Ibrox cull: who stays and who goes?

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Ibrox cull: who stays and who goes?

It goes without saying ex-manager Pedro Caixinha’s Portuguese/Hispanic revolution was an unmitigated disaster, comparable or maybe even worse than Paul Le Guen’s ill-fated regime in 2006.

However, a left-over problem from the last eight months is the (expensive) dead wood Rangers evidently have on their hands and speculation has begun about who may struggle to survive a cull under this hopefully bright new era.

Ibrox Noise takes us through the Portuguese Purchase Intrusions (or PPI as I will call them) that have failed to deliver, and risk of departure or otherwise.

Bruno Alves:

The big one, literally – the man giant was the big marquee summer acquisition and came with one of the best pedigrees we have seen arriving in Govan. Unfortunately the big fella, one good match v St J aside, has been simply dreadful. Weak, slow, lazy, and generally not up to the challenge, the defender has not produced even a tenth of the quality we know he should have, and unless the new managerial era believes he can turn it around, he is extremely likely to move on.

Verdict: leave.

Daniel Candeias:

Unheralded arrival, Candeias certainly has not lit Ibrox up, but he has done far better than expected. His wingplay is above average, and his crossing has gotten better over the months. The guy has done well, but it was based on zero expectation. He is decent, and he works hard. But is that good enough for what we need for Rangers?

Verdict: Stay

Dalcio:

Maybe the disastrous displays from this kid were an omen of the disaster of his manager, but my word this was an abysmal signing. Thank hell he is a loan.

Verdict: Leave

Fabio Cardoso:

Started brightly, outshining Alves, but then so could most of us. Cardoso has got increasingly weak as time has gone on, and is now far from a fan favourite. Average at best – struggles to deal with the SPL.

Verdict: Leave

Alfredo Morelos:

Dreadful start, but when he got into the groove, he really sung. A natural born goalscorer, Morelos is now horribly out of form and cannot score a ‘t’ never mind a goal, but we know what the lad does on confidence. A strong guy too, can hold up the ball, but sadly we saw an ugly side of his game in recent matches with some borderline simulation. There is real potential in this kid, but he needs to get back on track.

Verdict: Stay

Carlos Pena:

The most expensive flop in Rangers’ recent history by a long long way, Pena, one good display aside, has been ghastly. Lazy, out of sorts, lethargic, slow – technically the guy is actually more than competent but he is a fish out of water at Ibrox and his time is up.

Verdict: Leave

Eduardo Herrera:

Has scored a couple of neat goals but literally done nothing else. Just a wrong player at the wrong club at the wrong time.

Verdict: Leave

It must also be remembered that Pedro signed Graham Dorrans and Ryan Jack too – neither of whom have impressed by and large. Jack has also lost the plot too with countless red cards and a complete loss of discipline. Dorrans is also currently injured but in the case of both of these players we hope better management will see us get more from them.

Verdict: Stay

The next weeks and months at Ibrox will be fascinating.

MON THE GERS!

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16 COMMENTS

  1. I find it amusing that we as a fan base accuse the Scottish media of hounding our club and players, yet the worst abuse of Rangers players and management comes from Rangers fan sites and forums. Ibrox Noise is not the worst by any means- there are others where the language borders on the insane and would make me fear for the lives of our players were it reality.

    Every single member of the squad deserves a new slate under new management. Ped clearly was a complete dobber when it came to man management- I would suggest from the last couple of displays that even Alves and his "foreign" contingent had had enough of his antics.
    To write off a proven international like Alves with the words you have written above is just plain mental.

    Dalcio has had… what? 30 minutes on the pitch? Herrera has been used like a bit part stand-in.

    I'm not defending the likes of Pena and Cardoso's performances, but I hate to see the players who pull on that precious shirt belittled.
    I suspect most Rangers fans are living in cloud cuckoo land with this mythical idea of "Rangers quality" and I for one agree with AJ who said he thinks this squad is much better than Ped has shown them to be.

    As for the next manager, I haven't a clue who it should be. There are thousands of names in the pot it seems. I know who I don't want it to be, but to be honest, I wouldn't care who it was for the most part if they put some passion back into my club.

    My previous comment on the BANNED article wasn't published, probably because I commented that the article read like Daily R**ord sensationalism.

    If this comment does pass muster, can I suggest we calm down, let the Board do what they will do and get behind whatever manager, coach, player, sub or tea-lady that is striving to take the great Glasgow Rangers forward.

    (For the record, I don't want Moyes or Allardyce- one's an expert in failure, the other the football management equivalent of the Thunderbirds- great when a club is in trouble, but in the cold light of day, you can see all the strings…)

  2. Hi Doug;

    Wearing the blue jersey is a privilege – and to suggest garbage performances shouldn't be called out is a touch naive, whether it's by Bruno Alves or Bob Malcolm. Every player must earn the right to be praised – we notice you ignore the support given to half of those players, who earned it, and instead focus only on the criticisms.

    You are arguably guilty of the exact sensationalism you accuse us of. And we admit we are football fans capable of being as emotional as anyone else.

    We do appreciate your input, but seriously, calling us the Daily ******* is not far off calling us an enemy of Rangers. We want the best for the club. And that was never Pedro.

