Reformation Bear

The optimism is commendable. From what I read of remarks from some of the players last week they think so too. For that to become more real than it appears today after recent results the transformation in the team would, imo, have to be nothing short of astounding since they are managing to do all they can to spin downwards into more and more mediocrity. Can such a transformation happen? Yes of course it can if the right leadership is applied. And their lies the rub - can some effective football management be brought to bear to rescue a failing squad. Not, I think, under Murty aided by his invisible assistant. A couple of really good wins and a stellar OF performance would help though.

One point about a tweet like that from a shareholder is whether it becomes just an isolated one-off message fired for some personal reason or other or whether there are the beginnings of enough other shareholders who, behind the scenes, or in due course more publicly start to put pressure on King and the Board to put up (find) the necessary levels of investment to shift us out of this shambles or sell out and get out, and maybe even muster enough support to call an EGM.

Wonder why its all a bit hugger mugger. Why keep it secret. Does the special adviser require anonymity to protect his (or maybe its her) reputation if things continue to fail? Wise person. How do we know its not Mike Ashley who is the secret adviser passing on advice on how to run Rangers?

Harvey, the invisible 6ft rabbit. Given to him by the invisible Board.

I'm clutching at straws here but its only because it seems to me quite possible the Board will continue to take an age to appoint a DOF and Head Coach. Murty is clearly out of his depth, out of his experience zone and in a world where he is patently not able to bring about an improvement in results. The straw I'm clutching at is maybe Murty should be returned to his development job for the time being and Wallace takes over the first team squad as player / caretaker manager. I think he has his coaching certificates. In truth he might not be much better than Murty but he probably has a better understanding of the first team squad and therefore better informed on what might work to bring about some improvement pending the arrival of the DOF / Head Coach cavalry. I know its clutching at straws but surely we can't continue along with Murty struggling to get to grips with what is clearly a job way beyond him.

The spirit of victory is what we need. A manager that knows how to quickly instil and maintain winning mentality is needed. A Chairman that knows how to lead effectively from the front is also needed.

This whole DOF and Head Coach appointment process seems to be just drifting along. Maybe its not unusual for clubs to take this amount of time but it feels right now like its taking too long and as each game goes by a spiral of decline is accelerating and the season heads towards being a complete shambles. I begin to wonder if part of the delay is 'real world' reality being put to Robertson and Dickson (and King) by those they are interviewing. By that I mean the Club having one view of what they are prepared to offer as a package to a DOF and Head Coach, and the candidates having a very different view of what they'd be prepared to accept for taking on what is increasingly becoming a life boat rescue. Add to that assurances they may want about the size of a transfer kitty and bingo - you get such a wide difference between what can be afforded for quality candidates and the amount (of the overall package of pay and transfer kitty) that the candidates think is fair and reasonable in the circumstances. That gap then results in delay while Robertson, Dickson, King and the Board absorb their dose of real world reality check. Outcome? More delay while they seek to nickel and dime their preferred candidates down in terms of the package on offer and the transfer kitty assurance; or drop down some levels and shop in more bargain basement territory; or abort the idea of paying for 2 and go back to just appointing a manager because that's all that can be afforded. With the spiral of bad results continuing and Murty clearly out of his depth and squad confidence shot to bits and with nobody having any clue about how to reverse this in short time the question then becomes what if STs don't hold up for next season and King can't afford to pay for a DOF and Head Coach package.......... But then again have Robertson, Dickson, King and the Board found themselves in a corner where they can't afford not to appoint patently experienced and expert DOF and Head Coach and with sufficient assurances to them about the size of the transfer kitty they will have for rebuilding the team.

It's a long drive back from Inverness. I bet there was a lively and frank discussion on that team bus. Well, you'd think there should be since those sorts of frank discussions have been happening so very often this season, the last one being after the Dundee game last week. Frank discussion is what they do well under Warburton and now under Murty. Pity league points aren't awarded for it. But wait. I forgot. Murty made it clear this week that he doesn't operate on a raised voice basis. Following on from Warburton who only seems to have got to raised voices level in the Barton episode before fleeing to the disciplinary rule book to get rid of the argumentative dissenter. So the journey back is more likely to have been conversations in measured terms in hushed whispers and with plenty of the squad tuned out of that and with earplugs in listening to their favourite music. Its still a long journey back. And discussions or not plenty of time for each and every individual player to reflect again their performance. Not that refection of that sort this season so far has made one iota of a positive difference. The team urgently needs a more experienced, better qualified, more expert manager to roust them out of their comfort zones sirens blaring and galvanising them into lifting their game for the pride of playing for Rangers.

