Ibrox medical failure and former Celtic striker turned pundit, John Hartson, has identified the key to Rangers stopping “10-in-a-row” as Steven Gerrard starts planning for 2020/21.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound (via The Daily Record) Hartson picks out Alfredo Morelos as being pivotal to the Gers hopes.
So what has Hartson said?
When asked if Rangers can stop Celtic next season and win their first title since 2010/11, he said:
“Obviously Celtic will go into next season’s Premiership as big, big favourites. Can Rangers do it? It looks a ridiculously difficult job to stop Celtic.
“I also look at the Morelos situation – is he happy? Can Gerrard get the best out of him again? He has scored an awful lot of goals but he has also been sent off a lot. Is he on top of that now?
“There’s a lot of work to be done on Rangers side if they are to stop 10 in a row and history being made. He has been in the headlines a lot for his goals and for his discipline.
“How Steven Gerrard now deals with the Morelos situation is key. Will he have to take the biggest bid – do Rangers need that sale to put money into Gerrard’s rebuild? They’re going to need players in to give the team a bit of freshness.
“It’s how he deals with Morelos. Can he get him to stay for another season because one thing he will miss, the one thing you can’t buy are the goals that Morelos has produced.
“He has scored an awful lot of goals even though they don’t have the success to show for it.
“So can Gerrard keep Morelos in the bid to stop this 10? That will be key for me.”
So is Hartson correct?
The perception that Morelos would be difficult to replace domestically is almost an urban myth, although he scored 30 goals for the season, almost half of these – for Rangers – have come in the Europa League, 14 in total.
His goals per game ratio in Scotland is somewhat lower and the fact that Jermain Defoe tops the club’s scoring chart in the league paints a picture in itself, chance creation is not an issue for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, converting them – especially after the winter break – is.
This isn’t to downplay Morelos’ quality and what he brings to the team, there are games where he single handedly wears teams down and – even if he doesn’t score – his sheer presence is enough to create space and opportunities for teammates.
Hartson touches on Morelos’ disciplinary record which, up until December, had looked to have improved dramatically only for a soft red card against Motherwell to be followed up with a moment of idiocy in the closing stages in the final Old Firm fixture of the season when his dive resulted in a second yellow card -how costly this was in 2020 will never be fully known.
Gerrard will strengthen in his forward department and has been linked with Lyndon Dykes in recent weeks but much will depend on his mercurial Colombian and whether or not he is once again trusted to spearhead the Gers assault on the Premiership as Rangers look to finally regain their rightful place at the top of Scottish football.