Wilson and Fleck offered new contracts

[Boab 73]

The official site even running with the story: - http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?...mp;p=1057599150

One paper saying its in part due to it being appearance based - http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?...mp;p=1057603548

Fleck's talks not started - http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?...mp;p=1057631145

Graeme Macpherson

Published on 15 Jan 2010

Walter Smith at least appreciated the irony of the situation.

For years, Rangers and Celtic have preyed on the smaller clubs in Scottish football – that is, everybody else – and picked off the best young players to come through their ranks.

Now the tables have been turned. The hunters have become the hunted. Rangers have made Danny Wilson and John Fleck offers to extend their stay at Ibrox beyond the summer of 2011 and the pair have turned them down.

It does not take the ingenuity of Sherlock Holmes to deduce, therefore, that unless they are going to become the first players for a century or so to move directly from one half of the Old Firm to the other, then England surely beckons.

Money, apparently, is not their main motivation, hard as that is to believe these days. Both Fleck and Wilson share an English agent and it is understood the pair, despite their relative youth, already have designs on playing in the Barclays Premier League. Or as Sky Sports would have you believe, “the greatest league in the world”.

If criticism was levelled that they weren’t getting an opportunity, I could handle that. But they do get chances

Walter Smith

Smith has no complaints about losing talented players to bigger clubs. The Old Firm no longer operate in the same financial stratosphere as the top 30 clubs or so in England. Ergo, the talent will always drain south. Nor is the Rangers manager bitter about the prospect of losing two players that have been raised and reared in the club’s youth system for the best part of a decade.

No, Smith’s only gripe is that there has never been a better time to be a young player in Scottish football. Both Wilson and Fleck have been regulars in the Rangers squad for the last few months and can expect to feature with ever increasing regularity given there is more likelihood of Lord Lucan riding into Ibrox on the back of Shergar than Smith buying any new players in what remains of this transfer window.

With Rangers having made their best offer to the pair, all they can do now is wait and see what develops. “I’m not complaining as we’ll maybe take a player from a smaller club and bring them here,” Smith said. “It’s more the fact that if the kids weren’t getting an opportunity I would say, well fair enough. But kids now are getting an opportunity to play at Rangers and Celtic. It looks, though, as if that won’t be enough.

“We’re looking at a situation in Scotland where all our younger players are seeing the Premier League in England as the league to play in. That may well be the case. I’ve not had any conversations with the players’ agents or others to find out their reasons for turning down the deals. But it’s quite straightforward. They’ve turned it down, so they must see an opportunity elsewhere which would probably England, I would imagine.

“The disappointing aspect is that contractual aspects for 18-year-olds have been placed before careers. That’s maybe the most disappointing factor of it, especially when then younger boys are going to get far more opportunities just now. It’s disappointing that we’ve got a couple of players who have come through the ranks and we think are going to be decent players, but see their future lying elsewhere. Could things change on that front? It certainly doesn’t look like it.”

Smith has been berated in the past for not giving young players a chance, but as he points out, there are few 18-year-old central defenders operating anywhere else in the country. Granted, Wilson’s first-team opportunity may have arisen because there were precious few alternatives, but it is hard to imagine him, in his current, raw, unpolished state, slotting straight into the defence of a Premier League team down south.

“Before, I could have seen a relevant reason for Danny wanting to move,” Smith added. “It’s always easier for managers to play a young forward, but if you look around you don’t see too many 18-year-old centre halves playing in the Champions League. It just doesn’t happen.

“If the criticism was levelled that they weren’t getting an opportunity I could handle that. But they have been getting a chance.”

Smith did his best to shield the two 18-year-olds from the blame. He pointed out that they are not the ones handling the contract negotiations, while reminiscing about a time when the only people a club had to convince to sign a new contract were the player and his parents.

“The situation the players are placed in with agents means that they [Wilson and Fleck] are not handling that aspect of things themselves,” Smith added. “It’s other people who are handling it for them. You can’t say it’s the younger people. There are agents there. Maybe that’s something that is going to happen all over the place.

“I haven’t spoken to the players about it much as the decision was taken quite recently. It used to be the boy’s father would come in, but now agents are involved. And I feel that aspect has changed their viewpoint just now.”

Graeme Macpherson

Published on 15 Jan 2010

Walter Smith is resigned to losing both Danny Wilson and John Fleck after the pair turned down the chance to remain at Ibrox beyond the end of their current contracts.

The duo, both aged 18, were offered lucrative new contracts, believed to be heavily loaded with substantial appearance money, by the Rangers hierarchy, but have been advised by their agents to turn those offers down and look to further their careers down south.

It is understood that Rangers
will not return with a further improved offer for the two players who came through the system at Murray Park and who have 18 months to run on their existing deals. Wilson, who has previously been linked with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, made his first team debut three months ago and has made eight appearances this season.

Fleck has been touted as “the next big thing” for several years now but has so far failed to make the impact expected of him. He has been utilised mainly
off the bench this season, making his last start against Aberdeen on November 28.

Smith expressed his bemusement and disappointment that the two young players have had their heads turned by agents, rather than staying to undergo their football apprenticeship at Ibrox.

“It’s disappointing that they’ve done that [turned down new contracts] but that’s the world we live in at the moment,” said the Rangers manager.

“Could things change on that front? It certainly doesn’t look like it. The disappointing aspect is that contractual aspects for 18-year-olds have been placed before careers.

