Darthter

As I said, they've hit a purple patch, we've been stuttering...... Look at the EPL - 14 points separate Chelsea & Man Utd. Is that because Man Utd have vastly inferior players??? Last years winners Leicester are currently 34 points behind Chelsea & 3 places out of relegation. The point being that there are many factors which contribute to a points gap in the league - not just the value of your players. We have a very decent team at the moment, not fantastic though. Ceptic have a couple of individual players of quality - injury/suspension/end of loans, and all of a sudden they are technically not that much better than us. However the media constantly hype up what a wonderful team they are.

Personally, I think the gap between the 2 clubs isn't that huge - it is made "bigger" through media hype. It is true that they are going through a purple patch just now, but I think the real test will be next season - lets see how great Brenda is then when they start their "Euro Rampage". Our biggest problem has been consistency, or lack of it. I think a couple of key signings could make a massive difference, as will the return of Krancjar. We need someone to score goals. I believe Waggy could do the job, but he needs game time.

I certainly don't disagree, but the markets that we are currently looking into, are not yielding players of a suitable calibre. we need to cast the net wider - bringing in players from teams below us in the league is not a positive route forward in the long term - it is also a VERY small possible pool of signings. Shopping in the lower leagues down south can yield positive signings, if done carefully. We REALLY need to shop/spend wisely, especially when on such a tight budget.

They are completely untapped markets for us!!! The fact that many big teams are already well connected with leagues around the world tell you that there is talent there to be had. As for picking up "world class players" for "no money"....many of these league are not blessed with the finances of the EPL/SerieA/Bundeslige/La Liga etc, therefore they don't have the over inflated transfer fees, so there is potential of picking up decent players at reasonable prices.

The big thing with looking at other markets is that their pricing is most likely not over inflated, plus players will be keen to get a foothold in UK football (ie. big money move to EPL etc). I actually find it quite bad that a players quality is apparently judged by transfer value - look at Joe Garner....£1.5m price tag yet only scored 3 goals in 19 apps, Yet Joe Dodoo has 4 goals in 16 apps and was signed for £250k. I believe there will be an abundance of raw talent within the African, Scandinavian, Australian leagues just waiting to be discovered.

Why not??? With 3 up front, there should always be someone in that central position when attacking, the the 2 wide attackers drifting in & out as play dictates. Miller appears to drop far too deep, far too often, leaving that central spot vacant.

We need to look further afield - that is where the real bargains are to be had!!! As much as we'd all like to see good Scottish talent developing, the real fact of the matter is that it's not happening (at the moment). We need to be looking at some of the more un-tapped markets, where good players can be identified & brought in at low prices. As others have said, we need players who are not just good enough for the SPL, but can happily perform at higher levels. Cummings has a pretty good scoring record, but it has predominantly been in the Championship (16 SPL apps). At that level, Waggy was outstanding as well & had a notably higher scoring record than Cummings..

Miller is NOT the goal scoring answer. Throughout his career, he has about a 34% scoring record (236 goals/693 apps). While he is a great player who always gives 100%, I have never seen him as a prolific goal scorer. I think we need someone in the Boyd/McCoist mould - someone that will "hover" about the 6-yrd area ready to pounce on ANY ball that comes in that direction. They're sole job being to put the ball in the net - never mind tracking back to defend or to help out in midfield etc. Joe Garner (so far) doesn't look to be the goal scoring answer either - he is similar to Miller in that he's a work horse, but Miller has a better scoring record. Waggy in the middle may improve the goal count, if given a run of games, but unsure if he's the long term answer @ higher levels.

Doesn't matter whether it is true or not - it gets a valuation for McKay into the media/internet etc. Folk looking for info on McKay will be met by articles stating £6m value. Ceptic have been doing it for years.....Dumbell-i is NEVER a £20m player, no formal bid was ever submitted, but it got the valuation into "the wild".

Looking at the "bigger picture".....this is not a bad thing at all. Mainly from the viewpoint that it gets a valuation out into the ether from a reputable/sizable club. Anyone else doing a bit a research now will get hit with the £6m price tag - This is what Ceptic have been doing for years. Plus it also puts out to the wider audience that we do have some decent, talented player that are worth paying decent money for.

Also, of note with Ceptic. They may pull in £40m+ (or whatever it is).....but very little of that actually gets invested in the team - maybe £10-12m.......where does the other £30m go???

