While Ibrox Noise praised Danny Rohl’s maiden significant victory over Ludogorets as being his first proper meaningful success as a Rangers manager, the club and manager were brought somewhat back down to earth by the Portuguese. Rangers’ chance of a European spot and the guaranteed league phase slot of the Champions League was already extremely slim to borderline zero. A victory in Oporto was utterly critical to have any slim chance whatsoever.
A reality check in Portugal
We strongly praised Danny Rohl for getting that victory at Ibrox against the Bulgarians last week. It was a very significant victory while it counted. That automatic Champions League league phase spot was still potentially up for grabs. However, everyone was brought back down to earth significantly. A messy, defence error strewn evening in Portugal highlighted how out of his depth Danny Rohl actually is at this level.
Errors everywhere and little to cheer
Of course, it was not just him. The players made plenty of fundamental errors. Few stood out. There were some positive words occasionally. Strangely enough, they were for Djeidi Gassama because of his impressive opening goal. Aside from that moment, Rangers fans had little to cheer in Portugal. This was despite the home side not being that impressive in the first half.
Quality tells in the end
Those late goals in the second half showed the difference at this level. Quality players take their chances. Quality teams can defend. Rangers, at this level, can do neither. Not anymore, unfortunately.
Porto perspective and Rangers reality
Porto ended up fourth in the Europa League league phase. That is an accurate representation of where they are at the moment. They are a Champions League level team that fell short this season. They are still doing well in the Europa League. They were 8th and just outside the automatic qualifier spots. Thanks to results elsewhere and their three points against Rangers, they grabbed that spot automatically. Consequently, Rangers can only look up the way in competitions like this these days.
Rohl compared to Gerrard
As for Danny Rohl, he is still very much learning. That is not ideal for a club like Rangers. Steven Gerrard was not even learning. He seemed to grasp Europe immediately. Who could forget his maiden Europa League season. After years in the doldrums, and the previous year’s abysmal performance against Progres Niederkorn, Rangers shone under Gerrard.
Experience matters at this level
Admittedly, a decent summer had been had by the new manager. The signings he brought in helped. Nevertheless, he is and was a born winner. Rohl is not. Rohl has, unfortunately, only 36 years on his clock. He is an inexperienced manager. That is especially true at European level.
Domestic hope but no guarantees
Domestically, things look a bit rosier for Rangers. Celtic’s stroll against Utrecht last night showed they will not die down easily. Martin O’Neill will get them bouncing back from that bad result against Hearts. Consequently, Rangers will not get it all their own way. Ibrox Noise would not have Rangers as title favourites. We can only hope that we are wrong.
A busted European campaign
Unfortunately, Europe was a busted flush this season. Rangers spent £50M or so in the summer. They ended up being one of the worst teams in the Europa League. Thankfully, not the single worst team. They were certainly one of them. By recent European standards, this was a disgrace.
All eyes on the league
Now we move on. It becomes all about the league. Let’s hope to goodness that 56 is ours and not theirs this season.