Rangers season is now in full swing, so far remaining undefeated, even having played Hibernian twice, who will be their biggest threat this season came out victorious. We take a look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that face the club through this season.
Rangers have in Mark Warburton and David Weir one of the strongest managerial teams in Scotland. The tactics they have employed so far have returned the Light Blues performances to those of the glory days where teams are swept aside with no mercy, there are no mistakes leading to easy goals being given away which had dogged the team in recent seasons.
The current playing staff is laced with young and exciting talent who are expressing themselves on the pitch and blowing away all the competition at the moment. The additions of Wes Foderingham, Danny Wilson, James Tavernier and Nathan Oduwa have given the team a solid defence allowing free-flowing attacks to develop, evidenced by the fact goals have come from all over the park so far this season.
The main weakness Rangers will face this season is the opposition. The team at the moment are all playing together and trying to make a starting berth their own. The difficulty may arise when promotion is inevitably achieved and whether or not performances can remain at the level they have begun the season at. A strong finish to this season will be an important building block for next season, should the return to the Premier League go as planned.
Rangers Football Club will have the opportunity to put the years of misery and uncertainty behind them if they do manage to secure promotion back to the Promised Land. The Light Blues also have the opportunity to put some silverware in the trophy cabinet as they compete in the Petrofrac Training Cup, the League Cup and Scottish Cup as well as the Championship itself. The Rangers fans would certainly relish the opportunity to have a big day out again, ideally claiming some top flight scalps along the way.
The biggest threat Rangers will face this season is over achievement. The lure of English football has long since been a threat to the standard of football here. The performances of Wes Foderingham, Jason Tavernier and Danny Wilson will not have gone unnoticed and should their performances continue the way we hope they will it is logical to think that bids for these kinds of quality players will come in, leaving Rangers will huge gaps to fill. The offers will not only be coming in for the players either, Mark Warburton was linked with a host of jobs south of the border before choosing Rangers and when the customary sacking season begins in and around the January transfer window teams may try to tempt him into a return to English football.
Overall Rangers are in an excellent position for this season. We have the right man in charge, the right players on the pitch and the stadium is filling up. The weak opposition is something that the professionalism of the players will have to overcome in order to achieve the success with Rangers this season. The opportunity of winning some silverware and returning to the Premier League after all the controversy over recent years is an excellent prospect for everyone involved with the club. Finally the threat of losing the clubs best asset comes with the territory of being one of Europe’s biggest clubs, all we can hope for is that the players understand they will not find another club like Rangers. With regards to the manager it will be the job of the board to exercise to Mark Warburton that Rangers can take him to the top of European football again, which is an opportunity he will not get elsewhere.
