Dismal day

The Aberdeen match and performance led to a number of Rangers fans enduring real scepticism about the direction in which Rangers were going.
It was a match of real mediocrity and only a late finish from Sebo secured the 3 points which the performance barely merited.

Under increasingly intense pressure, Paul Le Guen was being even more closely scrutinised following that match and major questions were being asked of his managerial skills. Significant debates were the query of formation in light of the loss of 3 wingers, the position of Boyd as a starter or otherwise, and lastly, the almost epic issue surrounding McGregor’s place in the team in lieu of the fit-again Letizi.

To the utter disgust and continued bafflement of the Ibrox faithful, Boyd was once again dropped for the visit of ICT, and to add insult to injury, the SPL Player of the Month McGregor was also dismissed to the bench to make way for the French goalkeeper.

There seemed no doubt at all that Le Guen’s decisions were being focused on in an even more analytical fashion than usual as a result of personnel choices which defied what the Ibrox legions want.

The performance which resulted against ICT was the epitome of everything which is going wrong for Rangers.

The formation was rather unclear, with apparently a 4-2-3-1 in evidence but truth was it could have been anything and as a result once again players looked bereft of cohesion with one another. Ferguson and Buffel stood out gamely with both endeavouring to inject a touch of quality into proceedings, but regrettably the off-ball movement and general link-up play was so catastrophically poor they had little chance of success.

The fans became uneasy the longer the mediocrity persisted, and Le Guen looked edgier and edgier in the dugout seeing his plans collapse before his eyes.

However, he would have wished to close them entirely when the biggest decision he’s made all season backfired as dismally as was possible for it to do so. He needed his huge choice of Letizi to perform and silence those who have been so vehemently criticising the demotion of McGregor, but almost inevitably he committed a massive blunder. Failing to collect a decent ICT strike, he let it fruitfully fall to the free striker who gratefully bundled it into the empty net past the hapless former PSG keeper.

Credit goes to the majority of fans who continued to support him over the minority who chose to boo him, and it was heartening to see that the lion’s share of good bears will support and not harangue individuals.

However, the tragedy continued in an unrelated sense as the outfield team possessed an embarrassing poverty of invention, drive, guile, urgency and overall cohesion throughout the entire 90 minutes, and it was amplified after ICT scored. One-nil down, and almost no desperation to get back into the game seemed to reflect how truly chronic this Rangers team has become.

Paul Le Guen is seriously and dangerously close to the edge of the precipice. He is committing error upon error and is showing no sign of understanding what it is to be Rangers coach, or of grasping the style of the Premier League.

And compound this with the most vicious boos I’ve ever heard at Ibrox aimed at our own team at the full-time whistle and you have a situation which borders on desperate.

Is this season a write-off already? Arguably so, unless there is some dramatic change at Ibrox, regardless of whether it’s an alteration in personnel or otherwise.

The fans seem to be turning on the manager, and only at October the signs are not good.