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Posting this in here since we're getting all this transfer gossip. Just wondering when exactly the transfer window closes for us because I'm not clear on whether it's midnight tonight or midnight tomorrow night. In England it closes at 5pm tomorrow evening, but for us it's different for some obscure reason unknown to mankind. The main BBC transfers page states the following - So does it close for Scottish clubs in 7.5 hrs time or 31.5 hrs time??

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/8488667.stm Rangers manager Walter Smith has criticised the club's decision to say that they did not need to sell during the January transfer window. Confirming that Sporting Lisbon's bid for Pedro Mendes had been accepted, he spoke frankly about the wisdom, or lack of it, of such an announcement. "I didn't think it was a good statement to make at the time," said Smith. "I don't think that statement should have been made when it was made because it gives the wrong impression." Earlier this season, Smith told BBC Scotland in a post-match radio interview that the bank (Lloyds) was running the club. Rangers and Lloyds Bank quickly issued statements denying that was the case, though there can be little doubt Smith knew the effect his comments would have. While Friday's utterances were not as powerful, they were nonetheless further evidence of a gulf between what might be termed the "football people" and the "financial people" within the club. Smith went on: "Football is more complicated than that. It's not a matter of needing to sell, at times it's the player's wishes as well. "If a player wants to go, that can happen. There are always going to be transfers and they are not all going to be financially-based decisions that are going to cause a player to leave the club." Though his mood was light-hearted, his frustration at how complex the financial situation is was apparent as he was asked if money would be available to spend in light of Mendes' proposed move. "I'll need to find that out as well. It used to be we could find out a lot quicker than we can now," he added. "I would hope a little bit of money would be freed up but we will wait and see. "I won't take anyone unless it's someone I really feel can come in and make a difference for us." Asked whether he had identified any targets, Smith replied: "It's not quite as simple as that because we had to get rid of a few before we could look so it's not really been possible to do that. "It's just one of those situations that we are in. We can now at least have a look and, if it doesn't come to anything, we just carry on in the situation that we're in."

Published on 13 Jan 2010 For 12 months, the picture has been painted of a club laid bare. A world-famous institution where every meagre pound has become a prisoner. Fed-up Rangers fans havenââ?¬â?¢t sniffed an A-list signing for a year and a half. And Ibrox manager Walter Smith has claimed the men in suits from Lloyds Banking Group have tightened their fingers round the purse strings in a bid to ease debts totalling Ã?£31million. The only light to pierce the gloom has been the form of Kris Boyd, whose goals have made him the hero of the Ibrox terracings ââ?¬â?? and helped Rangers open up a seven- point gap over Celtic in the SPL title race. But now even Boydââ?¬â?¢s Rangers future has been thrown back into the financial melting pot. For we can exclusively reveal today the Ã?£18,000-a-week deal Boyd is keen to sign has still to be agreed by the clubââ?¬â?¢s financial controllers. That means the bid to keep the SPLââ?¬â?¢s record goalscorer at his boyhood idols could yet be scuppered. Chief executive Martin Bain met Boydââ?¬â?¢s representative at the end of last week and extended an offer which would bring the 26-year-old into line with the top earners at Ibrox and out of the clutches of English raiders. Smith has urged Bain to do everything possible in his power to keep the player, who yesterday underwent a double hernia operation in Manchester, at the club. However, the terms on offer have not been given the green light by certain individuals on the board. And it now remains to be seen whether the offer will stand if, as expected, Boyd confirms he wants to put pen to paper on the deal. Business turnaround specialist Donald Muir, who was appointed in October with a remit to remedy the financial fortunes of the Scottish champions, has been handed the task of trying to reduce the clubââ?¬â?¢s debts. Cost-cutting measures have bitten so deep that, it is understood, even the number of groundstaff at Ibrox and Murray Park was looked at before Christmas. When this was raised as a possible area to save cash, the idea was met with swift resistance from the football operation who realise the groundstaffââ?¬â?¢s crucial role. This time last year, it emerged the club might be forced to sell a leading player to help ease the financial burden. Owner and majority shareholder Sir David Murray stepped down as chairman in August and was replaced by Alastair Johnston who has spent the last three months trying to find a new owner. The financial crisis that has engulfed Rangers came to a head shortly after Muirââ?¬â?¢s appointment to the board when Smith claimed after a home match against Hibs the bank were running the club. This was denied by the bank, much to Smithââ?¬â?¢s fury. Lloyds have consistently denied Muir is their man and insist he is a paid employee of the Murray Group, and was not placed on Rangers board at their behest. But, as we exclusively revealed in October two days after Smithââ?¬â?¢s startling statement, the bank threatened Rangers with administration if the club didnââ?¬â?¢t sign up for a business plan based upon swingeing cuts, many of which will only take full effect in the summer if a new buyer is not found. And it is the architects of this plan ââ?¬â?? the same plan that has frozen Rangersââ?¬â?¢ spending for three transfer windows ââ?¬â?? who hold the key to Boydââ?¬â?¢s Ibrox future. The pressure was only slightly lifted when the loan move for PSGââ?¬â?¢s Jerome Rothen was signed off. Rangers, however, are only picking up part of his wages and that deal will be torn up if the Frenchman can fix up another club for the rest of the season. But this is the first time the cash cuts could hold the key to whether a player is offered a new contract. Boyd is the first player to be offered a new deal since Muir was appointed to the board. Other players, such as Nacho Novo and Kirk Broadfoot, are nearing the end of their current deals, but the sums involved to keep them are not even close to the Boyd figures. Novo is believed to be on around Ã?£5000 a week, with Broadfoot on Ã?£3000 a week. Neither is likely to stay if their offers donââ?¬â?¢t show a decent increase, but itââ?¬â?¢s believed the current business plan does not have much flexibility. But Boyd, who will be in line for a Ã?£8,000-a-week increase, has sparked a major stand-off as the offer made to him could force the bank to honour a deal that they would prefer not to ââ?¬â?? or face the wrath of the clubââ?¬â?¢s support, sections of which have already threatened to boycott Lloyds Banking Group services. Questions that remain unanswered Comment by Thomas Jordan It used to be as straightforward as the manager inviting the player into his office, telling him what he would be earning and waving him on his way. That was the way new contracts and transfers were conducted in the past. Nowadays, agents and chief executives are involved. It is a far more complex business now than it was then. But even by present-day standards, the background to Kris Boydââ?¬â?¢s contract negotiations with Rangers could take things to a new level entirely. On the instruction of Rangers manager Walter Smith, the clubââ?¬â?¢s chief executive Martin Bain met with the strikerââ?¬â?¢s representative at the end of last week and tabled a new contract offer in a bid to retain the services of their leading goalscorer. Normally, that would have been the end of the matter. The player would either say he was taking them up on their offer or reject it in favour of an opportunity elsewhere. There would usually be some room for negotiation. But SportTimesââ?¬â?¢ revelation that the Lloyds Banking Group are yet to approve the new deal and will have the final say on whether it will go through or not brings a host of questions Rangers fans will want answered as the true extent of the bankââ?¬â?¢s role is revealed. * Once again, on a point that has never been satisfactorily answered, they want to know who really is calling the shots at Rangers? * Why have the bank said they are not running Rangers when they have approval on contracts? * The man appointed to the board by the Murray Group in October, Donald Muir, has said he has no influence on football matters. Does he still maintain that is the case? * When will the chairman Alastair Johnston tell everyone what is really happening within the constraints of a business plan that he himself has said is not good for the club? * What would the consequences have been had the Rangers board NOT agreed to the bankââ?¬â?¢s business plans? * And what exactly will happen in the summer when the full extent of the financial cuts are expected to be implemented if a new buyer is not found? These are questions the Rangers supporters would like answered. And it is probably the same for Walter Smith. How many managers would be willing to work for a club without any sort of contract in place? It would be unlikely many, if any at all, would agree to such a situation. But the Rangers manager appears to be on a mission to do everything within his power to save the club. When Smith came out and publicly announced the bank were running the club, it was immediately denied. He is now fighting tooth and nail, it would seem, to prevent his current squad of players from being ripped apart. By managing to win the SPL title last season, the Rangers manager secured some much- needed funds for the cash-strapped club. His team are now seven points clear in the title race again, despite the fact they squad is basically down to the bare bones. But at what point will he decide enough is enough? At what point will he decide he is fighting a losing battle against the moneymen? That, without doubt, is something that really would bring this situation to a head. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/editor-s-picks-ignore/moneymen-hold-the-key-to-kris-boyd-deal-and-they-haven-t-said-yes-1.998370

