The arrival and departure of Scott Fry brings to an end an absolute sorry tale in Rangers’ recent history. That Rangers fans at the time were excited about a Lincoln City set piece coach really summed up where the club was at and where, under previous leadership, it was going. Ibrox Noise was never thrilled that a Lincoln City set piece coach was the answer to anything. League One, for God’s sake. This was not exactly the answer to anyone’s prayers.
The EFL slop era
However, there is one bizarre benefit that Scott Fry may have accidentally brought Rangers that we will indeed indirectly thank him for. We will cover that in due course. There is, however, a crucial stat which tells you everything that you need to know about Scott Fry and the influence he had at Rangers.
Lincoln City, remember how they were the top set piece scorers in League One under his guidance? They still are. It had nothing to do with Scott Fry. Scott Fry was an absolute nothing. We are sure he is a perfectly decent bloke, but bringing him in as a League One set piece coach really did scream of utter EFL slop farce and the place that Rangers were in.
The Fernandez factor
That curiosity, the one benefit that he brought Rangers, is that during a curious period between around December and March, Scott Fry’s presence seemed to get a few goals out of Emmanuel Fernandez. One or two set piece deliveries managed to get Manny Fernandez a few goals.
Suddenly, a farce Peterborough defender who had been bought way over his market value had turned into an £18M defender overnight. It was and is absurd. All it took was a few goals from set pieces, and suddenly he became the greatest thing since sliced bread.
One only has to look at his defensive stats to see how incredibly mediocre his season was last year. He may well be much better under Derek McInnes. Who knows? However, the fact is his value has risen, and that is apparently as a result of Scott Fry and his set pieces.
Moving on
Whether it actually is, we are not so sure because, as we said, Lincoln City remained League One’s best scorers from set pieces anyway, even after Scott Fry’s departure. Some might say it is because of the legacy that he left. We would not know.
All we will say is that Fry was a League One coach for a reason. He has gone back, from what we understand, to lower league English football, and he can stay there. It is absurd the level at which Rangers were shopping.
We are not saying that Rangers are instantly back in the promised land or shopping at the top markets. However, we are bringing in better. We are bringing in what we need rather than the mercenary slop that has no business being in Govan.
Scott Fry’s departure is something that we are very pleased about. His arrival was not something we were very pleased about. It does seem that, in time, all of the slop and mercenary rubbish that came into Rangers is slowly being weeded out. Thank goodness.