rudebhoy
Q-School Graduate
Beale is the obvious choice if they can prise him away from QPR.
Failing that, Neil Lennon is looking for a job
Scottish Fitba'
- Thread starter Kaizer_Soze
- Start date
Beale is the obvious choice if they can prise him away from QPR.
Failing that, Neil Lennon is looking for a job
williamalex1
Money List Winner
Thought you would like thisBeale is the obvious choice if they can prise him away from QPR.
Failing that, Neil Lennon is looking for a job
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KenL
Tour Rookie
I know that is a "joke" but it is a horrific image. ?
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
The Glaswegian Game of Thrones.?
rudebhoy
Q-School Graduate
Good read from The Athletic -
-------------------------------------
Just six weeks separated Rangers’ two trips to the Iberian peninsula this year, but the change in mood between those two visits could hardly have been greater.
In May, Rangers arrived in Sevilla, the hottest city in Europe, as a team ablaze. They had trammeled over the odds to reach the Europa League final, and stood just one game away from winning the club’s second European trophy.
At the heart of it all was Giovanni van Bronckhorst, looking every inch a manager ready to seize his shot at immortality. Ultimately, he fell agonisingly short, beaten in a penalty shootout by Eintracht Frankfurt, but at least winning the Scottish Cup a week later to end an 11-year wait for a domestic cup kept supporters’ spirits high going into the summer.
It was another trip to the southern tip of Europe, however — a pre-season tour of the Algarve — which suggested that cracks were starting to appear in the Van Bronckhorst regime, ones that have contributed to his regime toppling with his sacking on Monday.
Various sources confirmed to The Athletic that there was a disagreement on the final day of the Algarve trip between the manager and a group of senior players.
The squad had been given a period of free time before they were due to meet at the coach to take them to the airport and fly home. Some players played golf or went out to explore the area but a group of senior players stayed in the hotel lobby and drank more alcohol than permitted.
When Van Bronckhorst found out that his guidance had been ignored there was a back and forth between him and some players about the strictness of his message. It was not the sort of major row that caused lasting damage, but people close to the players doubted whether disobedience or backchat would have occurred under predecessor Steven Gerrard.
It can hardly be argued that Van Bronckhorst is a soft touch. You do not win over a century of caps for the Netherlands, the Champions League with Barcelona and the Premier League with Arsenal, or play with some of the greatest players and biggest personalities in the game, and not have inner steel or a fiery side.
He saw how chief disciplinarian Dick Advocaat operated at Rangers and how ruthless and unsparing he could be when a player stepped out of line. There was evidence that he could be ruthless, too, in the way he handled Alfredo Morelos.
The Colombia striker got on the wrong side of Gerrard numerous times for his indiscipline and lifestyle but for the first three months under Van Bronckhorst he was said to be the happiest and most integrated he had been at Rangers, which was attributed to the fact he had a manager and an assistant coach in Roy Makaay who spoke Spanish.
Morelos scored 10 goals in his first 13 games under Van Bronckhorst but, after going down a couple of times before the international break in March, he missed the rest of the season after suffering a thigh injury that required surgery.
His comeback has been a disaster. He was sent off against Hibernian and was then left out of the squad for the trip to face PSV in the Champions League play-off. Van Bronckhorst said it had been “building for a while” due to the player’s behaviour, and The Athletic revealed that he was late for the recovery session on August 14, two days before the PSV first leg.
It was a bold step but overall morale in the camp was not an issue then, as Rangers produced a sophisticated display to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 12 years.
In many ways, by coming through those two rounds of qualifying, Van Bronckhorst raised expectations to an impossibly high level. Rangers endured a horrific Champions League campaign against Liverpool, Napoli and Ajax, losing every game, scoring just twice and recording the worst group stage performance with a goal difference of -20.
A 4-0 loss to Celtic in September started what was a demoralising final 10 weeks in charge. Rangers won just seven times in his last 17 games as an injury crisis and repeated European drubbings killed their momentum.
A dressing room source described how the squad had not expected to struggle as much as they did in the Champions League and how the crushing nature of the European defeats had affected them physically and mentally, resulting in an atmosphere that was “very negative”. That is tough to endure at any club, but especially at Rangers, where winning is expected as a matter of course.
Rangers racked up 27 games before the winter break, a mammoth schedule given the club had more than 10 players out injured by the time they travelled to St Mirren for the final game before the World Cup break. And player fitness and the work done at the training ground during the week is one of the aspects that came under scrutiny.
Two players returned from the off-season behind on their fitness and were given individual programmes to get to the right level to be part of the group.
