Steven Gerrard’s impact on Rangers will only become clearer in time, with gratitude towards the new Aston Villa boss among the Gers faithful currently being trumped by anger and disappointment at the nature of his departure.
However, there can be no disputing that Gerrard transformed the club, raising standards and improving the quality in the football department, culminating in Rangers’ unbeaten title-winning season in 2020/21.
Unrecognisable from the tail-end of Graeme Murty’s era in 2017/18, Rangers became a force both domestically and in the Europa League, reflected in the data over Gerrard’s three-and-a-bit seasons at the club as the Rangers Review provides a numbers-driven overview of his time at Ibrox.
Attacking milestones
Rangers pride themselves on attacking football, with Gerrard’s side’s averaging an xG total of 2.16 over his three full Scottish Premiership campaigns at the club. Rangers’ second-largest xG total, of 5.86, over Gerrard’s reign arrived in his debut season in the 4-0 home win over St. Mirren. The figure skewed by the awarding of four penalties that afternoon in which Rangers converted three of them. The Gers’ 27 shots that day also ranks among the top five most shots taken in a game under Gerrard.
Other games where Rangers created their highest xG figures under Gerrard include the 5-0 win over Aberdeen in September 2019, which is illustrated below (6.48), the 6-1 triumph over Hibernian in Hibernian in August 2019 (4.71), the 2-0 away win over Hamilton at the start of the title-winning season (4.44), and the 1-0 victory at Rugby Park in the 2020/21 (4.41).
Looking at the source of the goals over the Gerrard era and the obvious standout is Alfredo Morelos, netting 46 non-penalty goals from an xG total of 50.79 in the Scottish Premiership during the former Liverpool captain’s time in charge (see below). Predictably, the Colombian also took the most shots under Gerrard with 332 and, in a quirk that satisfies nerds like myself, took exactly 108 shots in the league in both 2018/19 and the truncated 2019/20 campaign.
Other big contributors include Ryan Kent and Jermain Defoe, who both hit 24 non-penalty goals in the league under Gerrard, while at the same time captain James Tavernier struck 11 times from non-penalty situations. Although Morelos was the best goalscorer during Gerrard’s reign, he wasn’t the most consistent chance-getter, with Defoe having averaged 0.64xG in his two and a half years at the club. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Steven Davis – responsible for the most passes played under Gerrard – never scored in the Scottish Premiership under him.
In terms of chance creation, it’s no surprise that both of Gerrard’s most selected full-backs are responsible. Borna Barisic has been stunted by injury this term, but he was Gerrard’s most prolific creative presence, averaging 0.29xA and topping the chance creation charts in both of Gerrard’s best seasons in 2019/20 and 2020/21.
In fact, the Croatian’s 2019/20 campaign is worth more admiration considering his 0.32xA was considerably better than the next best in Tavernier at 0.23. The Rangers captain, meanwhile, averaged 0.26xA in Gerrard’s time at Ibrox.
On the topic of chance creation from the full-back areas, the 1-1 draw at Dens Park in Gerrard’s debut season was the game in which Rangers attempted the most crosses under Gerrard with 51 (see below). Closely followed are the Gers’ tussles with clubs from Lanarkshire, with 49 crosses attempted in the 1-1 draw at Fir Park last season and the same figure in both home meetings with Hamilton in 2019/20, one of which left Gerrard at his lowest ebb as Gers boss after a 1-0 defeat. Indeed, of the seven highest crossing totals under Gerrard, six were against either Motherwell or Hamilton.
Staying on the theme of creativity, Kent boasted the highest proportion of Key Passes under Gerrard – the pass before a shot – averaging 0.76 in three and a bit seasons. The winger topped the metric at the club on two occasions in 2019/20 and 2020/21, while he leads the way this term amid the obvious caveat of a smaller sample size compared to his peers due to injury. Meanwhile, Tavernier follows closely behind having averaged 0.74 Key Passes per 90 during Gerrard’s stint, including an impressive 0.87KPs per 90 in 2018/19.
READ MORE: The Rangers Review's tactical jargon dossier - every term easily explained
Defensive improvement
On the defensive side, Gerrard oversaw steady defensive improvement in his time at the club, conceding just 13 goals during the title-winning campaign of 2020/21. Perhaps no fixture typified the relentlessness which Rangers developed on the defensive front than the 8-0 win over Hamilton last season where Gerrard’s side didn’t concede a single shot, as evidenced below in their shots for and against map.
Other notable games in which Rangers looked barely threatened defensively include the 1-0 home win over Kilmarnock last season (0.03xGA), the 4-1 victory over Ross County in 2019/20 (0.03xGA), and the 3-0 triumph over Livingston on the opening day this campaign (0.05xGA).
To wrap it up, it’s worth exploring the disciplinary and, by extension, availability of players under Gerrard. Morelos has been sent off on six separate occasions in the Scottish Premiership alone since 2018/19, three of which came against Aberdeen. The only other players to have seen red in the league in Gerrard’s reign were Scott Arfield (against Hearts in 2018/19) and Allan McGregor (against Hibernian in 2018/19).
Predictably, Morelos has also received the most yellow cards under Gerrard with 26 bookings, with Barisic the next closest on 12 cautions. Interestingly, Joe Aribo received just one booking in his first two campaigns under Gerrard, before receiving his fourth yellow card already this season in the 1-1 draw with Hearts last month. Similarly, Connor Goldson averaged five yellow cards in his first two seasons at the club, before receiving just a single booking in last season’s title-winning campaign. Steven Davis, meanwhile, didn’t receive a single yellow card in his first season-and-a-half under Gerrard.
No player, however, has been available more for Gerrard than the marathon man Goldson, who clocked up 10,716 minutes under the former Gers boss. Tavernier ranks close a second on 9.790 minutes, although perhaps no player will be cursing their luck more than Ryan Jack. A player Gerrard never failed to hide his admiration for, the Scotland international played just 5,569 minutes, just over half of Goldson’s total.
And, to end it on a high note, where would Gerrard have been without Andy Firth’s total contribution of 13 minutes over his time at the club?
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