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Muscat and Rose sound like names from the wine menu

Must get my name on the season ticket waiting list so I can demand to be taken off it if SG gets the job.

Someone was on the glue when they bought him and then on the skag last summer when they didn't sell him.

A snippet of an Athletic article from February: A director of football does far more than just manage transfers, even if some fans still mistake them for heads of recruitment. Thelwell oversees the medical and sports science departments, the academy and women’s teams and data/analytics. Three years in, his fingerprints are evident across all of them. Jack Nayler, formerly of Chelsea and Real Madrid, was appointed head of sports science in September 2022. Gareth Prosser, Thelwell’s former colleague at Wolverhampton Wanderers, became academy director and Carl Darlington, previously of the Welsh FA, joined as head of coaching. Former player James Vaughan initially returned in the new role of loan pathways manager and now also heads up academy recruitment. There have been promotions for the highly-rated Dan Purdy, now head of recruitment, Charlie Reeves (head of insights) and Matty Hawkes (head of first-team analysis). Data has been moved to the start of the recruitment process, while Reeves produces game reports to be presented to managers and coaching staff. Under Thelwell and Vaughan, Everton’s loan strategy has been revamped, with the focus shifting from winning youth matches to player development. Loans are used for different purposes — to give players the necessary exposure to secure a deal elsewhere and help Everton recoup some money, or to help a potential future first-team player like Harrison Armstrong, who moved to Derby County last week, take the final leap into the senior set-up. Deals contain penalty clauses if a certain threshold of games is not reached. Everton sold Tom Cannon and Ellis Simms for a combined £15m in the summer of 2023 after successful loans in the Championship. Also factoring in the departures of Ishe Samuels-Smith to Chelsea and Gordon to Newcastle, they have made around £70m from academy graduates in Thelwell’s time at the club. They would not have wanted to lose all of those players, but PSR and the financial situation dictated that they had to make difficult decisions. After consultation with staff across all levels, Thelwell, Prosser and Darlington have produced a ‘game model’ to be implemented by every Everton side, with the aim of improving the pathway to the first team. There is a feeling strides have been taken, but an acceptance stocks will need to be replenished at academy level too if Everton are to compete again. It is a familiar picture across the board. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6134154/2025/02/14/kevin-thelwell-everton-future-transfers/

We know what's going to happen. If the team is competing for the league, winning games we're expected to win and giving Celtic a challenge then the majority of fans will be happy. If we're 10 points behind them by November, our new players haven't bedded in and we've just dropped points at home to Falkirk then the pitch forks will be out. It'll be the manager who gets it first, but eventually Thelwell will come under fire and finally the board if nothing changes. Sacking a manager every autumn keeps the fans from outright revolt. A decent percentage of fans couldn't care less who owns the club and who runs the club, if we're winning the league. Look at the SDM years if you think I'm exaggerating. If we're finishing the league as Champions then our new owners could strip the oak panelling from the Main Stand and sell it for fire wood and many in our support would turn up and help them shift it. We're being sold to total strangers, people with no connection or affection for our club, people who's motives we can only guess at, and I'd say the majority of our support are welcoming them with open arms and a decent number are actively cheerleading them. There's little sense of nervousness, no worry or concern from an awful lot of people. Those who do have concerns are told they're happy settling for second and have no ambition. Like most of us I saw our club teeter on the very edge of oblivion not that long ago. It amazes me how many of our support are happy to gamble it all again. It was interesting learning about Athletic Bilbao again recently. A club with an identity, with a purpose, who know exactly who they are.

Once again we're getting entrenched in a binary argument, when both are valid, IMO. On the one hand, it's certainly true that we are an impatient lot, that are generally unwilling to go through the necessary rebuilding phase and get hooked on a quick fix. We are financially unsustainable. Despite knowing it was front-loaded, we overspent stopping their 10IAR and yet most were still expecting us to keep spending. On the other hand, I do think the solution can be as simple as getting the right appointments and the right structure in place. I do think a good coach solves most of it. I have been of the opinion that we've been dragged one way and the next in terms of planning and rebuilding because we've had too many voices in the boardroom - exacerbated because the fans are too impatient to see anything through unless it bares immediate fruit. I'm hoping the takeover will solve most of these issues.

