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And you keep replying - not sure why..... 😀 if you don't like it or agree with it, post a counter argument or simply just ignore it. The clubs a mess from top to bottom, we are playing an unspecified amount of our home games away from Ibrox (possibly our CL qualifiers), our Chairman has been in hiding for over a year, we've several key roles still to be filled, we can't sign any players until we move players on, we have had a shit-show of a pre-season (with 2 more games to play), our injury curse has struck again and we look in a worse state than we were this time last season. Too many fans focused on moving on the "serial losers" (their term, not mine) and assuming that once they have been shifted (sold, paid off) that everything in the garden will be rosy. On the playing side, things may change over the coming weeks, but it's hardly ideal as two weeks today we kick-off away to Hearts at Tynecastle and we still don't know who will be in and or out, who our best starting 11. As usually I'll be in the minority (and I'm more than comfortable with that) but I've not been this disconnected from the club / team since the Spiv and Murray days.

I went on about it last summer, outside bets. That is the easy part. Finding the money for the right type of player is much more of a challenge.

Starting Wright and Lawrence is a wee bit worrying though - the definition of insanity etc. Dessers I get because Danilo is coming back from injury but even a half fit Danilo is more mobile than him. Sorry if that's harsh. Barron and Diomande look like they could do well together - they just desperately need a grafter with guile ahead of them in the 10. If he's sticking with that.

You’re perfectly entitled to tell me that. For years I was perfectly happy with Murray despite the warnings from FF’s Grand Old Man. It was near the end before I saw he was right. Does the current board not have some hotshot US management and investment expert advising them? There was a great announcement about a year ago but nothing since. Lack of money is crippling. All the more reason not to waste it. The biggest recruitment error was Pedro followed by Beale. There are excuses in the latter case but none in the former. If Bennet wants my advice - and he still hasn’t been in touch - it’s quite simple. Forget performance in Europe. Recruit a team to beat celtic. It shouldn’t be that hard. Defenders who can defend will do for a start. Then a couple of athletic guys up front who can put their weight about, a poacher to play alongside them and a couple of footballers. Getting the last two will be the hard part. It won’t be pretty but it will solve the immediate problem of winning the league and from that small beginning ….

Warburton was a good appointment.

Even made it on top of the pops when someone mixed him up with the singer Jackie Wilson.

You have indeed mentioned the above before. It was just when you said 'root of the problems' I thought there was something more there; one or two key things that you felt were the 'root' of the issues. I'm not sure they are 'root' causes, but that's just semantics and certainly doesn't mean I disagree with your list of failures. I think the cause of point 1 and 2 are related to the relationship between the DoF and Board. I don't think the DoF has enough power to implement the recruitment strategy we need. Moreover, the Board has too much influence on managerial appointments; I think it should be mainly down to the DoF. We have since changed our DoF and we can see a shift in his approach. Whether he still has a lack of power (i.e. ability to sell a player when the value is high and a offer comes in, etc.), I don't know. Point 3 is irrelevant because we didn't have a DoF at that time. It was stupid, but nothing could be done about it. Point 4 could be related to both the DoF and the Board. The former I've touched upon. The latter: I'm not sure it's 'horrific'; there's progress being made behind the scenes. It's certainly not moving quickly enough. Point 5 lists a couple of mistakes, but they're not egregious mistakes, IMO. That's just me, though. I believe heads have rolled? Point 6 is a problem, and has been for a while. I do get the sense that you want concrete answers to every little detail yesterday, when that's sometimes not possible. I certainly feel that there is a lot that fans just shouldn't be allowed to know. Point 7 is usually the fact that some roles have not been filled. It's just the CEO, is it not? He has just left, so I don't think it's really expected that a new appointment would be made the next day - it did take us a while to get a DoF. If we were to drill down on a 'root' cause, I'd go with the power granted to the DoF: I think our DoF should have more power in running the football department. That's just my opinion. @RANGERRAB will probably have a fit. The other would be the quality of the Board, but I'm not sure the fans are the best to judge - They'll see systemic problems if we draw at the weekend.

