Steven Gerrard’s sudden Rangers departure was for the best – Gio van Bronckhorst has lifted the whole club

It's fine to be a bit tribal about the Gerrard stuff. This is football and it's our club, not someone in your work handing their notice in.

I actually sat and watched on Sky all the recent OF games back to back right from Warburton to present and the change due to Gerrard and his staff was prevalent in those few hours alone. He out us back on top and gave us some wonderful nights in Europe.

Yet, he did lose a bit of drive and determination and I think that's pretty poor when you're at the helm of something which means so much to so many people. His leaving also blows smoke up the arse of the morons that think rich league=bigger club.

Gio's impact has been outstanding. He was my immediate preferred choice and the bullish confidence of going into every game expecting to win is back. He has passed every test with ease, but of course it's a very different job to the one Gerrard walked into.

Overall we should be delighted.
 
Spot on that by Boyd, Rangers were brilliant for Gerrard, Gerrard was brilliant for Rangers, the journey had ran it's course and we were stagnant.
Gerrard got the stepping stone to his dream job.
Rangers got imo an upgrade on Gerrard and a freshness back that this season had all but gone.
Win win all round.
The Amazon Prime speed rude departure is the only thing i thought outrageous, but hey that will heal with time.
 
Only regret is that he didnt leave a week earlier as we may then have got through the Hibs game at Hampden, overall Gerrard was brilliant for us, did leave a sour taste but the way Gio has taken over the reigns it's been a breath of fresh air and the right call all round
 
The job Steven Gerrard did with us was immense. He turned us from a laughing stock against them into champions again. Even the seasons it didn’t quite work out you could see by the way we played in Europe especially we were almost there.

I suspect family played a big part in Steven leaving us. I genuinely think we will have left a lasting impression on him though and I really can’t abide Rangers fans who think he has in some way betrayed us. That is not the case and our season last year may never be matched again.

Gio has made an amazingly good start. I have said before if I had a pick of us having a bad game and losing 3 points in the league or losing a cup game it will be the cup game every time. I would love us to win the cup but it’s not really a big deal.

Our test both as players and fans will come when we get a bad result in the league. It will happen. It’s how we react that matters. The league will be ultra tight this year. Celtic have a bigger budget than us and for all the diving he does, that Japanese guy scores goals in Scotland at least. I have no idea if he would be any good in the EPL for example but he certainly appears to be decent enough for Scotland. I expect Celtic to win almost all their games so to compete we will have to try to do likewise. The fact that even if I check their score at 87 mins and they need a goal I expect they will get it shows we have our work cut out for us. Obviously our games against them will be crucial as well and possibly will decide where the title heads.

Anyway a great start for Gio. Let’s hope it continues on the same track. And as for Steven Gerrard a million thanks. Whoever came up with that needs a raise.
 
Ssaint said:
I suspect family played a big part in Steven leaving us. I genuinely think we will have left a lasting impression on him though and I really can’t abide Rangers fans who think he has in some way betrayed us. That is not the case and our season last year may never be matched again.
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I would 100% agree with you that family played a huge part in his decision to leave. I have been in his position of being away from family and missing crucial milestones. I truly believe that he had burnt out his desire due to the work/life balance being totally out of proportion. He did leave us in an incredible position. King and SG will be reflected on well in our history for their achievements on and off the park.

Our club is unrecognisable from the one they took over.
 
Don’t be sad it’s over, be glad it happened

A hero of mine as a player
A hero of mine as a manager now.

I was hurt when he left, not angry but hurt. I’ve moved past it now and look back with joy and a bit of disbelief that we had Steven Gerrard as manager and what he achieved. Of course there’s short comings, he will admit that, but the rebuilding job he and his staff done turned us from a portuguese pretenders shambles into a force in europe and once again champions of scotland.

He’s gone now and doing well at Villa, GvB has come in and for the most part we’ve looked back to the team from last season, we’ve found a spark again. It was best for everyone
 
Coallie said:
No it cost us the league Cup & gave the filth the first trophy of the season & a platform to build on . He should've & could've left after the semi .
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And then potentially mess up European qualification the following week ? Not for me.

What happened, happened. Gerrard's departure was far from ideal but those players were more than good enough to get a result at Hampden and should've had enough personal pride to get it.

Their attitude that day was a disgrace.
 
I fancy Gio to bring home some cup silverware too. Certainly shouldn’t be hard to improve on Gerrard’s cup record which was a bit of a disgrace if we’re being completely honest. He did a great job overall though, but to me it’s crazy how quickly he’s been forgiven for the way he rushed for the exit and the disrespect shown to the fans on the way out in terms of feeding us lies about his departure. It’ll take a lot longer before I can even think about forgiving him for that and his general lack of interest post Malmö. All about Gio now, and what a start he’s made.
 
Barrymoped said:
Absolute nonsense. Actually an embarrassing comment.

