Bluster, apathy and a new dawn?: The Rangers End-of-Season-Review
- Adam Bortkiewicz
- May 24
- 11 min read
Updated: Jul 19
Hello dear readers, welcome to the Rangers End-of-Season-Review (ESR). I've decided to structure this much like an End-of-Year-Review(EYR) in the corporate world because it's that time of year anyway.
For anyone who hasn't experienced the joy of an EYR, let me sum it up for you. Essentially at the start of the working year you set yourself a number of objectives to work towards in the coming year. These are then approved by your line manager.
Throughout the year you make sure you are hitting the targets and are marked between "Not effective" to "Exceptional" based on your performance for each objective. You have an In-Year-review at the midpoint of the year to check if you are on track to meet your objectives, but on this occasion we have skipped that. Hopefully I'll avoid a slap on the wrist from The Near and Far HR department.
So join me as I set out the objectives I had for Rangers at the start of the season and decide how effective the club were in achieving these targets.
24/25 Season objectives
Win the league
Reach both domestic cup finals and win one
Rebuild the squad with young players and lay a foundation for future seasons
Compete and potentially progress in Europe
Improve the club infrastructure and stabilise the club
Keep the fans on-board and connected to the team
Win the league - NOT EFFECTIVE
I'll start with the end result for this one and work backwards. Rangers finished an eye-watering 17 points behind Celtic, and honestly I think that's probably harsh on the other side of the city, the gap feels like it might as well have been 100 points.
Maybe it's harsh to have set the target as winning the league given this was seen as a rebuilding season for Rangers. However, towards the end of the previous season Rangers were within touching distance of the title before losing their bottle completely after a defeat in Dingwall.
Celtic showed last season under Rodgers that they were vulnerable to pressure, Clement had overturned a 9 point gap to put Rangers top of the table for a short spell. I don't think it's ridiculous to say that with a potentially more balanced squad, Rangers would have had a shot at the league title.
As it was, that collapse was the writing on the wall for Clement's ability to challenge for a title with Rangers.
Our opening fixture really set the tone for the season, a drab 0-0 draw away at Hearts put us on the back foot in the title race immediately. It was a result that looked even worse as the season went on, that draw was probably Hearts' best result of the season as their form immediately nosedived until the sacking of Steven Naismith.
The mood in the camp was not improved by a new deal for Philippe Clement a short ways into the season, a gesture that seemed to suggest the club were committing to the Belgian in the long term (more on that later) but not the kind of thing fans wanted to see after such a poor start to the season.
In a feeling that's become all too familiar for fans, Rangers fans felt like the title was already out of reach just 4 games into the season. A limp performance in a 3-0 battering at Parkhead left many with the feeling that we'd let another league campaign pass us by.
Rangers continued to remain unconvincing on the park, a run of close victories and clean sheets followed, but this was interrupted by a pathetic defeat at Rugby Park. Shortly afterwards, a 2-1 defeat at Pittodrie to high-flying Aberdeen left many wondering if the club would be able to hang onto second, thoughts of a 56th league title were long gone by this stage.
If there was a run of fixtures that really defined our season, it was probably the stretch from the start of December to the 5th of January. We had our best run statistically after a change to 4-4-2 and the introduction of mercurial Moroccan Hamza Igamane seemed to revitalise the team.
12 goals in 3 games(with 3 clean sheets) against Kilmarnock, Ross County and Aberdeen suggested that Clement might actually have been onto something. This was the free-flowing attacking football fans wanted to see from Rangers.
The next result was a 1-0 win at home to Dundee. I received more than a little bit of heat on social media for suggesting that this result was a return to the norm before the tactical change. I was informed by many supporters that we actually hit the bar 4 times so I was wrong.
I'd like to apologise now for that take and say that actually I should have doubled down with what I really thought, which is that this wasn't a blip but a total regression to the mean.
Despite hitting the bar twice away at St Mirren in the next fixture, Rangers lost 2-1. Even with a second half fightback, Rangers contrived to draw with Motherwell immediately after.
A surprise 3-0 win over Celtic represented the last joy anyone felt under Clement, it was a truly fantastic win and I loved every second of it. That result clawed back the gap to 12 points, but it was Clement who had us trailing by so many points in the first place.
Rangers came crashing back down to earth with a 3-3 draw away at Hibs. And that was all she wrote for the Rangers title challenge of 24/25.
