Darthter

We did a decent job securing what we had, but we didn't do much of a job bringing in better players. We simply bought wholesale, inexpensive players who could do a reasonable job domestically, but which was a long way off being good enough for Europe.

Unlike the squad for the last couple of years???? All of whom have been outstanding in Europe!!!!

We are in the process of building a fresh squad - predominantly for the league!!! Is this current squad good enough for Europe, so far its proved no.....but will that be the same towards the end of the season?? we'll just have to wait & see....

None of them are 'marquee' players, not even close.

 

Goian: seems decent so far, probably about the same as Bougherra but without the stinking attitude.

Ortiz: struggled to settle in, not really performing yet.

Wallace: decent, better than Papac by a bit of a distance.

Bartley: seemed impressive last season but can't judge him yet this year.

Bedoya: only just joined, can't really comment yet.

Bocanegra: decent without being special.

McKay: obviously cannot judge at all.

 

I think we've done very averagely. That Wallace was our big summer signing borders on slightly depressing.

Back in January, we couldn't even offer Miller a decent contract.....THAT is depressing.

We now appear to have some decent players brought in, and have the makings of a good, solid squad. The re-building of the squad will be an ongoing thing....probably with another 1 or 2 faces coming in Jan.

As soon as we start thinking about playing "nice" football, we are lost as a successful club.

Arsenal are a prime example of this.

They are a team capable of playing some excellent football, yet what have they one recently - nothing!!!

Would everyone on here be happy if Rangers played brilliant football, yet finished 3rd or 4th in the league??? Folk are complaining NOW, and we're sitting top!!! They complained a few years back while we were in the Euro Cup final!!!

Sport is a RESULTS driven industry.....win the games, then worry about how you do it later...

Agreed. Maybe it's because of the last few seasons,but I was more worried about losing players.We have a good enough squad to win the title,IMO

hopefully they will build on it in Jan.....

So lads, Gioan, Ortiz, Wallace, Bartley, Bocanegra, Bedoya, McKay in and Boogie and Little out, are you happy with that minus the fact we failed to secure a striker?

I think its a good start.....and should be more than adequate to secure the league!!!

I'm not saying that the argument is justified.....but it is a proven fact and backs up the initial statement regardless of how much "extra" is brought in.

If more is brought in than goes out....that opens up a whole new argument.

The point is that if Whyte is pushed on the "you said you'd spend �£5m, and you haven't", he can quite rightly argue against that and provide evidence to support his claim. In essence, he has done what he said he'd do!!!

That's what I call twisted logic. It's tantamount to fraudulence.

facts are facts.....and the figures support the argument. The accounts will state that �£xm has been spend & �£ym has been brought in.

Nothing fraudulent about it - simply pointing out a single line on a balance sheet, and not mentioning the rest!!!

Who's gonna be doing the assaulting though???

Hopefully a settled, well oiled team, who can play a decent game @ a sustained & consistent level.

How much money has actually gone out the door this season on new players??? Maybe 3.5/4m....not too far off. So you could argue that he has fulfilled his promise - from a certain point of view!!!

The Qatar club are absolutely loaded and are highly likely to have paid the full amount for Bougherra immediately, so any rational thinking on transfer funds available to the manager should be deducting that �£1.7m from what's been spent.

That's where the "certain point of view" comes in. Whyte has said the �£5m will be available.....if �£4m goes out the door, regardless of what comes in, he has met his obligation!!!

Folk could then argue that an extra �£1.7m was available, which is true, but when it comes to the balance sheet, it will still show �£4m was spend in new players!!! Whyte can then happily say that his obligation was met, and provide proof that it was. Having any extra is a separate arguement IMHO...

You have to question why we not offloading the deadwood and get the wages down

Difficult to offload them, if no-one wants to buy them!!! You then have the option of canceling the contracts, but how much would that cost in compensation???

So far the signing IMHO, look pretty decent. Goian looks to be a good capture - he's been solid & composed. Bocanegra looks like he will be similar, once he settles a bit. Bedoya & McKay are unkowns at the moment. From what I've heard Bedoya did fairly well for the 20mins he played last weekend. The jury's still out on Ortiz...at the moment it's not looking too rosy, but he will suffice as a squad/backup player. Wallace has done well so far.

I have no doubts that the current squad is capable of securing the league again. It will also be interesting to see what happens in January.

While the Euro money will be missed, I don't think it was essential to Whyte's plans for this season. I think he's more focused on stabilising the club, winning the league, and building a team for next season's Euro assault.

He has created the fans' expectations with the document to the shareholders and the various media stories that his people leaked. He can't now complain that fans are disgruntled when he doesn't spend �£5m net on new players.

Did he actually state that �£5m would be spent on new players....my recollection was that �£5m would be available per season for 5 years.....no clear indication if that included wages or contract renewals!!!

How much money has actually gone out the door this season on new players??? Maybe 3.5/4m....not too far off. So you could argue that he has fulfilled his promise - from a certain point of view!!!

There is also another transfer window this season!!!!

I get the impression that folk are expecting too much!!! Whyte is no Abramovic or wealth Arab Sheik looking for a play thing. He is an astute business man, who specialises in turning struggling companies into successful ones.

Ideally, he will want to turn Rangers into a profitable club, who can fund their transfers etc internally, rather than relying on a "Suger Daddy" to supply �£�£�£�£�£'s.

He is being careful with whatever funds are available, and not paying over the odds for players. So far I think the players that have been brought in will do a good job.

IMHO, the poor Euro showing is not down to the quality of players, but more to do with how we actually play the game - our method of football is light-years behind the rest of Europe. One of the Maribor players highlighted this after the Ibrox game. He stated that they new Rangers were on the ropes when they started playing high balls forward.....Maribor new exactly how we would play - thats why we got beat!!!

