ANFIELD AWAITS
Home is where the heart is for Liverpool legend, but will he replace Klopp?
AMID the euphoria of lifting the Premiership title again after such a long wait, perhaps the last thing that any Rangers supporter will be contemplating is the eventual departure of manager Steven Gerrard.
But before any Rangers fans shoot the messenger for drudging up the links between Gerrard and a return to Liverpool as manager, it should be noted that it isn’t mischief-making journalists who are discussing the prospect. Well, not solely, anyway.
In fact, just last week, Rangers assistant manager Michael Beale was contemplating that possibility.
“At the moment, Klopp is one of the five best coaches in the world, and the best coach for Liverpool is Jurgen Klopp,” Beale said in an interview. “I worked closely with him as an under-23 coach, he is fantastic for the players and coaching staff. He’s done an incredible job so far.
“It is a great pleasure to work with Steven. He is a very good coach and has shown a lot of confidence and faith in me as a coach, and I enjoy working with him.
“In the future, if Steven Gerrard can continue to be a success, win trophies and gain experience, then it’s possible that Liverpool will be his future.
“But every coach in the world dreams of leading a team like Liverpool. So let’s see what the future brings.”
Not exactly hinting that Gerrard is off to Anfield this summer, but not exactly dismissing the theory that has persisted throughout his tenure at Ibrox that he is serving something of an apprenticeship in Scotland, with Liverpool’s owners FSG hoping that his experience grooms him to become Klopp’s eventual successor. The question has been one of when, rather than if, such a scenario unfolds.
The saying goes that the bookies are rarely wrong, but the ‘next manager’ markets are where that is often proved a fallacy, so Gerrard being at the head of the betting to step into Klopp’s shoes shouldn’t raise panic among Rangers fans.
But the rather curious coincidence of both Klopp and Gerrard extending their contracts with their current employers on the same day last year, and with both deals expiring in 2024, was either a public admission that such a fait accompli is in place, or a heck of a coincidence.
Even if it does provide evidence of a behind-the-scenes agreement between the clubs when it comes to preparing Gerrard for a planned ascension to the Liverpool hotseat though, it would logically follow that the length of the contracts point to that scenario still being some way off.
As Beale says, even though Klopp may have endured a tough season after an incredible period of success on Merseyside, and despite reports coming out of Germany naming him as Joachim Low’s anointed successor with the German national team, there is little indication that FSG would wish Klopp to leave at this juncture. Nor that Klopp is considering packing it in either, despite his troubles this term.
The biggest worry from the perspective of the Rangers fans in the short term might actually be if no such agreement exists between their club and Liverpool, opening them up to approaches for Gerrard from elsewhere. After winning the title, his former Anfield team-mate Glen Johnson believes that he may seek to broaden his managerial horizons.
“Managerial roles are all about timing,” Johnson said. “If the right job opens up at the end of the season he might look at it.
“He’s stopped Celtic getting their 10th [title] win in a row and Rangers have won the league when three or four years ago it looked unlikely, so what more can he do? He can only go down from here.
“If there is a big enough offer this summer I think he would definitely be interested.”
An ex-Rangers colleague of Gerrard’s, former director of football Mark Allen, agrees that potential suitors in England will now be looking upon him as a top manager, but he also believes that a chance to prove what he can achieve with Rangers at Europe’s top table will also be a major draw for him to stay at Ibrox, having had real success so far in the Europa League.
“I think a crack at the Champions League will appeal to him,” Allen said. “Three years ago at Rangers we crept into Europe after a 5-5 draw at Hibs. To perhaps get to the quarter-final of the Europa League two years later tells people about the journey and what Steven’s achieved in that time.”
The safe money would be on Gerrard staying that course at Rangers, at least for another season yet, with that Champions League carrot a major factor. As much as the argument can be made that the only way is down at Rangers from this heady point, there is no guarantee of success at another club, particularly in England where the competition is fiercer than in Scotland’s two-horse title race.
Gerrard may well be destined to become Liverpool manager one day, but that day still looks some way off.
Igonet’s been quite a turn around in the last nine months as Rangers have from being possible challengers to being crowned champions. It’s all very well for people to say it’s because Celtic are having a shocking season, but there’s much more to it and it does manager Steven Gerrard, his players, staff and the directors a disservice to suggest this is why this has been achieved.
Rangers have had an outstanding season with no league defeats and only nine goals conceded in 32 matches. Obviously it isn’t over yet, but it was only in season 16/17 that Celtic achieved an unbeaten campaign during their run of ninein-a-row titles.
