day late rheb rant from waddell

[bawsburst 1,381]

Football

BY GORDON WADDELL

Gordon Waddell: Like Thelma and Louise, Rangers have arrived at their destination.. the edge of a cliff

31 August 2014 08:37 AM By Gordon Waddell

GORDON reckons Rangers are at the edge of a precipice but the cash crisis hasn't stopped the club signing back-up keeper Lee Robinson in a move typical of the way the club has been run for the past few years.

THEY sold their road back to the top of the game as ‘The Journey’.

It would appear Rangers have arrived at a destination many financial experts predicted for them long ago. The edge of a cliff.

As the directors sit there like Thelma and Louise, with the engine revving, you wonder if the question was not whether the club would end up being driven over the edge but more a matter of when the crash would occur.

How else do you explain it?

No sane person would surely run a business the way they’ve run theirs. It’s as if they have committed commercial suicide.

An example? It didn’t make a headline. Barely registered a mention.

But if you want even a tiny indication of exactly how dysfunctional Rangers are, then look no further than the signing of Lee Robinson last week.

A 28-year-old back-up keeper to a 35-year-old back-up. When they already have the Scotland Under-19 No.1 AND the Scotland Under-17 No.1 on their books?

Another wage? Aye, why not, eh? We’ve been splashing money needlessly for two and a half years on players we don’t need and can’t afford – another won’t kill us.

Their share offering on Friday was like taking a tube of Savlon to a cremation.

They’ve admitted to the stock exchange that if they don’t get at least £3m, they’re knackered.

And even if they do, they’ve openly shifted the problem a couple of months further down the line.

Yet still they sign players like autograph hunters? They act as if they don’t give a monkey’s.

Other clubs coming back from the brink, the first thing they attacked was their cost base. Trimmed all the fat and started from the ground up. Live within your means. New club motto? Numquam Iterum. Never Again.

Yet here we are, back at square one. Ally on the back pages, pleading: ‘Don’t sell my stars’.

Why not? Truth is you should never have been allowed to sign most of them in the first place. This whole ‘We’re Rangers and until someone tells me otherwise, we’ll continue to behave like Rangers’ schtick?

McCoist is a bright, articulate, likeable guy. I refuse to believe he’s so gullible. That he never sat there and thought ‘This can’t be right’.

Who would you prefer to be in charge at Rangers

 

I’m not saying anything I haven’t said to him in a dozen different press conferences.

I’ve asked him why they weren’t hunkering down, signing players for their level, saving cash.

He always replied: “The fans deserve better.”

Damn right they do. But they also deserve their club to survive after what they’ve put in over the years.

In a football sense, I haven’t yet met a Rangers fan who didn’t think the club would have been better bleeding half a dozen youngsters into their line-up back on day one and developing them properly than going down the road they did.

I haven’t yet met a fan who wouldn’t have put up with the odd defeat to see some genuine progress and fiscal responsibility rather than watching the likes of Richard Foster, Stevie Smith, Ian Black, Dean Shiels or Jon Daly.

Or Lee Robinson. Nice lad, decent gloves – but what about Liam Kelly and Robby McCrorie, two of the highest-rated teenagers in their position in Scotland?

Every other club in the country is giving youth a chance and reaping the rewards.

Not The Rangers. Sorry lads. Can’t trust you, even on the bench. No time to have faith in you.

Other diddy clubs might get away with playing teenagers. They may even excel.

Hell, look at Conor McGrandles – 82 senior games by the age of 18 and a £1million move from Falkirk to Norwich. Rangers are too good for that, though. Listen, the dysfunctional management of the club’s affairs runs a million miles deeper than the team.

These are just examples of how a total breakdown in management manifests itself in public.

What goes on behind closed doors or up marble staircases? We may never know.

But the fact they’re putting out the begging bowl in such a humiliating manner suggests none of it is good.

And then we have the ever-hovering presence of Dave King .

King has been criticised for his silence but don’t let anyone kid you that he hasn’t been waiting for this exact moment.

The lowest ebb. The final wheezing breaths of a regime someone as long in the tooth as he is always thought would arrive.

Sure, he’s a Rangers fan. Sure, his intentions for the club will be more honourable than the current incumbents.

But spare me the idea his timing suggests anything other than his own benefit being served too.

In the meantime, the Rangers fans are once again left with what they call Morton’s Fork – two choices, both undesirable.

Take up the share option, keep a shambolic regime functioning a little longer. Or not a penny more. Flush them out and suffer the consequences. I don’t envy them their decision.

