John Barnes questions why Gerrard hasn’t been sacked by Rangers
John Barnes has compared his win-record as Celtic boss to Steven Gerrard’s Rangers record and told a Gers fans to ‘do the math’ over why he was sacked by the Hoops.
Barnes took the Hoops job in 1999 and was sacked just eight months after taking the hot seat at Celtic Park.
On Twitter, Barnes questioned why he was sacked and why Gerrard hasn’t been fired by Rangers despite both men having a 65% win-rate at their respective clubs.
Barnes has sent several tweets in the last few days questioning why non-white coaches and managers aren’t getting opportunities at top clubs.
In his tweet regarding Gerrard, Barnes tells the Gers fan who tweeted him to ‘do the math’, heavily implying that the former Liverpool player thinks he was sacked for non-footballing reasons.
There is also a fair amount of context missing from Barnes’ argument and that can help to explain why the ex-Liverpool player was sacked while Gerrard remains in the job.
Barnes was fired after his Celtic side lost 3-1 to lower league side Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup.
Rangers also had a commanding lead over Barnes’ Celtic in the title race and the Gers went on to win the title that season finishing 21 points ahead of the Hoops.
Any Celtic manager would struggle to survive that run of form and Barnes was deservedly sacked for his side’s poor showing.
That is the difference between him and Gerrard. The Gers boss has hugely improved the quality of Rangers and he has closed the gap between the Old Firm rivals. Barnes widened it.
Gerrard has also overseen successful runs in Europe and several Old Firm wins, proving that he has what it takes to be a manager.
Statistics are useful in football but sometimes you need some context to explain them properly. We won’t comment on the racial aspect of Barnes’ claim but from looking at Celtic’s record in the 1999/2000 season it is hard to argue that he should’ve been given another chance.
In other Rangers news, the Gers have been linked with signing one of Scotland’s Euro 2020 stars.