Post-mortem – Rangers in crisis

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Post-mortem – Rangers in crisis

 Article by: Ibrox Noise
Tonight’s Europa League humiliation has to go down as
Rangers’ worst-ever result in Europe. Pedro Caixinha’s men were up against
statistically speaking the tenth-worst team in any Uefa competition, with the
tenth-worst co-efficient in the Europa League.
In 12 previous matches in European competition Progres
Niederkorn had only ever scored a solitary goal. One. They had never won a
single match at this level. In European terms they were the continental
equivalent of Brechin City (no offence chaps).

And yet in one night they not only won their first-ever
European match, but scored twice at this level inside 90 minutes for the first
time for good measure too.
When one examines those facts, one has to conclude that this
might not just be the worst European result in Rangers’ history, but close to
their worst ever, period.
It was pretty evident on watching the first leg that Rangers
were in trouble. They were up against a side who could barely string three
passes together, yet were unable to put a single shot on target against them
until Miller’s decent opener. It was from that goal onwards though that this
tie went dreadfully downhill, and as Niko Kranjcar faded at Ibrox, the tie
started to eke out of Rangers’ reach.
Ibrox Noise is not going to go as far as say we knew we
would lose this tie – no one could have predicted that. But we were castigating of the performance in the first leg and it worried us deeply. It was evident
that the players were not clicking, were not working, and simply appeared
unable to play much in the way of effective football.
But for Kranjcar’s range passing, Rangers would have been
without any creativity at all before the goal, and that was a threat Progres
took note of smartly and suffocated him in the return.
But here we are, another disastrous 90 minutes under Pedro
Caixinha and trying to sum up where Rangers are is something of a poisoned
chalice.
But we shall give it a shot:
The board appointed the wrong man. We said it already several times, got hounded for saying it, got told to give him time, and we
decided we had said our piece and que sera sera. Pedro Caixinha was a comical,
weird, shocking and abysmal choice for Rangers manager – there appears
absolutely no obvious reason for why such a completely inappropriate choice was
made. We had a go at contriving one, with his Hispanic contacts meaning he could plunder the Latin market for players, but it was nothing we could prove.
So yeah, Pedro Caixinha is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But that is not his fault – the board appointed him and they
must take responsibility for this utterly curious appointment. Whoever
ultimately is accountable for choosing Pedro must resign. He has managed to
transcend every manager since Walter as being Rangers’ worst-ever but he did
not choose himself.  He is out of his
depth, unable to man-manage, has not a clue about Scottish football, and almost all his behaviours since being appointed have been at odds with what we know works at Ibrox.
And the men behind this choice are 100% at fault.
As for the players, well, where on earth do we start. Of
what we witnessed in the debacle over the past week, only Cardoso and Jack
appear decent signings. And by decent I mean ‘Hearts level’ decent. Carlos
Cuellar and Barry Ferguson they are not. These guys are not traditional Rangers
level, nowhere near, but both appear honest pros and certainly hold their heads
higher than others.
Others like Alfredo Morelos. Oh boy. His pathetic cameo last
week was a dreadful sign. As we called it, he looked lethargic, disinterested and immobile. Well tonight he was even worse. Inside 15 seconds a perfectly
fair physical challenge had him decked, as if he could not cope with the sheer
physicality of his opponent. He remained static for the rest of the first half
and offered less than Franny Jeffers. We looked at his CV and thought we had an
absolute belter of a striker. All I can say is the Finnish Premier League must
be utterly dreadful if a player of that quality can bag so many goals.
Others like Daniel Candieas. A Benfica player who could not
get a game for his club, who is essentially the Portuguese Michael O’Halloran.
He is not diabolical but he does not fit into the team. Although in saying
that, does anyone? He does not attack and he looked lost. He worryingly
reminded me of Anestis Argyriou.
Others like Dalcio. Somehow this shambles of a winger
managed to be even worse than the man he replaced in Morelos. He was feeble in
the first leg, and hopeless in the second.
The quality of player in Rangers’ squad continues to bumble
along. As one cycle of rot ends, another starts. We clear out Ally’s rubbish,
Mark’s replaces it. We clear out his, now Pedro’s is the remains of the day.
Funny thing is on paper it was a half decent team – Rossiter
finally starting, and a decent bank of three. Problem is football is not played
on paper. It is played on grass. And once again Rangers’ ponderous, pedestrian,
pathetic play took hold – we worried how these players would break out of the
Bread Man’s programming, well, it seems Ped has the same obsession with playing
this way.
And a word for Kranjcar. Gone was every ounce of ingenuity
the Croat had at Ibrox. He produced nothing. Progres’ tactics may have played a
part but Niko looked completely lost and his craft was absent.
So there you have it. The board appoint the wrong man, the
wrong man cannot manage properly or sign quality, and the players are mid-table
SPL level at best.
There can be no overreaction to this result. It was as bad
as it is possible to be. Rangers right now are looking at being a bottom 6 team
in the SPL. You may laugh at this, after all, how is that possible; well, how
was losing to Progres possible? They are probably inferior to the whole SPL – they
are around upper Scottish Championship level. Yet they deservedly won.
Rangers have opened themselves a whole world of trouble and
your guess is as good as mine as to how this can be fixed.

