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Been having a long think about whats actually going on at Rangers over recent years & I've come to the conclusion that our problems don't stem from the manager, the player or even the board - I am convinced there is something deeper. Lets look at some info: McCoist in Charge: - no leadership - no consistency - unable to break teams down - lack of fight/spirit - No plan B, or if there was it was worse than plan A - Squad build on shoe-string budget Warburton in Charge: - no leadership - no consistency - unable to break teams down - lack of fight/spirit - No plan B, or if there was it was worse than plan A - Given notable funds for new players, brought in loads - most flopped. Those that "survived" split fans with their quality & performance. Caixhina in Charge: - no leadership - no consistency - unable to break teams down - lack of fight/spirit - Plenty plans...few worked - Given notable funds for new players, brought in loads - most flopped. Those that "survived" split fans with their quality & performance. Murty in Charge: - no leadership - no consistency - unable to break teams down - lack of fight/spirit - Limited success with plan A....sticks with it regardless - Given funds, worked with DoF & brought in exciting loans (mainly) - most have been poor or inconsistently poor/average 3 completely different managers & backroom staff, 3 completely different approaches to the game, 3 completely different styles....yet all exhibiting the same problems. WHY??? To a great extend, I remove the Board from this. Yes, they appoint the managers and provide funds for players, but they're main responsibility is the business side of things, which recently appears to be a steady ship. Their actions in dealing with the playing problems have rightly come under fire in recent months, but maybe they are thinking along the same lines as me - "Doesn't matter who we bring in or do, the outcome appears the same". So what is the root cause of problems??? I believe there is some kind of attitude adjustment required at Auchenhowie. We have seen players come in time & time again, have a couple of great 1st few games then just completely wilt & disappear from the radar. Take Bruno Alves for example. A player of vast experience: 95 caps for Portugal, Euro champion (with Portugal), 4 Portuguese league titles (in a row with Porto)....yet looks completely useless in the Rangers defense. Dorrans & Martin arrived to much applaud from the fans...been next to useless. Fans couldn't wait for Cummings - struggled to get into the team. Dodoo arrive with rave reviews that he was the next big thing....rated at £8m (If memory serves) down south, yet has failed to even get a sniff of the 1st team. The list of decent players who have arrived at the club in recent years but flopped is a long one, with some well known names on it. Is it all simply down to poor management?? 3 completely different managers & staff would suggest it's unlikely. So what is going on at Auchenhowie that is giving these results??? Is it too cushy for the players?? Are they not being worked hard enough?? Are the management teams being fed bad/poor info from the various sports technicians?? It certainly isn't down to a lack of resource or facilities - we have possibly the best in the country. Could it be businessmen meddling in playing matters, thinking they're playing Football Manager??? What ever it is, unless it is identified & sorted I fear for ANY new manager coming in and I fear that we will really struggle to get out of this rut & REALLY compete at the top again.

Can't believe anyone thinks McCoist had to build a team from scratch on a shoe string budget , he authorised contracts to players such as Sandaza and Black at £7000 a week each ( oh and we had been offered them 3 weeks prior for £1500 a week , before they both changed agents ) , this at a time when we were playing against part timers in the 3rd division. McCoist wasted 3 years that were a golden opportunity to rebuild for the future , this board have further wasted 3 years , its enough to make you cry .

Get in a proper manager and a lot of those 'problems' take care of themselves. IMO.

Even Brown's best friend would absolutely lamp him first 10 minutes to let him know he was in a game. its criminal how such a mediocre player has been so successful in the game and much of it has been because WE have fallen apart.

Clear second and a League or Scottish Cup has to be minimum for me. A win against Celtic. Single digit points behind them. Again that is bare minimum for me, those were my realistic targets for this season.

Recently, we launched our new Gersnet Podcast and we've been delighted with the response across the community with thousands of views and hundreds of subscribers across the various platforms. As promised the pod will be available on a weekly basis so today we're very happy to bring you our latest episode. This week, Ross, David and Stewart analyse another insipid performance at Parkhead and ask just who is to blame for these continual let-downs. The lads also discuss the Steven Gerrard managerial rumours and ask if he'd be the right appointment. At the moment you can subscribe to the pod via the platforms in the link (remember to download their app from the App Store and/or Google Play) if you want to listen/download on your mobile devices. If you encounter any problems, then please email us for help. https://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/news-category/current-affairs/906-gersnet-podcast-005-old-firm-embarrassment-continues

