Darthter

There may be an element of that, but considering the resources available to them....the expectations aren't all that unrealistic.

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.

IMHO, throwing money at a new manager is not necessarily the best solution. We have a decent squad, one that is (should be) miles better than 10 other teams in the SPFL. Our squad has a decent balance of ages & experience levels, and some really great players.....so WHY should we throw £m's at a new manager immediately??? A good manager (as has been shown time & time again else where), should be able to stroll into Auchenhowie & whip these guys into a solid, reliable & consistent team. One that should be more than capable of wiping the floor with the SPFL, and taking points from Ceptic - we have the components, we just need someone who knows what the best way to assemble them is - that is hopefully Gerrard. Both Warbs & Pedro strolled in & were handed sizeable budgets....the outcome being left with a load of over-paid players twiddling their thumbs.

Pena has skill....we've seen flashes of it. All he needs is the right manager to unlock that talent & get him properly focused.

Various sources (Inc blue sea of Ibrox) claiming that Gerrard has now been confirmed, with McAllister as no.2

Bartley wasn't particularly outstanding when he was here previously, but he was fairly solid (from memory)

I don't think there will be any surprises wrt formation....too much of a gamble. The players (should) know the 4-2-3-1 formation by now & appear to be comfortable with it. While a change may throw Ceptics plans out slightly, I think it would have a more negative effect on us.

Who came out with that figure...can't see the club officially releasing that kind of info. If it's not official from the club, it an't be relied upon (IMHO). The fact remains that we don't even know WHO they are looking at for certain, never mind how much they are willing to pay. £500k might of been a figured talked about for a particular candidate, rather than an absolute ceiling.

Our 3rd strip is Black....

The PR side of the SG rumour is one of the strongest reasons for getting him in...

We don't know the details of any wage packages on offer.....we don't even know who the board are considering etc.

I think sticking with Cummings might be a good idea - give Ceptic something different to think about. The key thing this weekend is to constantly close down their players when they have the ball - don't give them ANY time to think or plan a pass....that is when they fall apart. We did it well against Hearts and allowed us to nick the ball from their toes on several occasions. That will also get them rattled & open up space for Cummings, Murphy & Candeias to exploit.

If the gamble pays off....do we all get a speedboat or a caravan???

The excitement obviously comes from his qualities & reputation as a player....he is a BIG name in world football. The hope is that those same qualities that make him a world class player & winner, convert over to coaching. As it stands there is no evidence to suggest that it won't transfer, so no "negative facts" to use against him. On the flip side, there are very limited stats to show success as a coach - sitting 3rd in the U18 league, against more experienced coached ain't overly bad. Ultimately, any excitement is 100% based on potential. While it all may be paper talk, one thing that it will do is get the club name into the media is a positive light. Having the amount of column inches & airtime dedicated to discussing SG & Rangers should be no bad thing....might even persuade a "bigger" name to enter the ring.

....and the downsides???

Totally agree...to bring it closer to home - Greig & McCoist...... Some of the best coaches in sports have never even played (to any significant level) the sport they coach, yet through a sound technical knowledge & a clear delivery method they can become world class.

Gerrards name brings excitement due to his playing career.....the key (as I've said before) is if he can transition into a 1st team dressing room as a manager/coach. i would say that there is POTENTIAL for it to be an amazing piece of business, and he could bring massive success to the club.....but there is also the flip side & we're back to square one in 6 months.

Rangers Dev squad v Liverpool U18 https://rfcyouths.wordpress.com/2017/10/29/weekend-youth-round-up-7/ We got gubbed 4-1 by Gerrards team....

A wee bit of info about Gerrard.... His U18 Liverpool squad horsed the RFC Development squad 4-1 Oct 2017 @ Ibrox. Not sure if Murty was involved in the Dev squad at that time..... http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/academy/279611-match-report-u18s-put-four-past-rangers-at-ibrox The idea of Gerrard being appointed, is a difficult one. His name alone carries weight and respect in footballing circles. He was a top player, and worked under/with some of the best managers, also worked under Brenda (which may prove beneficial in a tactical sense). In order to become the player he was, requires skill and knowledge of the game which he could hopefully pass on at a senior 1st team level. However, he is completely untested, spending a limited time looking after Liverpools U18 squad which will provide completely different levels of requirement & stress on a manager/coach. We simply can't know how he will handle the different characters/egos within the dressing room. His experience of captaining Liverpool & Engerland will help prepare him, but not 100%. Facing a dressing room as Team captain is completely different to doing it as Team manager. The key thing for me is how effective is he at getting his point across to the players. You can have all the tactical knowledge in the world, but if you can't convey that to the team effectively it's pointless. I think Pedro was very tactically aware & knew what he wanted to do, but he could not convey that to the players. Conversely, someone with less tactical knowledge but a great way to convey their info, can be considerably more successful.

tbh, I don't really care who it is....as long as they can put together a consistent, winning team.

and???

One problem I have with Gerrard.... A lot of folk on here are criticising Murty for "only being the under-21 coach", and not being good enough to lead the 1st team.....SG is L'pools Under-19 coach - so what makes him so different from Murty???

That's the kind of appointment we need....someone not "afraid" to go toe-to-toe with Brenda....

bit far to commute...:(

no....I don't think that will be the case