Paul Murray: Rangers will NOT be put into any financial risk in the pursuit of Celtic.. but we WILL compete for the title

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

4 minutes ago, mitre_mouldmaster said:

I think the message was pretty clear. It was don't buy until the deal is changed. It has not changed as far as we know. There is also an injunction stopping it being discussed further.

Onto those having a go at Murray, well you are pretty much demented. If you were offered right now the option to finish next season 1 point ahead of Celtic, are you seriously saying you would not take it?

I would bite your hand off for that right now.

I'm not asking king to discuss it, but rather, get out there and buy to help the team. We cannot be cutting off our noses to spite our faces. It looks like we are making decent money if our resident "experts" are to be believed. If it's about the length of the deal, then that's a matter for the board and their worth as business leaders. Is it right there are so called fans profiteering from our club and preventing money getting through to MW and the team? A no brainer in my eyes and for the board to stay stoom on it, only demeans their worth and demonstrates lack of business acumen.

[Smile 26,622]

Next up Pauls love affair with Kieth Jackson and the Daily Record.

[Brian Fantana 28,894]

maybe just me but i take that interview to be "we're not spending big, so don't get your hopes up". Our squad is very lean, we need more players in and that will cost money so King better get ready to spend.

[Gandalf the Blue 1,384]

11 hours ago, Turnberry18 said:

And what if the reason Aberdeen have done this well is because they have used them as the benchmark? Is it really outwith the realms of possibility that you size up the opposition before embarking on a competition? 

Agreed mate. I overreacted. I just hate the thought of them being lauded as some great outfit we should aspire to be like. I have no doubts the manager will be keeping a close on everything.

[Goggs 123]

2 minutes ago, Smile said:

Next up Pauls love affair with Kieth Jackson and the Daily Record.

Any news or interviews should be channelled through the official Rangers website first, why do we persist in giving these outlets any of our time

Let them feed off the scraps

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,696]

can't stand Paul Murray or Dave King think they have lied to our support to get to control our club however they have done a decent job with the management staff they have put together along with the backroom team as well so in fairness well done to our board.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

1 minute ago, Goggs said:

Any news or interviews should be channelled through the official Rangers website first, why do we persist in giving these outlets any of our time

Let them feed off the scraps

The haircut has favours to pay back from his courageous journo pals. 

[Smile 26,622]

28 minutes ago, Goggs said:

Any news or interviews should be channelled through the official Rangers website first, why do we persist in giving these outlets any of our time

Let them feed off the scraps

Exactly we should do our own media and give these Media Cretins nothing.

Last week Keith Kackson was slagging off Warburton and the club this week cosy Q&A with P. Murray.

 

No hits for DR.

FIVE years ago Paul Murray was thrown off the Rangers board by the club's new owner Craig Whyte.

On Tuesday night he was back in the directors box at Ibrox watching his team secure promotion to the Premiership.

It was a moment of monumental pride for him and here, in an exclusive Q+A with Keith Jackson, the Rangers director looks forward to the challenges ahead in Scotland's top-flight...

KJ: How does it feel to have achieved what you have over the last year?
PM: It’s great. I have a real sense of pride in the club, the supporters, the board and the management team. I think we feel a sense of pride we’ve got Rangers back into the top division of Scotland – where we think they belong.


KJ: People talk about the journey. You weren’t actually on board for most of it. Talk us through the last four years from your own personal perspective and does this feel like a moment of closure?
PM: It feels like the end of phase one. We are now back where we were four years ago but there is a lot more to do.

We want to make the club competitive in the Premiership, to get back into Europe and the Champions League. Phase one was getting the club into the position to be able to move forward. We’ve now got a very clear plan, a brand of football that is really exciting, the fans have bought into it, we have a stable situation on the board.

Everything is in front of us now and we can start to plan with a degree of certainty.

It’s actually coming up for five years since Craig Whyte bought the club. It has been a long time and a lot has happened during those five years. But the most important thing now is to look forward.


