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The Mysterious Story of Ryan Kent (Feat. The Rangers Review) - Ep. 101
495 Plays3 hours ago
We’re joined by special guest Derek Clark of Rangers Review, one of the biggest outlets covering Rangers FC of the Scottish Premiership – the former club of recent Seattle Sounders transfer Ryan Kent. Clark gives us the story of Kent’s winding path to Major League Soccer, including his falling out with Jose Mourinho and answering the question as to whether he has pet crocodiles.
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Transcript
Introduction and Weather Chat
00:00:00
Speaker
Well, sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be real scorcher today. What? The scorcher today? Well, it's gonna be scorcher.
Introducing Ryan Kent
00:00:11
Speaker
All right, I'm very excited to welcome in our next guest.
00:00:26
Speaker
We've all seen what Ryan Kent has done so far during his time in Major League Soccer. We can see that ah the Seattle Sounders have got a very exciting, potentially game-changing player. We know that.
00:00:41
Speaker
But what we don't know necessarily yeah are all the fine points, the details of his path to major league
Ryan Kent's Journey with Derek Clark
00:00:50
Speaker
soccer. How does a player like this become available on a free transfer? I feel like we know the basics of the story, ah but to learn more about it, I figured who better to ask than someone who covers Rangers FC day in day out, the club where Ryan Kent spent his best years at the club level.
00:01:10
Speaker
ah So in order to ah learn more about this, learn more about this player and his path to Seattle and major league soccer, welcoming to the show right now. His name is Derek Clark of Rangers Review, which as far as I can tell is the best resource for coverage of ah Rangers FC.
00:01:30
Speaker
ah Derek, thank you so much for taking the time to join our show today. How are things going out in Glasgow? Yeah, all good, Ari. Thank you very much for having me. That's sex some kind words from your good self. Yeah, we're basking in sunshine over here. that's We've been spoiled ah with ah temperatures. We're hitting 25 degrees set the other day there, so that is unheard of. We usually get a wee little bit of sunshine, but never this prolonged period of time. So not ideal for me right enough. I'm a fair-headed sort of guy, so I need to seek shade at all times. But that aside, it's been, there yeah, All very good. Although Rangers this season haven't been the best. Everyone's looking forward to the season ending this coming weekend and looking forward to the takeover, which is on the horizon.
00:02:21
Speaker
a group of Americans, you might you might have heard, the 49ers Enterprises, who have control of Leeds United, are poised to take over. So there's a lot of anticipation and excitement about what they could do with the club going forward.
Rangers Review and Ryan Kent's Move to MLS
00:02:37
Speaker
Well, ah really ah really looking forward to getting into this interview with you and talking about Ryan Kent. But before we do that, I do always like to give our guests a chance to tell our audience about the the work that you do.
00:02:53
Speaker
ah So what can you tell us just about Rangers Review and the work that you guys do covering the team day in and day out and what your role is covering the club? Yeah, sure. So we are a sort of a website and a YouTube channel covering the club. We've been going for, I think, about four years this year.
00:03:13
Speaker
And it's sort of gone from strength to strength. And yeah, but we can record at a YouTube show every weekday, Monday to Friday, just covering all the latest news, all things Rangers. We cover all the games as well. And yeah,
00:03:28
Speaker
In terms of the website, we've got another couple of guys that um keep us up to date with all the latest goings on from Ibrox, where Rangers play. A lot of talk right now just off a show with Chris Jack, my colleague, about the latest with regards to the managerial search. The talk is that Carlo Ancelotti's son could be the next Rangers head coach, which is...
00:03:52
Speaker
quite something so yeah we've just been updating the fan base on that but yeah YouTube channel and a website and it's been there going strong at Ari so long may it continue so I feel like you're well especially myself being a Rangers fan and sort of living the dream a little bit getting to cover your boyhood club week in week out so yeah and if you want to check out the the the website or the YouTube channel folks then please do Everyone in chat, go subscribe to Rangers Review ah for all your coverage of Rangers FC and the Scottish Premiership.
00:04:25
Speaker
Show them some support. Derek's giving us his time, so it's the least you least you could do. But all right, Derek, let's get into it because... Ryan Kent, he arrived to the Seattle Sounders just a few weeks ago ah under somewhat mysterious circumstances.
