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To say once a Ranger always a Ranger just after he's left us at a very important time in the season and what it means to the league winner was not the best line IMO. He's done a runner in the night with the whole backroom staff that could hamper our season big style. Like most Rangers fans I saw him as a hero after winning the title and how the club has changed in his time here and after what he said only a few weeks ago I thought he'd stay to at least the end of the season or a shot at the CL if we won the league. I've just lost a bit of respect for him leaving the way he did and just hope now we get in a manager and backroom staff that can take us forward even more and get off to a good start!

Warburton got us back to the Premiership, and truth be told, I don`t think about him that often these days. SG got us going into Europe, assembled a good squad (with the help of others) and eventually got us the title. In time though, I won`t think about him any more than I think of Warburton, Caixinha, Murty and even PLG, McLeish or Advocaat. The one man that will always stick in my mind - for all the joy he gave us and the way he handled himself as a person and a Rangers man in my lifetime will be Sir Walter. Rangers never stand still and it is the future we look at now.

Don't be so wet. He has just ripped the piss out of the Club in organising his move, he has left it in a very deep hole with a stuttering and confused group of players, with no one -at all- to take charge, with very important games on the horizon. Thus we now have a Board having to replace an entire coaching team, in very short order, and with those replacements having to hit the ground running, and running hard. I don't care about his reasons. I care only about the impact of his decisions on the Club, and I fear that he may have fucked it royally, at least as far as this critical season is concerned. Forgive me if I don't wish him God speed and good luck.

Additionally, a lot of Bears are going on about Villa being risky for Gerrard. It is a bit risky but if we lost to Sparta Prague and the scum win the league, with him in charge, do you not think Gerrard might've been facing the sack up here? I do.

Gerrard was fully entitled to leave Rangers when and in the manner he did. That he chose to do so isn't a breach of moral code or unique in any way. The corollary should be the freedom of supporters to express their personal reaction to Gerrard's actions over recent days, without fear of criticism. Having thought about it for a bit now, I'm increasingly inclined to view this as an act of disrespect towards Rangers fans. I think the final straw for me was Gerrard's social media statement "once a Rangers, always a Ranger", issued hours after walking out the door without a word to the players or fans. Good luck at Aston Villa, just don't patronise us like shit on your shoe. I won't be fawning over Gerrard.

The reason most people don't feel so bad about Souness leaving is that we immediately went on to win 7 titles in a row. If we win the league this year, no one will be overly troubled by Gerrard leaving either. On the other hand, if we now fall apart and hand the ascendency back to Celtic, you will find it hard to find anything but contempt for Gerrard.

I felt betrayed by Souness, and while that feeling has largely gone, it hasn't completely. However Souness did offer to stay until the end of the session and Souness didn't take the whole background staff. What Gerrard has done is far worse than Souness. I understand why he has done it, but that doesn't take away my resentment, because he has shafted the club due to the timing.

We all knew SG would leave Rangers, we all knew this as soon as he signed up as our manager. When is a good time to leave? He is hardly the first Rangers manager to leave during a season. If someone said to me the day SG signed that he'd leave after delivering 55 and reinstating us as a decent European reputation, I would have taken that. Let's remember the mess we were in when he took over. Being Scottish Champions felt like it was miles away, and as for Europe, well it was an nightmare. He's gone, as we knew he would, the circumstance and merits of his departure could be discussed long into the night, but what's the point? Id rather focus my energy on the future, we have a league to win, and it is winnable, we are in pole position despite being a shadow of the team we know we can be. Rangers are bigger than any one person, Rangers have survived and prospered worse situations than we find ourselves in at this moment in time.

Against a backcloth of a team that has seemed stale and poorly motivated for some time, comes the resignation of Steven Gerrard and his entire backroom staff. We are expected to believe that these people were all approached, negotiated personal terms and concluded contracts in the short time between Dean Smith being sacked on Sunday and Aston Villa revealing their new management team 4 days later. Much more likely, this group had been approached well before Dean Smith was sacked and it was merely a matter of allowing a decent few days to pass before making the announcement. We all know this is almost certainly the case. However, it raises another question. Were Gerrard and his staff entertaining previous approaches from other clubs while still in place at Rangers and could that to some extent explain or have contributed to the decline we've all seen on the park these last 3 months? Was it known among the players that the management team wanted out? Conspiracy theory or plausible possibility? One thing seems sure, their move to Aston Villa was a little too smooth and seamless to naively believe it came out of the blue and, if that's the case, then Gerrard and his staff have indeed shown enormous and unforgivable disrespect to a club that only ever treated them well.

I don't understand the 'timing' criticism? Was he supposed to turn down Aston Villa because we were half way through a season? And then leave at the end of the season when there''s no job available? And then the 'he took all the backroom staff' criticism. Well, yes, that's how it works nowadays; managers have their team around them. It just sounds like jilted lover stuff to me.

Football has no morals. We could easily have been sacking Gerrard and paying compensation in 6 months time and we wouldn't have cared one bit for him. A few weeks ago some rangers fans were giving him dogs abuse. He clearly doesn't care for us one bit either. that's life in football. i am worried about what this means for this seasons title chances but we will see who we get and how they do and take it from there.