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35 COMMENTS

  1. aye a see they are th 13th worse team in the european coefficient at 440 but where the hell are we.hibs and dundee utd are 269 and 270. where are we. how come we;re not even on it. is it coz these no hopers beat us

  2. Words fail me. I agree, Caixinha was the wrong choice. He talks a good game but so far he hasn't produced. Like your comment regarding how it can be fixed, I am totally lost. We can only hope that the team will gel in the next month & show some bottle.The fact is – we cannot change manager so soon all over again. We cannot face another court case for compensation. We will just have to stick it out!

    • Ped is the wrong man. Known this since last season. Stuart's fault. I don't love me making rash decisions. But I really do believe he will have to go (Ped) we should have went for Derek M

  3. Just after Pedro was appointed I posted on this site that we were the 11th team that he had been manager or assistant manager since 2003. He was lasting about 1 season or 1.5 seasons before moving on or being moved on. What a shit CV. As you rightly point out Ibrox noise, why then was our board so impressd with him. They surely had enough experience of snake oil salesman like Green to look at the facts on his CV rather than be hypnotised by the drivel coming out of his mouth. There is hope for some of these players at ibrox but not with Pedro mis-managing them. I'll never forgive him for what he's done just as I can't forgive the board for appointing him. Not that they want forgiveness. I'm so glad I'm retired and don't have to face workmates tomorrow, but I really feel for those who travelled. Again I wonder, is the board brave enough to take the hit and sack Caixhina or will he succumb to the heat, do the decent thing and walk. There are true experienced Rangers men waiting in the wings who would step in and guide us to a decent second place in the league. Men like Mcleish or Walter Smith.
    We will survive. Just not with Pedro. And what happens between now and the start of the league. Desperation stakes to get some friendly games arranged. ! Mon the Gers. (Not Pedro)

  4. The blame lies with the woeful selection committee's choice of the present and past managers. Also the timing of the signatures of Alves and Dorrans knowing their arrival excluded them from the first game at Ibrox was diabolical and stinks of a conceit that resulted in a defeat with the contempt it deserved. The individuals responsible for these decisions should resign or be booted out of Ibrox. In showing their contempt for Progres Niederkorn they showed disgusting disrespect to all fans of our club be they season ticket holders, travelling supporters, overseas subscription holders etc. They are not fit for purpose. Their stupidity has cost the club millions and consigned the new share proposal to the bin.
    I feel for the fans who pay the money on a daily, weekly or annual basis who have been absolutely and savagely fucked by a retarded board of thumb twirlers while Ibrox is burning.

  5. I am flabbergasted that we have actually gone backward

    I am lost for words

    I have defended players and management. But it has to be considered that if we are anywhere near as bad up to Christmas, should he go?

  6. When you have a Captain that does not lead by example and the only player on the park in a Rangers jersey that even remotely looks like a leader is a 20 year old that has been out injured for almost an entire season it says it all. Wallace is not and never will be captain material and he is pretty hopeless defensively as well! We need two new full backs before we spend any more money elsewhere.

  7. Please stop – you're killing us…This never-ending comedic journey is brilliant! 66 days since we pumped you rotten in your own midden and now this…oh yes the Sevco are coming! Here we go…you can fill in the rest

    • You are deluded, so tell me what you think you have achieved in six years. Celtic have gone backwards,,their record in the Champions league a joke, and ten in a row a feeble meaningless ambition

    • In case you didn't notice we have won six in a row league titles, 3 Scottish Cup and 2 League Cups. We have also competed in Europe every year, and didn't fall at the first fence either! What exactly have you lot won in that time, oh that's right absolutely nopthing worth talking about. Still never mind – onwards and downwards eh. Karma's a bitch alright!

