Observer: the case for Mcinnes

[Recoba]

Next Rangers boss: The case for Derek McInnes

November 2, 2017


By Ally Brown | Guest Contributor

It's not easy to get Rangers fans to agree, but I'm sure we would all unite as one if Walter Smith announced he was bored of crosswords and Countdown and was craving a return to the Ibrox dugout. Sadly we have to accept that's not going to happen, now or in the future, so perhaps we should be asking the question: who is the next Walter Smith?

Hear me out: it might be Derek McInnes. It might not be, but let me make his case.

Whether you think it's important or not that we hire a British manager, or a Rangers man, McInnes ticks those boxes. There is no chance that a man who was born and raised a Bear and who won a league in our shirt would have any misunderstandings about what the club means and what the fans expect. McInnes knows all about the club and the league already. Any new Walter Smith would need to be a Rangers man at heart and - as far as we can tell - McInnes is that.


But so is Ally McCoist and so are me and you and we don't deserve the job. So let's look at the far more important factor of McInnes's record as a manager.

Some fans are downplaying what he's done at Aberdeen, as if it's only natural that they'd be the second best team in the country without us. But Aberdeen had been terrible for 20 years before McInnes came in. In the four seasons before McInnes arrived they finished 9th, 9th, 9th and 8th. And in the four seasons since? 3rd - and a trophy - 2nd, 2nd and 2nd. That's a huge turnaround.

He has turned Aberdeen into a points-winning machine. He's turned them into us, or what we used to be. This season, they're on 26 points from 11 matches - that would usually be called title-winning form. Celtic are on their best run for 100 years, and Aberdeen are one solitary point behind them.

Last year they won 76 points and got to two cup finals, their best season since they won the league in 1984-85 under Fergie. In the summer they lost their two best attackers and their captain, and they brought in five to six new players, and it's been a seamless transition: last year was their best season in 30 years and this year, they're even better.

He's done this with very average players. Are any of their players going to ever play in the EPL? I doubt it. Are any of them ever going to play for Scotland? Maybe a couple will get a handful of caps at most. It's not a dream team. In 1985 they had Alex McLeish and Willie Miller in front of Jim Leighton, players who are among Scotland's all-time greats, never mind Aberdeen's. Now they're relentlessly hoovering up points with Mark Reynolds and Greg Tansey.

We keep saying this is what we need: we need a team that's reliable enough to beat all the other teams every week, rack up the points, and then we'll deal with Celtic one-to-one. That's where Aberdeen are already. And yes, it's true that one-to-one, Aberdeen keep failing against Celtic.


But perhaps that is because Celtic have a massive budget that completely overwhelms Aberdeen's? Celtic have spent more on a one-season loan fee for one player than McInnes has spent on his entire squad. Give McInnes a bigger budget and better players, and of course he'll be able to do better in one-off games against them.

He has moulded an efficient, winning team out of a squad of average players on a budget about a quarter of ours. Wherever he can take Aberdeen, he can take us a lot further. And he's taken Aberdeen as close to Celtic as it's plausible to get for that money.

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Walter Smith had no record as a manager before he became ours. So there is more evidence in favour of McInnes than there was in favour of Smith in 1991. And Walter himself approves. McInnes is a pragmatic boss who can build a relentlessly winning team on a limited budget, and he's also a Rangers man. Why would we look anywhere else?

Tagged: First Team

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Copyright 2017 • The Rangers Observer

 

[Torque_87]

I agree with most of that to be honest. He might not be a "glamorous" appointment, but it should be about whether he has the skills for the job. I agree we need to look around and ensure we get the best we can, but there shouldn't be a snobbery from us toward someone like DM.

 

[chucknorris]

Agree with all of that. Hes the natural choice.

 

[Super-Swally]

As much as I am in the "not McInnes" camp, that is a very reasoned article and when you look at the stats and facts, it makes a very compelling case for McInnes to be out next manager.

DM will definitely be an improvement on MW and PC (not hard) but speaking to the majority of fans, he's not the desired choice. Like me, maybe they should consider the hard cold facts of a DM appointment?

 

[frankieboy]

Good article,I personally would like to see him here.

