Rangers were linked with appointing former player Frank de Boer as manager earlier in the year – only for the Dutchman to rock up at Crystal Palace.
The Dutch legend is a cult hero in the blue half of Glasgow having pulled on the Rangers jersey 17 times during the latter stages of a glorious playing career in 2004 and looked set to enhance his reputation in management after a stellar period in charge of Ajax.
De Boer won four consecutive Eredivisie crowns in charge of the Amsterdam giants and even a disastrous stint at Inter Milan, which comprised of just 14 games and five wins, did not put many Rangers fans off the prospect of the former Barcelona centre-half returning to Ibrox.
He certainly would have been a more popular and glamorous appointment than Pedro Caixinha, the hitherto unknown Portuguese coach who arrived in Glasgow from middle eastern outfit Al Gharafa after it became clear that De Boer would not be returning – despite confirming to Sky Sports that he would ‘always listen’ to offers from his former club.
However, De Boer insisted that Rangers had not made an offer for his services – a fact that did not go down well with some supporters.
Reputation in ruins
Seven months later, the phrase ‘dodging a bullet’ comes to mind. If you though De Boer’s spell at Inter was short, he outdid himself at Crystal Palace.
Arriving amid huge expectations at Selhurst Park this summer, the Cryuffian purist promised to rid the club of Sam Allardyce’s hoofball ways and introduce a passing style befitting of Ajax or Barcelona at Crystal Palace.
However, after just four games, four defeats and no goals, De Boer is gone, swiftly dispensed to join the Premier League hall of fame for all the wrong reasons. No one in the history of the competition has been in the job for fewer games than Frank De Boer while Palace made the worst start to a top flight campaign since Preston North End in 1924/25.
An alarming stubbornness to adapt his methods to the players at his disposal had the writing on the wall early on and, after differences emerged with chairman Steve Parish (The Guardian), his position looked untenable.
Now, Caixinha may not be universally popular among Rangers supporters – but at least they didn’t make the same mistake as Palace and think De Boer would bring back the glory days.
After all, great players don’t always make great managers.
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