Has Gerrard leaving galvanised our season?

As a massive Gerrard fan before he came to Ibrox, I was devastated to see him, and his team leave and felt this was the beginning of a downturn in fortune for us. However, has the appointment of GVB invigorated Rangers this season?

We all knew Steven Gerrard and his backroom team would leave eventually. His desire to one day manage his club Liverpool has always been known, and the fact his contract was reported to end the same day as Jurgen Klopp’s suggested that Gerrard himself hoped to make the move from Glasgow to Merseyside in 2024.

Somewhere along the line things changed, Gerrard’s name was mentioned in relation to the Newcastle job, a link he was quick to dismiss with his “do I look happy” interview with Emma Dodds. Fans were jubilant, posting the video of the interview online in the days following with the feeling that our manager was here for the long haul and going nowhere. A week later, with the blink of an eye, he had packed his bags and headed for Birmingham to manage Aston Villa.

I am not going to criticise him for leaving to manage a side in the English top-flight, it’s where he needs to be testing himself if he wants the Liverpool gig. It may even have been to move closer to his family, I have a young son so I can accept that reason. However, the timing was ridiculous, with a semi-final and bad-blooded Europa League tie against Prague coming the following week and with Walter Smith passing, it just didn’t sit right.

Reflecting on his time, Gerrard never really looked completely settled here, I expected him to be animated on the touchline, displaying passion like in his playing days, the win at Celtic Park where he screamed into the camera and celebrated with the players was one moment where I can remember screaming at the TV with pride, feeling we were back, and that Gerrard was with us. I dreaded the day he would leave as I felt we would struggle to replace him and his backroom team and may even end up looking at SPFL managers again. When he left, I felt “where do we go now?” It was hard to accept as we felt he was moving to a smaller club than Rangers, why is he leaving mid-season? why has he suddenly left after his interview the previous week? and why has he not given the fans his reasoning? I then watched his first press conference with Villa and it mirrored his first Rangers one, until the rage came over me when he said he is “all in” when he commits to something — at that point, I accepted the fact he wasn’t born a Rangers fan, he didn’t feel the same way as us fans, he was gone and I acknowledged what I already knew — No man is bigger than Rangers Football Club.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t overly excited with the managers linked by bookmakers. I was advocating for the Bodo Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen who only had a year left on his deal, had just got the better of Jose Mourinho over two-legs, and his side were in pole position to win the league again. With the Norwegian league ending in December, I felt it was a perfect opportunity to snap up a highly regarded coach, although it may have been a gamble.

From the beginning, Gio’s name was the frontrunner, and it seems as though Ross Wilson had his mind made up early. I was sceptical about the appointment as I felt if he hadn’t been a former player, would we have been interested? He had done well for Feyenoord, but I had never seen him linked for any other jobs since. I had seen two of his sides games in China and they were both heavy defeats, one of which was to Fabio Cannavaro’s Evergrande side. I felt he never looked like he had a nasty side, and maybe he was too nice a guy to be manager of Rangers. I had read he was part of the City group under Pep and was highly thought of, being offered a job in the MLS through them but so has Ronny Deila. I had my doubts over the appointment, but he was my second choice after Knutsen, I did not want Gattuso, or any others mentioned. Gio was appointed and I am fully supportive of the decision.

GVB only had a couple of days on the training ground before the Prague game, but you could instantly see his changes from Gerrard’s side and the adoration towards him from the fans throughout the 90mins was tremendous. It was as though GVB had been reading Rangers fan media for years, seeing how and where we wanted players to play. Kent took up a wider role than his usual 10 position and within the first couple of minutes had dazzled by a few Prague players and looked motivated, a video had circulated of coach Roy Makaay telling Kent that “tricks were for the circus” and to “keep it simple”, welcome advice in my opinion as I think Kent can sometimes try one too many, in the Prague game he looked much more direct and impacted the game more than in recent times. Alfredo Morelos was playing like a striker, in and around the box as opposed to 30 yards from goal with his back to the goal as often deployed under Gerrard. Alfie bagged a double and was dangerous all night, although hopefully he can shed a stone under the new management and really kick on for us.

During the game GVB made a few tactical changes, including the decision to bring Nathan Patterson in from the cold. Gerrard often alluded to the fact he couldn’t find a way to get both Nathan and Tav in the same side. I had read that GVB preferred a 4231 formation with traditional wingers and a 10 and had mentioned to friends that I felt Tav was as close to a natural RW as we had, I was surprised but also intrigued to see GVB go for that option but with Patterson playing further forward of the two. Gio addressed the decision in the post-match presser saying that it allowed for us to double up on the threat from out wide. However, I would like to think we can use this tactic as an attacking option going forward.

I think a CB and a RW are priority signings in January for us to win the league. I feel with an accomplished RW in this side and a fit and firing striker we will reap the rewards of Gio and his formation. I think he has already shown that he can make good tactical decisions in games, something Gerrard was often criticised for. It has only been two games, but the early signs are encouraging, we are playing faster, fluid and more direct attacking as opposed to the slow and methodical approach we had endured this season.

Gerrard left us 4pts clear at the top of the table and still in Europe, but we were scraping through every game, conceding first in almost every game too. The momentum had gone, players looked done, and something just wasn’t right. The fans were worried and there is a good chance we would have hit a slum during the season. The appointment of GVB and his backroom team, including Ajax u18 youth coach Dave Vos has given the fans and by the looks of things, the squad, a bit of a revival.

I thought when Gerrard left, we would struggle to rebuild but with some backing in the transfer market and more time on the training ground to implement his ideas, we should see GVB lifting another title at Ibrox, booking our place back with the elite in the Champions League, something that looked to be under serious threat this season under Steven Gerrard. I will be delighted to have been proven wrong for my doubts and hopefully Ross Wilson’s quick actions in appointing a proven winner in GVB will have saved our season.