Craig Whyte and the Future of Rangers

[Turnberry18 3,204]

I was hearing about the time Lawrence Marlborough brought David Holmes into Ibrox and some of the ideas he came up with back then were fairly interesting and should be something Craig Whyte looks at.

David looked at the whole structure at Ibrox at that time, and then took it apart and rebuilt all over again: Craig Whyte needs to do the same thing; perhaps that is happening as we speak.

As fan I am concerned about some obvious traits of the rather staid tenure that lay at the heart of the latter Murray period that still remain to this day.

Take Murray Park, for instance: is it really a vibrant place for young emerging talent to progress through the ranks and become a first team players for Rangers? Are we really seeing an endless supply of great players coming through? - the whole basis for building it was that we would feed off it, and be comfortable with the players that graduate from there. It should be an Academy; completely separate and distinguished from the first team; with a Head of Academy overseeing the nurture and progress of the boys that attend there. Do you spend 14 million on a training complex in order to give a David Healy a new contract?

The scouting system should be looked at: is anyone going to suggest that we have a commendable scouting system that could be relied on to find talent around the world- football now being a global game, this is exactly what is needed.

The coaching set-up, root and branch, needs looked at: you look at teams like St Johnstone, Dunfermline, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and St Mirren play us off the Park; the likes of Davis, Jelavic, Lafferty out-thought and out-played by players in these teams, and it tells you something is inherently wrong with Rangers. Coupled with the fact that we have no invention, no penetration, and no purpose to our play and you have to wonder what the players are actually instructed to do.

Mr Whyte, I am sure, has looked at many things belonging to that tired Murray period; he would do well to look at how David Holmes went about it and lift Rangers up to the summit of Scottish football again; not just in terms of League positions, but in terms of leading the way, yet again, that would bring a vibrancy back to Ibrox.

[minstral 5,375]

Whyte had to appoint Ally or the fans would have turned against him, after Walter put Ally forward for the job. But it is like watching the program Stars In Your Eyes where Ally goes through the curtain as himself then comes back through as Walter.

[RM Monitor And Standards Officer 111,304]

Whyte had to appoint Ally or the fans would have turned against him, after Walter put Ally forward for the job. But it is like watching the program Stars In Your Eyes where Ally goes through the curtain as himself then comes back through as Walter.

It was Murray who done it mate, he gave Ally the job in the Feb but i do agree Whyte couldnt just get rid.

[minstral 5,375]

It was Murray who done it mate, he gave Ally the job in the Feb but i do agree Whyte couldnt just get rid.

You are right mate, and would not be surprised if that was part of the deal before Murray would sell to Whyte.

[RM Monitor And Standards Officer 111,304]

You are right mate, and would not be surprised if that was part of the deal before Murray would sell to Whyte.

It could be that as Whyte was in talks SDM asked him if he would be ok with it!

I said at the time i wanted to see a fresh approach and new regime, but we can only get behind Ally and the lads for the time being

[minstral 5,375]

You have to stick by Ally, but if we do not get any better it will end up in tears.

[rokcy 4]

I think Whyte may be no more than another Murray place man.

[nachothelegend 1,932]

I wish Murray Park was an academy simmilar to Lyon where the youth Players can go to School and there is accommodation also for youngsters from different areas Nationally.That's the set up over there we must broaden our horizons and spread the net further.

Imagine us bringing a young Sturridge type ,or a young 13 yo Drogba from Africa ,he goes to School there has an education is brought up within a Professional Football environment and then Plays for the First Team or gets picked up for a Fee .

I feel we are missing out on a lot of talent because of this ,I would love to see us try something like this and Invest In People ,who knows you could find another Star .I would like to think our illustrious Scottish Government would get involved in something like this .Say through Grants as it would be providing an education for Young Players.Who knows.There are better people than me who could make this happen.

I post this as an example of what could be achieved if the will was there.

This would all be subject to the T-x C--e of course.

.Exsportise camps run in association with Arsenal Soccer Schools, aim to encourage students to play 'The Arsenal Way'. An unforgettable soccer camp experience for 10 to 16 year old is awaiting for you at 3 great sites in Southern England.The Arsenal Soccer Schools camp is ideal for players who wish to improve their individual skills and knowledge of the game, whilst experiencing the unique Arsenal training and Exsportise camp atmosphere.

Already more than 25,000 campers had an experienced unforgettable during Exsportise summer sports camps in the past 25 years.

Arsenal Soccer Coaching includes agility and fitness drills with and without the ball, passing and dribbling skills to increase players' ball control and confidence. After intense drills players are placed into competitive situations such as five-a-side games, positional plays and uneven teams. The Arsenal head coach assesses all players on Mondays. This Soccer Camp is for serious players who can cope with at least 3 hours extra training a day.

We are delighted to announce that the site of Seaford College will be part of the Olympic Torch relay route. The Olympic Flame will pass by Seaford College on Monday 16 July 2012 and all students present at that time will have a chance to see it and take pictures.

Arsenal Soccer Schools

Arsenal Football Club is one of the most famous names in world football. The Club's established and respected sports unit has been operating for almost twenty years providing courses for youngsters in England and abroad.