I agree there will be a need to get strong ST sales going when the time comes. It may be an easier job if we can get enough confidence in whoever is appointed DOF and Head Coach that they are likely to be able to produce a much improved and much more competitive side next season.. Part of that is bound to be how much money they will have for team rebuilding. Its then that the 'what if' on ST sales might be very relevant and I guess it will start to beg some questions. For instance....... if all or most of the transfer budget is contingent on a certain level of ST sales ......what happens if that level is not reached? Will King and the other investors underwrite the transfer budget? Would the transfer pot cloth have to be cut to fit around whatever volume of STs are sold? Presumably in their interviews with DOF & Head Coach candidates those they are interviewing will be looking for certain - maybe even binding - assurances on how much money will be available to spend on rebuilding the squad before they sign up? Beyond that though I begin to wonder by what volume would ST sales need to fall in order to create a wider and bigger crisis. What I mean by that is what is the minimum number of STs that would need to be sold which, when added to whatever soft loans or other investment is generated for next season plus bankable (contractually certain) commercial revenues would be needed just to remain viable as a going concern? The 64million dollar question forming in my mind is by what volume of fall in ST sales would generate a fundamental financial crisis that could not be overcome by further soft loans or by some other form of investment coming to the rescue? Is continuing next season shaping up to be dependent on ST sales largely holding up to levels sold this season and more shares being issued ie funding a team rebuild for next season requires Supporters to renew their STs at or around current levels and for enough of the Support in general to buy more shares that are offered? A decline continuing into financial viability territory is the last place we want to be again. If it gets to that point, or if it even starts to point towards getting to that point then imo King and the Board must surely be under pressure to step aside. They would have presided over an incompetence of directorship and management of entirely their own making and their credibility would be shredded beyond repair.

Consider also the other forms of payments that have been made: We've paid in ST money - big time - for this shambles of a season We've paid in terms of gate receipts on match days at Ibrox and for away game, We've paid in terms of enduring shit performances and results in the SPFL under Warburton and now Murty We've paid in terms of patience and perseverance in working from Div 3 and now yet again in this shambles of a season under King's chairmanship and under Warburton's and Murty's management of the squad. We've paid in terms of enduring an increasingly incompetent Board handling of the removal of Warburton, Weir and McP; their absurd appointment of Murty as caretaker; their plodding efforts to find a DOF and Head Coach while the team sinks into a deeper shambles We've paid to endure the season turn into a shambles We've paid to see zero core of a team being developed that is capable of mounting a credible title challenge We've paid to see zero meaningful progress in developing a title winning team. We've paid a lot, and continue to pay............and what we get from King, Robertson, Dickson, the Board, Murty and the squad is most definitely not what a Loyal Support deserves. Its time for effective action by the Board to put things right, or the time arrives soon for them to get out of the way and see if others are prepared to take over ownership of the Club.

Its very difficult to see how ST sales will hold up in the face of what is turning into free fall decline. It seems to me it would take absolutely stellar appointments of DOF and Head Coach and a very decent injection of money for transfer funds to try to instil some confidence in ST holders to renew for next season. And if STs fall markedly then where does the money come from for next season? In which case the risk of even further decline slides ever closer.

Quote from Murty this evening after the game (see Rangers website for full details) "I have no doubt the world and their dog will be writing things about us and sticking the boot in, and they are more than welcome to. But we can’t afford to listen to the noise outside – we have to make sure when we get to Wednesday we are round again, we’re making sure we’re sticking together and we go out onto the football pitch ready to go.” Looks like a siege mentality has set it. Waggons circled. Trenches dug. 'World is against us'. He wants them to be ready to go again on Wednesday. That'd be a tall task even for a very experienced manager never mind a rookie a few weeks into being thrown in at the deep end with the shit mess left behind by Warburton. Look at what he says on the Rangers website though. As far as I can see - abeit in a bit of a rage - not any shred of apology to the Support who travelled to watch the game or to the Support in general about yet another dismal failing. But go ahead Graeme and circle waggons and block out the external noise. Maybe it will be different on Weds.

