Next Season

[Sutton_blows_goats 4,176]

7 minutes ago, craig said:

Neither, unless you have insight to the club finances.

 

I will say it again, just because we didnt spend big in January doesnt mean that the funds werent there to spend if we wanted to.  Hindsight is great but when we sold Patterson in January we didnt have a NEED to buy players as we were comfortably top of the table.  Was it a mistake to not spend ?  With hindsight, yes.  In early January was there a need to spend ?  Much as though as fans we love to see new, quality players, the reality is we looked very comfortable in the table and the Board probably felt we had enough to win the league.  

 

So, again, I don't think you can say that Wilson was lying - we sold Patterson not because we had to but because it was financially advantageous to cash in on a back up player with a fee that no club in Scotland would have turned down.  And the Board/Wilson/Gio probably felt no need to spend those funds in January and wait till the summer given where we were in the table in January 

Time will tell if we ever spend that money but i doubt it. I for one, and i know many others were concerned about the lack of options at right wing/attack BEFORE Hagi got injured. Skov Olsen was a great example of what was available, for 5 million pounds. He has went to Brugge and is tearing it up. he will make them millions in a year or so. There was also a need for an attacking midfielder. Which is why the club went out and got Ramsay and Diallo on loan. 

 

There is some truth to what you say about the market being tougher in January, but other teams manage it. Our rivals being one. The world of football is a big big place and there are many options. Our winter window is some countries end of season window.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Sutton_blows_goats

[RANGERRAB 3,254]

11 minutes ago, craig said:

What is the not so prominent one ?

Their Jerry built stadium

[craig 5,195]

Just now, CammyF said:

But there are other ways - we sold NP for £16M a player who had played, what 10 games for us? 

 

Invest in the youth academy and produce 2 or 3 NPs a year and that's close to £50M. 

 

Have a signing policy (dare I say like Celtics) and buy players cheap and move them on. 

 

The current board have done well but let's face it, they are being shown up and their limitations are being laid bare. 

 

If all they can offer is "keeping the lights on" then it's obvious that we need a change.

We are certainly over-egging it if we think we will get 2 or 3 NP's a season.  We had Billy Gilmour who could have realised a fortune for us... but once they get their head turned by the big money down south we can't compete - in Patterson we somewhat got lucky because he was already on a contract and hadnt been seen by many anywhere else, which allowed us to get that fee.  Even Leon King, one of the best prospects we have EVER had, part of the reason he signed is because he is a "home boy" - hates being away from his family.  The club pushed the boat out on his contract which helped, but even with the best intentions in the world the Academy structure in Scotland doesnt give you the best opportunity to find those NP's.  UEFA rules dictate at Academy level the restrictions on distancing from training facilities etc.  Getting just ONE NP every handful of years is a push, not just for us but Celtic and the rest of Scottish football too.

 

We do get players cheat but moving them on is a different question - did the Board and SG gamble on this squad getting us into the CL next season ?  Absolutely.  But was it a calculated risk ?  Given the invincible season last year I would say yes.  In fact, had SG done his job and negotiated against a 10 man Malmo, we would have been able to strengthen as we would have been in the CL THIS season.

 

I don't think that all they are offering is keeping the lights on - I think that is very unfair given some of the improvements they have provided - we have strengthened the squad under their tenure exponentially, the Academy is a much more efficient, well-oiled machine than it was pre this Board, the ground has seen improvements made from what was a crumbling wreck under the previous custodians, and we have Edmiston House which, hopefully, will provide additional source of revenue for the club.

 

Do they have their failings ?  Absolutely.  Are they receiving less credit than they deserve ?  Again, absolutely.  DO they deserve the opportunity to right the ship ?  Yes, IMO.  GvB was, for the most part, the only manager we all wanted to see, the club went and got him.  They gave us who we thought was the best man for the job.  He deserves the opportunity to have a pre-season under his belt and to see how recruitment goes.

 

I know with you it isnt knee jerk as we all know how right you were about SDM - but many are knee-jerking their way through a poor season.

[craig 5,195]

8 minutes ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

Time will tell if we ever spend that money but i doubt it. I for one, and i know many others were concerned about the lack of options at right wing/attack BEFORE Hagi got injured. Skov Olsen was a great example of what was available, for 5 million pounds. He has went to Brugge and is tearing it up. he will make them millions in a year or so. There was also a need for an attacking midfielder. Which is why the club went out and got Ramsay and Diallo on loan. 

 

There is some truth to what you say about the market being tougher in January, but other teams manage it. Our rivals being one. The world of football is a big big place and there are many options. Our winter window is some countries end of season window.

 

 

Diallo isnt an attacking midfielder, he was supposed to be the right wing option.  And he was/is highly thought of so that was actually an exciting loan.  As was Ramsey, a world class player who came in.  Not sure how we can really complain about those two other than hindsight....

 

Celtic managed it THIS season.  They have had some terrible January signings in seasons past.  Even this season, the players they brought in arent that good, they really arent.  They have energy and desire but lack skill - Maeda is the proverbial headless chicken.  Hatate scored against us, sure, but he was dross on Sunday too.  

