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Game On – Rangers feeder club for Leeds? | Rodgers future at Celtic | Can Ange win Europa League?
Game On!
Got two minutes? Well that’s all you’ll need for Record Sport’s podcast which sees the expert panel discuss all the big issues in Scottish sport and beyond – in handy bitesize chunks.
We will debate all the major global sporting topics in a fast-paced manner as the team gets their points across before the whistle blows. The handy segments of the show mean there’s no waffling on, we get straight to the point and you can get your fix in a quick and easy manner.
Game On, which is available now on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, airs every Friday and this week Michael Gannon and Gavin Berry discuss the latest with the Rangers next manager search, how the takeover could impact the Ibrox club with the Leeds United influence, Brendan Rodgers future and Celtic’s need for central defensive reinforcements.
Does the next Rangers manager need to be a so-called Rangers man?
GB: No, definitely not. I actually think with the takeover happening and the new owners coming I would make a case for them steering clear of a ‘Rangers’ man, someone who doesn’t have a connection with the club, and just start afresh.
MG: They need to get the best man for the job and not limit themselves to someone who knows the club. But I also don’t think they should shut the door on that possibility because it doesn’t hurt. The demands to win are sky high – and not like many clubs across the world.
There appears to be fears that Rangers could become a feeder club for Leeds United after the takeover…
MG: Dave King addressed that (in his talkSPORT radio interview during the week) and I can understand those fears. Leeds United have gone up to the English Premier League and the owners have grand plans of competing for Champions League places and you wonder where Rangers will sit in that global structure.
Daniel Farke and Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe
But I think there will be enough separate and only the pot of money and some of the expertise that will be shared.
GB: When we say ‘feeder club’ what are the concerns?
MG: You think about the links between Hearts and Brighton and Hibs Bournemouth so the worry would be Leeds buy a young, talented player, give him to Rangers for a couple of seasons to develop him and then take him off Rangers and sell him. That might not be one of the worst things in the world.
GB: One of the criticisms of Rangers in recent seasons is that they haven’t sold players at the right time or for the right amount of money. Scottish clubs are selling clubs and Celtic have done it well.
MG: Celtic were a de facto part of the City Group with Patrick Roberts, Denayer and Boyata. I don’t think these informal or formal links are necessarily a bad thing and Leeds aren’t a global superpower who are going to dwarf Rangers.
Who is the best Belgian – Arne Engels or Nico Raskin?
MG: It’s tricky because they are both different types of midfielders. Engels is more dynamic in terms of picking a killer pass. Raskin is a spoiler, great at breaking up the play and making the simple pass. It’s not sexy but it’s effective. The negative rhetoric around Engels is because of his transfer fee – people expect him to ping shots into the top corner every week!
GB: We’ve got two minutes here, Mick. You are the manager and can only pick one in your team – Engels or Raskin?
MG: I’m going to go for Engels because he’s more attack-minded. Narrowly. You’re talking about Young Player of the Year.
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