It's not negative. If we can't weigh up the pros and cons of a prospective manager then I'm not sure what the point of the thread is. Should I post some fairy story about how he will know Glasgow, the Scotch game and the club inside out?

If the players aren't professional enough to continue to improve without SG, that's on them not SG. Managers come and go every day of the week. Loyalty is no longer a word associated with football unfortunately. Why focus on the negatives or why focus on someone who has left? Why not focus on what is in front of us? Depending on who we hire, it may turn out to be an upgrade - if rather focus on this rather than wasting what little energy I have on someone who has left (no matter the circumstance of their departure).

That's what I've been saying mate! but was told I was acting like Tim!!. Nobody is bigger than the club! I also knew he would leave at some point! but the way he has left plus the timing is a potentially season ruining season!. Not even telling the players to their faces!. Also claiming he is moving for better salary just doesn't wash with me, and his situation can't be compared to us normal working folk! if you are a multi millionaire moving for better money just doesn't wash with me either!. I'm sure we will recover pretty quickly??, however if we don't and lose the league to Separate Entity FC this season handing them CL money it will be a disaster! especially since the reason the league winner will get straight into the CL is on the back of our performances in Europe!. Slimy snake is SG IMO.

I'd definitely leave my employer up shit creek if I got a better paid offer elsewhere. I doubt the majority of people involved in football are much different. If you look at it objectively (which supporters, understandably, struggle to do), Gerrard's decision is as one would expect.

Did you feel the same way about Souness? I felt betrayed by him at the time but I don't feel the same way about Gerrard.

Yeah, it’s a strange one. As much as probably none of us wanted to see SG leave, it can’t be disputed that the team hasn’t been firing on all cylinders this season…. A change may be exactly what we needed anyway, despite not wanting it.

it's not a point many want to dwell on at the moment but where does Rangers find the money to guarantee transfer funds to any prospective manager? Which you can be sure will be near the top of any wish list for the likes of GvB or Lampard? This board has shown commendable ambition in backing Gerrard during some very difficult times but we might all need to leave at least a small space for diminished expectation in this matter, pour refléter la réalité.

Moldova - Scotland post match discussion on BBC Radio Scotland Sportsound tonight and Nathan Patterson is being eulogised, deservedly so. He scored Scotland's opener and made our second. Big Dick wonders aloud if Aston Villa's new manager was viewing and if he would be interested in combining McGinn and Patterson at club level? You can always rely on Big Dick.

Patterson assist for Scotland's 2nd goal

I was hoping that Lampard would take the Norwich job.

I’m still hoping Knutsen’s name comes up! Style of play is a match. Norwegian season is almost over, 4 games left. Top of their Europa League, thrashed Mourinho’s Roma 6-1 and then drew 2-2 away to them. All of this is despite selling their best players (like Hauge) every season and spending next to nothing. Only question is whether we are big enough for him, and maybe whether he would want to move before he gets another title to his name and before he sees how far he can take them in Europe. From the outside looking in it seems a ridiculous achievement to have broken the dominance of Rosenberg and Molde. They have been a second tier side for most of the last decade and he’s taken them straight the top and actually managed to maintain it for a second and third season.

Just read that, give them their due, they posted the flight number (BA1440). Also someone in our RSC group chat has just posted a photo of what appears to be GVB flight ticket - Amsterdam - London City.... So Lampard and GVB are two of the three, who's the 3rd? I'll cover Edinburgh Airport any volunteers for Glasgow? This is the most exciting the season has been thus far ?

Of course. I'll back any manager to begin with. Given that we are still selecting a manager this is the best time to mention any doubts. Particularly since rumours are often just made up at this stage.

Looking at the bigger picture i reckon gerrard knew he was going to villa long before the weekend. I dont believe for a minute that this all happened since sunday. It may even explain our form this season. The good thing is there are options out there, much better that i imagined. Gattuso vanbronchurst or even shota arveladze. Ill take any of the three.

Bring him home.....?

A negative post already and he isnt even in the door or anywhere near it - really?

Neil Lennon? ?‍♂️?‍♂️??

What do you mean? How often is there a free manager on the market that understands Rangers, a multiple trophy winner as a player and a successful manager from the Scottish league? Perfect fit.

This season has all the hallmarks of 1998 , a very decent squad playing below its level , managerial upheaval midway through the season , the inability to shake off a poor Celtic team . This season is far far far too important to go down the project route , we need stability , a manager who plays or his football philosophy is the same as how we currently play , and a manager who would get the respect of the players . Van Bronckhorst ticks all the boxes , plus , and this might cause a bit of discussion , I would argue he is a bigger name in European football than Gerrard , certainly more successful .Though that’s really neither here nor there .

Casual prediction. Watch Morelos and Barisic quickly get back to their best now.

I'm sure Van Bronckhorst is on the list of potential candidates but some of the stuff online is just utter cack.