Here and in general. If you're not seeing any cheerleading then maybe you've become inured to it. I don't think there is any comparison between the current board and SDM. Whatever failures they have they own them. I don't have the same hatred for our board that some seem to harbour. Whatever their faults I'm more comfortable with them than whatever venture capitalists we've got coming next. I know, i'm an inveterate loser who is happy finishing second every season.

After going all in on Clement I do not feel qualified to make a choice here so went for Jose for the lols.

Would definitely fill the criteria of knowing his way around the physio room...

It would be amazing if he could bring to Rangers the success Everton have enjoyed over the last two decades.

You need to sort out your priorities.

Regardless of who comes and goes we can all rely on Keith Jackson to be there to lead us around by the nose.

Syphilis is more appealing than Dyche.

It's an interesting question and one none of us can answer. For me the real question that's still not been answered is why do they want to buy us? We've had 3 types of owners in 150 or so years. 1. Supporters of the club for who it is an emotional decision - Every owner we've ever had except a handful 2. For the prestige it will reflect on them, to inflate their ego, raise their profile - Sir David Murray 3. An effort to make money - Whyte, Green, Ashley We can remove '1' from their motivation. I think '2' is a stretch too, they aren't Russian oligarchs or Middle Eastern despots with reputations needing sports washed. Which leaves 3. They already own an English side with lot's of potential and that's where the money is, the real money. There's not much money in Scottish football, so their are only 3 ways I can see for them to make money from us. Qualify for the Champion's League, sell players for profits or reduce overheads. I think a lot of fans are hoping for the first option; Champion's League. To do that we'll need to win our league and then get through qualifying, or win the Europa League next season. There's not enough money in the Europa or Conference Leagues to make our owners a serious profit, so it's Champion's League or nothing. What kind of investment would it take to turn our club into Champions and strengthen again to qualify for the Champion's League? Including transfer fees and salaries? Gerrard spent in the region of £30 million on transfer fees to win the league, plus a decent number of free transfer signings. That side didn't qualify for the Champion's League. You add signing on fees, agent fees and of course salaries to that number and you get a big number, just to win the league. Now we might get lucky, our current squad is better than the one Gerrard inherited, and maybe we'll appoint a manager who can do something special with them and a couple of new signings. Plus maybe the wheels come off over the city. That would be a gamble though, money has to be invested in our squad, it's not good enough to win the league as it stands. It's a question of how much. Selling players for a profit is the more attractive option I'd have thought. If you've no emotional attachment, if it's purely about business and winning stuff is a bonus, then developing and selling players is the easiest way to make money. Particularly if you already own the buyer. I mean developing players for Leeds, who if they can get promoted and stay up, not a given for sure, will have access to hundreds of millions just by being in that league is surely the easiest way to make money. Leeds in the EPL will turnover £200 million right away. We'd need to win the Champion's League to make that. So which one of those 2 horses are you going to back? If you wonder how this dual ownership might work have a read about Strasbourg. Currently doing ok in the French League, but very much being used as a support club for Chelsea. Strasbourg are used to buy players not yet ready for Chelsea, then 'sold' onto Chelsea if they develop. It's not about success for Strasbourg, it's about maintaining Chelsea as a cash cow for their American owners. Option 3, cut overheads. After all we only need to finish second to guarantee a crack at European football, fill the stadium and sell our replica shirts. We've already demonstrated that for the last however many years. What if that could be maintained on lower overheads? I mean we might even breakeven this season, much lower salary bill and a decent Europa run. Just keep that going, take a million out a year in management fees, just keep finishing second, how hard can that be? Anyway, my money is on option 2, I'm not discounting 3, and I'm loving the optimism many have for option 1.