I was of the understanding that the season ticket money covers the wage bill, we spent 6m last summer under Lloyds and Whyte was funding Ally 5m to buy players so far we have spent just over 1m. Whyte has done up Ibrox with Catering Contractors Fee so far has he put his hand in his pocket. Could the old board have been right about Whyte.

Regardless of how much has actually been spent, or whether Whyte has put his hand in his pocket.....things ARE happening!!!

The previous administration had neglected Ibrox...that is either being sorted, or has been sorted. How it is being funded is irrelevant....its getting done

The playing squad needed bulked up....6 (i think) new players brought in in THIS transfer window - when was the last time that happened???

Several KEY key players have been re-signed on LONG-TERM contracts....

How much of the above would have happened if Whyte hadn't taken over the club??? Miller was allowed to go coz the previous administration couldn't put a decent contract on the table.....Papac & Weir would have been off, and probably McGregor/Davis. Possibly a number of the younger ones as well.

Whyte may not have splashed out on several 2/3mill players, but he is building a stable platform for the Club to build on & hopefully increasing revenue streams to generate more income, which can then be put towards transfer budgets in the future - which should hopefully make the club more self funding!!!

Yet, regardless of the above....folk still criticise him!!!

Being realistic, I think Whyte would have been reckless/irresponsible if he was basing the spending on making the CL/EL etc. I think he would view that as a bonus, possibly for the next transfer window. It makes poor business sense to spend money that you don't have.

One question that's been on my mind for quite a few years now is that for the money we're spending, even in recent years, compared to the majority of the SPL clubs, is it unreasonable to think our management should be getting more out of the players than we have been?

It has been my view for a number of years, that managers take a lot of undue criticism. The bottom line is that poor performances are ultimately down to the 11 players on the park. They are being paid more in a week, than many folk get in a year. How would your boss react if you told him the reason why your work wasn't up to scratch was because you were tired - you'd get yer books!!! Yet that is what happens all to often at modern clubs. They're tired, they're not match fit etc etc etc. They are PROFESSIONAL players!!!

There were several players last night, who just looked completely uninterested at times. On several occasions, Broadfoot was struggling to move the ball forward, coz no-one was making the effort to get into space to take the ball - the result either backwards or sideways pass.

I have to agree.....

The team selection looked good, but the players just didn't perform. I don't think it would have mattered who was in charge, the outcome would have been the same - it was the PLAYERS that failed.

However, come the last 20mins we looked like a completely different team - we were all over them, yet failed to put the ball in the net when the chances arose. Why did they not play like that for the other 70 mins???

It was a very capable Rangers team out there last night, but form inconsistency put us out.

We are being criticised for flying our national flag

why fly a Union Jack??? What does it have to do with the football?? Also, MY national flag is the Saltire!!!

That also goes for THEM....Scottish teams playing in the Scottish league - why fly Union Jacks or Tri-colours??? They have absolutely NOTHING to do with the club or game being played!!!

I agree in part with some of this article. However, I get the impression that this article is promoting sectarianism - which isn't a good thing in general & especially for the club.

I do agree that Unity is required against ANYONE attempting to tarnish the name of the club

Surely, the important thing is not how much has been spent, but has the money been WELL spent???

Is it not better spending �£1.5m on 4 or 5 player, who all have something to offer the team, rather than �£1.5m on one player, who may turn out to be a dud!!!

I think the above will be answered as the season progresses. So far. the new signings look useful - Goian particular, and he wasn't a big money signing!!!

Judge the players on how they perform on the pitch, not the price tag round their neck!!!

As for the promised transfer money......Remember they have spend big renewing key contracts, while bringing in a number of players - when was the last time that happened??? I don't think CW is being tight-fisted with his cash, I think he is simply spending wisely.

we will either see an improvement through playing in a more natural position or see him just not in the team.

I think it could got either way....I think the latter is more likely though.

@ Frankie's post ... and that is posssibly the reason why we signed up McKay, who plays in their (Lee & Mo's) position. Strong and with an eye for a pass too. Edu can be somewhat frustrating and thus I would, if we have the opportunity, keep him on the bench.

I liked the 4-3-3 formation that McCoist played last week, and I thought that Edu did well. However, if he keeps with that formation for the SPL, I can see the midfield being, Bedoya, Davis & McKay. With Edu predominantly on the bench (or sold...)

I just get the impression that he's not a defensive player.....I think Davis is a good influence on him, but when McCulloch is playing as well, it kinda overrides that influence.

I think that with a more forward/attack minded setup, Edu's general game will pick up.

I think I have noticed a bit of a trend happening...

Anytime Edu & McCulloch are played together, they are both pretty mince. However, I felt that last week against Caley, Edu had a good game alongside Davis & Ness.

I think that Edu's true strength is trying to push forward. With McCulloch beside him, he becomes much more defensive, and doesn't get the opportunity to get up the park.

I think as part of a midfield 3, WITHOUT McCulloch, Edu is capable of doing a good job.

Discuss....

Read on Wikipedia that he Orebro tended to play a 4-3-3 formation....

Could work well for McCoist if thats the route he is wanting to go down - I thought it worked well last weekend.

Ness ---- Davis ----- Bedoya

Could be an interesting midfield!!!

but will there be time to register him before the Maribor game???

Looking forward to seeing him in action - mainly coz of the drawn out process to get him. Hope he's worth it!!!

Evening Times suggesting Fleck going out on loan with Blackpool in pole position!

Think that would be good for him - providing that he actually gets game time!!!

A lot of folk tend to forget that even though Fleck's name has been around Ibrox for a while he's still only 20....