I don't think you've discussed 'the root of the problems', so I would appreciate some clarification.

100% but only if they are replaced with better quality. If they aren't, the downwards spiral continues.

Just watched the Open Finale does anyone think that the winner is a Dessers lookalite???? Sorry I don't have/knoe how to post photoes.

There is a slight resemblance, Dessers is the better looking of the two, but Dessers unfortunately doesn't have Schauffele's ball skills.

Jesus man I am so deflated about our prospects but never mind. We have to gel as a team but we are trying to do so more than the Celic who are destroying samaller teams and receiving adulation from the mhedia. As far as I'm concerned "The Road Is Long With Many a Winding Turn" so untill we have turned every turn let's keep believing. Pessism/optismism Glass half full/empty it's up to you but please believe in our team. WATP.

Suggestions Goldson is in Cyprus tonight to discuss a move elsewhere (either to Aris or perhaps further afield)...

I, too, should prefer that McCausland was the starter. However, I think that he has to give as many as possible a run out, or two, over the warm-ups games. He would be vilified by the support if he started players, in the early competitive matches, if these guys had not played since May. We were OK for 20 mins, or so, v ManUtd. We remain, however, sluggish of mind, and of body. Dessers is dug meat: slow. ponderous, persistently offside, and a shot like my old granny. But in the final third, we are woeful generally, so maybe I should not single him out.

I don’t think he will when the season starts

Without Europe, we'd be proper financially fucked and miserable. Since Gerrard arrived, we have performed very well in the Europa League. Dave King said his financial forecast was based on reaching group stage matches 3 out of every 5 seasons. Since Gerrard, we haven't missed a year. The national co-efficient (mainly thanks to us) has helped ensure group stage football. That will soon change and we will revert to playing July qualifiers.

We should still beat Hearts. The most important matches on the horizon are the CL qualifiers. If we were to go out at the first hurdle, there would be another financial hole to fill. As I understand it, it would mean the loss of one European home gate plus the potential financial safeguard of around 5M€ for CL play off losers / chance to get into CL proper. Would be interesting to know what we have budgeted for.

One thing I got fed up with when the lot before King took over was that mystical word transparency fans clamored for it but no board tells their customers anything and quite rightly but wouldn’t it be great to have been a fly on the wall to hear who told Bisgrove and Wilson it was okay to hand Beale a good amount of money for a club who didn’t have much cash at hand who gave that permission probably someone who has no idea of running a football club. money has been wasted big time but no one at the top table seems to be responsible .

16/5

To quote some of the slanderers of Wright: "To put him in the shop window!" IMHO, Lawrence and Dowell are the sort of players who do well in an English environment, or someplace where people want to play football. The sort of Bentley you have in the car park and drive about on a Sunday. That is: play when Scottish teams are broken, and you can pick their slender attempts at open football up with clever passes sprayed from midfield to marauding attackers. Both are no doubt good footballers, and truth be told, Lawrence did his best yesterday in terms of pressing their defenders, even had the odd shot. That said, much like with us, ManU is not his level. Our front line had little support from midfield, yet still carved up quite a few chances. Obviously, scorn was emptied over Dessers and Wright for missing their shots ... in a pre-season game that was fought out over - like my Union-friend uses to say - a golden pineapple. As for Lawrence, he, Cantwell and Lowry would be my choice for a/the creative slot/s in midfield, yet not front-line attackers. Yesterday, IMHO, it was still all about fitness and checking where everyone is, both in mind and body.

Repeating myself again, but social media is a cesspit.

Correct - maybe down to a board who simply don't know what they are doing football wise.

Agreed, it can all be traced back as you said above. However, it shouldnt excuse the current clusterfu** which is down to the current board making wrong decision after wrong decision. I also never get this assumption that Rangers fans should never publicly call out the board, if only we (as a collective) had when the moonbeams started to fade and the facade started to crack. A very few of us questioned it, we were ridiculed (and worse) but it's at times like these when, without any pleasure, we could say "told you so"...

