Former Gers player on star: Rangers can’t replace him.

Philippe Clement and his side have been criticised after they made a lacklustre start to the league season as they find themselves five points behind fierce rivals Celtic after only five matches.

The Gers lost 3-0 against the Bhoys earlier this month and skipper Tavernier’s mentality was bashed by some Rangers supporters.

Despite being a full-back, Tavernier has scored 125 goals for Rangers to date and Arfield stressed that people will realise his contribution when he leaves the club eventually.

The ex-Gers midfielder, who plays for Bolton Wanderers, is clear that whoever replaces Tavernier at any point at Ibrox, will not be able to reach the same levels as the current right-back.

“There is an element that when James does eventually move on, it will be one of those where you never realised what you had until it’s gone because as a right back, I don’t care who’s going to come in, they’ll never get to the standard of the performances James has had through the 10 years he’s been at the club”, Arfield told Football Scotland about the Rangers skipper.

“He is a Rangers legend, and the Hall of Fame proves that.

“I got to know him personally and professionally and I couldn’t speak higher of him.”

Tavernier is playing in his tenth season for the Glasgow giants and it remains to be seen if he will stay at Ibrox beyond this campaign, with his contract running until 2026.

After making a “significant” Celtics claim, Dave King tells Talksport when he will make a Rangers comeback.

There has been a new drama almost every other day for Rangers this summer with Philippe Clement probably wondering what he got himself into. 

The manager has had to deal with several squad issues and a net spend of around £6m isn’t the rebuild that he had in mind when he first replaced Michael Beale.

What doesn’t help the Gers boss, is that there is no chairman, CEO or academy director and Dave King fears that, unless something is done quickly, the gap to Celtic is only going to get bigger.

Dave King eyeing Rangers return to close Celtic gap

King has openly said that he wants to return to the club to sort things out and, speaking to Talksport, knows what is needed:

“It needs someone to come in quickly, it needs someone with institutional experience.”

When asked by Jim White if he agreed with Graeme Souness’ opinion that the gap to Celtic isn’t that big on the pitch, King disagreed:

“I think there is a very significant gap on and off the pitch to Celtic just now.”

By giving Clement a new contract, there appears to be a long-term plan on the pitch with a new player trading model and younger squad.

King is right though, the club is rudderless without elite level operators in key positions and progress is impossible without them.

When asked when King was next coming to Scotland, the biggest Rangers shareholder said:

“It depends how things proceed over the next few days.”

King explains what he would do if he made Rangers return

It sounds like King is on his way back in an official capacity, as largest shareholder, he is protecting his investment, however, getting the club back on track will be his priority, as reported by The Rangers Review:

“We need to go and find other investors and bring them into the club. And I think that’s what we plan for the next two years.

“I’d be willing to do it. Yes, I would. I understand what’s involved. I’ll come in, stabilise it, get the right people in place, get the club working properly, at least give it direction, give it a plan.

“But part of that will be for me to find new investors who will come in and make a significant investment in the club.”

Rangers need experience and they need stability.

King is capable of delivering both.

Adrian Bevington appears to be a safe pair of hands for the CEO role given his 20 years with the FA and, at the very least, is well connected throughout the footballing world – he would get Rangers back on the map in that regard.

As Rangers proved last season, even with a lengthy injury list, stability and consistency can be achieved if Clement is given a chance.

This time last year, the gap seemed insurmountable and yet Rangers overtook Celtic.

King’s job now is to provide the stability so that Clement can do it again.

Hamza Igamane compilation will have Rangers fans buzzing as Moroccan striker hype builds

Rangers fans could have a new hero in the shape of Moroccan forward Hamza Igamane.

Whilst the 21-year-old striker is yet to get off the mark for the Ibrox side, two substitute appearances against first Celtic and then Dundee United have caught the eye.

Rangers fans want to see more of Igamane as a result and there is big hope, and big hype, building around a player whom Philippe Clement describes as a ‘big talent’.

Having also told Rangers fans to remember Hamza Igamane’s name, the summer signing has the backing of the Ibrox management team and soon the Ibrox stands too.

As Rangers prepare to return to their hallowed turf next week v Dundee, a compilation of the striker’s touches v city rivals Dundee United is turning heads online.

