Headline: Rangers Suffer Disappointing European Exit in Jablonec
In Jablonec, Rangers faced a dismal performance, showcasing a lack of cohesion and determination during their European exit on Thursday. Manager Derek McInnes expressed embarrassment and mortification repeatedly in his post-match comments, highlighting the team’s shortcomings. Rangers managed only one shot on target throughout the match, resulting in just one goal scored over 210 minutes of play. The disappointed fans in attendance voiced their frustrations loudly at the final whistle.
McInnes apologized for the team’s poor display, which left supporters and analysts alike cringing. He attempted to justify his tactical changes, stating that the squad was “miles off it” and struggled to execute any coherent game plan. The talk prior to the match suggested that an early exit from the Conference League would not incite outrage among Rangers fans. However, the reality was far from that; the defeat ignited intense anger from the supporters.
In light of the team’s struggles, McInnes advised steering clear of social media, urging a focus on securing a win against Aberdeen at Pittodrie next.
The Rangers team appeared lost in Jablonec, lacking both decisiveness in tackles and creativity on the pitch. McInnes’s frequent formation alterations did not yield any improvements, leading to further questions about the team’s identity and capabilities. Despite the manager’s efforts to reinvent the team’s approach, he acknowledged the lack of effectiveness in possession, counter-attacking, and direct play.
Having been appointed in June, McInnes has had ample opportunity to shape the squad, yet the team’s recent performances suggest a concerning regression. History shows moments of ineffectiveness, as seen during Russell Martin’s tenure when he struggled to identify positive developments.
McInnes’s constant substitute patterns, attempting to rectify poor performance, raise concerns about his initial team selection and communication with players. He noted the impressive performance of Hearts in their own Conference League match, where they integrated new signings effectively, contrasting with his team’s lackluster showing.
Fans have raised legitimate questions about team composition, particularly regarding the absence of midfielder Nico Raskin, whom McInnes left at home under suspicious circumstances. The manager also pointed to the need for experienced players yet has continued to sign younger talent without much visible improvement on the pitch.
Following a significant investment in transferring players, with the squad accounting for approximately £30 million in fees, Rangers now face scrutiny concerning their underperformance. In contrast, Jablonec’s record signing pales in comparison and illustrates the disparity in resources but not in spirit, as the Czech side showcased determination and energy.
McInnes finds himself in a challenging position with a substantial need to win back fan confidence. Although his job isn’t immediately at risk, the pressure from supporters can mount quickly in difficult times. The upcoming match against Aberdeen is crucial as McInnes hopes to navigate the team back on track.
Where do you start? How do you catalogue the insipidness of Derek McInnes’ Rangers team in Jablonec?
How do you catalogue the Pedro-Caixinha-in-the-bushes level embarrassment that the club experienced in their exit from European football on Thursday?
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In Jablonec, Rangers were unspeakably awful, devoid of any cohesion, desire, threat, their manager reduced to saying how embarrassed and mortified he was multiple times post-match.
They had one shot on target the whole night, one goal scored in 210 minutes. Rangers fans in the stadium gave it to them with both barrels at the end.
McInnes apologised. The whole scene was cringemaking. He tried to explain what he was trying to do with his multiple switches of formation and attempted to explain why his side were “miles off it”.
Talk is cheap in his position. There’s a limited shelf life for that kind of thing at Ibrox.
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The chat from some Rangers folk in the preamble was that the Conference League meant little to them, that an exit wouldn’t spark an uprising, that no midweek European football could give them a chance to hurl themselves at the Premiership instead. Fine in theory, but not in reality.
The notion that a defeat would be met with a collective shrug by Rangers fans was never a serious proposition. This defeat sparked untrammelled fury.
McInnes would be as well staying away from social media. Winning in the bearpit of Pittodrie on Sunday is strongly advised.
What are Rangers? What is their identity?