00:04:42
Speaker
No one really knew what to expect. it was ah It was a free transfer.
Kent's Seamless Transition to MLS
00:04:46
Speaker
I guess, first of all, i'm wondering how much have you been able to follow how he's done in Major League Soccer so far? Have you been keeping tabs on how he's doing or do you kind of have no idea?
00:04:57
Speaker
I've seen him when he came on and made his debut. I noticed when he he signed for you guys as well, I was actually surprised it took him so long to find a club because he had his contract terminated with Fenerbahce at the end of last year. He had a bit of a disastrous time in Turkey. Not the only player that has gone from Britain.
00:05:17
Speaker
and had an unsuccessful period over there but yeah I was surprised it took him so long to find a club but when I noticed he'd signed for Seattle Sounders I thought oh that's a good club MLS a good level for him and I was just wondering if he could recapture the sort of form that we witnessed at Rangers um I felt that his career might just nosedive and I certainly Felt that we would have seen the best of him in a Rangers jersey. But I'm intrigued to figure out how he's been getting on over there. i know you've been quite excited at how he's been performing, which is a good thing. He's certainly one of those players that you go and you pay money to go and watch football. He gets you off your seats and he's ah an entertainer. So, um yeah, I'm pleased that he's ah doing well so far.
Kent's Career Highlights and Challenges
00:06:05
Speaker
Yeah, you know, it's funny that you say that because ah bums off seats were his own words to describe was ah the type of player that he is. And so that's kind of come ah become a catchphrase ah because, I mean, I can just give you the update. He's only played, I think, last night was, I think, his fourth appearance for Seattle since he got here.
00:06:26
Speaker
That game was difficult. Seattle took a big loss at LAFC last night. But before that, they had won four out of five. And he's been excellent so far. Like I said, I don't think that, at least for me personally, I wasn't sure what the expectations should be because you have this player who it seems like it's a bit of a... ah distressed asset uh in a sense uh and like you mentioned i wanted to get into uh the kind of what happened during his time in turkey ah but no like uh pretty much from the uh instant he set foot on the field in mls uh his first few games
00:07:02
Speaker
he's looked like the best player on the field, like immediately. And I think what's been impressive about it is how quickly he's integrated with his, with his new team. Seattle has ah another player, big time acquisition, Jesus Ferreira, where the storyline has been that he's had a lot of trouble adapting to the team and fitting in and Ryan Kent. It's like, he just slid right in there and God, just the, the creativity, but also the, the,
00:07:29
Speaker
the flair that he plays with the kind of swagger that he has on the field. ah I guess just hearing how well he's doing in MLS so far, um, does that surprise you at all? Or based on, uh, based on the guy you covered, does that add up?
00:07:46
Speaker
Uh, yeah, well, uh, when he was on it at Rangers, when he was, uh, on top of his game then he was a real joy to watch I actually seen him before he joined Rangers back 2016-17 he was ah on loan at Barnsley and I was down south covering ah a few games at Barnsley that's where he caught my eye initially and I thought let's this guy's got talent he was on loan initially from Liverpool he had a few loan spells from from Liverpool in fact when he first came to Rangers he was on loan and he did well in that first season and Rangers then stumped up I think it was about seven and a half million quid which is a lot of cash for a club like Rangers but it was considered at the time a good move and yeah he was instrumental in the
00:08:33
Speaker
the 55 season when Rangers won the league title under Steven Gerrard. And yeah, initially when he came, people were thinking, wow, this guy's got a lot of talent, quick feet, ah mesmerizing at times, a defender's nightmare going up against him because you didn't know what he was going to do. He's good with both feet. He can go one way or the other.
00:08:54
Speaker
Sometimes I don't think he knows what he's going to do, but that much that's what makes him a real exciting talent. um The last... The Fenerbahce move was a surprising one for me. I think he would have earned a lot financially out of that, especially I think he's got a decent agent to get him a move over there. But I was surprised when he left Rangers. That in itself was a thorny issue because the Rangers fans weren't too happy that he was allowed to run down his contract. As I mentioned, there's seven and a half million quid to then see him walk out the door for nothing isn't really good business anymore.
00:09:29
Speaker
sense really. um So, and the thought was in his final season at Rangers, he was not nowhere near the level that we have witnessed from him before. I've seen him a good few times in the flesh and he just looked disinterested.
