It's a huge risk for all involved. Gerrard's managerial career could be a disaster before it's even started if it goes to shit, Rangers could be left even further behind Celtic. Gerrard will obviously want to manage Liverpool one day and if it all goes tits up at Rangers then that will never happen. For Rangers, the closer Celtic get to 10 in a row the more they will start to panic. For me Gerrard is a sign that the panic is already setting in, they've brought in a huge name star in the hope that his name alone will attract players and get the fans back on side.
If Gerrard fails to get Rangers competing again or at the very least closes the gap, their fans will go mental again. Dodgy Dave must have made some crazy promises to tempt Gerrard to Rangers. If the much laughed at "war chest" doesn't materialise then it could be a disaster.
Will be a major culture shock for a lot of the current players there too. Gerrard will be used to the absolute best of the best facilities wise, dietary requirements, sports scientists etc, a standard that he sets. He'll need to change the culture, he'll be in for a shock himself.
So many of the pundits down south claiming this is a fantastic job for him as well. Shearer and Wright for example on MOTD last weekend banging on about Rangers as a massive club. This isn't the same as 10-15 years ago. The pressure is very much on right from the start. Trips to diddy European countries in the UEFA cup qualifiers and trying to stop Celtic winning it all (again).
He's in the goldfish bowl now. It'll be interesting to see how it develops, hopefully it's a clusterfuck.
I don't think Gerrard failing at rangers changes anything for any managerial career he might have, he won't be judged badly here regardless.
If he has them up there challenging then he's defied the odds and looks good, if he fails then it's a poisoned chalice anyway that is near impossible to achieve what the fans expect and he'll get a gig elsewhere.