OPINION
Steven Gerrard has enjoyed an extended honeymoon at Ibrox but there have been mumblings after recent results that he isn’t the greatest tactician.
Those got louder after a 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock put a huge dent in their title aspirations.
After the game Gerrard said his players must “suck up the criticism” after a poor display and some of his men – notably Joe Worrall – were definitely at fault.
However, many Rangers fans think Gerrard’s system was all wrong and that he didn’t move fast enough to rectify problems that seemed obvious.
One fan said that Gerrard’s formation worked for the first 20 minutes but that they lost a huge amount of confidence when Kilmarnock equalised. He also said that Gerrard should have changed the system when the diamond stopped working.
Another questioned why Gerrard thought it was a good idea to change a winning side.
Another said that players and manager were “equally culpable” which seems like a very fair assessment of Rangers last night.
Here are the best reactions from Rangers fans:
players & manager equally culpable last night, Killie away wasn’t the place to change system
— Scott Cameron (@Cammy26_2) January 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/RossCam96/status/1088399041078145024
https://twitter.com/tommymcconnel11/status/1088408589419667456
Wrong shape and wrong team selection. Surely Gerrard must have seen that?
— Reidrigues (@Reidrigues1) January 24, 2019
I feel we missed the width last night… But I'm not a football manager I'm a mere fan… The first 20 mins the shape was working.. up untill the mistake. It was the way we couldn't get back into a rythme after that blunder that worries me… Looked like a few went hiding.
— Danny (@Dan_D_88) January 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/Scott1872__/status/1088404083243929601
Team selection and shape were wrong. Having said that the team that was put out last night should have been good enough to beat Killie.
— Ross Whitehead (@onlyoneamoruso) January 24, 2019
This responsibility sits with him. He changed a winning team and used an unfamiliar formation that suited the opposition. Kilmarnock away is not the time to experiment. Do that against teams lower in the league at home.
— beggarsbanquet68 (@beggarsbanquet1) January 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/jamesmcl1963/status/1088398980650856448
He tries to change too much too quickly. He should’ve stuck with the team that beat Celtic and no way should Defoe and Davis have started after so long out in such a tough away fixture on a plastic pitch. Goldson and Katic must be played consistently also.
— Barry Long (@BroxyBaz) January 24, 2019