We will get in more players - Smith

[FlippinEck 3,701]

WALTER SMITH today vowed to bring in the new faces he needs to bolster Rangers' squad and ease his injury woes.

The Ibrox gaffer has pulled the plug on a move for Watford's giant centre-back Danny Shittu after refusing to meet the Nigerian's wage demands.

And reports today claimed he has also missed out on Sporting Lisbon's Brazilian defender Anderson Polga after he signed new three-year deal with the Portuguese club.

But Smith has quickly shifted his attention to other centre-back options. And he is also moving on midfield targets after the loss of skipper Barry Ferguson until the end of October with an ankle problem.

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The Gers boss is well aware that his squad is light with Chris Burke and Steven Naismith also out with long-term injuries.

Steven Smith has an ankle knock, new signing Kyle Lafferty hurt his back in training yesterday and Charlie Adam and DaMarcus Beasley limped out of last night's 1-0 win over SC Preussen with injury problems.

But Beasley - who left the stadium with an ice pack on his hamstring - is being viewed as the only one that could be problematic.

However, these issues, as well as the gaps in his group, are very much at the forefront of Smith's thoughts.

He had hoped to bring Shittu in, and a £1.5m offer was accepted on Friday night by Watford. But the player's terms - he was believed to be looking for in the region of £20,000 a week -wrecked the deal.

"That one appears to be over as there are no indications the personal terms asked for will change from their side," Smith said today.

"But we have other players in mind and we know what is required. We've got plans and we will try to put them into place.

"The bottom line is we are looking for the right types, long term options, and I don't want to just bring players in unless they are better than what we have.

"Negotiations were ongoing for a bit with Shittu. It has nothing to do with a gulf in wages (between the Championship and the SPL), it was just a situation where he wanted more than we were prepared to pay.

Neil Alexander could be the subject of a £1m bid from West Ham. The keeper will be relegated to back-up as Allan McGregor is close to full fitness now.

And Rangers would consider doing business on the player they signed in January from Ipswich for a nominal fee - but only if Smith can find a replacement.

Andrius Velicka will also join his new team-mates tonight after fulfilling his obligations with Viking Stavanger. He could play on Wednesday night against Sportfreunde Lotte, but fellow new arrival Lafferty, Adam and Beasley are all likely to be out.

Smith added."We are not sure yet on the other injuries, but we hope they are not too bad. DaMarcus's is the more serious one but the rest are just blisters and kicks."

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/displa...lster_blues.php

Could we really have been in for polga?

[agr9 0]

The bottom line is we are looking for the right types, long term options, and I don't want to just bring players in unless they are better than what we have.

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How many times have we heard that shite?

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,638]

WALTER SMITH today vowed to bring in the new faces he needs to bolster Rangers' squad and ease his injury woes.

The Ibrox gaffer has pulled the plug on a move for Watford's giant centre-back Danny Shittu after refusing to meet the Nigerian's wage demands.

And reports today claimed he has also missed out on Sporting Lisbon's Brazilian defender Anderson Polga after he signed new three-year deal with the Portuguese club.

But Smith has quickly shifted his attention to other centre-back options. And he is also moving on midfield targets after the loss of skipper Barry Ferguson until the end of October with an ankle problem.

advertisement

The Gers boss is well aware that his squad is light with Chris Burke and Steven Naismith also out with long-term injuries.

Steven Smith has an ankle knock, new signing Kyle Lafferty hurt his back in training yesterday and Charlie Adam and DaMarcus Beasley limped out of last night's 1-0 win over SC Preussen with injury problems.

But Beasley - who left the stadium with an ice pack on his hamstring - is being viewed as the only one that could be problematic.

However, these issues, as well as the gaps in his group, are very much at the forefront of Smith's thoughts.

He had hoped to bring Shittu in, and a £1.5m offer was accepted on Friday night by Watford. But the player's terms - he was believed to be looking for in the region of £20,000 a week -wrecked the deal.

"That one appears to be over as there are no indications the personal terms asked for will change from their side," Smith said today.

"But we have other players in mind and we know what is required. We've got plans and we will try to put them into place.

"The bottom line is we are looking for the right types, long term options, and I don't want to just bring players in unless they are better than what we have.

"Negotiations were ongoing for a bit with Shittu. It has nothing to do with a gulf in wages (between the Championship and the SPL), it was just a situation where he wanted more than we were prepared to pay.

Neil Alexander could be the subject of a £1m bid from West Ham. The keeper will be relegated to back-up as Allan McGregor is close to full fitness now.

And Rangers would consider doing business on the player they signed in January from Ipswich for a nominal fee - but only if Smith can find a replacement.

Andrius Velicka will also join his new team-mates tonight after fulfilling his obligations with Viking Stavanger. He could play on Wednesday night against Sportfreunde Lotte, but fellow new arrival Lafferty, Adam and Beasley are all likely to be out.

Smith added."We are not sure yet on the other injuries, but we hope they are not too bad. DaMarcus's is the more serious one but the rest are just blisters and kicks."

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/displa...lster_blues.php

Could we really have been in for polga?

It's even lighter with him in the fcukin squad !

[J_RFC87 761]

It has nothing to do with a gulf in wages (between the Championship and the SPL), it was just a situation where he wanted more than we were prepared to pay.

That is a gulf in Championship/SPL wages

[Boab 73]

There are many many players who are better than 'what we have'.

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

There are many many players who are better than 'what we have'.

Can we or will we pay for them though? Here's hoping Wattie can find another couple of Cuellar types/quality from somewhere.

[Boab 73]

There are many many players who are better than 'what we have'.

Can we or will we pay for them though? Here's hoping Wattie can find another couple of Cuellar types/quality from somewhere.

