Slash and burn

[ian1964 10,413]

SIR DAVID MURRAY knows no one can escape the brutal impact of the global credit crunch.

 

Not the High Street chains who have crumbled in the face of multi-million pound debts.

 

Not the highly-paid bankers who are now shouldering the blame for much of this desperate crisis.

 

Not even the superstar footballers whose sky-high salaries are about to hit a downward spiral.

 

Rangers� newly-published club accounts paint a gloomy picture of the finances.

 

But the chairman insists the big spending stops now as Gers seek to cope with these unprecedented times.

 

No fewer than EIGHT first-team stars will be cut adrift this summer.

 

David Weir, Christian Dailly and high-earner Brahim Hemdani are out of contract at the end of the season.

 

The likes of Charlie Adam, Steven Smith and DaMarcus Beasley are likely to be moved on. Andrius Velicka and Graeme Smith are also expected to be casualties of the cash cutbacks.

 

Murray has warned the stars who stay the days of bumper wages may be gone FOREVER.

 

He said: ââ?¬Å?We had far too many players, too big a squad and no safety net in Europe this season.

 

ââ?¬Å?The absence of European competition, together with the economic downturn, has confirmed the size of the squad was neither sustainable from a financial nor football point of view.

 

ââ?¬Å?It is our aim to rationalise the squad to a more manageable level going forward, and integrate the young talent now emerging from Murray Park.

 

ââ?¬Å?Next season our wage bill will be down by between Ã?£4-5million.

 

ââ?¬Å?I would say that within a couple of years it will be a rare commodity in Scotland to have a player on wages beginning with a two.

 

ââ?¬Å?And the vast majority might not even be beginning with a one.ââ?¬Â

 

That is an ominous warning to Ibrox mainstays like Kris Boyd and skipper Barry Ferguson.

 

Both are closing on the final year of their contracts and will soon be due to open negotiations with chief executive Martin Bain.

 

Boyd is unlikely to receive an offer to match the �£17,000-a-week he rejected from Birmingham.

 

Ferguson can expect to be asked to take a mammoth cut on his �£25,000-a-week-plus contract. Murray wants the first-team squad slashed from 28 to 20. The big names will be supplemented by home-grown kids like John Fleck, Jamie Ness and Danny Wilson.

 

After the crushing blow of Kaunas, the chairman has vowed to never again rely so heavily on Euro cash.

 

He added: ââ?¬Å?The situation is unfortunate but we knew this was coming.

 

ââ?¬Å?We have to bring down costs and this financial downturn is a reality check for everyone.

 

ââ?¬Å?If we stick with the business model I talked about in January, which we will, then we will be fine.ââ?¬Â

 

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Gers� increasing debt levels are in stark contrast to the upbeat financial figures unveiled by Celtic last week.

 

The crucial income stream from the Champions League has been vital to the Hoops.

 

So as the Old Firm again battle for the SPL title, the price of success and the cost of failure has never been higher.

 

The golden ticket of direct entry to next seasonââ?¬â?¢s Champions League is worth up to Ã?£15m. He said: ââ?¬Å?We are competing well again in both domestic cups, we are in the final of the Co-op Cup and the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.

 

ââ?¬Å?Savings in operating costs through efficiencies and reduced European expenditure have been partly offset by higher player wage costs and other charges due to last summerââ?¬â?¢s signings.

 

ââ?¬Å?Incorporating the effect of these additions to the squad, less the gain on sale of players, results in an overall decrease of Ã?£5.8m in profit before interest and tax to a net loss of Ã?£2.7m.

 

ââ?¬Å?Due to the increase in the average debt, the interest charge of Ã?£1.4m was Ã?£0.6m higher than the same period last year, resulting in a retained loss after tax of Ã?£3.9m compared to a retained profit of Ã?£2.3m last year.ââ?¬Â

 

The figures, while hardly unexpected, make worrying reading for Gers fans.

 

It�s not quite a case of win-or-bust for Gers in the SPL title chase. But the clock is ticking on some very high-profile stars.

 

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article2280715.ece

[johnnyk 158]

So it'll be out with the costly dross and in with cheaper dross, or even cheaper some youngsters from Murray Park or is that asking too much?

[maineflyer 0]

And with his final act of failure, David Murray confirms there will be only one big club left in Scotland.

 

What always irritates me about his periodic revelations is that after twenty years in the job, David Murray is still apparently discovering what needs to be done.

