Walterbear

I've just done the same and opened the Aberdeen mugshots. I'll need a few sleeping pills tonight. Jesus!

Fair point Mac. If I can clarify. By step back in the playing side I meant we have faltered this season in terms of solidifying the defence, getting more goals and we are not convincing in the middle. In terms of position in the league i would have taken a 2nd or 3rd this season at the start but we have not been convincing and Aberdeen for example whilst very beatable are by and large playing better than us. I think we need a few fresh faces to stabilise the football and consolidate that tip 2 whereas I think the expectation had been that a couple of fresh faces this summer would be taking us up a level if not to beat Celtic just yet then to at least have a fair chance in 2 or 3 years. We are in danger of not achieving that as it oooks right now.

I think the questions were answered fairly however I'd have liked a little more detail on the alternative commercial opportunities and how much money we were targeting from new areas to raise money. I wouldn't expect commercially delicate info but this is an area to follow up on at the next interview. Clearly they are not expanding the dept without targets in mind. I think the interview reaffirms we are stabilising and not 'lobbing' money at the problem which is fcertainly the priority but the impression is we going at a fairly slow pace and the main reason for that is a lack of cash. I would have expected a statement to confirm the new DOF and manager will be given a reasonable budget from the board for example to at least match what MW got. I know there are legal cases hindering development but my view is DK should be putting in £10m now or very shortly and that a significant proportion should go on scouting infrastructure and facilities. The absence of commitment to this (relatively low amount given the size of our club) demonstrates the level of risk being attached to the legal issues and clearly they must keep money back to prevent admin2 given those circumstances. The upgrades mentioned may be important but it's not much after 2 years even considering the broken club which the board inherited. If club 1872 were allowed to invest in training infrastructure it would be a great use of cash. Perhaps it was part of a private conversation but not sure why the MD and 1872 aren't making an immediate statement to say they are following up on how to use 1872 money. Saying 'we await a proposal' when 1872 are sitting opposite doesn't transmit a level of urgency to me. I am sure the MD is working hard but I would expect a more energetic response. Given the step backwards on the playing field I feel we need a step change in pace and I think DK and board need to demonstrate a bit more personal risk taking over the next 6 months. I appreciate everything they have done but it's important the fans continue to push in a constructive manner and in a way that recognises the bad place we have come from. I dont think a follow up in 6 months is the right time period. I'd like to see something shortly after the new team come on board (8 weeks). Rangers is a small to medium business like most clubs with the exception of the Man Us and Real Madrids of this world so a 3 monthly meet would be entirely appropriate to assess progress and plans with the fans given what is at stake and given that it is the fans above all who have kept the club afloat.

Nail on head davie.

Good article plus what Stewarty and forlan say. It is healthy that the fans are mire questioning these days. The increase of social media and access to information and opinion must be supported by fans having better access to the club board and being able to better understand it's decision making process, the restrictions our board may be under and a better understanding of the strategy and how the strategy is specifically supported (by evidence of finances for example).

That's a goal! What an eejit )

Couldn't decide between kilos and goram. Not a bad subs bench for goalies. Bobby Russell was a very good player but not in the world class bracket. We could easy have a genuine world class midfield.

Goram Jardine Butcher Moore Numan Souness Baxter Gascoigne Johnston w. Hateley Henderson

Spot on mate.

Uli you have decided it is all warburtons fault and that he has resigned. That's not analysis that's just believing one version. The point is it shouldn't have come to this where there is so little trust or belief in the future from MW and he has no relationship with the chairman. I'll call it as I see it mate and it's a shambles. The only laziness is to tolerate anything less than a World Class club if not on the park then at least off it. If you want to believe this is all top class stuff then fill your boots. I agree board members should be more discreet but they're not are they? So what is world class about that? Nothing mate.

Agree with both of you. I would only really post something of ITK status if it was generally my view based on putting 2 and 2 together anyway and then I get a 'titbit' usually because i have steered a conversation a particular way to verify my opinion. My ITK stuff is not at the the level of the Russian secret service however. In the end we all put 2 and 2 together based on what we think is reliable evidence and we don't do it in isolation. For example rbr (who i do not know) posted something which I recognised as having truth and from completely different sources I would guess (it certainly isn't from Celtic bloggers btw). So I thought it was worth adding to that based on whatt I understand. In the interests of integrity and credibility of the gersnet board it would always be wise not to draw too many conclusions from people like me and outside formal comms from the club. But then if I have something that i think fans who invest their time and money should know it is difficult to say nothing. At the end of the day I am just another anonymous internet being but I hope my posts at least show I'm a Rangers fan and want the club to succeed. That's all I hope to be recognised but rangers fans have generally been to unquestioning in the past and it didn't help. With respect to Ulis comment re what was shambolic about warburtons 'resignation' I can only respond by saying I have never seen any Rangers manager moved on or moving with such public disagreement about what actually happened. It does not seem clear cut. Resignation is a pretty straightforward process normally. Right now we are skint and we are paying for a manager and team who are not working whilst we have no effective leadership of the first team squad at a critical part of the season and we are behaving in a reactive mode rather than dictating the direction.. That's what's shambolic. Whatever the facts turn out to be in the end the board and chairman are accountable to the shareholders and fans for everything and the way the whole club is managed and that includes giving the right perception of the club to the public and projecting the best image possible. I don't think that has happened here.

