While there are those who are hugely in favour of Danny Rohl as Rangers manager, despite Ibrox Noise’s longstanding misgivings about the Rangers boss, there is one very simple thing that he can do to at least stem the Motherwell bleeding. Start his strongest side. Quite simply, it makes no sense to sign a whole bunch of new players and not use them.
Selection Issues
Rangers fans were absolutely livid to see the likes of Chermiti and Jayden Meghoma start. Gassama as well, in position, did not help. In other words, Danny Rohl picked all the players who have struggled this season and overlooked the new blood he has brought in. There was no sign of Rommens. The simple reality is this. Rangers are now off the pace in the league thanks to a very poor draw at Motherwell. The biggest backers of Danny Rohl are using the same clichés that they always do for every new manager and for every situation. There is no point in referring to these.
New signings
But if Rohl starts to use the new signings and they do not deliver, then that would of course be on him. He is obviously picking his team, his players. He failed to do so against Motherwell to no one’s understanding. And despite many fans backing him and defending him against the criticism that he faces at Motherwell, even they would expect him to use the new signings, to use the players that he has apparently signed.
Defence of the Manager
It is basic maths in football. You start with your best team. You use your best players from the off. This has been a long standing issue that Rangers managers have had since the days of Steven Gerrard. For some unknown reason, there is a strange predilection to starting a weak team and leaving stronger players on the bench. Some might think this is an order to reinforce and have power from the bench in the hope that the starting XI will win anyway. But if it gets into trouble, there is a salvage operation available in the dugout. But we do not want to be salvaging a sinking ship. We want to be destroying the other ships from the off. That is surely the whole point.
Best Team
You use your best team. Rohl absolutely did not against Motherwell and his substitutions also made absolutely no sense. The lines that we are hearing, of course, in defence of all of this always seem to revert back to look where we came from, look what he has done, look what he has inherited, do you want to go back to Russell Martin. This is frustrated and lacking in any real in depth argument. It is, quite simply, back the manager, nothing more.
Judgement and Accountability
It is always the case with Rangers fans to back the manager above the players. Many always have, and that is just the way that is. But to get everyone back onside after this dire result, picking a strong team to face Hearts, and picking the signings that he had brought in to face Hearts, would certainly help. But then, of course, if they do not deliver, that is still on Danny Rohl as Rangers manager because they are his signings. We remember late last year, when Rohl’s backers always used to argue ‘look what he has inherited’, and ‘judge him on his own team’.
Paradox
The paradox, of course, is he is not picking his own team at the moment, with his new signings mostly on the bench. However, the sword is his to fall on. He now has his own players. He will now be judged on his own players. Although we say that, in reality, of course, he will not be. Those who back the manager will do so until the very last breath. They will continue to back him until there is absolutely no grounds to do so anymore.
It takes a lot before that happens. The only two times in recent memory that Rangers fans have aggressively turned against a manager were the Russell Martin farce, which was ridiculous from the word go, and Philippe Clement. Clement went from a 91% approval rating to a 19% approval rating. Nevertheless, Rangers fans do eventually get tired of seeing the same things over and over again.
Looking Ahead to Hearts
We are not asking anyone to turn on Danny Rohl. Ibrox Noise never actually wanted Rohl and neither did the fanbase. But fans then went in favour of him once he was appointed. Fair enough, get behind the manager and all that. But it is safe to say that Rohl must continue to earn that backing. Starting with an abysmal XI as he did at Motherwell has cost two points. Two important points. This complicates the weekend because Rangers, should we manage to beat Hearts, are actually doing Celtic a favour. It is a bizarre one.
Rohl himself
Rohl is not a bad guy, but he is young. This is his first real gig with a serious football team – Danny Rohl as Rangers manager. He has made a big, big mistake at Motherwell. It is now up to him to show that he can learn from this and pick a much better team against Hearts, because they will be gunning for us. Use your new signings. Pick your best team. It really is not rocket science, is it?