da spicy bet： Rangers star Alfredo Morelos is always a hot talking point at Ibrox and that trend continue on Sky Sports’ The Debate show in the aftermath of Thursday’s 3-1 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen.
da dobrowin： Indeed, former Premier League footballer Gary O’Neil joined Kris Boyd in the studio and the former made an intriguing comparison between Morelos and his former teammate Adel Taarabt.
What’s the word?
The Colombia international appeared to have turned a corner at the beginning of the season but the turn of the year has prompted familiar concerns to reemerge.
He is yet to register a single league goal and he recently returned back late from a trip Colombia – a breach of discipline which forced Gerrard to drop him for the clash against Hearts last month.
Given his recent issues, O’Neil suggested that Gerrard is experiencing something similar to that which Neil Warnock experienced with Taarabt at QPR.
The Morocco international was once described as “the maverick in our team” by club captain Sean Derry, and O’Neil echoed a similar sentiment while speaking on The Debate (March 12th 13:48).
“Morelos is his best player probably. He’s had his issues with red cards and he keeps getting suspended and then he gave him some time off and he didn’t come back on time. But you need him. He is your best player, he’s your goalscorer and I think that’s a difficult one to manage.”
O’Neil went on to add: “I want to go into management and when I’ve looked at sides in the past where your talisman is a little bit of a maverick and you don’t know what you’re gonna get.
“Neil Warnock was brilliant at it with Taarabt at QPR. He was basically allowed to do what he wanted.
“But it’s very, very difficult to keep the group happy when you’re trying to manage someone like that.”
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Shades of Taarabt
There are certainly shades of Taarabt in how Morelos’ career is unfolding.
Both players are supremely talented but equally they are difficult to tame and possess potentially detrimental characteristics.
At 30 years of age, it’s fair to say that Taarabt has never managed to settle and truly realise the full extent of his potential.
A return of 34 goals and 42 assists from 164 QPR appearances represents a fine stint and by far the most successful of his career, adding weight to O’Neil’s endorsement of Warnock’s man management skills.
If Gerrard can emulate Warnock during his time at Ibrox, he may just have a chance of bringing the best out of his star striker once again.