Rangers need a new manager to go with the new board

Can Rangers afford to risk keeping Kenny McDowall in charge for the rest of the season?

If the sycophantic Scottish football media are anything to go by, then Dave King will not just bring back the glory days to Rangers, but he will also bring wealth and prosperity to all of Scottish football, end the need for austerity, provide peace on earth, and pay for every Gers fan to own a gumdrop house on Lollipop Lane.  You can thank one Jim Traynor for that; his PR company were crowing on Twitter yesterday about how they had generated all the positive headlines for King and co.  Succulent lamb back on the menu?

On the other hand, there are a few 'in-the-know' people out there (who, perhaps out of luck, do turn out to be occasionally accurate) who still forecast impending doom at Ibrox.  After all, the club haemorrhages money faster than blood gushes in a Game Of Thrones episode.  They owe more money to Mike Ashley than Greece does to the EU.  The stadium is dilapidated.  Oh, and don't forget that, on the pitch, the team are stumbling towards the end of the season like a concussed drunkard.

The truth, I imagine, is somewhere in between.  Whatever one thinks of King - he may be a convicted tax evader, but it is clear the SFA have no wish to question whether he is a 'fit and proper person' - he, and the other millionaires around him, are Rangers fans through and through.  It's safe to say that they are not in this for the money, unlike their predecessors.  However, it was noticeable last week that he was increasingly trying to play down expectations, by increasing his estimate of how much money is required to bring the club onto an even keel, and by capping the size of his own financial commitment.  A few months ago it was "my children's inheritance", but now it's half of whatever is needed, but no more.  One report seemed to suggest he would invest no more than £10million; that's not even a whole Tore Andre Flo.

So whilst there won't be another administration/liquidation any time soon, any fan who believes that Rangers will win the 2015-16 Scottish Premiership and hear Zadok The Priest over the tannoy the following autumn is living in cloud-cuckoo land.

In fact, believing that they will actually be in the 2015-16 Scottish Premiership is, going by recent form, rather delusional.  Currently, they lie third in the Championship, three points behind Hibs (but with two games in hand).  Hearts already have one hand and four fingers of the other hand on the automatic promotion spot, which means that the only realistic way to get up is via the promotion/relegation playoffs.  However, Hibs have beaten Rangers three times this season.  Take away the opening six matches of the campaign (Hibs lost four of them) and since then they have picked up 43 points, compared to 33 for Rangers.

Ally McCoist was a hapless and inept coach and tactician but performances and results have actually got worse since his departure.  In nine games in charge, Kenny McDowall has presided over three wins, two draws and four defeats, with just eight goals scored.  Saturday produced a goalless draw at Cowdenbeath, against a side with the worst goal difference in British senior football and who conceded ten at Tynecastle the previous weekend.

There was apparently a moment at windy Central Park when the notes on McDowall's clipboard were caught by a gust and blown down the touchline.  It's easy to guess what was written on them - something along the lines of "Plan A - punt long diagonals at Kris Boyd.  If that doesn't work, then try punting long diagonals at Kris Boyd.  If that still doesn't work, bring on Dean Shiels and punt long diagonals at Kris Boyd".

Yup, McDowall makes McCoist look like Pep bleeding Guardiola.

But King and his mates really need promotion.  In an ideal world, perhaps another year in the second tier, with an emphasis on youth and a new coaching team whose philosophy actually involves passing the ball, might reap significant long-term benefits, as it has done at Hearts.  However, the new owners, unless they want to see another eight figure sum evaporate from their bank accounts, can't wait that long.  As it stands, the goodwill they have from the support should mean season ticket sales returning to the levels of two seasons ago, bringing in several million pounds in revenue...if they are back in the top flight and have a couple of games against Celtic to look forward to.  But do you think the fans will come back on mass to watch the team play two home games against Dumbarton again?  I don't, and supporters I've spoken to agree.  So the new board need to do everything they can to get up, or this is going to be a hell of a lot harder and more expensive.

With the transfer window closed, they can't really do much to the squad, which is a problem because this season has proven that most of the players are not actually a bunch of overpaid, underperforming mercenaries; many of them are actually just not good enough, even for Championship level.  Not anymore, anyway; Lee McCulloch and Kenny Miller might have been internationals once, but neither have any legs left; I can't think of any top flight side that would even employ Ricky Foster or Steven Smith as a reserve; Jon Daly is to the Gers what Kevin Kyle was to them two years ago; Ian Black, Dean Shiels and David Templeton should still have plenty in the tank, but all three have looked so sluggish for so long that it's hard to see a way back.  Cammy Bell, Lee Wallace, Darren McGregor, Nicky Law, young Andy Murdoch, and Boyd if he could be guaranteed different service - these guys have hardly set the heather alight, but they're the only ones that can realistically be trusted.

The hierarchy recognised this, which is why half of Newcastle's reserve squad were sent up on deadline day.  But a fat lot of good they've been so far - four of them have played a combined 45 minutes due to injury, and the fifth, the outstanding number ten Haris Vuckic, has been inexplicably punted out to the wing every week.  Surely things will be better when (or if) Shane Ferguson, Kevin Mbabu, Remie Streete and Gael Bigirimana are fit.  But who would trust McDowall to get the best out of them?  Chances are that, by the time they are available, Vuckic will have been shipped back to Tyneside with a neck injury, caused by constantly craning to watch the ball being punted over his head by his defenders towards his strikers.

So if I were King, my first move would be to find a new coach, and pay top dollar if need be.  That, plus the Newcastle loanees, is what it will take to see off Hibs, plus one of the sides at the bottom of the Premiership, in the playoffs.  The best solution would probably be to have some sort of Director of Football responsible for long-term vision and transfers - Walter Smith probably wouldn't be the worst choice in the world, but Felix Magath, with his belief in the healing power of cheese, probably would - but that's hard to install in March.  So the stopgap solution, if they have any sense, is to give Stuart McCall a ring right now, and get down on their knees if necessary.  If they don't, then it seems likely that the rest of us will get a few laughs for at least another season.


Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.