Hamza Igamane compilation v Dundee United

Hamza Igamane might’ve only got the best part of 20 minutes v Dundee United but it was enough to catch the eye of Rangers fans.

Rangers paid £1.7m to bring Igamane to Glasgow from Moroccan side FAR Rabat this summer and so far the striker has been working up his fitness and settling into Scotland.

Now ready to go out and make an impression, the striker’s notable cameo included a number of neat dribbles, some wonderful close control and a stunning turn and pass which should’ve seen Tom Lawrence score a second Rangers goal at Tannadice.

The striker was even unlucky to flash a header past the post from a James Tavernier corner-kick.

It’s all included in a neat cameo which has been compiled by X user Declan_19 and which has since made a big impact at a number of high-profile Moroccan football accounts.

Rangers fans getting behind youthful squad

Rangers fans are naturally getting excited about what Hamza Igamane can bring to the side as Philippe Clement rebuilds the Ibrox squad.

With the swagger, confidence and discerning moustache, the Moroccan striker has all the attributes to fire his way into the Ibrox faithful’s hearts.

Now all he needs is a goal, and a song, and we might be about to see something beautiful happen at Ibrox.

But Igamane is just one of a number of young players at Rangers who have begun to show early promise as Clement looks to overhaul the Ibrox team.

Scotland talent Connor Barron has emerged as one of the first picks in middle of the park following his move from Aberdeen.

Mohamed Diomande has also emerged as the heartbeat of Clement’s youthful Rangers side.

Brazilian left-back Jefte plays with a maturity that belies his 20 years, whilst Oscar Cortes looks like a dangerous option on the left-wing.

Ross McCausland continues to develop on the right-wing, with the Gers yet to see what centre-back option Clinton Nsiala can bring to the first-team.

Dave King makes ‘astonishing’ Rangers claim and slams Ibrox own goal

Dave King has never been one to pull any punches and the former Rangers chairman is back in the limelight.

After criticising Donald Park’s tenure as chairman, the man who led regime change in 2015 was content that the club were in safe hands with John Bennett guiding the board.

Unfortunately, things haven’t quite gone to plan with Rangers a shambles off the park once again.

Dave King slams Rangers management of Ibrox farce

King, as reported by The Scottish Sun, is keen to get involved once again and get the club he loves back on the straight and narrow.

As the biggest shareholder, he still has more than just affection holding his attention.

Despite not naming names, King was particularly scathing in his criticism of the farce that saw Rangers play home games away from Ibrox as delays with materials saw panic in the boardroom:

“I find it truly astonishing. I mean, on a scale of one to a hundred I’m going to zero, that we could possibly have started such a project if we did not have all of the equipment.

“Just from a management point of view, I don’t care if you’re managing a Kentucky Fried Chicken or a fish and chip shop or you’re managing British Petroleum, there are certain management principles in place.

“We should never have started the renovations.

“The management goes from the board to the operations manager.

There should have been supervision of this, there should be compliance and control of the environment around it.

“You don’t start a project like that unless, after the final home game of last season was played, a team should have been ready to go in the very next morning.

“Being at home at Ibrox with our atmosphere, where we are formidable even against the biggest teams, is so important to the club.

“We needed the Champions League money, we needed to be playing at Ibrox.

“Hampden Park is soulless. I’m sorry, I know it’s Scotland’s national stadium, but it’s still soulless.

“And if that material wasn’t there, the chairman of the board or whoever should have turned around and said, ‘We’re sorry, it can’t happen, the stuff is not here.’ The project should never start when the key steel is still in China.

“We’ve scored these own goals, we’ve got so much wrong and what this club has got to do right now is get back to basics.”

Can King make the changes that Rangers need?

Dave King is right, Rangers current structure only makes Philippe Clement’s job on a daily basis harder, not being able to play at Ibrox only exacerbated that.

No CEO, no chairman, no academy director, three key positions, all of which currently sit empty.

Rangers, as Bennett pointed out, were given assurances by contractors that the renovations to Ibrox would be completed on time, however, with no experienced CEO or operations director, this was accepted at face value.

It has also left the club out of pocket.

Creag Robertson was promoted internally to director of football operations with King obviously not impressed with his part in the shambles.

With King suggesting that he could make a dramatic return to Rangers, Robertson, along with several others, will have to get their act together.