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Rangers/Stevie Gerrard 2020/21


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On 10/03/2021 at 10:59, Barrington Womble said:

Yesterday was really the 1st time I've seen him interviewed since he was a player. He has improved immensely in front of the camera, I was really impressed with him actually. Rightly or wrongly it's a big part of the job these days and he seems to be right at home. 

Being honest as a player I always thought he was prob a bit of a dick with not much intelligence ( I should know). But he seems like an intelligent fella and quite likeable and down to earth. The players seem to love him.

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On 26/02/2021 at 16:15, sir roger said:

Got Slavia Prague in the Europa so a 50-50 chance of going through I would say.

 

Update on the co-efficient thing I mentioned a week or so back  , Kiev and Shaktar both got through but have drawn Villareal and Roma respectively so if things go well the eventual Scottish champions could go straight into the CL Group stages.

 

 

Massive game the return leg with Slavia,  as the two Ukranian teams look on the way out.

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On 10/03/2021 at 11:59, Barrington Womble said:

Yesterday was really the 1st time I've seen him interviewed since he was a player. He has improved immensely in front of the camera, I was really impressed with him actually. Rightly or wrongly it's a big part of the job these days and he seems to be right at home. 

I saw a bit, I could not understand a single word, Scouse Glaswegian ?

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For some reasons, nobody cares about Rangers outside the UK, whereas Celtic seems to be popular.

 

But, with Gerrard, it’s the first time people seem to get get interested with them. There was a big cover in L’Equipe after they clinched the tittle, which is quite seldom for such a club. There was a nice interview with Gregory Vignal who coached under Gerrard for a year I think. Lots of praise for the Boss. 
 

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3 minutes ago, Arnaud said:

For some reasons, nobody cares about Rangers outside the UK, whereas Celtic seems to be popular.

 

But, with Gerrard, it’s the first time people seem to get get interested with them. There was a big cover in L’Equipe after they clinched the tittle, which is quite seldom for such a club. There was a nice interview with Gregory Vignal who coached under Gerrard for a year I think. Lots of praise for the Boss. 
 

Vignal played for rangers for a while too didn't he? 

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Good article on Stevie and his title win. Oh and thanks BT for cutting off my internet for most of the fucking day!

 

Steven Gerrard says he has already experienced enough drama in Scottish football to make his next book a compelling read.

“And that’s just the last two weeks,” he smiles. He is not joking.

Since Rangers’ last league game, Gerrard has become a league champion, found himself embroiled in a row with the Scottish parliament over fans’ celebrations, and is in the midst of a heated debate as to whether Celtic should grant their Old Firm rival a guard of honour on Sunday. And the Ibrox coach arrived for this interview after dealing with racist taunts allegedly directed at his midfielder Glen Kamara by Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela.

“There’s never a quiet day at Rangers,” says Gerrard. “You’re always dealing with something. It comes with the territory and the job description. You have to be prepared and ready. It isn’t just about the players, the team and the way you play. It’s about managing all sorts of different situations.”

Despite the extreme scrutiny, Gerrard has never seemed so relaxed and at ease. No wonder. His prolonged quest to become a league title winner is over. When the end finally came – like all those who have followed his career – his mind could not help but drift to his most excruciating near miss as a player.

“It was the first bit of success since the lowest point I had been at,” said Gerrard. He is, of course, referring to the climax to the 2014 title race, when, with Brendan Rodgers’ side close to Premier League title, Gerrard's fateful slip and Demba Ba's goal was the lingering image of Chelsea's 2-0 Anfield win. Manchester City pipped Liverpool to the league.

Steven Gerrard — Steven Gerrard: ‘Winning this title was the opposite end of the scale to Chelsea slip’
Gerrard suffered his lowest moment on the pitch against Chelsea in 2014  Credit: ACTION IMAGES

“I’m refusing to speak about this Chelsea situation moving forward,” he says, chuckling. “But it’s been well documented the emotional journey that game and that setback took me on from a personal point of view. To actually be in the place that I was in, in the training ground canteen watching the Celtic game [a 0-0 draw confirmed Rangers’ title], and the outcome was the complete opposite end of the scale. I will never compare what I have done as a player and what I have done as a manager, but the emotional high from the success of winning the league was a brilliant feeling.

“It is one I will cherish forever.” Unintended or otherwise, Gerrard’s reinvention and subsequent success as a coach has been cathartic, softening that most painful Anfield memory having swapped the Merseyside bubble for Glasgow’s. Like an adopted Scot, Gerrard now refers to England as “down south” when dismissing the “uneducated” opinions of those who might belittle the scale of his Ibrox achievement.

“I cannot control people’s opinions on Scottish football,” he said. “This club has blown my mind in terms of size. Unless you are part of the fabric of this club, you will never appreciate the size of it.

