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Football News: Rangers Season Preview

Rangers Season Preview
Image from: fanpop.com

This season is a big step in the road for Rangers on their journey through the Scottish Football League, as the changeover from the jobs for the boys attitude that had previously pervaded has begun. No longer managed by a former player, Ally McCoist, who was more interested in bringing in his friends to play around with in training than he was in coaching, now the club have a real dedicated football manager in Mark Warburton. No more does training consist of kicking the ball at each other's backside, nowadays they actually do things like run and other things that had previously been seen as far too strenous.

Along with increasing the fitness of the squad, Warburton also has some other ideas that McCoist had never heard of, such as playing exciting attacking football, rather than the long balls previously in vogue. With the relegated St Mirren and Hibernian as the main rivals, promotion is expected, rather than hoped for, under the new regime. Rangers are finally beginning to return to being a football club, rather than a media circus.

 

On paper this season should be plain sailing for Rangers, with the investment in the squad that has been made and the quality of the coaching staff. As we all know though, the game is not played on paper, but Rangers are capable of matching Hearts' achievement of last season and running away with the title. It is early days, but so far Warburton looks to be an inspired choice, who has quickly got his feet under the table and a team together which knows what it is doing and where it is going.

The issues Rangers will face are long term ones, without access to the Brentford owner's extensive stats-based scouting network, will Warburton be able to identify the right players to keep the club moving forward. Certainly the owner of Brentford, Matthew Benham, felt that Warburton's old school approach to player recruitment was not the right way to go, hence the two parting ways. Now is Warburton's chance to show his approach is right, that all the stats in the world do not compare to actually watching a player play for yourself.

 

Reasons to be cheerful:
Mark Warburton, with a tiny budget he got Brentford fighting for promotion to the Premier League following promotion to the English Championship.
The future, the fact that there even is one for Rangers after all the club has been through is a miracle in itself.
Martyn Waghorn, at this level he should tear defences to shreds.
Lee Wallace, his form may have dropped off over the last couple of seasons under McCoist, but he is a proven Scottish international left back. If Warburton can get him back to his best he is a stand out player for the Scottish Championship.
The return of Danny Wilson, who proved he was good enough to play in a title winning team last season.
Wes Foderingham, he was highly rated at Swindon Town, attracting interest from the English Championship, but chose to join Warburton in Scotland. He has joined with the intention of winning trophies.

 

Reasons to be fearful:
Dave King, his pronouncements have been disquietening at best, as his promises have all failed to materialise. While he might well be doing a fantastic job behind the scenes, no one can see that, but we can all see him make promises which he then fails to keep. It would be better if he stayed out of the limelight and let the club's future speak for itself.
The pressure for success is a huge burden on the management team and playing staff.
The battle with the media is an unneeded distraction. Banning reporters from a ground never does any good, it just gives them a personal bias against the club.
Mark Warburton, while his record so far is excellent, he is still inexperienced as a coach and we will only find out just how good he really is when adversity strikes.
Cammy Bell, he was found wanting when called upon in the past, if Foderingham is out for any length of time, Rangers will have a weak spot to be exploited.

 

What can we expect from Rangers next season?
On the face of it we can expect Rangers to win the Championship and have a good tilt at the cups. Hibs and St Mirren are unlikely to roll over and let Rangers run away with the league, but it is difficult to see either team having enough to stop the title ending up in Glasgow. The main aim for the club looks to be being competitive in the cups when they come up against SPFL opposition.

That is just on the face of it though, the reality is no one knows for sure how the Mark Warburton and David Weir management team will adjust to the challenges they face. Neither are experienced in the role they now occupy, so they will need to learn fast or they could find all the good feeling currently surrounding the club vanishes quickly. One thing that is sure, the cup win against Hibs is no guide to how the season will unfold, Hibs are much better than they showed in that game.

Written by Tris Burke August 04 2015 07:59:40