Pre-season saw Rangers incorporate the same 5×3-minute runs that were a staple of Gerrard’s camps, but otherwise it was deemed to be a considerably lighter workload. One player even shared with a competitor that he felt slightly undercooked compared to where he would expect to be once the season had started.
Scott Arfield spoke publicly about the difference in approach between Van Bronckhorst and other British managers he has worked with.
“We’ve got a European coach here now and predominantly it’s all about the ball, being football fit,” he said. “With British coaches like Yogi (John Hughes) or (Sean) Dyche (at Burnley), he had a day where it was all about running and trying to break you mentally, which I loved,” he said.
“If I become a manager I’ll definitely put that into my style because you see a different side to the players when you put demands on them to run and to see if you can break them, because it’s a long season.”
Training during the season usually started at 11am and would not consist of many double sessions, part of which was due to the heavy schedule limiting the number of first-team players available.
Nevertheless, some players found the sessions to be slower and less intense, with the content more focused on tactical messaging than the British staple of small-sided games.
Rangers’ endurance was a major part of their success last season but that base fitness was put in place last summer by Gerrard’s regime. It is understood that the running numbers being posted by the players did not show a decline but injuries reached a peak in recent weeks and did not help Van Bronckhorst’s cause.
Far too many of the squad were not contributing, including Morelos — one of the biggest earners. The manager sought to rehabilitate him quicker than expected after bombing him out but it did not work as he was unable to displace Antonio Colak, who has scored 14 goals since signing from PAOK. When Morelos has been on the field he has looked off the pace or frustrated at his peripheral role.
-------------------------------------
Just six weeks separated Rangers’ two trips to the Iberian peninsula this year, but the change in mood between those two visits could hardly have been greater.
In May, Rangers arrived in Sevilla, the hottest city in Europe, as a team ablaze. They had trammeled over the odds to reach the Europa League final, and stood just one game away from winning the club’s second European trophy.
At the heart of it all was Giovanni van Bronckhorst, looking every inch a manager ready to seize his shot at immortality. Ultimately, he fell agonisingly short, beaten in a penalty shootout by Eintracht Frankfurt, but at least winning the Scottish Cup a week later to end an 11-year wait for a domestic cup kept supporters’ spirits high going into the summer.
It was another trip to the southern tip of Europe, however — a pre-season tour of the Algarve — which suggested that cracks were starting to appear in the Van Bronckhorst regime, ones that have contributed to his regime toppling with his sacking on Monday.
Various sources confirmed to The Athletic that there was a disagreement on the final day of the Algarve trip between the manager and a group of senior players.
The squad had been given a period of free time before they were due to meet at the coach to take them to the airport and fly home. Some players played golf or went out to explore the area but a group of senior players stayed in the hotel lobby and drank more alcohol than permitted.
When Van Bronckhorst found out that his guidance had been ignored there was a back and forth between him and some players about the strictness of his message. It was not the sort of major row that caused lasting damage, but people close to the players doubted whether disobedience or backchat would have occurred under predecessor Steven Gerrard.
It can hardly be argued that Van Bronckhorst is a soft touch. You do not win over a century of caps for the Netherlands, the Champions League with Barcelona and the Premier League with Arsenal, or play with some of the greatest players and biggest personalities in the game, and not have inner steel or a fiery side.
He saw how chief disciplinarian Dick Advocaat operated at Rangers and how ruthless and unsparing he could be when a player stepped out of line. There was evidence that he could be ruthless, too, in the way he handled Alfredo Morelos.
The Colombia striker got on the wrong side of Gerrard numerous times for his indiscipline and lifestyle but for the first three months under Van Bronckhorst he was said to be the happiest and most integrated he had been at Rangers, which was attributed to the fact he had a manager and an assistant coach in Roy Makaay who spoke Spanish.
Morelos scored 10 goals in his first 13 games under Van Bronckhorst but, after going down a couple of times before the international break in March, he missed the rest of the season after suffering a thigh injury that required surgery.
His comeback has been a disaster. He was sent off against Hibernian and was then left out of the squad for the trip to face PSV in the Champions League play-off. Van Bronckhorst said it had been “building for a while” due to the player’s behaviour, and The Athletic revealed that he was late for the recovery session on August 14, two days before the PSV first leg.
It was a bold step but overall morale in the camp was not an issue then, as Rangers produced a sophisticated display to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 12 years.
