Rangers: ‘Red flags for Danny Rohl as side routed in first game’
And so it all begins for another Rangers head coach. More timidity to scout, more fragility in defence, more powder puffs up front, wider men running in increasingly diminishing circles.
Another defeat, another performance with zero goals and zero points, as well as zero positive results.
Over the last few seasons Rangers, for all their other faults, have been drawn into rivalries with Athletic Club, Benfica, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund.
Now they are being beaten by Brann, the third best team in Norway.
The collapse in standards is very evident. What these Rangers players lack is not just talent, but character and the stomach for fighting. Note to Danny Rohl: Are you absolutely sure you know what you’re in here for?
There was a moment – the first of many – that would send shivers down the new Rangers boss’s spine, before Brann scored an easy first, a soft second and a third that turned a miserable start into an embarrassing incident for Rohl.
The German preaches pace and intensity, pressing and hunting, and he’s seen plenty of that, but he hasn’t seen it in any of his players.
The players were the same as before. Same as the dog days under Russell Martin, same as death under Philippe Clement, same as decline during the Michael Beale months.
What he had seen from his team up to that point was a lack of organization and a lack of belief, but at least they were on the same level. They were a bit lucky that it was 0-0, but it was what it was and they should have been ahead then.
Youssef Chermiti’s missed chance was dazzling, a rare example of Rangers accuracy from Nico Raskin’s cross, but the young striker made a poor effort and sent home a tame header from a great position. Nine minutes later the deluge began.