  8. Tonight's tactics were the problem and pedro takes full responsibility for that. Rossiter and Jack can't play in the same team and unfortunately we learned that lesson painfully. We knew they would pack it in and they did. We could not progress the ball into the final third as there were no numbers and when we did, the final product was terrible. I support the gaffer, even after that, but he has to learn his lesson. If not i fear he will be gone by christmas.
    From the new signings Jack gets pass marks, so does Cardoso. Candieas and Morelos still have the jury out and I don't like the look of Dalcio (lucky he is on loan though! so no risk)
    The way we line up in August will have Alves, Dorrans, Pena, Herrera all in the starting line up so we need to remain positive.
    I think Caixinha will come good in the end. He seems too smart not to and he is not afraid to change things. I am not condoning that "performance" but i think long term we are in good shape.
    I have shaken my head at other Scottish teams getting put out of europe so early in the past but it just shows how hard it is to get up to speed after a few weeks training.
    I will never forget that embarrassment but let's get behind him long term.

    • It looks worse than that.

      Been saying for two years now that King is the problem. Not only did he take a step back and allow this diddy to be appointed he has let him spend money we don't have.

  9. The Europa League has come to early for us with all the changes been made and still to make. It is no excuse however this was a distraction. Realistically goal this year is clear 2nd place, maximum of 15pts behind and hopefully a cup in the trophy room. I think Pedro will come good.

  10. I don't agree –the guy is simply not up to it and a complete embarrassment—if you think that was bad wait until next month –get rid of him now

  11. I stated Caixinha was a dud shortly after his first few games. I was exited about the new signings most are duds. Sadly, the manager has to go now. It's not over reaction as some might say. It's fact. I'm gutted(again).

  12. Without European football administration is almost certain, since Caixinha can't shift any players and the squad is massive.

  13. There are really no words to describe the humiliation and embarrassment last nights result has heaped on Rangers and Scottish football. Waking up this morning it is still difficult to comprehend how we could lose to the 4th best team in Luxembourg. A team who have never before won a European tie in 13 attempts, and have only ever scored a single goal in Europe – against Glentoran. A team who play week in and week out in front of 200 people.
    I have been criticized in recent weeks on this forum for asking questions of Caixhina. Accusations of being disloyal and too negative have been levelled. Well it gives me no pleasure to say this morning that last nights result has proven that I am right to question Caixhina's appointment.
    In short this is a disasterous appointment and one which will take Rangers a number of years to recover from following on from the failed experiment that was Warburton. Caixhina had been a manager in his own right since 2010. Rangers were his fifth club in that period, and before Ibrox his best ever performance was a 44% win record. His appointment is inexplicable and simply defies logic. It is as if whoever took the decision to appoint him believed that Jose Mourhino's success was simply down to him being Portuguese and having a big mouth! Rangers opted for the poundstretcher version of ' the chosen one'.
    Dave King this morning must show leadership and bravery and SACK Caixhina now before any further damage is inflicted on our great club. All the 'we are the people' posters in the world will not make a great manager out of a blowhard who should have been more concerned about nurturing green shoots than showboating about green boots.
    This is not a knee-jerk reaction based on one disgraceful result – but Rangers have not given one decent performance under Caixhina – and he has presided over two of the most tactically inept performances against Celtic that I have ever seen.
    The argument for persevering with Caixhina seems to be based on having signed so many Portuguese and Spanish speaking players – and oh what players! Morales is the new Filip Sebo and as I said after his cameo in the first leg at Ibrox Candieas is the new O'Halloran in that he can run straight into any wall you put in front of him – but at pace! Allowing Pedro to bring in the players he knew was always doomed to failure as like the manager they were bound to be limited to journeymen with no track record of success.
    Any knew manager coming in will have to work with the current squad for at least this season. Surely however any manager will be comforted to have Alves in the squad. Jack is a proven performer in the SPL at least, and Dorrans is to be added later this week. While we can't yet judge what Pena and Herrera may bring – Cardosa looks decent and will surely benefit from having Alves at his side. Presumably come January Dalcio can return to Benfica B Team and Candieas can be loaned to continue his nomadic journey to obscurity.
    A fight for top four and avoiding further embarrassment against Celtic may be as much as we can hope for this season – but only if we act to bin Caixhina now – otherwise Infear where we may end up!

