walter smiths replies to the fans!

[gisabeer 409]

http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,5~1522533,00.html

 

Walter wants to know what gripe we fans have, so heres mine.

 

I served my time as a Rangers supporter under John Greigs tenure as manager so I know crap football when i see it Walter, and given what i had to endure from the stands at Ibrox last season, well I can honestly say it was the most dire football spectacle i have ever witnessed in my life. The uber defensive policy, very difficult to stomach but for long spells effective and as the saying goes, the end justifies the means.

 

With a commanding lead at the top of the table come march we put up with being outplayed and outclassed by everyman and his dog but as we entered the business end of the season the cracks began to appear.

 

grinding out results from week to week had been a common feature and the league cup final was no different. outwitted on the day and very lucky to win the cup thanks to Kris boyd, a player who you tried your damned hardest not to play, opting for a player who didnt even want to play for the club and whos body language told us so every time he pulled on a light blue jersey.

 

But it all went down hill from there. Suddenly your tactics were being slowly found out and teams started to take points from us and the commanding lead started to wither as the weeks rolled past. no one at the club seemed to be taking any notice though as we were starting to gain a bit of momentum in the Uefa cup.

 

Again we grinded out results, playing for draws and hoping for penalties and it worked. But as a paying fan who went to all the Uefa cup games I seen two goals in one game and as for the other games, they were so bad id have rather have went to my work for nintey minutes for nothing!

 

Fair enough Walter you got us to that final but to openly admit that you actually played for a draw in that final is a slap in the face to every Rangers Supporter who travelled to manchester and that follows the club. it is beggars belief that any football manager that got to a European final and didnt play to win it.

 

And with that up the pan we went back to league business. But our team had been slowly imploding through the months and our worst fears were finally realised when we handed the title to the other side on a plate on the last days of the season.

 

Truth is walter i seen it comming a long time before it actually happened. The players you chose week in week out werent up to the job. McCulloch, Adam, Daily, Darcheville, Whitaker, Cousin and ill include Thompson too, just werent up to the job but were the mainstays of the team. The problem was walter when it actually came to playing football and standing up to be counted they werent up to the job.

 

But you enjoyed the plaudits of having a succesful season Walter. Getting to a major European final was a real feather in your cap to some but to us cash paying customers the reality was that we were absolutely dreadful. My wife quipped to me a week before the Uefa cup final that she would by me the DVD if we won all four competitions to which i replied "dont bother id only throw it in the bin".

 

Why? Well the quality and class of football was well below the standard that i expect from Rangers Football Club. We were a laughing stock in Europe due to the way you set your stall out and as for the way you capitulated the league, a damned disgrace.

 

i can honestly i didnt enjoy one game i witnessed at Ibrox last season. None at all. even if we won. Quite a damning stament when you consider I only missed two games.

 

but i did hope that the new season would be better......

 

part two to follow.

[Jon 0]

The only bit I disagree with is Thomson but everything else pretty much spot on and a depressing read

[maineflyer 0]

Really good OP.

 

You have to see these comments by Walter as a premeditated rallying call at Murray's behest. The only thing I saw that wasn't entirely predictable is that he says we have a financial problem, which might be a little at odds with what his chairman was saying only yesterday.

 

I feel sorry for Walter. He's a bloody hopeless manager and is now reduced to grovelling for his master's benefit. Total loss of pride, waiting for laughing boy to be given his job.

[craig 5,195]

The only bit I disagree with is Thomson but everything else pretty much spot on and a depressing read

 

Same here. I agree with it all gisabeer, save for the Thomson comment. Was he not injured when the capitulation began ?

[biggordy 0]

Like a Puppet on a string.

Walter knows where his bread's buttered.

It appears " fortress Ibrox " has now adopted a seige mentality hoping all detractors will go away by trying to portray them as idiots and troublemakers. It's a well used tactic usually used by governments and the like.

The shame is that it is very hard for all those complaining to meet the management on an equal footing. For example, you or I just can't call a press conference. Would the Press attend, I think not.

The management is a small tight group and meet regularly whereas the support are spread far and wide and it is therefore impossible for everyone to prepare an agreed statement. ( and mostly have a life as well )

So, they simply pick individuals or groups off calling them misinformed, lunatic etc.

[gisabeer 409]

And so the new season begins.

 

with an estimated 25 mill in the bank due to our run in Europe our debt was apparently very comfortable to manage and suddenly the outlook for the average bear was starting to look a lot brighter after six years of walking around with what felt like a 14 pound bag of potatoes on our backs!

 

so walter you have some cash to spend. we can all see that we need some defensive cover to partner Cuellar and a decent midfielder (with Davis being the obvious choice there).

 

But you go out and buy a bag of magic beans and produce three strikers! and to top that lot you keep CHRIST!ian Dailly.

 

Enter Kuanus for the CL qualifiers who are by our standards a Sunday league Pub outfit. As average as the players you purchased the season before are walter, you really should have steam rolled right over the top of them but you opted to play the uber defensive card again but this time the opposition had cottoned on to your master game plan and turned you over.