Wonder if he has the stomach to continue as caretaker? There is only so much stress a person can take who is plainly a novice, plainly insufficiently experienced, plainly out of his depth. Its shocking really that Robertson, Dickson and King have shoehorned him into a caretaker role. More shocking that they did not appoint - or were not capable of appointing - a credible interim manager as soon as Warburton left. It would be no shock whatsoever if this became too much for Murty and he either asks to return to his development role or leaves. At this rate of knots of abysmal performances he could find himself in a very stressful place after the OF game, something Robertson, Dickson, King and the Board should be mindful of in letting this clearly inappropriate caretaker manager continue too much longer. Their action in doing so would, it seems to me, be one of sheer recklessness.

It is time, probably beyond time in fact, that King got a grip and provided the sort of leadership that any competent Chairman should be providing. A competent, experienced interim manager must be appointed immediately to replace Murty who should never have been asked to take this on in the first place. As for DOF and Head Coach appointments. They'd best be stellar appointments because the recovery work to be done here is huge. Thing is though, with every passing game I wonder how many prospective DOFs and Head Coaches are saying thanks for contacting me but no thanks unless you can give me £xxM to bring about the sort of change you want to see. King, Robertson, Dickson and the Board are creating the image of a being a clueless Board, a Board of incompetents who are play acting at the serious and responsible job of being the entrusted guardians at Rangers. Why should anyone be having any worthwhile measure of confidence in any of them? They are lost, hiding from the reality of a season spiralling into shambles, lacking any urgency in sorting the mess out, and lacking the quality of leadership the Support deserve. Leadership and positive action is needed. Fast.

He's caretaking a team that is beyond his influence and free fall out of control on performance. No exceptions. King and the Board are guilty of gross incompetence in letting him perform a caretaker role. They have not got a clue. Not a clue.

They've written this season off and are just sitting there riding the games out and hoping against hope that a DOF and head coach can bring about a massive transformation for next season. The Board is clueless. Worse than that they don't seem to care.

There can be no surprise in what we are seeing. This is a team out of control, in free fall, not being managed, not being led, with no fight and no heart. Its as far from being a proper Rangers team as is possible. King, Robertson, Dickson and the Board are guilty - absolutely guilty - of incompetence in allowing this shambles to evolve with no effective intervention to put matters right. Murty never was and never will be a suitable caretaker. He will become the fall guy for the Board, if he is not already that. King is Chairman of a shambles. An unmitigated shambles.

Dark territory. The thing is though, pundits aside, the way the team is being allowed to drift into what risks becoming free fall poor form the team, the caretaker, King and the Board risk becoming the laughing stock of the Support. The point being that mounting frustration and mounting anger at the unacceptable performances produce a reaction where the Support just laughs at any efforts by the caretaker, the team and the Board. They risk becoming an unmitigated joke. Seriously.

There is little doubt in my mind King and the Board are hanging Murty out to dry, to be a fire break between the team and the Board for the unfolding catastrophe of a season. Anything to try to keep the heat from King, Robertson, Dickson and the other Directors. Murty never was and never will be a suitable caretaker for the first team. That's not his fault. Its the fault of those who shoehorned him into this position. With less and less shadow of doubt King, Robertson, Dickson and the Board have already sacrificed this season and are just letting it play out. In doing so the first team squad is being humiliated week after week after week with weak, inexperienced, ineffective management (and that stretches back into Warburton's time). The team is, imo, a disgrace to the name of Rangers. But King, Robertson, Dickson and the Board are, imo, becoming an even bigger disgrace for allowing Rangers to drift into a team that is far less than even mediocre. The team has no effective leader, no effective manager, no effective coach, no fight, no pride in the jersey, full of hot air frank discussion but so far short of being a recognisable Rangers team as to be invisible. And King and the Board are seemingly content to let this happen. To a man they are an abject shambles.

