With Giovanni van Bronckhorst consigned to the history books, where do Rangers go from here? Back to a familiar face, or perhaps a 33-year-old Pep Guardiola obsessive? A former England international, or a coach with five league titles in his last six seasons?
Here is our attempt at sorting the wheat from the chaff. The next Pedro Caixinha from the second coming of Walter Smith.
8th) Walter Zenga
Italian publication Serie B News linked Zenga with the Ibrox job earlier this week. In truth, you’d probably get shorter odds on Rangers trying to pinch Scott Brown from Fleetwood Town. After making Van Bronckhorst the third-shortest serving head coach in their history, would Rangers really consider a man who’s taken charge of 19 different clubs over the last 20 years or so?
Let’s just file this one under ‘unlikely’.
7th) Francesco Farioli
By far the least well-known name on this eight-strong list, Farioli is only 33 years of age, he never played football at a professional level, and has only been a manager for 18 months. Then again, the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Domenico Tedesco came from similar backgrounds and haven’t done too badly.
Farioli is a new-wave purist; a disciple of Pep Guardiola and Marcelo Bielsa who prides himself upon attack-minded, expansive football. His Alanyaspor side average by far the most possession in the Turkish Super Lig (61 per cent).
But a year-and-a-bit at the helm of Alanyaspor and Fatih Karagumruk is one thing. The pressure cooker environment of Rangers has proved too much to bear for far more experienced coaches over the years, and Farioli’s inexperience is likely to stand against him.
One to keep an eye on over the coming seasons, perhaps.
6th) Scott Parker
Bournemouth’s promotion to the Premier League last season almost felt in spite of Parker, rather than because of him. You could possibly say the same about the Fulham side who ascended via the play-offs in 2020. The former England international may turn out to be an excellent coach in the near future but, with two par-for-the-course promotions and one relegation in his three full seasons as a head coach, the jury on Parker’s managerial talent remains very much out.
The right man one day, maybe, but not this day.
5th) Mick Beale
He knows the club. He knows the players. What’s more, Beale has proven himself capable of thriving as a head coach rather than assistant since leaving Ibrox in 2021, even if his QPR side did plummet from the top of the Championship to seventh before the World Cup break.
Beale, the current frontrunner according to the Daily Record, would be a sensible, potentially inspired appointment, considering the key role he played in Rangers’ 2020/21 ‘Invincibles’ campaign alongside Steven Gerrard.
But, having already spent three years at Ibrox, there remains a nagging feeling is that this Rangers squad would benefit from a new voice and some fresh ideas. Beale, to some, would be seen as a logical appointment. To others, it may come across as uninspired; a desperate attempt to recapture lightning in a bottle.
And what is it they say about lightning never striking twice?
4th) Peter Bosz
One of the main criticisims aimed towards Van Bronckhorst is that he seemed to lack a discernible, consistent style of play. You certainly couldn’t say the same of his former Feyenoord captain and then-technical director Peter Bosz.
The 58-year-old prides himself upon ‘beautiful attacking football’. And, with Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon adorning his CV, Bosz is certainly the most ambitious and high-profile candidate on Rangers’ hitlist (Express).
But there is a downside. A rather substantial one. Bosz’s teams are just as likely to self-implode as they are to blow the opposition away in a flurry of free-flowing forward play. His Lyon side scored 66 last season, but conceded 51; missing out on European qualification as a result of their dreadful defensive record.
If Bosz is to become the, erm, boss, Rangers fans will realise very early on that with the smooth comes a whole lot of rough.
3rd) Sinisa Mihajlovic
According to the Daily Record, one of football’s most iconic hardmen would jump at the chance to take over at Ibrox. Mihajlovic is a tough talker, a fighter, and doesn’t accept anything less than 100 per cent. Appointing him would be less of a kick-up-the-proverbial for this underperforming Rangers squad, more a bazooka to the backside. That Mihailovic continued to manage Bologna while undergoing treatment for leukemia speaks volumes about his spirit and forceful personality.
Mihailovic also has experience working at the biggest clubs; his admittedly short-lived spell at AC Milan coinciding with the rise of talented youngsters like Gigi Donarumma.
2nd) Gerardo Seaone
How much should we read into Seaone’s dreadful final few months at Leverkusen; leaving one of the Bundesliga’s most talented squads glancing nervously over their shoulder at the relegation zone?
Until then, the 43-year-old’s career appeared to be on a seemingly unstoppable upwards curve. Three league titles in three years at Young Boys, and a more-than respectable third-place finish in his debut Bundesliga campaign. Seaone also plays the kind of fast-paced attacking football that would endear himself to Rangers fans. The fact is, however, that he would be arriving at Ibrox on the back of his worst and most testing spell in management.
1st) Barak Bakhar
Five league titles in six years already in the bag, with a sixth in seven very much in his sights. If Rangers want a coach with a proven track record when it comes to securing silverware, look no further than a man who has dominated the Israeli football scene for over half-a-decade.
Bakhar’s Maccabi Haifa side even claimed a famous Champions League win over Juventus this season, while giving PSG a run for their money. Did we mention that the 43-year-old, after being sounded out by Rangers, admitted that he was ‘flattered’ by their interest?
There’s certainly a lot to like about Barak Bakhar. He’s a guy operating right at the top of his game. One more than deserving of a bigger stage. And, after all, what more is there for him to achieve back home in Israel?
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