KJ: Yes but was there any moment in those five years when you thought the situation had become completely unrecoverable?
PM: There were quite a few moments like that over the years. The biggest thing that’s changed in the last year is the fact the club is covered on the back pages rather than the front pages. That’s been our biggest achievement off the field.

We are trying to bring back the standards of the club. Every member of the board is a Rangers supporter. That’s not the only criteria but we all understand the club and we understand what it means to people. We are all there for the right reasons and acting in the club’s best interests.

One of the most important changes for me has happened behind the scenes with the staff. When myself, John Gilligan and Dave King walked round the offices at Ibrox on March 6 last year, after we had won the general meeting, we realised the impact the last few years had had on the people working there. I’ve never seen any staff at such a low ebb.

So, apart form winning the league last night, the thing I take most pride in is the fact those same staff are smiling again and happy at their work.


KJ: What about outside the four walls of Ibrox? Do you think the rest of the top flight will be pleased to see you next season?
PM: Look, we know a lot of people out there will always criticise us and with some there is no basis to engage in a reasonable conversation.

But the majority of people I engage with – and judging by the texts and messages I’ve had in the last 24 hours – are delighted Rangers are back. As Gordon Strachan has said, the top flight of Scottish football needs all of its biggest clubs back to have any chance of moving the game and the national team forward. Rangers are one of those top clubs.

Any fair-minded person can see in the four years we’ve been away things haven’t gone that well in Scottish football. Anyone who sees it as a negative is looking at it in a fairly warped way.

KJ: You’ve had messages of support from chairmen and directors of other clubs. Was that a surprise?
PM: No because we said when we came in one of the things we wanted to do was bring back Rangers standards. I was criticised for saying Rangers and Celtic have been at the forefront of developing Scottish football over the years and we have a responsibility to continue to do that.

For that reason, I felt we had to re-engage with mainstream society and the football authorities. We have been doing that behind the scenes so it doesn’t surprise me at all that other clubs have been congratulating us.


KJ: So what now? How can you fund the manager’s requirements for recruitment with so much legal activity around the club and your inability to raise money on the stock exchange?
PM: We understand what is expected of the board and know next year will be a different situation. We have to compete. It’s not enough to go into the Premiership just to exist as a mid-table club. We are not unrealistic.

We believe in the manager and his team. We have backed him so far in everything he has wanted to do and we’ll back him going forward. But equally we are going to do things in the long-term interests of the club. In the past we’ve been accused of short-term thinking and wasting money. We have to do things in a more sensible way.

KJ: Is the main priority no longer winning trophies at all costs?
PM: We are custodians of the club. It’s our responsibility to pass it on to the next generation of fans in a better shape than when we got it.

If there has been one benefit from the last four years – and there have not been many – then it’s the understanding of the importance of looking after the club’s best interests. That has been shown to us in a very graphic way.

The board are committed to that. We will never expose the club to that level of risk again.


KJ: So after last night, was there a quiet moment of reflection?
PM: I took my two sons to the match. It was good to have them there because they have been part of the last four years and they’ve seen some of the stuff from the inside. It was good for them to be there and enjoy it.

We actually had a walk on the pitch after the game which is something I’ve not done often over the years. But we walked to the centre spot and just looked around. It was a great feeling. I think everyone associated with the club last night felt really proud to be a Ranger.

But it’s not about me. It’s about the club. We are now back in the Premiership with a clear plan, a great management team and a board people can trust. Yes we will make mistakes and there will be low points but people can rest assured we’ll always act in the best interests of the club.

KJ: Throughout it all you said you wanted nothing more than to get back to being a fan. Mission accomplished?
PM: The biggest thing for me – one of my greatest pleasures in life – is seeing John Greig back in his seat at Ibrox. I first met John many, many years ago but it’s just great to sit beside him at every home match in his new role as honourary life president.

I know how much it hurt him when he chose to stay away. He has been there for almost 50 years and symbolises what the club is about. To sit beside him and to see his joy when we got back to the top division was a great feeling.


