It’s been a big week for Rangers. Graeme Murty was confirmed as the manager until the end of the season. Dave King has been ordered to make an offer to the shareholders. The Club1872 fans group has come in for a lot of criticism. Sadly, it’s been book-ended by two defeats on the park, and the manner of both was concerning.
From Saturday, we saw yet another poor performance. That’s been four games in a row where we haven’t played well. The results against Ross County and Hibernian masked this somewhat, but it’s clear the team is nowhere near the required level. It can be argued that the number of injuries to key players is a factor there, but Saturday wasn’t about that.
I have no issue with those who say that Murty isn’t to blame for the current Rangers predicament. The main focus should be on the board who have put him into the position he shouldn’t be in. However, if you were a fan who was critical of Caixinha, which was justified, it’s not a consistent position.
Pedro was also the wrong choice made by the board, as time has shown. He was squarely blamed for results, with very few saying it was down to the poor leadership at the top. Graeme Murty is now Rangers manager, and has to be judged as such.
And the judgement on Saturday has to be one of him failing on the day. His team selection and tactics were poor. There were too many long balls, and it was clear it was under instruction as even players like Candeias were doing so when they would prefer to play more subtly. The rare instances where the team played a bit of football resulted in chances. They weren’t given much of a chance to do so, though, as the formation meant Kilmarnock dominated the midfield. Rangers fans came away from that match wondering why we hadn’t looked at Mulumbu as a potential signing. He was excellent, but the system meant he was allowed to be, as McCrorie and Holt were asked to cover three players and chase shadows. We’ve seen Rangers struggle in this sort of 4-4-2 many times over the years, and average players look good against us because of it. When someone with genuine ability like Mulumbu is given that space, it’s always going to be a problem.
It wasn’t only his starting team, but the lack of changes throughout the game where Murty failed. It was clear to everyone that Rangers were struggling in midfield. Despite this, neither of the strikers were asked to drop in and help out, and no substitutions were considered. Murty did not manage the game in any way.
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As I said earlier, I recognise that our overall position isn’t down to him. However, the choices made for this match, and the last 9 he’s been in charge of, are of his making. He’s now lost more matches this season than Caixinha did. I’ll accept that he’s had a harder time of it with injuries and suspensions, but that’s part of the challenge.
The fact is, we made a change as Pedro Caixinha wasn’t considered good enough to do the job. This change has resulted in Graeme Murty being asked to step up. There’s no doubt that Caixinha is a better manager than Murty. We’ve weakened this position when it was clear it needed strengthening. Graeme Murty is a great guy who deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done for Rangers, both as caretaker and Under 20 manager. He is not, however, the man who can take this team forward. Rangers require a top class manager to get close to challenging for the title.
We now go into games against Motherwell and Celtic before the few weeks of a break in January. Given our home form, the Motherwell match will be a very difficult one. Josh Windass, the best player we’ve had since Caixinha was sacked, is suspended for the game. The crowd will be in a negative place, and if we don’t start that game well or get a win, it’s going to turn ugly.
All of this is the fault of a board which isn’t doing the job required in a footballing sense. Any good work they’re doing off the field is going to be ignored, and the pressure will grow every time Rangers drop points. There’s a good argument that some of the expectations are too high, but no fan can accept a string of poor performances from their team, regardless of the perceived level of ability. If Rangers had played well and lost, there would still be plenty of complaints. However, you’d be able to see signs of things turning around, which helps raise the hopes in the next match. After the last few weeks, no Rangers fan is feeling confident going into Wednesday night. A home match against Motherwell, with all due respect, is one we should at least be far more positive going into.
Am I being harsh on Murty in any way? What’s your opinion on recent events? Tweet us @rangersnewsuk with your thoughts!