buster.

43 minutes ago, yuddie said:

Getting close to crunch time for Clement imo, pains me to say it.

 

Lose this and then you've got the first OF at Sharkhead. All of a sudden you're staring at 0 wins in 5.

 

Although I still think we'll turn them over Saturday. Killer.

Clement needs time and our patience. Unfortunately, our expectation levels aren't in tune with current reality.

IMO Clement is as good a manager as we are getting and we should let him put his own side together next season without the expectation of a league title in his first full season with a new squad. Hope, yes but expectation, no. 

Alternatively, we can continue on the current path to nowhere, but at least we'll have high expectations.

On 19/05/2024 at 16:04, Uilleam said:

There is a big advantage, for us, in that the fhilth will hugely underestimate us, hugely overestimate themselves, and generally, and genuinely, think that they merely have to trap at Hampden to win the match. 

Therefore, we should be 3-0 up before they know what has hit them. 

 

I can't fault the logic. It is one of those 'unwritten rules' that repeatedly happens in sport.

I think back to the Hampden semi final of 2016, a perfect example.

However, I don't think that this Celtic team are  going to drop their guard, in terms of approach to the game. That would put the onus on ourselves to up our levels (especially at the start of the game) and probably change our approach to the game. Easier said than done with this group of players. 

To have a punchers chance, I think he really needs to change the tactics and instill fresh hope into his squad and some uncertainty, into the other lot.

Go the same way and it will get ugly, during and after the match.

The manager must be getting sick of trying to patch a starting XI together with what is available.

- There are those who will be out of contract next month.

- There are those who aren't really match fit or in an established rhythm. 

- There are those who seem to have lost interest and/or can't be bothered with applying themselves when we haven't got possession.

- There are those whose legs seem to have gone recently. 

- There are even a couple he can rely upon.

Results over several years suggest a collective inferiority   complex and lack of belief against our opponents.

The manager hasn't yet found a way to beat them.

Whilst a one off Cup Final represents opportunity and  potentially, a motivational tool for those who are being questioned. It also represents a danger for the managers  'credibility balance'.

He must feel like a man with a stick on his way to a gunfight. 

Hardly the end of the world.

More likely a blessing in disguise.

50 minutes ago, Yorkie Bear said:

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

 

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:11-32

 

 

The robe should be made of an elastic material for shifts in mass.

Morelos has played a total of 76 minutes and scored no goals since he left us.

His last competitive goal was in April.

NO

1 hour ago, the gunslinger said:

I am getting a tingly feeling. 

This season resembles two baldies fighting over a comb.

They aren't very good and are there for the taking. 

We are in semi-permanent transition and are prone to stumbling.

Freedom of speech, simples !

That is 23 December League victories in a row

23 hours ago, Bluedell said:

We qualified for the Champions League and made a £23.6m profit on player trading and still managed to make a loss before tax of £3.1......

 

 .....the next few years could be problematic if we can't maintain a £10m+ player trading profit.

 

We have tended to go through money faster than our ability to create it for a long time.

Plugging the gap has long been the challenge. From bringing in investors, the infamous EBT's, to structured (financed by board members) losses.

Short to medium term solutions that can create their own problems and never solve the problem. To be fair, the structured losses strategy post 2015 made sense and was financed by mainly very generous Bears.... But the problem was always going to be weaning ourselves off the need for extra cash.

To bring in an effective and consistent player trading model is one thing but to do it when the club requires instant success is quite a different level of challenge. Especially when the potential cream tends to be taken before they are finished school.

Looks a complicated financial panorama but at least we seem to have a real manager.

The annual call to focus and improve on player trading is much easier than achieving it.

At least the recruitment of our current first team manager seems to have been well handled and will hopefully have a positive effect on and off the park.

I remember Mark Warburton mentioning the unrealistic expectation levels that were trumpeted prior to our first season back in the top flight.

It made his job a lot more difficult.

There are reasons why this is becoming like a groundhog moment.

Hoping for first place when we are very much behind our main rivals in finance and relative stability is fine, but expecting it is unreasonable.

We need to get real, recognise where we are and give some leeway for rebuilding the club and team to the point of being truly competitive.

The club need to get real and communicate reality rather than the usual sound bites.

Any manager coming in has an extremely difficult job. In the past we would throw money at it. That option is becoming ever more difficult.

This should have been done years ago. The longer it goes, the deeper the hole gets and the way out becomes dependent on your rivals  imploding.

Somewhere between 3 and 12 would be my guess.

1 hour ago, crmpicco said:

I can't argue with this. I wouldn't like to see us in the CL this year as I fear if we went 1-0 down early then the heads would go down and we'd get slapped about again. I actually think some of the defeats last year could've been a lot, lot worse.

