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JohnMc

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Everything posted by JohnMc

  1. JohnMc
    Ah, fuck. Turns out their fans are nice too. Bloody hell.
  2. JohnMc
    It's an odd thread this one. Maybe he thinks them singing it will attract even more Cavalier behaviour...
  3. JohnMc
    The world of football messageboards is a bizarre place at times. When I woke up this morning I'd never have predicted I'd get into an argument with someone over the relative merits of Brentford FC, a club I've given close to no thought too in my entire life. Let me go back a few posts and try again. Brentford. Bloody hell. Three words to boil the blood of Brentford fans everywhere and bring the wrath of FA chairman and celebrity Brentford fan (when he's not supporting Man Utd) Greg Dyke down on anyone who dares scorn the inevitable rise to the very pinnacle of the sport that Brentford are on. See I'm old enough to remember being depressed when a Rangers captain left us to join Watford, and Watford were actually a good team then. It's probably arrogance actually, why shouldn't one of the brightest prospects in the sport in Scotland be linked with a deeply unfashionable and noticeably un-honoured club like Brentford who play in front of crowds that Hearts would complain about. They're having a good season after all and seem to be stable. The English Championship is a decent level and salaries will far exceed anything we're likely to pay to anyone who isn't a board appointee in the near future. But then the other side of me says; Brentford, fuckin Brentford! Are you joking, fuckin Brentford for Lewis fuckin MacLoed!! The one vestige of hope, the only thing to put pride in my heart while all around people are trying to induce cardiac arrest. Fuckin Brentford. Where are Sporting Lisbon, Nantes, PSV, Liverpool, Sunderland, fuckin hell even Leeds, someone, anyone where I can say, fair enough, at least he's gone somewhere with potential? Brentford, bloody hell. They are better than us, on and off the park just now. Interestingly they were bought by their fans a few years ago. Fixed as a club, run prudently and imaginatively and are now reaping the rewards. But still, Brentford, bloody hell. So yeah, I get it, they're riding high in Rupert Murdoch's self styled fifth richest league in the world, they might just make it into the intergalactic Premiership next season and be fellated and patronised in equal measure by the Neville brothers and MacLoed can buy himself a baby Bentley or white Range Rover. Brentford, bloody hell. Still, at least it wasn't Bournemouth he was linked too. Bloody hell.
  4. JohnMc
    Jeezo Rangeristis, are you Greg Dyke or something? They are very clearly just having a good season, with those crowds, whether 7,000 or 10,000 they can realistically go no further. That doesn't mean they aren't well run, that doesn't mean they aren't a proper club or they don't play good football. It just means they are punching above their weight and that's unlikely to be maintained. They've not played in the English top flight for a very long time, do you think that's changing sometime soon?
  5. JohnMc
    Macleod's emergence has been the one thing the management team have got right. He might well continue to develop under their tutelage. Brentford are far healthier than us, that was the point of my original post. Attendance figures are important because they allow us to see were realistically Brentford are likely to go. With those crowds it's unlikely they'll go much further, and if by chance they did it wouldn't be for long. Again, I mean no disrespect to Brentford, but they shouldn't be able to attract our best p[layers.
  6. JohnMc
    No, they're a fairly ordinary club who are currently punching well above their weight, congratulations and good luck to them for that. But they average less than 7,000 at their home matches despite their best season since the second world war. We, on the other hand, were a fantastic club who should be able to allow the player to make the necessary improvements to his game.
  7. JohnMc
    Brentford. Bloody hell.
  8. JohnMc
    Nice post D'art. I'm struck by this line though "these are the standards we were raised with and safeguarding them together" and I find myself wondering how true this now is. I wonder if the real legacy of David Murray is a supplicant support. Nobody under 38 will really remember the pre-Murray era, to them a club like Rangers is run by a larger than life plutocrat who uses his private jet to impress possible signings and who runs the club with their own rod of iron, or steel in his case. We became so used to his apparent benevolent dictatorship many were simply 'raised with that standard' and struggle to function without it. The delight that many in our support showed for Craig Whyte initially underlines this. Too many simply welcomed his apparent wealth without questioning his suitability. We're seeing the same with Ashley, he's a billionaire I hear cried, as if that's the only criteria that matters. Unfortunately, for many, it is. What I don't know is how to change that.
