We expected a fairly colourful response to our Danny Rohl piece yesterday. Ibrox Noise, like we were regarding Russell Martin, was against Danny Rohl before he was appointed. Just like Russell Martin, Rangers fans en masse dismissed their own questioning of Rohl and got right behind Rangers’ new manager.
Fan reaction and early narrative
He has been very, very popular over the course of the last eight months, based on the misnomer that Rangers were 11th when he took over and have been taken to the top of the table as a result. It is, of course, not exactly accurate, but when did the truth ever get in the way of a good social media lie?
But the consequence of the whole problem is that we are stuck in exactly the same position now as we were at this time last season. The difference is that we are still in the title race because Celtic are so bad and Hearts are so good.
League context and shifting standards
This is the big dichotomy that Rangers fans do not even realise that they face. Put simply, Hearts are 20 points better off than normal, Celtic are 20 points worse off than normal, and Rangers are at the same level.
Rangers would normally be around 70 points going into the split. Celtic would normally be about 85 to 90. Hearts would be long gone at about 50. That is completely different this season.
Derek McInnes has worked absolute wonders at Tynecastle to give them a really strong shout at winning the title. Celtic’s shambles in Parkhead over the course of the season, especially picking the worst manager they have ever had, has led to them becoming as bad as Rangers.
Rangers have been no better or worse this season than ever. We are exactly the same level now as always. It never changes for Rangers.
Managerial recruitment and identity issues
Unfortunately, a lot of that is down to recruitment, especially the recruitment of the manager. We keep appointing low-level managers and expecting too much of them.
And then we end up in fights with each other as fans because so many fans want to back that manager no matter what, while other fans, who are usually in the minority, can see for what it is that it is not a Rangers-level manager.
A Rangers-level manager, we hear you cry. Well, that would be the likes of your Kevin Muscats, your Derek McInneses himself, Brian Priske, who we lost to Sparta Prague, Steven Gerrard, yes, really, we would include him as well, and of course Rino Gattuso.
Basically, guys who understand the pressure of Rangers, who have been at Rangers, or who understand and know the pressure of winning at the top level.
Rohl under scrutiny
This is not Danny Rohl. He has shown that time and time again that he cannot win the big matches, the ones that really, really count. Rangers have already flunked their lines big time against Motherwell, which was a gigantic encounter.
Rohl got the team wrong yet again, got the substitutions wrong yet again, and, as per usual, Rangers fans are left licking our wounds at the end of it.
Are we advocating sacking Rohl? As we said about Martin, we did not advocate the hiring of him in the first place. That is the problem.
The problem is the recruitment process when it comes to managers and going, unfortunately, for third-choice managers, low-level managers, and not going for the marquee names or quality of Rangers level that we actually require.
It is a repeating pattern.
Fan division and recurring cycle
Unfortunately, we will know that the usual responses will come to this, that you cannot keep sacking managers. Look where we were, FFS. The usual cliches that do not help this club move forward.
This is the important part of the problem. We sit in third, just like we did in October. There has been no progress. The illusion of the progress is thanks to how horrible Celtic have been.
Rangers fans look at where we were under Russell Martin and get caught on that. They get hung up on that because they misunderstand exactly the truth.
Russell Martin himself had brought us up to 8th place. We were not 11th under Russell Martin for that long. We did rise up the table and ended up sixth or eighth, not exactly great, but it was slowly improving.
Not that we would ever advocate the return of Martin, just that it was not as bad when Rohl took over as many fans would like to make out. We were in fact sixth.
We had just gained a point against Dundee United, under the brief management of Steven Smith, and we were now sixth. Rohl has gone up to third and cannot get it any higher.
Final outlook
But consequently, all of this leads to Rangers fans arguing with each other, Rangers fans debating with each other to the ends of the earth about how this gets resolved. Give him a chance, give him time, look where we are, do you want Martin back, all the usual cliches being brought out over and over.
But ultimately, the end result remains the same. Rangers are on 70 points at the split. As we always are. And our Danny Rohl piece yesterday illustrated that.
And while there is not the impossibility of winning the league title this season, Rohl’s record against the top six does not suggest that that is possible at all. But as per always, we will just see how the final four matches go.