Rangers appear to be failing where scouting for new talent is concerned

[ian1964 10,419]

SCOTT McDermott on the emerging football talent in Scotland and why he reckons Rangers aren't casting their net out further.

 

 

 

SOMETIMES youâ??re not sure about a player. Sometimes you doubt. Sometimes you have to guess. But sometimes...you just KNOW.

 

That quote came from, arguably, the best football talent spotter the game has ever seen, Sir Alex Ferguson.

 

He was talking about the art of scouting. The ability to see a player with the naked eye - and then have the courage of your convictions to go and get him.

 

Thankfully, scouting isnâ??t a dying art in Scotland. Engulfed in a financial meltdown, our clubs have been forced to rely almost solely on their network of scouts to pick up quality players for peanuts.

 

Even Celtic have had to be prudent. Along with John Park, Neil Lennon bought Emilio Izaguirre, Victor Wanyama, Beram Kayal and Adam Matthews for minimal fees.

 

Motherwell are also a great examplebut on a smaller scale. Nicky Law was brought in from Rotherham, Tom Hateley from Readingâ??s reserves, Chris Humphrey from Shrewsbury Town...the list goes on.

 

Inverness are second top of the SPL with a team of guys few people in Scotland had heard of last summer.

 

Gary Warren came from non-league Newport County, Ross Draper from Macclesfield Town and top scorer Billy McKay from Northampton.

 

Boss Terry Butcher showed foresight, had belief in what he saw and took a calculated gamble. Itâ??s paid off in spades.

 

In the First Division, Falkirk have found a real gem in 25-goal Lyle Taylor.

 

Taylor was in danger of being lost to the game after loan stints at Lewes and Woking but Steven Pressley went on the advice of the Bairnsâ?? former head of football development, Ross Wilson, and snapped him up.

 

Incredibly, the one club in Scotland that seems incapable of scouring for the best talent out there is Rangers.

 

After all the Ibrox club has been through, youâ??d think that a modern, methodical scouting network would be high on the agenda for Charles Green and manager Ally McCoist.

 

Apparently not. Rangersâ?? strategy of identifying signing targets has been predictable and unimaginative.

 

Last summer, McCoist brought in three players from abroad. Emilson Cribari was supposedly endorsed by ex-Gers skipper Lorenzo Amoruso.

 

And Seb Faure and Anestis Argyriou were apparently foisted upon him by an agent who was involved in Greenâ??s summer takeover at Ibrox.

 

So what exactly are Neil Murray, Billy McLaren and the rest of the scouting department doing at Murray Park?

 

It would appear that their â??netâ? was only cast as wide as Dundee, Edinburgh and Kilmarnock with the arrivals of Fran Sandaza, Ian Black, David Templeton and Dean Shiels.

 

Oh, but wait. They also brought Francesco Stella to Rangers. Remember him? No, didnâ??t think so.

 

A former SPL boss, and top coach, told me last week that heâ??d recommended a few young players to McCoist â?? but heâ??s still waiting for a return call.

 

Granted, it hasnâ??t been easy for him or Murray, who is the clubâ??s chief scout. A transfer embargo at Ibrox has made for a unique set of circumstances.

 

Rangers have no scouts in Europe. More worryingly, Murray has NO budget for UK youth scouting at all.

 

So the chances of Rangers finding the next Robert Snodgrass at Livingston or Tony Watt at Airdrie are nonexistent.

 

But with the registration ban almost up, Killie keeper Cammy Bell, Dundee Unitedâ??s Jon Daly and Motherwellâ??s Law are all on McCoistâ??s radar.

 

But whereâ??s the scouting? Having covered SPL football, I could have told him that Law was a player long before now.

 

You could argue the last time Gersâ?? scouting unearthed a rough diamond that was polished and sold on for a profit was Rino Gattuso.

 

He arrived from Perugia at 19 for zilch and was sold on to Salernitana for £4million before he became a World Cup and Champions League winner.

 

But that was 15 years ago. For a club of Rangersâ?? stature, thatâ??s an embarassment, something to make Sir Alex cringe.

 

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-appear-failing-scouting-new-1757234

[der Berliner 3,251]

Yeah, big bad Rangers again, only signing for big money and do not look at the youth and talent out there. No scouts, no imagination, no whatnot.

 

He has his points, but ...

 

a) Most small clubs are in dire need of signing (talented) people from even lower clubs (whether that is due to "good scouting" or out of dispair is another matter. Obviously, he only points out the "talent" who makes it, not the failures), since they have no money. If ICT has such a good scouting system then, have the other SPL-sides failed as much as Rangers?

 

b) As we have seen time and again, people not always have the will to come to us (given our signing policy, i.e. full pros and established players) nor the stamina to succeed at a club of our stature (which we've seen umpteen times).

 

c) He picks the cherries out of a Scum side that won next to nothing before last summer, a Scum side that signed up lots of trash too and is not exactly full of self-grown youngsters.

 

d) ... and most vital: you can slam our youth programme and lack of good scouting to your hearts content. It is sure not up to scratch ... and hardly ever has been these last 30odd years. Yet, as opposed to those who have to do this to survive, we had the money and consequently:

 

Scottish League Championships: 54

 

... 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011

 

Scottish Cup: 33

 

... 1992, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009

 

Scottish League Cup: 27

 

... 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011

 

... which is nice too. Now, soon people will come and say that this money-spray brought us into oblivion, but as we have found out by now, it has not. Whyte did, on the back of a witch hunt initiated by HMRC and the media on the EBT system.

