johnnyk 158 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 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!!! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union City Blue 0 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 tbh that was exactly the impression I got from the media conf yesterday so its not that unreasonable to run this story today IMHO. Ibrox must be a strange place to be right now with all the uncertainty from the boardroom to the coaches to the players and right throughout. Not usually a good thing. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,151 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I'm happy to hear Walter putting a bit of pressure on the men running our club - even if the timing may not be all that great. No-one denies the club is struggling to provide such finance and no-one is suggesting we spend outwith our means. However, people do think the club could be run better in order to improve the overall position. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maineflyer 0 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I'm happy to hear Walter putting a bit of pressure on the men running our club - even if the timing may not be all that great. No-one denies the club is struggling to provide such finance and no-one is suggesting we spend outwith our means. However, people do think the club could be run better in order to improve the overall position. Not so sure about Walter being the one to spend it though? That aside, and it may just be wishful thinking, I'm beginning to think that the seeds of real change may at last have been sown. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,416 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Not so sure about Walter being the one to spend it though? That aside, and it may just be wishful thinking, I'm beginning to think that the seeds of real change may at last have been sown. Carefull MF..........that sounds like a tad of optimism 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,151 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Not so sure about Walter being the one to spend it though? That aside, and it may just be wishful thinking, I'm beginning to think that the seeds of real change may at last have been sown. Not sure either to be fair... I'm more worried about Chester than Smith though... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannochsidebear 2,315 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 On the day of our new chairman's first media address and what do the Rebel print. A non-story, 100% completely made up, taking 2 and 2 and making 1888, hinting that the manager may walk away if he is not given funds. Did they make a big issue of the very in-depth answers AJ gave as to where he sees European football going, his thorough analysis about how the EPL became so strong, his experiences tht will enable him to do the job in a professional manner. No, no, no. They stir it up big style, like only a bunch of Rangers-hating scum could. I hope AJ sees this rag and the way he has been reported and calls them in and bans the scumbags from attending any Rangers media conferences for a month. I thought AJ talked really well and professionally about the job he has undertaken, what he brings to the table, admits there are some problems, but puts the record straight that the bank are not overly concerned as long as we stay within our agreed caveats. The only thing I was personally disappointed about was the fact that he included Bain as part of the "management team" and wants them all to stay. I'm not at all surprised by this of course, but I would hope that as soon as he sees how incompetant he is at his job, he will get rid of him, but that may take time. With AJ not being 100% hands-on, he cannot really bring in a new CEO and leave him to get on with it, especially when the current CEO is very close to the 92% majority shareholder. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Not so sure about Walter being the one to spend it though? That aside, and it may just be wishful thinking, I'm beginning to think that the seeds of real change may at last have been sown. More centre-halfs,central-midfielders or centre-forwards to play out of position? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union City Blue 0 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 The only thing I was personally disappointed about was the fact that he included Bain as part of the "management team" and wants them all to stay. I'm not at all surprised by this of course, but I would hope that as soon as he sees how incompetant he is at his job, he will get rid of him, but that may take time. With AJ not being 100% hands-on, he cannot really bring in a new CEO and leave him to get on with it, especially when the current CEO is very close to the 92% majority shareholder. The only thing I'd say is that if AJ is the big-hitter he appears to be, and Martin Bain is as out of his depth as some people believe he is, then it will become apparent very soon and I suspect changes will be made. In the circles AJ moves in, there's no time for sentiment when you get down to serious business. it's not like Bain's an ex-player where sentimentality could be (partly) excused or whatever, he's just the CEO. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Cole 0 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 "Give me transfer funds or I'll quit club" Don't give him the money! :fish: 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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