It’s a gamble akin to ordering takeaway if you have a peanut allergy
AS always in times of confusion and controversy it is only wise to seek out the council of Lieutenant Frank Drebin.
The hero of the Naked Gun films, portrayed by the peerless Leslie Nielsen, once found himself in a posh restaurant where the baddie of the piece was shuffling a deck of cards while trying not to stare at Priscilla Pressley’s deck. The conversation when like this. “Do you gamble, Lieutenant Drebin?” “Every time I order out” And this isn’t his only take on risk. As the great man once mused; “You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan.”
Frank was right. There are no sure things in life. Apart from, that is, Scottish football’s uncanny capacity for furnishing us on a regular basis with peculiar tales for us all to get our teeth stuck into. Pedro Caixinha’s appointment as Rangers manager is one such story.
Make no mistake this is a high-stake gamble, even more so than phoning in a Chinese meal when you have a peanut allergy. Rangers have not played safe. Even with all the due diligence in the world, this is a real step into the unknown. It’s brave, it’s bold and we will find out soon enough whether it’s brilliant. Caixinha has already been judged by many. A modest enough cv, although he’s hardly the novice some have made him out to be, and the lack of any real knowledge of Scottish football is worthy of comment, as is what happened in his last job at Al-Gharafa, a mid-table Qatari club, who appear to have been quite keen to get him out of the door.
Clubs in that part of the world switch managers all the time so it would be wrong to read too much into their seeming desire to part ways. However, it’s hardly a football hotbed and is more a tax-free expat lifestyle for those who have had enough of the rat race. It’s not going to prepare him for what lies ahead.
Derek McInnes would have been a safer option but, again, any board takes a risk when they are forced into changing their manager. Stewart Robertson and his fellow directors have made their call and the Portuguese must be given every chance to prove himself.
But the powers-that-be inside Ibrox will know, or at least they ought to be aware, that the supporters will blame them if this all goes wrong. This is a big call.
So what would success be? The man himself spoke of winning European trophies which is, of course, unrealistic but I suppose it doesn’t hurt to be ambitious. The priority is chasing down Celtic who, despite Sunday’s draw, hold every advantage in the book.
Caixinha might be a miracle worker but even the greatest sorcerers need help. Is he going to get it from Dave King who is facing an extra pay-out of £14m and, so far, has not invested enough?
Success would be cementing second place and winning the odd cup. European football, albeit the Europa League, might well be a few seasons away but that is surely an achievable goal.
However, Celtic have more money, better players, a free go at the Champions League and several assets who would be worth serious money were they to leave. Caixinha, a trained bullfighter, would be talking bull where he to suggest this will be sorted within a couple of years.
It is, of course, a nonsense to say 100 per cent that this is going to be a failure, even if the doubts about this experiment are justifiable. He has to be given time to show what he’s all about. Calling him a dud before he’s even met the players is bonkers.
But, and there was always going to be a but, it does seem to me like an unnecessary risk at this time in Rangers’ history. This isn’t an easy job. The expectations remain huge, the pressure never eases up and he is up against a rival holding all the aces
Getting in someone with local knowledge is a wise move but he shouldn’t fall for the old ‘he has to be a Rangers man’ shtick. That is fine in principle but best to get in the most worthy candidate regardless of whether he played for the club.
Indeed, it will be interesting to see whether Graeme Murty applies to join Caixinha’s coaching team.
Celtic fans roll their eyes whenever it is said that Scottish football need a strong Rangers, given how much they are enjoying themselves at the moment. And while our game won’t fall or live depending on whether a challenge comes from Govan-way, the Ladbrokes Premiership, in terms of competition, could do with a challenge coming from someone.
Rangers under new management could give their old pals a run for their money, but to paraphrase Frank Drebin; “They say there is a 50/50 chance of Rangers catching Celtic, though there’s only a 10 percent chance of that.”