Why hiring Davide Ancelotti at Rangers would unlike Andrew Cavenagh

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

Ancelotti survived long enough to lead Reggiana in a make-or-break game against Venezia at the Mirabello Stadium. His team scored three times in the opening 45 minutes of an encounter Don Carlo later described as one of the most important days of his coaching career.
Promotion to Serie A earned Ancelotti a crack at the Parma job. He lasted two seasons before he was sacked.
That's the thing with football management. To hear people speak now, you'd think that the godfather of modern football won all those Champions Leagues, titles in Europe's top five nations and Club World Cups by spending the last three decades raising an eyebrow at just the right time.
The truth is that elite coaches are not spoon-fed wisdom, expertise and excellence from the moment they leave the womb. Their know-how is shaped by those early days spent with their head perched on a guillotine waiting for the blade to fall.
Davide Ancelotti clearly has the intelligence and potential to follow in his old man's footsteps in Glasgow. He speaks five languages. He is a smart, urbane, tactically astute coach respected by some of the biggest names in Europe.
The problem here is clear. Even if the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree, no one has the first idea if it's ripe.
Rangers are not Reggiana. Ibrox is not place where a young coach can make his mistakes away from the glare of media scrutiny or demanding supporters.
Regardless of whether his previous clubs were Everton, Napoli, Bayern or Real Madrid, Ancelotti Jr was never the man responsible for the consequential decisions. He has never known how it feels to be the chosen one with thousands of eyes burning a hole in the back of his head as anxiety grows over the team's inability to break down a low block on a dry and bobbly – or artificial – pitch.
In the hazy glow of a takeover, level-headed supporters speak of giving things time. If they see evidence of a plan taking shape, they'll make more allowances for the new people than they ever did for the old.
How much allowance is contingent on what the naked eye tells them. If Ancelotti Jr finds himself heading into October trailing Celtic, with another title race disappearing down the plug hole, the good intentions might not last long.
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In an open letter to supporters, new owners Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe identified thoughtful, disciplined investment – guided by a clear strategy – as the path to success. They wrote of decisions being made with sustainability and the club's
long-term interests in mind.
The appointment of Kevin Thelwell as sporting director might be the most important decision of all.
Charged with forging a new strategy, identity and culture, there is no quick or easy way of fast-tracking the process. The patchy recruitment of Nils Koppen and others before him needs to improve. The arrival of former Everton head of recruitment Dan Purdy will help with the critical task of finally implementing a profitable player-trading model. If a decent offer comes for Nico Raskin or Cyriel Dessers this summer, they have to go.
Put Ancelotti in charge and the new regime will mirror the direction of travel across Europe's top leagues. From Enzo Maresca to Fabian Hurzeler, more and more teams are under the control of a head coach who answers to a sporting director and overseas owners.
If a young thruster is what they want then they should probably elbow Fiorentina out the way and lock Francesco Farioli in a room until he knows the words to 'Penny Arcade' off by heart. So long as he's drawing covetous glances from England or Italy, of course, that's easier said than done.
Every candidate for the job has been spinning plates in the air, weighing up their options. Every one of them has pros and cons; every one of them comes with a level of risk.
As things stand, Rangers are looking at a new chairman, vice-chairman, five new American board members, three old directors moving out and a new sporting director.
With all that flux and change, there's a decent argument for minimising the level of jeopardy in the technical area.
They could do that by simply giving the job to Russell Martin. It's a measure of the antipathy some supporters feel about that idea that they'd prefer to take the punt on Ancelotti.
From time to time a gamble in Glasgow pays off. A late U-turn from Eddie Howe prompted Celtic to make a panicked call to Ange Postecoglou, a plan B with little or no knowledge of the Scottish game.
When the Australian lost three of his opening six league games, his saving grace was good recruitment. He gave the team an identity, a culture and a recognised style of play.
When he needed it most, his experience made the difference.
Right now it feels as if Rangers are looking for a young Ange. A coach of conviction with plenty to prove who can find his feet in Scottish football quickly, forge a new team and give the folk on the other side of the city a run for their money.
Given time and a fair wind Davide Ancelotti just might be that man. With the help and backing of the 49ers investment group, Thelwell and Purdy, standards will surely improve on and off the pitch. He might stamp his authority on the team from day one and be a game-changer. At this stage no one knows for sure that he even has the job.
The only thing anybody can say with any conviction is that something has to change. A Celtic boardroom dominated by cautious, conservative men in grey suits has delivered 13 titles in the last 14 years and 21 of the last 27 trophies up for grabs. Far from aping the safety first strategy of their bitter rivals, Rangers are clearly going in a different direction.
Study his track record and Andrew Cavenagh made his fortune in health insurance by limiting his exposure to risk as much as possible. Appoint Davide Ancelotti and the new owner won't just be making a big, ballsy call. He'll be casting away the habits of a lifetime.