83% of Rangers fans polled want Steven Gerrard back | OneFootball

Lots of Rangers fans want Steven Gerrard back in the dugout. He absolutely landslid a recent Ibrox Noise poll, taking well over 80% of thousands of votes. The rest didn’t come close. Frank Lampard, Kevin Muscat, Brian Priske, Kjetil Knutsen and others were on the list. Gerrard blew them all away. Rangers fans want Steven Gerrard back.

Paradox

So where do we stand on him? This one is a paradox. A dichotomy. A 50-50 problem. Because when it comes to pure aura, Gerrard is the first Rangers manager since Walter who carried that presence. He has charm, personality and respect. Gerrard commands the room, he commands players, and he has the stature that Rangers desperately need in the dugout. He is very much a Walter-esque figure. And that alone makes him a strong candidate.

But here’s the catch. Gerrard is not a good manager. He simply isn’t. Moreover look back at his Rangers spell. He spent £25 million before he finally got the hang of things. He was poor in those first two seasons. Instead of being the man who stopped ten in a row, he nearly caused it. Celtic went eight, then nine in a row under Gerrard’s watch. He allowed them to equal the nine-in-a-row record for the second time. That’s part of his legacy as much as 55.

Poor returns

One trophy out of nine is the cold stat. Yes, he got the one that mattered, but that argument is flimsy. It took three years. He’s the only Rangers manager outside of Ally McCoist who got that kind of time. Many argue Michael Beale’s system won 55 anyway. And that’s the truth of it. Beale built the tactics, the system, the training ground detail. Gerrard picked the players, made the calls, and crucially carried the aura. That partnership worked. Separately, neither could manage it. Beale lacked presence, Gerrard lacked tactical depth. Together, for a brief spell, they got it right. Rangers fans want Steven Gerrard back.

So where does that leave us now? With a problem. As an aura, Gerrard is bang on. As a Walter-type figure, you couldn’t ask for better. But as a pure manager, he doesn’t deliver. Rangers don’t really have the luxury of time to wait three years for another title. They need someone who can hit the ground running.

We’re on the fence with Gerrard. If he does come back, we will give him every chance. That’s on record. He will get time from us. But Rangers as a club may not have that time to spare. And that’s the quandary. Gerrard ticks the box of presence, of leadership, of authority. But on results, trophies and efficiency, he failed once already.

So if he returns, it could be another wasted season. Or, just maybe, the aura carries us again. At this point, sorting Rangers is a nightmare. There are no easy answers even if Rangers fans want Steven Gerrard back.