1. Lewis Budinackas is an U16, with both U17 keeper's injured Lewis has been the 17's keeper since christmas. 2. Nathan Patterson, has captained Scotland's 17's. Nathan was small coming up through the ages, really took a big stretch in last six months. 3. Zac Butterworth was signed from Alloa Atletic at Under 13, alternated between full back and winger 4. Ben Williamson a bit of an unsung hero, likes a tackle, struggled to start games at younger age groups now on a pro contract. Not hand any international recognition. 5. Danny Finlayson only dropped back to 17's a few months ago, had been playing at 20's. Changed his allegiance to Northern Ireland. 6. Kyle McLelland U16 centre back and another who has opted for Northern Ireland. 7. Josh McPake signed from Hibs for a develpment fee at U14. Skilfull player who can be frustrating, would be a special player if he released the ball at the right time. 8 Murray Miller an U16 player signed form Motherwell for a development fee, picks up the loos balls and rarely gives possession away, keeps midfield ticking over. 9 Dapo Mebude can be unplayable or on occasions his head is elsewhere, usually the first 15 minutes will tell which Dapo has turned up. 10 Ciaran Dickson another U16 ,real high energy box to box midfielder 11. Kai Kennedy the real playmaker of the team, not the biggest but really skilful and talented, at the moment the only one not commited to a contract. 12. Harris O'Connor cultured defender and another U16, Signed from Kilmarnock for a small development fee at U15 he was a year at Kilmarnock after his family moved north was previously on Charlton Athletic's books. 17 James Maxwell picked up this season when Falkirk/Forth Valley scrapped their youth setup. a decision will be made at the end of the season. 18 Matty Yates U16 striker who has played quite a few 17's games and scored a few goals/.

My report on tonight's game https://rfcyouths.wordpress.com/2018/04/30/glasgow-cup-triumph-for-17s/

Tonight's commentator was Alex O'Henley. I believe he is from Barra, was the football correspondent on the West Highland Free Press for a dozen years. Of course, the WHFP was owned for quarter of a century by former Labour Party MP and official biographer of ra Sellik, Brian Wilson. Further, he has been on the football Board at the club for a dozen years or more. We wondered for a decade who was the FARE Observer that penned the damning report on Bears behaviour in Villarreal, leading to a UEFA fine and sanctions. It was Sellik supporter, Alex O'Henley.

McPake looks a good player. I'd like to see us get another goal or two here.

Yes but Celtic saw earlier in the season that 2 wingers was not the answer and started playing 3 or 4 in the midfield. Murty does not seem to see that or doesn't want to change it no matter what. It is strange because he did go diamond shape for a few games and it worked.

Yip there was a scuffle in the Buffet line, two players reached for the last chicken nugget, bedlam was what i heard.

If you can't live with expectation, don't come to Rangers. If you remove those expectation it won't BE Rangers. It was always thus.

With respect dB Gersnet was full of posters saying quite clearly that Pedro was a bizarre appointment minutes after he was made. There is no revisionism or hindsight required there, there were plenty who could see how Pedro's reign was going to turn out without the need for a crystal ball. Unfortunately none of those people were on our board. This board deserve credit for what they've done right but they also deserve criticised for what they've done wrong. Well they've handled our managerial position, arguably the most important position at the club, very poorly since they took control. As for why Gerrard "the person" isn't of the same calibre as Souness let me try and answer that. For one Souness played for four senior sides before joining Rangers,. He had experience of different clubs, different dressing rooms and different footballing cultures. Gerrard played for one club almost his entire career, a retirement party in LA being his only experience of life away from Anfield. He's never had to walk into a new dressing room and adapt or change it. Secondly Gerrard has some very iffy friendships. His connections to organised crime in Liverpool is well documented, a simple Google search will fill you in on that. As far as I know Souness never provided a character reference in court for gangster. Neither did Souness beat someone up in a bar because he didn't like the music he was playing. Lastly, for football reasons alone, I don't think we don't need another inexperienced coach. We need someone who knows how to galvanise a side, create a team spirit and some tactical awareness. There are managers out there who we know possess this, no one knows if Gerrard does.

