Sam Allardyce turns next Rangers manager case study as his 49ers hunch at Leeds United paints Ibrox picture

Sam Allardyce has turned an interesting case study for how the next Rangers manager race might pan out under new ownership as he shares a tale from time at Leeds United.

The experienced former Newcastle United and West Ham United boss was last in management at the Elland Road club, appointed in the May of 2023 following the dismissal of Javi Gracia, with four matches left to play in the Premier League season. They were eventually relegated but a new dawn was on the horizon.

49ers Enterprises were in the midst of taking majority control at Leeds United, and now their attentions are turning north of the border. Sky Sports claim that an agreement has been made in principle that will see US-based investors take over at Rangers, with Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe and health insurance tycoon Andrew Cavenagh two key players in the deal.

Allardyce’s Leeds United hunch paints Rangers picture

Barry Ferguson currently holds the managerial office on a caretaker basis until the end of the season after Philippe Clement was sacked. Allardyce was in the exact same position amid a proposed 49ers takeover at Leeds United, with Ferguson wearing those shoes now at Rangers.

In a case study of what could pan out at Ibrox once the takeover is complete, Allardyce admits he hesitated on taking Leeds United forward into the Championship with his hunch that the new owners would possibly want their own man. External names like Steven Gerrard and Sean Dyche have so far been debated as possible options Rangers could turn to.

Allardyce told No Tippy Tappy Football: “They might have said this before, when I got it in the period of time, should have been 12 or 14 games, if the director of football would have been big enough to pick an Englishman to come and do the job. And I'm not sure whether he was Spanish or... but certainly the manager they brought in was Spanish. But eventually they turned around to me with only four games to go and they did get rid of that director of football. So I always think that with more time I would have kept the Premier League status.

“But I can't thank the support I got in just that four games from not only the staff but also the fans. They tried, they were behind us, but I was so disappointed that certainly the Tottenham game, because we'd seen such an upturn, even though it was only a loss at Man City 2-1, and then it was... we really threw it away, Newcastle at home.

“And then West Ham, had an opportunity, got in front, but the Tottenham game was a real disappointment in the end. I'll always think that. Why didn't I stay? Well, I wasn't staying at that time because I was just thinking about the club changing hands. Was I going to be left with a case of the new owners come in and just get rid of me? And I'd had that happen at Newcastle, I'd had it happen at Blackburn Rovers. And I really didn't want that to happen again. I don't know whether they would have stayed with me or they wouldn't. I thought new owners, clean break, San Francisco 49ers, but yeah, fantastic club.”

More needed from Rangers

If Ferguson is to get the gig with the 49ers long haul and convince them he’s the right man for the future, he knows performances must improve after losing 2-1 to Motherwell at the weekend. He said after the game: “That level of performance, certainly in the first half, is nowhere near the standards that are needed.

“It’s my job now in this short period of time and I’m going to just go and work my backside off to make sure this gets sorted. I spoke to them in the dressing room, they understand it. Rangers fans can accept you not playing well. What Rangers fans can’t accept is when your team gets run over the top of in the first 45 minutes.

“Yeah, we created a few half-chances, but I said on Friday, when you’re playing at Ibrox, you need to be the dominant force. Motherwell dominated us in the first half. Did we dominate them in the second half? At times, but not enough.”