 

[Potnbear]

During the times of their 2nd 2nd etc, we have seen the demise of Hibs, Hearts, Scumdee utd Rangers etc All were decent competition. Aberdeen have really been fighting it out against the thistles, hsmiltons of this world with a much bigger budget

 

[Calvinist]

I agree with most of that to be honest. He might not be a "glamorous" appointment, but it should be about whether he has the skills for the job. I agree we need to look around and ensure we get the best we can, but there shouldn't be a snobbery from us toward someone like DM.

I don't think it's snobbery at all , but more of a genuine concern that DM simply will be unable to topple Celtic .

I've said before I think DM will be our version of tommy burns . He will give us a team that's hard to beat and consistent but ultimately unable to win the league .

When that's become apparent to everyone , we will be looking for another manager again .

 

[Sutton_Blows_goats]

good read, balances out the article from the other day anyway. I feel more common sense than the other one too.

 

[omegaman]

As decent a job as he’s done at Pittodrie, I would have liked to have seen a bit more from him - ran the Yahoos closer, lifted another cup or two - to assure me he was definitely the man for us.

My Spidey Sense is still tingling, but it’s considerably less acute than it was when Pedro was thrust into the limelight last March.

 

[simply_the_best]

It was a good read, I think it will be DM and I think he'll do well as well.

One thing I would disagree with the article is if WS was to come back, I think that would be a 50/50 split with the support as well.

 

[CoplandRearGer]

I agree with the majority of that. The one aspect that I still find trouble with is games vs Celtic.

I understand his budget is completely eclipsed by Celtic but other managers in this league have shown an ability to nullify them. The likes of Wright and Lennon have taken their teams to the piggery and setup well, ultimately getting a point.

Other than the cup final, I've watched Aberdeen get completely dominated by them, twice on their own patch (one of them 3 down inside 11mins) and once in a league cup final.

 

[Deleted member 3807]

If anyone is thinking why can't McInnes replicate what SAF did for Aberdeen it's worth remembering some facts about the Scottish football landscape during Ferguson's Aberdeen tenure. There was nothing like the financial disparity between Rangers and Aberdeen then as exists today. Aberdeen were matching Rangers in player transfer values and in wages. This only changed when Graeme Souness arrived in 1986. If I remember correctly AF left Aberdeen the season after Souness joined us.

 

[SDF]

I've said before I think DM will be our version of tommy burns . He will give us a team that's hard to beat and consistent but ultimately unable to win the league.

It may well be. But we may need to walk before we can run.

If McInnes eats into the gap between us and Celtic the way Burns did to us considerably in a short space of time then we're in a good place for the future

 

[The Ultimate Warrior]

To say he has turned them into what we used to be is incredibly far fetched re collecting points

 

[Gheorghe_Hagi]

He's got Aberdeen punching above their weight. We'll never know how he'll perform with an increased budget until he's in the role. I think he'll do well here.

 

[Calvinist]

It may well be. But we may need to walk before we can run.

If McInnes eats into the gap between us and Celtic the way Burns did to us considerably in a short space of time then we're in a good place for the future

I disagree , we need someone in who can turn the club round now . Fannying about while they edge closet to 10 and continue to bank CL simply isn't an option for us .

If I'm right about mcinnes , can you imagine the panic within the Ibrox boardroom as we go looking for yet another manager 2 year later .

 

[Chris]

Good read

I would not be disappointed with McInnes as our next manager

 

[TN8]

He's the completely logical and sensible choice, just so happens alot of our support aren't logical or sensible.

I don't understand what the hold up is here though, just get the sheep paid, I have a large collection of butt-plugs and let him get started ffs.

 

[ca100]

I'm coming round to McInnes. Whether that's due to the other names being mentioned on here, i'm not sure.

 

[Pablo Escobar]

It has to be mcinnes imo just get it done rangers

 

[Morton11]

I don't class Aberdeen beating Inverness, Ross County, Motherwell etc, as an achievement. Sorry.

 

[Bolt]

King, go out and get our guy.

 

[Fat Halpert]

Agree with a lot of this article. We all know where we want to go but I think its important to remember where we are. Last season we finished 39 points off top and are not even currently the team deemed most likely to challenge. Unfortunately that isn't going to change overnight. We need to progress to that point. If we continually look to Celtic and sack every manager who doesn't win the league at the first time of asking then we'll forever be in their shadow.