00:09:43
Speaker
And certainly when he went to Turkey, It didn't help that they had a managerial change there, but by all accounts, Jose Mourinho came in, didn't fancy him, and just looked like he'd sort of fallen out a love with the game.
00:09:56
Speaker
And he was linked with a lot of moves back home to England, also linked with a move back to Ibrox as well, which sort of split the fan base. Some were quite excited at the prospect of him returning. Some felt that because he was so often off it in his final season, they didn't want anything to do with him.
00:10:16
Speaker
Thank you. and know the Rangers manager at the time, Philip Clamont, was asked about him in a press conference and he said he tried to sign him when he was a Club Rouge manager and he missed out to Rangers at the time when Steven Gerrard brought him in initially. So he was a big fan, but they couldn't get a deal over the line. So, yeah, it was ah quite a surprise to see him pitch up at you guys. um But it was one of those moves. I'm sure we talked about it on one of our shows at the time. We felt that it it could just be the right move for him to try and reinvent himself.
00:10:47
Speaker
Yeah, it's interesting what you say about ah like falling out of love with the game because based on some of the stuff that he's told us, that's exactly kind of what it sounds like happened.
00:11:00
Speaker
And I think something that ah it seems like he's benefiting from early on in mls is it just it looks like he's having fun. Like he's... He's like I said, he's playing with flair out there. He said it's the easiest locker room he's ever had to fit into. So it seems like ah it seems like he's falling back in love with the game again. But ah I'm interested to hear more about ah sort of the end of his time.
00:11:25
Speaker
with Rangers because my impression of it is that he had this fairly lengthy run where it was pretty electric, honestly, a lot of the similar attributes to what we're seeing here.
00:11:37
Speaker
But what a did you get any sort of read or concept of the downturn at the end of his time with Rangers? Was it just like him falling out of form or out of favor and then it snowballed or what kind of led to his eventual departure to Fenerbahce?
00:11:56
Speaker
Yeah, it's an interesting one. It doesn't help that the fact that Rangers, when he first came, I touched on there, Gerrard brought him in. He then left to to go to Aston Villa. Rangers then brought in ah Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who was a former player at the time. And there's a famous...
00:12:13
Speaker
video clip doing the rounds i think the first one of one of the first training sessions he brought in roy mckay the ex-dutch striker as one of his coaches and uh he said famously they were doing a little drill in training and he says uh tricks are for the circus uh and uh brian kent was uh the player that he was uh sort of uh telling that to and you think to yourself well ryan kent's an expressive sort of player he likes to um He likes to, like I say, if he's ah he' an entertainer. it doesn't do He does things off the cuff. So he was sort of like a caged animal, if you like, under Gio. Although that being said, that he had ah a major role in the run to the Europa League final. That season scored some important goals for Rangers.
00:12:57
Speaker
um But he was he's very much part of a unit as opposed to... ah expressing himself and being a bit off the cuff, if you like. Gio then left after some disappointing results. Michael Beal came in, who was Steven Gerrard's assistant, and he was in and out of the team.
00:13:15
Speaker
And the times that he was in the team, he just... I don't know what it was. It might have been a confidence issue with him, but he just looked so far off the pace. It defies belief. um Even his work rate wasn't as ah and what it was, and that the fans were getting a tad frustrated at him being in the team. So it was a bit of a sad ending, really, that final year at Rangers.
00:13:39
Speaker
And yeah, to allow him to walk out the door for nothing after paying that much money for him, ah You really can't let that happen. He's not the only one. There's a number of other assets Rangers have allowed that to happen, which is ah unacceptable, really. But yeah, it's one of those. It's a hard one to put your finger on it. But I think confidence played a part. Changing managers played a part.
00:14:02
Speaker
all have different styles and ways they like to play the game. So that didn't help. But Gerrard certainly got the best out of him, I feel. And as I touched on earlier, that 55 season when Rangers went through the league campaign unbeaten,
00:14:16
Speaker
He was unplayable at times.
Memorable Performances and Potential Resurgence
00:14:18
Speaker
And yeah, he was a real joy to watch. So he certainly seems like a confidence player. A lot of demands at Rangers as well, where the fan base can be on your back. If you make it a slack pass, if you give the ball away cheaply or...