For us in our present state, the CL would bring more mental scaring that the extra finance may or may not cover. Levels (sporting and financial) have moved on, the Scottish game is getting worse.

Since I followed Rangers results in Europe (73/74), I count 18 games against Spanish opposition.

We have won ONE of those games (but still got dumped out of the competition).

16 minutes ago, weebluedevil said:

So are you saying that the board should allow the same time and patience given to Gerrard, 

No, each set of circumstances should be judged on their own merits or lack of.

12 hours ago, Bill said:

The reason Beale needs sacking is because, 10 months in, he shows no signs of ever taking us in a direction likely to lead to the league title. That simple truth isn't any less valid because fans can't agree on a replacement manager. How many times do we have to go through the death throes of inept managers to learn the lesson that delaying the decision to sack him only makes matters worse?

It is more about those upstairs taking us to a place where we can win a league title. 

- Finance 

- Structure (football dept.)

- Recruitment (managerial)

- Communication 

Financially, we are well behind.

Structurally, we haven't settled.

Recruitment. All over the place although credit to DK for appointing Gerrard and showing patience.

Communication and mgmt. of expectation levels has been unrealistic. 

Basically, we are still building back the club to where we want to be and some realism might make the journey smoother and even shorter.

12 hours ago, Bill said:

The 

Just now, DMAA said:

There have to be great options out there but I have no trust in the board to find them. Celtic found Ange because of the city group link. It just feels like any appointment we make will be very risky because we don’t know how to look for managers. 

The DoF model appointed Beale, was then ditched before summer recruitment.

The board had obviously saw the success of Postecoglou's recruitment and let Beale do his thing in the transfer market.....The board will see that the successful recruitment on the other side of the city lost three league games by mid September but then developed into a team (I don't see Beale doing the same but the board after spending the money probably have to give him a little longer).

Now the talk is about getting the DoF model back in place before a new managerial appointment.

We are all over the place trying to make up ground quickly and run before we can walk.

Previously it was about gambling on too many 'outside bets' (players with quality who could be had on the relative cheap because they had significant issues, mostly injury related). I said at the time that it wouldn't work and would actually hinder a more medium term approach that might eventually work. On the finances, the board are doing their level best but it isn't easy.

I am no defender of Beale. He is just another symptom of an more profound ongoing issue.

17 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

Which manager(s) would you like to see at Rangers?

Potter (Harry)

Just now, ranger_syntax said:

 

Are you complaining about Españolification or asking for it?

Neither

We are significantly detached from being in a position to win league titles and have been (bar 55) for over a decade. The reason that there is such a reactin to the weekend's result is that four games in and it already looks as if 23/24 has got away from us.

We all know the importance of finance in football and we are well behind there aswell. 

So, when do we as a support wake up and show the necessary patience that this situation requires. The board are trying to improve our finances in a difficult environment.

I am not ruling out changing a first team manager but when scarce resoures have been invested in the squad, we need to get real and show some patience instead of pretending the situation is the same as in the past.

5 hours ago, Bill said:

One more failed managerial appointment and you'd have to conclude the board doesn't know what it's doing.

Our current (and historical) requirements/ expectations* aren't realistic and they don't look likely to change in the foreseeable.

* beating Celtic/ winning league title 

Do our expectations change or do we routinely go through the same process ?

Not ideal but I think you have to give him time to properly incorporate the summer signings and find his best starting combinations.

Pre-season laid bare that we were undercooked and what has happened was always on the cards.

Obviously the period of time given will be reduced if the tendency of performance and results don't improve. 

After financial front loading of squad development, we are staring at a potential widening gulf re. Españolification and as expectations get more unrealistic, fewer clued up managers will even want the job.

Rangers 3 Celtic 1

Cantwell

We are undercooked and the manager doesn't know what his best starting XI is as yet.

Poor preperation and planning in my book.

Add that to the more understandable fact that it will take time for so many new players to settle and gel. However we should have had enough to take 3 points against Kilmarnock.

Beale made a positive difference last season wrt to consistently winning league games but he arrived when we were aleady snookered. Starting this campaign with a defeat to a provincial team is a hugely negative own goal and one that feels like the script to Groundhog day (season).

When the going gets challenging, Beale himself is unconvincing and I don't think he has the necessary qualities to be a Rangers manager. I appreciate that it is a very difficult gig at this juncture in our history but Gerrard as manager, Beale as a coach was the right mix in my book. Beale in charge won't work.

16 hours ago, Gonzo79 said:

I'll be watching the match in a bar in the South of France, if the local rugby bummers allow it.  Fingers crossed...

I'm sure they will allow you some time to recover.! #red_raw

Shit gets real this evening. Will be an interesting watch.

Can't reasonably expect dynamic fluidity middle to front yet but we should have enough relative quality to create openings. Obviously, the defence need to do better than we have seen thus far