One of the main arguments I've read against McInnes is that he'll be 'our Tommy Burns'. The implication being that he'll form a solid, consistent team but will never topple Rodgers and Celtic. In reality, Tommy Burns took Celtic from a team finishing 4th in the Premier League to a team who were finishing second having lost 1 match all season. You could argue he laid the foundations for Jansen coming in and stopping 10 in a row. Would it be such a bad thing if McInnes done a similar job?

 

[Sheik Ma Shammy]

McInness for me is no upgrade on Stuart McCall both very similar, You have to wonder were we would be now if we backed McCall with his own players.

 

[Scooby]

Derek McInnes as a player captained West Brom. He was also captain of Dundee utd, and he was Captain of Millwall. In his four years at Aberdeen, there has been no drama with the players and they all play for the manager.

He must have some excellent leadership qualities if three seperate managers made him captain of their clubs.

His management record with Aberdeen is very, very good. It has been as good as you could possibly expect from any manager under the circumstances.

I know he is not every ones cup of tea, but if you consider any other appointment that we can afford, they will be a huge risk that could set us back even further. McInnes is as much a certainty as you can get to take us forward and make us a better team.

 

[KA1960]

A good article, with facts backing up why he should be considered. I am warming to the idea of him being our new manager

 

[SDF]

I disagree , we need someone in who can turn the club round now . Fannying about while they edge closet to 10 and continue to bank CL simply isn't an option for us .

If I'm right about mcinnes , can you imagine the panic within the Ibrox boardroom as we go looking for yet another manager 2 year later .

Closing the gap the way Burns did isn't fannying about though. Same would go for McInnes. We were nearly 40 points behind them last season.

It's going to take a monumental effort to stop them any time soon.

 

[Ziltoid]

During the times of their 2nd 2nd etc, we have seen the demise of Hibs, Hearts, Scumdee utd Rangers etc All were decent competition. Aberdeen have really been fighting it out against the thistles, hsmiltons of this world with a much bigger budget

This is why I'm not convinced by his record. All but one of their big rivals were in the doldrums over those 4 years. And the other lot had Ronnie in charge. If there was ever a time for Aberdeen to win the league, it was then. But they blew it. One trophy out of 12 in that time is not anything special, especially for the second highest budget in the country (excluding ours), when you consider that since 2013 St Johnstone and Inverness (and hibs) have won the Scottish Cup, Ross County have also won the league cup. 4 teams smaller than his have won the same amount of trophies in that time.

I'm not saying he won't do well for us, he might be a revelation when he's able to buy decent players instead of relying on loans from the yahoos, I just don't think he's got as good a record as some folk are making out.

 

[Dubear]

Anyone who still doesn't get it about McInnes after reading that is beyond help, head in arse.

 

[Jimmy Mac]

I don't get the hold up with appointing him he's the obvious choice especially when you look at the list of managers who've supposedly applied in the other thread on here.

 

[Dubear]

I don't class Aberdeen beating Inverness, Ross County, Motherwell etc, as an achievement. Sorry.

Did you celebrate our trophies when our turnover was £60m against all these teams with a turnover of £3m?

 

[Lord Summerisle]

That's a good article.

 

[grascots]

A good article making a good case but I am yet to be convinced. We shouldn't forget that a good few of those second places were with us out the picture.

 

[Morton11]

Did you celebrate our trophies when our turnover was £60m against all these teams with a turnover of £3m?

You mean when we actually won stuff? (DM hasn't)

 

[top_cat]

Derek McInnes as a player captained West Brom. He was also captain of Dundee utd, and he was Captain of Millwall. In his four years at Aberdeen, there has been no drama with the players and they all play for the manager.

He must have some excellent leadership qualities if three seperate managers made him captain of their clubs.

His management record with Aberdeen is very, very good. It has been as good as you could possibly expect from any manager under the circumstances.

I know he is not every ones cup of tea, but if you consider any other appointment that we can afford, they will be a huge risk that could set us back even further. McInnes is as much a certainty as you can get to take us forward and make us a better team.

