Van Bronckhorst - Time to say goodbye? All just a little bit of History repeating via an article from 2019

The Celtic defeat before the break has seriously taken the heat off the manager through the international break. I just don’t think he knows how to improve us from here and it won’t be long till the call for his head will become a clamour.

The regression so far this season is alarming and the total capitulation in the CL is embarrassing given our recent performances in Europe.
 
Van Bronckhorst- Time for Feyenoord to say goodbye? original article from 2019

Reading up on a few retro pieces about GVB as I try to make sense of Rangers senseless regression and ever growing concern around the lack of tangible improvement.

A few lines from the Football Oranje article that are damningly familiar :-


However, despite the recent success, all is not well at the Rotterdam club. Feyenoord have put contract talks with Van Bronckhorst on hold until February and the club are again, for the second year running, out of the Eredivisie title race in January. The main reason is Feyenoord’s inability to change the course of the game especially against lower ranked opposition. The blame for this must lay squarely at Van Bronckhorst’s door, the manager’s job is to find a successful plan B when plan A isn’t working. Whenever Feyenoord are struggling to break a team down, or trying to find a way back into a match, Van Bronckhorst will rarely venture away from his trusted cross the ball to the wings and then into the centre tactic and his 4-3-3 formation.

This inflexibility to change tactics has meant opponents read Feyenoord’s game, knowing precisely what they’ll do and when, and has led to some shock defeats such as against PEC Zwolle and De Graafschaap. The bigger teams, such as Ajax, can exploit this weakness from the outset having prepared for it and, as a result, inflict big and predictable defeats. Until Feyenoord find a way to solve this issue, a sustained title challenge seems out of the question. The biggest worry for fans and management alike is the standard of football has dropped off considerably this season so that teams now believe they can pick up points from Feyenoord both home and away.



Swap the Team names and that could be written about Rangers right now. Bad enough hes not learned/learning from his mistakes here but it may not be so new and as such so senseless.

I feel more and more the injuries are a smokescreen for what is simply poor tactical nous, both from the KO and reflective during the games.

You start to now wonder even if we had some absentees back would it really alter things significantly? We'd have a stronger XI for sure but that may not be the problem...
It depends how you look at it. We could say that he’s been in the Rangers job less than a year, won a trophy and got us to a European final. So far this year we have achieved champions league and are 2 points behind in the league. I think the next stretch of games up until the World Cup are vital for Gio.
 
Why not it’s due diligence

Get all information ask questions
At the risk of repeating myself it isn’t ‘due diligence’ for an elite level football club to be fishing around the internet looking for articles about managers to help make a decision.
That’s the difference between the real world and the silly wee bubble that all us armchair experts inhabit on chat rooms

Maybe appointing him was a mistake but this is just irrelevant noise.
 
Those wanting a loss tomorrow should be careful for what you wish for.

Not surprising the keyboard managers having a go without a rational option or even an understanding of how the game is played.
 
Keep doing the same thing and hoping for another outcome rarely ends well. Here's hoping he has used the break and the wee boost we got from them dropping points to our benefit.

We need to stop messing about and play quick open attacking football in Scotland or history in this case will almost certainly repeat itself.
I so miss the high intensity and high press in our league games and the quick flowing counter attacking in Europe……..the 50 passes about the back makes my eyes bleed these days
 
It depends how you look at it. We could say that he’s been in the Rangers job less than a year, won a trophy and got us to a European final. So far this year we have achieved champions league and are 2 points behind in the league. I think the next stretch of games up until the World Cup are vital for Gio.
All true mate however the product on the pitch is awful most weeks domestically

The players don’t look fit or interested

Players like kent have been honking yet keep their place

It’s going one way he will lose his job this season imo
 
You can't be serious.
Have you ever interviewed anybody?

Would you check their background? Would you check things they had been written about them?

Of course you would then ask questions about things that concern you or get things confirmed

Basic business sense
 
I’ve read more than one on his time there and his time at others,if they had done he wouldn’t be here.
You’re having a laugh here aren’t you? This has to be a wind up? You seriously think a board of any football club are scouring news articles and blogs when carrying out a recruitment process for a new manager?
 
Have you ever interviewed anybody?

Would you check their background? Would you check things they had been written about them?

Of course you would then ask questions about things that concern you or get things confirmed

Basic business sense
Mate come on this is nuts.

It's an opinion piece on the internet.

What next, run our signings past Patrick Caskie?

Sign Josh Magennis on the strength of Thornliebank Bear's recommendation?