For the first time in our history we have gone 8 consecutive league games where we have lost 2 goals or more.

Now here's a name not on the list but.......how about Stephen Robinson? Wouldn't cost much and he can certainly instil a system and a mentality. He could also bring Declan John back - he looked better than Jefte yesterday. Ok call me an old fart.

Not worse now? you do realise we’re in negative goal difference since BF came in? If that’s not a sign we’ve got worse I don’t know what is

Hopefully "Big Soapy" will be nowhere near the 1st team, nevermind the vice captaincy - guys a liability.

The on-field captain today looked as though it was Raskin rather than Tavernier. It looked as though the former was the only one playing for the jersey. Lots of basic errors from many players today suggest we need to upgrade in numerous positions.

Dyche and Mourinho don't develop players. They like to work with the finished article. Whoever we get needs to be able to polish up a few rough diamonds (or turds, depending on who you ask).

A lot of it is behind the scenes and unseen by the support, so I'm not convinced it's driven by them. My (uninformed) view is that it's the board that hasn't had the conviction to follow through on it, perhaps by employing the wrong people, and perhaps they have a lack of patience with their "toy".

Wouldn't surprise me to hear he joins Lyall Cameron in signing for us in the summer. Must be time for @der Berliner to start the summer transfer thread....

Steven Gerrard Never convinced by going back to a previous player or manager. Has he improved since leaving us? What has he learned by his failures at Villa and abroad? Would he want Beale as his assistant again? Jose Mourinho Hasn't won a league title in a long time. Has been nomadic in his jobs in recent years. Would command a huge wage and budget. Russell Martin Knows the club somewhat but reputation isn't great amongst fans. Modern methods over orthodox coaching? Daniel Farke Has done fairly well at Leeds but not every fan of theirs is convinced. Would he come to Scotland as his stock is high? Barry Ferguson Has spoken pretty well whilst in interim charge but results and performances haven't improved. Sean Dyche An experienced operator but perhaps lacks the charisma and/or modern style fans would prefer. Kevin Muscat Successful in foreign leagues and has an agreeable attacking outlook. Has distanced himself from the job previously. Marco Rose Has been linked with some big jobs after good work in Austria and Germany but is off a poor season with Leipzig. Too similar to Clement? Rafa Benitez Very experienced manager but has done little in recent years to justify the risk. Has also been out of work for over a year. Jesse Marsch Some good early work as a manager in Austria but struggled at Leeds and is currently head coach of Canada. In conclusion, I think everyone listed has their pros and cons but none really stand out as my own preferred candidate. I'm a difficult fan to please though as I'd prefer an experienced manager with a modern outlook and successful background which aren't easy qualities to tick off. I think Clement filled that bill to a degree but clearly lacked that something extra to get the job done at Rangers and that concerns me about some of the names listed here. Farke, Muscat and Rose all have reasonable reputations but I'm unconvinced. Mourinho stands out in terms of pedigree but surely his best days are gone?

I notice Mr Thelwell has a little Rangers connection with Billy Davies who got him into football the same Davies who was big Sam’s Assistant. 😅 yes it’s on the cards. 😂😅

Imagine if his surname was Hogarth!! We might consider this engraving: It is, of course, his 'Satire on False Perspective', and we might feel that this is appropriate, in the present circumstances (without naming names)..........

Its the smart move, however ruthless it seems. Farke probably wont mind, will get a nice promotion bonus, nice payoff and walk into another job with his stock still high.

First task for new owners: Tell Mr Thelwell that there are NO consolation prizes in Scottish Fitba'...!!!