Hard to argue with any of that. It’s obvious that Gerrard had been offered the job from Purslow before the permission had been given. However, it would be naive to think these things happen using official process. what irks me most is the level of compensation in the clause. That’s probably down to Allen. It’s clear that if Gerrard goes, he takes his entire back room team, so 4million quid is chicken feed compared to what they got for Rogers alone. We have been left in the shit and I don’t see us recruiting an employed coach of the required quality and his entire back room team this season. We’ll get a good coach, I hope, but time and patience is required to fill the roles and have them gel with each other. Time we don’t have. This is the most important season in our journey back, we must win the league this season and get that CL money.

You are booked into the dressing room for 3pm next Sunday @CammyF - well said Sir

Well the good news is there are a good couple of choices this time round, no need to talk to people like that ex Aberdoom clown like last time, Gio for me but Lampard would do too, I have a feeling Gerrard skulking off like a snake in the grass could turn out to be a good thing ( thanks for the good times though MrG but you could have been a bit more up front especially to the players and fans who supported you 100% )

Aston Villa's future success or failure has no impact on Rangers FC, but as a WBA fan, I wish them nothing but misery. Personally, I can't harbour any ill feeling towards SG and his staff. They delivered the Holy Grail, and as I've said previously, we have lost better managers and better Rangers men and still prospered. Others will have differing sentiments and they are free to have and display them. However, in the best interest of Rangers FC, let's put this behind us, focus on the future and get right behind whoever the board identify / employ as the next manager of our club / institution.

You're no tim and I think you'll find a lot more will come round to your opinion when they've had some time to digest what happened.

Superb

Now the dust, generated by the heels of the management and coaching staff, has settled, at least partially - enough to see the shape of things: The 'deal' seems to have been completed very swiftly, so quickly, indeed, that one might assume that more than the bones of an agreement was in place before even a rumour surfaced; the agreement with AV was not rushed; this was no caprice; Purslow and Gerrard knew. The manager, the assistant, and the entire coaching/fitness staff have gone, too, leaving the cupboard stripped bare; the support staff must have known, also. The performances and the results this season have been poor; players, some of them, at least, have been going through the motions; there have been the odd peaks, but very many more troughs. We might call this a malaise, which has infected the playing staff, but this malady has been passed on, it seems, at least partly, from the manager and coaches. Admittedly, some players may not have obtained their 'dream move' last summer, but one wonders if the manager persuaded, coaxed, cajoled, or, somehow, forced, them to stay, and if so, what impact any of these methods have had, beyond finance. Clearly, whatever remedies, if any, the manager put in place have been less than wholly efficacious, and a number of performances have indicated disenchantment, at best, and complete lack of committment, at worst. The next few games, post-break, are, of course, Really Quite Important, including a semi final and a Euro tie. We are, now, battered with bullshit, bollox, and bin juice about the the abandonment of the Club....ambition, challenge, bigger budgets, size of AVFC, did well for Rangers, restored prestige, etc. etc. blah, blah, blah...... And, he stopped 10-in-a-row, something which seems of infinitely more importance to the mhanky mhob than to us: I don't regard 8 and a gimme as a 9, and I don't think effective walkovers against, what in betting parlance, we would call also rans, there to make up the numbers, represent an epoch-making achievement. Winning the title is what he and his staff were paid to do. However, and in whatever way we call it, if not blindingly obvious, it does seem pretty much apparent that the team is underperforming, that it has shown little to persuade us that it will somehow 'click' consistently, (it is difficult to see it approaching last season's standard, which would have eg seen off Malmo, i m h o), that the manager seems bereft of a way to recover form, performances, and results, and that £5million per annum makes a very convincing, and unarguable, soft landing. So, Mr Gerrard, and his whole entourage, have left the Club in the lurch, in what appears a somewhat underhand manner, in great, unseemly, haste, and with a team off the boil. This leaves the Club seeking an entire backroom staff, quickly, as there is really no-one left to take the reins, save, perhaps a couple of senior players. Most pertinent, perhaps, is that the Board now has to engage in a personnel search and negotiate terms, etc, from a position of weakness, if not of total desperation, and that is not a Good Thing. Whoever comes in, with staff, may see it as a free hit of a season. That does not fill me with glee, as it is imperative to retain the title, and the new man (or woman, eh?) really has to fire, and to fire up the team, immediately. I won't ask, "$teven who?", because I really want to see Villa relegated.

Yes

spot on.

I'm not all that excited about the prospect of Van Bronckhorst. I think he has a lot of what we would like. He played successfully at an elite level. He has had success in management already. I'm not sure if he is the right type of character for it. That's based only on a handful of interviews that I've listened to. I may well be wrong about this. I'm not sure that successful management in foreign leagues always translates to this hellhole either. Also China, really? Why go there so early in his career?

Bring him home

Probably but at least it's more interesting than being linked with Russell Martin ?

You can be somewhere in the middle can't you? We all knew he'd go, but many of us presumed it would be for something like the Liverpool job, after retaining a title and giving the CL a go. Not to leave so soon after winning the title, proclaiming his undying love for the club, fans etc and then presiding over a very shoogly start to the next season. The going gets tough and he takes the first EPL job offered? Or maybe he felt he'd achieved all he ever could here? But what's changed since the close season? Its just all bit strange.

I would love it if GVB got the job, I'd like to see Numan as his No2.