Well said mate, I hope he's our #1 priority

 

[Drumchapel-Bear]

A good piece and nobody can logically argue with any of that.

It's a worry he's not here already when the other names in the frame are Neil and McLaren. The Park's and Robertson really are clueless when it comes to football.

 

[Dubear]

You mean when we actually won stuff? (DM hasn't)

Yes, when our first team wage bill was £20m. How do you think we would have done with DM's £2m?

 

[The Spaniard]

I'm warming to the idea. Mainly because I'm not sure we've got the players that would buy in to another big project.

 

[wayoutwest]

I don't class Aberdeen beating Inverness, Ross County, Motherwell etc, as an achievement. Sorry.

They've fared better at it than we have since we returned to the top flight and his team has shown a level of consistency that we've been crying out for.

Since McInnes arrived at Aberdeen, they've had their four best points totals, dating back to the introduction of 3 points for a win in 1994 (68-75-71-76). Granted those totals would get a Rangers manager the sack but were he to replicate that level of success at a club where he has much better financial backing, he might not be far away and at the very least, we would not be looking up at Aberdeen.

 

[Germlin]

That's a good article. I'm not convinced with Mcinness but the article has softened my view by giving a different perspective from my own.

 

[Realger34]

I firmly believe he should be our next manager

Get him in!!

 

[Bear all]

Aberdeen would be in third place if we were actually pushing the Scum so really we are taking a manager that is holding 3rd place comfortably I may add,Mcleish came in in similar circumstances but he was inheriting much better players.

 

[Burgh-Ger]

I don't class Aberdeen beating Inverness, Ross County, Motherwell etc, as an achievement. Sorry.

His only achievement then would be to win the league and a run in Europe?

He must be given credit for the massive improvements at Aberdeen - regardless if you want him as manager or not!!

For me - i’m warming to the idea, I think it will come down to him or Moyes

 

[AzorIbrox]

It's got to be McInnes, he's more than earned his chance and he's one of us. Fully understands the task in front of him, knows the league.

Everything makes sense for me. He's destined for much better things than Aberdeen, let's get him before it's too late.

 

[JRei8790]

Good sensible article ... McInnes was never my idea of an ideal candidate but who , in our current circumstances is ?
We need to get the best out of what we have atm then add some quality hopefully. I now hope DMc gets the job.

 

[Morton11]

His only achievement then would be to win the league and a run in Europe?

He must be given credit for the massive improvements at Aberdeen - regardless if you want him as manager or not!!

For me - i’m warming to the idea, I think it will come down to him or Moyes

Challenging in Europe certainly, yes. But finishing 2nd in a one-team division isn't an achievement as much as people on FF will try to pretend it is.

 

[magnus]

I agree with the majority of that. The one aspect that I still find trouble with is games vs Celtic.

I understand his budget is completely eclipsed by Celtic but other managers in this league have shown an ability to nullify them. The likes of Wright and Lennon have taken their teams to the piggery and setup well, ultimately getting a point.

Other than the cup final, I've watched Aberdeen get completely dominated by them, twice on their own patch (one of them 3 down inside 11mins) and once in a league cup final.

I firmly believe the Celtic squad is miles ahead of the rest of Scottish football. Breaks my heart to say it.

 

[TN8]

Aberdeen would be in third place if we were actually pushing the Scum so really we are taking a manager that is holding 3rd place comfortably I may add,Mcleish came in in similar circumstances but he was inheriting much better players.

The name of f*ck are you on about man.

 

[Dubear]

Aberdeen would be in third place if we were actually pushing the Scum so really we are taking a manager that is holding 3rd place comfortably I may add,Mcleish came in in similar circumstances but he was inheriting much better players.

Games won by 2nd places

2011/12 - 26

2010/11 - 25

2008/09 - 24

2007/08 - 27

2006/07 - 21

2005/06 - 22

2003/04 - 25

2000/01 - 25

McInnes last season - 24. He is pretty much around where the standard of 2nd place used to be, but with a budget ten times smaller.

 

[Blutoe]

....and will we be happy when he signs a load of mediocre Aberdeen players and brings in his back room staff? Ive even seen folk saying they would mind him bringing Ryan Christie with him....