If 2012 was bad, 2024 isn’t far behind in terms of how quickly a year can go from being one that promised so much and has seen the wheels completely fall off Rangers.
Rudderless, clueless, hopeless, words that the Ibrox faithful have all been muttering under their breath since 2024/25 kicked off as the boardroom fiasco continues to hold the club back.
Philippe Clement’s position as manager is hanging by a thread, however, the appointment of Patrick Stewart as CEO gives Rangers an experienced operator at the elite level of football, despite seeing his time at Man Utd come to an abrupt end.
Patrick Stewart was a key figure at Man Utd before Rangers appointment
Having been at Old Trafford since 2006, Stewart has seen his fair share of drama and crisis management, skills he will need in abundance at Ibrox, he was also pivotal in handling Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s £1.3bn investment into Man Utd.
After such loyal service, Stewart found himself being forced out with the new INEO led investors wanting their own man, and one with the experience of taking a club to the top of Europe.
Loyalty is the rarest of things in football and it was no surprise to see Ratcliffe look to bring someone of his own choosing.
Why was Stewart forced out of Man Utd?
Omar Berrarda was previously the chief football operating officer of City Group and his appointment to a similar role at Man Utd saw Stewart squeezed out:
“I would like to personally thank both Patrick and Cliff (Baty – CFO) for their support in helping us get to know the club and making us feel welcome and I respect their decisions to now move on as we establish a new management team for the club,” said Ratcliffe in an official Man Utd statement about the executive re-shuffle.
“It is our stated ambition to re-establish Manchester United as a title-winning club. We are pleased that Omar will be joining us to help achieve that goal, so that, once again, United fans can see, in the words of Sir Matt Busby, the red flag flying high at the summit of English, European and world football.”
Man Utd’s loss is Rangers gain, although Stewart has the sort of to-do list that will make his previous job look easy.