And yet you Pom-Pom people give nothing by way of reasoning as to how the Board have shown much in the way of great leadership. For every "you don't give workable suggestions" you ask for the reality is that this Board has made a number of mistakes (every Board will but ours seem to make more than their fair share). If you wish to dispute that then feel free to tell me where I'm wrong. I didn't say Gerrard was "nowhere near an appointment Souness was". That's revisionism and just blatant lies. What I DID say was that there were numerous reasons why they can't really be compared. Souness came to us at a time when : 1. We could significantly outspend Celtic. Gerrard wouldn't be. 2. Souness was a player-manager who could provide on pitch leadership whilst still being able to play to a high standard himself. Gerrard won't be playing. 3. Souness came when English teams were banned from Europe which allowed us to obtain the English Captain and their international keeper. Gerrard won't be signing either of the ose. 4. Souness came when Celtic, strangely enough even though they were in the ascendency, were being run by a fairly inept Board. Their current Board sadly seems to be anything but inept. Enough of an explanation for you ? I'm sure that there are more too. The funny thing is that I am not anti-Board or anti-King and can see the good they have done. But I won't just give them a free ride when they have clearly made mistakes. It's called being objective.

Maybe they're too embarrassed.

What are they going to say, we've heard it all before? The only thing that will talk comprehensively is a big investment.

Am I the only one who has sympathy for Murty? the guy was asked to take over and is now getting slaughtered! I don't think that is right, I have to say I don't think he should get the job, however the guys has done his best and doesn't deserve the amount of attacks he is receiving! I actually think we should be thanking him for taking this on!. Also, does he still have a future at Rangers? he has always said he will continue with the youths after this but is he now a target for so much abuse can he just go back to the youths and carry on after all this? I do hope so.

Sorry again , but that's rewriting the past again, McCoist came out in the press and slated C Green even going as far as to say the fans shouldn't trust him , with in a week he had been offered 1 million share at 1p each ( way way below the issue price ), quicker than you could say " cash that cheque " he was back in the papers and Tv telling fans everything was ok and to buy season tickets . As for his reduced wage , he was paid every penny that was in his contract , every single penny , yet he makes out like he was a martyr.

Hearts thumped them and Killie and Hibs have beaten them too...then there were the draws. Celtc are no great shakes. When a team drub you 4-0, the first thing you do to prepare for the next match against them is make sure you're hard to beat. We should've parked the bus.

Peter Martin\Maguire and Roughie what else can you expect.

Having just read the thread a little of my shame and humiliation from yesterday, has somewhat lessened a little. Thanks for the win the Wee Gers and giving us some pride back..

Great win for the lads, quality performance, some cracking players in the young team, all good!

It makes a very pleasant change to see Rangers players winning 50-50s, finding each other with passes, looking composed and comfortable on the ball.

So wait, you still believe that Green wasn't manipulating McCoist to be the face of the club, allowing Green and his buddies to, allegedly, pilfer millions from the club ? "McCoist put his money in as a fan first and foremost" - aye, right. I'll crack the jokes. McCoist was granted penny shares which cost him a pittance, knowing full well that there was every likelihood that he would profit. McCoist put his money in, first and foremost, to invest and hopefully make some profit. Do I believe he invested as a fan ? Yes. Do I believe that was his primary motivation ? No. Unless you are McCoist or close to him and had such conversation with him then you are guilty of conjecture as much as I am. No wonder you have a username of Unicorn

No, just little tactical tweaks -- like launching a long ball into our left half-space/channel, as John and whoever is next to him seem to sh*te themselves at seeing it...

Just my opinion mate. I think we need to beat them. We need to brake this run if we are gonna move forward. Same for a cup, not saying we have to beat them en roue to a final but they ain’t gonna keep winning trebles.

Celtic destroyed us in the semi, sticking with their formation was exactly what they needed to do because it worked. We're the ones who needed to seriously re-assess how we set up and make some serious changes, and use the element of surprise to our advantage.

Maybe it IS the f**king pixies

I think you're actually saying the manager has no part to play in leadership and establishing the winning ethos you want. Maybe we have the wrong kind of pixies cutting the grass at Auchenhowie? We've had four failures in a row because we've had four inadequate managers in a row. And how you can so readily absolve the board that appointed those managers is bizarre.