There was plenty of embarrassing results to follow, including 3 home league defeats in a row. The interim arrival of Barry Ferguson didn't do much for anyone's spirits, although a 3-2 win at Celtic Park was very amusing given the rest of our season.
Comments: Rangers never truly got going here and not even 2 Old Firm victories can save them from a "Not Effective" mark.
Reach both domestic cup finals and win one - PARTIALLY EFFECTIVE
Rangers had managed to win the league cup under Clement in his first season, so there was some hope that despite the absolutely atrocious league form, the domestic cups could represent a chance for redemption.
The league cup started off well enough, a comfortable run to the final saw us facing Celtic with the title of most successful club in Scotland on the line. Rangers actually competed well in spells here, a composed performance saw us go in 1 up at the break. But a short sloppy spell in the second half ended up with the Gers going 2-1 down. More chaos followed with a score of 3-3 after extra time taking the game to penalties.
The shootout was marked by our number 9, Cyriel Dessers, refusing to step up for a penalty. Ridvan Yilmaz did step up and saw his effort saved, the trophy belonged to Celtic but I think there was enough in this game to suggest that should Rangers have reached the Scottish Cup final, they would have had a chance to add to their tally.
We never got as far as the Scottish Cup final however, Philippe Clement presided over one of the biggest cup shocks in Scottish football history as we contrived to lose 1-0 to Queens Park FC at Ibrox stadium.
I think it's worth reminding people just how terrible that Queens Park side are too. They finished 8th in the Championship and just a week after their win at Rangers, they got battered off Hamilton at home (finished bottom of the league).
In a season of many lows, this was maybe the lowest most felt as a supporter, truly the laughing stock of Scottish football.
Comments: Rangers were a penalty kick away from winning the league cup, which is the only thing that saves them from a "Not Effective" mark here, and even then I think "Partially Effective" is quite generous.
Rebuild the squad with young players and lay a foundation for future seasons - PARTIALLY EFFECTIVE
For this section I've looked back and read my transfer round up from deadline day. Seeing just how many players departed the club in the summer gives some perspective on the scope of the rebuild undertaken by the club. I do think the club made a decent fist of the sales, decent sized fees for Lammers, Goldson and McCrorie were a step in the right direction.
Clearly the club lent into the goal of bringing in young players with signings like Jefte, Connor Barron, Clinton Nsiala and Hamza Igamane. Having seen some early promise from Jefte and Barron, I was feeling optimistic about those moves. With hindsight it's fair to say that they weren't able to sustain this early promise.
It's a fact that young players struggle for consistency, and I don't think Barron and Jefte were helped by becoming the sole options relied upon by the club in their roles.
Our signing of the summer is undoubtedly Hamza Igamane. Initially arriving far off the physical level needed to play in Scotland, he was hidden away in the training ground before eventually getting a chance off the bench in a few games.
Immediately we were dazzled by the Moroccans lack of fear despite his age. His touch and flair got fans on their feet and there was demand from us to see more of the young striker. One of Clement's best decisions was to introduce Igamane to the starting line-up, where he promptly repaid the faith of the manager by notching up 16 goals in all competitions.
His form suffered a dip after a fantastic hat trick against Hibs, with his next strike being a a stupendous winning goal at Celtic Park.
I don't want to get too distracted talking about Igamane, although the club clearly had thoughts in the right direction with these signings, we were hoping for more change and if the club want to create that foundation for success, they need to be bolder with transfers in this mould.
I also can't bear to think about the fact that I gave Bajrami's transfer a 10/10 rating. The Albanian has come to represent the ridiculous transfer strategy that's held the club back as he was signed on a permanent deal for an eye-watering 4 million Euro fee. Needless to say, that's the exact kind of signing the club need to avoid this summer.
Comments: The summer transfer window was a real mixed bag for the club, given the success of Hamza Igamane and the intended direction of some of the summer signings, I am happy to give the club a "Partially Effective" mark here.
Compete and potentially progress in Europe - HIGHLY EFFECTIVE
Rangers' European campaign started inauspiciously. Forced to play at Hampden due to delayed renovations at Ibrox, the club were knocked out of 3rd round Champions League qualifying by a terrible Dynamo Kyiv side.
It was disappointing to miss out on a spot in the UCL given how lucrative the new league phase could be if you got a favourable draw. However, it's fair to say that the team didn't let this hold them back in Europe.
