Gerrard sets up future as Lampard’s dream disintegrates

The difference was striking, albeit entirely explainable. Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 with a clinching goal in stoppage-time to the mass delirium of more than 50,000 supporters packed into Anfield. Jurgen Klopp played up to the fans and the cameras by cupping his ears and punching the air at the prospect of opening up a 16-point gap atop the Premier League with a game in hand in January.

Steven Gerrard, by contrast, turned slowly to fist-bump Neil Lennon and his Celtic coaching staff before strolling onto the cavernous Ibrox pitch and calmly embracing his Rangers players after a hard-fought 1-0 victory 12 months later. First had beaten second to pull 19 points clear in the Scottish Premiership at the turn of the year, a distinct advantage even with the caveat of having played three games more.

It would be naive to insist Gerrard would absolutely not have celebrated with all the vigour of Klopp if the circumstances had been different. When Rangers won 2-1 at Celtic Park in December 2019 to move within two points of their Old Firm rivals and league leaders, the manager’s reaction was outwardly euphoric and subsequently mocked upon their unceremonious collapse. Those scars have not really healed.

But it is interesting to examine Gerrard in an era and arena without fans. A player who thrived on that overt emotional connection, who fed off the energy of those in the stands and was often an absolute individualist out of necessity, is finding success as a tranquil, controlled and almost stoic coach who places emphasis on the whole team. That transformation has been forced somewhat over the past year but it is a demeanour that suits him on the sidelines.

He made a point of not “listening to the noise” or “playing to it” after the game. He congratulated his squad on a job well done in the moment but far from done overall. He suggested Celtic were only “ten points” behind: ensuring Rangers retained perspective, putting pressure on their closest rivals to win their three games in hand and lighting a fire under Hibernian (4th), Livingston (5th) and St Mirren (7th) to prove a point in one masterful swoop.

Gerrard will leave it to those on the outside looking in to start the title procession. The fact is that Rangers could have been awarded two points for a win this season and they would only be a single point behind Celtic. If they had conceded every single shot on target they had faced this campaign that deficit would be the same. Their defence has been a remarkable foundation. By every possible metric they have been historically dominant and left a supposed pub league communally punch-drunk.

It would ordinarily be of no interest to most observers south of the border but Gerrard brings with him a neutral intrigue, the vested interest of an entire fanbase and a career comparison that looks increasingly imbalanced.

He and Frank Lampard might have taken their first managerial steps at the same time but their paths could not have been more diverse. One avoided the limelight while the other hogged it at the first opportunity. One has taken a team from third to consecutive second-place finishes and now a commanding title challenge accompanied by tangible progress in Europe; the other went from sixth to sixth then third to fourth and now ninth after spending more than £200m. One would have relished managing his player equivalent but Lampard the midfielder would have quickly ousted Lampard the coach.

Both had seemingly preordained destinies but only one accepted their almost immediate over-promotion without considering the potential consequences. If your dream job turns into a nightmare then what comes next?

Chelsea and Liverpool were their holy grails, the clear final destinations of a storied journey. Lampard is showing himself to be out of his depth at the former already and has little to fall back on to suggest he will prosper in the long term anywhere else. Gerrard has established a reputation long before even considering the inevitable jump if and when it becomes available. It is the equivalent of a prodigious athlete focusing on their studies to secure a future just in case; Lampard signed the first big scholarship he was offered without even reading the small print.

That Gerrard is now the ‘anecdotal evidence’ being used by some to support Lampard’s continued reign at Stamford Bridge is laughable. The two have nothing in common other than a shared occupation and an irrelevant and distant past. Their apparent trajectories are drastically different. So, too, their coaching ideals.

As Lampard struggles to simultaneously maximise his defence and attack in a confusing mess of expensively-assembled talent, Gerrard has prioritised a resolute platform at Rangers from which his forwards can make the difference. The respective standards of the leagues and opposition must be taken into account but 57 goals scored and five conceded in 22 games is ludicrous by any standard, and the result of steady and sustainable progress.

No-one knows where either will be come the end of 2021. Chelsea could recover; Rangers may collapse. But as Lampard slides down that greasy Chelsea pole, Gerrard is slowly climbing a ladder in the general direction of Liverpool. Two men who were tethered as players do not belong in the same managerial conversation right now.

Matt Stead