Ralston in the Record: MW on borrowed time

[Oleg_Mcnoleg 50]

After his self-defence in The Sun, the Record gives the case for the prosecution.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/opinion/sport/rangers-end-game-fast-approaching-9748708

"Rangers end game is fast approaching for Mark Warburton after recruitment drive leaves him out of gas

Every manager at every club is in the last year of their contract – only some don’t know it.

 

Mark Warburton will have awakened to an uncomfortable truth yesterday morning that he’s approaching the end game at Rangers.

 

Embarrassing as it may be for Ibrox fans, forget the fact rampant Celtic have already disappeared over the title horizon, a staggering 25 points to the good at the top of the Premiership table.

 

Despite the pre-season marketing bluster, “Going for 55” was never a realistic target for the Rangers board this season, a point of which Warburton has long been aware.

 

A title challenge, at least until early spring, would have reassured Rangers directors that their manager was taking the club in the right direction, even if they were to fall up to 10 points short of championship success.

 

Mark Warburton always knew his side wouldn't be challenging for the title

 

At the very least they were banking on a comfortable second-placed finish, which would have reflected the size of the Ibrox budget in comparison to Hearts and Aberdeen.

 

To date, it is the failure of Rangers to underline their credentials for that latter challenge that is exercising minds at the top of the marble staircase.

 

Warburton is working with a pot of finance up to four times of that available to Derek McInnes at Pittodrie and Ian Cathro at Tynecastle but his team is going backwards, despite a budget increase of 50 per cent to more than £10million in the summer.

 

 

Rangers manager Mark Warburton comes out fighting and insists he's not feeling under any pressure

His recruitment process has been dreadful, which is why director of football Frank McParland and his signing policy were subject to such careful cross examination at last week’s Ibrox board meeting by chairman Dave King and managing director Stewart Robertson.

 

Also, do not underestimate the influence in the Ibrox set up – not least financially – of Douglas Park and his son, Graeme, but they did not grow a business that now turns over £500m annually on making angry, knee-jerk reactions.

 

 

Frank McParland's signing policy has been coming under scrutiny by the Ibrox board

Rangers directors are not blameless – we’ll get to them in a minute – but if Warburton and McParland are to survive, and if their minds aren’t already wandering elsewhere, they must find solutions to key questions now spreading to the wider Ibrox support.

 

● How much value has Warburton added to the current squad, particularly players brought to the club?

 

Wes Foderingham apart, none have added considerably to their transfer worth.

 

● How far is McParland extending his recruitment network and is he well enough connected to more than just a handful of player agencies?

 

● What legacy would Warburton leave if he was to depart Ibrox tomorrow?

 

Rangers did not receive a single bid for a player in the January window. A handful of the squad apart, it would be a case of rip it up and start again.

 

● Can the manager be trusted with transfer market funds? Rangers spent the best part of £3m last year on players – Joe Garner, Joe Dodoo, Jordan Rossiter and Michael O’Halloran – and they’ve all struggled to impact.

 

 

● Can Rangers carry upwards of £50,000-a-week in wages for players who aren’t starting, particularly Philippe Senderos, the injury-prone Rossiter, Dodoo, Danny Wilson, O’Halloran and Garner?

 

● Does Warburton really “get” Scottish football?

 

His side were as off the pace in their 4-1 hammering against high-tempo Hearts as they were two months earlier when they went down 2-0 at Tynecastle. The manager has shown no appetite for change.

 

● How can such a fine defender as Davie Weir oversee such a hapless rearguard that has now lost more than a goal a game, with only Hearts conceding more often in the top six?

 

● Why does the balance of this team so frustrate Gers fans? They’ve been crying out for a dominant centre-half and physicality in the middle of the park since Warburton took over but too many lightweight midfielders fold when the top-flight going gets tough.

 

 

Dave King is being accused of not backing Mark Warburton

Contrary to popular belief, money is available to strengthen the squad again this summer, although King would have been best served holding fire on the hubristic talk of £30m war chests when he overthrew the detested former regime.

 

King and the Parks in particular have already committed the best part of £20m taking control of their club and restoring it to a position of stability.

 

Ironically, one of their greatest acts of generosity came last summer when they rewarded Warburton and Weir with new contracts and salary increases that took their joint package to around £1m a year.

 

They should have been monitored for the first half of the season and, if appropriate, a new deal tabled in January.

 

With the security of a three-year deal, the manager might just decide to sit tight, no matter how much he may fidget in future under boardroom questioning."

[aweebluesoandso 290]

Ralston has rolled up all the Rangers support worries and concerns at this moment, and listed them. Nothing there that hasn't already been written on here or across the messageboards, however it's from the Record so fingers in ears lalalalalalalalala.

[cooponthewing 1,139]

Ralston is one of the very few decent ones imo.

[MacK1950 2,231]

It's a good article but just sums up the ongoing concerns.

By the way street soccer is back tomorrow before the game maybe some recruits there:devil::lol:

[rbr 1,247]

This has been handed to him on a plate by the board , the exact same points were all over Twitter yesterday by board "friendly" fans , truly pathetic stuff from our so called custodians

[BrahimHemdani 1]

Whilst there is clearly a great deal of truth in what has been written; it seems that discretion is not a quality high on the list of key qualities for Rangers' Directors at the moment; and it must be extremely difficult for the Manager to find Directors effectively briefing against him.

[der Berliner 3,247]

Anyone able to link any of the "board friendly fans posting stuff against him"?

 

The article could have been written by any disgruntled fan still living in the pre-2012 reality, spiced with some long shot down stereotypes about King, that super-bad lead the Scum enjoys and an abysmal display at Tynecastle.

 

Written by a paper that has been spilling bile and garbage and lies for months and catering to the baying mob that can't accept the restaints we (all) find ourselves in. And quite a bit of that hysteria and anti-MW sentiment stems from the stuff hyped up by that very paper on a daily basis.

 

BTW, I'm not saying that there isn't any truth in there whatsoever. But coming straight after a rather honest interview by MW in the Sun and essentially being build on assumption, conjecture and aiming at the discontent of the fans ... well, it goes a long way of uncover this for what it is.

[compo 6,141]

Strange comment from our manager yesterday in the mail , we're second why should I feel the strain it cant be acceptable for a Rangers manager or board to accept second prizes .

Looking at our board member sitting in the stand on Wednesday they were far from happy .

[der Berliner 3,247]

Strange comment from our manager yesterday in the mail , we're second why should I feel the strain it cant be acceptable for a Rangers manager or board to accept second prizes .

Looking at our board member sitting in the stand on Wednesday they were far from happy .

 

Yet, you have to be realistic here and anyone removed from the Scottish football world - and media hyped up expectation levels - that I spoke to and watched (German and Austrian TV), were all rather realistic about what is achievable for a freshly promoted team (usually not knowing anything about our finances, but fully away of the standing of the Yahoos right now ... due to them being champions and playing in Europe). I doubt that MW or anyone at the club is accepting second place as a mid-term aim, yet to go on about challenging Celtic in our current situation will essentially make anyone doing so the laughing stock of anyone who is not a Bear, and quite a few of the Bears too.

 

As for the board members ... what do you expect from them watching a defeat? It does take quite a bit of conjecture to project their overall feeling from such a momentary snap-shot.

[RANGERRAB 3,258]

Strange comment from our manager yesterday in the mail , we're second why should I feel the strain it cant be acceptable for a Rangers manager or board to accept second prizes .

Looking at our board member sitting in the stand on Wednesday they were far from happy .

 

Under normal circumstances second wouldn't be acceptable but these are not normal circumstances at the moment