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ThatNaggerEduStoleMyBike

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Everything posted by ThatNaggerEduStoleMyBike

  1. Hi all, I've watched this forum for a while, but this is my first post, basically just want to point out how I think scottish football (and particularly Rangers) could be turned around. In no particular order, these are some of the reasons for our failures handsome of the changes I would make. Referees I accept as much as anyone that referees make honest mistakes and I don't think anything can be done about that, nor do I ever blame them for our defeats. HOWEVER, the one thing that really annoys me is that whenever I watch a European game involving Rangers on tele it is almost certain that at some point in the match the commentator will say: "You won't get away with that in Europe". So why is it that referees from 50 or so other countries can consistently rule that tackles from behind and high studs are dangerous (as is stated in the rulebook), yet our referees have to be different. It is because our referees are wrong. Their mentality has to be changed, they should be sent to other European countries to learn how to referee proper football matches in my opinion. I don't think their leniency adds anything to the game as a spectacle, it just means that players like Ian Black can run around assaulting people and be hailed as heroes and get away with it far to often. Imagine Black in La Liga, he would probably be almost permanently banned. I just feel that if our referees were in line with the rest of Europe then it would take less adjustment from our teams when they play European ties. Luck Some people have argued that we were unlucky not to be in the Europa or Champions League this year. However, in my opinion, you must look and see that Rangers failed against Maribor and Malmo (4 games) and Celtic have recently failed against Sion, Braga and Utrecht (6 games), so it is very hard to say that we were unlucky as a nation in all 10 games. So I just want to rule this out basically. Money This is something else that cannot be used as an excuse. According to Transfermarkt.co.uk: Rangers squad is worth: 61.275.000€ Celtic squad is worth: 57.400.000€ Malmo: 18.350.000€ Maribor: 9.825.000€ Sion: 20.350.000€ Braga: 60.500.000€ Utrecht: 23.450.000€ Now while I certainly believe that some of the player valuations for Rangers are on the high (very in some cases) side, I believe that this overvaluation would be consistent across the board. It is after all a German website so I don't see why they would particularly overvalue the SPL if not other leagues. So this shows us that these are not teams that have vastly superior resources when compared to ourselves or Celtic, and are (minus Braga) teams that we should really not have any problem with. So money is absolutely not an excuse, and saying that it is the reason we cannot compete is just ignorant. Pitches Big problem. The pitches in Scotland are all too often simply awful, look atfir park last season. You could put Brazil and Spain against each other on that park and you'd still wouldn't get a good game, so why would you expect one with two SPL sides. I strongly believe that if the pitches are poor in our top league, then our football cannot progress. People can blame the weather or whatever they like, but we are not the only country with extreme weather. I believe that if a teams pitch is in an unreasonable condition, then the game should not be player, the other team awarded and 3 - 0 victory, and the offending club must pay compensation and a fine. If a team consistently cannot keep the pitch in order, then they have no place in the top league, and should be relegated. Artificial pitches are another solution that should be considered, I remember watching Spartak Moscow against Ajax in the Europa League last year and it was a very fast and entertaining game, so it genuinely would improve quality, even if some people don't like it. Personally, I think it must be difficult for a manager to have to sign a player who can technically compete with other European sides, but then have to ask him to consistently punt it long in the SPL because the pitches are sub-standard, you could genuinely see a player like Messi failing to make an impact in to many SPL games, which is criminal. This leads me on to, The players In Scotland physical and mental attributes are generally valued too highly, and technical attributes are overlooked. Here are Rangers most significant recent signings: Dorin Goian: £500,000. Good player in my opinion, but a tall, strong, unforgiving centre half, not someone who can really build from the back (although much less wasteful than Weir) Juan Manuel Ortiz: £500,000. I don't like him, and don't think he will ever make, but that is besides the point. He was bought as a tough tackling combative midfielder, despite all the technical ability that exists within Spain. Kyle Bartley: Loan. See Goian, also fast, athletic player. Lee Wallace: £2,000,000. Good player, I like the idea of an attacking full back and does seem to be able to put in good crosses, that's a for me. Maurice Edu: £2,000,000. This hasn't worked out, but even if it did, he was only ever an athletic and apparently tough tackling player. Steven Davis: £3/4,000,000. , good technical player. Steven Naismith: £1,000,000. Hard worker, fast, committed, good