That’s a helluva lot of roots. The root cause is Murray spending beyond the club’s means for which he needed the ill fated EBT scheme. The spivs only exacerbated the damage. Everyone else has been fighting fires and under that pressure a lot of wrong decisions have been made.

The DoF role is definitely one we've never really gotten right. I think like you, the DoF should be the one person who decides when players are sold and who has (I hate the term as its a Ross Wilson one), succession plan for players and managers. Regarding the CEO, again it's about having the forethought to know who will replace them BEFORE they leave. We appear to be a reactive club rather than a proactive one (that goes for more than recruitment). I believe the Academy Director has still to be filled (I may be wrong), so there is another pivotal role within the club. As for communication, I don't want answers to every detail yesterday. The question around how long we are going to be at Hampden isn't an insignificant issue - it may impact how we start our league campaign (it's critical we get off to a good start) and worse, could see us play our CL qualifiers there. A couple of vague holding statements aren't good enough.

The root of the problem was Sir Duped. Goes back decades.

These are symptoms, not the root, of the problem. You could have just said it's all the board's fault.

I have, if you can't see it, then I'm done pointing it out. But for clarification ; - horrific player recruitment. - horrific management recruitment. - horrific decisions allowing a manager complete control of signings. - poor use of the little disposable income we have. - horrific decisions in boardroom (steel for Copland, Celtic Friendly etc). - silence from the boardroom. - etc, etc, etc. If you think all of the above are off the mark then fine. Of if you think all of the above aren't the root of the problem then fine. However, I think they are and I am as entitled as anyone else to hold these or any other views without being repeatedly "miss-quoted" and asked to clarify, when I've posted the same things numerous times then accused of banging on about them. Not much I or any of us can do about the above and in retrospect, maybe a good thing we're playing at Hampden (how long for again - oh that's right, we've not been told) as at least I'll have a terrible view of the football on the pitch.

Anyone heading to Birmingham? I thought about it but the travel costs and times put me off. I think we'll see an improved performance on Wednesday night, albeit against lesser opposition. I'm hoping Danilo gets closer to match fitness and can take the up front starter slot by the time we get to the competitive matches.

Wickes?

I doubt anyone thinks that.

Sarcasm noted but Tav and Goldson definitely need to go, for a couple reasons. Neither of those dudes kicked a ball in the first half, and you couldn't tell the difference in that team. When you factor in their age and the collective hit against team salary, yeah, gots to go. I hope we can sell both. Looks like that Transgenderbor team in Turkey likes Tav.

Gary Stevens is the best right back I've see play for Rangers (Sandy Jardine was coming to the end of his career when I started watching Rangers on a regular basis). However, to believe we could attract a player of his quality now, we are deluding ourselves. Pity tho...!!

Absolutely, gimme those stats over Tavs anyday* Before anyone starts, yes I'm a fan of Tav, he's been a phenomenal buy, a great servant, right through from the championship to very nearly giving us a European trophy. 👏🏻

Yep. Completely different in style. Reardon the last of the old school, Higgins the innovator.

It really was embarrassing reminding me ofithink it was Lafferty against Aberdeen

Nah. Would be surprised if we could afford half that.

Glad youre aiming low. I am as well. This a team that has won one league, one league cup and one Scottish Cup over the past decade. ZERO improvement from the same point last campaign. I personally think this team look to maintain their second place in the league and possibly challenge for one domestic cup. Champions League?…ha! Fugedaboutit.

Do you mean a real elbow in the face or a slight brush from an opponent's arm, like Dessers got?

Would you not go down and roll about if YOU got an elbow in the face.😬

Here’s two. Ray Reardon, died today and Alex Hurricane Higgins.

Bigger upside potentially but longer to make an impact on the team. Let's be honest, if we lose a game prior to the 1st OF game then lose at Parkhead, the toxicity from last season will be nothing compared to what will transpire. Clement needs instant impact signings as well as players he can phase into the team.