calscot 0 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 We've been playing pub teams up until now. Ah, the good old "pub teams" argument. Never played for one but played against plenty for my work team. The last year I played we finished runners up in both the league and cup. Seems from that evidence like I could have been a pretty good professional in the lower Scottish leagues even though I wasn't one of the more talented players - but in reality I know that's not even a minute possibility in this universe. This is an argument that just starts off with zero credibility. We should have had ample time and opportunuty to devise a plan, an approach and a style of football that covers youthful energy, flair, organisation, power and purpose. Maybe you should devise this plan and send to all the lower league clubs in Scotland and see who takes you up on it. Take 120 days over it as it's full of as much meaning as the corporate speak in Wallace's review. Instead, we've played Lee McCulloch, brought back Foster and Smith and given contracts to the likes of Daly and Black. And achieved the non-negotiable goals of successive promotions. Some youngsters have praised McCulloch for helping them progress... As has been said, if you take this playing youth to it's natural conclusion, it means playing 11 of them - what's the difference in that and the U21 league, except that they would be under incredible pressure in front of tens of thousands of fans for the results? These arguments always seem to go round in circles with the proponents claiming that Hutton is 23 and Little is 24 and so don't count, but it just suggests that players over 22 should never be played and should retire from the game. You have to wonder what people want to achieve and why they think that a guys in their mid to late 20's and early 30's are too old to play football. I want to achieve promotion and then become champions of Scotland, and if that means avoiding playing a bunch of youngsters, most of whom have no chance of making it to the top, in some fantasy that they will all become world class, then that's all well and good to me. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CammyF 6,787 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I will take any player whether they be ex players or not that will improve the quality of our team / squad and help in our ultimate goal of getting back to the top of Scottish football. Miller and Boyd certainly tick those boxes - two of the best strikers / goalscorers to grace our game recently. We are certainly better off with them than without them. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 We would be crazy not to go and try to get Hutton. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barca72 440 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I know it's maybe easier said than done - but IMO we have wasted an excellent opportunity to properly re-build whilst in the lower leagues. I think I understand what you want here when you make the statement "we have wasted an excellent opportunity to properly re-build whilst in the lower leagues". However, can you tell me with what ( where was the money to come from ), and with whom ( what players were available to us for the same cost as our bosman signings )? We have used just about all of the young players in our system that appear to be ready for the first team, and when we played a team with more than four or five of our young players at the one time ( for a while in Div. 3 ) we found the team to be lacking what was required to win for the fans. We have not had the resources ( which could be blamed on the sp*vs ) to buy a backbone of say five players in the 23-27 year old range about which to "properly rebuild" our team. There are too many teams in the EPL, the Championship, SPL etc. sifting through the same barrel of talent for us to compete with them. So, please, tell me why or how it is that we wasted our "excellent opportunity". I know the football on show is crap, but we have won two leagues in a row and will probably win the Championship too at first time of asking. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmu 0 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Barca, lets be blunt. We have an atrocious manager. A decent one would have had the team playing good football, good signing policies, ie players for positions to fit the system of play etc.. Would have established a scouting system of sorts etc etc. If you do not believe that we could get some good candidates if advertised, paid for within ally and co's salary structure then i respect your position but cannot agree with it 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barca72 440 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Barca, lets be blunt. We have an atrocious manager. A decent one would have had the team playing good football, good signing policies, ie players for positions to fit the system of play etc.. Would have established a scouting system of sorts etc etc. If you do not believe that we could get some good candidates if advertised, paid for within ally and co's salary structure then i respect your position but cannot agree with it I hear what you're saying and I agree on your main point, but it's going to take more money than we're paying the present coaching staff to re-build MB's team, which we all want. None of what you're advocating can happen until we get a board that will release the required amount of money, across the whole spectrum, to give us the quality we require. p.s. happy hour, now. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darthter 542 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 What was required was not just a rebuilding of the team, but a rebuilding of the club structure & ethos. We have heard/seen for years that it's difficult to bring through young players due to the pressures of either having Ceptic chasing us, or us chasing them. For the past couple of season, we've not had that pressure. We have had an opportunity to look had how we structure our team, how they play and how the approach each game. All this without the previous pressures/stresses. Yet, the structure hasn't changed. We still appear to want to buy players, rather than promote from the ranks. We have had some youngsters appear as subs in a couple of games...put in decent performances then disappear for weeks. Once we are back in the top league, and generating top tier cash, it will be business as usual - paying over the odds for average players which in turn generates massive wage bills. We will throw loads of money at players hoping to improve things, yet still fail to excite So where does the problem lie??? IMHO, it is with the backroom staff that are running the show @ MP. 1st team coaches, youth coaches etc all have a part to play. They need to formulate a football structure & get the youngest players playing to that structure. Keep it the same through the various age groups all the way to the 1st team. That way it is clear to all who will make the grade & who won't. Young players will be able to slot into the 1st team without issue, their roles/positions will be clearly defined. This is what should have started 2 years ago..... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmu 0 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Just one small example. At beginning of this season past derek mcinnes had a meeting with all the youth academy coaches and all the scouts. He set out the type of player he wants coming through their system. Didn't help my lad as he was bombed out (midget with fast feet). The point is not whether mcinnes is right, the point is he has set his agenda on that club from top to bottom. They all know who the boss is and what he wants. From comments by gunslinger re telfer, and elfid(sorry cant recall name, you know who i mean) i doubt that this is happening down murray park.. Ps - this is at 12 year old ages and up... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I know it's maybe easier said than done - but IMO we have wasted an excellent opportunity to properly re-build whilst in the lower leagues. You don't say ? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Yep. We gave quite a few youngsters their chance, some took them, some didn't. We hit quite a few problems along the way, many off field. While the name still drew and draws players to us, the quality is still lacking from what "we" expect from Rangers FC. Likewise, we essentially had two seasons of cup finals, where player development is a) not a prime objective (for that is winning and gaining promotion) and b) easier said than done, as the opposition is not exactly playing "normal football". They all wanted to make their mark and also put themselves into the shop window. You can beat that with hard work and quality, but not continually throughout a full season. And we did not have quality enough to cope with that in our first season all year long. Last season, the prime objective was again promotion, no matter what. Aird, Macleod, Gallagher et all got their chances and took them. I never assumed that we would get more than 4 or 5 youngsters into our first eleven anyway. At least not from the crop that joined the new company. The squad of last season might not have shone enough for some, but they went unbeaten throughout the league season, no minor feat. IMHO, Hearts would really have struggled had they been (rightfully) demoted to the "Championship" at the beginning of last season. Two youngsters played regularly last season. Not a single youngster got introduced last season on a regular basis. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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