00:14:30
Speaker
you take the wrong option, they can get on your back at times. at a very demanding fan base. I just wonder, going to Seattle, um like you say, it might be able just to relax a little bit more. I know Fenerbahce is very intense as well, um whereas perhaps, he's as you touched on there, he's just gone over there and he's enjoying playing the game again. I'm not too sure what the the expectation levels are at you guys at the moment, but I can't imagine that he'll be as ah intense as what he's used to, even at Liverpool as well, of course, where he never quite made it. um These are ah big clubs where the expectation levels are are sky high. So maybe he just needs that little arm round the shoulder and toe to go out there and just ah be himself. And that might be the the trick to get the best out him.
00:15:14
Speaker
Yeah, so basically what happened was, i mean, i don't think an acquisition like this was, i mean, it wasn't in the cards based on where Seattle's roster was at, but they had a major injury. One of the players that they acquired over the offseason via an interleague trade.
00:15:31
Speaker
Torres ACL and the way it works here is that you're allowed to it's like the season ending injury list and then that allows you to spend salary cap money that you otherwise wouldn't have to make an acquisition like this and the stars just ah kind of aligned where he happened to be available exactly as Seattle was looking for a player of his profile and it seems like it worked out about as well as it could have as far as Seattle like lucking their way into into a replacement.
00:16:01
Speaker
not Thinking back to that season you were talking about where Rangers won the league, was that 2021? Yes. yeah So thinking back to that season, sounds like that was his best year with Rangers.
00:16:17
Speaker
What do you remember about his form that year what's What seemed like it clicked and how did he sort of ah turn that into being one of the best players for league winning side?
00:16:31
Speaker
Yeah, he was one of a number of players. ah just um done Everything just clicked that season. It was a COVID season, so um i mean the fans weren't in the and the stadiums, which is unfortunate, but he was never present in that team. There was ah a front line that...
00:16:47
Speaker
was really formidable, scored a lot of goals, there was goals coming from everywhere, Kent chipped in with a good few, they had Alfredo Morelos, Jermaine Defoe chipped in with goals as well, as well as at the likes of Yanis Hadji, and it just worked, he was given us a sort of free roll at times, just able to drift in and out, as I touched on earlier, a defender's a real nightmare to to pick him up, they didn't know if they had to drop off or sit in, if you got too tight to Ryan Kent, then he could easily turn you and get away from you,
00:17:17
Speaker
He had blistering speed as well, that initial sort of five, ten yards to bust a away throat from someone. um So, yeah, that was fully evident in that that season when ah Rangers romped to the title. They turned up in big games as well. That was a season where ah Rangers won. In fact, it was prior to that, i think, 2019-20 season was the famous win at Parkhead when Rangers beat Celtic and Kent scored. He finished off a great move and he got in a bit of trouble um for for his celebration. The Celtic fans didn't quite like how he was celebrating his goal, but he often turned up it in big games, Ryan Kent, which is why the Rangers fans really enjoyed watching him.
00:18:00
Speaker
He was a big game player. and uh yes certainly that 55 season and everything just sort of came together at once and uh all uh just fell into place at that season Rangers were magnificent to watch uh blew everyone away and uh were rightly named champions going through that the season unbeaten if anything they should have won a treble that season acquired the two cups but uh they went out of those competitions when they really should have mopped up that year but uh That is it this season, I think, is top of my memory when I think of Ryan Kent and, of course, as well as I touched on that Europa League run. You might be able to see yet YouTube ah reels of him terrorising the Borussia Dortmund defence and a brilliant goal he scored against Red Star Belgrade.
00:18:48
Speaker
And yeah, he played ah a starring role in that Rangers run towards Seville. um So um yeah, he was magnificent. That was probably the that the peak of Ryan Kent. I do wonder that if he'll be able to sort of recapture that sort of form. You know he's now 28, so you certainly get plenty of years left in him.
00:19:07
Speaker
But it was a real joy to watch, certainly the 55 season and that run to Seville ah where he was unplayable. mean, he's going up against some of the best defenders in the world, old especially when Dortmund, that Dortmund result was ah massive at the time. It really gave Rangers belief that they could go on a run and to all the way to the final. So, um yeah, it's almost a case of the bigger, the more well-known opponent he came up against, then the the better a performance he got from Ryan Kent.
00:19:38
Speaker
That's nice to hear that he's a ah big game player because Seattle has their biggest game of the season coming up here this weekend. The big derby here is Seattle versus Portland Timbers. They're going on the road.
