Gribz 743 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 We have to be honest and real now, the last 3 years have produced the worst Rangers sides that I have seen (the older posters may think different) and 2 title wins in the last day of the season has kept Celtic from being on 7 in a row and in the other 5 seasons they have won the league by huge margins. That is saying something!! This is the 2nd season in a row without a trophy and that for Rangers is a disaster considering the League Cup is a diddy cup and Gretna can manage a Scottish Cup final appearance while being a 2nd division side. The amount of players who have been in and out of Ibrox in the last few years is enough to set up a league in a small country, and some didnt even kick a ball like that Italian. We arent going to get stability like that but it seems that certain players were preferred all the time even if there form was shoddy and they simply cant be dropped. Even when one of our managers tried to drop a player in poor form he ends up out the door - thats the sort of stuff you couldnt make up and is a journalists dream. The other thing is we dont seem to play players in their preferred positions hence once again meaning we are going to struggle. In the past we have had a few great playmakers being the link from midfield to frontmen. Gascoigne and De Boer were in a different class at doing this and we admit we wont see this type of player with us again for a long time. But when we do get a few players in this role with a hint of talent they are not given the chance. Im talking about Namouchi, Lovenkrands and Buffel here. Lovenkrands shined in the european stage and in Old firm games and had pace to scare defenders but he was deployed on the wing most of the time. Namouchi was thrown out on the wide right or left depending what number McLeish drew him out of the hat and Buffel was the same. Since Smith has came in he has steadied the ship and made us hard to beat and score against. He did well in january singing two solid defenders and at the moment we are top of the form table and closed the huge gap on Celtic. Things are looking better at the back but in midfield and upfront we are still absolute rank rotten bar 1 or 2 players. I'll give Smith the benefit of the doubt as he only had a few weeks in January to buy players, but come the summer Im hoping for the same improvements in the others areas of the squad but buys like Gow wont convince me. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CammyF 6,779 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 It is not like we can't purchase class players in the market we are shopping in. A prime example was Boumsong, if the right people are employed in the correct capacity, then there is no reason that we can't still unearth 'diamonds' in the Bosman and lower end of the transfer market. Another example is Blackburn snapping up Benni McCarthy for �£2.5M, an absolute steal and a player with a proven record domestically and in the Champions League. The problem we have is not having the right people employed at our club. At the very top of the tree, we have a man who simply doesn't have Rangers in his heart, or our best interests in his mind. The same can be said for his lackies like Her McIntyre and the San Tan Kid. Not only are they not looking after our interests, they are yes men who don't actually know there job. Our scouting system is non-existent, we are missing out in the all the major regions whilst clubs like Ajax have schools in Africa, Europe and America's, we are fishing in the small pond calles Scotland where football has been replaced by Playstations, drink and drugs. Our 'custodian' is intent on doing nothing to solve the crisis on and off the pitch, all he is interested in is his self image and his bank ballance. The RST have insigated 'Rangers First' and can we honestly say that that saying implies to our glorious leader and his gang of yes men? We have also allowed the 'neds' to take over our fantastic support, however this is going to change (and it has too). But, this is only one part of the problem and the cynic in me says that Murray has allowed this to fester as it takes the attention away for his missmanagement and the dire state that we currently find ourselves in. I can remember the dark and disstant days of the early to mid 80's and can remember finishing 4th in the SPL. The team back then had little in the way of skill, but you couldn't fault them for effort. This season is the closest Rangers have come to these dark days. Back then, out of nowhere came David Holmes to awake the sleeping giant and he changed Scottish football - what we would give for David Holmes now as David Murray isn't going to come to our rescue........ Cammy F 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 It is not like we can't purchase class players in the market we are shopping in. A prime example was Boumsong, if the right people are employed in the correct capacity, then there is no reason that we can't still unearth 'diamonds' in the Bosman and lower end of the transfer market. Exactly, people seem to think we have nothing to spend except on SPL players, this is a myth. Id soon rather have had Benni McCarthy for 2.5 million than Kevin Thomson for 2 million. There is always players out there on the cheap - look how we got Hemdani!! Our scouting system is non-existent, we are missing out in the all the major regions whilst clubs like Ajax have schools in Africa, Europe and America's, we are fishing in the small pond calles Scotland where football has been replaced by Playstations, drink and drugs. Again correct, Ajax are well known for having a great scouting network. These setup's are investments as if you find a diamond its a huge asset which can later make the club millions and easy cover the cost of a salary for a scout and his accommodation over a spread area. I read last week that Ajax even have a base in Florida - an area not known for football - but they are still searching! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ascender 352 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Totally agree with that. Where do we go from here? I think that all depends on just how much money WS will be given to spend in the summer and how much he can generate by selling players. At least the wage bill will be further reduced by Klos moving on. Its been a pretty low season for us and the BF debacle was the lowest point for me and while its been swept under the carpet now, I think its done a lot of harm for us as a club. DM's continued silence on that issue and his reluctance to defend us is another baffling feature which just makes me so angry and disappointed with the current regime. Unfortunately though, unless someone comes in and is willing to spend some serious money, I think we could be in for another season without winning the SPL. Any CL revenue we make must surely be ploughed back in to the club, but I have a funny feeling that won't happen until the following season. If Celtic spend even a fraction of the money they appear to have available, they're going to strengthen their squad further and could walk the league again next year. When you look at our squad, I just can't see how any manager can expect to rebuild it in one season. I think we're looking at 12 months or so until we're seriously challenging for the SPL again. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 When you look at our squad, I just can't see how any manager can expect to rebuild it in one season. I think we're looking at 12 months or so until we're seriously challenging for the SPL again. I agree with your post Mike, your last point raises more questions - Yeah it may take another 12 months to seriously challenge again but can you see the majority of Rangers fans giving Smith the time?? What do we want next season?? Where to we want to be?? I dont know if Im willing to accept slight progress and accept Celtic will win the title - we did this this season when PLG came in and it made us go backwards. We were locked in a battle for 2nd place and at one point we were a mid table side and out both cups. I want to see a leap of improvement next season when we are winning games with determination and our wins are convincing. It will come down to what happens in the summer and who we get in, then we can access our chances. But with this current squad including Gow and Broadfoot id expect another trophy-less season. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,148 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I think I've been saying this for the last 3 years but the next 6 months are huge for our football club. Whatever the budget we need to make the right signings in the summer. Similarly we need to ensure qualification for the CL group stage to help finances. Add to that solving the sectarian problem (we are getting there), then that is 3 main issues to help us get back to success the fans deserve. Unfortunately, it's easier said than done. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,410 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Agree with almost everything that has been said, but we do need to strengthen,with quality, and i'm not too optomistic about getting the cash that we need to do this, but WS is a man i think can attract decent players to come to Rangers with his good reputation, and to be honest C****c are not that good a side 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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