We employ people to perform due diligence, and it doesn't extend to reading the rantings of online supporters.
 
At the risk of repeating myself it isn’t ‘due diligence’ for an elite level football club to be fishing around the internet looking for articles about managers to help make a decision.
That’s the difference between the real world and the silly wee bubble that all us armchair experts inhabit on chat rooms

Maybe appointing him was a mistake but this is just irrelevant noise.
Yes it is you get a feel for how fans and other people view their strengths and weaknesses

Ask questions about why things went wrong at their last job what have they learnt from it

What is your style of play etc

Basic business sense

Probably why we have made a mess of this appointment
 
Mate come on this is nuts.

It's an opinion piece on the internet.

What next, run our signings past Patrick Caskie?

Sign Josh Magennis on the strength of Thornliebank Bear's recommendation?

We employ people to perform due diligence, and it doesn't extend to reading the rantings of online supporters.
Well they didn’t do their due dillegwnce correctly did they

We have made a massive mistake appointing him open your eyes ffs
 
Well they didn’t do their due dillegwnce correctly did they

We have made a massive mistake appointing him open your eyes ffs
These are two separate things. It may turn out to be the wrong appointment, but not because they didn't heed the word of some football manager loser on the internet.
 
People writing him off:

  • We lost the league by 4 points last season
  • He took us to a EUROPEAN FINAL
  • We won the Scottish Cup
  • We qualified for the Champions League by coming through 2 qualifiers and knocking out PSV Eindhoven
  • We’re currently only 2 points behind in the league
  • We’ve only dropped points twice so far this season, one of which was with 9 men and absolutely shafted by the referee
  • We got soundly beaten by two top quality Champions League level sides
The level of panic in this place really isn’t proportionate to the current situation we find ourselves in. People completely writing off the manager and even willing to see us lose rather than go top of the fucking league.

Get a grip. He may well be the wrong man for the job. We may well get beaten tomorrow. We may well find ourselves out of the title race by Christmas. But these are all ifs and buts and aren’t really backed up by any evidence going by what Gio has achieved in under a year as manager, having taken over mid-way through a season. Sacking him just now would be mental. It’s not going to happen. So give the man a chance ffs.
 
People writing him off:

  • We lost the league by 4 points last season
  • He took us to a EUROPEAN FINAL
  • We won the Scottish Cup
  • We qualified for the Champions League by coming through 2 qualifiers and knocking out PSV Eindhoven
  • We’re currently only 2 points behind in the league
  • We’ve only dropped points twice so far this season, one of which was with 9 men and absolutely shafted by the referee
  • We got soundly beaten by two top quality Champions League level sides
The level of panic in this place really isn’t proportionate to the current situation we find ourselves in. People completely writing off the manager and even willing to see us lose rather than go top of the fucking league.

Get a grip. He may well be the wrong man for the job. We may well get beaten tomorrow. We may well find ourselves out of the title race by Christmas. But these are all ifs and buts and aren’t really backed up by any evidence going by what Gio has achieved in under a year as manager, having taken over mid-way through a season. Sacking him just now would be mental. It’s not going to happen. So give the man a chance ffs.
It's not panic, more a realisation that the football on show is simply not good enough. In fact it's turgid and has been since he arrived and is showing no sign of improving.
 
Well they didn’t do their due dillegwnce correctly did they

We have made a massive mistake appointing him open your eyes ffs

In less than 12 months (and having taken over mid-season), we got to a Europa League Final and qualified for the Champions League - notwithstanding the footballing achievement, those finances have been hugely significant for the overall well-being of the Club.

How can it be called a "massive mistake"?
 
I knew this already I read it last year when it became apparent he was going to be our new manager,my ONLY concern is why did our board not read it.
Because they thought it would curry them favour with the fans which it did, only now are people weakening up to what the minority of us thought prior to his appointment.
 
Van Bronckhorst- Time for Feyenoord to say goodbye? original article from 2019

Reading up on a few retro pieces about GVB as I try to make sense of Rangers senseless regression and ever growing concern around the lack of tangible improvement.

A few lines from the Football Oranje article that are damningly familiar :-


However, despite the recent success, all is not well at the Rotterdam club. Feyenoord have put contract talks with Van Bronckhorst on hold until February and the club are again, for the second year running, out of the Eredivisie title race in January. The main reason is Feyenoord’s inability to change the course of the game especially against lower ranked opposition. The blame for this must lay squarely at Van Bronckhorst’s door, the manager’s job is to find a successful plan B when plan A isn’t working. Whenever Feyenoord are struggling to break a team down, or trying to find a way back into a match, Van Bronckhorst will rarely venture away from his trusted cross the ball to the wings and then into the centre tactic and his 4-3-3 formation.

