68 days on from the sacking of Philippe Clement, the search for Rangers’ new permanent manager goes on at Ibrox.
For now, Barry Ferguson remains in interim charge, and he will remain in situ for the rest of the season, most recently overseeing the Gers’ 2-2 draw in Paisley on Saturday.
This means the Light Blues have now won only three of their last eight Premiership outings, conceding at least twice in ten of 12 outings across all competitions since mid-February.
However, with the 49ers takeover seemingly imminent, could the new owners land their dream appointment, one that would reinvigorate the club captain?
James Tavernier's recent form at Rangers
Sunday’s Old Firm at Ibrox will be James Tavernier’s 510th appearance in a Rangers jersey, only ten men have accumulated more for the club, making him an undisputed, bona fide legend in Govan.
During Rangers’ title-winning season of 2020/21, Jordan Campbell of the Athletic exclaimed that Tavernier was ‘the best player in Scotland’, stating that he was ‘playing on a different level to the rest of the league’, adding that the ‘extraordinary’ right-back put in one of the most ‘impressive individual seasons’ in Scottish football history.
However, in more recent times, Tavernier’s place in the Rangers team has come under scrutiny.
The Englishman himself admitted “I started the season off slow”, not reaching his usual high level, with Joshua Barrie of the Rangers Review labelling his performance against Motherwell in November’s League Cup Final as “passive”.
In an attempt to combat his defensive lapses, interim manager Ferguson has shifted Tavernier around, deploying him at centre-back against Athletic Club in the Europa League at San Mamés, before also trialling him as a right-wing-back on occasion, as was the case last weekend.
Given the 33-year-old’s attacking output, the latter role certainly suits him, so could the current front-runner to be the next Rangers manager get the best out of the skipper?
The current favourite to be the next Rangers manager
According to a report by The Daily Record, Marco Rose is currently the ‘nailed-on favourite’ to become the next Rangers manager.
The 48-year-old German is out of work, having been sacked by RB Leipzig in March, but boasts a pretty impressive CV.
Lokomotive Leipzig
2012-13
30
30%
0
RB Salzburg
2017-19
114
72%
Austria Bundesliga x2 & ÖFB-Cup
Mönchengladbach
2019-21
88
47%
0
Dortmund
2021-22
55
59%
0
RB Leipzig
2022-25
128
56%
DFB-Pokal & DFL-Supercup
TEAMtalk notes that a move for Rose could be feasible because Rangers’ new prospective owners, 49ers Enterprises, led by Paraag Marathe, already own Leeds United, who have minority investment from Red Bull GmbH, with whom Rose already has a working relationship, having been employed in both Salzburg and then Leipzig for nigh on a decade.
So, would Rose be a good appointment, and what is his style of play? Well, Scottish football expert Kai Watson has already declared that “he’s a level above Gerrard,” another of Rangers’ shortlisted candidates.
Meanwhile, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout certainly thinks so, labelling him “one of the most promising coaches in world football”.
As further noted by Luis Kircher of Total Football Analysis, Rose likes his teams to ‘press hard and make quick transitions’, with ‘intensity’ and ‘committing players forward’ key aspects of his style.
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When asked about his playing philosophy, Rose himself stated “we want to be very active… when we lose possession, lots of sprinting. We want to win the ball high up the pitch”, believing this “is a style that continues to excite” supporters.
Often favouring a back three, but the principle is the same in a four, as outlined by Marcel Seifeddine of Total Football Analysis, the width in a Rose team often comes from the full-backs, not deploying wingers, instead utilising central number tens, with the full-backs overlapping.
This has allowed attacking full-backs such as Lutsharel Geertruida, Benjamin Henrichs, David Raum, Raphaël Guerreiro, Ramy Bensebaïni, Stefan Lainer and others to thrive under his stewardship.
Thus, not only would the appointment of Rose be a major coup for Rangers, it could be the ideal hire to reinvigorate an out-of-form Tavernier.
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