In many ways, by coming through those two rounds of qualifying, Van Bronckhorst raised expectations to an impossibly high level. Rangers endured a horrific Champions League campaign against Liverpool, Napoli and Ajax, losing every game, scoring just twice and recording the worst group stage performance with a goal difference of -20.
A 4-0 loss to Celtic in September started what was a demoralising final 10 weeks in charge. Rangers won just seven times in his last 17 games as an injury crisis and repeated European drubbings killed their momentum.
A dressing room source described how the squad had not expected to struggle as much as they did in the Champions League and how the crushing nature of the European defeats had affected them physically and mentally, resulting in an atmosphere that was “very negative”. That is tough to endure at any club, but especially at Rangers, where winning is expected as a matter of course.
Rangers racked up 27 games before the winter break, a mammoth schedule given the club had more than 10 players out injured by the time they travelled to St Mirren for the final game before the World Cup break. And player fitness and the work done at the training ground during the week is one of the aspects that came under scrutiny.
Two players returned from the off-season behind on their fitness and were given individual programmes to get to the right level to be part of the group.
Pre-season saw Rangers incorporate the same 5×3-minute runs that were a staple of Gerrard’s camps, but otherwise it was deemed to be a considerably lighter workload. One player even shared with a competitor that he felt slightly undercooked compared to where he would expect to be once the season had started.
Scott Arfield spoke publicly about the difference in approach between Van Bronckhorst and other British managers he has worked with.
“We’ve got a European coach here now and predominantly it’s all about the ball, being football fit,” he said. “With British coaches like Yogi (John Hughes) or (Sean) Dyche (at Burnley), he had a day where it was all about running and trying to break you mentally, which I loved,” he said.
“If I become a manager I’ll definitely put that into my style because you see a different side to the players when you put demands on them to run and to see if you can break them, because it’s a long season.”
Training during the season usually started at 11am and would not consist of many double sessions, part of which was due to the heavy schedule limiting the number of first-team players available.
Nevertheless, some players found the sessions to be slower and less intense, with the content more focused on tactical messaging than the British staple of small-sided games.
Rangers’ endurance was a major part of their success last season but that base fitness was put in place last summer by Gerrard’s regime. It is understood that the running numbers being posted by the players did not show a decline but injuries reached a peak in recent weeks and did not help Van Bronckhorst’s cause.
Far too many of the squad were not contributing, including Morelos — one of the biggest earners. The manager sought to rehabilitate him quicker than expected after bombing him out but it did not work as he was unable to displace Antonio Colak, who has scored 14 goals since signing from PAOK. When Morelos has been on the field he has looked off the pace or frustrated at his peripheral role.
rudebhoy
Q-School Graduate
part 2 -
Recruitment is the other cause behind Van Bronckhorst’s struggles. It is not the case that he did not have a say in which players came in, rather that he had the final say once the scouting process had delivered the shortlist of names to him for the specific position.
He added seven players but only Colak and Malik Tillman were able to cement themselves as starters, with the others not able to play regularly due to injuries or struggles with form. The relative lack of firepower compared to Celtic can be seen in the numbers delivered by their forward players.
In his second season at Feyenoord, Van Bronckhorst requested that all summer signings be made before the team returned for training as he wanted as much time as possible to integrate them and get across his messages.
Rangers returned to training at the end of June and Colak was his first signing on July 7 but the club did act quickly to add another five players in the next 18 days, after banking money for Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo.
It was the only prolonged period of time he had to coach his team in his full tenure. Ceri Bowley, who joined from City Football Group after working closely with Van Bronckhorst for six months there, helped influence the framework of the coaching methodology but his arrival took months after having to work his notice period.
A clear structure was put in place at the start of the season but over time this appeared to become diluted. Van Bronckhorst seemed like the man who knew how to strike the right balance in most scenarios, but Celtic Park seemed to haunt his team.
In February his team were routed 3-0 in a game so one-sided it was reminiscent of the years when Rangers turned up expecting to be a punchbag. Gerrard had banished the fear factor but when they then lost 4-0 again in September — a scoreline that included two goalkeeper errors and two quick dead-ball situations — that style of build-up appeared less prominent.
The lack of incision and variety in the final third became a big issue in his final games in charge and it did not seem to be improving, bar a one-off win against Aberdeen.
He did a lot of video sessions and analysis work, consistent with his time at Feyenoord. He was a stickler for details and discipline, which is why at Feyenoord he would be phoning the boss of the club’s data partner to ask where the post-match analysis was the next morning if it hadn’t been sent exactly on the minute it was meant to be.
Van Bronckhorst made a lot of changes from game to game and the amount of analysis increased considerably, including going over the last game and combing over his own team’s style rather than focusing mainly on the opposition.