  9. JohnMc
    This is staggering if true. It's telling that my first instinct is that it is true.
  10. JohnMc
    Nah, I disagree. They've got x-boxes and peadophiles in Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium and they manage to produce footballers with a modicum of talent fairly often. Societal changes are to blame. The schools being a huge one as RPB explained, but also the enormous and savage social changes that took place in central Scotland in the 70s and 80s played a massive part. Mining, steel and shipbuilding areas had genuine communities and these communities had all sorts of activities available often to a high standard. My father was born into a small mining village in the mid-forties, it consisted of only three miners terraces (rows) yet it had three friendly societies, a quoiting club, an ambulance corps, a juvenile football club, a Junior football side, a brass band, a dramatic society, and a phonetics class as well as an active trade union. That was replicated all across Scotland, it simply isn't anymore. Konterman wasn't the best import we ever made but he was an interesting guy off the park. He set up home in Drymen when he signed for us and was astonished to discover their was no kids football club in the town. He'd come from a similar sized village in Holland where all the kids joined the local side when they were 6 or 7.
  11. JohnMc
    Whilst I was failing to persuade six year olds to go back to bed you were penning post of the year. Hat tipped. I loved Durrant. He appeared at a time when we simply weren't very good and his emergence was like the first shoots poking through in late winter foretelling better times ahead. Players like Hugh Burns, Cammy Fraser, Bobby Williamson and Kenny Black were the staple heroes then, fully committed, physical players without an inch of guile between them. Davie Cooper had more or less gone on strike over our poverty of player and Bobby Russell couldn't hold down a regular place. When Durrant appeared as a teenager with Kempes like flowing locks on a fourteen year old's body you feared for him. But he was special. You read stories about George Best breaking into the Man U team as a teenager. The club had a 'tradition' of playing training matches on a car park where the experienced pros would physically intimidate the youth players in an effort to 'make or break' them. Those that could live with the literal kicking they took were deemed strong enough both mentally and physically to go on, those it broke were discarded. Apparently the entire first team defence decided that Best needed 'sorted', his dribbling, feints and tricks were not on, humiliating season professionals couldn't be allowed. But for a fortnight they literally were unable to kick him, try as they might, he was simply to fast and to skilful. It's no exaggeration to compare him to Durrant. Durrant ghosted past players, his position and timing of his runs was uncanny but what was most impressive was his ability to play in a 'mans' game whilst looking like a child. He must have experienced unbelievable intimidation, particularly at first. If he can pass that on alone he's worth keeping on at the club. My favourite Durrant moment wasn't a goal, it came in the League Cup Final against Celtic, a game in which he scored and was fouled for the winning penalty. Yet for me his finest moment came in his own box, deep in the second half, Celtic were attacking and attacking, our defence half cleared the ball and it fell to Durrant, he was facing our goal about 15 yards out, every other players first reaction would have been to blooter the ball out of the park, Durrant performed a 'Cryuff turn' wrong footed the entire Celtic team and most of the Rangers one, turning frantic defending into attack in a matter of seconds. I've probably only seen half a dozen players in my lifetime who'd have had the ability and thought process to have performed that in the heat of an old firm cup final.
  12. JohnMc
    Ken Bates, whilst Chelsea owner, bought a controlling stake in Partick Thistle in the 80s. His plan was to use Thistle as a feeder club for Chelsea, in the end other than Thistle getting a very young Billy Dodds on loan for a season little came of it other than virtual bankruptcy down Maryhill way. ENIC had a decent shareholding in us at one time whilst also owning large stakes in Sparta Prague, AEK Athens and of course Spurs. They apparently thought money could be made from TV rights. If Ashley doesn't want to own two clubs then what was yesterday's charade all about and what is Llambias doing in our director's box? I've yet to hear of anyone who wanted to own more than one club simply because they supported them and wanted to see them both do well.
