ascender

Here we go again.

We have Broadfoot, but if we need him, then we're better off upping our offer to him than letting him go. He can also play at RB, has a good attitude and as money is so tight, better the devil you know and all that.

Looks like he's away then and can't say the fee is that bad given his age, contract and how many games he's played for us this year and the fact we're in the spl.

If Boogie goes then is it Weir and Webster for next season? I'd hope that any money generated through players leaving is made available to Smith and while our scouting seems to be poor at best, we seem to do ok at picking up centre halves.

Whats the point in having murray park where we develope our own talent only for them to fcuk off elsewhere???, very dissapointed as he could go down their and be wasted!

I don't have a problem with that model in theory and I think it could be one way for us to generate revenue in the future that can be reinvested in the playing side of the club, so long as players stay with us for a good few years at least once they've broken in to the first team.

I forgot all about the homegrown rule coming in, that makes much more sense now as to why there's a few clubs possibly interested now rather than letting him get more experience here.

That's the thing Gribz, there's been quite a few games where I think we'd have benefited from playing him from the start to try and get an early goal and settle the nerves, but Smith was reluctant to use him. If it's going to be the same next season then that'll be why the contract offer isn't great. In some ways I think Novo would be better off leaving now and playing every week while earning a nice sum for a few years as he's deserved it.

If he's not a regular starter, maybe he's just a luxury we can't afford at the moment?

I think he's a brilliant impact player now and to be honest, have been baffled by how under-used he's been at times this season.

I completely agree about this close season, but I still find myself wondering exactly what would have to happen on or off the field to mobilise the support as one. Would love to be proved wrong, but also hope it doesn't come to that.

I have to say I thought the same while reading this yesterday. A boycott of Lloyds has been threatened for months now, but there's no way we could even begin to organise something like that while all the various fan groups and websites can't agree to do anything as a united front.

Didn't realise he was nearly finished his coaching badges. Would be good to see him kept on at Ibrox, playing and more of a role in coaching some age group possibly?

I think he's been a good signing for us, particularly when you consider how many positions and roles he's been asked to play in. Sure, we probably paid over the odds for him, but he's certainly not the worst in that regard. You can also see what it means to play for the Gers which is always good to see.

Like Andy says, if there's truth in this story, I'd be very tempted if I was in his shoes to go and try something different for a few years.

Like Frankie, unless things change dramatically, I'd be looking to raise funds by selling Boogie & McGregor.

We definitely have the basis of a good squad and some promising young players, I'd like to see us building a team for next season around Davis in the middle and buying a couple of naturally wider midfield players to compliment him.

Until the last few weeks Lafferty would have been first out the door, but he has shown a bit of promise recently and he is very young still. Hell, even Naismith is only 23. I know he's been average at best, but I think it would be hard to ship him out the door now given he's hardly had a run in the team up front.

Will be interesting to see if Velicka gets a chance in pre-season assuming Boyd leaves.

Good on VB for actually doing something instead of just talking about doing something on a forum.

I have to admit I couldn't make it to the end of their letter though, thought it was very rambling in places and almost went over the top in some of the cases quoted in support of the case. But like I said that's a minor thing, I applaud them for getting on the case of the paper.

Why is it that Lafferty always seems to be the target for so many folks' ire?

Because Boyd isn't playing?

Service to him was very poor last night though, hopefully we'll sort this out next season, get him up front and Davis in the middle if we don't sell either of them.

There still seems to be thoughts from people "in the know" who are saying the Ellis bid stuff is a load of bollocks, but if that's the case, why doesn't he release a statement saying he's walking away. All getting very tiresome.

Bring it on, can't wait for tonight's game! I think it could be a lot more open than past matches depending on who plays and what the sort of atmosphere is. We don't have anything to lose, its a win-win for us as the league is in the bag already so we can just enjoy it. Of course another win over them would be the icing on the cake....

Why on earth did Edgar make that "its a joke" statement? Unbelievable.

Apart from that, all fair enough I guess.

The difference is that the Hearts debt is owed to the owner's bank. You're right though, its a massive level of debt and wage bill to have for any club, but particularly one outside of the OF. If Vlad gets fed up with it all then it could get very messy for them.

If there's an official bid made then yes, but I'm there's nothing that can be done to stop parties leaking info to the media if its in their interest to do so. The public comments from Ellis at the moment are very generic, so its not like he's giving anything away, seems to be playing his cards close to his chest.

Maybe he's decided to speak out now after the concerted effort by some others to proclaim that the Ellis deal was dead in the water?

The Murray thing sounds to me like a gesture at this stage more than anything else. If a bid buys the club and clears the debt, there's no way the new owners will give Murray power as it will just make things messy. Maybe they're just appealing to Murray's vanity?

I think we need to give the guy the benefit of the doubt as so far, he's the only one who is actually progressing with a bid. We've heard that he's not a Rangers man, but there are at least 3 Rangers men who have talked a lot about buying the club but done feck all about it. Actions speak louder than words and it's disappointing to see the way some of these guys have handled themselves through the media as well.

Mike.

At this stage in his career I don't see what he has to lose by signing, unless he's holding out for a better offer depending on what happens with Boogie & Weir over the summer?

That's the impression I get too Calscot, but the one thing which doesn't add up for me is why Smith has been speaking out on the side of "doom and gloom"? The consensus is that he's speaking out to try and influence things in favour of a takeover, but his messages are at odds with what SDM has said today. Which is strange given his close relationship with SDM.

I've love to give SDM the benefit of the doubt, but his track record at this sort of stuff stinks in recent years unfortunately, so I'm still cynical about today's articles.

We just need to wait and see what happens in the summer. The SPL is our bread and butter and top priority for the foreseeable future, so to do that on a budget, I can see us continuing to target some of the best of the rest from the SPL. Besides, if Bougherra goes, you could probably use his fee to pay off some of the debt and bring in two players on lower wages, so would that be best for all concerned at the moment?

At least he's saying something and if we believe him, he's put pay to many of the stories and rumours floating around the last 6 months in one fell swoop. Of course, this could be the annual BS statement when the season tickets are being renewed, but being optimistic (gullible?), a lot of what he's said does make sense in the context of a club who's been down-sizing for a few years now. Its been discussed on here a lot in that time, that the club shouldn't be in as bad a state as some are saying, but I guess the bottom line is that we don't know.

All the rumours and counter-rumours being spread and leaked to the press by supposed Rangers men are pretty depressing. I know that business can be like this, but its really sad to see.

I'd suggest we do given how rotten the rest of the SPL currently is.

The rest of the SPL may be "rotten", but we've struggled to beat many of them this season and even when we have, its been far from convincing. Not a criticism of Walter, just an observation.

Such negative thinking but I guess that's what we've fallen to. I'm sure there's loads of decent young managers across Europe that would love a shot at a fairly big club playing in the champions league most seasons. And if it doesn't work (a la Le Guen), try someone else.

 

We aren't going to progress under Walter.

Its just realistic thinking at the moment.

Let's say we get taken over, there's not much money to spend, but we're financially stable and we bring in a manager from Europe and task him with making us more competitive in Europe. Firstly, how long would our fans give him if things weren't going our way in the SPL, even though it looked like long term, we might be on the right track?

You also make it sound so simple to just get someone else. These failed ventures cost a lot of money, both in hiring, firing and any changes that manager wishes to make during his tenure, some of which also need to be undone when he leaves.

Part of the pressure up here for any manager will be financial in terms of having to deliver the SPL and get to the CL groups. However, there's also massive pressure from fans who accept nothing less than winning the league.