difference to his side’s level of performance and their consistency.
The temptation to accept the
£16m offer that Lille in France made for Morelos during the summer must have been great for Rangers board. They were facing months without any supporters inside their stadium and that was set to have dire financial ramifications. They had back-up in Defoe and new arrivals Itten and Roofe. Plus, the South American could be a handful.
There have certainly been moments when El Bufalo’s demons have resurfaced. He picked up retrospective bans after having a
It does a disservice to Gerrard and Rangers to suggest Celtic have simply lost the Premiership
swipe at Mark Connolly of Dundee United at Tannadice in December and then stamping on Ryan
Porteous of Hibernian at Easter Road in January. But it has been well worth retaining his services.
He has, despite his moments of indiscipline, matured and developed as a player this term and has created as many scoring opportunities for those around him as he has converted himself. And while he may not have been as prolific as before he has still netted at critical moments. This year he has won games against Aberdeen, Hibernian and Livingston away.
“He has evolved in the time he has been here,” said Gerrard earlier this month. “There is no doubt he has evolved. He has improved his link-up play, improved tactically without the ball in terms of what the team needs and demands from him. One thing you can’t do is just judge him on goals because he has an awful lot more in his locker than just being a goalscorer.”
But every successful side is built on its defence and Rangers have been exceptional in that vital area this term.
They didn’t concede a single goal in their opening seven Premiership games against Aberdeen, St Mirren, St Johnstone, Livingston, Kilmarnock, Hamilton and Dundee United and broke a 114-year-old record for keeping clean sheets at the start a new league campaign in the process. They surpassed the six game run the Celtic side coach by Willie Maley had gone on back in 1906.
Gerrard lauded his backroom team, Gary McAllister, Michael Beale, Tom Culshaw, Jordan Milsom and Colin Stewart, after his charges had made history with an emphatic 4-0 triumph over United at Ibrox in September. But he reserved the most praise for the individuals responsible for breaking down opposition attacks, blocking shots and clearing crosses.
“The staff have done ever so well working with them,” he said. “But the players are the ones who have actually gone out there. We have a mentality and an attitude about us where we want to keep the ball out of the net.”
The Rangers defenders can do more repel rivals. Goldson netted a double in the 2-0 win over Celtic at
Parkhead in October to help his side edge four points ahead of their age-old adversaries at the top of the table. He got on the end of a Tavernier free-kick early on and then bundled the ball over the goal line from a few yards out in the second-half.
The hosts were understrength that day. Ryan Christie, Odsonne Edouard, James Forrest and Christopher Jullien were all absent. They were woeful and failed to register a single shot on target. Still, it was an important result psychologically for the visitors.
It was the first time since 1996, since their Nine-In-A-Row era, that Rangers had recorded back-to-back wins at Celtic Park.
That said, doing well in the Old Firm fixture hadn’t proved a problem for Rangers in the previous two seasons. They had very much had the upper hand in the worldfamous fixture even if they had only actually won three of them. No, their failing had been against lesser clubs they were expected to beat.
After their 2-1 victory at Celtic Park in the December of 2019, many observers felt they would go
on and win the league. They promptly slipped up against Hearts, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, St Johnstone and Hamilton and were 13 points adrift when the season was curtailed prematurely in May due to the coronavirus outbreak and final placings decided on a points per game basis.
When Gerrard’s team beat Lennon’s side 1-0 at home thanks to a Callum McGregor own goal in the opening game of 2021 – after being outplayed in the opening 45 minutes and only staying on level terms due to the heroics of Allan McGregor, who denied Edouard and Leigh Griffiths with world class saves, between the posts – one question was asked.
Could they avoid draws and defeats against the smaller sides and avoid the collapses which had brought an ignominious end to their challenges in the previous two years? It turned out, a couple of minor lapses aside, they could.
Yes, points were dropped against Motherwell at Fir Park in January and Hamilton at New Douglas Park in February. But Aberdeen, Ross County, Hibernian, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, Dundee United, Livingston and St Mirren were all safely overcome.
Gerrard was derided for his reaction to the first of their successive Parkhead wins and his celebrations were certainly made to look premature as they faded thereafter. This season he has been far more measured. Even after they forged 19 points clear of their nearest challengers with their derby triumph at Ibrox at the start of the year he urged caution.