Arsenal Emirates Stadium Visit:

[sports Tourism Award 2007 by Visit London (London Tourist Office): SILVER Place for Emirates Stadium Tours - Arsenal FC]

All participants will have an option for a visit during the weekend to the Emirates Stadium, the home of Arsenal FC (only for 2 weeks stay since weekly campers leave on Saturday). (Note: in some exceptional circumstances, England soccer clubs close their stadia in the summer months with very little notice and therefore exact destinations and availability may need to change without prior warning).

For the past six years, a few participants, during the last weekend in July or first weekend in August, were invited to the Arsenal Emirates Cup at the Emirates Stadium in London for an unforgettable day where they saw games with Inter Milan FC, AC Milan, Celtic Glasgow, Lyon, Valencia FC, Paris Saint Germain FC, Real Madrid FC, Hamburg FC, Juventus FC and Arsenal FC.

Option: English Classes as a Second Language

Exsportise English language programme is created by their Directors of EFL Studies and is reviewed annually to meet students' needs. All coaching and tuition is in English, therefore the aim of this course is to bring sports coaching into the classroom by giving students the language tools they need to improve their sporting abilities. Students will need at least one year of English tuition before joining this course. There is significant focus on speaking and listening skills but Exsportise also include elements of grammar, pronunciation, study skills, reading and writing to provide a well rounded education in English. Their tutorials are also designed to help children feel at ease, join in quickly and make friends. All their teachers are fully qualified and experienced. Class sizes are small - with a maximum of 14 and average of 10 students.

Each venue has its own, experienced, Director of Studies to ensure quality control and extra cover. Tuition time is three hours every day (excluding two 15-minute breaks) when selected as option.

BASIC AIMS OF THIS COURSE

Exsportise encourage students to:

• Improve fluency and confidence when using English

• Improve their sporting abilities by developing the relevant language skills and vocabulary

• Make the most of their stay in England by focusing on the English culture, history and way of life.

MORE ADVANCED AIMS OF THIS COURSE
Exsportise encourage students to:

• Explore other features of sports by focusing on the use of English in the media, in debates and discussions about topical or controversial subjects

• Explore more demanding characteristics of English life such as humour, cultural awareness and diversity.

[Turnberry18 3,204]

I wish Murray Park was an academy simmilar to Lyon where the youth Players can go to School and there is accommodation also for youngsters from different areas Nationally.That's the set up over there we must broaden our horizons and spread the net further.

Imagine us bringing a young Sturridge type ,or a young 13 yo Drogba from Africa ,he goes to School there has an education is brought up within a Professional Football environment and then Plays for the First Team or gets picked up for a Fee .

I feel we are missing out on a lot of talent because of this ,I would love to see us try something like this and Invest In People ,who knows you could find another Star .I would like to think our illustrious Scottish Government would get involved in something like this .Say through Grants as it would be providing an education for Young Players.Who knows.There are better people than me who could make this happen.

I post this as an example of what could be achieved if the will was there.

.Exsportise camps run in association with Arsenal Soccer Schools, aim to encourage students to play 'The Arsenal Way'. An unforgettable soccer camp experience for 10 to 16 year old is awaiting for you at 3 great sites in Southern England.The Arsenal Soccer Schools camp is ideal for players who wish to improve their individual skills and knowledge of the game, whilst experiencing the unique Arsenal training and Exsportise camp atmosphere.

Already more than 25,000 campers had an experienced unforgettable during Exsportise summer sports camps in the past 25 years.

Arsenal Soccer Coaching includes agility and fitness drills with and without the ball, passing and dribbling skills to increase players' ball control and confidence. After intense drills players are placed into competitive situations such as five-a-side games, positional plays and uneven teams. The Arsenal head coach assesses all players on Mondays. This Soccer Camp is for serious players who can cope with at least 3 hours extra training a day.

We are delighted to announce that the site of Seaford College will be part of the Olympic Torch relay route. The Olympic Flame will pass by Seaford College on Monday 16 July 2012 and all students present at that time will have a chance to see it and take pictures.

Arsenal Soccer Schools

Arsenal Football Club is one of the most famous names in world football. The Club's established and respected sports unit has been operating for almost twenty years providing courses for youngsters in England and abroad.

Arsenal Emirates Stadium Visit:

[sports Tourism Award 2007 by Visit London (London Tourist Office): SILVER Place for Emirates Stadium Tours - Arsenal FC]

All participants will have an option for a visit during the weekend to the Emirates Stadium, the home of Arsenal FC (only for 2 weeks stay since weekly campers leave on Saturday). (Note: in some exceptional circumstances, England soccer clubs close their stadia in the summer months with very little notice and therefore exact destinations and availability may need to change without prior warning).

For the past six years, a few participants, during the last weekend in July or first weekend in August, were invited to the Arsenal Emirates Cup at the Emirates Stadium in London for an unforgettable day where they saw games with Inter Milan FC, AC Milan, Celtic Glasgow, Lyon, Valencia FC, Paris Saint Germain FC, Real Madrid FC, Hamburg FC, Juventus FC and Arsenal FC.