How big are the studios at PQ? On Saturday evening, we had Tam Cowan and Michael Grant taking up space, then the Beeb techies managed to cram Billy("I no longer consider myself to be a Rangers Supporter")Dodds, his EBT, and DrStu' and all his principles. We must wonder how one studio can accommodate such a crush? Stevie G was the common currency, why would he consider joining Rangers? DrStu' was of the opinion that Rangers had season tickets to sell. Both Tam and Michael Grant were quick to point out that Rangers have had no problem in selling season tickets these last several years. DrStu' changed tact, mumbling about silent protests and his concern over Rangers supporters being taken for fools by the Board. Further, Rangers might be about to hit a wall on selling tickets. Dandy Don, Michael Grant reminded DrStu' that Rangers shifted 43,000 season tickets for this season. At least DrStu' is consistent, remember he knows three Rangers supporters who were season ticket holders, never missed a game, who don't attend anymore because Rangers are not the same club. Further, DrStu's predicted five years past that Rangers would be playing in front of an average crowd of 8,000 supporters at Ibrox when they eventually reach the Premiership. DrStu's sits extremely comfortably with a full range of preferred prejudice. His uber nationalism is another weight that drags him down, which is awkward because he continually wants to be seen standing up for Scotland. It's a relief to Beeb techies, they can alleviate space concerns in the studio by removing DrStu's chair. Tam is caught in a wave of nostalgia, he used to have a show on TV and tells a warming story of former England and Liverpool skipper, Emlyn Hughes. Apparently, Emlyn was a wonderful guest and walked out of Beeb Scotland into a waiting cab, taking him home to Sheffield. After a four hour journey late at night, his concern for the cabbie extended to putting the driver up for the night at his home. DrStu' hoped the driver tanned Emlyn's house, before leaving next morning. Tam inquired why DrStu' dislikes guys like Emlyn? DrStu' says, "Ah felt he betrayed Wales". Hughes was born in Barrow, he played for Blackpool, Liverpool, Wolves, and England. He managed Rotherham. All, in a period where international rules were quite clear, you played for the ntry where you were born. Joe Baker was an outstanding forward for Hibs and Torino. His several international caps for England occurred because he was born in England due to his father serving as a soldier. I know DrStu' takes a keen interest in the Warren Cummings test. Thus, Emlyn Hughes had an English accent and Joe Baker a Scot's one. Betrayal is such a strong word. DrStu' enjoys researching facts for his trilogy of soul tomes. His writings on Northern Soul included a line, 'the scene was focused on northern English seaside towns including Scarborough, Southport, Blackpool, Prestatyn, and Rhyl'. He picked up a prize for his writings last week in south Wales. I wonder if anyone informed DrStu' that Prestatyn and Rhyl are located in north Wales? Sounds like a betrayal; however, I am sure DrStu will be researching the accents of folks in both these towns?

There's no doubt that the board has made a few errors of judgement in selecting the manager, but I have to admit that if I was on the board I think I'd have made some of those same mistakes. It's difficult to pick a manager, and in fact it is the most difficult decision to take because it can't be reversed easily so quickly. I like the fact that they've selected a manager (with the very best of motives and expectation) and then backed him each time. I'm assuming we all agree with that. The problem they have is that whoever they choose as our manager, there will be a large proportion of the fan base that will be unhappy. I'd be happy to prove that if anyone on here wants to submit a list of potential names. The simple fact is that no matter who becomes our manager, they have a thankless task. We want to win the league and yet it's wholly unreasonable to expect that, yet. It is however perfectly reasonable to expect us to finish comfortably in second place and therein lies the issue with Murty. In December, the board selected its preferred manager but this approach failed before they got anywhere. That's just life and football, but they decided to hold off until the summer to ensure that the correct man was appointed. I think it was completely reasonable too for the board to expect us to finish second given the quality singings we made in January. To be fair to the board and Murty, it looked a certainty as we were playing some brilliant football and scoring at will in our games at the start of the year. In fact, I particularly enjoyed the prospect of us having a title challenge. Indeed, we were a fine margin away from that in our game against Celtic at Ibrox. I still can't believe we lost that game. However, not only did we lose that game, but something happened. I don't know what, but something changed and the team has not kicked a ball since. It's clear that the skill is there, because we were all over teams (including Celtic) at our freeflowing best. We seem to however lack a mentality, or a resilience to deal with setbacks. That's what Murty appears to be unable to deal with. It may have had something to do with the rumoured unrest in the dressing room as a result of LW and KM, but that's just speculation, albeit somewhat substantiated. The simple fact is that this team has shown that it can be good enough. The fact is that the team is fragile. The fact is that we have significantly closed the gap on Celtic and really are not that far behind them. We need a manager who is a winner. That's now the next step in our development. I don't really know who we will bring in next, but whoever it is has to drive a belief in these players. If he identifies players who don't really believe, or are fragile, he needs to move them on quickly. Playing for Rangers (or them for that matter) is tough. It's far easier for these same guys to play for Aberdeen or Hibs because the expectations are much lower. I'm sure many will accept that the weight of expectation can destroy some players and we've seen that this season. We need a winner as a manager, a good transfer window (to move on our mentally weak players), and an influx of 2 or 3 quality players and leaders on the park. That should be enough to create some distance between us and the rest of the pack. Then we can start to look ahead of us and tackle Celtic. We are not as far away as many on here would suggest, but unless we bring in the right manager with the right mentality we will never unlock the potential this squad clearly has.

