Rousseau

They're not fanciful. That's how we played. I watched it with my own eyes.

That one was more of a Christmas tree, iirc, with Hagi and Cantwell playing as two #10s, but we pressed with a front two. Matondo played there often just because he was the only one capable as playing as a pressing forward. I suspect if we had another capable forward Matondo would have been dropped. Fotmob.

Getting rid of some of the lesser squad players for transfer fees is good business.

@der Berliner - I never stated we hadn't played a 4-2-3-1 under Beale (we definately did). I was only responding to your comment: "As for the set up ... what did MB [do] different to Gio et al? One striker up top remained the order of the day". We generally played a 4-3-3 under GvB, with wide wingers. Under MB we started with a 4-2-3-1, with narrower wide men, before changing to a 4-3-1-2 or 4-4-2 diamond. MB also went back to the Christmas tree played under Gerrard at times, too.

@der Berliner

Don't know about the validity of this source, but:

I didn't see that. From the stats that I've seen Danilo played 1,000 minutes fewer than Gimenez. And if you look at the matches it looks like he's playing the last 20-30 minutes of games in the second half of the season. I'm pretty certain Gimenez is the first-choice striker.

Have you compared their minutes played?

First team football. He's a back-up to Gimenez.

You did indeed miss it. As usual.

Your inability to see our set-up never fails to amaze me. We played with a front-two under Beale; a 4-4-2 diamond.

£2.5M is a bloody good deal.

“[Antonio Colak] took the time to speak to all the staff and squad in Germany to say goodbye and thank you. This moment typified Antonio’s class as a man. Everyone at Rangers would like to wish him and his family huge success moving forwards and he will always have a warm welcome at Ibrox.”

I'm waiting for @JohnMc to come along and tell us that, in fact, Bailey Rice is p*sh and won't make it before I get on the hype wagon.

If Forest are giving us money for a 30-year-old, I'd bite their hand off!

I think we're all getting mixed up between how we think a DoF-based recruitment model should word and how it is actually working.

Even I, in my dream of a DoF absolute dictatorship, don't see it as such a one-sided relationship. There must be some negotiation, for want of a better word.

Absolutely. I've been whinging about that point recently. I've slowly come to the realisation that that must be the 'model' that the board want. It's a muddle; it's not sure what it wants to be.

I'm well out in front. It's you neanderthals that are holding me back! It's about balancing short-term success and long-term sustainability. There are deliverables in a sustainable approach. They're very much at the forefront of my belief. I agree it's pointless without deliverables.

Mayo played the whole game! Clearly first choice CB this season.

Our lawyers returning to Ibrox...

Your conception of a 'manager' is old-school, when in fact it has changed. A manager now is basically just a head coach, responsible for match prep, etc. A DoF now is an old-school manager, responsible for managing all the footballing departments (First Team, Academy, Player Recruitment, Analysis, Performance and Medical), but excluding match prep, etc. The managerial role is too short-term now to allow a manager so much power. It can work in the short-term, but even if it does (e.g. Ange), can the next manager come in and hit the ground running without needing wholesale changes? I think less so. Celtic have the best squad in the league but now Rogers still needs to spend a huge warchest? Mental. I mean, I'm quite happy to see them do so, as they'll squander their financial lead. What we need is a DoF overseeing the recruitment (alongside all the other footballing departments) so we have a more medium to long term outlook, and so the DoF can also look at appointing new managers that can hit the ground ground and work with what's already here. Medium to long-term management. Gone are the days where old-school managers were all-powerful because they were in charge for decades. Now, they get a couple of years, if that. Why would you give all power to a temporary position?