SteveC

"McCoist shrugged off the bizarre proposal to bring Johan Cryuff and Frank Rijkaard into the Ibrox management team." "If the gentleman who wrote it can promise Cruyff and Rijkaard...." I thought the document said these names were beyond us but was using them as a pointer to the kind of thing we should be looking at (Hiustra, De boers and Laurup spring to mind). Maybe I read it wrongly - either that or the quotes above are a tad unjust. On another note - I am old enough to remember Cruyff raving about how great Gers fans were some 40 years ago (approx.), said interview had photograph of him with a Belfast RSC on a trip somewhere.....

Many thanks, my feed was cut in the midst of this. I couldn't see what had happened to the feed as I had some flecks of dust in both eyes.....one can love him as a man (steady!) and a Ranger without thinking he's any good as a manager, you know

Yes, but I meant re the breakaway plan - what if the team who replace them in SFL1 don't agree with the new plan to betray the SFL and don't sign?

There is something very suspicious about all this: not only are the SFL being blamed when the SPL voted against it but where the hell is the money coming from? They would lose money out of this, not gain. There's a stictch-up underpinning this - but what? They have our TV money already

Note the use of "old Rangers" - the bile comes out of every pore with the rhabids: The "Scotsman" (or "Celtman"in most cases): ---By ANDREW SMITH Published on 05/05/2013 01:54 IT WAS naturally billed as the season like no other. But for most of the clubs in the first ever Rangers-less Scottish top flight, ticket sales have been much like those across any other recent season. And, when set against the challenging economic backdrop, the manner in which support has held up for most Scottish Premier League teams speaks of a robustness that a doom-mongering chorus last summer discounted. Of course, the demise of the old Rangers has led to a huge drop in the overall total for top-flight ticket sales, and the picture is mixed. On the latter front, though, each campaign always is, because individual factors will impact on the number of seats any club will be able to sell. But the fact that half of the 12 top-flight clubs have posted an increase in their year-on-year figures â?? Dundee and Ross County inevitably doing so as the leagueâ??s newcomers â?? is pretty remarkable. To do so without the Rangers fan base that on average has accounted for almost 5 per cent of SPL clubsâ?? home gates previously, points to more supporters having backed their teams. Certainly that is true for Hibernian and Aberdeen. Derbies, meanwhile, have seen slight upswings for Dundee United and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. In some cases, more local support could not offset the reduction created by the loss of potentially two visits from Rangers. Kilmarnock, with a 20 per cent drop, Motherwell and Celtic have been the biggest losers in terms of the projections this newspaper made last summer. In the case of the champions, the loss of their major rival has meant 70,000 fewer seats sold, the biggest single reduction in sales. Actual attendances we can only speculate at, with it believed around 10,000 of the clubâ??s 42,000 season ticket holders have regularly failed to attend this season. Celtic publish attendance figures that cover the people who pay for seats, rather than those who actually then choose to sit on them. Therein might lie a problem masked by judging the SPL numbers in isolation. â??It is a positive that, in a very difficult period, the clubs have managed to contain the attendances they have logged,â? says Charles Barnett of BDO, who will soon start gathering data for the accountancy firmâ??s next yearly football finance directors survey. â??That doesnâ??t give you the whole story about revenues, however. We will look at what has happened to retail, merchandise and food stall sales. If fewer people are attending, these can be impacted. â??I am not surprised by the figures overall, though, and especially the fact that clubs in the north have fared better than those in west of Scotland. The promoted club were in the north and Dundee stepping up also means a large travelling support in that area. That support wonâ??t extend as far as such as Kilmarnock and Motherwell, however.â? Kilmarnock have experienced the biggest drop in tickets sales, 20 per cent down from a year ago. Manager Kenny Shiels talks of that figure â?? the product of numbers going from just under 100,000 to 80,000 across 17 home games â?? as being â??doctoredâ? since it doesnâ??t take account of a particular visit by a Glasgow club last season. Nearly 16,000 were there to witness Celtic winning the league last year â?? the equivalent of nearly four average league attendances at Rugby Park. â??If you are looking for other reasons, last year we had the upturn in the run-in to the semi-final and final of the League Cup, and after,â? Shiels says. â??It isnâ??t a case that we are suffering because of the product, or that people arenâ??t supporting the club. Our season ticket sales are the highest in a number of years.â? With their season ticket sales believed to be 5 per cent up on last year in the wake of the League Cup win, Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnston stated the club would need to put 1,000 on their base figure of around 4,000 to compensate for the loss of Rangers gates. Meanwhile, Motherwell, 11 per cent down despite an outstanding league campaign, also admit to feeling the pinch without visits from Rangers, despite hosting Celtic three times this season. Yet, press and media manager Alan Burrows points out that the clubâ??s home support is â??slightlyâ? up, with game scheduling a negative driver in overall figures. â??We have had a tough season when it comes to live TV picks and moving matches due to European commitments,â? he says. â??We have only had seven home Saturday 3pm kick-offs, and just two in the whole of 2013 so far â?? we had 12 last season, almost a 60 per cent reduction in that sense. Non-Saturday 3pm [games] have an adverse effect on away crowds.â? Yet, the fact that a television deal remains in place on much the same terms as existed when the Ibrox club were in the upper tier is crucial. The Scottish top flight can cope with a temporary absence of the Rangers brand. It could not do so and remain of similar standing if the loss were permanent. Without the one million ticket sales that a Rangers team in the SPL could generate, the status of our highest league has already been diminished. In 2011-12, the average attendance for a top-flight match in this country was just under 14,000. That placed Scotland ahead of nations such as Brazil, Turkey, Belgium, Ukraine and Portugal, according to a recent World Soccer survey. This year that figure will be shy of 10,000, dropping Scotland below these five countries. There is a difference between comfortably surviving and thriving.