“When we got it [the title] over the line, it was alongside the high (of winning the Champions League) as a player. I don’t want to compare them. They are very different, and I don’t want to take anything away from Istanbul. I would never, ever change anything I did with Liverpool. Istanbul in 2005 was the highest place I ever went as a player emotionally; the buzz, the satisfaction, the pride. The relief as well.

Steven Gerrard — Steven Gerrard: ‘Winning this title was the opposite end of the scale to Chelsea slip’
Lifting the European Cup with Liverpool remains a high point of Gerrard's playing career Credit: GETTY IMAGES

“But this was by far the biggest high I’ve had as a manager, and I will have some way to go to match it or beat it. I’m hoping I go on to achieve many more things as a manager. I will be surprised if I can go to many higher places. To come into this job, the size of the task and the journey that we have been on for nearly three years now, and in the year that we have done it?

“I think you have to be in this job, in my shoes, part of this club to realise the size and the pressure and the responsibility on this season to make it a success.”

From the outside, progression seems to have been serene, Gerrard stealthily reinvigorating a flagging institution. Not so. It is just over a year since he expressed doubts as to whether he could deliver following successive defeats to Hearts and Hamilton Academical, engaging in the kind of soul-searching he once did in his mid-twenties.

“I had been there before as a player for sure,” he says. “That second season here was the most difficult. In the first year the remit was to get some pride and belief back. In the second year we wanted to compete and win a trophy. The bumps felt more painful. You are into the job and there is more pressure and expectation. I knew it wasn’t always going to be rosy and straightforward. I knew I was going into a massive job, and I knew I was going to make mistakes. I knew I had loads to learn. I knew there were going to be setbacks. Some are bigger than others. Some feel different.

“I had to analyse and reflect where we were at, and what were our chances of moving it forward. Were they realistic? You have to lean on those around you who you trust and your board. We got over it very quickly.

“Lockdown allowed us to re-energise, regroup and reset. We had so many analysis meetings and Zoom calls and staff meetings to make sure we came into this season focused on every challenge.”

 Now Gerrard has forged his own coaching identity, citing Jurgen Klopp as his biggest managerial influence tactically and emotionally.

“One thing I learned from Jurgen is to try and detach yourself, and be more balanced around the results. He is a master of it. I am not. I am trying to get better at it,” he says.

“I was an emotional player, I wore my heart on my sleeve. I feel results and want to be as authentic and real as I can. But as a manager you have to be more balanced.”

 Inevitably, Gerrard is asked: “What’s next?” He has turned down Premier League interest and believes there is more to achieve at Rangers. “I want to try and stay in the now, but I am always aware that there is a short, a medium and a long-term journey for me,” he says.

“I’m really happy in this job. The only real pressure in terms of my role is from my own family. My biggest challenge is to manage my home situation. My family don’t live in Glasgow, and it’s a case of me putting the hours on the road, being up and down. In terms of job satisfaction and being content, I’m proud to be in this position. I want more. The title has made me even more hungry and determined to add to that in the short and medium term. And who knows what comes after that?

“I know that is a question you have seen me answer in previous interviews, and I don’t want to add to any headlines. I think enough has been said on it.

“But I have got goals and targets and aims internally that I want to try to strive to achieve.”

 Liverpool aside – and that job will not be available soon – it sounds like Gerrard would need convincing to leave Rangers for the foreseeable future. “There has been interest, and I don’t think I have to talk about where that comes from,” he says.

“All that does is that it tells me I am on the right lines. I am doing a decent job. My players are doing a decent job. I take it as a compliment.”

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/03/19/steven-gerrard-title-win-brilliant-has-emotional-journey/

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On 12/03/2021 at 18:51, sir roger said:

Didn't Gregory win 'the' McAllister free kick 

I love it when people have this kind of knowledge. 
Also I recall on the replay you could see Babel looking at the floor and clenching his fists in absolute joy as the ball flew in.

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On 11/03/2021 at 20:44, Reckoner said:

Being honest as a player I always thought he was prob a bit of a dick with not much intelligence ( I should know). But he seems like an intelligent fella and quite likeable and down to earth. The players seem to love him.

Publicly apologise for this btw. Who the fuck am I to judge? A shameful post.

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Familiarity breeds contempt when it comes to Stevie among our fan base a lot of the time. 
 

There’s people on here jumping to the defence of Karius for example, because he pulled on the shirt for us at some point, so is entitled to some sort of blind loyalty. Then there’s people saying Gerrard was a bit of a dick. This is a local lad, who captained and led the team for the whole of his career (Galaxy was a swan song), and is not only one of the best to pull on the shirt, but one of the very best this country has ever produced, yet somehow seems to miss out on being lauded by some factions. 
 

Fucking shite. If you’re a Liverpool fan and you don’t love Stevie then I’m not sure what the point is. I can’t wait for him to get his chance here as manager at some point. Once Klopp has had his time and filled the cupboards with silverware obviously, before someone says I’m suggesting otherwise.

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