The saddest part of all of this is not even just so much Rangers missing out on 56 again. It is not even the dire result at Hearts or Motherwell or the collapse this season. It is what Ibrox Noise has been warning Rangers fans about for years. Which is the repeating instances of the same Rangers mistakes over and over again, hoping for a different outcome.
Cycle of repeated mistakes
While Gio van Bronckhorst is a true Rangers man and a great manager, his system derailed towards the end. Simply as he could not cope with both Sevilla and the European run and the domestic campaign. But in reality, Gio was a much better manager on all levels than so many give him credit for, especially in the league. But then after that was where it really started to go sloppily wrong. Injury crisis and a horrible summer window didn’t help him.
Misjudged appointments
Ibrox Noise got Michael Beale completely wrong for reasons of hindsight that we can only see after the fact. But we thought he would be a much better manager than he turned out to be. When he was replaced by Philippe Clement, we got him wrong too. We definitely got Philippe Clement wrong because we had misjudged him in exactly the same way that we misjudged Michael Beale.
Warnings ignored of same Rangers mistakes
However, when Russell Martin was earmarked to replace Clement, that was Ibrox Noise screaming that he was completely the wrong one. That was at a time, sadly, that we got it right. The reason that we got it right was because we knew he was out of his depth and would be an absolutely shambolic addition as a manager.
Rohl concerns repeated
The next one, of course, Danny Rohl, we objected just the same, just as you did, just as you also did about Russell Martin. And just as you did about Russell Martin, you got back in line and back the manager because you always do. Ibrox Noise does not back managers in the same way if we know that they are duff appointments in the first place. Because we see the same Rangers mistakes.
Recruitment issues persist
We love our club and we want the best for it, but appointing the wrong manager really is not going to do anyone any favours and it is just going to waste time. And there is the same mistake happening over and over. Rangers constantly shirk on appointing proper quality alpha managers who actually know the club, have a reputation, have a presence, and are not the notion of a hidden gem that is going to come good because they are manager of Rangers.
Low calibre choices are same Rangers mistakes
Taking a relegation-threatened manager who just about scraped away with his life. Who is barely older than many of the players, as a manager of Rangers when his predecessors were the likes of Walter Smith, Dick Advocaat, and Alex McLeish, is just an absolute joke of a decision. Russell Martin was barely any better on his CV either. And of course he was an absolute disaster as a Rangers manager in the dugout.
Pattern continues
Barry Ferguson was hardly any better either. He, of course, was an interim, so not much could really be expected there. But the reality, of course, here, fundamentally, is that Rangers keep on appointing slop as the managers. It is always lower level, modest managers who did ok, but are then trust into the sheer cauldron at Ibrox.
Pressure of Rangers and same Rangers mistakes
Ibrox is a different animal. A dear friend of Ibrox Noise, a huge Rohl backer, is absolutely gutted at how same Rangers mistakes has turned out. But even he admits that the whole situation shows that Rohl underestimated Rangers and that Rangers are a different animal to other clubs.
Need for stronger leadership
We are a poison chalice, of that there is no question, we are a tough nut to crack. And we need better than Danny Rohl, Russell Martin, or indeed Philippe Clement. Yes, Philippe Clement is doing well with Norwich. But the pressure levels in the lower-to-mid Championship are not anywhere near the absolute goldfish bowl of Glasgow and Ibrox.
Future uncertainty
That is the same mistake that we make over and over. Recruiting managers from these lower levels who do not have the mental fortitude or the sheer ability to cope with what it takes at Rangers. We have no hope that that is gonna change with the next appointment. Not unless the Americans really are taking this seriously and want a proper manager in the hot seat at Govan.
Final warning for same Rangers mistakes
We can only pray that they do, but they did completely back Danny Rohl, 100% and reckon he was the right guy. The right guy? Well, we have offered many suggestions in the past as to who that would be. But unless the club decides to actually go the route of being proper Rangers again, then there will just be more Russells, more Dannys, and more Beales. That will be the end result, because we keep on doing the same things over and over. And unless we learn how not to do the same Rangers mistakes, it will never stop being this way.