It seems every time I travel through to Ibrox this season, the weather is dreadful. Heavy rain, low cloud and an atmosphere of foreboding seem the norm no matter the time of year. Add in the less than positive mood of the Rangers support then we could change the club colours to grey, bring in John Major as manager and sell boiled rice at the kiosks and it would probably reflect the general feeling at the club well enough. Yet, conversely, the chat online has been a bit more interesting of late: potential new owners interviewed by in-the-know journalists; fan groups releasing statements about ownership schemes; strong arguments between bears who share the same goals and objectives; and general excitement about a new era sans Sir David Murray. Unfortunately all the (largely positive and interesting) debate surrounding the ownership of the club was turned on its head for the time being with yesterday's damp squib of an AGM. With new chairman Alistair Johnston in charge, the format was changed from recent years with an in-depth statement from him and Martin Bain (available in full from PLUS Markets) pre-empting much of the more difficult questions from the 3000 strong shareholder crowd. Amid farcical scenes early in the meeting, the token (but important) gesture of the majority present voting against the re-election of Donald Muir was as interesting as it got. Sure, the huge proxy shareholding of Sir David Murray meant any such vote was always going to be futile but Rangers, MIH and Lloyds bank (delete as applicable for Muir's real employer) will have taken on board the opinions of these active supporters. This shows even widespread media coverage surrounding Muir's appointment didn't sway the opinions of many bears giving an increased realisation that even David Murray can't spin as well as he could do in the past. Alistair Johnston's comments added to that rather bluntly at times. Moving onto the new chairman's speech, Johnston spoke rather well and held the attention of the crowd despite the 20mins he spoke for. An undoubtedly clever man, his awkward appearance in front of the media cameras a few months back was forgotten about here in this confident performance. Most interesting were his comments that he'd lead a Rangers Board that will become increasingly independent of the Murray Group - qualifying this by discontinuing all reimbursements to Murray Group for management services and refusing to take on four directors instead of two (Muir and McGill recently replacing SDM and Wilson) as representatives from MIH. It will be interesting to see how much further the board can go in this respect as SDM (or Lloyds depending on your opinion) still owns >91% of Rangers FC. The chairman also made regular references to a business plan that he had reluctantly agreed with Lloyds in recent months. Obviously, every Rangers fan is aware of the financial restrictions placed upon us, so the likelihood of no future transfers and the importance of winning the SPL was nothing new. The fact he did go until to express 'scepticism' and 'caution' for any new owner in terms of not only raising the initial capital to buy the club but, more importantly, being able to prove they can retain a working finance to maintain the business moving forward was a stark reminder to those who think buying then running Rangers is simple. I wouldn't go as far as some to say he has outright dismissed the aspect of supporter ownership (wholly or in part) but he quite rightly brought everyone back into the real world by way of showing the difficulties therein. In summary, Johnson concluded rather blandly that the club's commitment to the fans would remain a priority and touched on youth and scouting as two specific ways in which we could improve our operations. Martin Bain then took to the stage and was also given the same courtesy by the fans for his slightly shorter but more empirical speech. Concentrating on the individual issues that would inevitably have cropped up during open questions, Bain was clever to address these beforehand and also maintained an eloquent realism while again not really saying anything we didn't know. Despite the drop in season ticket sales it was comforting to know our percentage capacity in the UK remains something to be proud of. All the more reason then for he and his chairman not dismiss our opinions lightly in future months one would hope. By concentrating on the Dundee Utd ticket fiasco and JJB merchandising improvements Bain gave the impression the club did share our opinion on such matters though. Further comment on the importance of youth football and the mention of a new structure in domestic and European football were contributions we'd also heard before. No concrete plans were outlined on how were were addressing all the above which was somewhat disappointing. Nonetheless most major talking points were covered empirically before he opened up the meeting to the shareholders for questions. Pleasingly the time given for such questions was agreeable enough when compared to recent years. Perhaps it was the cold, cramped nature of the Bill Struth Stand or perhaps it was because the preceding speeches were delivered confidently but the quality of questions were by and large disappointing. The Jumbotron screens' condition, the discipline of players on international duty, and kick-off times dictated by TV monies didn't really add anything to the event and those that were a bit more interesting such as the contract status of players (including Boyd) and further media representation complaints were easily answered by Bain who was well briefed for these expected queries. Meanwhile Donald Muir again denied he was employed by the bank and/or that he was preparing the club for administration. Thus, two hours after it started, the always ill-at-ease and unimpressive John McLelland brought the meeting to a close. As everyone bustled their way to the exit (and the incessant rain) the media sat in wait to try and catch shareholders off-guard with their own questions. But the truth was nothing exciting really happened. Sure, the stadium re-naming rebuttal; the no-contract status of the management team; and the guarded nature of the discussion with regard to the ownership of the club kept people awake but all-in-all the debate isn't really all that further forward. Thus, the status-quo remains. We know the club is in financial difficulty. We know the current board appear to be in conflict with each other. We know Lloyds/MIH retain a key involvement in the running of the club. We know all the board lack the innovation required for obvious improvement. We know the ongoing financial underpinning of the club is dependent on our success. We know that club are wary of increased supporter involvement. We know the club is for sale. We know there are a few interested buyers. We know they lack the model or the backing to capture the imagination of the support at large. All the above was information we had at our disposal before yesterday's meeting - hence the title of this equally morose article on it. As such, I urge everyone involved to take a breather and stand back for the moment until such time where we do have more precise information on the club's ownership future. In the short-term the most important thing is that the team remain successful on the pitch so it is vital we continue to support them as vocally as we can. Winning the SPL is imperative no matter who owns the club. That is something we can all agree on. Let's build for the future on that positive note.

I don't normally refer to Greek mythology in my articles but as Rangers players partied Saturday night away in their private booth with VIP table service at 'Panacea' nightclub in Manchester, the connotations of the club name with healing and solutions certainly struck a chord. It was in the mid-late 1990s that Richard Gough stated 'the team that drinks together, wins together' and when one looks back at that decade of dominance for our club; not many people would disagree with his comment. The 9IAR team spirit was second to none and hardly any of the squad during that time of supremacy lacked commitment - home-grown or foreign in background. As such, our club ruled the SPL and Walter Smith was the King who reigned over that success. Fast forward ten years and that same King reigns over markedly different circumstances. The club dynasty is one that appears at its end, there is no money to replace under-performing players and success is more inconsistent than guaranteed. Indeed, our problems are rife and despite still being in with a chance of topping the league come the end of 2009, King Walter is no longer the omniscient legend we all though he was last century. But, he can still be our panacea. To fulfil that role, we can only hope he finally sees the same difficulties we do. Sure, his loyalty to players who have helped deliver the relative success we've seen over the last 2 years is a virtue we shouldn't readily dismiss. After all dropping players for the odd bad game (or mistake) isn't a way to build confidence and morale half-way through another must-win season. However, there is a fine line between supporting his players and blind loyalty. That fine line has arguably been crossed with the continual selection of Steven Whittaker whose confidence is shot in ways every opposition team and every opposition player is clearly taking advantage off. The belief in Steven Davis to finally take up the mantle of Barry Ferguson in assuming responsibility for igniting our attacking play is one that is more misplaced with every match he lets us down. Stubbornness and familiarity are also managerial aspects we must criticise carefully. Consistency of selection is agreeable, consistency of strategy breeds success while faith in tactics has seen us challenge on many fronts since Smith returned. However, once again, the fine line between faith and questionable selection of players simply because of a winning system has been crossed. Despite his faults Lee McCulloch has done reasonably well this season and has arguably out-performed others in midfield. Unfortunately, when not accompanied by another holding player, he lacks the guile necessary to dominate the engine-room. Adding Steven Naismith - a centre forward only has been proven surely - to the mix isn't innovative or exciting; merely bizarre and too demanding of a player that lacks the physical nature required when up against 5 man opposition systems. Ability to change brings us back to 'panacea' and immediate evidence that Smith (and his managerial assistants) may not be the solution comes with their attempts at starting XI changes, substitutions or transfers. Quite simply they have bought badly; over-complicate their team with player after player out of their preferred position; and seem incapable of making substitutions during matches to change our fortunes. As such, it is difficult to believe that with these same issues still prevalent they can address the problems now - in a December where our home and away form will be challenged by any team who can see the same obvious faults as we do. Can Walter Smith et al really retain the league title? That in itself raises more short-term questions. Will the manager's contract be renewed in January? What about key players such as Kris Boyd? Can the club afford to reject the financial temptations of English sides courting those players that are performing to the level required? Just how much is this off-the-field speculation affecting the players? Or was a good night on the p!ss enough to foster a renewed sense of optimism, spirit and commitment amongst a group of players who look otherwise lost or AWOL when we need them most? What is clear is that we need to see this spirit; this belief and this passion to get our league bid back on track. And, as seems to be a recurring theme whenever one examines the fortunes of Rangers, we need a leader; a real captain of men to induce these qualities in an era where money, extravagance and excitement are no longer possible in the short-term. But that isn't a reason for not competing more strongly than we have been. At the weekend, our manager talked about a lack of creativity in his team while our club captain conceded we're going backwards while others take the fight to us. The time is now for Walter to be the creative one, Davie Weir to communicate that and every player at the club to lead from the front foot. Do that and Walter may be the King of Kings - do not and the Rangers empire may only crumble further. Thus, when our players enjoyed the luxuries of Panacea on Saturday night I hope the fine wines and food were taken along with a substantial serving of humble pie. For they and our manager are the only solution available so it is time for them to earn their crust. As such, when we visit central Scotland on Saturday, I hope to see clear evidence that our players are up for a new Battle of Falkirk and a belated battle fever has arisen from the team-bonding of the weekend. Anything less is unacceptable.