Dunfermline are now involved in a play-off to stay up. They were one of the signatories. Wonder what would happen if they lose the play off

That's not what he says though. He says he'd "I would have to spend it to get out of the division". (Not even, the more plausible, "so we don't get totally gubbed by you know who in the cups"...Not even "win", just "get out of")

"There wonâ??t be a massive, massive improvement." Way not to sell tickets! "re 10million: "but, if I am going to be totally selfish about it, I would have to spend it to get out of the division " "People say you can build a team from youth, but has it ever happened in the last 20 or 30 years?" Er, but Ally, no big club has been in our position, ever. Crewe began their last game with an entire team from their own academy in a much harder league where rivals actually spend money. the full thing: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/10037002/Rangers-face-bittersweet-end-to-season.html Ally McCoist and his players will parade the SFL3 trophy after their final match against Berwick Rangers, the culmination of a campaign that was preceded by one of the greatest mugâ??s bets ever â?? the bookiesâ?? odds on Rangers getting through the entire season without dropping a point. As matters stand, Rangers have lost three and drawn eight of their games and should they drop points again on Saturday afternoon, they would finish the season without maximum reward from a third of their fixtures. â??We want to win the game, make no mistake,â? McCoist said. â??Should there be celebrations? Oh I think if anybody should celebrate, it's the fans. It's a sell-out again and that's just incredible. â??And so should the young boys and the team. If you don't celebrate the good times, then you shouldn't be in the game at all because no matter what anyone says, they've won the championship and they have won it very comfortably. â??The fans certainly deserve some recognition from the players as well. I'd be very hopeful there'd be mutual respect and thanks. So, yes, celebrations are certainly the order of the day.â? McCoist, though, will be unable to avoid mixed feelings about the occasion, because of the tumultuous â?? and at times grotesque â?? consequences that were unleashed by the financial default brought about by Craig Whyte, which cast Rangers into what had been previously regarded as the outer darkness of the lower leagues. â??Iâ??m hoping itâ??s the end of probably the two weirdest seasons of my life and we can start afresh,â? he said. â??Football wise itâ??s been everything we expected it to be - there were bizarre moments, happy moments and sad moments. â??We knew it wouldnâ??t be the cake walk a lot of people thought it would be and that was certainly the case. Thereâ??s a lot of things that club can be very proud of this season. â??We brought full houses to places that probably havenâ??t had it for a good number of years. It would take some clubs seasons to earn what they did in their two home games against us. â??We should be very proud of that - plus in the vast majority of cases, our supporters have bonded fantastically well with the people in the towns theyâ??ve been visiting. â??If someone had told me what my first two years as Rangers manager would be like, I just wouldnâ??t have believed them. Right at the start we had a rough idea things werenâ??t right then when the players we were looking for were getting knocked back. â??We were promised all sorts of money to spend and weâ??ve been promised money to spend again [by Charles Green, the recently departed chief executive] and - I donâ??t know, maybe Iâ??m turning into an old cynic - Iâ??m not sure that £10 million will be there. â??Itâ??s terrible how football does this to you. This glass half-full man is getting battered but I shall not turn into a pessimist. Some of the off-field stuff quite frankly has been an embarrassment. â??You just wonder what the great Rangers people would have made of it â?? not a lot I would have thought. We just need to get back to some form of normality which we donâ??t have at the moment.