[dummiesoot 16,119]

Forgetting about the king bit, the article is spot on. Ally learned it all from Walter, why play a youngster when you can buy experience? Tbh Wallace should have told ally to fuck off.

The King bit, turned into a parasite that one.

[trublusince1982 768]

well heres a rangers fan telling you you talk absolute shit. If they had bleed 6 or 7 youngsters into the first team we would not have sold 40000 season tickets. Nobody will pay to watch the reserves once they figure out how shit it is. Our wage bill is under 40%, tell me one other professional team with that low a wage ratio.

thats not taking into account we bleed in 11 different youth players last year

[MacBoyd 5,654]

A lot of truth spoken.

[tannerall 25,935]

Off topic I know, but Susan Sarandon was a real MILF in her time. Who knows, maybe they had parachutes (step forward our next big investor) on board ?

[Carsons Dog 9,878]

The UoF won't like this one little bit

[STEPPS BOY 75,120]

Excellent article..

[Jetson 16]

Nothing much wrong with that except the King bit.

'his own benefit being served too' - What a wanker you are Waddell. He's not ever going to be in it for the money, is he ???

Hows that Celtic cash pile coming along

[Jetson 16]

The UoF won't like this one little bit

Oh well, thats good then

[left winger 14,688]

well heres a rangers fan telling you you talk absolute shit. If they had bleed 6 or 7 youngsters into the first team we would not have sold 40000 season tickets. Nobody will pay to watch the reserves once they figure out how shit it is. Our wage bill is under 40%, tell me one other professional team with that low a wage ratio.

thats not taking into account we bleed in 11 different youth players last year

I don't see anything wrong with his article. Perhaps, as you say, we wouldn't have sold as many season tickets as we did. However, did anyone buy a season ticket because we signed Black, Shiels, Moshni, Daly, Smith, etc, etc? I very much doubt it. I don't believe our signings were the reason season tickets were bought. We've had shit football with all these signings, anyway.

Our club management shat it rather than try to rebuild in a sensible manner and change the club's footballing philosophy. It can still happen, but those in charge have neither the guts, nor ambition, to do so.

And we don't bleed youngsters - we play them when there's no other option.

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,242]

I don't see anything wrong with his article. Perhaps, as you say, we wouldn't have sold as many season tickets as we did. However, did anyone buy a season ticket because we signed Black, Shiels, Moshni, Daly, Smith, etc, etc? I very much doubt it. I don't believe our signings were the reason season tickets were bought. We've had shit football with all these signings, anyway.

Our club management shat it rather than try to rebuild in a sensible manner and change the club's footballing philosophy. It can still happen, but those in charge have neither the guts, nor ambition, to do so.

And we don't bleed youngsters - we play them when there's no other option.

I presume by Club Management you refer to Ally & co?

[thehost 11,061]

As spot on as it was two years ago

[BFerguson6 121]

Quite ironic thing about that article is the bit saying we would have put up with a defeat or two with youngsters

That's the bit McCoist fails to get , if we had kept McKay , Crawford , mcausland , Walsh , telfer , Gasparrato etc in the team and struggled in the cups , McCoist would have been cut some slack and would have been afforded the "luxury" of bringing Boyd and miller , maybe even Zaliukus in this summer to help the young guys

Robinson has to be the most ludicrous decision he's ever made , mind boggling beyond belief

[bawsburst 1,381]

Gloating ”we told you so” articles/rants are exactly that ...gloating.

Any sign of the "we told you so" gloaters gloating over any "state aid" scoops, of course not ...The Rangers are the only show in Scotland never mind town.

[binsy08 362]

well heres a rangers fan telling you you talk absolute shit. If they had bleed 6 or 7 youngsters into the first team we would not have sold 40000 season tickets. Nobody will pay to watch the reserves once they figure out how shit it is. Our wage bill is under 40%, tell me one other professional team with that low a wage ratio.

thats not taking into account we bleed in 11 different youth players last year

There is a lot of the truth in that article, whether we like it or not, we are not selling 40,000 season tickets now with the shite our management team are dishing up, And that's with full professionals

[teneriferanger 26]

Detest the paper and the so called journalist but 90percent of what he says in the article is spot on.His pure hate of Rangers of course shines through in the final part of the story.

[ManchestGer 347]

I agree with most of that, especially the Robinson situation when we have young talent that could be back up options, it's not as though they're being asked to play every week. Some of the more experienced players we've signed were needed but there's also a fair few we could have (and still could) done without and spared the wages.

