Rangers fans look back on the period between winning the league in 2021 to competing in the Europa League final in 2022 with a sense of frustration.
Celtic were in disarray whilst the Rangers squad was a balanced, well-oiled machine, needing little more than some fine tuning.
When Steven Gerrard left for Aston Villa, a popular figure amongst the Ibrox faithful returned, a steady and experienced hand to steer the ship to another Scottish Premiership title.
Instead, Giovanni van Bronckhorst was let down by poor recruitment that only compounded his tactical failings.
What makes matters worse, is that the players Van Bronckhorst wanted to bring to Rangers continue to hit the headlines.
Rangers-linked Xavi Simons eyed by Man Utd
Despite signing none of them, multiple Dutch players were linked with Rangers when Van Bronckhorst was in charge.
The Rangers manager knew what he wanted, however, players like Ben Davies and Ridvan Yilmaz arrived for big fees, even though they have never looked like a good fit for Scottish football.
One player who could have made the difference that Aaron Ramsey was expected to make but didn’t, was Xavi Simons, who was linked to Rangers when his compatriot was in the Ibrox hotseat.
At the time, Simons was available on a Bosman, only for PSV Eindhoven to get creative and sign one of the Netherland’s most talented youngsters.
According to the Mail Online, Simons is a summer target for Man Utd after only sealing a permanent move to RB Leipzig in January.
A fee of £48m plus add-ons saw him leave PSG and the report claims that only a profit would see the Germans cash in.
What has Van Bronckhorst said about leaving Rangers?
On pundit duty for Rangers win over Fenerbahce, Van Bronckhorst suggested to host Emma Dodds that the board didn’t get him the targets that he wanted.
He was also quick to point out that leaving wasn’t his decision:
“I’m frustrated because I had to leave,” said Van Bronckhorst about his Rangers exit when asked if he was frustrated about how things ended, “Because I’m a fighter. I was a fighter as a player and always as a coach. I think I have done everything in my power to manage the club.
“If you have to say goodbye to a club – and as a club I mean players, the fans – that’s not a nice feeling to leave something you love. You have to cope with it, you have to deal with it and you have to move on. Life goes on and I’m now in a very positive place where I enjoy life, enjoy my family, enjoy watching really good games. We all move on.”
Maybe, if he had signed players like Simons, he’d still be at the club.