00:19:51
Speaker
And I am really excited to see this guy play in a derby like this because ah like you mentioned, he got sort of a reputation as a, as a big game player. i guess I wanted to ask you about these ah Rangers Celtic derbies. I get ah Ryan Kent's ah presence in it. I think I saw, i think you might've mentioned it there, but there was a he punched a guy, i think in the, in the dark you know, you never, you never want to see that, ah you know, you got to keep control of your emotions.
00:20:23
Speaker
ah But I don't mind a guy who's going to get up for the intensity of ah a Derby like that. I guess more generally, I'm curious, like what are, what's a Rangers Celtic Derby like?
00:20:36
Speaker
just the intensity and the spectacle of it. That's one, that's one of the ones that when I think about the Derby games around the world that I would love to go catch, that's like near the top of the list.
00:20:47
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it's pretty intense stuff. ah And yeah, that there one there was one recently, it wasn't as intense as as what it should have been, just because the fact that the Celtic had already won the league. Rangers haven't really competed for the league title for a number of seasons now. They haven't won it since Kent was part of that team that won it back in 2021. in terms of The actual fixture, it's one of those, you're quite right there, Ari, it's um one of those games that you're on the bucket list for for many to go and just savour and experience because there's nothing quite like it, really. I think it's quite easily that the biggest and most intense derby in the UK in particular ah ah and certainly put up against that one big ones in Europe. think Lazio Roma is certainly intense. The Fenerbahce-Galatasseri games are
00:21:38
Speaker
ah pretty mouth-watering as well but it's right up there um and yeah you need a a certain type of character to play for Rangers and Celtic in these fixtures often you'll get guys that might go into their shell and and and they won't rise to the occasion in games like this but it's all right being a good player but you have to have the right character as well to stand up because it can be deafening walking out whether it be at Ibrox or at Parkhead but that's the thing with Kent he seemed to really thrive in that sort of environment that that instant that you mentioned it was Scott Brown who went down I think he was goading him I'm sure Celtic had just scored which turned out to be the winner if I'm not mistaken I think it might have been Gerrard's first game old firm game at Parkhead Celtic I think won that match and Brown certainly went down a bit easy but
00:22:25
Speaker
that that still image of Kelken is, yeah, just shows you how sort of intense and fierce the derby is, really, it can affect the most them sayable stable-minded sort of players, it can make them do weird and wonderful things, but Yep, certainly turned up it in these Derby games. Ryan Kent has touched on there, that goal at Parkhead 2019, I think, or 2020 it may be.
00:22:53
Speaker
um If you've not seen it you should go and watch. It's a really good move from Rangers and a fabulous finish from Kent.
Derby Intensity and Kent's Impact
00:22:58
Speaker
Again, as I touched on there, ah two feet. I think he fires it in with his ah left foot, but he's equally as comfortable on both feet.
00:23:06
Speaker
Can pick up position on the left and the right and can play the sort of number 10 as well. So he's very comfortable in... ah across the the front line and yeah certainly terrorized Celtic on a good few occasions but that last season I touched on there it looked like he was phoning it in at times there was at a match at Hamden for the life of me I think it was a cup final or the the cup semi-final and he was so off the pace it defied belief um I don't know if it was a fitness issue or his confidence was shot to bits but he just looked like a
00:23:39
Speaker
a shell of the player that i we'd all known um prior to that season but yeah in terms of a fixture very much if you can get the chance to go to one ah then do it because yeah you'll never forget it is such a a big ah component of Scottish football Rangers Celtic matches and yeah as long as your team comes out on top, that they're always, when I watch them, not enjoyable at the time because your your heart's racing and you're on the edge of your seat worrying whenever Celtic foray into that the Rangers penalty area. um But if your team wins, there's no greater feeling than that.
00:24:15
Speaker
got Derek Clark of Rangers Review on the show talking some Ryan Kent Derek I just got a couple more for you and then I'll let you go I do have to ask my audience will destroy me if I don't ask this one so I do have to ask do you know if he has pet crocodiles can you confirm or deny the existence of the pet crocodiles you know i've seen this ah this is this is this is how it sort of surprised me his period out the game he was linked with a whole host of clubs and i think this was a club in iran if i'm not mistaken and apparently
Kent's Personality and Rumors
00:24:49
Speaker
the reports were he'd agreed to join because the owner i can't remember what it's to do but something to do it with crocodiles it just seemed absolutely bonkers but i do not think he has pet crocodiles i don't even think that's allowed
00:25:03
Speaker
anywhere really. So yeah, it was ah one of the the weird and wonderful news stories to come out, i think over the turn of the year, January time when he was getting linked to all sorts of clubs.