... alas, Rangers are not swimming in the shark-pool of the EPL, with 19 out of 20 teams able to compete with you for any scrap of player-meat available. And 10+ teams having better players than you can even hope for. We need a solid shift of players capable of beating rabble most of the time, and the Scum 3 to 4 times per season. Mind you, Ange and his fellow East End gang leaders grabbed 3 or 4 Japanese guys that were laughed at this side of the Clyde, but who beat the living shyte out of the rest in Scotland week in and week out. I'd be happy if we find a guy who knows how to attract and get similar players (no matter their origin) for us.

Rangers Rumours mentioned him last week so I did a little reading about him. He was well thought off at Wolves initially and he is very well thought off at Everton both within the club and the fan-base. Source - Everton's official Reddit feed. IIRC he's "spent" £140M in transfer and recuperated over £225M. There is also a couple of good articles about him in The Athletic. Overall, seems he'd be a positive appointment.

Looks like a Temu Frank Lampard

I thought zero mission was the boards ambition.

Looks like something you’d buy in a pound shop and get change back

People are focusing on Leeds far too much, it's been said multiple times, but Cavenagh is his own man and not involved with the 49ers or Leeds, while 49ers enterprise are involved with Cavenagh, it's not cut and dry that us and Leeds are owned by the same group. For Rangers, we need to be in Europe and have a working player model while being successful. That's it. That's the big complicated plan.

Average attendances of 20,000 + in the Championship so far from worldfootball.net. The first figure is total attendance, the second is matches played and the third is average home attendance. Burnley and Blackburn don’t make it. The surprise is Derby. What would Sunderland draw if they were successful? Football fans in Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh should be ashamed they don’t turn out to support their home team. 1 Sunderland AFC 887.860 22 40.357 2 Leeds United 758.123 21 36.101 3 Derby County 634.949 22 28.861 4 Sheffield United 615.446 22 27.975 5 Coventry City 611.327 22 27.788 6 Sheffield Wednesday 584.287 22 26.559 7 Norwich City 578.676 22 26.303 8 Middlesbrough FC 558.199 22 25.373 9 West Bromwich Albion 550.696 22 25.032 10 Stoke City 500.033 22 22.729 11 Bristol City 490.753 22 22.307 12 Hull City 465.970 22 21.180 13 Portsmouth FC 445.627 22 20.256

Tony Mowbray sacked by West Brom - just saying.......😀

Think football has definitely moved on from Mourinho now, he’s not the manager he once was.. would be an media circus if he came and not in a positive way.. Think about some of his behaviour at his previous club’s derby matches

Naw. Jist naw.

It really isnt rocket science as Cammy points out above. But in recent years we seem to have chosen players who up their game for the big Euro nights, and do not reach anything like those standards in our domestic games, especially away from home. We need to be choosing players who really want to win titles and cups here and understand that the Euro action is the bonus. Unfortunately I think the players we can attract seem to know the shop window only opens on Thursday nights and that a stirring performance against Kilmarnock or Motherwell isnt going to attract similar attention in their ambition to move upwards. I again agree that a lot of these problems can be alleviated by a style of play that beats the low block that we face in over 3/4 of our domestic games. We dont ever seem to have enough goals in us, despite spending big on strikers they dont deliver often enough, and we dont have midfielders that chip in often enough to take up the slack. Playing 2 defensive midfielders and continually playing number 10's wide instead of in the 10 has been a failure of more than one manager. The domestic title, and therefore entry to the CL, is absolutely there for us to grasp, and it wont take hundreds of millions or years to achieve, just a decent manager, style of play, board, DoF and owners all on the same page. To beat the rest consistently should be the ambition. The rest can all come from there.

An xG rolling chart? Woke nonsense. Mine is better...

Not for me, 1982 until Souness took over was far, far worse.

Whoever gets it is going to struggle if they cant shift most of that squad. Years of buying garbage and injury prone players is why we are in this mess.

Nobody, not even a massive V.L. has ever read that bit of the shirt before.

How do the rest of us manage to live sustainably? It’s not difficult. Keep one number lower than the other.