Clement's First Year Review: Part II

Today at 03:26 AM

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Carrying on from Andy’s first part of this blog, it’s my turn to analyse Phillipe Clements first year in charge of Rangers.

Andy got the first half of Clements’ tenure, I’m getting the second half and maybe the negative aspect of where the club has found itself these last six months or so.

March started badly. What appeared on paper to be a routine game against Motherwell quickly became a bit of a sliding doors moment.

A two-one defeat at home was where a massive drop off in form started. Thirty-one shots at goal on the day, but to no avail. Connor Goldson had a nightmare day at the office, Behr, the Motherwell striker, ragdolled him all day long.

The loss was as bitter to take as it was unexpected. This was a sign of things to come,  although we probably didn’t realise it at the time.

The month continued with back to back wins against Hibs. One in the Scottish Cup at Easter Road, following that up with a home win in the league.

Sandwiched between those games was a Europa League exit at home to Benfica. A disappointing result and performance where the team never really got going on the night.

Still, there was a title to be won, and Rangers went into a game against Celtic at Ibrox, knowing a win would put them in pole position to do just that.

An entertaining game ended three a piece. The team got off to the worst possible start, losing a goal in the first twenty odd seconds of the game.

A controversial penalty award to Celtic left Rangers two nil down at half time and with a mountain to climb.

A Tavernier penalty got Clement’s side back into the game ten minutes into the second half. Then another contentious decision to disallow yet another goal against Celtic when Dessers converted only for a foul in the build-up, to be given against Tom Lawrence.

The game ended three all, with Rangers scoring twice in the last five minutes, while conceding immediately after the initial equaliser.

That draw left many of us deflated. We still had Parkhead to go to, and with the more difficult split fixtures, a lot of us felt we’d perhaps blown our chance of winning the league.

Two horrendous results the next week left us in no doubt where the SPFL trophy was heading.

A Dingwall defeat on the Sunday, followed by a drab draw at Dens Park, hadn’t just dashed our ambitions. It smashed them to smithereens.

The utter dejection after the loss in Dingwall kind of sums up Rangers fans at the moment. Rangers build your hopes up only to snatch them back with impunity at times.

The season whimpered away, ultimately with a single goal defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Cup final. Rangers played well on the day, couldn’t break our rivals down, and then a costly error from Butland gifted our opponents the cup in the last minute of the game.

Clement’s side had faced up to the challenge of competing in all competitions but fell short, league cup excepted, of course.

I believe Clement backed his squad till he no  longer could.

When he first arrived last October, he would rotate many of the squad, but towards the business end of the season, he stuck with players he felt he could trust.

That decision cost him, in my opinion. Too many players failed to deal with the pressure of challenging, which has been a major flaw in Rangers make-up for a few years now.

Last season ended in disappointment, but with an admission from Clement that a rebuild was needed.

The summer saw a dozen players leave the club, with eleven new signings heading their way to Ibrox. That’s an upheaval in anybodies book.

With so many comings and goings, pre-season and the kick-off to the new campaign would bring uncertainty. New players have to adjust, bed in, and get settled. That’s no easy task when tough away fixtures and a Champions League tie are all pencilled in right at the start of your season.

Sadly, a draw at Tynecastle, a heavy defeat at Parkhead and an exit from the Champions League, after a tough home defeat to Dynamo Kyiv, following a harsh red card when the tie was very much in the balance suggests that there was plenty work to be done with this new squad of players.

Clement has had a difficult summer. One which I don’t believe he envisaged himself.

Having to reduce the wage bill while building a new squad is no easy feat, but at Rangers, you’re expected to win things as the manager.

Ultimately, the buck stops with him.

Many fans are undecided, but I like him and want him to succeed. I can see what he’s trying to do with his team. Yes, there’s issues there, particularly when Rangers don’t have the ball, but I hope the support is patient and take into consideration the chaos that’s engulfed the club over the last six months.

Being the Rangers manager is no easy job at the best of times, but when you’re trying to deal with the carnage the board has overseen in his first year in Glasgow?

Well, from numerous resignations at non Exec level, being made aware that the wage bill had to be significantly reduced to the Copland Rd fiasco, as the club stands right now, I would hope he gets a bit of slack here.

This is Rangers, though, and time is a commodity you won’t tend to get as the man held responsible for getting results and winning trophies.

One year on, and for me, I think he’s doing the best he can with the tools available to him. He suggested we’d start to see the best of his new team in October/November time.

It’s the end of October now, so let’s see what the next couple of months bring. It’ll tell us a lot about where Rangers are, and where they’re heading.