There has been much hype and hysteria over our current financial situation and most of the information that comes our way is both contradictory and confusing. The media would have us believe that the club was days from going into administration, was now being run by the bank, and that we'd sell half our team in January. All of the statements by the club and bank completely deny this, so the question is "Who is lying?" And can we clarify the real position of the club? Since the start, I've found the hyperbole surrounding our financial situation totally unbelievable - banks have no interest in running football clubs, there is no way our finances could suddenly become so bad that we were about to go bust, and selling all our best players halfway through the season makes no business sense whatsoever. With the latest financial audit and statement from our chairman making far more sense than anything that has come before it, maybe we should calm down and analyse the situation even if itââ?¬â?¢s a laymanââ?¬â?¢s analysis. First let's deal with the administration threat. It appears there were no surprises in the accounts and the club while not looking on the steadiest of feet, still came out with a clean audit with the ability to trade for the foreseeable future. So why all the fuss? The answer to me seems to be that the club, with very lofty ambitious, was (as we know) being pretty badly run without proper budgeting for the spending on player transfers and wages. We were making large losses and increasing our debt for the second time at an alarming rate. This happened before but at that time, our owner had a very healthy and very large business which was underwriting our debts and eventually actually paid a huge chunk of them off. That put us in a pretty good credit rating bracket at a time when banks were not very discerning who they lent their money to. Now with the credit-crunch, huge bank losses due to bad debts, and a change of ownership of our creditors, there is a bit of a credit hangover. Mix in the fact that our owner's companies overstretched themselves with expansion using short term debt before their industry ground to a pretty serious go slow period, and you have a bitter tasting hair off the dog with the bank getting shaky about our position. It seems they wanted to renegotiate our 15M overdraft and using that leverage to make changes in the boardroom and business plan. This seemingly has led to SDM resigning from the board and the appointment of Muir. This is where we get to the second point about the bank running the club. I think the truth is closer to the bank being concerned about unsustainable spending especially when our income is hugely vulnerable to whether on not we qualify for the Champions League and made worse by an unforeseen, significant reduction in our media income. They therefore have pressured the club to change it's business plan to a far more conservative and parsimonious one, which has less chance of being disastrous if certain targets (like CL qualification) are not met. Our new chairman has emphasised this, and told us that after much negotiation, a new business plan has been agreed which in turn means that the bank has extended the provision of a 15M overdraft until a review in something like March 2011. The Rangers board are not entirely happy about the business plan as it restricts the ability of the club to achieve its ambitions and probably removes any ability to speculate to accumulate which can bring success in a highly competitive business like football. However, it allows us to have access to the cash we need to run as a going concern and trade our way out of our current position. Muir himself will have plenty to do in his day to day work than worrying about the running of a football club and will merely be attending board meetings to represent the interests of the bank, which I presume are about once a month. As far as I can tell as a layman, the debt is not good but is within manageable proportions with the biggest problem being a lack of cash at hand which restricts our cash-flow ââ?¬â?? the real killer of businesses. Ã?£20M of our debt is actually a long term mortgage to be paid over 20 years at Ã?£1M per year plus interest. This loan is secured on property and I think we can agree that Rangers should have no foreseeable problem in servicing this debt. That leaves a balance of liabilities minus liquid assets of about Ã?£11M. Even on our lower year turnovers of Ã?£44M, this doesn't exactly seem even slightly insolvent and as our chairman says, there doesn't seem a great need for a "fire sale" of players, especially when that could seriously harm our income in the next year. Not only will a smaller and less skilful squad harm us competitively on the pitch - which has a direct effect on income, it will seriously affect the uptake of season tickets in the summer. No creditor with any intelligence would deliberately harm a debtorââ?¬â?¢s ability to pay what they owe, for merely a short term reduction in the outstanding debt. That only happens as a last resort if it looks like the company will imminently go bust and so there is a chance that the bank could get very little back at all. If a seriously good offer comes in for one of our best players, then I think the board will probably not want to look a gift horse in the mouth, and the likes of Bougherra may be off. However, a business case could easily be made to replace him with a player of lesser value - and the cash need not necessary go directly to pay off the debt directly but may be used to improve the clubs ability to pay short term liabilities ie bills. Of course that cash at hand does affect the net debt. So the state of play seems that while Rangers are under pressure from the bank to have a more prudent and sustainable business plan while ensuring the current credit facilities are not exceeded. So in conclusion: our finance are not that bleak with no chance of administration, no chance of being run by the bank and no chance of a fire sale of players in January. "So why do we need a new owner?" one might ask. This will probably be mostly due to the financial state of Murray's companies and so their ability to guarantee any future investment into the team, stadium or other expenditures. The bank probably want to separate the club from his empire, as the football clubââ?¬â?¢s ability to pay back the debt to the bank is pretty assured, due to the nature of 50,000 loyal, paying customers which will keep the club a going concern for a long time to come. Murray's empire in contrast, looks like it could easily collapse with many creditors getting a fraction of what they are owed. From the club's and supporter's point of view, RFC's ambitions can only be realised by capital injection, to put the club on a better, more stable financial footing in which the playing budget is not so overly restricted as it is now. The future does look to be fan ownership but for this to happen, it seems an interim, cash rich investor is necessary to get the ball rolling - a la Fergus McCann.

