Rangers’ season continues to peter out.
On Saturday, after Celtic were officially crowned champions at Tannadice earlier in the day, the Gers were held to a 2-2 draw by St Mirren, with Cyriel Dessers and then Nicolas Raskin on target in Paisley.
This means, since the split was first introduced in 2000, the Light Blues have still never won all five post-split fixtures, but it matters not this time round, given that they are 17 points adrift the champions, out of all other competitions too, ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm derby at Ibrox.
So, the primary concern for Rangers supporters is who is going to be their new manager, especially considering next season will start early, given that they’ll enter the Champions League second qualifying round on 22/23 July, so could the new 49ers ownership group hire a “brilliant” boss?
Steven Gerrard's potential return to Rangers
As widely reported by Mark Pirie of the Daily Record, and many others, Steven Gerrard remains amongst the front-runners to return as Rangers manager this summer.
The Englishman has been out of work since being sacked by Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ettifaq in January, enduring a pretty underwhelming 18 months in the Middle East, winning only 19 of 55 matches.
Nevertheless, Gerrard’s record during his first spell in Glasgow is very impressive, as the table below outlines.
Pedro Caixinha
26
54%
Zero
Zero
Graeme Murty
35
60%
Zero
Zero
Steven Gerrard
192
65%
1
Zero
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
68
62%
Zero
1
Michael Beale
43
72%
Zero
Zero
Philippe Clement
86
64%
Zero
1
Barry Ferguson
11
36%
Zero
Zero
As the table outlines, Steven Gerrard is both Rangers’ longest-serving manager and also their only boss to deliver a top division league title since the legendary Walter Smith, departing with an impressive 65% win ratio after almost 200 matches.
Andrew Slaven of the Scottish Football Show believes it would be the populist appointment to re-hire Gerrard, but also posits whether or not Michael Beale could return as his assistant, having himself been, as described by former Celtic striker Chris Sutton, Rangers’ “worst ever” manager.
So, the new 49ers ownership group may choose to look elsewhere, so could they hire a soon-to-be out-of-work manager?
Rangers' potential new manager
On Easter Monday, following a 6-0 demolition of Stoke City, Leeds United were promoted back to the Premier League.
A 4-0 drubbing of Bristol City on Monday night took the Yorkshire giants’ points tally to 97, the most they’ve ever accumulated in a single season, and victory at almost already-relegated Plymouth Argyle on Saturday will see them clinch the EFL Championship title.
So why is this relevant to Rangers?
Well, despite achieving promotion, a report by Matt Hughes of the Guardian has suggested that Leeds are considering sacking manager Daniel Farke, due to concerns over his previous record in the Premier League. There are now whispers – perhaps unsurprisingly considering the 49ers’ link – that Farke could end up in the Ibrox hotseat instead.
So, let’s assess the German’s managerial record.
Norwich City
2017/18
60
14th
Norwich City
2018/19
94
1st
Promoted
Norwich City
2019/20
21
20th
Relegated
Norwich City
2020/21
97
1st
Promoted
Norwich City
2021/22
22
20th
Sacked after 11 games
Borussia Mönchengladbach
2022/23
43
10th
Sacked
Leeds United
2023/24
90
3rd
Beaten in play-off final
Leeds United
2024/25
97
1st
Promoted
As the table shows, Daniel Farke is a bit of a Championship promotion specialist, possibly set to win the title for a third time, but his Premier League record is miserable, winning only six of 49 matches, holding the unwanted record of most successive Premier League defeats suffered by any manager, which is 15.
Nevertheless, Neil Warnock believes it would be ridiculous to sack Farke given that he has done a “brilliant job” this season, while Beren Cross of The Athletic notes that Leeds’ ‘senior players praised’ the manager’s style, giving them the ‘freedom’ to play.
Even Pep Guardiola described him as an “exceptional manager” during his time at Carrow Road.
Nevertheless, should he be dismissed, this is where Rangers come in.
Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe is poised to become the new majority stakeholder at Rangers, so already has a working relationship with Farke, making any appointment potentially straightforward.
Manager Focus
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What Farke has proved is that, when he’s in charge of one of the top teams in a division, he has thrived, possibly making him a more exciting appointment for Rangers than any potential Gerrard return.
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