â? McCoistâ??s strategy meeting with Craig Mather which, as Telegraph Sport revealed, was scheduled for early in the week, had to be postponed because of a funeral attended by McCoist, but the pair sat down yesterday to begin planning for the close season and beyond. Asked if â?? supposing it were available â?? a £10 million transfer kitty would be appropriate in the humble context of SFL2 â?? McCoist replied: â??Probably not, but, if I am going to be totally selfish about it, I would have to spend it to get out of the division and keep me, Ian Durrant, Kenny McDowall and the rest of the staff in a job. â??You canâ??t have it both ways. You canâ??t not spend it and then be criticised by everybody. I didnâ??t spend any money this year, with the exception of David Templeton, and, whether we like it or not, we were criticised heavily for our performances. â??The objective was to get out the league and it will be the same next year. There wonâ??t be a massive, massive improvement. Look at the players we lost - Whittaker, Naismith, Jelavic, Lafferty, these were all £3 million or £4 million signings that went out the door. â??Since then we have brought in a couple of £500,000 players. Even a marquee free transfer would cost you bundles. That is the only reason they will come to SFL2 and that isnâ??t going to happen. â??Your top, top players arenâ??t going to be in SFL2. We are not going to get the top youngsters at the moment because, simply, they are under contract. The ones not under contract wonâ??t want to come to SFL2. â??We wonâ??t be back until we spend money. People say you can build a team from youth, but has it ever happened in the last 20 or 30 years? â??Manchester United brought through five or six youngsters at the same time, but we have had kids coming in to the side one or two at a time over the last 15 years. We have never had seven or eight. I donâ??t see any reason why that would change. â??You bring seven or eight youngsters into the division we are in, and they would struggle to survive. We'd struggle in the SPL, that's for sure. I think we'd probably stay up, but in terms of competing? â??There's no reason why, when you lose 30 players, you should be able to get a team who will challenge the league you've just left. So it's not a surprise. It's going to take time before we're up challenging again.â? McCoist keen on Clark Rangers manager Ally McCoist has confirmed his interest in Queen of the South striker Nicky Clark. McCoist has already held talks with the player's representative and his father, former Gers player and current Palmerston assistant Sandy, about a switch to Ibrox next season. McCoist now hopes to meet with the player, who has netted an impressive 40 goals for the Irn-Bru Second Division champions this season, in the coming days. He said: "I've spoken to Nicky's agent and I've spoken to his father, who I know reasonably well, just to let them know that we have an interest in talking to Nicky and meeting up with him and seeing if there is a possibility of him coming to the club. "We are no further down the line than that, but I spoke to Sandy and I'm very keen to meet up, as are Sandy and Nicky, so hopefully we can get a meeting in the next couple of days. "His goalscoring record is fantastic and we certainly need strengthened in forward areas, as we do all over the park."