Nov 15 2009 Mark Guidi, Sunday Mail LUBO MORAVCIK reckons Celtic should take advantage of an untapped market in several European countries. Moravcik insists there are excellent young players in his homeland Slovakia and other places such as Slovenia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary. But in order to find another 'Lubo' he believes the Hoops must invest heavily in scouting on the continent. And the way to find the money to do that is to reduce the first-team squad wage budget and plough that into finding the foreign stars of the future. Hoops hero Moravcik, 44, said: "Less than 10 years ago Celtic were paying out �£6million for players. But the days are over of buying in quality like Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson. "So there has to be investment in developing top players of your own. "Celtic do put a fair amount of their budget into their youth academy but there is more they can do. "There is no perfect solution. Nothing can be 100 per cent. But maybe the strategic planning has to be looked at. "It's not what the first-team manager would want but I would take money out of the top-team salary budget to use as an investment for scouting in Europe. "In my opinion it would be better to spend an extra �£500,000 or �£1m a year to bring through your own kids rather than give it to a player to come to Celtic who is only a squad player in the Premiership. Is there not more satisfaction in producing your own? Finding entertainers, stars who excite the supporters? "Recruiting players doesn't necessarily mean signing a 16-year-old kid out of school. "There are guys playing at a lower league level in countries all over Europe - in France, Slovakia, Czech Republic and other countries. "To get these players you need a proper structure abroad. "You need one guy to oversee Europe, delegating the work and with scouts and contacts working for him. The players are out there - you just need to find them or be told about them. "Would I be interested in something like that for Celtic? Of course I would. "Another thing that Celtic would have in their favour is that kids may well prefer to go to them rather than the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool. "Kids and their parents would know they would get a better chance to play first-team football at Celtic than in the Premiership because those clubs can spend �£50m every year on transfers. "I don't have all the answers, I only have some ideas. Maybe my ideas are good, maybe some people will think not. But I believe in them." Moravcik recently quit as Slovakia Under-17 national boss. According to him he now spends too much time on the golf course and has a handicap of 29. He misses being involved in football. Back in Glasgow this weekend for a charity function, Lubo told MailSport: "It was a pleasure to play for Celtic and to have had the career in football I enjoyed. "But I'm old now. Unfortunately my time in the dressing-room has gone. "I hope the players of tomorrow at Celtic can taste the pleasure I had in Glasgow. "However, they must work hard and be able to cope mentally with the pressure. It's not all about being good with the ball at your feet. "You have to be a strong character to be successful at Celtic. That is so important." Moravcik is sad the Old Firm won't be playing in the English Premiership in the near future. The move was booted out last week and he said: "It was a nice dream. Now it must be put to one side and other ways found to advance the club. The �£20m or �£30m in television payments are not going to happen. "Other ways must be found to help bring success to the club. It will be a difficult job but it must happen." Meanwhile, Lorenzo Amoruso admits he's shocked at Rangers' cash woes - but hopes it spurs the club into restructuring it's scouting network to unearth some gems. During Amo's time at Ibrox a young Rino Gattuso was brought to the club for nothing from Italy and sold on four years later for �£4million. And the former defender now wants to see his old club focus on finding the stars of tomorrow to ensure Rangers have a bright future on the park and financial stability off it. Amoruso - who skippered Gers to the treble in 1999 - told MailSport: "I still keep in touch with what's happening at Rangers and things are quite scary at the moment. "There have been financial problems for too long now and it saddens me the club is �£31m in debt and unable to buy a player. I hope things are resolved quickly and Rangers can move on as it can't go on like this. "Whatever happens though Rangers should be planning for the future right now and reorganising the club. "Rangers have to employ more scouts. "Not only that, they must pay good wages for the right kind of scouts. "It's important to pay good salaries to get the best people in this department of the club. "And not just have people in Scotland and the rest of the UK. They should be looking all over, increasing their contacts abroad and building a global network. "You have to work really hard to get young players now. "Many clubs in Italy didn't pay much attention to scouting and youth development in the past but that has changed. "For example, AC Milan are now investing a lot of money in it as they know it's the right way to go. "Other clubs are doing the same and Udinese employ a minimum of 150 scouts. It has been a good strategy for them because they recently found a young striker from Chile called Alexis Sanchez. "He is top quality and they could sell him for millions of Euros if they wanted. "It's all about having the right people working for you. People with good contacts and a knowledge of young players. "Rangers managed to get Gattuso a few years ago and he was great. Profile "They must find more like him. But players like that will not drop out of the sky and land on the doorstep. "They have to be found and be persuaded that Rangers is the right club for them." Amoruso, 38, was back in Glasgow last week for a charity function. The Italian still has a strong affection for Rangers and wants to see them thriving again as soon as possible. And he'd welcome the chance to playa role in the future of the club. He said: "I hope a new buyer is found and things improve. "Rangers are the champions and will battle it out with Celtic again this season for the title and it is important Walter Smith and the players win it again. "Maybe time is running out but they'd like to have a new buyer in for January so they can bring in one or two quality players for the second half of the season. "But that won't happen until someone comes forward. We know people don't buy football clubs to make money. They usually buy it for the publicity and to increase their profile "But when the new owner comes in and everything settles down I'd be happy to work for Rangers and try to help them continue to move forward. "It's changed days from when I played for Rangers and the club were spending lots of money on players. "However, not spending millions and millions in the transfer market shouldn't be a reason for not doing well." http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/2009/11/15/celtic-and-rangers-need-to-restructure-scouting-network-if-they-want-success-say-old-firm-legends-86908-21823378/

I know it's not unique to Rangers but this sort of thing is worrying against a backcloth of Murray retreating into the shadows, rumours of the club being sold, a new chairman who no one ever sees, a manager who doesn't have a contract beyond January, continuing financial concerns, inability to bring in new blood through transfers, poor track record of inducting young players, and so on. In short, there are more than enough reasons for poor morale at rangers and I think what we are seeing with Bougherra is just another symptom of the sense of drift throughout the club ..... as is the run of absurdly poor performances by a team that could and probably should be dominating most teams in Scotland. It's great to be top of the league but there are growing signs of the chaos that so often precedes the end of an era. Shades of 1985 and 1998? Everything I see says we've all but running out of the little steam we had and desperately need new leadership and direction .... at all levels.

WALTER Smith will walk away from Rangers if the club don't give him money to strengthen his squad. Talks opened over the weekend with the Ibrox manager and the club's new chairman Alastair Johnston, who sees Smith as a crucial player in his vision for Rangers. But Smith will require guarantees from the board before committing himself to any new deal. Having had to watch two transfer windows open and close without being able to buy a player, Smith will be reluctant to continue without investment in front-line personnel. Jerome Rothen was dragged through the summer window just as it was closing but cost Rangers nothing and Smith believes the club cannot afford to stagnate any longer. That's why Johnston will have a difficult task to keep Smith onside. But at least the new man has opened negotiations to hold on to the manager and assistants, Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall. All three will be out of contract in January but when asked if he wanted to keep the manager in place the chairman was emphatic. "I want to give them new contracts," he replied and now he hopes to persuade the trio they should sign new deals. However, without transfer guarantees it might prove impossible to keep Smith, who experienced serious downsizing twice at Everton. Now he is going through something similar at Ibrox and although he wouldn't elaborate on his thinking he did say: "The chairman indicated he would want us to sign new deals but a lot of things have to be considered. "A lot has been happening at the club and so there is a lot more to it than just saying okay and signing a new contract. The direction we all want the club to take has to be considered as well as various other issues." Johnston admitted he doesn't have any idea how long he will be chairman because Rangers are still for sale. However, his plans include the current management team and although he suggested it was too early to worry about January transfers, he hopes it will be possible to make signings. Smith's concerns centre around whether or not Rangers will be in a position to release funds for new players and Johnston seems to agree the team and standard of play need to be enhanced. The chairman said: "The board are very supportive of the management team." http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2009/09/29/walter-smith-warns-rangers-give-me-transfer-funds-or-i-ll-quit-club-86908-21708804/ Another negative story from the media on the day of a massive game for us, what a shock!!!

Possibly should've posted it in Football Chat but I never. Would you go for any of these players? Personally, I'd stay well clear of them.

Brown at �£11mil. What was Boruc? �£10-15mil. McGeady about �£8mil or so. Who are they kidding? They talk of these bids but lets cut the crap, if they were ever offered anything near that sort of money the players would be gone. They have a dividend to shareholders to satisfy. Their wage bill seems to increase every year, yet they have no CL money. Rangers have seen Boumsong, Cuellar and Hutton all leave for around �£8-9mil. It's phenomenal money for SPL transfers. And they expect us to believe they are receiving bids in excess of �£10 mil, but the players aren't moving. Clearly no one out with the paedo dome rates their players.