A group of jubilant fans set off flares and fireworks on Edmiston Drive in the aftermath of that narrow win. But the manager said: “It’s my job to protect my players. We are not going to gain anything or get an advantage by listening to the noise and getting involved in playing to it. Everything we have done this season has got us into this position and we need to keep fighting to remain there.”
The Celtic wins have certainly been well received by their supporters. But there have been other key results. Not least their two hard-fought victories over Aberdeen at Pittodrie in August and January. That hasn’t been their happiest hunting ground since they returned to the top flight five years ago. The one goal triumphs over Hibernian, Kilmarnock and Livingston in recent weeks have helped to maintain momentum.
ON their day, Tavernier and Co have proved capable of blowing sides away and there have been some emphatic triumphs. Hamilton were thrashed 8-0 at Ibrox in November. But Dundee United, Motherwell, Aberdeen and Ross County have all been on the receiving end of maulings as well.
Being able to grind out results when not playing at your best is just as important to a team with aspirations of winning the league as turning on the style. That is something which Gerrard’s men have done effectively.
It has been a shame that those fans who despaired as Rangers suffered their financial implosion in 2012 and then cheered them through the lower leagues have been unable to physically see their heroes in action during the 2020/21 campaign and will not be present when Tavernier is handed the Premiership trophy.
Nevertheless, their loyal followers have been important to their success. Incredibly, they sold out all of their 46,500 season tickets even though there was no guarantee of getting into the ground. That staved off potential money problems and enabled them to strengthen. Leon Balogun, Calvin Bassey, Hagi, Itten, Jon McLaughlin, Roofe and Bongani Zungu arrived and have all, to greater and lesser degrees, played their part.
The Ibrox club have coped well with the pandemic in general. Gerrard and his players agreed to defer wages back in April the month after the country was placed into lockdown. That very much set the tone for what was to come. Helander remains the only senior player to test positive.
There have been some unfortunate moments. George Edmundson and Jordan Jones were disciplined, fined and suspended for seven games for breaching strict protocols after it emerged they had attended a house party back in November. They both left on loan in January.
Then seven players, including first team squad members Calvin Bassey,
It has taken them 10 years to get back to this point. They are entitled to enjoy this moment
Nathan Patterson and Bongani Zungu, were found to have gone to an illegal gathering last month and suffered a similar fate.
Still, the global crisis hasn’t impacted on Rangers in the same way it has elsewhere. Gerrard has been able to field virtually the same starting line-up on a weekly basis. Goldson has played in every minute of every competitive game. With good reason.
The former Brighton man may not be a living legend like McGregor, take responsibility for spot kicks like Tavernier, have the same pace and skill as Kent or score as regularly as
Roofe. But his manager certainly doesn’t underestimate his importance.
“Connor has been an absolute mountain for this team, a warrior,” he said. “He has had a lot of stick over the years, wrongly in my opinion, but he has continued to improve and strived to improve from a personal point of view. He has been one of our most consistent players.”
The 28-year-old defender has to be a strong contender to collect the Player of the Year awards which will be handed out in the coming months.
He will not be the only one. Tavernier had been involved in every game as well until he suffered a knee injury in the Europa League game against Royal Antwerp in Belgium last month. His barnstorming runs down the right flank, precise deliveries into the opposition area and reliability from the penalty spot have been massive for his side.
Davis, the Northern Ireland captain who is on the verge of becoming the most capped British footballer of all-time, has also been a stalwart.
Players are sure to depart in the summer. Barisic, Goldson, Kamara, Kent and Morelos could all attract
interest. Chairman Douglas Park and vice-chairman John Bennett have agreed to fork out over £23m to ensure Rangers can continue as a going concern this season and next. So a prized asset or two will have to be offloaded. But that is part of a long-term strategy.
And the nucleus will remain. Gerrard and Ross Wilson, the sporting director, have already started planning for the future, bringing in Jack Simpson from Bournemouth and Scott Wright from Aberdeen in January. Nnamdi Ofoborh will arrive in the close season and more new recruits will follow. Rangers could well, as King predicted, remain the eminent side in Scotland for some time.
But looking ahead is for another day. For now, Rangers can reflect on their achievement with satisfaction and pride. It has taken them 10 years to get back to this point. There have been disappointments, setbacks, pain, humiliation, heartache and frustration along the way. They are entitled to enjoy this moment. It has been a long time coming.