Exactly so. If only there were a way of blocking this theft

Actually that was my first thought too - made by a forum reader and leaked now....

double post, sorry

Our fans With the events of 2012, the Rangers family are more bonded than ever. They have displayed overwhelming support and confidence in the club during the most difficult circumstances. They are passionate in the redevelopment of their club, and they want nothing more than to see Rangers back at the very top and be able to look down with a wry smile at the people who tried so hard to hurt our club. Continue reading the main story “ Fans will only pay if they are happy with the on-field activities, and right now the majority of fans are not happy. ” The Rangers fans will stick by the club and support us in their thousands, but only if they can see that there is progression. Right now, many questions are being asked about what is really happening at the club, and the biggest concern seems to be the style of football and coaching theory. With the fans on board, and a transparent policy of how their cash is being re-invested into player development, they will continue to pay. Rangers have an amazing opportunity to use the huge fan base and ask them to spend on products and services that will ultimately benefit Rangers. However, fans will only pay if they are happy with the on-field activities, and right now the majority of fans are not happy. There is a big risk that if the current coaching regime remains, then fans will stop coming and we will see half of the season ticket sales we had this season. Change is required.............and this starts with a big decision.

Rangers: the way forward - in full Rangers' football philosophy Rangers are in a unique position in British football in that we have a company that is debt free, and a very large faithful following even in the lowest league. Continue reading the main story “ Rangers would adapt the 'Total Football' philosophy across every team. This would require some major changes to current attitudes within the club. ” Being in the lowest league also provides the opportunity to create a new structure with less pressure to make mistakes, and give ourselves time to 'test/try' new systems. If we were in the top league there would be a huge pressure to succeed, but with Division Two and Division One over the next couple of years we can afford to learn from mistakes, so that in three years time we have a successful system on and off the park. Rangers would adapt the 'total football' philosophy (or 'tiki-taka' by Barcelona) across every team, from the youths up to the first team. All players would be coached on this pro-active style of football, and we would only recruit players who are prepared to work hard at their game and play as part of the team. This would require some major changes to current attitudes within the club, and would no doubt result in some casualties. The current staff costs are high for the level of football we currently play, so if these were cut then there would not be a large financial investment required to invest in a new system. Some success stories across Europe are Ajax, Dortmund, Porto and Swansea. There are many articles available on these clubs, and it would be useful to visit these clubs to study how they developed their strategy and made it happen. Our Vision..... ...is to win a major European trophy by 2020. Every decision made by each person connected with Rangers would be made with our vision in mind. Continue reading the main story “ If we played in the English Premiership and earned large payouts then our policy could change regarding selling on players ” Whether you are the CEO, or the person taking calls from fans, you have your part to play in making Rangers one of the most successful clubs in European football. We would all embrace this vision and have total belief that we will get there. If anyone is not prepared to believe this then they will be helped to find an alternative company to work for. We will only accept a positive 'can-do' attitude and welcome suggestions on how we can continuously improve. The objective of the club would be to develop young talent and provide them opportunities in the first team. Another objective is to develop players with a view to selling them on to the rich clubs across Europe. This money would then be reinvested into youth development, and be used to pay incentive bonuses to the coaching staff. If we played in the English Premiership and earned large payouts then our policy could change regarding selling on players, however we would always stick to budgets and not overspend. Structure We would have a director of football who would be responsible for the overall 'total football' development and delivery. This person would recruit the coaches at all levels, and lead them in the philosophy that we have. All coaches would be trained on the exact same methodology and ensure that their teams play this style. Choosing the director of football would be a key decision. We would want to attract a top European ex-player with great pedigree and reputation. They would of course need to share the philosophy of 'total football' and have experience in developing this. They would be a natural leader with clear objectives on what they want to achieve. Ajax manager Frank De Boer was named as a possible director of football Ideal candidates. Unlikely to attract them but it gives an idea of the people who would be suitable: • Frank de Boer - (current manager at Ajax and has won Dutch title in each of his two years). Ex-Rangers player for one season. Great reputation having had an excellent career and a big part of the Ajax family. Unsure if we would we be able to tempt him away. Marc Overmars is current Ajax Director of Football since 2012. • Johan Cruyff - (currently manager of Catalonia football team [unofficial friendly team]). This will not be a full time role, and right now Cruyff is an influential advisor to Barcelona and Ajax. • Frank Rijkaard - Left Saudi Arabia as coach on 16 Jan 2013 after they failed to reach the World Cup 2014 qualifiers. Successful player and comes from the coaching traditions of Rijkaard's countrymen and forebears, Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff. • Someone close to Michel Platini, and other influential leaders of European football. Continue reading the main story “ Choosing the director of football would be a key decision. We would want to attract a top European ex-player with great pedigree and reputation. ” We would then have a head coach (manager) who would be responsible for the first team only, but with a very keen interest and involvement within all Rangers teams. Ideally a young manager with good leadership qualities and who would demand respect. Preferably a Scottish manager who knows the challenges of the Scottish game. He should have had coaching experience and have a 'big picture' attitude. He would of course need to believe in the philosophy of 'total football', and have an optimistic view on taking Rangers to the top of Europe. He would encourage and develop his players, show clear tactical awareness, and be willing to try new methods of training and coaching. Mental attitude and confidence is a key component of all successful sportsmen, and Rangers will adapt this positive approach. We will recruit the very best in sports psychologists and ensure that all our players and staff embrace the power of positivity. Practices such as NLP have proven to be majorly successful in sport - just look at the success of the British cycling team, or the World Cup-winning English rugby team. From the playing staff, we will see: • A consistent style of football that attacks the ball and every player will give 100% for the full game, even if we are 4-0 up. • The team will work for each other and press the opponents when not in possession. Continue reading the main story “ We will be 'smart' by challenging refereeing decisions, and be vocal in a respectable way. ” • Players will be disciplined and act mature on and off the park. • We will be 'smart' by challenging refereeing decisions, and be vocal in a respectable way. • All players will display confidence and also show respect to opposing teams. Rangers captain Lee McCulloch perhaps epitomises the whole-hearted approach of the plan • Most of all, players will come off the park knowing that they have done their best. • Players will know that if they have not shown the dedication, commitment and attitude that is required of a Rangers player, then they will not be here. They will be motivated at all times. • Players will happily commit time to charity events, fans events, media, and most importantly the youth development. They will be role models. • Rangers will look after their players by providing life coaching, financial advice and other support that will help them in their personal life. The director of football would have the final decision on which players we sign, and would need to work within the budgets and policy set by the CEO/Board. The first team coach would of course have a lot of involvement in who we wish to buy or sell, however the director of football would have ultimate control. Some policies on signing: • In most cases, only sign players aged 25 or under. • Do not sign 'troublesome stars'. Stick to team players who are level-headed. • Bring in players with the potential to grow. Continue reading the main story “ We need to lose the reputation that we are an institution that can afford high wages. ” • Recruit players with the right attitude and hunger (you can give them the skills, but it's difficult to change attitude). • Strict wage structure with a basic salary and attractive bonuses. • Bonuses could be based on number of performances, disciplinary, results, greater than three-goal victories. • Tiered wage structure based on which league we play in. • All players need to be incentivised to play well, behave themselves, and only be rewarded for their efforts (not by a large basic salary just for turning up). • If players do not accept the policy then they are not fit to play for Rangers. It may mean we lose out on players, but we would benefit more by having a 'fair' system for all players. • Stick to our policy on agency fees, and give the message that we are not prepared to pay over the odds. We need to lose the reputation that we are an institution that can afford high wages. Look what happened to the old regime who thought it was good to speculate on big transfers. How we reward our people Rather than pay high salaries to people, we will incentivise our people. If the club does well, our people will do well. Players will be rewarded for winning trophies and maintaining the consistent style of football. Continue reading the main story “ Coaches would be rewarded by winning trophies, but the largest reward would come in the form of a percentage of the profit made by selling star players. ” We could set targets in terms of the number of goals scored in a season, minimal goals conceded, and also the number of 'assists' or possession. The players should be incentivised to work as a team rather than try to make a name individually. Coaches would be rewarded by winning trophies, but the largest reward would come in the form of a percentage of the profit made by selling star players. This would then give the coaches a clear objective of player development knowing that they can benefit from a player who 'makes it'. It would also soften the blow of losing star players from the squad, but ultimately our system would allow for someone else to step into the team and take their place. A comprehensive financial model shall be produced that shows the connection between the selling of players, and the bonuses available to staff. This approach should also be introduced to all employees of Rangers. If the club has a successful period and has the funds available, then bonuses would be paid to all staff. The plan ruled out a return of the high wages of the Dick Advocaat era All employees would be performance-managed and be set clear objectives. They would be made accountable for their respective roles, and be expected to work efficiently. We cannot carry people. Again, we will not pay over-inflated salaries, but will offer rewards based on good performance. This keeps people incentivised and only rewards those who deserve it. There will be an optimistic 'buzz' around the place, with people having clear objectives and knowing exactly what their role is, and how they are helping Rangers to achieve the goal. People will be rewarded. New people will come in and some will move on, and we will have a pro-active team of people providing a cost effective solution in all areas. We will be good to our people.

