Rousseau

It's a perfect storm at the moment. We just need to weather it.

That's compo out of the running, @buster.

John Bennett has informed Rangers of his intention to resign as chairman of the club. The 61-year old stepped up from his position as vice-chairman last March to replace the outgoing Douglas Park but the demands of the role have taken its toll and he has decided it is time to step away. The Athletic approached Rangers for comment on Friday night and also spoke to senior club sources, talking anonymously given the sensitivity of the matter, who said they could neither confirm nor deny the news. There is believed to be no immediate plan in place for his successor. Bennett joined the board in March 2015 as part of the regime change that ousted Mike Ashley and his associates from the club. He has ploughed millions of his own personal fortune into the club alongside other fan-investor shareholders to fund Rangers and cover losses incurred since 2015. During that time Rangers have won one Premiership title, one Scottish Cup, one League Cup and reached the 2022 Europa League final. But the last year has been a testing time since he took over as chairman with fan discontent growing over regression on the pitch and a delays to summer’s stadium upgrades forcing Rangers to rent the use of Hampden Park. During his time as chairman, Bennett was responsible for sacking Michael Beale as manager after just over 10 months in charge. Current manager Philippe Clement was also handed a new contract until 2028 last month, with Bennett highlighting his own long-term vision for Rangers following the announcement. “As I intimated in my recent RangersTV interview, Philippe and I had a far-reaching conversation at the end of May,” he said. “Our shared ambition was clear: the rebuild of the Rangers men’s first team for the long term as well as short term. “At that meeting we shook hands on this new contract and the board is delighted that the formalities have been concluded.” Changes set to continue at Rangers Analysis by Jordan Campbell Bennett is one of only two directors based in Scotland. Graeme Park, son of transport tycoon Douglas Park, remains on the board despite his father resigning last year after a power battle in which former chairman Dave King voted against his re-election. King is based in South Africa, John Halsted and Alastair Johnston are based in the U.S., while Stuart Gibson, George Taylor and Julian Wolhardt are in Hong Kong. Bennett had been seeking to appoint a bee chief executive after James Bisgrove, the person he promoted after the departure of Stewart Robertson last summer, who left to take up a role at Saudi Pro League team Al Qadsiah. The role has been vacant since the end of May as links with St Mirren vice-chairman Jim Gillespie were eventually ditched. Rangers moved away from the sporting director model under Bennett’s tenure but there has been massive change throughout the club in the last two years, with several roles still not filled, including an academy director. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5765909/2024/09/14/john-bennett-rangers-chairman-resign?source=user-shared-article

Dundee Utd 1 - 2 Rangers FGS Dessers

Dundee Utd vs Rangers

Good.

Christ, good old bluenoses, putting unrealistic expectations on the guy BEFORE he's even played for us! 😆

I'm enjoying the IRE-ENG game. Rice and Grealish have both scored after being booed at every touch. This pleases me.

I don't know if this is reputable or not:

Has Lowry not been told he can leave?

He is playing his assigned role: it's called an inverted fullback, like Zinchenko, Timber, Gvardiol, Walker... Greg f*cking Taylor! Do you even watch football? (The benefits of the role and whether Tavernier can do it - I think not - is up for debate.) My original point, again: formations - especially those derived from a team sheet - are mostly irrelevant.

I agree. And it was his first season. He has started this one much more clinical. I could see where the criticism was coming from last season, but there's really no reason to criticise him this season. He is doing his job.

I fully agree with your point, but Dessers scored 16 league goals last season. I think the criticism comes from his wastefulness: 16 goals from an xG of 19. He was wasteful. But, he has been clinical this season: 3 goals from an xG of 3.1. Superb. If he keeps close to that even the haters will fall in line. Dessers is not one of our main issues.

We're more fluid than what you're describing. Tavernier has been inverting for a while: Auxiliary wingers? In phases, sure. In phases they're not. 'That our DMs are primarily defence-minded players is' incorrect. I posted a pass network a few weeks ago showing Diomande - despite playing as part of a '2' on paper - was pushed forward, playing as an #8. He even plays as a #10 at times. Lawrence -who hasn't got a defensive bone in his body - has played as part of a double pivot. So, it's not 'how we line up in terms of playing personnel'. Tavernier is a RB playing as a DM; Barron is a DM dropping in to play as a CB in build-up; Diomande is a DM that pushes forward. Our #10 presses forward without the ball. (Not all at the same time, of course.) The 4-2-3-1 is only used on paper. The game is more fluid than that. Hence my original point: formations are mostly irrelevant.

If you think we line up in a flat 4-2-3-1 on the pitch, then you need to go to Specsavers - or the German equivalent.

You're getting sucked into the idea that one formation equals one way of playing, which isn't true: at times we've defended in a 4-4-2 and attacked in a 3-2-5, despite it always being a 4-2-3-1 on paper - hence my original point: formations are mostly irrelevant. For me, they are only useful in reference to game state. I have always said we're lacking quality players.

I don't know what your point is.

Arguably worse, but it's only been 4 league games. We conceded 0.84 goals per game last season, we're conceding 1 goal per game this season. (Only league data, as that's all I have at hand.)

I don't disagree with your point - we need more from our wingers. The main difference is contributions from midfield, for me:

Did you know our front three have contributed the same number of goals and assists as their front three? I found that interesting when I saw it.

That's not true. Our recent managers have been one-trick ponies, though. I do believe Clement is more flexible. That doesn't mean he'll be successful, though.

Formations are irrelevant. The game is fluid. We've played a 4 in build-up, we've played a 3 in build-up. We've played with a single 10, we've played with two 8s. We've played wingers wide, we've played them as inside forwards. Our fullbacks have overlapped and inverted. Even if you just mean against them, we've also tried different things. The 4-4-2 mid block in the SC final was probably the best. But, that's just in defence. We just don't have the quality to take our chances or cut out defensive mistakes. We can only let PC cook and give the players the time to get used to the automatisms.

Are you in the Gersnet FPL league? Code: nhvz77 https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/nhvz77