The Football Operation at Rangers is a Mess

[Rousseau 9,374]

2 minutes ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

If the pessimist thinks I'm being pessimistic then surely that's a double negative that cancels itself out? I'm taking the win on that one

[Sutton_blows_goats 4,207]

One thing I will give credit for in terms of transfer strategy is the loan to buy deals. Initially with Hagi but then Sands and Tillman. Its a good approach that reduces the risk around transfers. The profile of these signings is good too. 

[Sutton_blows_goats 4,207]

I think overall our transfer business this summer was good. I look at each signing in isolation, and i like them all. The problem seems to be getting these guys in the team either through fitness or form (bar Colak).

 

My biggest issue with our business this summer is still we didn't bring in enough. We have needed for some time some CM/#8 presence in midfield. I'm not so concerned by the RW conundrum. Between Matondo, Sakala, Lowry and Wright we have enough bodies to throw at it for now. How we have went on for years with guys like Jack, Davies, Arfield who cant play every week, and Kamaras complete loss of form has left Lundstram and our defence extremely exposed.

 

Our injury list as another poster has said is too much to be coincidence. Do we need a conditioning coach (similar to Millsom). Are we not warming up/down correctly. Are we pushing players with knocks too hard? Lots of questions around this.

 

 

[buster. 4,808]

38 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

The average age of my team posted yesterday was 23, but you dismissed it as "the stuff of nightmares", that it "[w]ouldn't be fair on King" (a youngster), and that it would "work out badly".

 

Hmm...

Let's be serious.

 

Your  younger team was IMO, the stuff of nightmares. Just because they are young doesn't mean you have to embrace it. Any rational person will take other things into account, not just age. Things like ability.

 

The team against Liverpool was of an advanced average footballing age which has repercussions when it comes to squad management, recruitment and often medical issues.

 

So away and smell shite somewhere else #lol

[Gonzo79 13,628]

42 minutes ago, buster. said:

The team against Liverpool was of an advanced average footballing age which has repercussions when it comes to squad management

That depends on the squad as a whole.  

[buster. 4,808]

3 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

That depends on the squad as a whole.  

Agreed

Looking at the starting XI and the whole squad, there are various issues.

[stewarty 1,876]

2 hours ago, ranger_syntax said:

Quite an incredible post.

 

To say that it is a mess suggests some inside knowledge. The O.P. includes nearly zero insight into the football operation.

 

It's not even really coherent to complain, to that extent, about current results. We are playing at our highest level for a decade and still competing for the league. In terms of European results we are a victim of our own success.

 

The closest this gets to a genuine complaint is in regard to injuries. What does that amount to? Any management needs to tolerate a level of risk. In our case it has worked out badly.

Just to make things even more bizarre, I pretty much agree with this and also agree with alot of the faultlines Buster is identifying which look to have been brewing for months.

 

Its what always happens in football, perspectives are altered quickly based on results and performances.  Had we only lost narrowly in the 4 x UCL matches, would we be having the blood-letting that we are?

 

Saying that,  I said after the PSV 1st leg defeat that we were a bad OF defeat away from a crisis.  UCL group stage qualification avoided that scenario, but now we are merely a couple of league draws away.  Similarly, if Celtic drop points too then it wont seem so bad.

Its a funny old game.

[buster. 4,808]

25 minutes ago, stewarty said:

Just to make things even more bizarre, I pretty much agree with this and also agree with alot of the faultlines Buster is identifying which look to have been brewing for months.

 

Its what always happens in football, perspectives are altered quickly based on results and performances.  Had we only lost narrowly in the 4 x UCL matches, would we be having the blood-letting that we are?

 

Saying that,  I said after the PSV 1st leg defeat that we were a bad OF defeat away from a crisis.  UCL group stage qualification avoided that scenario, but now we are merely a couple of league draws away.  Similarly, if Celtic drop points too then it wont seem so bad.

Its a funny old game.

Yes, results are everything regards where our focus tends to be directed and mood.

 

However, the underlying positives/negatives will tend to indicate overall direction of travel beyond the short term.

 

I have been going on about the squad for months, it isn't hindsight or off the back of a few results.

 

The questions around the manager are something that has come up of late due to results. Limited availability within player squad feeds into that and makes it more difficult. 

 

The answer IMO is to change management and allow whoever that is, to start a rebuild. Probably, next summer.

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by buster.

[Graeme Ro55 649]

waaaaaa-throws-toys-out-of-pram  .  .  .  .  .  Ha  Ha  .  .  .  . dry yer eyes 

[Gonzo79 13,628]

4 minutes ago, Graeme Ro55 said:

waaaaaa-throws-toys-out-of-pram  .  .  .  .  .  Ha  Ha  .  .  .  . dry yer eyes 

Were you at the match on Wednesday?

 

£55 to watch us get absolutely humiliated.  'Mortifying' is the best word I can think of to describe how it felt.