You can hardly blame Ross Wilson for heading down the A1 to England and a new job at Nottingham Forest.
And his departure for the City Ground is going to be a massive loss for the Ibrox giants. Most people within the club appreciate the job he did but it’s fair to say that love is not exactly universal within elements of the support. Wilson and the board took it in the neck for the recruitment since Rangers won the title under Steven Gerrard. Celtic’s domination when it comes to the title has been the main source of anger and we all saw the banner which read: ‘Ross Wilson, director of failure.’
But that was just a knee-jerk reaction and completely wrong. Wilson wasn’t helped because Rangers overspent on stopping Celtic’s 10-in-a-row bid. It did the job but it came at a cost. Rangers have had to repay the money they spent and Celtic, with cash in the bank from their domestic dominance and big-money sales, spent at a whole different level.
Yes, Wilson was heavily involved in bringing Gio Van Bronckhorst in as manager after Gerrard left. But, in fairness, was he not the big favourite for a lot of the Rangers support at the time? The Dutchman may not have won the league but he helped enhance the club’s reputation, taking them to the Europa League Final and lifting the Scottish Cup.
Rangers never really got to the same level of sales as Celtic either but Wilson managed to negotiate a club-record deal for Nathan Patterson with Everton. He was also inventive in the transfer market by avoiding large fees upfront for Ianis Hagi and Fashion Sakala, while James Sands was similar but his option to buy was never taken up.
Wilson was also heralded for bringing in Aaron Ramsey and Amad Diallo on loan. They looked like decent deals at the time, although neither hit the heights in Scotland. But the European run helped Rangers raise the profile of players and bring in big money from the sales of Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo.
Fans would have been hoping for hefty spending on the back of that and Champions League qualification but the board made it clear big money wasn’t there. The likes of Ben Davies, Antonio Colak, Tom Lawrence and Rabbi Matondo were brought in along with Malik Tillman, who was a loan with an option to buy this summer, which Michael Beale is keen to do.
Not all those have hit the heights but surely it is up to managers to get the best out of them? On paper, they looked like good additions, albeit injuries haven’t helped in some cases.
The bottom line is that Wilson was operating with one hand behind his back and the fact he has accepted a return to the Premier League shows he is a well-respected figure down south.
Rangers may get a six-figure compensation package - but it will surely only be in the weeks after he leaves that Rangers and their fans realise his real value.
