Glasgow Rangers finally confirmed the appointment of their new chief executive officer with the arrival of Patrick Stewart, who will officially arrive next month.
James Bisgrove left the role six months ago and it has taken half a year for the Scottish giants to find his successor, with this appointment of the former Manchester United chief.
He worked with the Premier League side for almost 20 years and, therefore, arrives at Ibrox with knowledge of how a big club operates and makes ruthless decisions.
Nils Koppen was recently confirmed as the club’s new technical director and Stewart will work with him, alongside the rest of the board, to make key decisions on the club’s future.
The former Manchester United chief does not come in at the easiest of times at Ibrox, however, as the team have been struggling on the pitch in recent weeks.
Rangers dropped points in the Scottish Premiership at the weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee United in Glasgow, and it has led to more speculation over the future of manager Philippe Clement.
The case for Philippe Clement to be sacked
RangersReview recently reported that Stewart will have the biggest say on day-to-day operations at Rangers and that his first decision upon his arrival, in the middle of next month, will be whether or not the manager will keep his job.
Football Insider have also claimed that the Light Blues will not make an immediate decision on the head coach’s future, after the draw with Dundee United, and that could be because they are waiting for the new CEO to start.
The issue is that the Gers play six times before Stewart’s start date, including a Europa League clash with Tottenham Hotspur and a League Cup final against Celtic.
So far this season, Clement’s side have lost three times and drawn twice in their 12 Premiership games and find themselves a whopping 11 points adrift in the title race, which has led to speculation around the head coach’s position.
Motherwell
5th
2-1 win
Celtic
1st
3-0 loss
Dundee United
4th
1-0 win
Aberdeen
2nd
2-1 loss
Dundee United
4th
1-1 draw
As you can see in the table above, Rangers have only won two of their five games against the other teams inside the current top five in the Premiership, losing two and drawing one.
Clement’s team were also knocked out by Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League play-off in August, adding further fuel to the fire, and that coupled with the dismal form in the league is why Stewart must ditch the manager when he arrives next month.
It is not just the manager who should be ditched by the incoming CEO, however, as striker Cyriel Dessers is one player who must be moved on when the January transfer window opens for business in just over a month.
Cyriel Dessers' form for Rangers last season
In the summer of 2023, former Rangers head coach Michael Beale swooped to sign the Nigeria international from Cremonese for a reported fee of £4.5m.
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He ended the 2023/24 campaign with a return of 22 goals and nine assists in all competitions, which sounds like a very solid return on paper. However, the underlying numbers behind his performances suggested that it was a difficult season for the former Serie A marksman.
In the Europa League, Dessers scored one goal in seven games and struggled badly out of possession. He lost a whopping 74% of his duels in those seven outings, which shows that opposition defenders found it far too easy to get the better of him in physical contests.
Appearances
35
Goals
16
Big chances missed
27
Conversion rate
16%
Pass accuracy
70%
Duel success rate
33%
As you can see in the table above, the 29-year-old forward was incredibly wasteful in front of goal with a staggering 27 ‘big chances’ missed in the Premiership.
He was also, as was the case in Europe, dominated by opposition defenders on a regular basis, which meant that Rangers did not have a reliable outlet to hit in the number nine position.
Why Cyriel Dessers should be sold
Stewart could seal an instant masterclass at Ibrox by parting ways with the manager and then cashing in on Dessers when the January transfer window opens, as his struggles have continued into the current season.
The £27k-per-week striker has not kicked on and improved in his second campaign with the Light Blues. He is still struggling with the same issues that he had in the 2023/24 campaign, as his finishing has been wasteful and his play out of possession has left a lot to be desired.
In the Europa League, Dessers has scored one goal from 2.57 xG and missed five ‘big chances’ in just four outings, whilst losing 68% of his duels with opposition defenders. This means that he has scored two goals in 11 games in the competition since the start of last term.
Unfortunately, the experienced marksman has also failed to provide consistent quality on the pitch in the Premiership, with one goal in five games against the other teams inside the top five.
Appearances
12
Goals
4
Big chances missed
6
Pass accuracy
72%
Duel success rate
34%
As you can see in the table above, Dessers has only scored one goal in every three matches on average and, again, missed more ‘big chances’ than he has scored goals, whilst also being dominated out of possession.
The Nigerian centre-forward has scored 20 goals and missed a whopping 33 ‘big chances’ in the Premiership since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, which illustrates how wasteful he has been in front of goal.
With this, and his £27k-per-week wage, in mind, one of Stewart’s first tasks must be to work with Koppen to find a suitor for the striker in January, as Rangers must find an upgrade on him in the number nine position to improve their form domestically and in Europe.
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It would be an instant masterclass from the new CEO if he can brutally ditch Dessers, alongside Clement, and land a more reliable centre-forward for the Ibrox giants.