    Incidentally, we have not read the Record in years – and we encourage other fans to do likewise. No hits, no purchases of their 'paper'. So we could not even tell you how they read any more.

    We would recommend you follow suit!

    Cheers, and look forward to your comments in future.

    • Thanks for taking the time to reply and appreciate the input of emotion!
      I am as quick to call out bad performances as any (cf. the empty shirt of Snr Pena on Sunday) but I find that so many players are condemned so quickly it depresses me. Alves has been less than good last two games, but up until then I thought him solid and at his best commanding. I would suggest he has seen the writing on the wall in the last few weeks- you don't get to his level without experience of all scenarios.

      Truth is, Pedro lost this club and team some weeks ago with his stubbornness, so I feel strongly past performances need wiped.
      Play players in their correct positions, for a manager who wants them and then judge.

      Apologies for the DR comparison- was meant as a red top generalisation- I just don't like some of the language that fans use about players. I've said it before- I don't believe for a minute the blue shirted players don't always give their all- it is the manager's job to make sure that is channelled properly and our job to will them on to their best.

      As far as reading the DR- the whole of Scottish media in general makes me a bit sick when it comes to my team. It might be trite but "no-one likes us" is not far off the truth.

      Which makes it worse when we rip ourselves to shreds.

      Keep up the passion.
      Thanks.

  3. I strongly believe everyone should start with a fresh slate. I understand why we would want most of these players to go but we shouldn't just refresh because the manager has left. Give the new manager time to access and we can judge form at that point. I really really want Pena to do well, he has been rotten but also contributed some key goals of actual quality to win us points this year. Lets give especially Pena a chance to prove himself . Rodgers done wonders with Deila squad , hopefully we get a manager who can do the same for us. WATP

  4. A priority for the new management must be to get the players match fit for 90 minutes +. Clearly under PC this was not the case. Everyone should be given an opportunity, even Pena!

  5. Personally i believe we're judging the new players too early. Some players especially foreign players do take time to settle and adapt, especially if we're shopping at the bargain end. Look at Ricksen as an example, if we judged Ricksen on his 1st few months we would not have won the league and cup double 4 yrs later with Ricksen cementing himself as a club legend and winning the player of the year in the same year, so a bit of patience won't go a miss. We need to get the right man manager and coaching staff. Novo should be brought in, he can help with the spanish speakers and can also lead by an example as someone who worked his socks off to be a success at our great club

  6. We have about 10 weeks until the transfer window so that should give Graeme Murty or whoever our new manager will be enough time to assess and improve the existing squad. An inspirational manager with a large boot for kicking arses may (or may not) change our minds about a cull. Possibly the ability to put an arm round a shoulder might improve things. Who knows. Not me but I'm dying to find out. Whoever is selected as manager, first and foremost must have an excellent CV. Mon the Gers

  7. One of the main attributes required for the new manager is being able to bring out the best from those we currently have, as Johnston already said. Pedros poor influence has worn onto these players i think, as you said Cardoso started better than Alves and we know Alves has the pedigree. No idea why Dalcio is even still with us, Pena is the one that i cannot see making it, but they should certainly be given a chance under a new manager.
    And lets face it we cant afford to bin the players because we simply don't have the luxury of replacing them.

  8. You know if i never new better i would have thought they all have been working it right up us from last season taking big money and doing nothing they could never get wages like they have now any where else.

  9. Sometimes we have to step back, our passion for our team flows through our blood. It's a time for level heads. International footballers do not become "pish" or whatever term we choose to use overnight. Pena did not play for a country 20 + times the population of Scotland because he's "crap"? Alves did not become crap overnight. Jack has all of a sudden become over aggressive, petulant and lost the plot? Kenny,Lee and Niko, guys that have seen it and done it and have the shirts to prove it. Dorrans looks like he's downed tools,Morelos a young guy who was scoring for fun before the Miller fiasco….Candeias a positive hard working recruit who's added to the teams performance. I believe that Pedro had the best of intentions, unfortunately for him he mixed up his actual ability and his ability to deliver. Next manager? That's difficult. To steady the ship in the interim..Souness.

  10. Murty has yet again been dumped in the mire, players suspended or injured, Ayers who haven’t played 90 minutes in months, he has to select a team, low in defensive picks, players who will be subdued or upset at Pedro leaving the club, with few players euphoric. It will presumably be worse after the next two or three games, until he can get a reasonable squad of players to pick from.
    Good luck to Murty. We must give all players at the club the chance, start afresh to prove their worth and prove their right to wear thre blue shirt.

  11. I agree that all players should be given their chance and judged afresh, not based on how they performed for Pedro. Good managers like Walter Smith and Derek McInnes draw good performances from average players; those like Pedro and Ally McCoist draw poor performances from good players. (Ally McCoist offering himself for the role? If he gets it, my season ticket is in the post to Ibrox – but they won't be that mad. How interesting that he has no idea how incapable he is/was as a manager.)

    I also like the idea of Nacho Novo to help keep the Spanish (and Portuguese?) speaking players inside the family.

    Let's pray our Board don't get it wrong again. If he's available I'd go for McInnes, and think it would be worth waiting for him if he's not available until the end of the season. He could manage Rangers for the next 10 years.

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