Negativity or simple facts

[Gribz 743]

There are a few issues spliting the fans at the moment. Some are calling it a negative attitude yet some call it plain facts.

 

The season has not even kicked off yet but this far we have looked very untidy in pre season and in our first competitive game of the season. On Tuesday we have a huge match against Kaunas to make it into the final qualifying round of the hugely important Champions League.

 

I'm going to try and elaborate on a few topics that the fans have issues with.

 

1) Summers Signings In / Out:

Plenty eyebrows have been raised because WS brough in 3 strikers and then concentrated on the defence when the midfield is the most obvious position needing filled. We have forked out near on 10 million on 4 players for upfront and defence yet we are reluctant to spend a penny on the midfield. We have recouped a small fee for Buffel and Sebo thus far. I still question the Buffel sale when all we needed to do was pay a fee of approx 400k which makes more sense than paying 3-4 million for another player of this type.

 

Its ok bringing in strikers but so far none of the current forwards have left the club leaving us with a large forward line.

 

There is still 28 days left of the transfer window so in no way can this topic be concluded yet although its imperative we sign some midfield players soon.

 

2) Style of football:

Last season this was brought up on many occasions. Some want to see total football yet others are perfectly happy with a grinding 1-0 win as its winning that matters at the end of the day. For me a bit of both would be better. I dont expect 5-0 thumpings of teams every week with playing out of our skins, but with the level of SPL opposition we really should be seeing off teams by 3 or 4 goals on a more regular basis. Going away from home to the tougher teams is when we should be happy to grind out 1-0 wins.

 

Some put direct blame on Walter Smith, but for me the dead wood has been there before he arrived. In McLeish's latter days most of PLG's matches we were dreadful to watch at times. Walter Smith hasnt changed much other than the fact we are very difficult to score against. Basically Walter sets out not to lose a match rather than win it.

 

I think we are bit away from knowing our first choice XI and I actually think WS doesnt have that. He prefers to have maybe 14 players who will be shifted around in a few positions every week.

 

3) Loyality to players:

Fans will never agree on team selection and we dont have any right to have a say in team selection - thats what the manager lifes and dies by, but we are certainly in our right to an opinion and currently a number on here picked out the Walter is very loyal to certain players. He was like this in his first reign also. You have to wonder is he happy to play safe or just to afraid to change things. Maybe its personality clashes with other players like the rumours suggest. But IMO that shouldnt come into, if a player is good enough he should be given a chance.

 

Im not afraid to name names, but the likes of Broadfoot, Adam, Burke and Boyd will never be good enough for Rangers and having average run of the mill SPL players is a huge reason behind our lack of championships this decade. Johnny Foreigner doesnt hide from this aswell, we have had too many guys picking up a nice wage packet and not doing it on the park.

 

4) The threat of going Backwards:

Despite last seasons run on all fronts where winning and not was a thin line, we are on the threat of moving backwards. The squad may look stronger in numbers than last year but the starting XI doesnt. I was hoping for 3 or 4 players who would come in and be definate starters but so far it seems our signings are no better than what we have. Add that to the fact if the unthinkable happens on Tuesday and we dont make the CL then we are in for a long season with not much incommings. Nothing has been decided yet and the season hasnt kicked off but the concern is there.

 

5) Board level:

The main 2 issues here is the stadium and the lack of a ticket office at the club.

Ibrox: Its still a fantastic arena but at 25+ years old the Copland, Govan and Broomloan are feeling a bit dated. When your inside them they feel it aswell compared to when you visit a modern new stadium. The rumours are for a super complex to be built, that would be fantastic but I for one wouldnt mind Ibrox just getting modernized and not to any great length. The insides of the stands could be developed along with the screens being taken out and replaced by seats bring the capacity up to near 60,000. It the roofs of those 3 stands could be raised a little and say 10 rows added then that would be fantastic also.

 

Ticket Office: I find this embarrassing. A club who gets 50,000 people at every home match does not have a ticket office. I remember the mid 90s in my teens before I had a season ticket Id go along to Ibrox regularly and at times picked up tickets from the old ticket office across from the Copland stand. I would be in and out of the que within 5 minutes.

Now we have a shed with 2 ladies handing out envelopes to 1000s of people and causing fans to miss there first competitve kick off of the season - horrendous stuff!!

I can only say - Bring Back the ticket office!!!

 

Feel free to add the other issues at the moment and as Gersnet always does we will debate them openly and maturely.

[alexscottislegend 2,068]

Spot on with Point 4. It would be criminal if we were to go backwards now. Under those circumstances Walter would have to go. It would be a PLG scenario again, with the difference being that PLG had no money to spend whereas Walter has not used his cash (so far) wisely.

[Gazza_8 233]

It's plain facts.

 

On the pitch we are shocking. It's as simple as that. It's as if there's been no summer break and we've just continued the way we ended last season.