Gerrard is an unknown quantity; Coleman is a known bad one. Apart from a good international campaign, he has had a poor managerial career.

That’s why I’ve changed my mind. If the tim crayon pushers are agin it, I’m for it.

I see there is a concerted effort by the Scottish media to try and dissuade Gerrard from taking the job. Chris Sutton, Davie Provan, Kris Commons... all suggesting it is a bad move. Unlike their English counterparts Shearer, Wright, Cascarino etc who all think it’s a great move. Funny that.

There's possibly too much talk about experience or the lack of it, and not enough focus on the calibre of the person. Wallace and Souness were leaders, so was Walter Smith - I'm sure their strength of character carried them through many a time when their experience was lacking. If Steven Gerrard is made of the right stuff then he will be a success at Rangers. If he's not then it won't matter what experience he has or hasn't got. On the face of it, listening to those who know him, I think there's every chance he can make it here.

He has had to take over first team duties twice thro not fault of his own.

Sky Sources have revealed the negotiations with Steven Gerrard to become new manager could be concluded by the end of the week, with an announcement in due course.The 37-year old has not been ‘put off’ the job after yesterday’s result, and in fact is said to be more ‘excited’ than ever by the idea of getting one over on both Celtic and his old boss Brendan Rodgers.While further negotiations have been confirmed for this week, they are said to be progressing well, and it has been revealed that Gary McAllister will indeed be his assistant manager if the deal can be sorted.As we explained earlier, budget does not appear to be a stumbling block, but Gerrard is said to seeking reassurances about his ambitions, his needs, and the level of control he will have once in the hot seat.This one could well be ratified by as early as Friday, but we shall wait and see. Link under review! Pete

2 - 0 Rangers.

1 - 0 Rangers.

I’m pretty sure negotiations with Gerrard are going to break down when King finally plucks up the courage to ask him if he’d be interested in “an exciting investment opportunity”.

Of course you can. It all depends on your remit. Rodgers has apparently changed many aspects of the club that were outside of the remit that Delia was given. He was given authority over a lot of areas which has led to them becoming a lot more professional (and made him unpopular internally).

The difference is that Celtic don't HAVE to make any changes. If we play the same formation and personnel against them in a 4-0 drubbing.... why would they make any changes in the next game a couple of weeks later ?? When your players have been pumped 4-0 using a 4-2-3-1 the last thing you do when playing them two weeks later is..... play a 4-2-3-1 with almost the same personnel. If you don't learn from your mistakes and all that....

Yesterday's drubbing could work in the club's favour for next season. From the board's point of view, they're now in a position where they really need to commit to spending good money for next season to appease the fans. From an incoming manager's point of view, it's still not an attracive job but the club has hit rock bottom and a new manager has an ideal opportunity to overhaul the squad and be credited with a turnaround now.

This is what I was labouring on here before the game, we had to change formation after the 4-0 and give Celtic something to think about. Going out with the same formation with no noticeable tactical changes was absolutely unforgiveable. Above all yesterday was a tactical catasophre. I'm not one of the ones calling for a complete clearout. Assuming we somehow find £10m to spend, I still think we're 3/4 big signings and a good manager away from running them close next season. Two tall and strong quality centre backs. We seem to be seriously lacking a midfielder who can tackle! (if Jordan Rossiter could stay fit for 5 minutes...) A top quality skillful flair player to take over from Windass would be another priority for me (James McArthur is apparently staying with Palace)

MW, PC and GM One important aspect IMO is unreasonable expectation levels relative to tools at their disposal. I think it wears management and players down and they can't perform to even the best of their actual ability. The managers end up thankful to leave.

Murty's 4-2-3-1 was predictable today. Rodgers knew it so he flooded MF. They had 4 MF players to our 2. Outnumbered & overrun. For the 3 Windass is an in/out player & the 2 wide men got isolated. And Cummings cannot play the lone striker role After all that the defence never stood a chance. A total shambles. Murty's time is up. I've supported him until now but he's been in freefall since the 3-2 defeat at ibrox