Van Bronckhorst leaves having lost the lead in the Premiership last season and now having fallen too far behind again this year to mount a credible challenge to Celtic. He gave Rangers fans one of the most thrilling rides imaginable on the way to Seville but he never managed to crack it domestically and get Rangers to a place where they could win the league.
It was in stark contrast to his achievements with Feyenoord in 2016-17. Then, as the pressure was mounting on his team, who needed a win on the final day to end the long wait for a title, he gave his squad two days off. When they came back, instead of training, he prepared a boat trip and a nice dinner. As the manager he wanted to show them that he felt the pressure they were living under that week, and this act helped give the team the confidence to go out and play their natural game.
Should he have been given more time at Rangers? Is the failure this season down to recruitment more than coaching? Is the core of this squad, looking likely to only win a single league in five years, just not up to the challenge?
These are the questions that will dominate the post-mortem but Van Bronckhorst’s year in charge featured a rollercoaster of emotions that made his tenure feel like a full parliamentary term.
Was he a success or a failure? It feels like a reductive question as Van Bronckhorst was neither. He was not a philosophy or a personality. He was a technocratic coach who believed in adapting and that winning, regardless of style, would bring success.
There were undoubted triumphs. He harnessed a team that seemed to have hit a ceiling at the last 16 of the Europa League and somehow conjured a belief and aggressive style of football that saw better teams with far bigger budgets blown away.
He took a raw jumble of attributes in Bassey, identified his best position and blended them to make a freakish £25million centre-back who became Rangers’ club-record sale.
He defied the poor record of Gerrard in knockout competitions by beating Hearts in the Scottish Cup final, and eclipsed his predecessor by overcoming Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and PSV to end a 12-year absence from the Champions League.
But his sacking proves that these achievements are all negligible if the league title goes to Celtic Park, which is why an an uninspiring 1-1 draw at St Mirren — where he was forced to throw on 18-year-old striker Robbie Ure and saw him end up in a disagreement with Glen Kamara at full-time — brought down the curtain on his 368-day reign.
The DJ at SMISA Stadium was not to know but there was something fitting in him playing ‘Que sera, sera’ at the final whistle that day. Van Bronckhorst would have identified with that kind of fatalism.
Recruitment is the other cause behind Van Bronckhorst’s struggles. It is not the case that he did not have a say in which players came in, rather that he had the final say once the scouting process had delivered the shortlist of names to him for the specific position.
He added seven players but only Colak and Malik Tillman were able to cement themselves as starters, with the others not able to play regularly due to injuries or struggles with form. The relative lack of firepower compared to Celtic can be seen in the numbers delivered by their forward players.
In his second season at Feyenoord, Van Bronckhorst requested that all summer signings be made before the team returned for training as he wanted as much time as possible to integrate them and get across his messages.
Rangers returned to training at the end of June and Colak was his first signing on July 7 but the club did act quickly to add another five players in the next 18 days, after banking money for Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo.
It was the only prolonged period of time he had to coach his team in his full tenure. Ceri Bowley, who joined from City Football Group after working closely with Van Bronckhorst for six months there, helped influence the framework of the coaching methodology but his arrival took months after having to work his notice period.
A clear structure was put in place at the start of the season but over time this appeared to become diluted. Van Bronckhorst seemed like the man who knew how to strike the right balance in most scenarios, but Celtic Park seemed to haunt his team.
In February his team were routed 3-0 in a game so one-sided it was reminiscent of the years when Rangers turned up expecting to be a punchbag. Gerrard had banished the fear factor but when they then lost 4-0 again in September — a scoreline that included two goalkeeper errors and two quick dead-ball situations — that style of build-up appeared less prominent.
The lack of incision and variety in the final third became a big issue in his final games in charge and it did not seem to be improving, bar a one-off win against Aberdeen.
He did a lot of video sessions and analysis work, consistent with his time at Feyenoord. He was a stickler for details and discipline, which is why at Feyenoord he would be phoning the boss of the club’s data partner to ask where the post-match analysis was the next morning if it hadn’t been sent exactly on the minute it was meant to be.
Van Bronckhorst made a lot of changes from game to game and the amount of analysis increased considerably, including going over the last game and combing over his own team’s style rather than focusing mainly on the opposition.
Van Bronckhorst leaves having lost the lead in the Premiership last season and now having fallen too far behind again this year to mount a credible challenge to Celtic. He gave Rangers fans one of the most thrilling rides imaginable on the way to Seville but he never managed to crack it domestically and get Rangers to a place where they could win the league.
