Kenny Miller - Another mercenary or underpaid and undervalued?

[Frankie 8,146]

First things first: Kenny Miller is having a fine season and, generally, his contribution since re-joining the club has been a valuable one. Certainly his goals this term and his goals/forward play last season have been important factors in our back-to-back title wins. Considering he's also one Rangers player who can score regularly against Celtic (home or away) then only the most churlish of our fans would deny his positive influence on our team.

 

In that respect, given his contract runs out next summer, I don't blame him for testing the waters for a wage rise - difficult financial situation at his club or not. Indeed, when you look at other high earners (Lafferty and Beattie will be earning just as much as or more than Miller) then a bump in his basic entitlement is hard to argue with.

 

After all, 46 goals in 77 appearances in his second spell at the club isn't to be sniffed at. Sure, he's more profligate than prolific in Europe and his overall play never truly top-class but is a vital cog in a team which is is all about the sum of the parts than individual talents. And such talk of teamwork is where his comments about only a takeover being able to finance his contract do start to grate somewhat.

 

In some ways, it is rather unfair for Rangers fans to question Miller's loyalty given he hardly received a hero's welcome when arriving back from Derby County in 2008. However, Miller would have known the majority of fans would be less than joyous at what they felt was a 'turncoat' signing again for Rangers after beating the chest of his Celtic shirt when scoring against a team that aided his development as a relative youngster. The best part of �£16,000 per week would soften the blow of any fan cynicism (and criticism) I'm sure.

 

Therefore, it is with some understanding that I doubt the Rangers fans will be too enthused at Miller's apparent yearning for more money simply to stay around now. More so when his pleas are accompanied with talk about it being the 'best 2 years of his career' and 'loving his time here' because of a variety of factors. If he's so happy and playing so well, why on earth would he want to move away simply because lesser teams in England or the Middle East want to double your wages? After all, not many players leave Rangers and go onto better things - late in their career or not. Miller need only phone his former strike partner Kris Boyd to find that out.

 

Furthermore, we've all heard Miller complain in the past about being away from his family and wanting to settle down back in Scotland. In fact he was just recently married earlier this year and has two young children; the former who has just started school and the latter just over a year old. While an extra million pounds or two would benefit most families, would that money be worth uprooting your family and risking your professional happiness for?

 

Thus, instead of looking for another new challenge and another new paymaster, perhaps Miller should seek a virtue that has so far eluded him in his career - loyalty. Or is this particular Rangers player just another crude example of being a hero one day and a disliked mercenary the next? All for the sake of a few pounds more...

[wabashcannonball 0]

Like the majority of today's players couldn't spell loyalty, it isn't as if they are underpaid for playing a game that to a man supporters would do for nothing.

[ascender 352]

Footballers have no idea what its like to earn a normal wage doing a normal job. I know they have a short career, but with the money they're on and the free time they have, they should be able to make more than adequate plans for what happens after their playing career finishes.

 

There's a stereotypical footballer who isn't the brightest, is disloyal, out of touch with the fans and only cares about money. I've heard footballers complain about this stereotype, but the problem is more and more of them appear to be living up to it rather than doing anything to change people's perception about them.

 

You're right Frankie, there's nothing wrong with asking for a wee rate rise for a new contract, but if that's knocked back, its time to put up or shut. What does he think is going to change in 6 months time? He knows the reality of the situation Rangers are in and that even with new owners, they're still going to be facing the same financial constraints that come with playing in the SPL.

 

I'm sure he's not on a bad wage at the moment and if he loves the club, Scotland etc so much, then surely he'd just re-sign?

[Frankie 8,146]

Footballers have no idea what its like to earn a normal wage doing a normal job. I know they have a short career, but with the money they're on and the free time they have, they should be able to make more than adequate plans for what happens after their playing career finishes.

 

There's a stereotypical footballer who isn't the brightest, is disloyal, out of touch with the fans and only cares about money. I've heard footballers complain about this stereotype, but the problem is more and more of them appear to be living up to it rather than doing anything to change people's perception about them.

 

You're right Frankie, there's nothing wrong with asking for a wee rate rise for a new contract, but if that's knocked back, its time to put up or shut. What does he think is going to change in 6 months time? He knows the reality of the situation Rangers are in and that even with new owners, they're still going to be facing the same financial constraints that come with playing in the SPL.

 

I'm sure he's not on a bad wage at the moment and if he loves the club, Scotland etc so much, then surely he'd just re-sign?