Option: English Classes as a Second Language

Exsportise English language programme is created by their Directors of EFL Studies and is reviewed annually to meet students' needs. All coaching and tuition is in English, therefore the aim of this course is to bring sports coaching into the classroom by giving students the language tools they need to improve their sporting abilities. Students will need at least one year of English tuition before joining this course. There is significant focus on speaking and listening skills but Exsportise also include elements of grammar, pronunciation, study skills, reading and writing to provide a well rounded education in English. Their tutorials are also designed to help children feel at ease, join in quickly and make friends. All their teachers are fully qualified and experienced. Class sizes are small - with a maximum of 14 and average of 10 students.

Each venue has its own, experienced, Director of Studies to ensure quality control and extra cover. Tuition time is three hours every day (excluding two 15-minute breaks) when selected as option.

BASIC AIMS OF THIS COURSE

Exsportise encourage students to:

• Improve fluency and confidence when using English

• Improve their sporting abilities by developing the relevant language skills and vocabulary

• Make the most of their stay in England by focusing on the English culture, history and way of life.

MORE ADVANCED AIMS OF THIS COURSE
Exsportise encourage students to:

• Explore other features of sports by focusing on the use of English in the media, in debates and discussions about topical or controversial subjects

• Explore more demanding characteristics of English life such as humour, cultural awareness and diversity.

Thanks for that link attached to your post. And, yes, you make great points regarding an Academy

[robertkay 39]

Take Murray Park, for instance: is it really a vibrant place for young emerging talent to progress through the ranks and become a first team players for Rangers? Are we really seeing an endless supply of great players coming through? - the whole basis for building it was that we would feed off it, and be comfortable with the players that graduate from there. It should be an Academy; completely separate and distinguished from the first team; with a Head of Academy overseeing the nurture and progress of the boys that attend there

This is already the case. Jim Sinclair and Craig Mulholland oversee the running of the Academy.

The scouting system should be looked at: is anyone going to suggest that we have a commendable scouting system that could be relied on to find talent around the world- football now being a global game, this is exactly what is needed.

I agree with this, but there has just been a recent change in our scouting infrastructure which we need to see in practice over a period before we know if it is working

The coaching set-up, root and branch, needs looked at: you look at teams like St Johnstone, Dunfermline, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and St Mirren play us off the Park; the likes of Davis, Jelavic, Lafferty out-thought and out-played by players in these teams, and it tells you something is inherently wrong with Rangers. Coupled with the fact that we have no invention, no penetration, and no purpose to our play and you have to wonder what the players are actually instructed to do.

This is only evident in the first team. The youth teams play terrific football in a way we would all love to see. It's no coincidence that the younger members of the squad such as McMillan and Bendiksen are ball players. It's definitely something we need to fix in our first team

[Turnberry18 3,204]

Cheers

[Allanger 625]

A great post and eye opener from nachothelegend

[robertkay 39]

It's also worth mentioning that under the SFA's new scheme the youth coaching setup is changing substantially and we are a huge part of that. At present, pro youth is split into Performance and Initiative, but a new "elite" tier is being added and I beleive (not been confirmed yet) that the elite clubs will be Rangers, celt*c, Dundee United Hearts and Hibs. I don't know what the plans for fixtures are for this but to achieve elite status there must be certain things in place at the club, which is similar to the standards set now like all coaches at pro youth level must have a certain level of qualification and I know personally that the Rangers coaches at youth level are among the most highly qualified in the country.

This all bodes well but we still have to integrate these things with the first team for it to be of benefit IMO

[robertkay 39]

I wish Murray Park was an academy simmilar to Lyon where the youth Players can go to School and there is accommodation also for youngsters from different areas Nationally.

Having accomodation would be excellent and would definitely improve the development of teams of talent coming through together like at La Masia ion Barcelona. We are starting now linking up with schools and colleges, and I beleive we are going to be linking in with one of the Glasgow "Schools of football" soon.

[Turnberry18 3,204]

It's also worth mentioning that under the SFA's new scheme the youth coaching setup is changing substantially and we are a huge part of that. At present, pro youth is split into Performance and Initiative, but a new "elite" tier is being added and I beleive (not been confirmed yet) that the elite clubs will be Rangers, celt*c, Dundee United Hearts and Hibs. I don't know what the plans for fixtures are for this but to achieve elite status there must be certain things in place at the club, which is similar to the standards set now like all coaches at pro youth level must have a certain level of qualification and I know personally that the Rangers coaches at youth level are among the most highly qualified in the country.

This all bodes well but we still have to integrate these things with the first team for it to be of benefit IMO

The point I was making about the Academy is to have one more than just in name. Murray Park is a great foundation stone for what could be utilised there I would say. But thank you for the comments

[Thermopylae 15,288]

You are right mate, and would not be surprised if that was part of the deal before Murray would sell to Whyte.

Was thinking this myself ... would love to know if it's true.

Probably Ally needed what most new managers need some time away to cut his teeth at a small club and develop his own style there