player. However, often doesn't strike the ball cleanly, and his passing can be very suspect at times. Nikica Jelavić: £4,000,000. Very good player , but I must just ask, would we have bought him if he was 3" shorter? Kyle Lafferty: £3/4,000,000. Well, he is committed, runs about a lot, puts in a lot of effort, strong, tall, fast. Technically? Very suspect I am afraid. James Beattie: £2,200,000. Awful player for us, another strong (physically) player, and one who was never anything else. So I realise I may have forgotten some players, but you can see the pattern that has developed, a signing policy which focuses on strength, and other physical attributes, while neglecting the all important technical side of the game. This is why I think we are so often outplayed by lesser European sides. Poor coaching of youth John Fleck. At 15 he was apparent phoned by Sir Alex Ferguson who wanted him to join Manchester United. At 16 he burst into our first team and for several games was our main attacking threat. So I find it hard to see this guy from the point of view of people who say he just is not talented. He is now 20, and his career has completely stagnated, if not been ruined already (hopefully not). If you look at his performances at 16, he should be worth £20 million or so by now, but he is not, and while I realise that not every wonder kid makes it to the big time, I do believe that the coaches have to take some of this blame. I mean, we often hear in the papers about how hard he works in training, so why is he not improving? Look at other players, McMillan for example, he has only just made his first team debut at 23, and while we all agree that he looks very competent, I need to ask why he was not given game time earlier in his career. I would find it hard to believe he has suddenly improved tenfold in the last year alone, so why was he never brought on at the end of games when we were winning comfortably, so that he could show what he could do. It used to annoy me so much when we were winning by 3 or 4 goals and Walter would sub on Diouf and McCulloch and leave some of the young lads on the bench. What does that do to help the club in the long run. Nothing. The managers I respect Ally McCoist as much as almost any manager, he is undoubtably a Rangers legend, and I don't doubt that he can win us the league this year. However, as much as it pains me to say this, I don't think he is the man to take this football club forward. Nor is Neil Lennon for Celtic for that matter, but I don't care so much about that. The problem is that I believe our club needs major changes in the way it is run, and Ally is so engrained in the fabric of the club that he cannot take that step back and change it, when all he knows is Rangers in it's current form. If you look at Scottish managers in general, they tend to be more of the motivational type (suited to doing a decent job with limited players), lacking in tactical nous, obviously exceptions exist, Owen Coyle, is one who I respect tactically. Even looking at the most successful modern Scottish manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, he has had his teams found out tactically in Europe on several occasions, and his major European success recently came when Carlos Quiroz was was his assistant, and I am told that he is credited with changing the whole tactical outlook of the club behind the scenes. So, I believe that we must get in a TOP manager, I would look to Spain or the Netherlands, and we must give this man AT LEAST a 5-year contract and hour it. Give him the power to shape the club from top to bottom, and run it how he likes. Obviously I think it would be essential to go for someone who is proven at the top level, even if they would normally be out of our wage bracket, I think it is necessary for the future of the club. Maybe the challenge and power given with the job would help entice someone proven. An example of someone to try to hire would be Frank Rijkaard, currently manager of Saudi Arabia, it is clear he is open to challenges outside of the top european clubs, even if we can't offer him his current wage. Finally, you may make the argument that Paul Le Guen tried to implement a european style of management and it failed, so it will fail again, but I think that his problem was that he needed time to change the club, and people like Boyd and Ferguson were getting in his way, he was never going to succeed in 6 months. The players' mentalities are as important as the managers, and the team needs to have this drilled into it from youth level, they need to become tactically aware and able to understand the systems. Basically, what I am trying to say is that, someone who saw Kris Boyd in our dressing room and told him to get on the treadmill and off the fried chicken and Buckfast was powerless, instead this is an idea that needs to be drilled into the 15 year old Kris Boyds so that they never let themselves become a fat bastard like him, and understand how to be professional, and although this philosophy would take time to succeed, I truly believe that if we can successfully become "European" as a team, then we could continually dominate the SPL and Celtic, and challenge at decent level in Europe. I know this is a very long post, so I thank you for reading it all (if you actually have) and constructive criticism is welcome.
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