[CammyF 6,798]

Excellent article Gribz and IMO, its plain facts. We have spent close to �£9M on players who have yet to show that they can enhance the team (never mind squad) and the management team have spent on positions that didn't need adressed. We have now got 6 strikers (none who look like to score at the moment) and 4 defensive midfield players.

 

We still require 2 full backs, a centre-half, a creative, free scoring midfield player and a wide player. I can't understand WS spending over �£3M on Lafferty then playing wide-left - where he looks like a fish out of water (ditto Miller and AV).

 

It appears that the lack of creative midfield players is forcing WS to play players out of position and that leads to terrible performances.

 

WS MUST explain his reasoning for not addressing the glaring deficancies in bhis squad whilst squandering the little transfer funds he had on positions that we were well covered in. The cold harsh facts are that is we continue in this vien of 'form' our season will be over by September and there is little or no evidence that we are going to improve. We are devoid of insperation, of creativity, of leadership and of genuinely talented footballers at the moment.

 

As for board level and going backwards, I've been trying to get Rangers fans to see this for just under a decade. We have a custodian who has no long term plans (never mind ambition) for Rangers and is happy sitting creaming of the money and lining his own pockets. For some the reason the vast majority of fans can't see this and think of 'anti-murryites' (for a lack of a better phrase) like myslef as 'non-supporters' (or worse).

 

A club like ours deserves a board who match and strive to achieve our ambitions. Who invest in the club, who ensure that we are the best both on and off the pitch. A board who would have the vision to spread the Rangers family to all corners of the world, who would deal with the zealot like demonisation (sp) of the Rangers fans in the press etc.

 

At the present we have a board who still can't tell us season ticket holders what away allocation we have for this season (as they are trying to cream 5% from all away games) and who can't ensure that a fan who has bought a ticket for a European game can get entry into the ground for kick-off. I heard yesterday that some fans didn't get into Ibrox on Wednesday until after half-time. And guess who the club are blaming, yip the fans.

 

All in all, Rangers are a mess - they have been a mess for over 7 years now, but for some reason the vast majority of fans can't, or refuse to see this. Until we get rid of the charlatan that is SDM, we'll continue this agonising slide and fall from grace. We are the only ones that can change it, but few seem willing - it's time for blood letting, its time for action - who's up for it?

 

Cammy F - Simply Depressed Loyal RSC

[maineflyer 0]

Excellent article Gribz and IMO, its plain facts. We have spent close to �£9M on players who have yet to show that they can enhance the team (never mind squad) and the management team have spent on positions that didn't need adressed. We have now got 6 strikers (none who look like to score at the moment) and 4 defensive midfield players.

 

We still require 2 full backs, a centre-half, a creative, free scoring midfield player and a wide player. I can't understand WS spending over �£3M on Lafferty then playing wide-left - where he looks like a fish out of water (ditto Miller and AV).

 

It appears that the lack of creative midfield players is forcing WS to play players out of position and that leads to terrible performances.

 

WS MUST explain his reasoning for not addressing the glaring deficancies in bhis squad whilst squandering the little transfer funds he had on positions that we were well covered in. The cold harsh facts are that is we continue in this vien of 'form' our season will be over by September and there is little or no evidence that we are going to improve. We are devoid of insperation, of creativity, of leadership and of genuinely talented footballers at the moment.

 

As for board level and going backwards, I've been trying to get Rangers fans to see this for just under a decade. We have a custodian who has no long term plans (never mind ambition) for Rangers and is happy sitting creaming of the money and lining his own pockets. For some the reason the vast majority of fans can't see this and think of 'anti-murryites' (for a lack of a better phrase) like myslef as 'non-supporters' (or worse).

 

A club like ours deserves a board who match and strive to achieve our ambitions. Who invest in the club, who ensure that we are the best both on and off the pitch. A board who would have the vision to spread the Rangers family to all corners of the world, who would deal with the zealot like demonisation (sp) of the Rangers fans in the press etc.

 

At the present we have a board who still can't tell us season ticket holders what away allocation we have for this season (as they are trying to cream 5% from all away games) and who can't ensure that a fan who has bought a ticket for a European game can get entry into the ground for kick-off. I heard yesterday that some fans didn't get into Ibrox on Wednesday until after half-time. And guess who the club are blaming, yip the fans.

 

All in all, Rangers are a mess - they have been a mess for over 7 years now, but for some reason the vast majority of fans can't, or refuse to see this. Until we get rid of the charlatan that is SDM, we'll continue this agonising slide and fall from grace. We are the only ones that can change it, but few seem willing - it's time for blood letting, its time for action - who's up for it?

 

Cammy F - Simply Depressed Loyal RSC

That's a bloody good post Cammy F. Perhaps the words that stood out most for me were "WS must explain"

 

The fact is of course that WS will explain nothing. The club long ago dislocated itself from the support, not the other way around as so many would have you believe today. There was a time in my lifetime when the opinion of the support would have been taken into account when making major decisions and when the club would have seen it necessary or at least courteous to keep the support informed.

