The Mood Around Ibrox is Toxic, but Now is the Time to get Behind the Team and Clement
Rangers suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss to their arch-rivals on Sunday at Celtic Park, which was pitiful display from the Ibrox club. It came as no surprise as Phillippe Clement’s men were heavy underdogs going into the game but it was as bad as people had predicted.
Kyogo Furuhashi got a goal chopped off in the first ten minutes due to a tight offside call but that only motivated the Scottish champions to kick on and they did just that going into half time with a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Daizen Maeda and Kyogo. In the second half, Callum McGregor finished the game off with a lovely strike at the 75th minute.
Realistically the game was all but done by half time. There was not one Rangers player who covered themselves in any glory as all of them were shocking on the day. It was without doubt Clement’s worst game as Rangers manager since taking charge last October. The performance was a car crash from start to finish and the Light Blues posed little to no threat to Brendan Rodgers’ men as they lost individual battles in every area and struggled to create any real cut chances.
The Belgian manager’s Old Firm record is abysmal and there is no getting away from that. Five games, one draw and four losses. He’s only managed nine wins in the last 22 competitive games, which isn’t a good stat for any Rangers boss to have. There was not a clear identity in what his team were trying to do. The 4-2-3-1 system is clearly far too predictable, and teams seem to have it figured out and playing that formation without a natural number ten does not work.
The 50-year-old has been receiving criticism, and rightly so, but fans must not forget – that he has been hung out to dry by this Rangers board. He has been dealt a terrible hand and is doing what he can with what he’s got and is not to blame for the current state of the club.
The mood around Ibrox is toxic right now and after a heavy Old Firm defeat the criticism is brutal. It’s always been like that and it will never change. However, Rangers fans hurling abuse at players and the manager won’t change anything and does not help matters.
This is a hugely important season for Rangers as Celtic could overtake their trophy record. If Rangers fans don’t get behind the team, then that will only benefit the Celts and they could very well go on and surpass a trophy record that Rangers have held proudly for so long.
By: Scott Bradley / @ScottBradleyX
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Ross MacDonald – SNS Group