This inflexibility to change tactics has meant opponents read Feyenoord’s game, knowing precisely what they’ll do and when, and has led to some shock defeats such as against PEC Zwolle and De Graafschaap. The bigger teams, such as Ajax, can exploit this weakness from the outset having prepared for it and, as a result, inflict big and predictable defeats. Until Feyenoord find a way to solve this issue, a sustained title challenge seems out of the question. The biggest worry for fans and management alike is the standard of football has dropped off considerably this season so that teams now believe they can pick up points from Feyenoord both home and away.



Swap the Team names and that could be written about Rangers right now. Bad enough hes not learned/learning from his mistakes here but it may not be so new and as such so senseless.

I feel more and more the injuries are a smokescreen for what is simply poor tactical nous, both from the KO and reflective during the games.

You start to now wonder even if we had some absentees back would it really alter things significantly? We'd have a stronger XI for sure but that may not be the problem...
I like Gio.
I really do.

But that phrase 'inflexibility to change' is Gio all over.
And his inability, and stubborness not to change, may yet prove to be his downfall with Rangers.
 
In no way would I want us to get beat tomorrow, just gor gvb to be sacked or walk. But I see similarities with gerrard in that he is starting to be frustrated eith ross wilsons signings and we all know how that ended.. its all fine and well pointing the finger at gvb and in many games I have, but the players we have bought under gvb I doubt any are his own targets..
The shambolic signing of ramsey should have sent the alarm bells ringing.
For me a coach should be in charge of targets,
 
People writing him off:

  • We lost the league by 4 points last season
  • He took us to a EUROPEAN FINAL
  • We won the Scottish Cup
  • We qualified for the Champions League by coming through 2 qualifiers and knocking out PSV Eindhoven
  • We’re currently only 2 points behind in the league
  • We’ve only dropped points twice so far this season, one of which was with 9 men and absolutely shafted by the referee
  • We got soundly beaten by two top quality Champions League level sides
The level of panic in this place really isn’t proportionate to the current situation we find ourselves in. People completely writing off the manager and even willing to see us lose rather than go top of the fucking league.

Get a grip. He may well be the wrong man for the job. We may well get beaten tomorrow. We may well find ourselves out of the title race by Christmas. But these are all ifs and buts and aren’t really backed up by any evidence going by what Gio has achieved in under a year as manager, having taken over mid-way through a season. Sacking him just now would be mental. It’s not going to happen. So give the man a chance ffs.

Some of the posts have been ridiculous however, I do think he finds himself under a bit of pressure at the moment.

We have had hugely successful managers in the past who’s style of play was at times, painful to watch. Gio’s football has been a bit bland made worse by some people love of the way they are playing.

I’m not in the camp of wanting him out, I really want him to be successful (I was in the group that didn’t think he was the right appointment when originally linked) but the pressure is on.

As for the posts from “fans” wanting us to lose tomorrow - what a miserable life they must have!!
 
It's not panic, more a realisation that the football on show is simply not good enough. In fact it's turgid and has been since he arrived and is showing no sign of improving.
I can’t disagree that the football has been poor this season, it doesn’t bode well going forward unless we quickly turn things around in terms of our performance levels.

However, to write the manager off completely at this stage is embarrassing. Some of the posts are ridiculous. If the comments were to come tomorrow afternoon after dropping 3 points then you can almost justify them, but the reaction has been way over the top.

Gio has achieved enough with Rangers to deserve some patience and similarly, the results this season haven’t been anywhere near as bad as people have made out. Performances poor, results could be better but could be a lot worse.
 
Some of the posts have been ridiculous however, I do think he finds himself under a bit of pressure at the moment.

We have had hugely successful managers in the past who’s style of play was at times, painful to watch. Gio’s football has been a bit bland made worse by some people love of the way they are playing.

I’m not in the camp of wanting him out, I really want him to be successful (I was in the group that didn’t think he was the right appointment when originally linked) but the pressure is on.

As for the posts from “fans” wanting us to lose tomorrow - what a miserable life they must have!!
This is a fairly balanced opinion and not far away from my own. It’s not been a great start to the season, nobody can deny that, but Gio deserves patience.
 
I'd almost be completely on board with that if it wasn't for the small fact that Gio has repeatedly changed formations, tactics and personnel in the middle big games, and changed the course of said big games.

