ascender

The Webster thing would make sense although I'm not sure we need another striker just now. Given we only seem to play one up front, he'd be about 5th in the pecking order.

The problem doesn't seem to be identifying a suitable creative midfielder for example, surely the problem must be actually realising we need one in the first place as it seems to have been an issue for years and years now that we're simply not creating enough good chances for our strikers.

This is one area though where Rangers can't have it both ways. While we have been down-sizing, our wage bill and money spent on actual fees is still significantly more than at all other clubs outside of Celtic. So should we not be expecting more from the team against those sides in the SPL? Why are we struggling to beat many of the teams in the comprehensive way that we used to while still out-spending them? Does that not give some credence to the accusation that WS is under-performing despite winning trophies? Why bother spending this sort of money, should we not be getting in a manager who can do more with the resources at our disposal in the first place? And yes, I think WS has done a great job, just acknowledging some other aspects of the debate

I'm not quite sure where this thread is going tbh. I'm also not sure what supporters expected when WS came back, but after steadying the ship, he's made us more successful and delivered more trophies than I could have imagined given the down-sizing that's been going on. On the park, very little has changed in the way we've been playing over the last 6 years or so. We were spoiled during the 9IAR era because of the quality of Scottish players and some of the imports we signed during that time. Since his return, I think Smith has managed to get that sense of team spirit back, but the facts are he's working with less talented players. He can no longer afford or attract more talent from Europe to supplement the homegrown lads. And that translates directly on to the pitch where the standard of football suffers. As a result, we're not beating other teams in the SPL with the comfort we used to 10+ years ago. The gap between us and them has closed over the last while and particularly since the bottom fell out of the transfer market and the massive amount of foreign players in each team has dropped, with younger Scots again coming to the fore. On one hand, I genuinely believe that WS has exceeded expectations with what's been at his disposal. But at the same time, I recognise that from a layman's point of view, he has made some baffling decisions during his tenure, many of which he's exhibited in the past and which have been highlighted in this thread. Should these be excused or forgotten about because he's delivered trophies? Would people prefer we played more attractive & attacking football if it meant we didn't win as many trophies? Or should we be expecting to have it all at least in Scotland where we still outspend all clubs bar one in terms of fees and wages on players? With the state of Scottish football both in terms of the product and the finance in the game, I don't know where we go from here. The only thing I can think of which makes sense going forward is to invest in a global scouting network, the fruits of which are then given a chance to prove themselves on a regular basis in the SPL. We then look to sell these players on when they mature in order to keep regular money coming back in to the club to supplement the normal income and provide some sort of transfer kitty for the manager. Any big change takes time though and the manager of either Glasgow club simply doesn't have time as finishing second in the SPL is considered to be failure. If someone came in and tried to change things from the ground up as PLG allegedly did, just how long would the majority of fans give him to do so if things weren't going well on the pitch? Would they accept finishing second for a few years for example? I think our expectations need to be set at a realistic level according to the long term plans of whoever comes in. Of course, you'd hope that if we get a new owner, there can be balance found where there's some money available for new players to come in without putting us at the mercy of the banks. So long as that's done as part of a viable business plan based on non-CL football then that's the priority imo.

Definitely. What's strange is that often after playing well, they've been dropped which is a shame as I don't see how that's going to benefit anyone - either them individually while trying to improve, or the team as its changing things around unnecessarily.

Walter has incredibly limited options and with this small squad you need to get them up for each and every game both physically and mentally, week in, week out. The team spirit has been there for all to see, so I don't see how changing the manager is going to help at all just now. I think that's the last thing we should be considering. I agree that Smith might not be the man to take us forward, but that's not really his priority just now, he's got to make the most of a bad situation and seems to be doing a bloody good job.

I'm over it already. TBH, I thought we'd lose yesterday regardless of what teams we each fielded and a lot of that was down to the over-confidence I've been hearing from a lot of fans over the last couple of weeks. It was one of those games where much of our support were just wondering how many goals we'd win by and that's never a good sign when playing celtic. Like I said in another post, I feel exactly the same way as rbr has articulated so well. Nothing's changed for me following yesterday and if we win the title, it will be an amazing triumph, but one that we shouldn't let distract from the very real problems we still have both on the pitch and off it.

Not sure how we're supposed to keep it tight at the back when one of our CBs seems to be one of the only creative players and driving forces in our team to the point where he's given free reign to roam upfield and have a midfielder cover. Given Bougherra does seem to be one of the few creative plates we have, why doesn't Smith just play him in midfield? I know it's a contradiction given I don't think we should play guys out of their preferred position, but I don't think the current approach is helping either the back four or the midfield at times.

