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Gerrard has a lot to learn.  I realise he's still growing into his management career but there are some lessons he needs to learn quickly before he creates the wrong culture at Ibrox.  I have sensed for a while now that we are generating a losers' culture within the club.  That's quite a statement to make considering the man we have in charge but here's why I believe this.  In the past year I've heard/read 6 press conferences or tweets where our players (twice it was from our captain) have suggested that winning the next game somehow "makes up for the performance in the previous match".  Immediately when I heard this I wanted to scream "no it doesn't!!!".

 

These remarks by players and staff are symptoms of the culture I'm talking about.  Winning the next game, or the next 5 games does not make up for a defeat if you plan on winning the league, or plan on winning a trophy. Our players have now bought into this concept that it's ok to suffer a loss if you "bounce back in the next game" (another common thing I hear them say).  Of course, if we do lose a game the only thing we can do is win the next one, but it does not make up for the loss.  Our players need to understand that the real lesson to learn is not about "bouncing back", it's about not being beat in the first place.  For too many of them however, it seems that when things are not going well during a game they are thinking "oh well, we will just have to bounce back in the next game".  No, what they need to do is find a way to overcome that challenge there and then.  Gerrard needs to fix this and quickly.  This is why an on field leader can help but we don't have one.

 

We have a manager who has won many things in his career so you'd think he'd be ideally suited to bring out the best in our players.  There is a problem however with using successful players as managers and that is because they treat the players in the same way they wanted to be treated to bring out the best in them in their own playing days.  Gerrard was a winner and very often he was the guy who would drag his team up from losing positions.  He is mentally strong and will rise to the challenge.  I've no doubt that if he played poorly in a game, the best thing for him and his team is just to put him back out there for the next game and he'd be sure to work even harder.  The problem is that our players are not like him.  For too many of them, it doesn't seem to make a difference to their determination or attitude when they suffer a defeat.  Gerrard must be wondering what is going on because if it was him he'd be running faster, tackling harder, and doing everything to win.

 

Gerrad has created this culture however.  He now knows which players react to a defeat or a challenge in the right manner.  Those are the players he can put in for the next game.  Those are the players that even when they're out of form they will work even harder to make things right.  However, those that consistently fail to respond must be dropped.  By not dropping these players it sends the wrong signals to that player and every one else in the squad.  It says "I know you're out of form and not working as hard as you should, but I believe that this player will eventually turn it around".  That's not what he will be saying to his players, but that's what they'll hear.  Gerrard must address this now or he will lose any chance of creating the winning mentality he talked about when he arrived.  I like Gerrard and I do expect him to be a successful manager.  I just hope he can change this poor culture we have or his future success will not be at Rangers.

 

I posted my opinion in this thread because I see that Compo suggested that all would be forgiven if Morelos scores goals.  I can't think like that.  I know my role as a supporter is to get behind the player but he is consistently letting the team down and I have lost all patience and understanding with him.  He's a great player, but he's damaging the culture within the squad and for me he has to go.  The manager's treatment of Morelos is consistent with the point I'm making.  Morelos will play brilliantly and then after a few games he will let us down.  The manager's response to this is to keep playing him.  This is damaging in the long run because it's teaching him that this is ok.  It's not!  It's also teaching the other players that this is acceptable.  In a winning team this is NOT acceptable.

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He played in a Liverpool side which had no league success but he never had to carry the team like John Greig did and JG didn’t make it as a manager. 
 

Walter Smith and Jock Stein weren’t great players. Pretty good at the top job though.

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Stein would have put him in the reserves for a spell but were not over endowed in good players so dont cut off your noses to spite your face. 

Think back about all the great players in football that just couldn't be a decent manager let alone a good one it's a long list .

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That Morelos Tweet reads like it was written by a professional PR. Fine, if he can sort himself out and find his form again most will forgive him. 

There is no correlation between playing level, ability and management. Zidane was one of the finest players who ever lived and has managed a side to the Champions League while Klopp was a journeyman player in the German 2nd division. 

My main concern with Gerrard is his ability to relate to 'ordinary' players. He was so gifted and driven as a player I worry he struggles to understand players who aren't. Unfortunately in the Scottish league you aren't going to have a squad full of top professionals. I look at players like Docherty and Murphy, good SPFL level players doing well out on loan, or Jordon Jones proven at this level, and wonder why they can't get into our first team. 

 

BTW On John Greig, I've argued before that Greig was a victim of circumstance and actually good have gone on and been a great manager. His tenure coincided with Alex Ferguson and Jim McLean, two freakish geniuses, the rebuilding of Ibrox causing revenue issues, and the ageing of our double treble winning side. Advocaat used Greig quite a bit when he was in charge for scouting and advice on teams, he felt Greig was wasted not being involved in the football side of the club. 

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2 hours ago, JohnMc said:

BTW On John Greig, I've argued before that Greig was a victim of circumstance and actually good have gone on and been a great manager. His tenure coincided with Alex Ferguson and Jim McLean, two freakish geniuses, the rebuilding of Ibrox causing revenue issues, and the ageing of our double treble winning side. Advocaat used Greig quite a bit when he was in charge for scouting and advice on teams, he felt Greig was wasted not being involved in the football side of the club

Correct. He should have followed a path similar to Ferguson’s. Partick then Dundee United then Ibrox. He could read a game like no other. I used to listen to his radio summarising. His ability to predict the timing and method of the next goal was uncanny.

 

If he had kept Sandy Jardine he might have overcome the obstacles JohnMc rightly points out.

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2 hours ago, Frankie said:

Glad to see Morelos apologise but he needs to properly address his errors and remove them for good.

It seems to be one-sided.

 

Morelos's attitude needs to be improved but meanwhile the club will do nothing about the way that he is refereed or the continual racial and xenophobic abuse that he suffers in the press and on and off the pitch.

 

Perhaps if the club had ensured parity of treatment then Morelos wouldn't be so reluctant (perhaps even subconsciously) to return to an environment where he is singled out and racially abused.

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