00:25:15
Speaker
ah So yeah, I do not think he has any pet crocodiles, thankfully. Okay. Cause that, I mean, that's honestly been one of the biggest topics of discussion is the crocodiles, whether or not they exist, ah whether he was going to bring them to Seattle. Yeah.
00:25:33
Speaker
And, you know, that was one of the first things I heard about the guy. So I was like, all right, seems like he might be a little eccentric. Yeah, but yeah it's about out there, Ryan Kent. He is. Yeah, he's not your yeah you normal sort of guy. Very eccentric, like like you say.
00:25:46
Speaker
um Yeah, very sort of... ah his own sort of guy if you if you know what mean he doesn't air follow trends or things like that he does his own thing but certainly crocodiles when I heard that it sort of blew me away as well all I thought it was a bit bonkers to be honest with you but yeah never moved to Iran in the end I don't know if if that was just paper talk or one of these crazy transfer websites just there trying to make up a ah rumor but yeah never materialized in the end Well, okay okay, let's talk about this though, because you know crocodiles aside, ah you know you hear that you hear that detail, and then ah you know you're you're i'm just looking up random videos, Ray. You hear about the crocodiles, you see the ah punch, then you hear the story of what happened at Fenerbahce and the falling out with Mourinho.
00:26:39
Speaker
And I'm sort of thinking, all right, maybe the issue with this guy, it's clearly not talent, ah But maybe perhaps there's like attitude issues or those eccentricities maybe take away from his play on the field at times.
00:26:55
Speaker
So I was sort of prepared for maybe like a ah bigger outsized personality with maybe attitude issues or something like that, because How else does a ah guy at this level of player, why why would he be available on a free transfer to come to MLS? doesn't make any sense. But I will tell you, since he's got here, ah he seems he seems very humble.
00:27:18
Speaker
He seems very like ah laid back. yeah like what are you ah like Is that lined up with the personality of the guy that... you covered or do you think he's maybe just trying to put on a, ah not a show, but just, you know,
00:27:37
Speaker
adapting to a new team come off as a certain type of way? Or what do you think? He's a quiet guy in the main. I mean, he's not someone that that hogs hogs the limelight. Let's use football to the talking, really. um I know you touched on there a few incidents, but so yeah, it was never really... ah touched on there, of course, his celebration. That was more Celtic fans just that losing the rag over Rangers winning a game at Parkhead. It's not the first time that's happened. It won't be the last. and But yeah, very rarely...
00:28:05
Speaker
ah up in front of the beaks for anything untoward certainly when he was at Rangers just trying to think if he was ever sent off at all I can't i can't remember it if he was to be honest he wasn't someone that you were you were always worried about in terms of his temperament or anything like that um so Alfredo Morelos was certainly in his starting Rangers his first few seasons he was someone that picked up needless red cards but Kent was never that sort of guy um he just stuck to the game very quiet um so I wouldn't worry too much about that he's not one of these hothead characters that that are coming to the MLS it's going to be a bad boy if you like I don't think that's that's his nature so yeah all would say is just ah enjoy him while he can not too sure what sort of contract length that he signed with you guys and and what is
00:28:58
Speaker
his aspirations and his thinking is ahead of the future I just think it's ah when I seen him signing for Seattle I thought that could be a decent move for him good level at the MLS could be a place for him to just enjoy football again I guess and ah really reinvent himself and show really what he's capable of. It's an interesting one. He could have i touched on the that run too. Seville, he was instrumental in that run, but in that final itself, I think and ah it's there's a big, big chance for Rangers right at the death in that game against Frankfurt.
Critical Career Moments and Departure from Fenerbahce
00:29:34
Speaker
Kamal Roof put the ball across set the face of goal and he connected but the goalkeeper, Trap I think his name, made a save. Now that there is ah a feeling that the ball may have crossed the line before it had got to Ryan Kent and it would have been chalked off by VAR but I'm not necessarily sure that would have been the case. Now if he had scored that Ryan Kent it would have been Probably ah the winning goal and Rangers would have won the European trophy if he had scored that winning goal. His career, I think, may have turned out slightly different than what it has done.