I cannot copy and paste this layout on my mobile, sorry. I know it is the Beeb but this is well worth reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22400088 Just what we needed IMO, shelved now though EDIT - nicked from FF and posted in two blocks below (too big for one)

Do the numbers for that work out, isn't there an even number in what they are proposing?

yesssssssssssssssss! many thanks Steve

this is incredibly exciting for all i said I never want to play them again

damn, how long to go?

yessssssssssssssss! Get in there

Rightyo, if Steve1872 is keeping us informed, I'm following it here and here only. Cheers Steve, another goal for us if you please, whenever yo are ready HAHHAHAHA - ask and thou shalt receive!

C'mon the Teddy Bears. Intae them!

and yet more: ..going down remains as it is, with the financial redistribution model now shelved? @BBCAlLamont 24 minutes ago ...effect of play-offs in other leagues." Why else would clubs vote to give themselves a greater chance of relegation if cash to clubs .... @BBCAlLamont 24 minutes ago On the subject of whether any future commercial deals would be more lucrative WITH play-offs, N Doncaster replied "We've seen invigorating.. @BBCAlLamont 25 minutes ago So, no league merger, new financial model or pyramid system for next season and only a v slim chance of play-offs. @BBCAlLamont 27 minutes ago

STV say: Scottish Premier League clubs have failed to reach consensus over league reconstruction after their latest meeting at Hampden. The 12 top flight clubs had gathered at the national stadium to examine plans for change just two weeks after a package of proposals were rejected after failing to get the required votes. After a meeting that lasted several hours, the clubs did not make a decision on plans for next season, though a meeting is planned for early May in which playoffs will be considered. First Division clubs in particular have been keen on seeing a playoff system introduced that would potentially see an extra promotion place for SFL sides. The exact format of the playoffs is still open to discussion but is still thought to be a realistic possibility for introduction next season. Ross County chairman Roy MacGregor had said prior to the meeting that he felt there was a willingness from all clubs to accept change and to find a way to agree to developments to re-invigorate the leagues. “Time will tell,” MacGregor said.. ”I think we need to find something to excite the fans and if we couldn’t find it in the league reconstruction then time will tell. “I think the single league body, all the clubs are for that. Redistribution is a must, all the clubs are for that. “I think if there was something that would excite the fans and everyone could buy into then every club would be for it.”

more: .will continue in early May. Neil Doncaster expected to speak after board meeting @BBCAlLamont 16 minutes ago St Mirren and Hearts leave too. George Campbell says doesn't think it'll be status quo next season. David Southern says talks re play offs.. @BBCAlLamont 17 minutes ago

The latest two seem contradictory to me, but, for what it is worth: All other 11 clubs are still in SPL meeting, so talking still being done. Not over yet? @BBCAlLamont 13 minutes ago Stephen Thompson of Dundee U leaves saying clubs are no further forward @BBCAlLamont 29 minutes ago