 

I agree with that generally speaking but, to be fair to Miller, I don't think it's a straightforward case of us renewing it at the same wage; more that we're asking him to take a decent cut. I'm also reliably informed that if it wasn't for the personal intervention of our manager, Miller would have been sold to West Brom in August.

 

As such, it's difficult to criticise Miller too much when part of the club administration are keen to profit from his departure when it suits them. We may expect him to be more loyal (and I certainly think he's paid well enough already) but it can't be easy to sign a new deal when the club appear keen to sell at any given opportunity. Or 'reward' good performance with pay cuts.

 

In that regard, a takeover would perhaps provide that element of continuity that means 'star players' (and I use the term loosely) can be retained because firstly we can pay them well enough and secondly we can offer them security in the medium-long term should they require it.

 

All in all, the truth lies somewhere in the middle but when our club struggles financially and when our fans remain committed to the cause (despite fiscal challenges of their own) it disappoints me to see players asking for their multi-million pound contract offer to be increased.

 

It's a great pity their advisers seem incapable of communicating that to some people...

[Stimpy 0]

What's his priorities:

 

Stay in Scotland with Rangers and continue to play the best football of his career, and be close to his family?

 

Move Dubai or somewhere similar and earn big money?

 

If he's to leave then he'd probably remembered for being a mercenary regardless of how he has performed lately. There's maybe another 2 top seasons in him that would give him the opportunity to cement his place as an Ibrox legend, or at least be thought of in a very high regard.

[Frankie 8,146]

What's his priorities:

 

Stay in Scotland with Rangers and continue to play the best football of his career, and be close to his family?

 

Move Dubai or somewhere similar and earn big money?

 

If he's to leave then he'd probably remembered for being a mercenary regardless of how he has performed lately. There's maybe another 2 top seasons in him that would give him the opportunity to cement his place as an Ibrox legend, or at least be thought of in a very high regard.

 

That's the way I see it mate.

 

I understand an extra couple of million is attractive but he's more than comfortable already financially so I'd have thought this was a chance to retain an acceptable wage but also attain a status he won't have otherwise.

[Tannochsidebear 2,306]

I'm glad that at last Rangers are offering contracts that better reflect not just current form or fitness, but the overall picture. It is something we have dismally failed at in the last few years.

 

Miller is the wrong side of 30, and a new 2/3 year deal will be his last big deal of his career, given that at 33 he has no resale value and can only really get one year deals from then on.

 

We have to look at it from our (the club) point of view here. We have a player who only came to us for geographic reasons and we know fine well that we are one of only 2 clubs in the geographic area he wishes to stay in that can afford his wage demands. He is not wanted by the other, so we have a very strong hand for bargaining. There is also no way we should be offering an improved deal to a 30 year old player than we did to a 27 year old player, especially given our financial decline in the intervening 3 years.

 

From what we hear the offer on the table is looking for him to take a cut in basic wages to get an extended deal. That seems fair given the way of things just now.

 

If he feels he can better it elsewhere, and that these offers from Italy and the Far East are in fact genuine (no laughing at the back), good luck to him. He wont be missed, and he wont miss us, thats for sure. If we can get a fee for him in January, all the better. We wont lose the title by selling Miller, of that I am absolutely convinced. The returning Jelavic will be a much better player for the team IMO.

[Bluedell 5,329]

I've got no idea what he is on, what he is looking for and what he is being offered and what the difference is between any of them so it's impossible to comment. I obviously don't have the same inside information as others on the thread.

[Bluedell 5,329]

I'm glad that at last Rangers are offering contracts that better reflect not just current form or fitness, but the overall picture. It is something we have dismally failed at in the last few years.

 

I don't disagree with you but It's interesting when they tried it in the pastwith certain players the messageboards were full of criticism of the board.

 

He wont be missed, and he wont miss us, thats for sure. If we can get a fee for him in January, all the better. We wont lose the title by selling Miller, of that I am absolutely convinced. The returning Jelavic will be a much better player for the team IMO.

 

He won't be missed? If he wasn't playing over the last month or so then he would be severely missed even though he hasn't been on top form. A returning Jelavic wouldn't be a replacement for Miller anyway as presumably he would be in the team with Miller. What other forward at the club could contribute what Miller has done this season?

[wabashcannonball 0]

KM gets paid extremely well and as far as I am concerned over the odds for playing at his level, the SPL. If he was paid by performance on the big stage CL....he would owe us money, four years without a CL goal.