 

The attitude fostered by Murray has increasingly been one of "what have they got to complain about?" And it's not difficult to see where that leads, just take a look around you today. Murray has been very keen to flatter and cultivate a particular element of our support but has been equally adept at isolating and disenfranchising what has perhaps been the backbone of the Ibrox support over the years.

 

The fetid decay at this club is everywhere to be seen but its origins lie in the disregard of an owner and those who depend upon him.

[Gribz 743]

 

A club like ours deserves a board who match and strive to achieve our ambitions. Who invest in the club, who ensure that we are the best both on and off the pitch. A board who would have the vision to spread the Rangers family to all corners of the world, who would deal with the zealot like demonisation (sp) of the Rangers fans in the press etc.

 

 

Yip spot on with your reply Cammy and I picked this bit out. We should have a set up of people selling the club worldwide. Rangers have a huge support all over yet seeing the Rangers brand anywhere other than in Scotland is almost non exsistant.

 

The scouting set up is another poorly ran aspect, and something I should maybe have mentioned in my first post. I was listening to a Steve McLaren interview this morning, he was asked if he was going to raid England for players. But his reply was no because FC Twente cant compete with the Premier League stars (same as Rangers) so Twente and his network are set up in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Scandanavia to locate players. If only we could wake up and do the same.

[alexscottislegend 2,068]

The scouting set up is another poorly ran aspect, and something I should maybe have mentioned in my first post. I was listening to a Steve McLaren interview this morning, he was asked if he was going to raid England for players. But his reply was no because FC Twente cant compete with the Premier League stars (same as Rangers) so Twente and his network are set up in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Scandanavia to locate players. If only we could wake up and do the same.

 

That's a key point. I look at the likes of Arsenal with their buying up of young players. Few if any of them will get a start in the first team for some years. That's where we could step in. We could offer earlier first team football - and in Europe too- and then sell on for good fees. We could also take some of say Liverpool's youngsters on loan and give them experience; their squad is so huge they just won't be able to play them in the first team.

BTW on a different tack, interesting to hea S Fergie saying they had only TWO strikers - Rooney and Tevez! We could sell him a few!

[pete 2,499]

The scouting set up is another poorly ran aspect, and something I should maybe have mentioned in my first post. I was listening to a Steve McLaren interview this morning, he was asked if he was going to raid England for players. But his reply was no because FC Twente cant compete with the Premier League stars (same as Rangers) so Twente and his network are set up in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Scandanavia to locate players. If only we could wake up and do the same.

 

That's a key point. I look at the likes of Arsenal with their buying up of young players. Few if any of them will get a start in the first team for some years. That's where we could step in. We could offer earlier first team football - and in Europe too- and then sell on for good fees. We could also take some of say Liverpool's youngsters on loan and give them experience; their squad is so huge they just won't be able to play them in the first team.

BTW on a different tack, interesting to hea S Fergie saying they had only TWO strikers - Rooney and Tevez! We could sell him a few!

 

Let's do a swap deal two for six.

 

Our scouting system seems to be a joke. Every player we have brought in over the last few seasons have either worked with Watty,played against us or worked with another member of the team. As far as i have understood from Dutch managers it is not difficult to know about players on offer as all agents put them on a website or computer programme stating their contract specs and availability. it is just a matter of someone bothering their ass to pick out possible targets and go and watch.

 

As for the ticket office! That is a bloody shambles for a club of our stature.

[Gazza_8 233]

2) Style of football:

Last season this was brought up on many occasions. Some want to see total football yet others are perfectly happy with a grinding 1-0 win as its winning that matters at the end of the day.

 

The standard of football we play is nothing short of atrocious. We lack movement, creativity, vision and touch. The players we have at our disposal should be able to play to a decent standard of football, after all they are professionals. I know the players are unable to play football to a high standard, I understand that. We'll never be able to play the kind of football the likes of Arsenal, Man Ure, Juve or Liverpool play but WBA play a more attractive game than us.

 

The reason I chucked my season ticket was becuase I thought bringing back WS was a backwards step. How right was I? It's getting to the stage now that if I miss a Rangers game I know I won't be missing much, if anything!

 

It'll be another long, hard (boring) season I feel.

[CammyF 6,798]

At the risk of repeating myself, if you do a search on threads on this board, and the older versions (if that is possible), I believe I have written over half a dopzen articles pleading with Rangers to sort out the 'scouting system'.

 

As stated previously in the above articles, we are in a position to start this and from a position of strength. Why not get players like Brian Laudrup, Jorg Albertz, Amo, Claudio Reyna, Cannagia, Ray Wilkins, Arthur Numan etc - who are all repsected professionals in their home countries, running RANGERS youth academies in their homelands and scouting for us?

 

These ex-players (or others like them) could not only run these academies unearthing the best talent the countries have to offer, but they could and would act as ambassadors (sp) for our club the world over.

 

All that is required is a little foresight from the people running our club - unfortunately for us, they are hell bent on ruining rather than running our club.

 

Cammy F