First off, I make no apology for deliberately using the word legend in the article title. No matter our differing opinions on the man's contribution to the club, his affect on Rangers FC over the last 20 years is and always will be worthy of rumination and argument for the next 20 years and beyond. As such, in the far off distant future, fudge and counter fudge will result in the whole era becoming more of a myth than a truth. As such, for the record, please allow me to try and dissect his time as chairman with as much objectivity and balance as I can muster. David Murray was born in Ayr on 14/10/1951 and up until his purchase of Rangers was a decent rugby player and partly interested in Ayr United football team. Indeed, in the mid-80s he wanted to buy Ayr but his approach was rebuffed at that time. Apparently Ayr didnââ?¬â?¢t fancy Murrayââ?¬â?¢s impressive business credentials to improve their fortunes. I doubt theyââ?¬â?¢d make the same decision again given the chance. I also note with interest Murrayââ?¬â?¢s recent comments about people like Joe Lewis and Roman Abramovich investing in football to ââ?¬Ë?buy a profileââ?¬â?¢. Is he really suggesting he wasnââ?¬â?¢t aware of that when Graeme Souness persuaded him to get involved with Rangers? No matter his intentions, in 1988 he bought Rangers FC from the Lawrence group who had owned the club for a number of years. Hence, Murray was not responsible for starting the so-called Rangers/Souness revolution despite what many fans still believe. Souness was actually brought to the club by then chairman David Holmes. These 2 men were then responsible for the return of the SPL championship to Ibrox for the first time in nearly 10 years. Indeed, despite many failing memories, Murray was not involved in the purchase of players such as Woods, Butcher and Gough amongst others. In actual fact, Murray, despite buying the club in November 1988, didn't even become chairman until June 1989. Therefore, perhaps his true 20 year anniversary is his reason for resigning. After that, Murray was responsible for some of the best years our club has ever had. 9-in-a-row; attracting players such as Goram, Laudrup and Gascoigne; our incredible run in the inaugural CL season in 1992/93; superb improvements to our stadium; these are all things that can be directly attributed to our custodian. For those, he should be quite rightly lauded and loved by many fans. However, after this admiration will come criticism as I'll show later. David Murray bought Rangers for Ã?£6million in 1988. The club, due to various factors, is now worth around Ã?£0-60million depending on one's viewpoint. When he sells that could yield a 1000% return on his initial investment. Of course, he has also contributed financially to the club (the share issues of 2000/2005 and the purchase of ENIC's shares for Ã?£9million in 2004); so has invested possibly as much as Ã?£80million during his 20 year tenure ââ?¬â?? but probably not as much as the Ã?£100million+ he claims. We have also spent over Ã?£200million on transfers and ground improvements such as the Club Deck ââ?¬â?? not to mention Murray Park; a training facility named in his honour. Obviously the supporters provided the bulk of the money for these investments but the money was spent which is more than can be said for boards of other clubs. This was all for the good of Rangers and more genuine reasons for us to respect Murray. However, he's not the omnipotent figure many fans think he is. He's made many mistakes, not least wasting Ã?£100 million over 3 years from 1998/99. Yes, his ambition and loyalty to Advocaat's attempt at CL success was exciting. Yes, many of us didn't harbour reservations at the time. But, he should have been much more careful. He was the custodian and he was responsible for our club. He should never have allowed ~Ã?£80million of debt to mount up. For that he is guilty of serious mismanagement and even he acknowledges mistakes were made. What he doesnââ?¬â?¢t acknowledge is that weââ?¬â?¢re still paying for them now. There are many other issues to also consider when examining the broader picture. Murray and Bain do deserve credit for being able to reduce the Ã?£80million debt down to less than Ã?£10million (circa 2006). Downsizing was necessary and without it we might not even exist. Thus, to still be able to compete and win 2 league titles during that time is worthy of some praise. Unfortunately, in recent times the finances appear just as problematic - so much so it appears we can't afford to buy any new players this summer as all income will go towards addressing our increasing debt. With regard to playing affairs, the reappointment of Walter Smith was a ââ?¬Ë?safeââ?¬â?¢ decision after the gamble of a young foreign manager being asked to succeed with similarly minimal funds as Smith has now. Generally, Murray could claim his managerial appointments have been successes though. Smith did well in his first spell, Advocaat brought exciting football and titles; and even McLeish can point to success in the face of adversity. Paul Le Guen didnââ?¬â?¢t work (though the Frenchman was as much to blame as anyone else) and Walter's second spell has borne fruit via our wonderful UEFA Cup run and the return of the SPL League Championship to Ibrox for the first time in 3 years. Nonetheless doubts remain about just how competitive we'll be moving forward. Of course not everything can be measured in pounds and pence. Weââ?¬â?¢ve shown over the last 2 years that we can beat Celtic home or away and compete with some of Europeââ?¬â?¢s better teams. Those are good signs and in our haste to criticise itââ?¬â?¢s easy to overlook the positive stuff. Huge improvements in fan behaviour can also be attributed in part to Murray. Generally, fans have accepted his efforts to modernise our thinking and we have been very successful. Itââ?¬â?¢s just a pity that the chairman hasnââ?¬â?¢t shown the same willingness to defend us when required. For that, much of the support rightly finds it difficult to respect a man who doesnââ?¬â?¢t always respect them. Indeed itââ?¬â?¢s this strained relationship which continues to undermine the chairmanââ?¬â?¢s lasting image amongst many fans. Dialogue with the support is at its lowest ebb and the promised supportersââ?¬â?¢ representation at board level still hasnââ?¬â?¢t happened (although we're perhaps to blame for that as well to a degree). That should be addressed at the earliest opportunity. After all when Murray talks about his own investments ââ?¬â?? our greater financial (not to mention emotional) input hasnââ?¬â?¢t been rewarded with the trust to help run the club. That takes us nicely to the question about who will succeed Murray in running the club. Alastair Johnston has an admirable CV and the fans who want a Rangers man in charge now have their wish - for the short-term at least. Can Johnston attract the kind of investment or new owner(s) the club obviously needs? The ongoing worldwide recession means interest will be even lower than it has been since SDM put the club up for sale 3 years ago. Who would want to buy a club with little room for manoeuvre in terms of finance with assets either siphoned off or unavailable due to long-term outsourcing? Of course Murray hasnââ?¬â?¢t ââ?¬Ë?asset-strippedââ?¬â?¢ the club but the decisions he has made in those respects have also been questionable. One only needs look at the club's balance sheet for that doubt to be validated. Essentially, for the latter part of Murrayââ?¬â?¢s reign, the club has stagnated and many questions remain about the short, medium and long term future of the business. Ironically, as it stands, the only person that can answer these questions is still our owner. Unfortunately, with his resignation from the board the evidence points to a man whoââ?¬â?¢d rather be anywhere than leading Rangers back to the dominance we seen in the 1990s. For thatââ?¬â?¢s what our club is lacking: genuine leadership; genuine ambition; genuine character and genuine hunger for success. So after yesterday's news, we're not any better off regarding knowing what our club's future will be. Would Murray really have left without ensuring the club is in safe hands with a sound business plan? Just how involved will he be behind the scenes? What will Alastair Johnston's outlook be and will it differ from the man who appointed him? Where does Martin Bain fit in? Are HBOS really calling the shots? To conclude, is SDM's resignation the genuine start of a new era at the club or just another illusion from a magician who's audience became too demanding even for this charismatic performer?

This summer may prove to be unique in the long and glorious history of the Rangers. It would require a bear older than myself to remember the last time we began a new season without strengthening the first team squad during the off-season with incoming transfers. In fact, the only business being completed at Ibrox was the removal of a few high earners from the wage bill. The likes of Ferguson, Hemdani and Dailly have left and have yet to be replaced. This should come as no surprise to us all. Even as last season was drawing to its exciting conclusion, Walter Smith was ominous in his warnings to the fans. The first team squad would be reduced to around 20 and supplemented by players from the youth squad like Fleck, Wilson and Shinnie. With the inability to agree deals for the likes of Adam and Gow, the squad has not been reduced sufficiently to allow any incoming transfers. The dearth of incoming transfer news within the media in addition to the moves being made across the city led to much agitation amongst our support. In a previous article published nearly 3 weeks ago, I urged fans to be patient and not to over react to the situation. Many fans were furious that Celtic had spent circa Ã?£7mil (including on their new management team) whilst we had yet to make any moves and to date have only earned a fee from the sale of Barry Ferguson. It is natural that, with the league being a relatively tight affair last year, fans would compare our attempts to strengthen with that of the side who are traditionally our closest challengers. However, whilst we have competed almost head to head for the SPL title for the last decade or two, that aside the situations at the two clubs could not be more different. Celtic began this season is a state of disarray, sacking a more successful manager than Martin O’Neill because their fans required someone “Celtic Minded”. Key first team players Hesselink, Nakamura and Hartley have been moved on and the replacements have yet to settle. This was most notable in the performance of Fortune in Celtic’s opening competitive game of the season where they fell to defeat in the home leg of their European qualifier. Fortune missed a couple of sitters that had he scored would have given Celtic a fighting chance of qualification. Now, of course, it is too early to be drawing any conclusions on the player’s they have added to their pool this close season but it does bring me neatly on to the main reason for penning this article. Whilst fans bemoaned the spending power of our city neighbours including the Ã?£4million buy of Fortune, in the article previously linked I cautioned against the time needed for new signings to settle. Although we all recognise that we are one or two signings away from a strong squad, the benefits of a relatively settled and stable squad should not be underestimated. Continuity in the squad and in team selection means the players get to learn each other's games inside out and the rewards are reaped on the football field. Since first having the initial thoughts for this article it proved excellent timing that World Class manager Arsene Wenger has spoken out in the media with comments that support my viewpoint: It is perhaps fitting that the Frenchman was speaking out about this just after I decided to pen this piece. The excellent spectacle that was this year's Emirates tournament was the ideal setting to prove Wenger's assertion. In Walter's first season he made us difficult to beat through defensive strength. Last year Smith turned us into title contenders. And the signs from the ties against PSG and Arsenal this weekend point to the experienced manager taking the next step in the squad's evolution without the addition of fresh faces. We again adopted the 4-5-1 formation favoured by Smith when competing against a higher calibre opponent, but the major difference this weekend was that we had the attacking wide players to break into a 4-3-3 in possession and play attractive, passing football. Last season (as for the last couple of seasons) we have had the highest quality squad in Scotland as evidenced by our League and Cup double. We have lost a few players who made little to no contribution last year and were most likely to have a similar contribution in the forthcoming campaign. We have hardly weakened our squad at all, whilst the likes of Kyle Lafferty, Pedro Mendes and John Fleck have all had a further full season in Scotland to help settle them into the game up here. I, like many fans, will be expecting a more consistent contribution from Mendes and Lafferty in particular. In addition to the greater experience of a number of the players within the squad, we have the returns of Thomson, Naismith and Stevie Smith to bolster the squad. We finally have some realistic competition at left back for the consistent Bosnian, Sasa Papac. We are very strong in central midfield especially when Maurice Edu, who had an impressive end to the season last year, returns from injury. The wealth of options up front, at least for the domestic game, is incredible. We have speed, height, power, work rate and goals from different forwards. You may struggle to find another club with the goalkeeping option of McGregor or Alexander. Sure, left midfield continues to prove problematic. We have half a dozen players who can fill that position, but not one who has made it their own. We can counter this with a change in formation to a midfield diamond. Or perhaps one of the players within the squad will step forward and command a starting berth on the left. And again, we start a season concerned over our centre backs. Can Davie Weir play another full season at the heart of the defence? After playing 60 games 2 seasons ago as we marched to the final day of every competition we entered it was the consensus opinion that he could not stand up to another full season of football. Weir powered his way to another 47 games (more than any other player in the squad) including all but 2 league games and shows no signs of letting up. That said, we would all prefer competition for the first choice pair of Weir and Bougherra. Arsene Wenger is obviously a strong believer that buying new players is not the only way to improve your squad year on year. And looking at Celtic’s disastrous opening to the season it is clear that having to begin a new era at a club by ripping up the previous squad to create a new team, even when backed by the money men at the club, is a gamble. Spending money is no guarantee of success. If we have to begin the upcoming season with essentially the same pool of players that won the double last year I will not be concerned. Walter Smith has previously demonstrated the veracity of Wenger’s assertion that you can improve your team with work on the training field and not just at the negotiating table. When Smith took over the national team from Berti Vogts the country was a laughing stock ranked in the 70s or 80s. Whilst Vogts handed out caps to over 40 different players Smith again demonstrated the effectiveness of consistency, finding his best squad and dragging the national team back up the rankings and heart-breakingly close to qualification for the World Cup. He followed that up by leading us to the top of our qualifying group for the European Championships including a victory over the World Cup runners-up France. I am not trying to suggest that a lack of transfer funds makes Smith’s job easier. Of course any manager can benefit from a transfer kitty if he spends it right. However consistency of selection also strengthens a squad’s assault on the silverware and the team that Smith has been building since he returned to the club has been growing as a unit season upon season and team unity will have never been higher. Regardless of what does or doesn’t happen in the transfer market this year I am eagerly anticipating another successful season under the guidance of the legendary Walter Smith.

