It is fair to say Stuart McCall’s
confirmed appointment as Rangers manager, albeit on a ‘trial’ basis depending
on performance, coupled with that of Kenny Black as his assistant, has been a
borderline universally popular decision among the fanbase. Unlike some other
calls by the new Rangers board which have already divided the support, this is
one which is endorsed by all.
confirmed appointment as Rangers manager, albeit on a ‘trial’ basis depending
on performance, coupled with that of Kenny Black as his assistant, has been a
borderline universally popular decision among the fanbase. Unlike some other
calls by the new Rangers board which have already divided the support, this is
one which is endorsed by all.
A famous Ibrox son, an integral
part of 9IAR and, while maybe not quite elevated to ‘legend’ status, McCall is
certainly up there as a hugely respected, much-loved, and thoroughly popular
chap both in his playing days, and via his current management and media career.
part of 9IAR and, while maybe not quite elevated to ‘legend’ status, McCall is
certainly up there as a hugely respected, much-loved, and thoroughly popular
chap both in his playing days, and via his current management and media career.
So when he was officially
announced as Rangers’ manager on Thursday it was probably the most all-round
appreciated appointment the Club could realistically make.
announced as Rangers’ manager on Thursday it was probably the most all-round
appreciated appointment the Club could realistically make.
However, McCall knows he has his
hands full to achieve anything with this ragamuffin Rangers squad, and indeed
in his first interview stated (regarding that first meeting he had with the
squad):
hands full to achieve anything with this ragamuffin Rangers squad, and indeed
in his first interview stated (regarding that first meeting he had with the
squad):
“The first five minutes there was a bit of
bad language regarding the performances of late…”
bad language regarding the performances of late…”
This is a man who clearly went
into that meeting all-guns blazing telling the squad they have been a complete
and ****ing disgrace and it is not good enough.
into that meeting all-guns blazing telling the squad they have been a complete
and ****ing disgrace and it is not good enough.
We wanted passion, and we clearly
have it. But what does McCall actually have to do to turn this season around
and, if not win the Championship, at least guarantee promotion?
have it. But what does McCall actually have to do to turn this season around
and, if not win the Championship, at least guarantee promotion?
Ibroxnoise.co.uk gives you a
step-by-step guide to the actions we believe McCall has to undertake in order
to make this a success:
step-by-step guide to the actions we believe McCall has to undertake in order
to make this a success:
- Ditch Lee McCulloch. It is an obvious one, but
ignoring his salary, McCulloch has been living off the fat of the Rangers
land for far too long giving next-to-nothing in return except raised hands for
offside appeals and the odd elbow in opponents’ faces to justify ever
playing for the side again. If McCall wishes to ingratiate himself quickly
with Rangers fans, benching Jig at best and outright removing him from the
playing squad at ‘worst’ is the way to go about it.
- Appointing a new captain. Many disagree on who it
should be, but it is this site’s contention Lee Wallace has earned it. He
has not been in stellar form this season (who has?) but the fact he stayed
when he easily could have left for the plunder of England and sacrificed his career with Scotland
in doing so suggests he has the right attitude for the captaincy. I am not
saying he is fantastic leadership material, but the existing captain is
not either, and no one else stands out as a viable alternative. Nor having
earned it like Wallace has.
- McCall has promised sweeping changes. The hope is
this applies to the starting XI. As mentioned, remove McCulloch, but add
to him guys like Foster, Smith, Black, Daly, Boyd, Miller et al and use
the younger players who have shown so much promise but under McCoist and
McDowall were never been given a concerted chance to prove themselves.
Players like Gasparotto, Murdoch, Gallagher, Walsh, McKay and others
deserve to really be thrust into the limelight now. Sadly of course guys
like Telfer, McAusland & Macleod are already gone. Furthermore, poor
coaching may be why Fraser Aird has gone backwards after a very decent
start to his Rangers career. He is another who could be reinvigorated.
- Give Templeton a run. I have been as scathing of
Templeton as anyone, but the fact is McCoist never gave him anything like
a real shot in the side, and nor did McDowall. This lad, while no Arjen
Robben, was once a promising young Hearts’ winger and it went totally
south at Ibrox. If McCall can make him erase the last three years of his
career and juice more out of him, I am all for it.
- Wake Nicky Law up. McCall managed him in both of
his best career spells, at Bradford then Motherwell. Law, while not a
remarkable player, is capable of far better than the frankly pathetic
displays he has put in as a Ranger, and with his own personal request for
McCall to be made manager, he has zero excuse not to raise his game 500%.
- No more dirge. It is easy to say it, but with the
McCoist regime now truly gone from the team, McCall has a chance to stamp
out the absolutely atrocious football that era stood for, and while not
making Rangers Barcelona, making them play football like they mean it.
Look at Hearts’ example; a rookie manager, a few good signings and use of
youth – and they are absolutely flying. No reason why McCall cannot elicit
the same from his side with similar circumstances.
There are probably more but these
stand out. Instil this lot into the squad Mr McCall and we might just see you
in June, signing new players for Rangers in preparation for the SPL next
season.
stand out. Instil this lot into the squad Mr McCall and we might just see you
in June, signing new players for Rangers in preparation for the SPL next
season.
Wish him every success. Don't know where the sweeping changes are coming from. Sure he will be able to organise the team and emphasise the individual contribution of each player to the team plan. These are the basics. Hope now that the emphasis for selection is performance.
Good luck till the summer Stuart! Would like to see big Newcastle lad up front with Law, Templeton and Gallagher supporting. Right back (the eternal problem). Not fair to play McGreggor there. Good to be discussing football matters again. However, one last point about off-field matters. Think Gers need to appoint an experienced CEO.
I think we would benefit from another season in the championship as if we managed to scrape through the play-offs we will be a total embarrassment in the premier league. We can't get results against the likes of Cowdenbeath, and the Edinburgh sides have a field day against us.We need to get rid of all the deadwood and start afresh with our youngsters (as hearts did) as we can't afford to buy anybody,let alone a decent player. We may not get the luxury of that though if the television companies get their way and the Premier league invites four teams up so they get the Rangers- Celtic fixtures back in which case the pain will get worse.
I have to disagree that we would benefit staying in the championship (didn't realise Dave King participated in the Ibrox Noise 🙂 If we go up, then the benefits playing against the best in Scotland would be astronimical for our players. We shouldn't expect to win the Premiership for a few seasons though until Rangers build on finances and able to afford the quality players with the mix of youth coming through, For that, we need a top drawer quality coach and his staff who will deliver quality tactics, very fit, athletic and highly skilled players. Can McCall deliver this?,, I don't think so, this job is too big for him. He buckled with no ideas when Motherwell struggled at the bottom of the league, I don't want that to happen to Rangers. That said, I wish him all the best for the rest of the season to which I will attend Ibrox and give him and the team my full support and I encourage every single Rangers fan to do the same, regardless of their feelings of the man, Go on Stuart, get us back up where we belong.
Excellent article,it will be very interesting to see McCall`s team selection against Livingston,his first three games in charge are pivotal to the rest of the season
Agree with all of the points in the article.
Comments are closed.