We were an absolute shambles when Gerrard took over, when he left we were the best team in Scotland, had an unbeaten season and 3 good runs in Europe restoring our pride and reputation.
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I'd say it was a deliberate comment from the poster's perspective and won't be embarrassed at all about it.
 
I'll never get the hate he gets, fans can be fickle. Short term memories as well, does anyone want to revisit the season before he come to us? *shudders*

55 will rightly be his hallmark but a huge factor in why he goes with my best wishes is the standards he brought back the Club and he also put our name back into the pot of European Football. And without his fantastic runs in Europe we wouldn't be guaranteed CL Group stage football next season. That will financially set us up for a while and really put us back where we belong.

I hope he becomes a success at Villa.
 
If we had went for a fat australian with no pedigree to take over, it would definitely not have been the right time. Gio is the correct appointment. I think angeball will be out of our country by June. Along with his four samurai.
 
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It only came at the right time because Gerrard had thrown the towel in on his time up here.
 
Dotty_84 said:
I'll never get the hate he gets, fans can be fickle. Short term memories as well, does anyone want to revisit the season before he come to us? *shudders*

55 will rightly be his hallmark but a huge factor in why he goes with my best wishes is the standards he brought back the Club and he also put our name back into the pot of European Football. And without his fantastic runs in Europe we wouldn't be guaranteed CL Group stage football next season. That will financially set us up for a while and really put us back where we belong.

I hope he becomes a success at Villa.
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I don’t he stopped trying and was desperate for his move to the EPL.

Maybe if he’d been a bit more committed we’d be in the Champions League this season.
 
Buzzbear said:
I would 100% agree with you that family played a huge part in his decision to leave. I have been in his position of being away from family and missing crucial milestones. I truly believe that he had burnt out his desire due to the work/life balance being totally out of proportion. He did leave us in an incredible position. King and SG will be reflected on well in our history for their achievements on and off the park.

Our club is unrecognisable from the one they took over.
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Having worked in a job where I too did a similar travel in reverse I can confirm how difficult it eventually becomes. He could have handled his departure better yes. Gerrard did a great job for us and left with my best wishes.
 
Mr Meeseeks said:
1/9 you sound exactly like a Tim. As I said in my response he took over at a stage no Rangers manager has had to make up and so far behind the Tims. To win the league in the time he did and make us a force again in Europe is nothing short of outstanding. Should he won a few cups? yes but the league was what he was brought in to win, he did that and I’m confident we will win it again this season. And this seasons win when it comes is because of what Gerrard build.

Plus if your gonna be like that about it, I will say what I do to annoy the tims I know, it’s 1/8 as we didn’t lose the league 2 years ago
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Basically the one in nine is correct .dosn,t sound like a Tim to me it is just stating a fact.did he sneal away like a thief in the night in my opinion yes.
But what also need to be rembered is he won us 55 and restored our pride in europe. So there are good points and bad points.he kind of spoiled his legacy by the way he left.
 
A question. If at some point in the future Steven Gerrard turned up at Ibrox to watch a game, do you think he would be made welcome by the fans ? I would personally like to think so.
 
Aintree Iron said:
A question. If at some point in the future Steven Gerrard turned up at Ibrox to watch a game, do you think he would be made welcome by the fans ? I would personally like to think so.
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I think a bit of time needs to pass, it’s clearly still up early for some.
Also, it depends on how this season goes, if Gio continues his storming start and we win the league then Gerrard will get a better welcome back.

The beggars hate Rodgers because when he left them they replaced him with someone far worse. That’s not the case with us.

And 1 thing that’s been seen countless times, FF is in no way representative of the wider Rangers support. I think most appreciated what he did for us.
 
Frankly, it doesn't matter a jot if Stevie G left too early. Football managers come and go all over the world, normally when it's convenient for the recruiting club. What's important is that the club has a recruitment strategy that gets in a replacement, at a comparable level or higher, with the minimum of disruption and cost. We've seen a succession of managers since 2012, none successful and all with different ideas of how they want to play - so we've had a revolving door for players.

Compare that with GvB - walks in, tweaks things a little, picks pretty much the same players, and plays to a similar style but with a GVB twist, tightens the defence using the players available and hey ho 6 points ahead.

Stevie G stabilised the ship and drove us forward albeit it took a couple of years. Like Dave King, he deserves our respect but we move on and very fortunately we now seem to have the infrastructure to deal with that and progress.
 
Outsider view.

Yes,the way he left was poor,and imo it wasn't just ' off the cuff'.

Balanced off against the facts that he made Rangers stock high again.I think people forget it was a two way risk when he took over.He had a steady number at Liverpool.He got year upon year improvement,from a poor starting position.
He stopped 10iar,which lets be honest,done the world s favour.He lost a cup final to them when his team murdered them.
For the best he left,but not how he did.Proof enough of his interest waning was after a poor result,there was never a reaction by smashing a team( this season).
All in all ,he will go down as a legend one day,
 
It certainly looks that way at the moment, if we win the title this season then yes, if we don't then no.
 
