Barry’s chances of the Rangers job | OneFootball

Appointing Barry Ferguson as the manager of Rangers brings a set of intricate possibilities to the forefront of Scottish football’s current scene. Ferguson is not just a figure from the club’s past but a symbol of its modern history, and the dynamics surrounding any potential managerial move for him are fraught with complexities. His candidacy for this role requires a far more nuanced assessment than might be afforded by the simple label of “legend.”

What are the chances he could do this job? Let’s first consider what Ferguson has to draw upon. During his years of playing at Rangers—a period when he was the club captain—he amassed a wealth of experience that serves as a basic qualification for leadership. He knows the club inside out and understands its very ethos. He also has an impressive level of tactical insight, which he has gained from participating directly in high-level, top-flight engagements.

Yet, there’s also the matter of Ferguson’s actual coaching credentials to consider. Here, the story becomes less straightforward. His experiences at Blackpool and Clyde, where he served as a manager, have not exactly yielded resounding success. The outcomes at these clubs have been varied enough to suggest that Ferguson may have some difficulty in converting his playing experience into a coherent and effective style of coaching. Scholars who’ve studied these transitions from playing to managing note that simply excelling at a high-level sport doesn’t guarantee equivalent competence in a managerial role.

The current Rangers setup needs leadership that goes beyond just sentiment. Even though Ferguson’s ties to the club might seem like something of an emotional advantage, the simple fact is that the setup of modern football clubs demands a level of strategic planning that goes well beyond anything even the best-loved figureheads could dream up. They’re not just about figures like Ferguson, who fully understand the club’s history and its place in the football pantheon. They’re about having the club served by a kind of advanced beaux arts, a sort of think tank, that can reimagine tactics, infrastructure, and administration.

Contextually, the challenges that Rangers face today make Ferguson’s prospects more difficult. The club wants to win not just on the domestic front but also in Europe. This requires a manager with recent success and innovative ideas. Would Ferguson be able to take on a role like that in the current setup? And even if he could, are there not better alternative candidates—people with more up-to-date methods and a track record of recent wins?

In the end, Barry Ferguson’s candidacy for a managerial role is a complex scenario with no certainty attached to it. The arguments in favor of his potential appointment lean heavily on his institutional knowledge and historical significance. But the present-day Rangers, and the Scottish football scene overall, are probably best served by a more clinical and objective assessment of his potential appointment. And that, in turn, means asking some tough questions about his skills as a coach and manager.