One of the first things that Steven Gerrard did when he arrived at Rangers was to restore respect in the club from across the continent.
If anything, it was his European form that saved his job as manager before winning the Scottish Premiership title at the third attempt.
The squad he assembled was well balanced, however, a look back at an Ibrox glory night in November 2019 raises a few questions about some of the Rangers players at Gerrard’s disposal.
Where are they now, the Porto three?
The team that started against Porto on the 7th November 2019 in the Europa League was a strong one.
Unlike the 2024 “vintage” most fans would probably agree on as many as 10 out of the 11 positions as being Rangers best.
The team was built on a settled defence with a midfield that could look after the ball, and win it back if it was lost, led by the evergreen Steven Davis, who seemed to get better with age.
But it is the forward line where nothing makes sense.
Alfredo Morelos’ troubles are well documented and, at 28-years old finds himself in Colombian, rather than a top five league as his talent suggested he would be.
Not many players gave Pepe such a hard time at this level of football and yet the Scottish Premiership will be the highest level Morelos plays at, unless he sorts himself out.
Once valued at £20m, Morelos is no longer El Bufalo and the one-man wrecking machine that he used to be.
The Rangers wingers without a cause
One the wings, things get even stranger. Like Morelos, both Ryan Kent and Brandon Barker should be at their peak.
Instead, neither of them has a club.
Kent has just had his Fenerbahce contract ripped up after once being the subject of a £10m bid from Leeds Unite whilst Barker was one of Man City’s hottest academy prospects – he just couldn’t do in games what he could do in training.
Rangers could do with a winger or two right now…