Rangers were so flat in the Czech Republic, meandering about like confused men, showing weakness in the tackle and not a scintilla of wit. McInnes changed the shape of his four or five times and the poverty of their play didn’t improve one iota.
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“I look at us now and I’m thinking, well, we’re no’ great as a possession-based team at the minute,” said McInnes in explaining his constant switches.
“We’re not a counter-attacking team enough, or effectively enough, at times. We don’t look like a team who are happy when we go direct. And teams need to be something.”
Quite. And what are Rangers? What’s their identity? What are they good at? In what areas are they improving?
McInnes was appointed in June, had a full pre-season, had six games and then a week off to prepare for the trip to Jablonec only to produce their worst effort of this, and many other, seasons.
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During the dog days of his reign at Rangers, Russell Martin was once asked if he could name one or two things that were better on his watch – and he couldn’t do it.
If McInnes was asked the same question now then there’s no guarantee that he would come up with an answer, or at least, an answer that rang true.
Nobody really knows what his Rangers are, least of all McInnes, you suspect. He made three substitutions at the break on Thursday, a trio that brought his total of half-time replacements to 11 in seven games.
That betrays a manager who has either got his team wrong in the first place, hasn’t been able to impart his message to his starters or doesn’t have a dressing room capable of taking in what he’s saying to them. Whatever the truth of it, it’s not good.
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He knows what he wants because he watched it on television the night before. Hearts had four new players in their starting line-up against Rapid Vienna and used another two off the bench.
Wouter Vrancken, in quick time, moulded them together and made something terrific out of them in winning their own Conference League tie in Austria.
McInnes praised his old club for the resilience of their players and the stomach they showed for the fight. The inference being that his own boys had little or none of that. Again you ask, why not?
Vast periods of this play-off went by without Rangers stringing more than four and five passes together. They pressed in ones and two or not at all.
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They came across as a team that had just met, a collection of guys rounded up in a pub and coached by a character who had no idea what to do with them.
Where was Raskin? And why not sign experience?
Ibrox is a confused place right now. McInnes said his team looked young and inexperienced against Jablonec. This was on the back of announcing the signing of a 20-year-old winger and – if things go to plan – a 22-year-old striker.
If they need gnarled operators then why not sign some?
There was no Nico Raskin, the midfielder left at home, not because there’d been a bid for him, said McInnes, but because there might be.
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If there were was a decent offer and the possibility of higher ones, his absence would have been understandable. If there was no bid then why was there no Raskin?
He was missed, said McInnes. A player who performed well at the World Cup and he’s left at home? Odd.
McInnes said that his coaching staff are “elite in everything we do” in preparing the players for games like this. That’s a massive claim after losing the way they did.
The manager said that the responsibility for the failure was his but he repeatedly returned to how lamentable his players were. His players. Six of McInnes’ signings started and another two came off the bench.
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What has McInnes been doing with his expensively-assembled team. A dozen players have now been signed. How much money has to be spent before the manager starts to look convincing in the role?
The Rangers players who were on the field in the Czech Republic cost about £30m in transfer fees. The wage bill at Ibrox must be astronomical. They’ve now added the £8.5m winger Kim Min-su and may soon recruit a £9.5m striker in Kevin Kelsy.
The giant wad of cash splurged on all this would choke an elephant.
By contrast, Jablonec’s record signing cost around £700,000. Their most recent turnover was £8.5m compared to Rangers’ £94m. Their stadium is the size of a shoebox, their support tiny, their European story minimal.
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They were the ones who went after the game, though. They didn’t have a huge amount going for them in ability terms, but they had edge and character.
Hard work and energy? They trounced Rangers on all of the things that require no talent, just honesty.
McInnes is in a tight spot, not in any danger of losing his job, but with huge amounts of ground to make up with the fans.
He’s been around a long time, but the pressure those supporters can exert when things are bad is a challenge for any manager, no matter how long he’s been around.
Pittodrie next. A welcome, of sorts, awaits.
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