Darthter

Excellent article..... Changing managers is a "quick fix", and as with any player signing, offers no guarantee of long term improvement. The entire club has been completely decimated over the past 5 years, it will take time to rebuild it & ultimately reap the rewards. It's one thing having a decent transfer budget, but if the Stadium & facilities are looking run-down etc, how do you expect to persuade good players to sign. It will take time for the Academy to get back up to scratch & hopefully start producing usable 1st team players, or even sell-able assets. A lot of money has been plowed into the club (I read a figure of £20m), but most has gone on infrastructure etc. The club is also growing/developing organically - we are not running up £m's in debts and are keeping realistic spending budgets. This is vital for the future. More folk need to look at the "long game". Finishing 2nd ain't bad or even 3rd won't be the end of the world. Yes we would like it to be more convincing, but many, many pundits didn't even think we'd make the top 6, with some tipping us for relegation - all in,m we're doing not too badly. Going into next season, with a decent payout from the SPFL, and the prospect of some Euro matches should loosen the purse strings slightly, with some good players hopefully coming in..

The article posted was from 2015....

The board coming out and stating there will be £XXm available to spend in the summer is NOT a good thing IMHO. If other clubs know we have a certain amount of funds, they will make full use of that knowledge and bump up player valuations. As long as the manager knows that funds are available, that's all that matters.

Picture the scenario.... Both Hill & Miller get 1 year extensions. They do OK for the rest of the season, but fail to make any sort of impact next season....how long will it be before folk are complaining about giving them an extension in the 1st place. Add in the possibility that we may be restricted in bringing in more players ie. one out, one in. We may be forced to let someone with a brighter future go, rather than a tired-looking veteran. They have ZERO sell on value, and neither have been outstanding. Work hard - yes, but lacking in end-product.

Miller is a useful player, but we need a goal scorer....barring the odd good spell, KM just ain't a regular enough scorer. I would also imagine that he is on a rather decent wage, which could be freed up to bring in someone younger & more "efficient".

I don't really thing the problem stems from our formation - we generally have 2 recognised strikers playing in Miller & Garner/Waghorn. It is more that they are not consistent/reliable enough in their finishing.

Ashley is a symptom.....not the cause.

100% agree.... We are simply not scoring enough goals, and opposition teams know that. They know that if they get a goal, there is a good chance of taking points. Both Miller & Garner are excellent workhorses, but they are not clinical enough in their finishing. Waghorn was banging in the goals last season, but throughout his career, hasn't been overly laden with goals (71 goals from 247 apps). Dodoo, has only played 25 pro matches, scoring 8. We need someone who can RELIABLY score 20+ goals per season . Once we have a clear goal threat, teams will need to focus more on defence, rather than pushing for a quick/early goal.

Not a single Rangers fan in Tynecastle was anywhere near happy....

Possibly moving him into a more forward role, which encourages him to get forward.....though he's done well in midfield before. We need to shore up the defence.....just too many weak goals being let in....

I disagree..... We have seen what this group of players are capable of, and it can be impressive. However, the inconsistency of the team means that clubs don't fear us. I'm sure Hearts looked at the performance against Motherwell & thought "We can't compete against that", but then reality sets in with "Aye, but how often have they played like that in consecutive games". They know our consistency is fragile. If teams do what Hearts did & come at us right from the off, they know it rattles the players and throws them off. Also, teams know that at present we aren't scoring a lot.....they know if they can get 1 goal, it may be enough for the three points. The players have the ability to dominate the rest, and "annoy" Ceptic but consistency is the key, and scoring a decent amount of goals.

I would say that the team appears to be more inconsistent this season, but not worse.

