There is no doubt that Rangers are in a good position right now. The club are joint leaders of both the Scottish Premier League (Sky Sports) and their UEFA Europa League group (UEFA). They are also in Scottish League Cup final in December (SPFL). Much of this success can be accredited to the hard work of Steven Gerrard.
This success has obviously peaked the attention of predatory club owners from England’s top flight of football. Noel Whelan, the ex-Aberdeen striker, came out to praise the work that Gerrard has done at the Scottish club. But with his praises, he also issued a warning to the Rangers board to tied Gerrard down to a contract extension before England’s elite come knocking at the door (Football Insider). The implication is that, without Gerrard, Rangers wouldn’t be where they are today. But just how important is the ex-England captain to the Gers?
TIF Tactics – How much has Gerrard improved Rangers?
This season in the Scottish Premier League, Rangers have 31 points from 12 games. They have scored 35 goals and only conceded seven (Sky Sports). Should the club continue on this form, they would accumulate between 80-81 points by the end of the 38 game season. They would score 110-111 goals and concede only 22-23. If we compare that to last season, Rangers achieved 78 points scoring 82 points and conceding 27 (Sky Sports). The year before that, Rangers only earned 70 points, scoring 76 and conceding 50 (Sky Sports).
Having taken over the club in May 2018 (BBC), it is obvious to see the ex-Liverpool player’s effect on the team. The biggest influence that Gerrard seems to have on the club, however, is defensively. In the 2017/18 and 2018/19 season, Rangers outscored rivals Celtic throughout the course of the league. The year before Gerrard’s arrival, however, Celtic conceded half the goals that Rangers did. In his first year, Gerrard nearly cut the number of goals his team conceded in half. Now, the manager is set to lower that number yet again.
Should the season continue on a similar path, Gerrard will finish the year with an incredible defensive record. The problem for him, however, is that Celtic are going at nearly an identical pace. Rangers fans will surely be glad to have the manager that they do at the helm to fight the battle though.