  13. JohnMc
    What possible reason could someone have for wanting to own two football clubs?
  14. JohnMc
    It's posted, it depressed me writing it, I expect it'll do the same to any poor sod who reads it, apologies for that.
  15. JohnMc
    Where do I post it Zappa? I don't have access to the writers section since I created a new log-in, will I post it in here or just open a new thread with it? I'll have it ready on Christmas Eve.
  16. JohnMc
    Sorry dB, you think he's not solely here to make money? So what other reasons do you think are worth considering bearing in mind he has no known connections to Rangers, Glasgow or indeed Scotland?
  17. JohnMc
    When Souness left we turned to his assistant and that turned out okay I suppose. I wish Kenny good luck, he's highly regarded as a coach by almost everyone in football, that's quite different from being a manager though. McCoist has taken some stick by armchair tacticians over his statement that the players out of contract this summer need sorted out. Those who have driven themselves half-mad with their hatred of McCoist the manager seized on this as further evidence of his profligate nature and inability to make hard decisions regarding players he has a soft spot for. In actual fact it was as sensible a thing as McCoist has publicly uttered for a while. Playing for Rangers is a job to the players, it's what pays the mortgage and the bills and funds the lifestyle. No matter how overpaid we view professional footballers it's a short career and most aim to make as much as possible out of it while they can. We'd all do the same I've no doubt about that. So here's the thing, having a significant number of your squad not knowing if they're getting a new contract is destabilising. If a player knows that come May they aren't getting paid anymore then certain things begin to happen. Firstly they don't risk playing with any niggles, no one is going to take the chance of a tight hamstring turning into a fully blown torn one for a club that are possibly discarding you in five months. Likewise, those 50/50 tackles, who really wants to take the chance of picking up an injury when trying to secure a contract with a new club, it's not a great career move. Thirdly it creates disharmony in the squad, those who are unsure of their future naturally worry, their wives and partners are rightfully asking for some stability or at least a clear idea if they're going to have to move house again, they themselves are being asked to perform by someone who in all likelihood isn't going to be managing the side next season, perhaps even next month, what's the point in impressing him? McCoist carried weight around Ibrox, directors were nervous of him, he had currency with the players, the staff, the support and the media, that gave him some clout when it mattered. The players know the the 'new' guy doesn't. McDowall might well surprise all of us, if he does it will be a footballing miracle frankly, because he's playing with a loaded deck and he's out of chips before he sat at the table.
  18. JohnMc
    On what grounds do you disagree with the concept? I'm genuinely curious what might make you think Ashley is interested in Rangers for other reasons? His only public utterance in the subject was at the Sports Direct agm, his words there suggested he wasn't involving himself at Rangers for any other reason than to benefit Sports Direct. There are a number of cultural differences between the UK and Germany, one is in the ownership of football clubs. I can understand why you might look at this situation and assume that the very rich guy might fancy putting something back into the community and would only get involved in a professional football club to help them. I mean no disrespect when I state that in this culture corporate pillaging is not only tolerated is actively celebrated by many influential people in our society. It's naive in the extreme to assume that Ashley plans anything other than the enriching of Sports Direct, all evidence points at that.
  19. JohnMc
    I'm struggling a little to understand what point you're making here. Success for Rangers will surely always be measured against past 'successes', no? A side containing international players making a serious challenge for every domestic trophy, winning more of them than we lose is what most of us see as 'success'. Some will factor Europe in, some will want good youth players but history shows that regular domestic success is what sustains the Rangers support. However I'm far from convinced Ashley will care about that. He's not here for 50 years, we're a current potential revenue stream, one that'll be discarded quickly if we don't deliver required returns. That might seem cynical to you but for me it's simply realism. You made an interesting point when you asked "do you think Ashley likes to lose", what's missing from your question is 'at what game?' Ashley isn't here to protect himself from extradition like Abramovich, or for self-aggrandisement like the guys at Man City or because he's a serial 'sports franchise' businessman like the guys at Man U or Liverpool. He's here to help Sports Direct sell more Lonsdale t-shirts and Dunlop bags, no other reason. It's not cynical to assume that his aspirations and ours might not be aligned, it's common sense frankly.