Some of MW's answers may well be embarrassing to the many fans, but ultimately he speaks the truth. we are currently sitting 2nd, Aberdeen have a game in had that could see them jump us - IF they win it. but we are still in that 2nd spot. We know we are hampered by finances, but the club must grow at a controlled rate so that excessive debt isn't accrued. However that doesn't excuse the standard of playing at the moment. I think the manager & the fans are right to expect a higher standard of football than what we are seeing. That doesn't involve spending millions on new players, it is simply about getting our current squad of players performing to the levels that we know they can on a considerably more consistent basis. Realistically, this season was NEVER about challenging for the Title, it was all about getting 2nd or possibly 3rd & getting a Euro spot. If we took some points off Ceptic along the way, excellent, but we had to make sure that we were the "best of the rest". So far that is the case. This season will generate a marked increase in revenue, which will hopefully be made available for the player budget in the summer.

I have to disagree about the pitch - that's a poor mans excuse. 1st of all, these are professional players we're talking about, guys paid thousands per week to play football. If the players can't adapt to different conditions then they shouldn't be playing professionally. 2nd, Hearts were playing on the exact same pitch & passed us "oot the park". Put simply, their passing & movement was 100x better than ours. The tactics weren't great, but the execution of the tactic was terrible. Hearts were right in our players faces right from kick-off & we couldn't cope with that. We were on the back foot for the whole game. I do agree about the concentration levels though....too many players were just too relaxed about everything.

Tav's biggest problem is his defensive skills are lacking - excellent surging forward, but tends to switch of defensively with poor positioning. If you want 3 CH's, Senderos, Hill & Bates might be worth trying. Allowing Tav & Wallace to run rampant on the wings. from what I've seen of Hyndman, he would be wasted as a DM....he likes to push forward and annoy defences. Rossiter would be useful in the DM position, but no idea when he is due to return.

It wouldn't surprise me if it was virtually the same starting 11, but put in a fabulous display. I would suggest dropping Tav & Kiernan from defence, with Hodson & Senderos coming in. Or there is 20yr old David Bates who signed last year - no idea what he's like though. Halliday dropped, in favour of Holt alongside Hyndman & Windass or Forrester Up front I'd have Waggy, McKay & Dodoo with Miller on the bench. I would also like to see a couple of the youngsters on the bench, with a view to getting some game time. They need evidence that there is a path to the 1st team. They need to play the ball on the deck, in short sharp passing movements - give county the runaround for 45 mins. 2nd half, change it up a bit & start throwing in some diagonals & balls into the box. Most importantly, they MUST operate as a team.

No exceptions for ANYONE......MW stated that they should be judged as a team. Therefore, If one does extra....they ALL do extra!!

I honestly don't think cash is the problem......we could have had Messi & Ronaldo playing last night & it wouldn't have made a difference. I think its down to mentality, preparation & attitude. The players we have are MORE than capable to annihilating Hearts & virtually anyone else in the league - they have shown how well they can play....but they just don't do it consistently.

My thoughts from last night.... To try & cohesively sum up what happened is difficult. I honestly believe that the players have the ability to do very well, but they are really struggling to consistently show it. Wes overall had a terrible game - too many very poor mistakes. He did however pull off a couple of excellent saves. Tav was enthusiastic going forward, but poor defensively. Lots of energy, but no real product. Kiernan & Hill were dire (& that's being kind) Wallace again tried but was totally ineffective Hyndman was keen and did well. Halliday has obviously been training too much with Kiernan & Hill. Toral was non existant, to the point I don't know if he did play well or not. McKay & Waggy tried hard on the flanks, but with no real results. Was Miller playing??? As a TEAM, there was no cohesion what so ever, marking & movement on the pitch was all over the place - Hearts players found themselves in acres of space constantly. The simple ability of a short pass to a team mate had disappeared completely. So, how does a team go from putting in an excellent performance against Motherwell, to what they did last night. I think it comes down to Hearts tactics - they NEVER gave any of our players a second of time on the ball. as a result we were caught napping constantly. We wanted to control the pace of the game, but Hearts had other ideas - they pressed & pressed which caused our guys to panic & lose any composure. MW constantly states pre-match that his only concern is how Rangers prepare & their tactics.....I think it's about time that he started looking at the other teams tactics & how they play against us. He MUST have known that Hearts would come out & press, press, press - that's exactly what they did in the last game @ Tynecastle. MW & the backroom team need to have a serious discussion & analysis of what the fook is going on. DW, should be hanging his head in shame at our defence (I use the term VERY loosely). I have felt that MW has made a tweak to his playing strategy compared to last season & it just isn't working. I think when in possession, the players need to be moving more, and support players need to me closer to the ball player - give them options for an easy pass. Short, sharp passing constantly up the park. I think they have tried to incorporate more long balls compared to last season, and it really hasn't worked. Having possession allows you to control the game, but without the ball yer screwed. Too many slack passes & too much reliance on winning the 2nd ball/knock downs. Every single player should be pulling double sessions @ Auchenhowie until the consistency improves. Every single player should be out on the training pitch practising, developing & honing their skills/abilities. If the PLAYERS don't buck up their ideas, they will ultimately cost MW & DW their jobs....