Treble Kings said:
Feelin' the heat, Brendan?
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And there you go again , you clearly can’t help yourself.
Its a football forum people are allowed to have a different opinion to yours
The clever thing to do is discuss/debate or if you cant do that say nothing.
Your approach is to resort to false accusation Which must make you so proud.
 
BlueSevenTwo said:
And there you go again , you clearly can’t help yourself.
Its a football forum people are allowed to have a different opinion to yours
The clever thing to do is discuss/debate or if you cant do that say nothing.
Your approach is to resort to false accusation Which must make you so proud.
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Problem is mate if you are legit there is no logic or context to your opinion.
A few points.

1) SG inherited the biggest gap in OF history he caught them whilst still being out spent each season.
2) If he had not won 55 I think it's fair to say they would be dominating for a period to come.

You've clearly not grasped it or you are one of those dafties who thinks being Rangers is enough and you are guaranteed trophies....
 
DylanGer said:
Problem is mate if you are legit there is no logic or context to your opinion.
A few points.

1) SG inherited the biggest gap in OF history he caught them whilst still being out spent each season.
2) If he had not won 55 I think it's fair to say they would be dominating for a period to come.

You've clearly not grasped it or you are one of those dafties who thinks being Rangers is enough and you are guaranteed trophies....
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Firstly I was as happy as anyone on here when WE won 55
However I feel Gerrard should have achieved more in his three years and we will never have a better opportunity to win a treble than last season.
To move us forward I think he would have needed to improve on last season , I don’t think that was going to happen , Gerrard knew it and bailed out at the first opportunity leaving us high and dry and the eve of a cup SF.
 
Ssaint said:
I expect Celtic to win almost all their games so to compete we will have to try to do likewise. The fact that even if I check their score at 87 mins and they need a goal I expect they will get it shows we have our work cut out for us.
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None of this has any basis in fact though.

Just irrational fears
 
BlueSevenTwo said:
Firstly I was as happy as anyone on here when WE won 55
However I feel Gerrard should have achieved more in his three years and we will never have a better opportunity to win a treble than last season.
To move us forward I think he would have needed to improve on last season , I don’t think that was going to happen , Gerrard knew it and bailed out at the first opportunity leaving us high and dry and the eve of a cup SF.
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Agree, and for me…unforgivable.
 
Treble Kings said:
Too harsh. I'm all in with the fact we'd gone a bit flat, but in no way can I denigrate what he did for us. Just remember where we were when he arrived. The toilet.
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Time will tell, he will get a shot at the Liverpool job no matter what happens however do I think he will do a job? Probably not but won’t be angry if I’m wrong
 
SG bought into his own hype too much. He would have been much better served knuckling down and winning 56. He believed he was further on in his journey than he was and I reckon going to Villa at this stage might have ruined his chances of getting his dream job.

Thanks for everything Stevie but this might be something you are already regretting
 
Teddyjohn said:
Any Rangers supporter trying to belittle what Gerrard achieved for us is an absolute weirdo tbh.
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It depends on the context I think. If fans think his cup record was shite and we should have gotten to at least a few showpiece finals and taken at least a couple of trophies back, then I think it’s hard to deny that because those cup failures were embarrassing.

If they’re going to try and belittle the achievement of transforming us from a laughing stock to a side winning a league title unbeaten, then yeah they’d be a weirdo.
 
BlueSevenTwo said:
And there you go again , you clearly can’t help yourself.
Its a football forum people are allowed to have a different opinion to yours
The clever thing to do is discuss/debate or if you cant do that say nothing.
Your approach is to resort to false accusation Which must make you so proud.
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I've made legitimate points regarding Gerrard's tenure with us. You made glib, childish barbs about him, and tried to sound like some super supporter. So I replied in kind, and played your game. Dry yer eyes, mate...
 
Barrymoped said:
Absolute nonsense. Actually an embarrassing comment.

We were an absolute shambles when Gerrard took over, when he left we were the best team in Scotland, had an unbeaten season and 3 good runs in Europe restoring our pride and reputation.
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I agree SG took us from zero to winners. But I dont think he is even close to top manager
Barrymoped said:
Absolute nonsense. Actually an embarrassing comment.

We were an absolute shambles when Gerrard took over, when he left we were the best team in Scotland, had an unbeaten season and 3 good runs in Europe restoring our pride and reputation.
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I think he should have stayed another 2/3 years and learnt his trade/ won leagues and cups - he relies on Beale too much . I think he will be found out pretty quick in the EPL - average management/tactics - average budget

reality is that he quit after the malmo matches and I think that will have a lasting effect on his managerial career
 
Treble Kings said:
I've made legitimate points regarding Gerrard's tenure with us. You made glib, childish barbs about him, and tried to sound like some super supporter. So I replied in kind, and played your game. Dry yer eyes, mate...
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Legitimate points I.e Martin Luther (couldn’t even get that right) and John Knox , the usual questioning of loyalty/support , now dry your eyes!!
Discussion clearly isn’t your strong point is it?
 
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