“I’ve not had any conversations with the players’ agents to find out their reasons for turning down the deals. But it’s quite straight forward. They’ve turned it down so they must see an opportunity elsewhere which would probably need to be down in England, I would imagine.”

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/ra...ngland-1.999084

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/ra...angers-1.999087

By ROBERT GRIEVE

Published: 16 Jan 2010

Walter Smith insists Rangers starlets Danny Wilson and John Fleck have paved the way for Ibrox exits after rejecting bumper new deals.

Boss Smith sanctioned better deals for the two 18-year-olds as SunSport revealed this week.

But he has been left stunned after their English-based agents turned the lucrative offers down.

Smith now expects the pair to move on.

He said: "Contractual aspects are being placed before careers. That's the most disappointing factor, as younger boys are going to get far more opportunities now.

"It's disappointing a couple come through who are going to be decent players, but it appears they see their future lying elsewhere."

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/ho...ts-warning.html

Disappointing, I wonder if the deals are to be improved or whether they'll stay on the table?

[Scott-RFC 308]

Fuck improving the deals

If the pair of pricks want to be the Liam Millers of their generation let them

[NOLUWDC 1]

Agents.

[Scott-RFC 308]

I could have the most persuasive agent in the world , but he wouldnt tempt me away from Rangers as a promising 18 year old

Fleck is never a Rangers fan

[nvager 498]

Wilson has a chance, but Fleck needs a big change in attitude.

[flecky1 4]

I could have the most persuasive agent in the world , but he wouldnt tempt me away from Rangers as a promising 18 year old

Fleck is never a Rangers fan

poor advise from agents me thinks

Surely Walter can talk them into staying, even if hes not going to be manager, surely the club wants to keep talent like that? If theres only 18 months to go in their contracts, we wont even get their true value if we sell them.

I hope both stay.

[nvager 498]

The Wilson thing really bugs me - much more so than Fleck.

[BEE 4,880]

If the two of them think they're bigger than Rangers they can GTF. Their young boys and should be snapping up any offer they receive. If we got a few million in for the two of them I think we should take it, not debating the fact the two of them have potential but if they don't see their futures here have fun at the lower leagues of England or watching from the stand of a 'bigger' club.

[wearethemighty 186]

If they dont want to play for us then go get to fk!

This time next year they'll be playing for Doncaster Rovers, definetly the next Liam Millers of the world!

[AGM_72 3,650]

Big shock to the system.

I'm not sure how to take this news, so I'll sit and see what else comes out.

I would say that it's pretty outragous that they turned down the deals though.

[Juno 2]

I'm fucking angry right now.

Really can't believe this. If you're so disappointed Walter you should've played them instead of Christian Dailly or Lee McCulloch or Lee McCulloch on the left or Lee McCulloch in goals.

[TexasGers 96]

Very disheartening news

Developing the Murray Park kids and selling them on after several years in the first team like Ajax and Lyon do it is the way forward, but these guys would be leaving way too early, and for the long term benefit of their careers they need to stay at Rangers

[WilliamFyfe 1,438]

Will be gutting to see them move on, what happened to showing some loyalty to the club who picked you up fuck!

[laldo 4]

if money matters more to them than playing for the club they can fuck of

[Davey_RFC 122]

If true, the pair of them can go and f*ck themselves. At 18 years of age, they're already making ridiculous amounts of money for someone their age (around £500 p/w). They're getting their chance in the first team and could be mainstays for a few years to come. If they think they're better than that then they should be shipped out the door right now. Rangers made them.

[OzGers 425]

it is incredibly disappointing, but we do need to remember that they have nearly 2 years to run on their current contracts, they wont be going anywhere for a long while yet, and lets be fair, they are probably just waiting until seasons end to see how they progress...i have faith that they will remain

[bobdeb 1]

if money matters more to them than playing for the club they can fuck of

If that is there attitude i wouldnt play either one again

[Gilesy 4]

i'm sure i speak for PLENTY of the lads on here, that if i had a shred of their talent and had the opportunity and 'honour' of playing for Rangers, I'd fuckin bite their hand off for a new contract without even considering money. Fuck, i'd play for free and tell my agent to get fucked.

totally irresponsible and non-relevant response to the way things work these days, but just how i feel.

Money grabbin bastards have ruined the game.

[simon 1,743]

Big shock TBH. They can be good players and it will be a shame for them to do it anywhere other than Ibrox.

[Gaffbear 4,096]

If they want to fuck up their careers then let them but we should pay through the nose to keep them and then sell them in the summer for silly money and watch as they turn out for Wycombe in 4 years.

[bjorkland 13]

Good point OzGers. Let's see what happens when the dust settles and their contracts are actually up. They won't be going anywhere soon I would imagine.

[docspiderman 1,234]

We should agree to let them go an put a £3 or £4 million value on each; there will be no takers and it is 12 months before they can negotiate deals with other clubs and who knows what will happen in the next year for club and players.

[Ruddie 1]

Stick the pair of the cunts on the bench for the next eighteen months.

There have been better players than this pair and there will be better in the future.

No big loss.

[ronniemca 479]

said last week take 2mill for them now and move them on . fleck was at old trafford 18months ago with his parents and an agent seeing sir alex before signing for us and has never had any intention of staying long at ibrox . wilson is a tim with no allegance to the club and is off to spurs at the first opportunity

[gordo7 147]

This whole situation stinks of agents badly advising their players.