KJ: You’ve got Celtic in the Cup in 10 days and then you’ll be attempting to catch them in the league next season. How much work is required to bridge the gap?
PM: The most important decision we had to make last summer was appointing a first-team manager. We spent a lot of time on that before appointing Mark and David Weir. So far it’s gone really well. We trust their plan to build a team that can compete with Celtic. It’s the board’s job to support them. We are in that planning stage at the moment.

KJ: Is it possible to win the title next season?
PM: We want to be competitive as soon as possible and obviously as soon as possible is next season. The fans will expect it and we have to aim for it. Whether we can achieve it is another question.

Celtic will be having the same conversations about strengthening, as will Aberdeen, Hearts and one or two other clubs. We know the demands at Rangers and know we have to compete as quickly as possible.

[b/]

[Tipster 103]

If ever a man was out of touch with the grassroots support.

[Tipster 103]

1 hour ago, Ace said:

As someone else pointed it, when MW states that we need to be cautious with our spending, don't be reckless and put the club back to where it was, everyone agreed & thought it was sensible

However, now that PM (or any RFC director) says exactly the same thing, they are criticised.

The most important thing is the long term health of our club, we can NEVER return to spending what we don't have & threatening that health.

Yes we need to be competitive & squaring that circle is why we have a board & a management team who need to review & agree a way through that maze.

But, but, we were promised 30 million? Achh! Never mind, we all know that was a load of old fanny.

[thehost 11,061]

3 minutes ago, Tipster said:

If ever a man was out of touch with the grassroots support.

to be fair to him he sends personal email to the support. Well to his support. In a round robin fashion.

[STEPPS BOY 75,065]

The summer will be a test of boards resolve in making us the top team in country..

I suspect we may see another 4/5 permanent signings and a couple of loans..

Players like Greg Stewart, Michael O'Halloran etc wont win us the league imo.

 

[Prso's headband 35,934]

Why is there an obsession with the size of the squad? MW has stated for 10 months how small he likes his squad that will never change. We have had two serious injuries all season which affected regular starters (Holt and Waggy) and one was due to a bad fall on a plastic pitch. The other he was out for 4 weeks. We haven't been 'lucky' the fact is our squad is the fittest in the country by a mile, there is no reason to sit with a 30 man squad for the sake of it. If MW wants a 24 man squad then so be it. It will no doubt mean money spent on what MW, not the fans that percieve what quality is. Fans by their very nature almost always base quality on price tag. The reality is we won't know till theyve kicked a ball. 

Am also unsure why so many fans think its gona cost upwards of £20m.

A Motherwell team managed by Mark McGhee are sitting 4th and a Hearts team who have spent next to nothing this season are sitting 3rd, whilst an Aberdeen team whose biggest outlay in the past few years has probably been for Mclean at 300k sitting 2nd only 5 points off the top and if they hadn't been such bottle merchants would be running away with it.

 

[gogzy 31,195]

11 hours ago, jim white's a bear said:

It's the board room crew mate, I'm sure gogzy will have replied in this thread but at the same time telling us all his opinions are all very well balanced

 

You don't half talk some pish man.  I had posted in this thread, and my posts we pretty much agreeing with everything Paul Murray had said.

 

So go fuck yourself.

[gogzy 31,195]

3 hours ago, Rfc52 said:

There's the boardroom fannies in, fire it over there and let them wank themselves silly

The discussion was going pretty well until both sides started their pish.

[Young Bob 1,360]

I think what he says is fair enough. However i dont think he needed to say anything until the season was over.

On the matter of the board spending money on players I dont think we will need to spend a great deal to have us challenging for the title next season. If Aberdeen hadnt ballsed up they would be top of the league right now and they have spent nothing.

[smartypants 4,460]

1 hour ago, Rfc52 said:

I've seen it up close.  It's magnificent 

Rst52 right enough 

[scottyscott1963 18,629]

Fuck giving the Savilles who have been pumped out of European Football "FIVE" yes "FIVE" times in two seasons any sort of credit. Can you not have just said "we will challenge for the title the same as Aberdeen have without spending much money".  This simple statement would have the beasts choking on whatever beasts have for breakfast at whatever time the they get out of there scratchers.  