 

Why is he blaming the economic crisis for the club's ills? Could it be the same reason that Gordon Brown wants everyone to focus on Sir Fred Goodwin? Surely with record season ticket sales in the bag, current finances cannot be down to any wider economic crisis. Forward planning might have to take this into account but he should not be deflecting from his own failure at this time. He is spinning as Murray always spins (lies for want of a better word).

 

What he actually needs to explain to supporters is how there can be such a gulf in financial performance between the two sides of Glasgow. He needs to stop blaming others and start looking at his own shortcomings, they won't be hard to find.

 

But at the heart of our problems lies this culture of deflection and denial. You see it from all sides of this club and it is slowly suffocating the life out of us. It is the culture of David Murray, who fell in love with the big shot limelight and cannot say or do anything that might compromise his place in it.

 

I've been saying for some time that the end game was slowly coming into view. We have the respite of only a few short weeks until the end of this season to enjoy any sense of normality. After that, the hammer is going to fall hard on the world of Rangers and the freefall of Murray's tenure will finally come to earth. You won't recognise this club next season.

 

Just don't let the bastard play politician and blame any economic crisis. This is his inability to manage the club properly and do what other, more able chairmen have been able to do.

[Norris Cole 0]

Can't disagree with anything there MF.

 

It's really starting to get on my tits this myth being constantly peddled by Murray and his pals in the press about Rangers' current woes being a direct result of the global financial downturn. That being the case, why have Celtic not announced they'll be trimming their squad to 20 for next season? Who falls for this line?

 

No, our current financial difficulties are a direct result of Kaunas and Walter pissing millions of pounds we didn't have up a wall.

 

Those who still come to Walter's defence over Kaunas may not be so willing when the disaster-in-waiting that is season 2009/10 unfolds. I feel exactly as I did towards the end of the 2002/03, as it dawned on us all that whether we won the league or not, the following season would be traumatic and there was nothing we could do. You see it's all cycles with Murray (slash and burn indeed), at one time cycles of success. Now, well the man is steadily destroying us.

[gisabeer 409]

All down to the gross missmanagement of our club in the summer.

 

the repecussions of Kaunus will hit us very hard indeed.

[maineflyer 0]

All down to the gross missmanagement of our club in the summer.

 

the repecussions of Kaunus will hit us very hard indeed.

 

I agree with your sentiments but the gross mismanagement started many summers ago. Kaunas was merely the latest installment.

 

There are going to be a lot of very disillusioned Murrayites come next August. Personally, I hope they choke on their precious season tickets.

[gisabeer 409]

I agree with your sentiments but the gross mismanagement started many summers ago. Kaunas was merely the latest installment.

 

There are going to be a lot of very disillusioned Murrayites come next August. Personally, I hope they choke on their precious season tickets.

 

We really should turned in a corner financially last sumer gven the money we made from the Uefa cup run and with the sale of Hutton. Murray said himself we had a very manageble debt. I for one thought for a brief spell that we had finally shaken the monkey off our backs and the club would be looking at a much brighter future.

 

But Smith spent his transfer kitty very unwisely and overestimated how good his squad and tactics were. Then after the defeat we see the mother of all spending sprees to appease the fans.

 

You ask yourself why they couldnt have spent it before we got knock out. Bad judgement on a biblical scale as far as the club is concerned. No thought put into the process at all. Reaction instead of proaction.

 

Kuanus will haunt us for a very long time. Murray is out of options. Selling the club is his plan B and i very much doubt that he has the will power or desire to go through the last 6 years again.

 

And that is our biggest problem of all.

[Zappa 0]

No, our current financial difficulties are a direct result of Kaunas and Walter pissing millions of pounds we didn't have up a wall.

 