 

Then to top it all off, the supposedly injured Carlos Cuellar is sold off for a massive profit after endearing himself to the fans and the club!

 

Cue panic spending spree to appease the fans. Suddenly our budget doesnt matter anymore and players are comming in from all angles. So many in fact that you dont have enough bloodly lockers in the dressing room for them!

 

But three of your buys have really bamboozled we the paying customer. Edu and Valicka cost a kick on the arse off 4 million quid and have yet to play 90 minutes between them. Why the hell did we purchase them? As for the real jewel in the crown kyle Lafferty, im afraid we have yet to see anything that even suggests that this boy is actually a footballer but this could very well be that you insist that he doesnt get to play in his true position.

 

He has underacheived but that could be said of many in the squad. Charlie Adam, a player who thrived on you arrival has steadily gone backwards where his career is concerned. That though i could say of a few others. Whittaker, Beadsley and McCulloch all looked decent prospects when the first arrived but a season on... well its the same script as Adam. I cant quite put my finger on it Walter but there seems to be quite a few players whos careers have taken a nosdive in the last twelve months and i dont think its a coincidence.

 

Then theres our youths. Aaron was brought in on loan and apparently the boy is a "wonderkid" according to sources in Spain. We did get a glimse of him and he played very well but lets face it, the only reason you brought him on was that there was a bit of concern form his spanish employers that he was wasting his time. now we are being told that our very own wonderboy Fleck will be given a chance after you are critisised for your youth policy.

 

There are two types of action Walter, Proaction and reaction and bad decision makers tend to opt for the latter. just like you. You called it wrong in CL and reacted by splashing the cash. you are critisised for your youth policy and you "announce that you will play one!"

 

Bad leadership bad management and a lot of wrong decision making. If your were a dog you would be running round in cirlces chasing your tail.

 

And its the chairman thats getting it in the neck, not you.

 

Kevin Thomson getting injured could well turn out to be a blessing indisguise. The 4.5 million fee we were getting for him should have paid for laffertys final installment and paid the overdraft. But now we cant pay and people are asking all sorts of questions.

 

And eventually they will get round to your part in all this.

 

Fraid youve been found out mate.

Edited January 16, 2009 by gisabeer

[gisabeer 409]

Same here. I agree with it all gisabeer, save for the Thomson comment. Was he not injured when the capitulation began ?

 

I was talking about last season. I remember watching the final game against the sheep and thinking that not one of Smiths buys had it in them to take us up a level. A thought that was enforced after the performances against Kuanus. Im not saying that seen the kuanus result comming but with a bit of hindsight i wasnt all that suprised.

 

The team that lost the league was all most identicle to the one that flopped in the CL qualifiers.

Edited January 16, 2009 by gisabeer

[steve 0]

Two excellent posts that sums up mine and many others at this moment in time!!The sad fact is Smith will not listen to any of these criticisms as he is fast becoming arrogant with a "I know I am right...what do you know " attitude...

 

 

I won`t spend another penny wasting my money-then complaining about it until there is a management change.

 

I to first went to a game during the Greig years..then Wallace pt2..then Souness..etc..

I will never stop supporting the Club but just sometimes if you are not happy -enjoying supporting the team,the whole match day experience etc why bother going...people have a choice.

[calscot 0]

http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,5~1522533,00.html

 

I served my time as a Rangers supporter under John Greigs tenure as manager so I know crap football when i see it Walter, and given what i had to endure from the stands at Ibrox last season, well I can honestly say it was the most dire football spectacle i have ever witnessed in my life. The uber defensive policy, very difficult to stomach but for long spells effective and as the saying goes, the end justifies the means.

 

That's one of the most nonsense statements I've ever read on here. How you can see last season as worse than John Greig's years beggars belief and shows why the likes of Murray and Smith don't take us seriously.

 

How can you expect Walter to take criticism like that on board?

 

You may not have liked the football but it was damned effective and I'd have loved that kind of success in the early 80's.

 

If winning both cups and only not winning the league due to Celtic cheating and an impossible fixture pile up while getting to the UEFA final is completely unacceptable for you then your opinion is worthless. You can never be pleased unless we start playing like Barcelona which is never going to happen and they don't always win either. They've had their own crises and are struggling to compete with English clubs in Europe.

 

When we finish 6th you can perhaps say we are worse than under Greig but until then you just sound like someone who would moan if we won CL but not quite in "your way".

[craig 5,195]

I was talking about last season. I remember watching the final game against the sheep and thinking that not one of Smiths buys had it in them to take us up a level. A thought that was enforced after the performances against Kuanus. Im not saying that seen the kuanus result comming but with a bit of hindsight i wasnt all that suprised.

 

The team that lost the league was all most identicle to the one that flopped in the CL qualifiers.

 

I was talking about last season too. Thomson got injured against the Tims at Ibrox and barely featured for the remainder of the season. When he went out injured we were top by 10 points (if my memory serves me.....)