Is it fair to assume Rangers are going to be in the market for a new manager soon?
The Gers are currently 13 points adrift of runaway Premiership leaders Celtic, and were ignominiously dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Queen’s Park earlier this month, beaten at Ibrox by a side from a lower division for the first time in their entire history.
Speaking on Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club, former Hibs and Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart says he doesn’t know how Philippe Clement can survive such an embarrassing cup defeat, but Rangers Chief Executive Patrick Stewart reiterates that he backs the Belgian to turn things around.
So, Clement remains in situ, for now at least, but for how much longer remains to be seen, and the speculation will only increase further, given the off-field news this week.
Rangers’ prospective new owners
As reported by Keith Jackson of the Daily Record, discussions over a multi-million pound investment in Rangers from the ownership group behind the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL are at ‘an advanced stage’.
Sahil Jaidka and Tim Thornton of Sky Sports believe Paraag Marathe, who is the 49ers President, is one of the primary figures involved in takeover talks.
Back in July 2023, 49ers Enterprises purchased 44% of Leeds United for £170m, with Marathe the current Chairman of the EFL Championship leaders.
Matthew Elder of the Scotsman claims the takeover would be ‘transformational’, with Ewan Paton of the Herald believing the new owners would want to invest ‘heavily’.
This could be great news for Rangers supporters, but not so much for Clement, with Glenn Moore of the Independent noting that ‘new owners always want their own man’, so could the new ownership group go after a highly-rated manager from one of Europe’s farthest outposts?
Rangers’ dream Clement successor
Not so long ago, no one outside of Norway had ever heard of Bodø/Glimt, a small club in Northern Norway based inside the Arctic Circle.
Well, in more recent times, the Yellow Horde have become the country’s dominant force, winning four of the last five Eliteserien titles, pipping Brann on the final day of last season, with Kieran Devlin of the Athletic describing their success as a ‘fairytale’.
Bodø/Glimt have also made their mark on the continent too, reaching the Europa Conference League quarter-finals three seasons ago, enjoying memorable victories over Celtic, Beşiktaş, Porto and Roma to date, hammering I Giallorossi 6-1, which remains the heaviest defeat of José Mourinho’s illustrious European career.
Masterminding, as Graham Ruthven of the Soccer Dispatch puts it, Europe’s ‘best underdog story’ is manager Kjetil Knutsen who, since taking over in 2018, has done an ‘incredible job’, according to presenter Jonny Bentley.
Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, amid prior links to Knutsen, Paul Slane stated back in November that Rangers should be looking at him again:
“There’s been a lot of talk of this guy Kjetil Knutsen from Bodo Glimt and the football they’ve played. I certainly think he’s the type you’re looking at. Got a great style.”
Bodo/Glimt captain Ulrik Saltnes described Knutsen’s playing style as “kamikaze”, while Kheredine Idessane of BBC Sport believed the 56-year-old would’ve been a ‘good candidate’ to succeed Ange Postecoglou at Celtic, but could he turn up at Rangers instead?
So, let’s delve a little bit deeper to underline just how good a job Knutsen has done at Bodø/Glimt.
|
Bodø/Glimt season-by-season comparison |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
League finish |
NM Cup |
European record |
|
2014 |
13th |
Round 4 |
Did not qualify |
|
2015 |
9th |
Round 3 |
Did not qualify |
|
2016 |
15th (relegated) |
Semis |
Did not qualify |
|
2017 |
1st (promoted) |
Round 3 |
Did not qualify |
|
Kjetil Knutsen appointed manager |
|||
|
2018 |
11th |
Quarters |
Did not qualify |
|
2019 |
Runners-up |
Round 2 |
Did not qualify |
|
2020 |
Champions |
Cancelled |
UEL Q3 |
|
2021 |
Champions |
Runners-up |
UECL QFs |
|
2022 |
Runners-up |
Semis |
UECL KOs |
|
2023 |
Champions |
Runners-up |
UECL KOs |
|
2024 |
Champions |
Round 3 |
UEL KOs *tournament ongoing |
Bodø/Glimt will welcome FC Twente to Aspmyra Stadion on Thursday night in the Europa League, 2-1 down from the first leg in Enschede but, in a twist of fate, they would have a 50% chance of meeting Rangers in the round of 16, should they advance.
A report by the Football Analyst describes Knutsen’s style of football as ‘exciting’, ‘high-paced’ and ‘formidable’, all traits the Rangers support would be delighted to see, so everything suggests the 49ers group, should their proposed takeover be finalised, would be right to try and hire the Norwegian.
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