That was Rangers’ first year back in the top division since being consigned to League Two after going into insolvency in 2012. They didn’t even finish second in the first two seasons back in the Premiership, so that was a sign of the regeneration that was required.
Things had been going wrong with Rangers even prior to being put into administration in February 2012. Having bought the club for £1 from David Murray, I’m sure Craig Whyte must have been aware there were serious matters that needed to be dealt with. In my experience he definitely wasn’t a football man, so his purchase must certainly have been a move towards addressing the problems that existed with a view to selling the club on when the time was right and making a nice profit.
The major tax issue that was potentially detrimental to the club’s future was certainly a matter that needed to be dealt with, but I clearly remember he felt it could be. I rarely met him in my time at the club but on two occasions I asked him if going into administration was a possibility and both times he replied it wasn’t going to happen.
When it did occur in February 2012, I could tell he was totally shocked and the collapse of his authority was now underway. I had been working at the club for seven months and immediately resigned from my position as Director of Football because I realised that a massive adjustment would now be required within the club’s football department and that I would be surplus to requirement.
The problems were there for all to see but I was surprised when a
Steven Gerrard has built a team who are mentally strong and can deliver consistent results
financial settlement through administration was not accepted by HMRC and the club had to go into receivership. The follow up to this was the club being consigned to League Two and this resulted in many of the senior players leaving. Although Rangers still had a squad capable of winning in the lowest division, it was certainly a turnaround for Ally McCoist who had had to endure a complete change in his position since taking over from Walter Smith one year earlier.
Rangers then had a journey to make to restore themselves as a major club. It was not easy but two significant points can be highlighted from this term in the lower leagues.
First, the fans proved to be extremely devoted to the club and still turned out in great number at home matches.
Second, the lower leagues clubs benefited greatly from Rangers’ presence and made revenue from home matches that far outweighed anything they had ever experienced.
The major disappointment was the failure of the club to gain promotion from the Championship in season 14/15, finishing third behind Hearts and Hibernian. The fans were beginning to react quite angrily to this and were becoming disenchanted with the management of the team and the club.
Dave King began to stamp his influence on matters and Mark Warburton was brought in to manage the team towards getting back to the Premiership, which he did achieve. He was backed by the board but it didn’t work out for him and he was dismissed.
It was a major surprise to the fans and everyone else when Pedro Caixinha was appointed in March 2017. I personally couldn’t believe it as I felt the lesson learned from the time of Paul Le Guen was that it’s a major risk appointing an Old Firm manager who does not have knowledge of the British game or the massive pressure that comes from the fans. His tenure proved this was indeed a misjudgment by the hierarchy.
The first two years back in the Premiership saw the club finish third behind both Celtic and Aberdeen, so in 2018 Rangers appointed Gerrard to replace Graeme Murty who had been promoted from youth coach to manager after doing reasonably well in the caretaker role prior to Caixinha being appointed.
The Gerard appointment was a massive highlight for the Scottish game, with him being one of the biggest names in British football. The main question that hung over him was based on his experience to handle the requirements of an Old Firm manager.
The thing in his favour was that he was thoughtful and confident regarding his football. It’s often said the best managers don’t have to have played at the highest level, but Gerrard had a reputation for being a leader with both Liverpool and England, and this is one of the attributes that defines someone who can succeed at the highest level.
His first season in charge was mainly about squad building and getting his team into a competitive shape so they could challenge Celtic, who were going for eight in a row. He had certainly improved the squad and team overall, so in the 19/20 season it looked like Rangers might finally be in a position to offer a challenge to Celtic. In December ’19 that certainly appeared to be the case. In the last match before the winter break at Celtic Park, Rangers comfortably beat Celtic and it seemed credible that a league challenge was now emerging.
But this did not materialise as Rangers never maintained their pre-break form.
Gerrard must have studied why this was the case and concluded it was down to mentality rather than ability. It was obviously an area that required to be worked on and the manager has certainly dealt with this. The Rangers team of 20/21 are now proving to be a very strong unit capable of delivering consistent results.
Gerrard has established who his key players are that the team should be built around.
From here, recruitment will be a key aspect of Rangers maintaining this form as they will be very aware that Celtic will now be extremely committed, under a new manager, to establish themselves as title challengers. If they can find someone as capable as Gerrard has proved to be, then we are in for a exciting title campaign next season.