Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 And they had the funds to buy the new squad. The focus was on NIAR and it overtook youth development etc. We came out of NIAR with no net debt and £28m cash in the bank. I'm not saying that everything was perfect or there weren't things that things that couldn't be improved but it was a long, long way from being the abysmally run club that you claim. The funds were borrowed, we were then left with huge debts. Something seriously went wrong somewhere if winning the Scottish league made youth development irrelevant. In neither of Walter's stints was any effort placed regarding youth development. Our infrastructure under SDM was archaic and we were shown up year upon year in Europe. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 The funds were borrowed, we were then left with huge debts. Something seriously went wrong somewhere if winning the Scottish league made youth development irrelevant. In neither of Walter's stints was any effort placed regarding youth development. Our infrastructure under SDM was archaic and we were shown up year upon year in Europe. I remember a Dutch TV documentary on Rangers called: (Glasgow?) Rangers too big for Scotland, too small for Europe. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 We had good teams with good players - even great players. Those players under-performed in Europe. They were capable of better. Whether management was also to blame is always a question but poor European performances were certainly not the fault of SDM in my opinion. I would put some of the blame on Walters tactic of playing to the opposition strengths and not Rangers strengths. A lesson McCoist seemed to take over from him. Walter and Ally seemed to think that tactics was all about cancelling the other team out and not creating our own game plan. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Deedle 0 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I remember a Dutch TV documentary on Rangers called: (Glasgow?) Rangers too big for Scotland, too small for Europe. I remember a Dutch TV documentary on Rangers called: (Glasgow?) Rangers too big for Scotland, too small for Europe. lol That's why I hope one day to see us in a proper league, so we can reach our true potential. On a level playing field our increased attendances would see us compete with the best. Agree with the posts about Murray not running us greatly with the lack of buying with a few to making money usually overlooked or buying youth. After Dick arrived Murray just went completely over board and the club end up in a mess for years. I think he was under pressure and didn't want the hassle or to face the potential flak from the tax case. No doubt that was the problem with finding a proper owner because the club's financial position seemed reasonable. But if Murray had not sold to whyte I doubt this would have happened. I personally think he just wanted rid and find it difficult to believe he could not have defended us against the sale given whytes background. Just hope we never have such a big spending owner again. Agree with remaining ambitious though, its what has made the club, from young boys dreaming of having a home park, to Struth building a landmark, all the great players, attendances, and successes. Just wouldn't be Rangers otherwise. That's why I was hoping for a bit of investment in the team upfront as you only hold the club back from doing what it does naturally by doing it gradually. Its always been a good business though, just badly run, that's why the suits fight for us. Just glad we can look forward now as we'll get there either way with a board who run the club properly. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 The funds were borrowed, we were then left with huge debts. Something seriously went wrong somewhere if winning the Scottish league made youth development irrelevant. In neither of Walter's stints was any effort placed regarding youth development. Our infrastructure under SDM was archaic and we were shown up year upon year in Europe. How can you borrow and have no debt and 28 million cash at bank. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 (edited) I think it's fair to say the biggest criticism of SDM's tenure (aside from selling to Whyte) was his short-termism. In the 90s, everything was geared towards 9IAR. When that was achieved the ethos should have changed and to a certain extent it did when Advocaat insisted on Murray Park. Unfortunately, Murray overspent backing DA which resulted in necessary downsizing meaning Blue Heaven never really got going while fans never really bought into the idea that any new model may need time to become successful. SDM's reaction was to sack PLG and open the cheque-book to support the return of Walter before the crash of 2009 brought Lloyds into play. We need to show similar ambition to Murray tenure but we also need to level out the peaks and troughs. Unfortunately, the obvious and most realistic way to level out those peaks and troughs we experienced under the David Murray tenure is to try to live within our means and not gamble on success in the European competitions. More to the point, we shouldn't even be reliant on the revenue from European competitions beyond a sensible level because being reliant on Champions League revenue is suicidal in Scottish football these days with several qualifying rounds to negotiate. Edited April 1, 2015 by Zappa 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedell 5,329 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 The funds were borrowed, No they weren't. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Unfortunately, the obvious and most realistic way to level out those peaks and troughs we experienced under the David Murray tenure is to try to live within our means and not gamble on success in the European competitions. More to the point, we shouldn't even be reliant on the revenue from European competitions beyond a sensible level because being reliant on Champions League revenue is suicidal in Scottish football these days with several qualifying rounds to negotiate. You can do a bit of both. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 You can do a bit of both. That's why I said "beyond a sensible level"...... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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