Ex-Rangers star accidently slaughters Philippe Clement

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Ibrox Noise

·18 November 2024

Ex-Rangers star accidently slaughters Philippe Clement

Former Rangers defender Connor Goldson, who most readers will know we have no time for on Ibrox Noise, nevertheless mouthed off to the press recently, and instead of knee-jerk reacting and using his nonsense for clicks ‘hot off the press’ like some clickbait sites have, Ibrox Noise considers the comments instead and then responds.

And we had to raise an eyebrow at his indirect condemnation of current manager Philippe Clement, in a Freudian slip-style moment when he criticised former manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, in a roundabout way.

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He said:

“European football suited his (Gerrard) style of management. But would we have let a six or seven-point gap go in the league under Steven? I don’t think so. He wouldn’t have allowed it. You can never say for definite because you don’t know. But Steven had figured out the league by then. He knew when you went to Kilmarnock, you had to play a bit longer, more direct. Gio came in and it was more possession-based with patterns of play. That worked amazingly well in Europe. But in the league, it didn’t.”

And guess what style Clement is using…

Yes, while we’ve no time for Goldson, and we’ve oft-mentioned how no Old Firm side since 1967 has ever won the title or even come close to it while having a massive European run (just not possible with our resources) nevertheless his comments on how Gio’s style didn’t work domestically is a massive finger point at Clement too.

Because that’s more or less exactly the same style the Belgian uses.

Pass pass pass and trying to build patterns of play, rather than being direct – and Clement won’t vary that style for Kilmarnock or anyone else.

It’s why he lost there recently, it’s why he loses stupid matches he should win, simply because he’s too stubborn to his playing philosophies and won’t adapt them for the opponent and league he is playing in.

It worked great in Belgium, 3 times, but it collapsed in Monaco, and under the glaring lights of Govan it’s very much not working here in Glasgow.

He won’t change it – Clement is not capable or willing to show versatility – he sticks rigidly by his formation and his transitional style of play, where he plays from the back, tries to use ‘triangles’ and then supposedly opens up space.

But against a low block that doesn’t work, because defenders stick to a gameplan rather than being dragged around by Clement’s limited tactics.

After over a year of Clement, he’s clearly refusing to change that, citing how we have to ‘trust in the process’ and give it time (ffs).

Yeah, even Goldson with his nonsense knows that won’t work.