Rangers fans have launched a defence of manager Steven Gerrard after an Evening Times columnist attacked the Ibrox boss for leaving Filip Helander out of his Europa League squad.
The big Swedish defender – a £3m signing [RangersTV] from Bologna – was left out of the 25-man squad for the Playoff tie with Legia Warsaw despite saying he was ready to play [Football Scotland] after the 3-0 win over East Fife.
That prompted Mark Hendry to write a column with the Glasgow paper claiming Steven Gerrard has escaped criticism for leaving him out the squad.
.@mhendry92 | Steven Gerrard has escaped criticism for dropping £3.5m Filip Helander from Europa League squadhttps://t.co/DPiOCCKMZs pic.twitter.com/4XfnK9AOGh
— Herald Sport (@Herald_Sport_) August 20, 2019
The Evening Times writer compared Steven Gerrard’s decision to leave Helander out of the squad with the criticism being aimed at Celtic counterpart Neil Lennon for leaving out Boli Bolingoli against CFR Cluj.
Rangers fans have been quick to leap to the defence of their manager. And of the fact Helander didn’t make the final cut.
Escaped criticism?Why would he be criticised? If anything it’s good Man management
The player isn’t yet up to speed having missed a lot of pre season & Rangers currently have two strong centre backs so no need to change
This really is a poor attempt at a negative Rangers story
— Mr M (@MBS1872) August 20, 2019
It doesn't really merit criticism at this stage. Two games will be played over the next 10 days so its likely down to fitness. Can still (will?) feature v St. Mirren. If missing from squad if Rangers reach groups then there's a potential issue but no reason to criticise yet.
— James (@jamesblack1986) August 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/jamiecurrie89/status/1163776990434013185
https://twitter.com/NathanC1872/status/1163778880630599680
https://twitter.com/paterson_c/status/1163787423479926785
Sorry, why would he be criticised?
— rob miller (@dados_ponytail) August 20, 2019
Main reason for Lennon criticism was he left boli out for playing best mf out of position. Gerrard would be questioned if he left helander out and played mf there. This article is embarrassingly poor.
— James Campbell (@jwc498) August 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/Jas72Boyd/status/1163803812156649472
Steven Gerrard hasn’t lost a game, the defensive pairing have been absolutely fine. It’s not as if we’ve left him out and stuck Steve Davis at cb 🤷♂️ he will most probably play against st mirren. He isn’t match sharp enough for a game as important as Legia
— The Great Waldo (@ThenNow4evaBlue) August 20, 2019
It's a ridiculous article. I can't even be bothered telling you why. If you don't know then you should be nowhere near football journalism.
— M.H. (@RANGERS_1983) August 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/gentlemanjack72/status/1163791967014260737
https://twitter.com/gentlemanjack72/status/1163791967014260737
That’s a pretty resounding riposte from the Rangers faithful.
The general feeling amongst the support on Twitter is that Hendry is clutching at straws comparing the two situations and trying to stir up some negativity around Rangers.
Neil Lennon has been resoundingly criticised for leaving £10m of new signings on the bench and playing his midfield technician Calum McGregor as a left-back against Cluj.
Evening Times columnist Mark Hendry criticised Steven Gerrard for leaving Filip Helander out of Rangers Europa League squad. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Steven Gerrard’s defence is performing at a high-level and he obviously fancies Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic for this match.
The reality is we’ll see the Swedish international very soon. There’s a long season ahead.
And whether Helander should’ve made the squad or not, the current dilemma Steven Gerrard has at the back is a very good one indeed.