In light of Johnny's thread which quote Smith as saying there will be no transfers in, would people be happier keeping star players like Boogie and going with what we have or selling Bougherra (or other) and using the funds to attempt to strengthen the squad? Edit: Can we pull off another Boumsong or Cuellar type deal?

A summer of discontent: As I whiled away the close season this weekend watching a rather uneventful stage 9 of the Tour de France, my brother exclaimed “I bloody hate the BBC, they never have any news about Rangers” whilst perusing their website. It is a complaint familiar to any Rangers fan reading through the numerous popular bluenose forums available to choose from in cyberspace. Almost as soon as Nacho’s stunning Cup Final goal secured the double, the achievements have been forgotten and Rangers have hardly graced the back pages since. The Scottish sports pages have been dominated firstly by Celtic’s embarrassing manager chase as we were told they secured their first choice man, after openly courting several other targets, and secondly by Mowbray’s attempts to rebuild a failing side. The lack of activity at Murray Park, at least as reported in the press, has many bears worried that we will not press home any advantage gained by last season’s double winning exploits and automatic Champions League qualification. One bear at least is not worried, at least not yet. The greater professionalism in not conducting all our business in public that Smith appears to have returned to the club, whilst perhaps frustrating to fans suffering through a quiet close season and eager for rumours, is reminiscent of the experienced manager’s first dominant stint in Govan. It is also worth noting that the need to strengthen the squad is not as pressing as it was last season, nor indeed as pressing as it is for Celtic. The Kaunas debacle and the refusal to splash the cash until it was too late have no doubt led to the current state of concern pervading through the support. For reasons never fully elucidated, we did not stump up the money for Davis nor other summer signings in time for the Champions' League qualifiers and the repercussions of that miscalculation will be felt for seasonss to come, on the bank balance, on the field and in European rankings. Thus, it is understandable that some fans are anxious over an apparent lack of activity in the transfer market. This concern is only heightened by the fact that Celtic have already brought in former Dundee United goalkeeper Zaluska and striker Fortune from Nancy. However, as previously alluded to, Celtic’s need is greater. They have the Champions League qualifiers to navigate - more perilous than ever under the current format - where they could get past the likes of Arsenal or Lyon to join us at Europe’s top table. Their qualifying campaign begins on the 28th of July and they will be eager to avoid the same fate we succumbed to last season. By contrast, our season does not begin until the 15th of August. We can afford to take our time in the transfer market. We do not need to rush into transfers. The transfer door only opened at the start of this month and there is still a long way to go before the competitive action begins for Smith's squad. Of course our reluctance to dive into the transfer market as of yet will also have been dictated by a meagre transfer budget and a need to get rid of the dead wood. Players we would like to see leave or who are out of favour with the manager will need to be moved on before we can bring anyone in. Ferguson, McCulloch and Adam are on decent wages and could bring in vital transfer funds. However Smith needs to trim the squad and the wage bill to keep our finances at a manageable level and so no one will likely come in before transfers out are secured. We are in need of a left midfielder who can cement a first team spot and a centre back to challenge Weir and Bougherra. We should not, however, be panicking and agonising over our lack of transfer dealing merely because our nearest challengers have already made moves to strengthen their team. Do not misunderstand that statement. I am not advocating any kind of downsizing by the hierarchy, or imagining we can afford to stand still. I am merely attempting to remind those frustrated by a lack of Rangers news in the gutter press that League success and automatic Champions League entry has given us a bit of breathing room this summer. We do not have to dive into transfers that may or may not prove shrewd business at the start of the transfer window. We have bought ourselves time and can afford to be patient in our business dealings. The excessive press coverage from the East End demonstrates the state of affairs over at Parkhead. The fawning on the BBC website of a routine victory over a poor Australian side was particularly embarrassing. The vanquished foes, Brisbane Roar, also fell to defeat against a Japanese Youth team earlier in their pre-season. Don’t let the summer heat aggravate you, nor the media’s reluctance to report on the Scottish Champions. Sit back with a nice cold drink and enjoy the upheaval over at Parkhead whilst Rangers again go about their business quietly. Look through the official site and the photos of the players returning for pre-season training and the fantastic shape in which the likes of Novo, Whittaker and Adam have returned to the club. Trust in Walter in spite of the silence emanating from the club. Remember the quiet, self-assured way the club conducted business prior to securing the SPL title at Tannadice and in his previous tenure at the club, whilst Celtic continue their public grandstanding much as they did prior to bottling the title fight this season. Thank the Lord Martin Bain isn't making crazy claims that Allan McGregor is the 'best goalkeeper in Europe'. Peter Lawwell certainly has had his share of XXXX this week! To conclude, there is still a lot to be decided this summer in the transfer market and the time to worry over the state of the squad for next season has not yet arrived. http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=807&Itemid=1

RANGERS chief executive Martin Bain is delighted at the take up of season tickets so far for the coming campaign and has praised the Rangers fans for their continued commitment to the club. Supporters have once again shown great passion and dedication to the team, with a record 43,500 season ticket holders this year. Rangers FansSeason ticket renewals are ahead of expectations for next season and there is already a substantial waiting list with new supporters ready to be part of the action. Praising the fans for their unwavering support, Bain said: "Yet again the Rangers fans have shown their commitment to supporting the team year in year out. "Last season saw a record number of season ticket holders and we are on target again for the next campaign. "Despite the current economic climate, the Rangers fans have committed to their season tickets again for next season and we already have a considerable waiting list. "The club was determined to continue the strategy of making football more affordable for fans and providing value added benefits to supporters. "This was recognised with the recent Clydesdale Bank 'Best Fan Marketing Initiative' award which commended the club for its innovative ticketing and communications strategy. "Bringing the fans closer to the club and improving direct communications with the supporters has been a top priority and will continue to be next season. Martin Bain"The fans backing of the team directly contributes to its success and this has never been more true than in the current season." Season ticket holders benefit from Old Firm games and priority for European ties, free entry to Old Firm reserve and under 19 games, free entry to SFA Youth Cup ties plus free seat transfers for one-off games at Ibrox. Juvenile season ticket holders also enjoy an exclusive Q&A session with the management team and players and have the chance to take part in matchday flag processions and guards of honour on the Ibrox pitch in season 2009/10. Season ticket prices have been frozen for the third consecutive season and children will continue to benefit from the third off juvenile season ticket prices introduced at the beginning of this season. Prices for 2009/10 start from as little as �£96 for juveniles and �£298 for adults in the Broomloan Road Stand Family Section. Fans can join the season ticket waiting list in the following ways: * Online at rangers.co.uk * Via the hotline on 0871 702 1972 * By visiting the Rangers Ticket Centre

Saw a list of this yesterday on Skysports but didn't really pay too much attention. For any player who has played in the Premiership, who would have the highest total value for all of their career moves. It's been bugging me senseless. So far I can think of Keane, Bellamy and Anelka, Crespo, Shevchenko, Berbatov, Henry, Ferdinand, Tevez?, Veron, Stam, Deco. I'm certain Anelka was top with �£96m and Keane was 4th with �£78m Cant find the stats anywhere though....