There are cheap good players, but we tend to buy cheap bad players.

[outlaw69uk 123]

It has nothing to do with a gulf in wages (between the Championship and the SPL), it was just a situation where he wanted more than we were prepared to pay.

That is a gulf in Championship/SPL wages

The gulf is reality mate, in that there is a gulf between what players in England THINK they are worth (both wages and transfer price) and, what they are ACTUALLY worth in the real world! easy as that.

And Polga, I dont see why not, am sure the naysayers will say is rubbish, but, its more likely that these kind of deals are happening, and, the press dont know about it, which for me is the best way to do business

[rfc_no1fan 13]

Anderson Polga

Walter Smith telling jokes now?

He may have looked at him on tv and been made aware of him when we played Sporting, but there was absolutely no chance in us ever signing him.

[outlaw69uk 123]

Anderson Polga

Walter Smith telling jokes now?

He may have looked at him on tv and been made aware of him when we played Sporting, but there was absolutely no chance in us ever signing him.

why not?

If you dont ask and all that

[Gaffbear 4,096]

Why does Broadfoot and Dailly no get injured....Why Naismith,Beasley and Ma Baw.

For once i agree with Bain and Murray though.Shittu ain't worth 20k a week .

But we need to get our finger out and get at least 4 quality players in before the Champions league cos Kaunas may just surprise us if we haven't the personel to beat them.

[robroy72 0]

Only way Shittu would have been worth those kind of wages was if he was on a bosman ... factor in a 1.5 million quid transfer fee, and its way too much for him.

[gary2006 123]

just like the last couple of seasons wev'e got a list miss the top names due to money and end up with the cheapest option

[rfc_no1fan 13]

We will continue to penny pinch and play 2nd fiddle to the scum across the City

[Frankie 505]

We will continue to penny pinch and play 2nd fiddle to the scum across the City

We're not penny pinching as much as they are at the moment...

[rfc_no1fan 13]

We will continue to penny pinch and play 2nd fiddle to the scum across the City

We're not penny pinching as much as they are at the moment...

Yeah, but you dont hear them getting offers accepted for players and then not agreeing personal terms.

or

Refusing to pay an extra 500k

We need to sign more quality (Especially now that Barry is out) as we have Champions league qualifers coming up soon. They are in a better position at this current time, they can sit tight and wait for the right player and also try out different things in pre season, as they have around 1 month till their first competitve game

[trueblue1872 2]

20K a week for shittu was a shocking amount!!!! He can GTF.

Still need a CH, RB, RW, AMF. Still need CF but by the looks of it WS has bought enough crap up there for next season.

[Muff 245]

If we couldn't afford Shittu then there was no way we were going to be able to afford both Polga's wages and transfer fee.

We hear the same every season and end up dissapointed. For once Rangers, just fukn do it and get the quality required in!

[KingOfTheWing 0]

Could we not afford Shittu's wages or were we unwilling to pay him what he wanted?

[rfc_no1fan 13]

If we couldn't afford Shittu then there was no way we were going to be able to afford both Polga's wages and transfer fee.

We hear the same every season and end up dissapointed. For once Rangers, just fukn do it and get the quality required in!

PR stunt.

Trying to get the fans off his back by name dropping.

Happens every year, we somehow manage to miss out on quality players after "Pushing the boat out" and then spent pennies on SPL dross and the money goes missing.

[disgruntled_bear 157]

If we couldn't afford Shittu then there was no way we were going to be able to afford both Polga's wages and transfer fee.

We hear the same every season and end up dissapointed. For once Rangers, just fukn do it and get the quality required in!

PR stunt.

Trying to get the fans off his back by name dropping.

Happens every year, we somehow manage to miss out on quality players after "Pushing the boat out" and then spent pennies on SPL dross and the money goes missing.

Spot on

We had no chance of signing Polga

[OlegKuznetsov 10,816]

Oh dear. It's all gone negative and irrational.

We offered Shittu more than he was on in the Championship, but he wanted more still. I don't think he's worth 20k a week, so I think we've done a good thing in not meeting such demands.

And why would we want to buy bad players as suggested? Is Walter working for Liewell or supposed to be a closet tim?

I also don't think we need 4 or 5 world class players, though that would be nice.

2 or 3 quality players will do.

[KingOfTheWing 0]

If we couldn't afford Shittu then there was no way we were going to be able to afford both Polga's wages and transfer fee.

We hear the same every season and end up dissapointed. For once Rangers, just fukn do it and get the quality required in!

PR stunt.

Trying to get the fans off his back by name dropping.

Happens every year, we somehow manage to miss out on quality players after "Pushing the boat out" and then spent pennies on SPL dross and the money goes missing.

I doubt this applies to Shittu.

[outlaw69uk 123]

If we couldn't afford Shittu then there was no way we were going to be able to afford both Polga's wages and transfer fee.

We hear the same every season and end up dissapointed. For once Rangers, just fukn do it and get the quality required in!

So, do you reckon he is worth £20k a week? potentially more than Carlos is on?

or, does forking out too much for a player (£4mil for Davis) and paying them too much wages (£20k for Shittu) make the quality buys?

I think some perspective is required here somewhere

[OlegKuznetsov 10,816]

If we couldn't afford Shittu then there was no way we were going to be able to afford both Polga's wages and transfer fee.

We hear the same every season and end up dissapointed. For once Rangers, just fukn do it and get the quality required in!

So, do you reckon he is worth £20k a week? potentially more than Carlos is on?

or, does forking out too much for a player (£4mil for Davis) and paying them too much wages (£20k for Shittu) make the quality buys?

I think some perspective is required here somewhere