00:30:08
Speaker
They'd have wanted to build a statue to at Ibrox if he'd scored that goal, I reckon. So and perhaps it's something like that that's just played on his mind, that feeling of... so close yet so far and his career as I touched on there that that last season at Ibrox it was a bit of a ah hangover he just played down his contract didn't look interested at times got the move to Fenerbahce which I've got to admit I was like hmm really Fenerbahce huge club but Turkey Not many players go over there and really make a name for themselves. So, and it turned out to be an absolute disaster for him.
00:30:42
Speaker
um And then that time out the game, I was thinking, where's he going to end up next? As i you touched on there, he was getting linked to it all sorts of clubs. And, um, Yeah, Seattle comes up and and he moves over there. So I would say best of luck to him. I hope he goes on. As I touched on there, he's 28, isn't he? So he's got a few years left in him. I really hope that he gets back to something near his best because if he can, then ah yeah, he's a real joy to behold.
00:31:13
Speaker
Yeah, I guess that's sort of my last one as we ah start to wrap it up here. Thank you so much again for the time. ah Like, do you do you know anything about, like, exactly what happened at Fenerbahce in the ah fallout with Mourinho? Was it just a case of the coach not raiding the player? Did they butt heads on an interpersonal level? what's Because it's it just – I think one of the strangest things about it is – Right, like he makes this big move from Rangers to Fenerbahce.
00:31:43
Speaker
i think at that point, everyone's considering his trajectory just on upward, straight upward trend. And then ah you hear about this falling out with the coach or whatever, but I have no concept of exactly what happened.
00:31:58
Speaker
Was that sort of like behind the scenes that no one knows about, or was there publicly reported stuff about exactly how that went down? It's a weird one because Mourinho wasn't there when he initially joined and I think there was murmurings that he wasn't too happy there before he arrived.
00:32:15
Speaker
I thought to myself, oh, maybe Mourinho can get the best out of him, but he went along the same lines. I think the president came out and spoke out against Kent and they're very vocal over it in Turkey. and Now there's been another, of other Rangers players have went out to play there recently Trabzonspor.
00:32:31
Speaker
And I think the president recently came out and slated the signing of John Lundstrom who went to sign for Trabzonspor. But I think he's changed his tune now. But yeah, if they're not happy with you over there, then they're very vocal in telling you if they don't want you to play,
00:32:46
Speaker
I think some clubs don't even pay your wages and they try and force you out the door. So think that was the case with Kent. I also think they do have a a quota in terms of foreign players that are able to be part of the squad. So I think they had too many players from outwith Turkey that could be registered. So Kent...
00:33:06
Speaker
wasn't part of the make-up of the squad initially, I'm sure. um And then, of course, if you get no chance of playing, then you're not going to be not going tonna be happy with that. So um I think it was a move that was just doomed from the outset. I'm not entirely sure the other player that um got picked ahead of Kent, but yeah, he never really got an opportunity. Mourinho comes in.
00:33:27
Speaker
and isn't impressed by what he sees ah from him in training. They try and force him out the door. I think he was linked with Lazio. They tried to yeah and make him go there, and he was not for moving, really, Kent, and came to the and the point where they decided just to terminate his contract. I think it was November time or something, October time, I can't remember, but just to get rid of him, get him off the wage bill. So,
00:33:52
Speaker
ah yeah it's just one of those ones I think you would have got a decent signing on free out of it but in terms of career progression it that it really wasn't good for ah Ryan Kent and he's probably wasted a good couple of years two and half years of his career just at Rangers when he went through the motions and then Fenerbahce which was just a disaster so yep you'd imagine you just wanted to get out there get on the park and show what he can do again Yeah, well, it worked out for for us. I mean, we're thrilled to have him in Seattle. Like I said, just these first few cameos where he's coming on as a substitute, he started one game, but ah just been pretty electric and ah kind of ah
00:34:36
Speaker
ah Criticism, I would say, of the Seattle Sounders in recent years. They're one of the winningest clubs in the league. Not always the most exciting club to watch, especially in the last couple years. So he's really added a lot of juice.