The Scout reports...

Next in the STS series, is an excellent article written by AMMS (from RangersMedia) who explores the difficulties in rearing successful young players and how the results could be maximised. http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=742&Itemid=2 BEGINS My first job was an apprentice printer, it was a small place employing about 8 or so people at that time and I was their first ‘apprentice’. Times were hard then (sound familiar?) and rather than take me on I was employed through the government run Youth Training Scheme on the princely sum of Ã?£27.50 a week and Ã?£5 travelling expenses. Part of how the YTS was sold to potential employees was that there would be college based training as well as on the job skills. This sounded good; rather than just being exploited slave labour I got 2 week stints at the Building and Printing College every month and more ScotVec modules than you could shake an inky rag at. Eventually after a month or two my boss approached me and asked how I was enjoying college. The reality was I loved it, you didn’t start until 9am, it was a very relaxed atmosphere, and you got to ogle at the hairdressers in the College of Commerce across the road. However if truth be told, I wasn’t learning a whole lot about printing which was what I was supposed to be doing. Lots of theory and not a lot of practical was my diplomatic reply. My boss, who had spent his entire working life in the printing game paused for a moment and reflected on my reply and his slightly confusing words have remained with me until this day; ‘Aye son’, he ventured ‘theory is alright in theory but when you want to learn to swim sooner or later you need to get into the water’. The training of young footballers seems to be a thing of great difficulty for Rangers recently. Part of that problem seems to have been our reluctance to move with the times. In this day of public/private partnerships, you have to wonder why Rangers (and other clubs) haven’t got a genuine tie-in with a local school. A residential aspect to youth development is common place on the continent where boys are schooled from 13 to 15 in conjunction with a club or FA. The acclaimed Clairefontaine centre outside Paris and the famous Ajax Academy all include ‘normal’ schooling as part of their curriculum; these people are children after all. Curiously, a local school to Ibrox, Bellahouston Academy, is Scotland’s first ‘school for sporting excellence’. The school has over 130 pupils who are only there because of their sporting talent. These kids still get a full education but they also get access to specialist coaches, advice, conditioning and sports psychologists. Football isn’t currently one of the sports covered at the school - perhaps Rangers could consider helping to change that? Engendering good habits, influencing technique and seeing at first hand the personalities, weaknesses and the strengths of these young players must be good for the players as well as the club. Tie it in to a trusted, local authority run school environment and you have the perfect ‘academy’ system for a fraction of the outlay running a residential school would cost. If the kids are rounded, focused and aware of the different facets that make up a successful sportsman when they leave school, they might conceivably be in a better position to make the most of the opportunities that come their way later. ‘Specialist’ schools are becoming popular throughout Scotland, becoming centres of excellence in music, dance or sport is relatively prestigious and Rangers could assist this process whilst it is still in it’s infancy. Once at the club however one thing that does seem to be clear is that if a young player isn’t getting a game regularly between the ages of 16 and 20 he is unlikely to make a genuine impact. Now roughly one in every generation seems able to do this currently, be it Durrant, Ferguson or maybe now John Fleck. However these guys are the exception, they were such prodigious talents that they couldn’t be ignored. But for the vast majority games is what they need. Professional football is a trade and they can have many reserve, youth and bounce games but ultimately they need to learn their trade and they’ll need to play in competitive games to do that. Examples of this are all around us. Pedro Mendes had played 31 senior games by the age of 19, by the age of 20 Ross McCormack had only played 11. By the age of 19 Ally McCoist had played 57 times for St Johnstone, Rory Loy will turn 21 this year and has played about 6 games of first team football. Now Mendes played his games for a team you’ve never heard of and McCoist, having been rejected by St Mirren, was learning his trade at the always unfashionable St Johnstone. Both McCormack and Loy on the other hand were both deemed good enough at 16 to be recruited by Rangers where they enjoyed the finest training facilities in the country, trained alongside some exceptional players and by some experienced coaches, so what’s gone wrong? Well to put it simply too much theory and not enough practical. Still not convinced, have a look at the current first team of any successful side and try and find a player who wasn’t playing regular football at senior level by the age of 19. Getting our young players playing at a high level as early as possible can only be in everyone’s interest. If an 18 year old can’t hold his own in Division One he won’t make it at Rangers later. It also makes financial sense, if they aren’t deemed good enough for Rangers, and most won’t be, these boys will leave Rangers on free transfers with some first team experience. At least a player with 30 to 50 games at Division One level is worth something. Ideally Rangers should consider formal or informal links with several clubs, an ideal ‘roster’ of clubs would include some Scandinavian clubs, perhaps a Dutch one, certainly some English ones, and maybe even an Italian or French club. None of these clubs would be in their top divisions obviously however many smaller clubs are looking for good players who are relatively cheap so free young players from the best club in Scotland might well be of interest to quite a few of them. Without improvement in the young players at Ibrox it is folly to continue to invest in youth. Arguably, financially it would make more sense to save the money and take the best from Hibs, Hearts and Kilmarnock etc. However long term, transforming talented young players into professionals has to be Rangers goal, it makes sense on every level. Young men literally schooled correctly, positively influenced at an early age, approaching a career as a professional footballer already knowing about diet and fitness and knowing they’ll be given opportunities at various professional levels during their time at Rangers must be the ultimate goal for the club.

PEDRO MENDES insists Rangers are in great shape to challenge on all fronts after no key players left in the Transfer Window and the SPL gap was closed to just two points. The Portuguese midfielder was one of a number of Rangers players linked with moves but none came to fruition. Now he feels Rangers can really kick on and realise their dreams of winning the top honours in Scotland. He said: "January is always a month of speculation about transfers and possible transfers but the main thing now is that the whole thing is finished, it's closed. "There was an atmosphere of uncertainty about the club. There was a different story each day about some club talking about a certain player. That can cause a little bit of doubt. mendes_160"We are now looking forward to the rest of the season. "To make things clear, from my part and the club's part there is a clear intention. Both parties were thinking the same way. "Any player that left in January would have been missed but no-one left so we have the same team. "The main thing now is Rangers. We have a great chance to win the title. "We are now in a good position. A few weeks ago we were seven points behind, now it is just two. "The problem we had was that we relied on other results but now can depend on ourselves because if we win the next league match we will go top of the league. "Everything is open to us. We wall want the same and the next four months will be very interesting."