It was in stark contrast to his achievements with Feyenoord in 2016-17. Then, as the pressure was mounting on his team, who needed a win on the final day to end the long wait for a title, he gave his squad two days off. When they came back, instead of training, he prepared a boat trip and a nice dinner. As the manager he wanted to show them that he felt the pressure they were living under that week, and this act helped give the team the confidence to go out and play their natural game.
Should he have been given more time at Rangers? Is the failure this season down to recruitment more than coaching? Is the core of this squad, looking likely to only win a single league in five years, just not up to the challenge?
These are the questions that will dominate the post-mortem but Van Bronckhorst’s year in charge featured a rollercoaster of emotions that made his tenure feel like a full parliamentary term.
Was he a success or a failure? It feels like a reductive question as Van Bronckhorst was neither. He was not a philosophy or a personality. He was a technocratic coach who believed in adapting and that winning, regardless of style, would bring success.
There were undoubted triumphs. He harnessed a team that seemed to have hit a ceiling at the last 16 of the Europa League and somehow conjured a belief and aggressive style of football that saw better teams with far bigger budgets blown away.
He took a raw jumble of attributes in Bassey, identified his best position and blended them to make a freakish £25million centre-back who became Rangers’ club-record sale.
He defied the poor record of Gerrard in knockout competitions by beating Hearts in the Scottish Cup final, and eclipsed his predecessor by overcoming Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and PSV to end a 12-year absence from the Champions League.
But his sacking proves that these achievements are all negligible if the league title goes to Celtic Park, which is why an an uninspiring 1-1 draw at St Mirren — where he was forced to throw on 18-year-old striker Robbie Ure and saw him end up in a disagreement with Glen Kamara at full-time — brought down the curtain on his 368-day reign.
The DJ at SMISA Stadium was not to know but there was something fitting in him playing ‘Que sera, sera’ at the final whistle that day. Van Bronckhorst would have identified with that kind of fatalism.
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
I spoke with my brother yesterday on serious family matters, and though he and my niece are season ticket holders at Ibrox I decided that things are tough enough for us at the moment without me quizzing him on how he felt about GvB departure and general state of affairs down Govan way. See that’s the caring brotherly side of me ? no point in going there…well not at the moment. Truth is though…losing to StJ a couple of weeks back was never great ?
chico
Club Champion
It's beginning to look like it's going to be Beale as a replacement. What do the Rangers fans think of this one?
Looks to me like they want someone who can wring everything out of the current squad without having to spend crazy money on transfers.
Looks to me like they want someone who can wring everything out of the current squad without having to spend crazy money on transfers.
KenL
Tour Rookie
Only time will tell, the major thing being him able to make good signings.
But, he seems to have a good working relationship with the players. I'd rather someone like him rather than a big name.
Just look at Ange P, nobody knew him here but what a signing he has been for Celtic.
williamalex1
Money List Winner
I think it would be a quick/cheap fix.
He knows the players and the set up and can hit the ground running. Even though I think the league is now out of reach
I think he guided Gérard well.
He knows the players and the set up and can hit the ground running. Even though I think the league is now out of reach
I think he guided Gérard well.
KenL
Tour Rookie
Not sure he'll be cheap.
williamalex1
Money List Winner
How much compensation did we get for Gérard.
KenL
Tour Rookie
Ah, good point.
Doon frae Troon
Ryder Cup Winner
Hearts match in Spain v an Italian team cut short due to a team 'square go'
It was a friendly.
It was a friendly.
KenL
Tour Rookie
Pathetic.Hearts match in Spain v an Italian team cut short due to a team 'square go'
It was a friendly.
Val
Ryder Cup Winner
Late to this one but disagree, Gerard was guided by McAllister not Beale. His record at QPR doesn't make pretty reading either. Great signing for Celtic this one. He'll be out the door at the end of the season if he doesn't get a flawless run.
KenL
Tour Rookie
Charming. ?
Val
Ryder Cup Winner
What have I said to offend you now?
IanM
Journeyman Pro
- Joined
- May 18, 2009
- Messages
- 12,293
- Location
- Monmouthshire, UK via Guildford!
Sat watching Celtic v Aberdeen.
It's not very good. 5 mins to go.
Celtic have had 30 shots. No goals yet.
It's not very good. 5 mins to go.
Celtic have had 30 shots. No goals yet.
IanM
Journeyman Pro
- Joined
- May 18, 2009
- Messages
- 12,293
- Location
- Monmouthshire, UK via Guildford!
Then... bang!