I've got got media contacts and contacts via friend into one board member in particular. Part of what rbr says is true. The evidence is the shambolic nature of warburtons departure (irrespective of whether or not it was good to get rid of him). There are a couple of highly professional board members who do not operate like this which is a source of friction. There is also a question over DK proportion of funding commitment compared to others given some of the promises that were made by DK (albeit over a longer timeframe). This is a source of friction. One thing I don't have an inside track on is mccoist. Greed or tactics? I don't know but it could be key to understanding what is going on. Safe to say support for DK does not seem to be universal looking at it from different angles. I can categorically state things such as Barton was not Warburtons signing but clearly I can't reveal sources other than they are senior sources with direct knowledge. Again that points to a lack of alignment at senior levels in the club. So where are we? We are still in 3rd, we are still in the cup, we still have a rebuild to do however the scale of that looks bigger snd longer term than it did a few months ago (can it be accelerated?). . We still have the craig Whyte court case and the MA court case which are disincentives to investors and If DK cannot advance more funds then his presence may also be a disincentive to investment. We simply must stop the slide on the park but we cannot do that until we have the right mgt team in place and the right funding and clarity of the court cases and a unified board. Detaching myself emotionally from this it looks very much like we have made our bed for this season. I don't see any point in signing the wrong manager just to get us into the europa league. This team would not get past the KO and we would be starting our next season in June. Doesn't make sense to prioritise that any more. Good money after bad. Te short term fix DK is not going to put 20m to then walk away. He already lost 20m to Murray. All we can do as fans is support the team when they play and ask the right questions and I think rbr was trying to do that. Given the money the fans have put into the club over the last 4 years that is our right. The club would be nowhere without the fans. They have committed more than any individual (not disrespecting the hard work and investment of board members btw). The board have laid out some level of detail but they have been wrong footed by performance on the pitch. It would certainly have been better to have a manager in place who was working for his pay even if he was not the right answer longer term (in the boards eyes). The board to some degree have created this situation so they need to now fix it. They deserve a bit more time but if they are not unified something needs to give before the start of next season and in all events some major investment is needed. It's honestly hard to see that coming from DK now imo.

Ashley had every opportunity to put significant sums of money into Rangers. He did the exact opposite and has taken fortunes out and will take fortunes out. That is the story the lazy press should be highlighting. I looked round one of his stores out of curiosity yesterday (never been in one before) and he must be making an absolute fortune on cheaply Far East produced goods, exploitative distribution infrastructure and no doubt low paid retail staff. Rangers are a line item on his portfolio. Nothing more. He did of course have a great opportunity with Rangers to get global marketing but his greed fecked that up. If. If he is the answer then we truly are desperate. I noticed John James (don't laugh) was going on about how he would have invested 30m. The blogging lunatic failed to mention how much he would have taken out the club. The only way Ashley will get any control is through negative behaviour such as the court case. it will not be out of any desire to help Rangers.

I think that's partially true Uli and folk mention formations as a short hand rather than a proscribed place to stand. However 4-4-2 generally makes free flowing possession football difficult. It is a more rigid formation suited to the long ball, diagonal ball or wide play then crosses and you get easily outplayed by better teams who can hold the ball because you are putting 2 players in isolated positions. Given the size, tactical awareness and speed of defenders these days it is relatively easy to defend (apologies for grannies and eggs). I really hope we don't throw the baby out with the bath water here. We learned a lesson through mccoist. But we got out the lower leagues. We have changed our football style throughout the club for the long term but it didn't work out with the new manager. We should still try and see this as project in progress. However the real issue is of course off field. But going back to negative football will confuse players and we don't have the physical attributes. If the suggestion is we become like any old spl team for the short term my worry is it would fail anyway and set us back further long term. We clearly need a good manager long term and an interim , we need a serious upgrade in certain positions (no matter what style we play) but most of all we have to get clarity off field. To upgrade we should appoint DOF who can help with long term managerial selection snd in time for summer. Aberdeen will finish second. They are settled and confident and can score goals. Perhaps the healthiest thing we can do right now is reset a realistic target with fans for this year which will be 3rd and hope that an interim mgr can see that journey out and right now that is about sorting out the attitude of certain players. My guess is warburton has been too much of a pal to some of them and that was summed up with his 'welcome the boos' nonsense (that was the last straw). As fans we need to get behind the team but in the knowledge that an interim manager is changing the attitude of some. Murty will not succeed there imo. And whilst I'm at it certain players would be on the bench and out the door by the start of next season. Attitude will not be the differentiator as they are simply not good enough and make too many mistakes.