Those how know, know. Those who don't know don't matter. The thing is I don't really know, and I've not got that much confidence, that messrs Robertson and Dickson know - really know - what to do to select the very best DOF and very best head coach that Rangers needs and can afford. I've not really got much confidence that when they do eventually get around to making their recommendations to King and the Board that the Board itself knows - really knows - what it should take to get Rangers back to the very top and whether the recommended choices are the best available to do the job. I suppose judgement on the quality of work achieved by Robertson, Dickson, King and the Board in making DOF and head coach appointments will be informed much more fully when we see (eventually) who they appoint. Sure the appointments are bound to disappoint some. Others may be very encouraged. And yet others open minded to see how it starts to turn out. That mix of reactions is almost inevitable. Meanwhile we wait. And wait. And wait. The Board has clearly taken to heart the Warburton and Weir messages of needing to be patient and to persevere and are forcing the same on the Support. But the season progresses. Another 3 points are up for grabs at Inverness tonight. If points are dropped there is a risk is we move closer to a dog fight for 3rd / 4th place. And there's the rub about whether Robertson, Dickson, King and the Board really know. They're letting a rookie caretaker continue without any support from anyone more experienced / expert who knows a thing or 10 about managing a football team of the stature of Rangers. Murty won't raise his voice (he's said so this week), he continues to rely on the Warburton mr nice guy approach to letting the players have frank discussions. But we've seen loads of examples of this from Warburton's style of management with the self same squad. It didn't work for Warburton with this squad and there is no reason this will work for Murty. Those that don't know don't matter. That can be true up to a point but not in this case. If they (Robertson, Dickson, King and the Board) don't know - really don't know - what its going to take to attract the best quality affordable DOF and Head Coach and provide them with enough transfer money to do a proper job - and quickly - then that not knowing does matter. It matters because it risks yet more failing, yet more disappointment and an even longer wait for 55. It matters because it would call into further questioning their competence and ability to make the right choices for the Club at the right time and to generate funding that backs these choices up with sufficient transfer funds to make a real difference quickly. The proof of the DOF and Head Coach pudding will be in the eating so to speak - ie the quality, experience and expertise of the DOF and Head Coach selected and the confidence they generate that they are winners and will restore a title-winning mentality to Rangers. The current proof of the pudding until these appointments are made is that the Board has seen fit to trust the management and leadership of the team to someone who plainly, and by his own admission, does not have the experience, expertise or know-how to manage a top flight football team never mind manage Rangers in a very difficult period that would be a huge challenge to even the most experienced of managers. That does not look to me much like a Board that knows what it is really doing. It looks more like a Board that made a panicked emergency appointment and has done nothing of any constructive note to bolster Murty by putting someone with more experience alongside him or to replace him with a better qualified interim manager. They've placed too much responsibility on Murty and arguably are using him as a fire break to shield them from direct heat while they potter about behind the scenes trying to find a DOF and Head Coach that will take the jobs. BTW it's not Murty's fault he finds himself in this position.

Looking through the last couple of dozen posts it looks like the rumour mill is drying up. Nothing much seems to be happening. The Club are not saying anything, No hints or whispers of imminent signings or even of candidates being interviewed. Feels a bit like the whole process of finding a suitable interim manager to replace Murty has never even got going and was probably never going to get going if all the attention is on a longer term head coach and DOF. Which may be likely to mean the Board is prepared to write this season off and even write off the requirement to get EL football. Why? Because leaving a kindergarten novice of a caretaker manager in charge risks losing points at a time of the season where you just run out of enough games to create the sort of transformation needed in the team. Murty is not prepared to raise his voice (see his interview on the Rangers website) but is happy that the team has had frank discussions among themselves about performances not being good enough. This is simply following the Warburton school of mr nice guy way of management. We'd heard (twice) that there had been sharp exchanges of views before OF games and we've heard plenty of times this season of post-match dressing room 'discussions' and the royal 'we as a group' take the blame sort of stuff. No SAF-style hairdryer management from the Warburton / Murty brand of people management when perhaps some good old fashioned autocratic boss-type 'now get this you fucking dozy lot' might be a damn sight more effective. So it seems to me more than possible that King and the Board have already let this season go and are just looking to install their longer term head coach and DOF as the beacons of hope for next season. ........and the beacons of hope that those appointed will be convincing enough to sell the STs the Club needs to sell for next season. Feels like they are going to let things drift along a bit so that Murty takes the OF game and all the flak that might fly from that then let the DOF / Head Coach appointment be made and its write off this season and use the rest of it as shake down territory to see who stays and who goes for next season. If that's the game that King and the Board are playing the chances are there are going to be some very uncomfortable upcoming games because the players have already proved time and again that their frank talks do not work and Murty just seems to be in let them get on with it mode.