I think the core of the article is true...however the delivery is terrible. The rebuilding of the club will take time. Whyte & Green stripped the club to it's bare minimum - both on the park and behind the scenes. These things are being rebuild & it appears to be going well so far. Up until this season, the club was getting a pittance from the SFA etc due to being out of the top league. After this season, our coffers will be fuller. Next season, we should hopefully pull in extra cash via the Europa league - not 10's of £M's - but enough to see a healthy boost in the bank balance. Once we start regularly bring in that EXTRA cash, that is when we look to start some decent spending on players. The club must be financially stable, with regular streams of income before we consider increasing debt levels. At the moment our income streams are increasing @ a good rate, but we must not get careless. As for the mantle falling on Rangers to Challenge Celtic.....Hearts, Aberdeen etc have had the past 4 years to mount their challenge & have failed to do so. We are the ONLY club realistically capable of mounting any challenge.

I can just hear the legal arguments now: Defence: "RFC were not relegated" Claimant: "Aye they wur" Defence: "No they wurnae" Claimant: "Aye...they wur" Defence: "no......they wurnae" Judge finds in favour of the defence, but orders RFC to make the payout anyway.

Exactly....the devil is in the detail. Technically we were not relegated. The SPL clubs voted not to transfer the clubs SPL share to the new company & were therefore booted out of the SPL. Since the SPL & the SFL were 2 different bodies at the time, there was no automatic entry into Div1 - They did have an agreement with regard to relegation. If RFC had been deducted points to such an extent that they finished bottom of the SPL, then the punter would have had a sound case. This was the course of action that would be made most sense at the time, but simply didn't happen.

This is not roof damage, therefore it is a COMPLETELY different thing & therefore offers no risk to fans or members of the general public. These pictures are obviously completely fabricated to such an extend that you can't even see the bit that says "Jock" due to someone's VERY poor photoshop skills - who would even try and put a big black smudge in the middle of a photo of such a wonderful example of architecture.

Been thinking about our injury situation this morning..... Last season, we had very few injuries with guys like Tav, Wallace & Wes playing in all 50 games, with several other players on 40+ appearances. This season, it appears that injuries are more common with players out for longer, yet the Championship & below are said to physically harder leagues. Any thoughts on the reasons behind the increase in injuries???

I think the arrival of Brenda has a lot to do with it. The real test of how good a manager he is, will be next season - will he be able to maintain the standard set this year??? Think about MW's 1st season in charge - the team were flowing, playing nicely & winning comfortably (but not necessarily by many goals though). This season, there are many fans not happy with the way he's performing.

What information do folk expect/want to hear from the board?? What information regularly comes from other boards - when was the last time you read a quote from the board of your favourite supermarket/shop/retailer/service provider??? I think the level of investment so far has been fine. there was a lot needing doing to the stadium and supporting infrastructure - not all investment went to the playing squad. As far as we know, the board have FULLY supported the manager & his player recruitment - just look at the number of players that have been brought in since DK took over the reigns. We don't need DK around more often.....He is the figurehead of the company, the one who oversee's things at BOARD level. The day-to-day stuff is handled by the CEO & the rest of the board.

https://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/hyndman-joins-gers/

Ultimately, DK IS doing what he said he would....this is shown in the annual figures. He is reducing financial losses etc & ensuring the club is run is a responsible manner. I believe his original statement was about investing up to £30m over 5 years(??), but that may be front loaded if required. Did he make the statement before or after actually gaining control??? From my understanding a lot of money has been plowed into the club in order to rebuild infrastructure etc. The wage bill has also increased, possibly at a quicker rate than income. The club will generate more income this year from being in the Premiership, this will lead to a higher playing budget for next year. That is the sensible way to run things - don't spend money you don't have!!! So far, there is nothing to indicate that the club is being run in a reckless, financially unstable or just plain wrong way. IMHO, DK & the rest of the board are doing the job they said they would, and to be quite honest, I would rather leave them too it & concentrate on the football.

If King was to do that, folk would complain that he's being too "mouthy", and what's the point in all these statements telling us nothing. The comparisons with Ceptic (& other Chairmen) is very valid. The Chairman is not responsible for the day-to-day running of the club - that's what the CEO is there for. How many other clubs have running commentaries from their Chairmen???

Crooks arrived with an injury did he not??? Since then it would appear that he has struggled to remain injury free and has therefore had limited time to build up proper fitness levels. Most likely no truth at all in the story - some Journo just making up column inches.

He certainly appears to be a favourite of the fans just now....however, If he doesn't start contributing with some goals, I think that will quickly fade. Kenny Miller is a very hard worker, similar to Garner and has never been a prolific goal scorer. However, he does find the net often enough to keep the fans happy.

If these other big name clubs are sniffing around, they obviously see potential in lad. Therefore, I would like to think that the club are doing all they can to "educate" him that at this stage of his career, there are more important things than money ie. Game time, and that if he stays @ RFC, he is more likely to get that.

From that image....look at the Hearts player @ the right.....he still has a foot on the line - ie. on the field of play??? While he is not directly involved in the play, it could be argued that in such a close space, his involvement could be critical following a ricochet. If he is deemed to be on the field of play, he is therefore offside, regardless of Cowie's positioning.