There is NO WAY anyone would/will pay anywhere near £40m for ANYONE in Scottish football, never mind Dumbell-end. His stats are decent, but not great: Fulham - Apps: 64 Goals: 19 Ceptic - Apps: 38 Goals: 20 He's not even the SPFL's highest scorer!!!!

I haven't bought the DR for 2.5 years due to the lies & mis-information they printed about the Indy Ref. The point is that we must take the rough with the smooth (to an extent). Yes, for the most part Jackson talks a load of mince, but we need to use that more in our favour. The more you pi55 of these guys, the more they're gonna try and screw you over. Someone within RFC, should be "buttering" more journo's up & getting them onside. By doing that, the balance of favourable & non-favourable articles begins to tip. It is NOT a good idea to get on the wrong side of the main stream media....they can print 1/2 truths in nice big bold letters on their back pages, then issue a tiny wee retraction days later buried deep within the pages. Remember the old adage: "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

I think we should have a team capable of reaching the Europa group stage - providing we get a wee bit of luck with the qualifiers. Once in the group stage, it's then about bringing in the cash - as Ceptic proved last year in the CL. They were there to make up the numbers & pull in a nice financial boost. We need to look the same this year with Europa. The following season, we would look to build on that & be more competitive in Europe, which will also mean more competitive in the League/domestic stuff.

WRT his story about McKay & Leipzig......That is EXACTLY the type of stories that we need more of. Whether true or not, it gets a high price for our players out there. Chances are that if a team is looking @ McKay, they will see that story stating he's worth £6.5m - that will then influence any bids that come in for him. Ceptic have been doing this for years - just look at the stories about Dumbell-end....£40m bids!!!! We need to make the media work more for us, especially in the transfer market.

I personally think the business done in this window has been good. Toral & Hyndman look to be very useful additions to the squad. Gilks wanted away, and we've brought in a young keeper with a good reputation as backup - a keeper who also has some 1st team experience as well. MW & the scouts/recruitment folk now need to look towards the summer. The clubs cash position should be healthier thanks to SPFL payments etc, so therefore in a better position to purchase players with a 1/2 decent fee. However (as MW has said) we need to be careful that the right players are brought in....We don't want to see another Garner type scenario where a lot of cash is paid out, but the return has been negligible. IMHO, the majority of MW's signings have done well, and very little has been paid out in order to get them. Guys like Rossiter, Windass, Dodoo and to a slightly lesser extend Tav, Kiernan & Waggy are all young, with many years of playing ahead of them - they are still learning & developing. That development may be @ RFC, it may be elsewhere, but if we're smart they will be sold on @ a profit. I would like to see more of Joe Dodoo (when fit), he's one player who was very highly regarded in Engerland & could possibly command a VERY healthy fee, but he needs games, and to be scoring goals. With garner out, it is the perfect opportunity for him.

Gilks was always brought in the be the backup (IMHO), therefore it wouldn't be unrealistic to have some kind of release clause ie. If not playing x-amount of games, then free to go.