They're having a laugh. They must surely be having a right good laugh. At us (the Support) of course. 'They' being King, Robertson, Dickson and the rest of the Board of Directors and senior execs at Ibrox. Nothing else I can think of can explain it with any sense of credibility. Putting a rookie caretaker manager and an on-loan player up to represent Rangers at a press conference. It's not their fault I suppose (Murty anh Hyndman). Somebody had to do it and they either volunteered, or its in their contract to do it, or they drew the short straws. Murty I can understand because he's in the caretaker hot seat and there's literally no-one else is there. But poor young Hyndman. What did he do to be put up to field the media? IMO to put a rookie caretaker up alongside an on-loan youngster looks like very bad judgement, maybe even stupid. It looks like those running the Club either don't give a shit about the impression it creates or they don't have a clue about thinking through who might be better placed to support Murty at these conferences this time. Where was the Captain? Where was Miller? Where were the other senior players? Such is the state of things at present by requiring patently junior and inexperienced people to be the chosen ones to front up to the media King and the Board are creating a first class image of a Board running on nearly empty, running on vapours in the hope that they can find a DOF and Head Coach in time before its King and the Board who become the laughing stock.

I thought this was meant to be a thread about management / DOF rumours? Its looks like its turning into more of a running spat about views on what's happened or what should have happened, or what folks wish had happened but it seems to be evolving away from being a thread about management rumours. Is there not another thread to joust away at the wider stuff? If not, and its to be here, then I guess we'll just have to look for the nuggets of rumours while wading through the thickets of the other stuff.

Here we are on a Tuesday afternoon with another league game and 3 points at stake coming up on Friday. We still have a rookie caretaker (barely even qualifies for a 'rookie' title given is complete lack of direct relevant experience to manage a football club never mind a Club of the stature of Rangers in this mess of a season we are enduring). We have a Board that has formed a selection committee, given them their air tickets and hotel vouchers and sent them off into the thickets of football DOFdom and the new world of football head coaches to select a hopefully very well qualified and thoroughly experienced winning DOF and head coach. But we don't know when, or even if, the Robertson / Dickson selection committee will finish its work, make its recommendations to King and the Board, decide on their preferred choices and runners-up, carry out contract negotiations and actually appoint people into these shiny new jobs. This gives us a race between 2 clocks. One clock counts down the time until the next league game then one after that and so on each of which have 3 league points at stake. Each of which - if points are lost - creates the prospect of slipping further away from any realistic hope of 2nd and each of which - if points are lost - pushes us closer to a dog fight to even keep 3rd place. The other ticks off the hours left before a DOF and Head Coach must start of preparation work for next season. This might even be linked to the date when ST sales begin for next season. The problem is that the alarm (of a failed and shambolic season) on the first clock seems set to go off before the alarm (signalling that the cavalry has arrived and recovery can start) on the second. But is the Board heeding the risk of the first alarm sounding? Or maybe, by just relying on Murty, they've privately resigned themselves that its going to go off and they'll sleep eyes-wide-shut right through it even though the Support would most likely be considerably less than impressed by letting the season just drift away. If a suitably experienced and capable interim manager does not appear in time to stave off the first alarm then even though the eventual appointment of a DOF and Head Coach may yet happen it may be far too late for this season. And as a result far too late for the Board and its selection team to avoid facing considerable flak from the Support for making a completely inappropriate caretaker appointment in Murty in the first instance and then failing to take any quick corrective action by appointing an experienced interim until it was too late for this season. Time is ticking away until the next 3 points are up for grabs.

Fair enough. Best wishes for the meeting. I hope it goes as well as can be expected and that the Club reps engage positively, openly and candidly. I know that may sound like a big ask but it seems to me we are in times where everybody's interests are best served by clear, plain speaking.