Do Rangers have a new gem in John Fleck? It is too early to say, but in an age scarce for precocious Scottish talent, the 17-year-old certainly looks something to savour. On Saturday, Ibrox once more rose and paid tribute to the young midfield player, perhaps with gratitude as much as pride, given the way Walter Smithââ?¬â?¢s team toiled to overcome Dundee United. While Rangersââ?¬â?¢ teething problems continue, over on their left flank there remains a rare ray of light. Fleck, blessed with a robust physical presence, has a wonderful poise over the ball, enabling him to skip past opponents, and can also see a pass. He also has bags of confidence, as evident in the way he hungrily grabbed the ball for himself, after Mihael Kovacevic had pulled him down, to shoot home the 76th-minute penalty that set Rangers on course for this win. For Rangers fans there was an obvious downside. Part of the reason for the adulation of Fleck was born of relief, given the sheer poverty of Rangersââ?¬â?¢ approach up until then. Facing a five-man midfield is nothing new these days but Smithââ?¬â?¢s men got into quite a stew trying to find a way past United. Rangers created precious few chances and, as has been the case so often before, an increasingly irate Ibrox crowd let them know about it. Related Links * No worry over lack of Ibrox transfers * Chairman defends Rangers housekeeping * Novo fires Rangers into the final The young man on their left-midfield, however, remained unfazed by it all, and there is going to be excitement around Ibrox at seeing how well Fleck can progress. It wouldnââ?¬â?¢t surprise anyone if Walter Smith chose to rest him for Wednesday eveningââ?¬â?¢s glamour friendly against AC Milan, but his Rangers future looks full of promise. ââ?¬Å?It is scary how good he is,ââ?¬Â Steven Whittaker said of Fleck. ââ?¬Å?Heââ?¬â?¢s got talent in abundance and has shown that he is more than capable of playing on this stage. Heââ?¬â?¢s got a great future ahead of him. John has got that special type of talent ââ?¬â?? he sees pictures in his head. His touch and his contribution are very good.ââ?¬Â An irate Ibrox crowd? How often have we seen this before? Kris Boyd, in particular, became the object of scorn from a section of the Govan faithful. This was one of those classic occasions the striker would sooner forget, when all he does is replenish the ammunition of those who, bizarrely, want him removed from Ibrox. Boyd fluffed at this and fluffed at that as the play bobbled around him and became a desolate figure in the second half as United began to press. And the crowd let him know of it. ââ?¬Å?Four million pounds-worth of mince!ââ?¬Â a voice boomed from the main stand as Boyd ââ?¬â?? the subject of such a bid from Birmingham City ââ?¬â?? was relieved of duty by his manager after 73 minutes to make way for Kyle Lafferty. And as the poor Rangers striker trudged to the touchline, another voice rang out: ââ?¬Å?Aye, Boyd, just you keep walking... right out the front door.ââ?¬Â His manager gave him a heartfelt handshake as the striker sank into the dugout. Smith knows how unforgiving Ibrox can be. Fleckââ?¬â?¢s penalty with 14 minutes remaining, and Laffertyââ?¬â?¢s goal right on the 90th minute, spared Rangers any more angst. United, however, were once more a credit under Craig Levein, and are well and truly the third force again in Scottish football. With Willo Flood having gone, the battle goes on for Levein to keep his squad keen and vigorous with players that have remained under the radar. In such as Flood, Craig Conway, Scott Robertson and Morgaro Gomis, Levein has revealed his perceptive eye for a player, and over these remaining 24 hours of the transfer window he wants to try to acquire a new midfield player for Tannadice. The situation is all the more acute given Robertsonââ?¬â?¢s absence through injury for up to two months. ââ?¬Å?If your team is doing well you have to accept that the vultures will start to arrive,ââ?¬Â Levein said when asked about the loss of Flood to Celtic. ââ?¬Å?You just have to get on with it. My job is to find new players, but there is no doubt these have been a tough three or four days for us.ââ?¬Â Just three days earlier, United had lost to Celtic after 120 pulsating minutes and 24 penalties in the Cooperative Insurance Cup semi-final, but you wouldnââ?¬â?¢t have known they felt drained at Ibrox. While Leveinââ?¬â?¢s side have played better football than this, they remain a force to be reckoned with, on good days or bad. ââ?¬Å?I have some fantastic players and it was a testament to us that we came here expecting to win,ââ?¬Â Levein said. ââ?¬Å?We didnââ?¬â?¢t play particularly well but we worked our backsides off and the game was on a knife-edge for 75 minutes... basically, until their penalty. We were well in it up until then.ââ?¬Â Levein complained that the award against United was ââ?¬Å?softââ?¬Â, yet all the danger was caused by Fleck, who squirrelled into Unitedââ?¬â?¢s box from the inside-left channel and immediately got the better of Kovacevic. The United defender was forced to hastily try to stop the Rangers youngster, and Fleck hit the deck. Soft or not, plenty have been given in such circumstances, and Rangers were grateful to suddenly have their lead. Strangely, United wilted when both Jon Daly and David Goodwillie arrived to make up a three-man attack for the final 15 minutes, and Rangers eased to victory. With seconds remaining, Lafferty was left to prod a shot home from 18 yards after Lukasz Zaluska had saved from Barry Ferguson. Rangers, though, were under no illusions. ââ?¬Å?We were off the pace for an hour, and we struggled,ââ?¬Â Smith said. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article5636186.ece

We live in a funny time. With most people struggling to survive in a dog eat dog world, there are transfers going on that could bail out most small countries. I got to thinking about what Rangers fans would think if an Arab or Dubai syndicate bought Rangers off of Murray. Most of us would be over the moon with delight, but what many people havent considered is that this syndicate could pull out at any time leaving Man City helpless and facing financial meltdown. So, if a Dubai syndicate wanted to buy Rangers from Murray(and its not an unlikely suggestion as just today an Arab syndicate has shown interest in Chelsea), would you go with it in the short term to gain untold success in sacrafice for long term failure? Imagine tomorrow we are bought by that syndicate. Here are there proposals. 1. unlimited budget to buy the best players in the world. 2. we want Robinho for �£100m, KaKa for �£150m, Drogba for �£20m, John Terry for �£90m, Ronaldo for �£200m, Rooney for �£175m FOR STARTERS. 3. Improve the stadium to an 80,000 seater state of the art facility. 4. for the next five years, to win the Scottish league, gaining Champions league qualification. 5. To win the Champions league at least 3 times 6. To win the World club championship at least once. 7. Try to lobby the authorities to gain membership to the English F.A. 8. Ultimately to win the english premiership and the champions league as Champions of England. If you can imagine all that happened to us. Then, the syndicate pulled out leaving us penniless and we cant get a decent funder, and we spiral back into Scottish football and 10 years without ANYTHING. What would you do? would you take the 5 years of untold success/ Or would you rather we kept trying to build ourselfs up as we are doing the now? Would most Gers fans see that kind of money backing as selling the soul of the club? I wonder what most people would pick?

So, at the St.Johnstone game there was a sort of flag protest attempting to draw Scotlands attention towards the mismangement of Rangers by David Murray. The time has come to start doing something about this man. Remember this time last year? Our glorious european run. It took us to a European final and it should have been built upon. However, what happened? No one took any action to try and build on that team as most teams would do after winning some success. Instead the instruction was given to apparantly save money until we beat the pub team from Lithuania and one more qualifying tie(that would have been Aalborg) and therefore enter the Champions league group stages. It was a clear money saving scam by David Murray. However, it backfired and we went out as a result of being a poor team. So, had we been given the money to buy a few players in positions that were clearly needing filled, Rangers would have earned the club about �£5m from the qualification into the group stages. Now, Rangers are being forced to sell their top goal scorer to pay for this glaring error and the only person who couldn't see the team needed strengthened was David Murray. However, this is not the first big error from Mr.Murray. During the Alex McLeish years he was found penny pinching as a Rangers manager was left to bring in free transfers and loan signings. For far too long now, many fans have not liked the direction Mr Murray has been steering the club in. And now the fans shouls start to make it known to David Murray that we want him to sell the club. He says we are not "captains of industry " and indicates we don't really know what we're talking about when it comes to running a club like Rangers. Well Mr Murray, i think you'll find thousands of fans who were supporting the club whilst you were scurrying around outside Somerset Park in Ayr, that we were here well before you and the club is in our blood. Unlike yourself who seems to have bought the club to forward yourself as an individual. We the fans want a different direction for Rangers. A club like Rangers should not be selling it's top striker to pay for an error of judgement you made by yourself to balance the books. A club like Rangers should not be on the verge of gifting Celtic a FOURTH succesive league title in a row. Where will it end? We have had 3 years to plan Celtic's downfall, so why has it not yet happened? And,a club like Rangers should be having a half decent run in europe EVERY season. Not being knocked out by pub teams because you decided to keep your cash instead of stregthening a potentially good side(which was left to drift off into an unbelievable decline). Please sign under this post with a short comment of why you want David Murray to leave Rangers alone and sell up. Lets show Mr Murray why we ant him away from Rangers.:rfc::rfc:

We had around �£4.5m in the bank at 30th June and an unused �£15m credit facility (overdraft), but what do we have now? The �£15m credit facility is reviewed each November. I can't see HBOS having agreed to increase it given their current problems, and if they had decreased it thenm we would be in real trouble so I have to assume that it remained at the same level. If we look at the 2007 accounts as a base (being more representative of this year than 2008) it can be seen that we have outgoings of around �£40m for the year. The wages of the squad appear to have increased so let's say it's now �£44m. We get our season ticket cash in largely in May and June so let's say we get in around another �£20m of income during the year. We got cash in for Cuellar but probably spent more in terms of cashflow on Mendes, Davis and Edu, but to offset that we have some Hutton cash to come in and �£1m of a loan repayment to make, so for simplicity let's assume that they all net off to zero. It therefore appears that we an average of �£2m cash per month going out of the club (44m - 20m = �£24m for the year or �£2m per month). We have therefore �£12m of cash going out of the club up to the end of December which means that we have used �£7.5m of the credit facility and have a remaining �£7.5m, or around 4 months of facility left until we run out of cash. Our season ticket money will start coming in during May and should keep us going then, but this shows that we have absolutely no cash available to spend on transfers in the transfer window, and we are down to our bare bones in respect of cashflow. Non-qualification for next season's CL could have severe consequences.

Velicka another million down the toilet pan. Well done Walter your bargain buy's are worse than my wife's.