Cunts are fucking desperate for us to fail. Never happier than when twisting the knife.
 
I'd almost be completely on board with that if it wasn't for the small fact that Gio has repeatedly changed formations, tactics and personnel in the middle big games, and changed the course of said big games.

Cunts are fucking desperate for us to fail. Never happier than when twisting the knife.
They are but if you can tell me you are full of confidence with Gio at the helm then you are a brave man,I want us to turn this round starting tomorrow but I have serious doubts.
 
As much as people might want to look at Feyenoord as some kind of warning, it is worth pointing out that they haven't won a trophy since he left. Haven't made a final either.

We should assess the mangager on Rangers, not the third biggest side in Holland.
I’d argue they’re the second biggest team in Holland but that’s another argument for another day.
 
In less than 12 months (and having taken over mid-season), we got to a Europa League Final and qualified for the Champions League - notwithstanding the footballing achievement, those finances have been hugely significant for the overall well-being of the Club.

How can it be called a "massive mistake"?
I have been a critic of Gio's set up/tactics from day one but if you don't realise the point you've made there is a massive counter argument then you are not thinking straight.
 
He’s gonna get 3 points and whip out a tactical master class against Liverpool
That’s what we hope for 100%…..but realistically can you see us finding the form of that euro run as I can’t. He’s completely changed the way we ply this season to his vision and it’s utter chronic
 
Can’t claim to be all things Dutch football and I’m strictly talking about him there rather than his time here..

But didn’t he actually win the league breaking that cycle of Ajax/PSV dominance with greater outgoings than ins?

Hadn’t won it years prior or since
That's what gave him some time at Feyenoord but then it went downhill and the fans got sick of him with exactly the reasons given above
 
I can’t disagree that the football has been poor this season, it doesn’t bode well going forward unless we quickly turn things around in terms of our performance levels.

However, to write the manager off completely at this stage is embarrassing. Some of the posts are ridiculous. If the comments were to come tomorrow afternoon after dropping 3 points then you can almost justify them, but the reaction has been way over the top.

Gio has achieved enough with Rangers to deserve some patience and similarly, the results this season haven’t been anywhere near as bad as people have made out. Performances poor, results could be better but could be a lot worse.
He won't be sacked, no matter the result tomorrow or over the next few weeks. It's simply not going to happen.
That said, I'd bet a pound to a penny our performances don't improve over that period.
He's a dead man walking.
 
Van Bronckhorst- Time for Feyenoord to say goodbye? original article from 2019

Reading up on a few retro pieces about GVB as I try to make sense of Rangers senseless regression and ever growing concern around the lack of tangible improvement.

A few lines from the Football Oranje article that are damningly familiar :-


However, despite the recent success, all is not well at the Rotterdam club. Feyenoord have put contract talks with Van Bronckhorst on hold until February and the club are again, for the second year running, out of the Eredivisie title race in January. The main reason is Feyenoord’s inability to change the course of the game especially against lower ranked opposition. The blame for this must lay squarely at Van Bronckhorst’s door, the manager’s job is to find a successful plan B when plan A isn’t working. Whenever Feyenoord are struggling to break a team down, or trying to find a way back into a match, Van Bronckhorst will rarely venture away from his trusted cross the ball to the wings and then into the centre tactic and his 4-3-3 formation.

This inflexibility to change tactics has meant opponents read Feyenoord’s game, knowing precisely what they’ll do and when, and has led to some shock defeats such as against PEC Zwolle and De Graafschaap. The bigger teams, such as Ajax, can exploit this weakness from the outset having prepared for it and, as a result, inflict big and predictable defeats. Until Feyenoord find a way to solve this issue, a sustained title challenge seems out of the question. The biggest worry for fans and management alike is the standard of football has dropped off considerably this season so that teams now believe they can pick up points from Feyenoord both home and away.



Swap the Team names and that could be written about Rangers right now. Bad enough hes not learned/learning from his mistakes here but it may not be so new and as such so senseless.

I feel more and more the injuries are a smokescreen for what is simply poor tactical nous, both from the KO and reflective during the games.

You start to now wonder even if we had some absentees back would it really alter things significantly? We'd have a stronger XI for sure but that may not be the problem...
I really don’t get why someone has done a laughing emoji at this post…what is wrong with some people?

OP is spot on to point out this massive concern.
 

