LUBLIN, POLAND - AUGUST 05: Rangers Manager Philippe Clement during a Rangers press conference at Arena Lublin, on August 05, 2024, in Lublin, Poland. (Photo by Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Ibrox fans are increasingly turning against Phil Clement with a nostalgic return for Steven Gerrard the latest hope for salvation.
On Tuesday night the bears were given a burst of joy when Celtic were hammered by Borussia Dortmund but Clement couldn’t retain that feeling for 48 hours with Lyon bringing another reminder of how bleak things are for Clement’s ‘exciting young team’.
Almost a year into the job the Belgian Beale has yet to win a match against Celtic, there is no identifiable style of play with serial loser James Tavernier still on the team sheet and holding the armband.
At the end of last season another Revolution! was being talked up but Thursday night’s lessons from the 11th best team in France has highlighted how mediocre Clement’s signings and tactics have turned out to be.
The current Ibrox boss gets an easy ride at media conferences but on social media, message boards and radio phone-ins it is hard to find any backing for Clement other than Celtic fans on the wind up.
? “I don’t think Clement is the man, Van Bronckhorst got a better tune out of players – I would take Steven Gerrard back tomorrow”
? “Cyriel Dessers – couldn’t hit a buffalo in the backside with a banjo”
? Darren in Erskine isn’t convinced by Phillipe Clement pic.twitter.com/hPaKD0Tf2J
— Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) October 4, 2024
Before facing Hearts in the SPFL opener Radio Clyde reported Clement saying:
I am 200 per cent sure we are going to be much better in October, November and December and the months after.
That is normal if you see how many players left the building, how many players came in to the building and how many young players who came in who still have to learn things.
In that way it is a squad with a lot of potential, more potential than there was last season and so the idea is to improve as a club and become better.
Does it mean tomorrow we are going to see the best Rangers, better than last season?
I think you will see some interesting things. I am confident about that but we are not there yet, at our best, but that is asking the impossible.
It is logical that there needs to be patience. You have players who adapt really fast, some players need weeks, some needs months to get used to things.
It was a classic delaying tactic, anticipating dropped points at Tynecastle and Celtic Park and an early Champions League exit.
October is now here and isn’t looking any better than August or September, this month ends with a midweek trip to Pittodrie followed by a League Cup semi-final against Motherwell on November 3.
Steaua Bucharest visit Ibrox on October 24 in the Europa League, with six points from their opening matches the Romanians can almost guarantee a Play Off place in the competition by compounding Clement’s misery as he ‘celebrates’ his first year in charge on October 15.
So far the Ibrox board has released £12m with that money spent on Mohamed Diomande, Robin Propper, Hamza Igamane, Jefti, Nedim Bajrami with a further £4m committed to signing Oscar Cortes next summer. Less than £1m has been brought in from shifting deadwood like Scott Wright, Connor Goldson and Todd Cantwell.
Going further behind in the SPFL or another hammering in the Europa League could force the issue with the Alex Rae-Barry Ferguson Dream Ticket lurking in the shadows of Ibrox to ensure that the players ‘understand what the club is all about.
I think we should concentrate on our own managers comments regarding nochanging tactics after the Dortmund mauling. Will we accept this if it happens against Atalanta?
Good point. Is it that he won’t change tactics, or that he can’t change tactics? Alan Morrison slaughtered Rodgers on the Huddle Breakdown podcast. If you get the chance to rewatch the first 35 mins of Tuesday’s game with Alan’s commentary it is really illuminating – and feckin terrifying.
I thought his comments showed…arrogance…naivety….stupidity….and any other word ending in ty you can come up with…(Shitty is not allowed in this context .)
To say that the playing style shown against Slovan at an intimidating Celtic Park …is equitable to playing Dortmund away…and now Atalanta on the horizon…is breathtakingly stupid.
I’ve always suspected its his way or the highway…This confirms it for me.
We re were this board want us to be in this competition making money they couldnae give a monkeys if we win lose or draw just fill our boots
Their are a helluvva lot of hun pain subjets on here and, in fairness I love them as much as I despise ‘them’. But leaving new huns out of things on a Tim site for a bit makes eminent sense to me.
So, to the point I want to make. If Brendan Rodgers thinks he’s bigger than Celtic FC then he’s absolutely wrong and should be told that and also told that if he’s unwilling to admit his errors then he’s welcome to go to Leicester or anywhere else.
The playing out from the back HAS to be binned against superior opposition like Dortmund, and they ARE superior. We’re fukkin hopeless at it and it drives fear into the team and the supporters whose reaction adds fuel to a negative fire. STOP IT!
Charging forward is equally preposterous. It exposes our defence (if defence is the right word) and invites the opposition to rag-doll us.
Any manager who can’t see and admit that he got it wrong is NOT an elite manager.
Just a fukkin overpaid Ostrich.
He WAS my 1st choice, regardless of history, with Maresco my 2nd. I’m now considering, absolutely down to Brendan’s media stuff, that we should have brought in Maresco. Of course, time will tell. But we’ve major strengthening to do in January and a major re-think about our approach to football tactically. Over to you Brendan!
Now, tomorrow it’s critical to bring 3 pts back from Dingwall, rest and recuperate and then beat the sheep to go clear at the top. Hopefully CCV is back soon but if he’s looking like an ongoing injury problem then we must replace him in January.
Trusty’s got talent but looks to me like he needs more time to adapt.
Ah well, sometimes it’s just good to ‘air’ your feelings and let ‘old father time’ do the rest.