[Smile 26,622]

52 minutes ago, gogzy said:

You don't half talk some pish man.  I had posted in this thread, and my posts we pretty much agreeing with everything Paul Murray had said.

 

So go fuck yourself.

I was going to point that out to him, the Gogzy crew is a term that get's used on FF quite a lot i guess he just wanted to seem Hip rather than actually read the thread.

I dont think they have quite grasped that on here members give their opinion not the RM boards.

[Turnberry18 3,204]

56 minutes ago, Smile said:

I was going to point that out to him, the Gogzy crew is a term that get's used on FF quite a lot i guess he just wanted to seem Hip rather than actually read the thread.

I dont think they have quite grasped that on here members give their opinion not the RM boards.

I can understand your call that we do our own media, but I don't agree with it in the slightest. I also understand where you are coming from in your criticism of the board, but I didn't necessarily believe any of the hype anyway. If the club is run in a proper manner though, and it appears that there is a great deal of effort being made to support the manager and put in a structure of competence at every level, then I'm happy with that. It doesn't matter to me who controls the running of the club, as long as they had the best interests of Rangers at heart,  I wouldn't want us spending in an unrealistic fashion. 

[danger ranger 922]

We all knew last year that this board did not have the money after all the lies Dave King spouted, 30m, 20m ,10m, 5m to spend on the team and looking at the type of manager they appointed there is definitely no big money going to be spent.

Unrealistic spending is obviously a combination of the buying and paying the player(s), with the latter possibly being the biggest hurdle, hence the proposed loaning of young talent from the EPL coupled with hopefully the best youth available, with some mature players helping them( eg. Kenny Miller), keeping the wage bill down and a balanced wage structure. I don't see that as a problem in the SPL overall, depending who they bring in, but doubt if it will be enough to win the league and after reading what PM is saying, he does not think so either.

[gogzy 31,195]

2 hours ago, Smile said:

I was going to point that out to him, the Gogzy crew is a term that get's used on FF quite a lot i guess he just wanted to seem Hip rather than actually read the thread.

I dont think they have quite grasped that on here members give their opinion not the RM boards.

The gogzy crew           I don't think there is a member on here I haven't argued with at some point.  

 

I've also agreed with a shit load of members that I have argued with in the past.  I don't have a crew, and for the most part, i try to be fair in my opinions.   I don't like Murray, and don't fully trust King ( made no secrets about it) but I give them credit when I feel it's due, and critisism  when I feel it's due.  

 

Mind you, I don't think he would know a fair, balanced view if it bit him in the arse.

[The Dude 20,026]

7 hours ago, AlCapone said:

What a load of shite, he's being kings lackey and getting the excuses in early  for not spending any money, money that was promised. We were advised in March 2014 that we needed 40 million, spent within 4 years. We are now more than half way through that period with next to no investment forthcoming.

we are not Aberdeen or hearts.we are Scotlands premier club are serious money need to be invested. We have won 5 titles in the last 16 seasons which is simply not good enough.

kings board is an underfunded  takeover and will never have the funds to take us back to where we belong, his promises were all pie in the sky. 

The amount of fans rolling over and letting King rub their tummies is embarrassing. Have some ambition for fucks sake, we are Rangers! Shame on everyone of you.

 

 

 

Just over a year into these "four years" and we are "more than half way through".

[AlCapone 7,678]

4 hours ago, The Dude said:

Just over a year into these "four years" and we are "more than half way through".

Eh Dave King said in March 2014 that we needed 40 million within 4 years, March 2014 was 2 years ago if you're  not aware. No need to apologise, we are all bears 

[The Dude 20,026]

2 minutes ago, AlCapone said:

Eh Dave King said in March 2014 that we needed 40 million within 4 years, March 2014 was 2 years ago if you're  not aware. No need to apologise, we are all bears 

Dave King wasn't on the board until March 2015. He couldn't really spent any of that "40m" when he wasn't.