Direct result of going out of Europe to Kaunas, yes, but I can't agree that it's Walter's fault at all. Walter & Ally will have had their transfer targets laid out well before that Kaunas disaster (remember how long some of the deals took to seal due to Martin Bain's inadequacy - call it wise or thrifty spending if you like, but I call it something else) & imo it's undoubtedly Martin Bain's fault that we hadn't managed to bring in any more personnel before the Kaunas game, just like it's his fault & SDM's of course, that the spending continued after the exit from Europe. IMO, the spending only continued after we went out to try to keep a very disgruntled support happy, call those signings a wee sweetener if you like. Having said all that, the only summer signing that's been a *COMPLETE DISASTER* is that of Velicka who's done nothing for us, but he was a million quid & obviously an emergency contingency. TBH, we've not been far from needing that contingency either, since Miller & Novo's injury spells practically fell on top of one-another & if we'd seen Boydy get injured, we'd likely have been calling on Velicka to partner big Lafferty & score us some goals. Speaking of Lafferty - the jury is still out on him & whether he was worth what we paid. He IS a first choice international & still very young, so we could yet see that he was well worth the investment. Kenny Miller is an enigma. Personally, I still think he's a cross between a headless chicken & a muppet despite that fact that he's actually surprised me by playing some half decent football at times & knocking in more goals in 6/7 months than he did in the previous several years of his career. Do I think we should have bought him for what we paid? No, but again, he's an international & an experienced international in his case. He's also teamed up remarkably well with Boyd despite the fact that neither of them found the back of the net against Hamilton yesterday. OOO.... who's next? Right, Steven Davis. That lad was worth every penny imo. Has the odd stinker like all players, but he's a quality player & I'm delighted he's a Gers player. Next! Right, Mo Edu. We haven't seen that much of him, but he looks excellent. Another youngster that has TONS of promise, is an international class player & may well prove to be a great signing. Swiftly onto Pedro Mendes. Like Davis, this guy is quality & I'm delighted he's a Rangers player. I'm not 100% happy with the way he's playing alongside Ferguson, but that's another story. Mendes was worth every penny. I'll leave it that. No offense to Bougie, but I think I've made my point, which was that Walter's signings were actually not as bad as a lot of Gers fans have been rattling on about. He's signed more gems than duds from what I can see, so ultimately what I'm saying is that we can't blame Walter Smith for the club's financial situation any more than Murray can blame the supposed 'Credit Crunch'. Phew!

[Zappa 0]

We really should turned in a corner financially last sumer gven the money we made from the Uefa cup run and with the sale of Hutton. Murray said himself we had a very manageble debt. I for one thought for a brief spell that we had finally shaken the monkey off our backs and the club would be looking at a much brighter future.

 

But Smith spent his transfer kitty very unwisely and overestimated how good his squad and tactics were. Then after the defeat we see the mother of all spending sprees to appease the fans.

 

You ask yourself why they couldnt have spent it before we got knock out. Bad judgement on a biblical scale as far as the club is concerned. No thought put into the process at all. Reaction instead of proaction.

 

Kuanus will haunt us for a very long time. Murray is out of options. Selling the club is his plan B and i very much doubt that he has the will power or desire to go through the last 6 years again.

 

And that is our biggest problem of all.

 

I don't agree that Smith spent his transfer kitty unwisely at all as I laboured over above. As much as it would be nice to pin the overspending on Martin Bain, the buck stops with David Murray, because even if Bain had a free hand to continue with the negotiations he had been F**king around with for months after we went out of Europe, Murray should have called him into the office & told him to cancel all negotiations that were possible to cancel & stop spending immediately. If Bain uttered a single 'but', Murray should have said "Martin do what I'm telling you NOW, then go and get on with whatever the hell else I'm paying you to do. Close the door on your way out & ask Walter to come up for a word". It's Murray's fault that we continued spending, but as MF stated, he just won't admit it. Like so many other people of his ilk, he doesn't admit mistakes & most certainly doesn't apologise for them. That's seen as a sign of weakness you see!!

[Norris Cole 0]

Direct result of going out of Europe to Kaunas, yes, but I can't agree that it's Walter's fault at all.

 

While I blame Murray for his disastrous decision to leave transfer business until after Kaunas, ultimately it was Walter who played Dailly, McCulloch and Adam in midfield and played for the draw in Kaunas, which got us into this sorry mess.

 

I get the feeling some fans just buried Kaunas in the recesses of their minds and hoped it would go away. When people said there would be repercussions, they weren't just saying it for a headline.

 

IMO, the spending only continued after we went out to try to keep a very disgruntled support happy, call those signings a wee sweetener if you like.

 

I'd agree with that, however...

 

the only summer signing that's been a *COMPLETE DISASTER* is that of Velicka

 

I would suggest that, given the financial situation wasn't great anyway, to spend �£2.6m on Edu and get 4 starts in return is a pretty dreadful bit of business as it stands.

 

While he was reckless in releasing funds we didn't have on what was essentially a post-Kaunas PR exercise, it's not Murray who went out and spotted the list of players you mention. Would I be right in thinking Arsene Wenger has in the past refused offers of transfer cash from his chairman because what he sees on the market is no better than his current regulars?

 

we can't blame Walter Smith for the club's financial situation any more than Murray can blame the supposed 'Credit Crunch'. Phew!

 

I blame them both. They're two peas in a pod when it comes to the decline of our club.