Our league phase began with a very professional 2-0 victory away in Malmo, especially amusing given the Swedes had been running their mouths pre-match. That victory gave us the platform for some great results. A 4-1 win away in Nice was maybe the best result of the league phase on paper. But the performance against eventual tournament winners Tottenham Hotspur should have led to the taking of a sizeable Australian scalp, but it was not to be as we only managed a 1-1 draw at Ibrox.
Rangers managed to finish in the top 8 of the League phase, avoiding the play off round and going straight to the round of 16. This was a genuinely fantastic result for the club and a sign that we know how to compete at this level.
Fenerbahce were conquered 3-1 away from home under interim manager Barry Ferguson, a real highlight of the season for me. Despite a 2-0 defeat in the home leg, Rangers progressed on penalties to the Europa League quarter final.
Despite a herculean defensive effort in the first leg, Rangers were unable to best Athletic Bilbao in the quarters and that was the end of our European adventure. It should be noted that with no Champions league teams dropping down in the competition, this was the weakest iteration of the competition in the modern era. Although that almost goes without saying given the final contained the 15th and 17th best sides in England.
Even with that caveat, a quarter final place in European competition is nothing to be sniffed at from a Rangers perspective. The club have to do better in the market to ensure we have a better chance of reaching the Champions league this season, but another Europa League run could see us reaching the semi-final or even the final if we have a stronger base than this season.
Comments: The only light in a very dark season, some great results and performances backed up by a quarter final finish in the Europa League. Relative to the other objectives this represents "Highly Effective" performance.
Improve the club infrastructure and stabilise the club - PARTIALLY EFFECTIVE
This objective looked very much like crashing and burning for most of the season.
We began with the aforementioned Ibrox fiasco, there was a lack of communication around exactly what had caused the delays and the club really failed to take accountability.
The promotion of Nils Koppen to technical director after less than a year into his role as head of recruitment looked like the move of a club with no plan and leadership.
John Bennett stepped down from his position as Chairman of the board in September. Leaving many fans to ask who would step up in his place.
Eventually we saw the recruitment of former Manchester United employee Patrick Stewart as CEO. His appointment was meant to add clarity and decisiveness to Rangers' communication from the top to the fans.
This didn't really happen as we've seen the same non-committal and weak statements from our new CEO, including waiting far too long to sack Philippe Clement and then not really communicating a plan for the aftermath.
I talk about these things in the past tense because we've been given hope for the future by the news of the incoming takeover from those behind the San Francisco 49ers. Who are already involved in British football with Leeds United.
Since that news was announced, Rangers have appointed a new technical director in Kevin Thelwell and all the rumblings around the future of the club have been positive for a change.
Comments: There's nothing particularly concrete about the plans for next season, so I can't give this more than a "Partially Effective" ranking. However, like many fans I'm extremely excited to see what this means for the club and hope it gives us some stability, if nothing else.
Keep the fans on board and connected to the team - NOT EFFECTIVE
If there's an area where the club have totally failed this season, it's this one. I have never seen the level of apathy in the stands and on social media that has emerged in recent months.
This entire season has felt like a total write-off from the beginning, the club have spent their time hiding behind Philippe Clement and letting him take the fall. Clement was never good enough, and his press conferences were ridiculous and embarrassing, but he didn't appoint himself Rangers manager, he didn't offer himself an extension and he didn't force the club not to sack him.
We never saw any kind of accountability for the mistake of appointing Clement and keeping him in charge for so long. We didn't see any kind of communication about what was happening behind the scenes at the club. Frankly those at the top should count themselves lucky that they are going to be bought out by the 49ers. I think if they weren't I'd be surprised to see anyone turning up at Ibrox for the first game of next season.
Comments: In a season defined by failure on the pitch, it's quite impressive for the off-pitch performance of the club to hit even lower levels. If I could I'd give the club an even lower mark here, but I'm bound by the rules I've set myself, it's "Not Effective".
Overall performance mark - NOT EFFECTIVE
It's been a season of lows, lows and further lows for Rangers. The lack of planning and structure off the pitch has come home to roost on the pitch. Rangers were passive this season, and, outside of Europe, they haven't affected any team or any competition.
Maybe the club needed to reach this low point so that we can see them come back to the forefront next season. One thing is absolutely clear, this summer is massive for Rangers, the new owners have a lot of work to do to reassure fans that they aren't here to make up the numbers.
Rangers as a club have to become synonymous with winning again, and that change starts off the pitch.
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