  14. I genuinely woke up thinking I had had a nightmare.
    This is ALL on Caixinha, 100%. Those players are not per se BAD players- they had absolutely no plan at all on show. Nothing.

    It didn't help that Progres concentrated all their attentions on the one creative spark, Niko, while the rest of the attack were left to run themselves pointless.
    Even headless Kenny was absolutely anonymous.

    You don't need 2 DMs and 1 striker against teams like this. You just don't.
    Warburton never had a plan B. Pedro has no plan A.

  15. Is the result really a surprise to us? The warning signs were there to be seen in our pre-season friendlies against the welsh minnows and St Johnstone, (which I was challenged on). I am gutted, but half expected it happening going into the game only 1-0 up.
    Again, our defence was missing, as was our strikers. Same story, different day.
    Pedro is clearly under estimating the opposition and playing a system that just does not work! If that's our team playing like a cup final, what hope do we have for next season.
    Tav as well as other players in interviews all saying they will score many goals and not concede. Talk is very cheap, and I would ban all players from interviews and stop playing to the fans, as its obvious our patience is already thin. They need to do their talking on the pitch! Wonder what player will come up with "We owe the fans the league"?,, Watch this space, all meaningless words.
    I know the players are still gelling, but the fans in Luxembourg could have conjured up a team on the night and would still have beaten that team!, I'm really finding it hard to be positive right now, I fear next season.

  16. I know UR all hurting as am I.
    Things will get better.
    Once Dorrans Bruno (Hopefully as Captain) Pena & Walker are playing things will be so much different once the balance & best 11 are identified.
    In a few months time if we do the manky mob all will be forgiven and last nite forgotten about.
    We have got better players than last season just no gelled as yet.
    Our players need time and were just going to have to accept that no matter if we feel fuking suicidal this mornin!!
    Rangers till I Die……

    • You're so deluded. Basing hope on nothing but a desperation to be better. It won't get better, it will be another season of failure – that's where rangers are now, mid table SPL team. The only way to change it is from the youth academy up and that will take years, but king is feeding lies and telling people what they want to hear. As a result the correct investment, the scouting and planning isn't taking place. In five years and with no trophies to show, results like last night will become the norm.

      It's over.

    • More bad news on the this morning. The old Rangers have lost the big tax case. I know from a very good source that there will be a vote to see if titles will be stripped.

  17. Well it's the morning after and still hard to believe. I would like to say europe came to soon for this team. There are problems,but this is not the finished team I think he has to be given the benefit of the doubt and lets judge him in the domestic league which is what really matters.

    • If it was a one off then you would be right. Let's be honest here, it hasn't worked and it's a matter of time. Don't give him
      any more to spend

  18. Well now we seem to be on every page of every news paper for all the wrong reasons i would think Pedro must go now and hand in his resignation this is like MW last season no one sacked him when we all seen the writing on the wall every thing was lost before he got the boot then in walked Pedro who is just a cheap replacement for MW what a mess we are in once more.i am pissed right off

  19. We could have messi or ronaldo playing up front and we still wouldnt score. There is nobody (other than Krancjar possibly) that can play a killer pass or split defenses open. Its the usual static, side to side or backwards rubbish that happened under Warburton. Also Tav and Wallace are terrible, can't defend and cant pass deffo need two new full backs.

  20. We could have any world class striker up front and we would still struggle to score. We dont have anyone that can cut defenses open and play killer balls. Its the same side to side or backwards passing we saw under Warburton. Even with yards of open space players want to play easy 5 year sideways passes. As regards Wallace and Tav both can't defend, cant pass and can't cross a ball. Two new full backs are a must.

  21. Well, there goes all the optimism. There goes the belief that the team had already hit rock bottom. There goes the belief that the team could not disappoint us any further.

    Let's be honest here most fans have been hailing the board in recent weeks, perhaps this has been woefully premature. It was the board that rejected several more experienced candidates in favour of a man nobody had heard of. Despite awful results and performances the board decided to back him with money we don't have. This now looks like a monumental error.

    If you look back at my comments, you will see I expressed concern that we would exit Europe early and my worries that it would make a mockery of the early pre season start. Now we have a squad that had little rest and has to cope with a humiliation that will be hard to forget. That being said I expected us to lose against the first decent side we played, not against the first side.

    We are at the moment the subject of a thousand jokes. The bigger joke is that nothing will change at the club.

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