That’s what we hope for 100%…..but realistically can you see us finding the form of that euro run as I can’t. He’s completely changed the way we ply this season to his vision and it’s utter chronic
I disagree with that. I don’t think he has a vision for us to be dreadful to watch. We’ve had some decent performances this season in amongst some terrible ones. The Union game away was utterly dreadful but at home we were very good. PSV performances were both decent and some league performances have been good too.

At the start of the season folk had Tillman down as a potential superstar, he’s dropped of a bit and now folk are not so sure. When our creative players lose form we struggle in tight games. The biggest issue we face is a lack of creative options and that isn’t a new issue. We’ve had it for a long time. There’s a lack of movement middle to front but again, I cannot for the life of me see any manager instructing a team not to move off the ball.
 
Wow, I have almost the opposite opinion. Goldson played in a defence with a clean sheet record no that long ago. Kamara was touted as a 20m player, now he can't get a game. Kent, Tav, Lundstrum, Morelos, none of the players are performing to their capabilities.

The "core" of this team went through a league campaign without losing a game.
Two seasons ago under a different management team.
 
If we don’t come away with 3 points tomorrow the pressure goes up another notch.

The article does read like he’s not learned much since then as he’s still making these same mistakes.
If we don’t come away with three points he should be out a job by Sunday.
 
Can’t claim to be all things Dutch football and I’m strictly talking about him there rather than his time here..

But didn’t he actually win the league breaking that cycle of Ajax/PSV dominance with greater outgoings than ins?

Hadn’t won it years prior or since
This. Not denying that the article could easily be about his time at us but it’s not as if Feyenoord have sacked him and went on to start being successful.
 
People writing him off:

  • We lost the league by 4 points last season
  • He took us to a EUROPEAN FINAL
  • We won the Scottish Cup
  • We qualified for the Champions League by coming through 2 qualifiers and knocking out PSV Eindhoven
  • We’re currently only 2 points behind in the league
  • We’ve only dropped points twice so far this season, one of which was with 9 men and absolutely shafted by the referee
  • We got soundly beaten by two top quality Champions League level sides
The level of panic in this place really isn’t proportionate to the current situation we find ourselves in. People completely writing off the manager and even willing to see us lose rather than go top of the fucking league.

Get a grip. He may well be the wrong man for the job. We may well get beaten tomorrow. We may well find ourselves out of the title race by Christmas. But these are all ifs and buts and aren’t really backed up by any evidence going by what Gio has achieved in under a year as manager, having taken over mid-way through a season. Sacking him just now would be mental. It’s not going to happen. So give the man a chance ffs.
I agree 100% that we give the man a chance. I doubt very much that he will take it though. He needs to change and i dont think he can unfortunately. I really hope im wrong and he can turn it round starting tomorrow.
Results in the league, bar the old firm, havent been that bad. I will give you that. Generally though the football has been pretty shit. To say the least. We have been scraping by and nothing more. If the performances dont improve then sooner or later the results will start going tits up also and itll be a matter of time till Gio is a gonner.
 
He won't be sacked, no matter the result tomorrow or over the next few weeks. It's simply not going to happen.
That said, I'd bet a pound to a penny our performances don't improve over that period.
He's a dead man walking.

You should get to the bookies with that opinion-you'll cover yourself easily with betting draws/defeats for us.
 
In less than 12 months (and having taken over mid-season), we got to a Europa League Final and qualified for the Champions League - notwithstanding the footballing achievement, those finances have been hugely significant for the overall well-being of the Club.

How can it be called a "massive mistake"?
He lost the league from 7 points in front

He won’t win the league this season

His football is one paced slow unentertaining

The players look dis interested

He has given us beatings 3-0 4-0 v Celtic

He has given us 4-0 and 3-0 in Europe

All of which we never had under Gerrard

Yes he has given us some great memories in Europe last season

But for me he is a massive mistake which will cost us tens of millions of pounds
 
As much as people might want to look at Feyenoord as some kind of warning, it is worth pointing out that they haven't won a trophy since he left. Haven't made a final either.

We should assess the mangager on Rangers, not the third biggest side in Holland.
They made the final of last seasons Europa Conference League, totally dominating Roma in that game and losing rather unjustly.
 
The main thing I can't get my head around is GVB, the footballer, was skillful, fluid, mobile, energetic and loved a pop at goal. In short what you would have thought back then and we did term, 'the modern footballer'.

In short GVB the footballer is almost the antithesis of what GVB the manager is happy with now in midfield.

Also the teams he played for were known for attacking.

My hope is he adapts further my view is the team now (albeit well off form) is more attacking than it was when he first came. He needs to push it forward more it's not that complicated.
 
Back
Top