 

Oh, BTW, I do not say that we should not have or need a good scouting and youth coaching system, rather on the contrary. I just replied to the rather one-sided article above.

Edited March 12, 2013 by der Berliner

[Bluedell 5,345]

I don't think that the article is one-sided. It's looking at the weaknesses of our scouting system and I don't think that the criticism is unwarranted. There's no need to get defensive just because we are correctly criticised. We should be taking on board what was said and taking steps to deal with it, rather than coming out with meaningless soundbites which is what we've been getting from the club over the past couple of weeks.

[der Berliner 3,251]

The criticsm is warranted, but the way it is presented by wielding the ICT or Scum - cudgel is IMHO not. It is quite natural that low-key teams have to "scout" far and wide for new and cheap talent, preferrably youngsters and youth. We had not (even though we should have). Thus, it is also quite natural that they unearth more talent (and as I said, he fails to note the rubbish they unearthed too). But in a way, it is like criticising the e.g. Chelsea or Man City youth system. Sure we now have to and should do better, should have done so ages ago. But that is a neat hindsight argument wielded about here ... and against us.

[ian1964 10,419]

More misses than hits for Ally signings

 

By MATTHEW LINDSAY

 

ALLY McCOIST has enjoyed varying degrees of success with the players he has signed since becoming Rangers manager in 2011.

 

He was shackled by some financial constraints – an early indication of the troubles that were to come – when he succeeded Walter Smith.

 

Then in the summer he had to work quickly to put together a squad after the Ibrox club just managed to emerge from their financial difficulties.

 

But have the players McCoist has signed as Gers boss been a HIT, a MISS or is the JURY OUT?

 

SEASON 2011/12

 

Juan Ortiz (MISS) The Spaniard played a handful of games before returning to his homeland to play for Almeria on loan. Moved on to Granada in the summer.

 

Lee Wallace (HIT) The £2million the Scotland left-back cost Rangers from Hearts raised eyebrows at the time. That has, though, proved to be money well spent.

 

Alejandro Bedoya (MISS) The American winger hardly featured in the first team in his time in Scotland due to injury. Looked promising when he did play. Moved to Helsingborgs last year.

 

Dorin Goian (HIT) The Romanian internationalist's stunning early-season form faded badly. But the centre-half was popular with the fans. On loan at Spezia in Italy.

 

Carlos Bocanegra (HIT) The fact the United States internationalist was asked to captain Rangers spoke volumes of his success in Scotland. Now at Santander in Spain on loan.

 

Matt McKay (MISS) The Australian winger played very little during his time in Scotland. He moved on to Busan Ipark in South Korea in February.

 

Mervan Celik (MISS) The Swedish forward was the Ibrox club's only signing last January. Left for free in March after just a handful of appearances.

 

SEASON 2012/13

 

Dean Shiels (JURY OUT) The Northern Ireland internationalist has often struggled with injury this season. Has had good, bad and indifferent games.

 

Ian Black (JURY OUT) The tough-tackling former Hearts midfielder has been subjected to some harsh treatment himself in the fourth tier this term.

 

Emilson Cribari (MISS) The Brazilian centre-half has been fine against lesser opposition. But he has often struggled. Is limited in the air.

 

Anestis Argyriou (MISS) The Greek defender started the season brightly. But he is basically a squad player. Fills in when one of his team-mates is injured.

 

Sebastien Faure (MISS) Netted his first goal for Rangers against Berwick last month. Still, the French player has not impressed greatly.

 

David Templeton (HIT) The winger has enjoyed some outstanding games since signing from Hearts in August. At his best, he is a real crowd pleaser.

 

Francisco Sandaza (JURY OUT) The Spanish striker spent several months out injured last year. Has been unable to establish himself as a first-team regular.

 

Kevin Kyle (MISS) The big hit man has rarely been fit.

 

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/more-misses-than-hits-for-ally-signings-118139n.20477767

[the gunslinger 3,366]

all very worrying and all very unsurprising.

[Darthter 542]

I think the article is 100% spot on....

 

Our scouting over the past few years has been pretty shocking. The team seems to go for the easy option - the known commodity - most of the time. Just look at the players we've been linked with in the media recently.....pretty much all of them are known, and has been proven this season, that doesn't mean they will be a success at Rangers. We are constantly linked with previous players as well.

 

The club needs to be bringing in young unknown names, develop them into good, consistent players then sell them on for a tidy profit. Motherwell are a good example....they have a VERY tight transfer budget, yet spend wisely and have brought in a number of good performers over the years.

 

We have had a year out of the "active" transfer market - plenty of time for the scouts to get out & about identifying new potential, yet we are looking at a dawn raid on Motherwell's Out of contract players.

[Gribz 743]

Kevin Kyle might go down as the worst signing of all time. He makes Jeffers, Rothen, Ostenstad and Gayle look like legends.

[Darthter 542]

Kevin Kyle might go down as the worst signing of all time. He makes Jeffers, Rothen, Ostenstad and Gayle look like legends.

 

He's also giving Daniel Prodan a run for his money for "Most Injured player"

[Cotter 0]

I find our lack of a scouting network the most depressing aspect of all. Give us a sound bite about that please. Without it there really is no hope for a new dawn, just a predictable trudge back to mediocrity. Unacceptable.