After three years kicking his heels on the sidelines Barry Ferguson is being lined up for a sensational return to management, taking over from Phil Clement.
Even some Ibrox fans know that this move has disaster written all over it.
Ferguson has managed Clyde, Kelty Hearts and Alloa Athletic, his time at the Indodrill Stadium ended in mutual consent in February 2022 with a record of W10, D8, L16.
Since being mutually consented Ferguson has worked on his media portfolio, switching from PLZ Soccer with Pete McGuire and Roughy to Go Radio while writing an entertaining weekly column for the Daily Record which produced some of the belters below.
On December 14, the day before losing the League Cup Final Ferguson told Record readers:
Hand on heart, I must admit, I wasn’t looking forward to it.
Just a couple of weeks ago, if you want to know the honest truth, I was even dreading the thought of the short bus trip from Ibrox to Hampden. Rangers were going to be on a hiding to nothing in the Premier Sports Cup Final and it was just a matter of gritting your teeth and getting through it.
So it comes as a very pleasant surprise to confess that my mindset has changed completely now that the latest Old Firm scrap is just about upon us. Now, before we go any further, I can hear the Celtic fans sighing already. ‘Oh aye, here we go, Barry’s lost the plot again’.
We’ve been saying it for a wee while Barry, we have. Ferguson continued:
I say that for a couple of reasons. First, I was at Ibrox for the Europa League Battle of Britain tie and I could feel the difference in the mood around the old place. For the first time this season, the fans are starting to believe in their team again. There’s a sense of positivity and a new energy in the stands. As I’ve written in this column before, Rangers are at their strongest when there is that connection with the supporters. For the first time in a long time, it’s coming back.
In September 2022 Ferguson explained how Giovanni van Bronckhorst had sussed out Ange Postecoglou.
The next day the Dutchman saw his side lost 4-0 at Celtic Park. That was followed by a record breaking run in the Champions League, sadly van Bronckhorst never visited Celtic Park again, during his 366 day reign in charge his record at Celtic Park was W0, D0, L2 F0, A7.
In less than three weeks, after a double header with Jose Mourinho, it looks like Ferguson will be in charge for a Glasgow Derby.
He can deliver a fire and brimstone pre-match speech, puke in the dressing room, spit on every Celtic crest and tell the players how much he detests every fan inside the stadium.
Then he will sit in the dug out and pit his managerial skills against Brendan Rodgers, assisted by big Bob Malcolm from nearby Bridgeton.
If wee Barry armband does bring in Bob ‘FTP’ Malcolm as his assistant manager then there will be an unprecedented situation where two assistant managers in a row over there bear a startling resemblance to a blue version of Shrek….
Well, on any level, that would be a desperate appointment IF Bazza gets the nod
to season end. A simple plot to try and boost ST sales?
What they really needs is a grizzled, older and highly experienced manager
who can scare the players into playing simple, effective tactics,
but with some fight and passion until May?
The players would be openly laughing at Bazza in next to no time?
Oh, well… 🙂
The best guy for the job ironically was indirectly responsible for emptying the bungling Belgian – the St Mirren manager. He works on very limited budgets, trawls the bargain bins to create a team of big bruisers who are organised and hard to beat, has occasional wins over Celtic and even has a background which would allow him to fit in at iBrox, but I just can’t see the Orcs managing to cope with his accent….
Great to see Sevco in turmoil once again scraping around for a new manager. Any updates on how they managed to find the money to pay off Big Phil and his coaching staff? Some strange and startling names being added to the list of potential buyers of Sevco. My clear favourite is a consortium called ‘The 69rs’, headed by Bonnie Blue who would blow away all their problems in no time at all. While we are enjoying the ongoing circus at Ibrox remember to keep a beady eye on the bould Pedro and make sure he doesn’t piss off Brendan Rodgers with any of his antics.
My brother lurks on FF…and he’s just phoned me to say that there’s a thread on there about Barry the Fud coming back as Manager…..He says that most of the comments are negative about him…and one punter even said he would start up a …BRING BACK CLEMENT campaign.
Comedy Gold again from these morons.
Now that ” The Maestro ” is gone , get ready to welcome sevco’s latest saviour – Bankrupt Barry.
Bankrupt in actuality, but also bankrupt of ideas, ability and indeed sense.
A perfect fit for the huns.
The banter years continue uninterrupted.
Guess Clement is on gardening leave then, until / unless he finds another club…?
Maybe he could the grass at ibrox too?
He could ask ‘Coisty’ for some tips… 🙂
What the fans are forgetting is that they just went through the whole process recently and came up with Clement. My bet is that they will go for the ex-Ranger Muscat who came second.
Ferguson to the end of the season will be hilarious.