00:34:48
Speaker
Real quick, I did want to ask, ah but ah where do things stand with the...
Rangers' Struggles and Future Prospects
00:34:53
Speaker
Rangers right now. Like my ah my perception of ah the Scottish premiership from the outside as someone who doesn't follow us follow it it at all is ah that you be it's basically a Rangers Celtic show at in the in the top two, but it sort of feels like Celtic usually comes out on top and it's like Rangers are the clear...
00:35:14
Speaker
next best team but maybe can't quite get over uh hump of beating celtic or finishing ahead of them on a regular basis uh is that still the dynamic would you say is there is there is that gap still there or uh do you feel like there's a chance that the that rangers could really challenge to be the uh top team in scotland uh going forward here Yeah, unfortunately that's been the the story in the last few seasons. Ever since they won that league, as I touched on there under Steven Gerrard, the gap has just grown and grown. Celtic have spent a lot of money rebuilding a squad and they brought Ange Posse Coglu in, who's now at Spurs. He won the
00:35:56
Speaker
Won the title. They brought Brendan Rodgers back when Postacoglu left. it And Rangers went through ah number of managers that have ah really struggled to keep on Celtic's coattails. They did come close last season. they They were so far behind before appointing Philippe Clermont, a Belgian coach, ah who got them back in the title race. So much so he had them ahead at one point. But in the business end of the season, they just choked when it mattered. And that has been levelled at this Rangers squad for quite some time. that they When the going gets tough,
00:36:27
Speaker
that they're found wanting. So, um yeah, we're going into this summer. Another rebuild is required with regards to the squad. We're just thankful that there is this takeover on the horizon. Otherwise, it would be a real depressing state of affairs. um Celtic are a richer club now than Rangers. Well, at this point, I imagine with this takeover taking place, that Rangers will be able to now start shopping in different markets for players.
00:36:52
Speaker
And the hope is that... The 49ers can get a Rangers team winning on the park again and get challenging for silverware again because Celtic have been allowed to surpass Rangers in terms of the trophy count, which is totally unacceptable for the the board that are there at the moment. um So it's vitally important to get that the next manager appointment right.
00:37:14
Speaker
And they bring in a standard of player that is able to cope with the demands of Scottish football, which is is quite unique in a way because you do have to win every single week. um Then you've throw the factor in that in Europe, but Rangers have been really good in Europe. And and ever since Gerrard came, they've restored their reputation in European competition. they reached out the quarterfinals of the Europa League this season. and And yeah, they've managed to but perform well in Europe against some of the the top teams on the continent, but struggle domestically against teams that they should be beating quite easily. So need to try and find a balance there. So it's a big summer ahead again for Rangers, but there is a bit more optimism around the place with the prospect of this change in ownership.
00:37:59
Speaker
about Rangers and the direction the club could be going in so hopefully they can challenge next year they're a massive I don't even know what the gap is at the moment but the league was pretty much done by yeah New Year which was ah totally unacceptable they'd fallen so far behind Celtic so It is a two-horse race in Scotland. It's been like that for about 40 years.
00:38:19
Speaker
I can't see it changing any time soon. So second is nowhere in Scotland. That's what they say. There's no prize for finishing second in Scotland and unless you're one of the other teams. So, yeah, hopefully that can all change next year because Celtic have had it all their own way for too often now.
00:38:36
Speaker
Eric, that is all I got for you. Thank you so much for the time. ah feel like I learned a lot about Ryan Kent and his path to major league soccer. So i really appreciate you sharing that knowledge ah with myself and with our audience.
00:38:52
Speaker
Again, everyone subscribe to Rangers review. They're doing great work over there. And, you know, Derek, I don't know if you, if you're, if you'll ever find your way out to Seattle, maybe go to a Sounders game, but if you do, do it on me.
00:39:08
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I'll be sure to do that at it at some point. i'll try and get myself over sometime. And if i ah if I'm ever out in Glasgow ah to get to one of these derbies, which that is, ah that's that's on my list.
00:39:19
Speaker
That's on my list. It should yeah You won't be, Chris. Enjoy it. Sounds good. Best of luck with you for with all your off-season coverage and everything going forward with ah with Rangers. And, yeah, thanks again. Really appreciate No problem anytime.
00:39:35
Speaker
Take care.