Time to give Murty the job?

[Volbeater 17]

Who would you have if things don’t work out for Murty? He hasn’t done much wrong tbh. Job is his if we win the cup I believe as the league will be tough. (Hoping we can catch the bastards). 

[Gaffer 1,665]

I think most fans hope he does get the job, because that means he has had a strong end to the season.

 

I wouldn't want to speculate on anyone else because there's no need to introduce any negativity at the moment.  We are absolutely flying and I hope it continues through next weekend.

[Piperalan 1]

3 hours ago, Gaffer said:

The team is cruising at the moment.  The confidence is flowing through the team and the club, and the players seem to be able to play a style of football we are all enjoying.  So, rather than wait until the end of the season, is it time now to give him the job?  If not, when is the right time?

 

Lets take a look at his report card so far.

 

RESULTS: 8/10

Any manager of Rangers has to get results and Murty now has 12 wins out of 16.  The team has scored 37 and conceded 16.  Since the transfer window, which was his first opportunity to assemble a team of his own, we've won 7 of our 8 games, scoring 27 and only conceding 8 goals.  To win the league or a cup, we need to beat Celtic and although the deserved to win the last old firm game when he was in charge, we could achieve only a draw.  In my opinion, he has to manage a win to show he has what it takes longer term.

 

Coaching: 8/10

Murty has shown that he can improve players like Windass, John, Morelos, Tavernier and Bates.  Morelos aside, I was unconvinced by these players and thought they would be replaced at the earliest opportunity.  I'm now wondering whether these players could be longer term prospects for us because the improvement in all of them has been quite remarkable, especially since he took over.  His experience in developing the youth players appears to be helping us to develop our own youth players too with McCrorie making a breakthrough.  I'd like to see him showing that he can address the bad habits of some of our fringe players though.  Holt in particular is a player I like but he seems to repeat the same bad habits game after game and yet he could be a really important player for us if that could be resolved.  Wilson was the same but we don't have that problem any more.  Can Murty improve these players?  I suppose he needs more time to prove that.

 

Man management: 7/10

This may be an unfair score, given that the dressing room seems to be united at the moment, but it reflects the fact that he has a few injured players out that may otherwise be expecting to start games.  Alves is returning from injury, as is Miller and Wallace.  We still have McCrorie, Jack and Dorrans out.  How will he manage these big players' expectations of game time?  The team is winning at the moment so it's  easier to explain why others are not getting their chance but it will be a test of his skills to manage this when they are all fit.  Having said that, I thought is was a weakness of his his but he's shown that he is robust enough and strong enough to play a team he has confidence in, and keep some big names on the bench.

 

Style of play: 7/10

I questioned Murty's style a few weeks back.  I just couldn't see any sort of system being played and I certainly was not enjoying the football on show.  Then we had the transfer activity and suddenly the football is as good as I've watched in a very long time.  The team can dominate the ball for long periods, but we can also play direct, or hit teams on the counter with the speed of our forwards.  He seems to have developed a flexibility in our approach to games, whilst maintaining some consistency in the standard of fast, one touch passing, which we've used to slice team so apart with apparent ease.  I've now lost count of the times I've watched our goals and thought it was a contender for goal of the season.  The team is exciting to watch and there's a confident swagger to our play which is pleasing to see.  The reason for a score of just 7 in this category is because we have to do this consistently now, especially at Ibrox.  He hasn't done enough yet to build a fortress at Ibrox, but we are getting there.  Equally, we need to demonstrate that we can do it against 'them' too.

 

Media: 6/10

When Murty faced the media at first, he was lacking any confidence or gravitas when responding to questions.  He was always friendly and articulate, but he did not command much respect.  I see him growing into this role now and in the last 2 or 3 press conferences he seems to be more assertive and confident in his position.  He seems to now believe that he is almost worthy of being the Rangers manager.  He has created a decent relationship with the press now, but he has to start seeing himself as the manager of the best team in Scotland.  He needs to walk in to those press conferences and realise that his words can have an influence on the opposition as well as his own players.  He's an intelligent guy and very articulate.  Now he must use that fully to gain any small advantage, especially in games against 'them'.

 

Support team:  9/10

Allen, JJ, CM and a few others were already in place before he became the manager, but the addition of Jimmy as his assistant has been a brilliant appointment and I suspect this has had a big impact on the players.  Also, Murty may not have appointed the others but what he had done is built a strong relationship with them in a short period of time.  He seems like the sort of guy that gets on with everyone, and I'm not sure how other managers would have dealt with the DoF role.  The relationship with Murty and Allen is going to be so important for us to achieve longer term dominance in the game up here so it just has to work.  So far, so good.

 

SUMMARY

Murty is the lead candidate for the role of permanent manager.  He is getting results, and appears to have created a harmony in the club.  He has some work to do to show he is the man to lead a title challenge, but who else would we be willing to take the risk with?  Other managers come with their own ideas, and an uncertainty that I'm not willing to gamble on.  I was uninspired with Murty's appointment, and thought I'd want another manager in asap, but he's done enough in my view to get the job full time.  I suspect the players want him to be confirmed in role, so the question is when to do it?  I think the players would get a boost from such an announcement so maybe it'd be ideally timed just before the game next weekend, or maybe just ahead of a cup final.  What do you think?

Agree 100%

[pete 2,499]

I am with Bill on this I see no advantage in giving him the Job just yet. He is happy at Rangers and unless Manu or Arsenal offer him a job he will be happy to wait until the end of the season

[the gunslinger 3,366]

If we had to decide now for some reason i would say yes. But we dont lets see how the rest of the season goes.

[compo 6,331]

I will stick with young Murty give him a decent contract there will be bad days and good days  but that's football .

[Gonzo79 13,962]

2 minutes ago, compo said:

there will be bad days and good days  but that's football .

But we're not just any old football club.  Teams raise their game to play us and our support demands success, so accepting mediocrity will only end in another sacking.  

 

I'm not saying Murty is mediocre but I think we need more time to make a sensible judgement.

[pete 2,499]

I can see the first post tomorrow after the game if Falkirk beat us. Should Murty be sacked now.

[ian1964 10,514]

I can't think of anyone who I would want to be manager of Rangers! the way Murty has us playing is good to watch, the players are behind him all the way, players seem to be improving under his watch, if we win the Scottish cup he must be in with a shout, and maybe even the league?.

Murty and the DOF seem to be on the same wave length regarding what players we need, if we brought in a new manager will we be starting from scratch again? if it's not broken then don't try and fix it!.

[Gaffer 1,665]

As long as there is no dressing room revolt, or sudden loss of form, he must be guaranteed to get the job at least for another year, regardless of the result next week or in the cup.  However, if he gets a win against Celtic, or wins a cup, I'm sure the contract will be for longer.  He will know though that to ensure a unanimous support for his appointment, he must achieve a big result.  That's why I'm sure every single one of us hopes he gets it.

 

As I said in the OP, it's a risk to bring in any manager.  I'd welcome a long period of stability on the managerial front and I really hope it's him.  Manages develop in the same way players do.  They need games, off and on field problems to deal with, and dressing room challenges.  Murty could very well develop into a top manager in the way Pep did.

 

At the end of next season, we could very well be asking for him to be replaced, but equally we could all be begging for him to be put on a ten year contract.  I'm hoping for the latter.