George Overhill

Fri 3 March 2023 7:10, UK

It was only three months ago that Ross Wilson squirmed in his seat under criticism at the Rangers AGM as new manager Michael Beale grimaced on his behalf alongside him.

Plenty of discontent had built up over the opening months of the season, as the club were already nine points off the pace in the SPFL going into the World Cup break with a 1-1 draw at St Mirren on 12 November.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst was just over a week from being sacked (21 November) after presiding over the worst ever group stage campaign in Champions League history, and the summer transfer business had barely registered outside of Antonio Colak and Malik Tillman.

The board were widely expected to take a verbal pasting at the AGM on 6 December, but the 28 November appointment of Beale, along with all the positive talk and harking back to the 55th title with him on Steven Gerrard’s staff, softened the resolve.

The former QPR boss was proudly present as the chosen one, who could be pointed to as the route out of all the woes, and acting as a human shield from otherwise inevitable ire.

At the AGM on 6 December (1hour 12min 30sec) the transfer record during Wilson’s time at the club was pulled apart by the only real question that put the suits under pressure, with the John Souttar deal reserved for particular criticism, before the question was directed to Robertson as to whether Wilson was the right man to develop the squad.

Robertson jumped in to answer: “The short answer is yes… Masses of work goes on in the football department of this football club. The progress we have made since Ross Wilson has joined has been incredible.”

Talking over attempts from the supporter to respond he went on: “In terms of where we are as a football club compared to where we were three years ago in the football department, we are miles forward.”

Wilson then defended himself by disputing the figures put forward for a number of the players, while stating: “Ross Wilson doesn’t sign football players.”

In discussing the Souttar deal, he said: “We might be wrong with that, and we always have to have the humility to say that we’ll get things wrong.”

Well, hindsight might be 20-20 but going by their own words they can no longer hide, and they have to not only admit they’ve got things wrong, but they have got enough wrong to throw away the strongest position this club has held in a decade.

The fact that Souttar has made one Rangers appearance is a symptom, not a cause. The cause is the decision-makers at the club.

Wilson can confidently sit there with Robertson backing his “incredible” work safe in the knowledge that the SPFL title was won under two years ago, and they are happy to be praised for that.

But they have no answers now that the hard-fought position of dominance has been frittered away in double-quick time to Ange Postecoglou, amid a failure to consolidate the squad from a position of strength.

Beale papered over the cracks when he kept getting results, and credit to him for managing it, although the fact that so many wins were anything but comfortable showed the same issues were still present despite obvious improvement on the surface.

But when the Rangers boss made his first real misstep and opted for the wrong line up for the Viaplay Cup final and lost to Celtic, the board’s human shield fell away and we are right back where we were in November.

The journey back from oblivion in 2012 was long and arduous, and having made it to the top again the men in charge have been happy to pat themselves on the back for it ever since, but now they’ve thrown it all away again they have to follow it out of the door at Ibrox.

If it was “incredible” progress that saw the title won, then it is the opposite to follow it up with no title defence but a cup and a European final, then regress further again with the worst European campaign in memory, and a real risk of ending this campaign with nothing if they come up against Celtic in the Scottish Cup as well.

It goes up the chain from Wilson to Robertson to Douglas Park as the man who bares ultimate responsibility, and it is time for some of the “humility” Wilson cited to be shown as they admit the mistakes they’ve made are the reason the club made it to the top and then handed it back to Parkhead without a fight.

Beale might be able to get this club to hold its own against the Hoops but he is fighting a losing battle without a huge amount of change behind him.

In other Rangers news, Micah Richards accused Chris Sutton of making his Beale feud personal.