MW was just one man Ian. Lots of teams play good free flowing football but we must decide what ours is to be and that's where DOF comes in.

Most of above is correct but DOF does also align the football strategy. That doesn't mean he picks the tactics if we need to change them as that is up to the manager on a weekly basis but it broadly means we play a particular style in our club 4-4-2, total football, 6-4-0 or whatever and we have players who are either recruited from the English rugby league aka hearts and Dundee or we recruit players who can adapt to modern football. The manager gets to sign players but he must persuade DOF. Football must be about the most obvious industry which has shocking governance in terms of spending money so we should have no issue with managers having to justify requests to higher authority. In fact it looks like warburton was eventually told he wasn't getting any more. Perhaps if he had had more conversations with a DOF we would not be in the mess we are. The DOF takes long term accountability across a potential succession of managers. Thanks makes total sense to me. Funnily enough big Eck would be a good DOF imo.

Given options at the Moment I think garner has the makings of a centre back. He is pretty good in the air and I assume he can play the ball on the ground and he puts himself about. He certainly isn't a 'modern' or effective forward. Clint could bring him on. I haven't given up completely on kiernan. The biggest problem our centre backs have had all year is exposure on the flanks due to tav out of position constantly and losing the ball in midfield because we are not good there.

I once complained to NBM formally about some game or other when Celtic fans were doing 'the sad orange b***** routine ' and got no reply despite NBM making a big fuss out of our fans doing it the other way round in a previous match. I have no doubt they are a biased organisation.

Exactly. Complete it. It's an opportunity to demonstrate they should be irrelevant given their bias.

Couldn't see it before the summer and clarity on the court cases. But would be a fantastic choice if all the off field ducks were lined up.

Agree BH. The club are not obliged to openly write back and accept resignation in any particular timescale. They are also not obliged to accept a change of mind by MW. The only constraint on them is they cannot legally refuse a resignation. We also don't know the details of his contract (for example it can be stipulated any resignation must be in writing). However letting him continue his duties without clear communication that his employment was terminated or that there was an agreed end date over the period from Tuesday to 9pm on Friday has put the club in a more akward position than necessary.

Trublu I think the deal was that they would be prepared to carry on working (i.e. cancel their resignation so long as any club that came in from them would not need to pay compensation- in other words MW DW could negotiate golden hellos when they got a new job). The resolution will boil down to the technical detail on how this was communicated, what constitutes an offer and acceptance etc. The 3 amigos have come out of this as money grabbing bastards who couldn't commit to the club. Particularly disappointed with DW and certainly MW has taken the pysh out of those of us who wanted to give him time. A side aspect of this which demonstrates we do not manage the club effectively is that given the board assumed they had resigned then how the hell did they have access to auchenhowie and were allowed to do a press conference.Given the nature of their supposed departure desks should have been cleared, security should have been advised, and they should have been clearly advised that keep away. Either we were incompetent at MD level. The day to day running of the club needs massive improvement.

In a nutshell. Feckin shambles. No strategy no leadership.

Agree totally that he needs to be more flexible and if he isn't that will kill him. He is running out of time to demonstrate he is learning. You simply have to win the battle first in Scotland to earn the right to play football and where playing conditions are variable to say the least and where our opponents want to kick us off the park. We are not Real Madrid and he needs to get that into his head or he will be finished sooner rather than later. I am not a fan of Tav as a defender but I think he could mix it up a bit in midfield and go to a back four for a while with hodson and Wallace sitting in a bit more. If we sit off teams a bit more and challenge them to break us down none of them (except the Tim) have what it takes. Right now a junior team would score against us.

Exactly. The reality is we need to source from different roots and getting a good reputation with EPL teams is important. It's a two way street and if there is a risk to a player he either doesn't play him or he hooks him. I don't think it is outrageous to protect other peoples assets. That unfortunately is the reality of where our club is and will be until off pitch issues are resolved and we can step up our investment appeal.