[craig 5,195]

4 minutes ago, RANGERRAB said:

Their Jerry built stadium

I have seen little snippets of this, what is the ACTUAL story there ?

[CammyF 6,779]

11 minutes ago, craig said:

I have seen little snippets of this, what is the ACTUAL story there 

I've heard things like it scraping past safety certificates, a 25 year life expectancy etc. 

 

Many rumours but no concrete evidence (If you pardon the pun). 

[craig 5,195]

Just now, CammyF said:

I've heard things like it scraping past safety certificates, a 25 year life expectancy etc. 

 

Many rumours but no concrete evidence (If you pardon the pun). 

We all knew that Fergus built it on the cheap - hopefully it is about to fall to pieces and they have to spend all their CL millions on it next season.  The abuse class action should, all things being equal, cost them many millions.  Which is why we have shot ourselves in the foot this season.  Such an opportunity to put the foot on their throat.

[RANGERRAB 3,254]

3 minutes ago, CammyF said:

I've heard things like it scraping past safety certificates, a 25 year life expectancy etc. 

 

Many rumours but no concrete evidence (If you pardon the pun). 

guy on our supporters bus is convinced they’ll be moving into hampden permanently at some point. 
hence maybe why Haughey got involved to keep hampden as our national stadium a couple of years ago.

had the SFA moved to Murrayfield then hampden would have been demolished 

[CammyF 6,779]

44 minutes ago, craig said:

We are certainly over-egging it if we think we will get 2 or 3 NP's a season.  We had Billy Gilmour who could have realised a fortune for us... but once they get their head turned by the big money down south we can't compete - in Patterson we somewhat got lucky because he was already on a contract and hadnt been seen by many anywhere else, which allowed us to get that fee.  Even Leon King, one of the best prospects we have EVER had, part of the reason he signed is because he is a "home boy" - hates being away from his family.  The club pushed the boat out on his contract which helped, but even with the best intentions in the world the Academy structure in Scotland doesnt give you the best opportunity to find those NP's.  UEFA rules dictate at Academy level the restrictions on distancing from training facilities etc.  Getting just ONE NP every handful of years is a push, not just for us but Celtic and the rest of Scottish football too.

 

We do get players cheat but moving them on is a different question - did the Board and SG gamble on this squad getting us into the CL next season ?  Absolutely.  But was it a calculated risk ?  Given the invincible season last year I would say yes.  In fact, had SG done his job and negotiated against a 10 man Malmo, we would have been able to strengthen as we would have been in the CL THIS season.

 

I don't think that all they are offering is keeping the lights on - I think that is very unfair given some of the improvements they have provided - we have strengthened the squad under their tenure exponentially, the Academy is a much more efficient, well-oiled machine than it was pre this Board, the ground has seen improvements made from what was a crumbling wreck under the previous custodians, and we have Edmiston House which, hopefully, will provide additional source of revenue for the club.

 

Do they have their failings ?  Absolutely.  Are they receiving less credit than they deserve ?  Again, absolutely.  DO they deserve the opportunity to right the ship ?  Yes, IMO.  GvB was, for the most part, the only manager we all wanted to see, the club went and got him.  They gave us who we thought was the best man for the job.  He deserves the opportunity to have a pre-season under his belt and to see how recruitment goes.

 

I know with you it isnt knee jerk as we all know how right you were about SDM - but many are knee-jerking their way through a poor season.

Just because we haven't unearthed more than 1 NP, doesn t mean we can't. Let's be selfish, let's hoover up the best Scottish players at all levels. Nothing stopping us doing that. Make it attractive for them at an early age. I advocated this approach in 2012 never happened then, but it's never to late.

 

We need new ideas in the boardroom. There may be things going on behind the scenes but most fans just see a board who are lurching from one embarrassment to the next.

 

I'm not praising any board for the "upkeep" of the stadium or the funding of the youth system, that should be a given. 

 

This board are behind the worst customer service in the club's history. The ticketing system is an omi-shambles, MyGers is nothing more than a money making exercise, the board have under-sold our 150 anniversary and the UBs and Hamburg have done more than them.

 

Our catering, whilst getting better is still terrible, you get better food and better value for money from the fans outside the stadium (lost revenue stream), the continued debacle of the disabled fan match experience is shameful, the boards reluctance to address negative press is unacceptable and their communication with fans equally so.

 

Since the introduction of MyGers which I refused to join and despite being on CCCS I have yet to get given a European away ticket or a ticket for a domestic semi-final or final.

 

RSC ticket allocation being cut by approx 25% this season meaning many clubs unable to take buses to games (mostly away games) and getting the feeling Rangers want rid of them.  

 

We deserve better. 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by CammyF

[CammyF 6,779]

20 minutes ago, RANGERRAB said:

guy on our supporters bus is convinced they’ll be moving into hampden permanently at some point. 
hence maybe why Haughey got involved to keep hampden as our national stadium a couple of years ago.

had the SFA moved to Murrayfield then hampden would have been demolished 

Would that satisfy their season ticket base? Isn't Hampden smaller than Parkhead? 

 

Also how would they segregate for OF and European games? 

 

Not saying it's not true, we all know how devious they are.