Sorry, I'll sound like a stuck record here, but I've said it a few times over the last couple of seasons. With the squad we have and the playing systems we employ, we're going to get displays like that. We have been for a good 3 or 4 years now, but thankfully, 9 times out of 10 we're still good enough to beat what's in front of us. There's always going to be matches where we're just not good enough for whatever reason and we either get beaten, drop points or struggle and turn things around. No need to panic. We should be concerned though, but no more than the usual level we've come to regard as normal over the last while tbh. We'll bounce back from this, but it is another warning sign that since Smith came back, he's been doing his best with limited resources and in many regards he's just been papering over the cracks. Apart from under-performing players, the other criticisms levelled at Smith and some of the poorer guys we have in the first team are the same things we've been saying for a while now, but after a defeat they get brought up again with more fervour. There is no quick fix to the situation we find ourselves in, so we just have to keep the faith with Smith and hope we can grind out another title win.

Disregarding all of his past with us, I can't see us signing another striker just now, simple as that. With money being so tight, I'd have thought Walter would strengthen other areas first considering how many forwards we have just now.

Good work Celtic. More expensive short-termism, that's what I like to see.

Birmingham don't have any money to spend though and I'm not sure how big the wages would be given that they could go down this season. Would be a strange move to make when he seems to be enjoying his football so much at the moment.

Its business as per usual where the fans have nae idea whatsoever as to who is telling the truth and what their motives may be for spinning us a line, or not as the case may be.

As a support we're not going the right way about tackling the issue in a constructive manner imo, but that's no surprise given how fractured our support is. I don't see what other option Bain has in his position, but there's obviously a raft of other issues that need to be addressed here. I think we're all agreed that one of the top priorities for any potential new owner is to stand up for the club and it's fans in all outlets of the media, football authorities and the public perception etc. There's so many mixed messages coming out of our club (or not) just now that it only confirms to me SDM has long lost interest and just wants to keep as low a profile as possible both personally and for the club so he can get shot of it.

While I'm extremely skeptical, those involved from the club side haven't been releasing the same negative stories and rumours as they did when the Ellis bid was ongoing which I'm hoping is a good sign. Wile that was ongoing, we seemed to be getting a smear campaign against him and the bid from very early on. If there's are rumours out there they're no way as high profile or as widely spread as last time round.

Bain's comments are surprisingly detailed and candid about things which is good to see. We may not be udder pressure to sell him in January because any offer coming in for him will take in to account the fact that he could leave for free in the summer and the bottom line may be that the fee coming in will be less than what we could expect to make if we win the title with his contribution in the second half of the season. As far as the CL money goes, i have to say I've still not got my head around how we can still owe so much to the bank after the last few years we've had both on and off the pitch.

Seems like the temps are better up north than the central belt which is strange. Aberdeen was 0 last night and a few villages round here were -15. I'm guessing if the roads are clear then it should be on.

So what's the deal with Miller? I'm assuming we have an upper bracket in our wage structure which is the most we'll offer a player in terms of a basic salary. There's mention that Beattie will be on more than Miller, but I'd have thought Miller, on this season, would justify being on the top tier of weekly salary, even though it may be a step down from what he's currently on? Is that not the case? I also see what TannochsideBear is saying as we've seen this season that no Boyd doesn't mean no goals. Rangers and Celtic should be creating a higher percentage of chances in the league compared with other sides, so as I've always said, any decent front pairing should be getting a reasonable amount of goals in the SPL assuming our midfield is up to scratch.

There is that BD, that none of us know the exact details. Its the same as the Boyd situation, I really don't understand the need for drip-feeding stories to the press. Everyone involved is an adult and there's going to be people on all sides who speak to each other or see each other daily. I've never understood why things aren't just sorted out face to face by these people. Its hard not to be cynical when things like this drag on in an industry where everyone's handsomely rewarded for doing a job most people would give their left nut to have a chance at.

Footballers have no idea what its like to earn a normal wage doing a normal job. I know they have a short career, but with the money they're on and the free time they have, they should be able to make more than adequate plans for what happens after their playing career finishes. There's a stereotypical footballer who isn't the brightest, is disloyal, out of touch with the fans and only cares about money. I've heard footballers complain about this stereotype, but the problem is more and more of them appear to be living up to it rather than doing anything to change people's perception about them. You're right Frankie, there's nothing wrong with asking for a wee rate rise for a new contract, but if that's knocked back, its time to put up or shut. What does he think is going to change in 6 months time? He knows the reality of the situation Rangers are in and that even with new owners, they're still going to be facing the same financial constraints that come with playing in the SPL. I'm sure he's not on a bad wage at the moment and if he loves the club, Scotland etc so much, then surely he'd just re-sign?

I can see both sides of the coin here. McCoist has surely earned his chance, but its also unclear just how influential his role has been since WS returned and I don't think WS presence can be under-estimated even when he's taking a back seat and letting McCoist do more of the hands-on management stuff.

Are you able to say any more than that? Things already seem to have progressed further than the failed Ellis bid and without much of the negativity it attracted.

Exactly. In which case, should we be trying to sell him? What does he think is going to change under new owners? The last thing I'd want to see is for a new owner to come in and break the wage structure as that's one of the things that has caused us so many problems in the past.

Miller goes, we bring back Boyd. Hope not, but you can kind of see things falling in to place.

If he's that "desperate" for a move back, why doesn't he buy himself out of his contract