  20. JohnMc
    Andy, almost every club has supporters who sustain mediocrity. Outside of Celtic every side in the Scottish top flight began this season knowing they wouldn't win the league, yet they still buy tickets, strips, hats and assorted tat. Look at England, success is now finishing fourth, mediocrity is celebrated not just tolerated. Making the club unattractive to people like Ashley is difficult, all normal societal rules are suspended when football enters the equation. Loyalty to your 'team' is a cultural meme, propagated by Sky and avaricious betting companies and mass produced lager conglomerates. Everything is hyped, most people don't even realise they're perpetuating mediocrity. I accept Rangers history of success makes selling mediocrity more difficult, but trust me it can be sold.
  21. JohnMc
    Yip I agree, but these people remain 'fans' they don't go and support another side and that's the lesson business has learned. Even just now, if our side was playing anywhere close to exciting football we'd be getting 30,000. As such they're still susceptible to buying merchandise. This is win-win for Ashley just now. If the side improves, starts playing better and getting results a percentage of the support will return to matches particularly if we start challenging for the title again. If results don't improve the pressure on McCoist will become intolerable and he'll walk. A new manager will bring an increase in interest and crowds, initially at least.
  22. JohnMc
    You're applying normal rules to someone who by all measurements is not 'normal'. I don't mean that as an insult, he's an exceptional person, clearly gifted in many ways, but not 'normal'. A normal person would fear becoming a hate figure and a full-scale revolt, Ashley doesn't. The Rangers support will continue to buy their kids shirts and themselves a top for five-a-sides no matter how we're performing, that's what he's banking on. What big business has cottoned onto is that loyalty to a football club is entirely different to any other commercial venture. Man Utd sold more shirts than any other club in the world last year despite experiencing their worst season in two decades and having enormously unpopular owners. Rangers in the top flight, finishing top three, will consistently draw 30,000 plus crowds, we might think that poor, but it really isn't in the grand scheme of things. That's easily achievable if the club can stay solvent, we'll have a considerably higher turnover than every other side in the country bar one, on that basis any half competent manager can secure second or third. Ashley shouldn't need to invest any money to achieve that, simply make sure we don't go bust in the short term. We're a minor gamble for Ashley, I doubt we take up much of his time or thinking, I assume he'll try and recreate the Newcastle model, where we're self-sustainable, breaking even, beyond that he's only interested in leveraging retail from us, there's plenty of evidence that how a team performs, the relationship the club has with it's support and how a club's directors behave has little bearing on that.
  23. JohnMc
    You vastly over estimate what our support will accept. If Rangers can get promoted then even badly mismanaged we should finish top three in the SPFL most seasons, challenge for one of the domestic cups to at least quarter final stage and qualify for qualification stages for the Europa league. At that stage we can be pacified with 'there's always next season' talk, a change of manager every now and then and the promise that change might bring and the likelihood that the Tim's will mess up every now and then and we might sneak a title. Look at the numbers quoted above, even now, at our lowest ever ebb, the we generate more money than a one city English Premiership side with a famously resilient support. Any success we get will be an added bonus, but I can see no I'm imperative for Ashley to require it or even desire it.
  24. JohnMc
    It's got planning consent for leisure and recreation and it's a big chunk of land in Milngavie. A leisure centre, David Lloyd type of place, perhaps even a Dobbies Garden Centre kind of business would do well there. Plus don't put it past a developer to purchase it and let it go to ruin, become an eyesore and then put in an application to turn it into a supermarket or flats, it's been done before.
  25. JohnMc
    Maybe he means successful like Newcastle.
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