[hammer93 15,137]

well heres a rangers fan telling you you talk absolute shit. If they had bleed 6 or 7 youngsters into the first team we would not have sold 40000 season tickets. Nobody will pay to watch the reserves once they figure out how shit it is. Our wage bill is under 40%, tell me one other professional team with that low a wage ratio.

thats not taking into account we bleed in 11 different youth players last year

I posted something similar the other week, yes McCoist needs to shoulder a lot of

the blame with needless signings but under greens regime he honestly would of been given

the green light to make these signings.

Green would not of sold 38000 seasons and raised 22mill in the share issue by sending a

team of kids on the park, on the evidence of the Perry's, hegartys Crawford's etc etc I'm not

convinced we would of romped back up.

It's a fair article but Rangers as a club were in a catch 22 situation with how we made our

return to the top flight.

I sincerely hope their is a way through this as I'm sick of seeing our club been torn to shreds.

[legalbeagle 3,734]

Our third division season saw a lot of younger players (admittedly not all teenagers) getting a lot of game time: Hegarty, Perry, Faure, Macleod, Hutton, Crawford, Aird, McKay, Naismith all featured in more than 20 games. To be honest most of those have ended up not being good enough to stay anywhere near the first team, but they did have a chance.

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

Quite ironic thing about that article is the bit saying we would have put up with a defeat or two with youngsters

That's the bit McCoist fails to get , if we had kept McKay , Crawford , mcausland , Walsh , telfer , Gasparrato etc in the team and struggled in the cups , McCoist would have been cut some slack and would have been afforded the "luxury" of bringing Boyd and miller , maybe even Zaliukus in this summer to help the young guys

Robinson has to be the most ludicrous decision he's ever made , mind boggling beyond belief

Ally would have been cut zero slack if we had lost games with youngsters - to the tune if a ' real manger would make these young players like Barca' and other shit - one thing our support does not tolerate well is defeats under any circumstance

[Ace 3,556]

I think the title of the thread belittles the article, just because it comes the DR doesn't lessen it's content in anyway at all.

Ally has signed far too many players while not allowing our youth system to flourish & provide a long term line of talent into the first team squad.

Lee Robinson is the classic example of what's wrong with both Ally & the board, Ally, knowing financial situation we are in, decided he needed a FIFTH goalkeeper and the the board, also knowing the financial situation, better even than Ally, authorised the salary for that FIFTH goalkeeper.

Ally should be looking to our highly rated youth keepers to step up but decided to go sign more 'experience' while the board should have said that you have plenty of tools at your disposal alread ... use them instead !!

Even in the 120 day review, GW highlighted our youth system but when it came to the crunch, allowed us to sign a goalkeeper who wasn't good enough 10yrs ago ... let alone today.

There is plenty of blame to go around over our playing squad, Ally for buying a multitude of aging talent & the board for sanctioning most of those purchases.

[Negri 23]

Fair enough.

[hammer93 15,137]

I think the title of the thread belittles the article, just because it comes the DR doesn't lessen it's content in anyway at all.

Ally has signed far too many players while not allowing our youth system to flourish & provide a long term line of talent into the first team squad.

Lee Robinson is the classic example of what's wrong with both Ally & the board, Ally, knowing financial situation we are in, decided he needed a FIFTH goalkeeper and the the board, also knowing the financial situation, better even than Ally, authorised the salary for that FIFTH goalkeeper.

Ally should be looking to our highly rated youth keepers to step up but decided to go sign more 'experience' while the board should have said that you have plenty of tools at your disposal alread ... use them instead !!

Even in the 120 day review, GW highlighted our youth system but when it came to the crunch, allowed us to sign a goalkeeper who wasn't good enough 10yrs ago ... let alone today.

There is plenty of blame to go around over our playing squad, Ally for buying a multitude of aging talent & the board for sanctioning most of those purchases.

I believe that is where we have failed big time, we have been unable to find a balance with

a decent sized squad and how we built it, yes players had to be signed and yes youth should have

been given a chance.

Somewhere in their the board kept sanctioning needless signings while in truth most of the youth

weren't up to the standard required.

[Jimfanciesthedude 25,033]

well heres a rangers fan telling you you talk absolute shit. If they had bleed 6 or 7 youngsters into the first team we would not have sold 40000 season tickets. Nobody will pay to watch the reserves once they figure out how shit it is. Our wage bill is under 40%, tell me one other professional team with that low a wage ratio.

thats not taking into account we bleed in 11 different youth players last year

Wherw are the 11 different youths now?

[Sket 13,610]

Nothing wrong with that. Pretty spot on tbh.