THERE was relief and no little rejoicing among the Rangers support last week when it emerged that members of a consortium headed by Pareeg Marathe, the Leeds United chairman and president of the San Francisco 49ers’ football division, were in advanced talks about buying a controlling stake in the Ibrox club.
The reaction to the sacking of their beleaguered manager Philippe Clement last night was greeted in much the same manner that grid iron fans celebrate their NFL franchise scoring a last-minute touchdown on Super Bowl Sunday.
The prospect of wealthy American investors taking charge in Govan and ploughing in the sort of funds which are badly needed for them to challenge Celtic for major honours in the Scottish game had sparked a flurry of speculation about Clement’s future.
Could the new powerbrokers keep faith with the Belgian despite his repeated domestic failures when they take charge at Rangers? Would they decide the ex-Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco man deserves the chance to show what he is capable of when he is backed by serious money?
The interview which chief executive Patrick Stewart gave to Rangers TV in midweek, during which he stressed that directors needed to address the “root causes” of their decline and were not refusing to part company with their manager because of financial considerations, seemed to suggest that he would be kept on.
Read more:
The diabolical 2-0 defeat to St Mirren in Govan on Saturday, though, was clearly a humiliation too far for the current hierarchy. They called time on Clement’s tenure, which was initially promising, occasionally inspired, but all-too-often frustrating and ultimately nowhere near good enough, following a board meeting yesterday afternoon. Nobody lamented his exit.
There can be no faulting what the former centre-back achieved in Europe during his turbulent 17 month reign. He led his charges through to the last 16 of the Europa League last term with 3-2 win over Real Betis in Spain and qualified automatically for the same stage of that revamped competition last month by securing eighth place in the league phase.
But on the home front his record left a huge amount to be desired. His struggles in showdowns against Celtic – he finally recorded his first Old Firm win at the seventh time of asking at Ibrox last month when Rangers, who were 14 points behind their opponents, prevailed 3-0 – were understandable to an extent given the superior budget that his opposite number Brendan Rodgers had at his disposal.
Rodgers lavished around the same amount on one new acquisition, Arne Engels, last summer than he did on no fewer than 11 fresh faces. You, as the Americans say, do the math.
But there can be no excusing the inability to overcome lesser domestic rivals. The home loss to St Mirren in the William Hill Premiership at the weekend came less than a fortnight after the hosts were knocked out of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup by second tier Queen’s Park at the same venue. Nowhere near good enough.
But James Tavernier and his team mates promptly lost to Ross County for their first time in their history in Dingwall the following weekend and followed up that costly defeat with a draw against Dundee at Dens Park days later. It has been a similar story during the 2024/25 campaign.
Points have been squandered due to sub-standard showings against Hearts, Aberdeen Kilmarnock, Dundee United, St Mirren, Motherwell, Hibernian and Dundee in recent months.
Clement revealed in the summer that the money which he had been promised when he agreed to take over from Michael Beale in the October of 2023 would not be materialising. But there can be no excuses whatsoever for not being able to get the better of adversaries who can only dream of the sort of riches which he had at his disposal.
There were well-founded accusations that he failed to understand what was required to win week in week out in the Scottish game throughout his turbulent reign, persistent concerns about his questionable tactics against physical and hard-working but inferior opponents.
Read more:
-
How Clement's Rangers record stacks up to Smith, Souness and Gerrard
-
Every word from Philippe Clement's last Rangers press conference
-
Steven Gerrard to Rangers? What bookies favourite is doing now
Whoever takes over from him – and hopes are already high that a stellar name will be lined up by the new prospective owners – will have to show a far greater appreciation of the unique nature of the often not-so-beautiful game in this country than he did if he is to survive long-term.
All of that said, it is hard not to have some sympathy for Clement. He embraced the demands which were on him to bring success and land silverware, positively revelled in the pressure that he was under. The same cannot be said of everyone who occupied his position. He lifted the Premier Sports Cup after just a few months.
That he suffered the same fate as his predecessors Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Beale after much the same length of time in charge says something about just how challenging it is for the manager of Rangers to flourish at a time when Celtic are operating at a far, far higher level both on and off the park.
Whoever comes in as a permanent replacement in the weeks ahead, and Steven Gerrard has been installed as the early bookmakers’ favourite, will perhaps not have to wrestle with the same issues that those who failed before him had to and may fare better as a consequence.
The ongoing negotiations with 49ers Enterprises are as important to Rangers as the experience, ability and mentality of the manager who will take over in the coming months.
