colinstein 294 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) IF McCall does somehow find a way of driving it over the finishing line and into next season’s top flight that it might suddenly come apart in a puff of smoke. 12 Shares Share Tweet +1 Rangers management team Kenny Black and Stuart McCall arrive at Palmerston for the crucial Play-off match with Queen of the South VIEW GALLERY IN the blur of battle, often it is easy to lose sight of reality. Yes, Rangers may have taken a step towards the top end of the Scottish game at Palmerston on Saturday and, understandably, Stuart McCall will have been pleased to make it back to the sanctuary of his own stadium with a narrow first-leg lead in the bag. In terms of micro-management and dealing only with what he can effect in the here and now of this frantic jostling for promotion, a slender 2-1 play-off victory will have come as an almighty relief. That Rangers made it in and out of Dodge without being visited by disaster was about as much as McCall had been hoping for. VIEW GALLERY But, even as Dean Shiels was heading home the second-half winner, a bigger picture was emerging down there, on that piece of plastic which nestles in Dumfries town centre – that this is the very level at which today’s Rangers actually belong. That the last three years of woeful ineptitude and obscene hubris – including more than an accumulative £18m blown on player wages over three stages of “the journey” – has bought and paid for a team which frankly does not look fit for purpose in Scotland’s Premiership. That if McCall does somehow find a way of driving it over the finishing line and into next season’s top flight that it might suddenly come apart in a puff of smoke, separated from its wheels. VIEW GALLERY And that – when the dust settles and these end-of-season wacky races are over – one thing above all else will be clear. For £6m a year, Rangers have assembled the most expensive clown’s car in football. How else is there to view it? This is a collection of players who have made such a habit of tripping up over their own incompetence that McCall can no longer trust them to stand on their own two feet. Rather, the manager feels compelled to protect them with a safety-first tactical philosophy even when up against a Queen of the South side assembled at a fraction of the cost. Nor is this meant as a slight on James Fowler and his players who should be congratulated on their own phenomenal efforts which, in any other season bar this one, might have seen them go straight up as champions of the Championship. Action ImagesDean Shiels celebrates scoring with with Kenny Miller and Robbie Crawford after making it 2-1Dean Shiels celebrates scoring with with Kenny Miller and Robbie Crawford after making it 2-1 But even Fowler would conceded Queen of the South should have no business making a fist of such an obvious catch-weight contest. With a wage bill of around £500k they ought to be hopelessly outgunned by McCall’s men and the fact that they are not is purely down to years of mismanagement and misappropriation at the highest levels inside Ibrox. The end result is now in clear view and it’s not a pretty sight. In fact, it would be hysterical were it not so desperately sad for a club which has been taken to the brink by all manner of abusers and self-servers over the last few years. To be clear, McCall cannot be blamed for adopting such a cautious approach at the weekend and nor should he feel remotely embarrassed about resorting to these measures. On the contrary his diligence has kept Rangers’ hopes alive beyond the expectancy of many observers. Indeed, the very nature of his short-term job necessitates a needs-must policy and this is largely because of the mess made by those who went before, including former manager Ally McCoist who continues to be paid a huge wage just to stay away from the place. McCoist’s exorbitant gardening leave is just another issue which needs to be resolved this summer and then there is the ongoing police investigation into all manner of wiggery-pokery which has gone on behind the scenes. For example, is anyone out there in cyberland really daft enough to think Strathclyde’s finest turned up on a whim at the HQ of Sports Direct the other week, looking for no more than a cup of tea and a custard cream? No, this swoop was serious stuff all right – sanctioned at the very highest level – and there is reason to believe the cops are close to feeling a few more collars as they probe the business of former owners Craig Whyte and Charles Green. It was not just McCoist and his players who were beneficiaries of outrageous generosity over that sustained period of profligacy. The many issues which remain to be resolved off the park continue to carry greater significance than what happens on it but, inevitably, the focus has shifted back to the football side of this business because of the urgency and drama of the play-offs. And the truth is, Rangers do not make a pretty sight. That’s another reality which will have to be confronted by the club’s new regime, irrespective of whether or not McCall can successfully plot a safe passage through another five qualification nail-biters. In other words, whatever should happen between now and the play-off final on May 31, the Rangers squad will have to be rebuilt almost entirely during the 30 days of June. On Saturday’s evidence, as many as six new regular starters will be required just to make the first team able to survive in another division never mind capable of mounting a challenge to win it. A manager, be it McCall or someone else, will have to be appointed on a full-time basis. Crucially, a long-term football strategy will have to be clearly defined in order that the mistakes of previous years are not repeated. Rangers have a second chance at a blank canvas this summer and this time something far more thoughtful and intelligent than the recruitment of Kevin Kyle, Seb Faure, Bilel Mohsni and Ian Black will be required. This is the true scale of the task which Dave King fought so hard to inherit when he bulldozed the previous board and the tightness of the timescales involved are also the reason he will be hoping to have his “fit and proper” status finally decided on by the SFA in the next few days. Sources on Hampden’s sixth floor insist they are not to blame for the hold up and emphasise they are still awaiting more submissions from King’s legal team. Yet, while the authorities are in no rush to handle this particular time bomb, King and right-hand man Paul Murray are up against the clock. They need an answer from the SFA before they can progress funding plans and explain how they hope to pay for all of this before asking season-ticket holders to dig into their own pockets once more. These play-offs then have offered Rangers some timely shelter and a bit of respite for the time being. A result against Queen of the South on Sunday will extend it deeper into May. But reality cannot be suspended indefinitely. One way or the other, Rangers have serious work ahead. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/keith-jackson-rangers-miles-away-5675461 Edited May 11, 2015 by colinstein 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,761 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Wow!,that is an informative piece of journalism.................................tell us something we don't know. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aweebluesoandso 290 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Not a good article, no real news on King, we already know the team is not Champions League material. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
26th of foot 6,114 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Keef has provided a summary of the situation. In my professional days, we avoided such a loss of opportunity cost by stating, "situation - no change". Further, I would be interested in any Journo talking about 'the execution' of the way forward, eg how many phases? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rousseau 10,812 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Jackson implies that there is a big gulf in class between the Premiership and the Championship. Barring top few in the Premiership, the difference in quality is not that significant. There is no doubt we have overpaid for our squad, but we overpaid for SPL-standard players. The very fact these players are struggling would suggest the gulf in class in not as stark as it may appear. Our ambition to get to the top again necessitated the player expenditure, however, a turbulent period off the field curtailed that next level of improvement/expenditure. I haven't even mentioned the poor managerial decisions. To suggest a squad assembled through a large amount of expenditure should route to the title shows little understanding of football. One can acquire the best players, for the most money and still not achieve success. Real Madrid assembled expensive squads for the last decade without being able lace the boots of Barcelona, a club assembled at a fraction of the cost. Even Man Utd, the highest spenders in the league and they are still limping into 4th place. Moreover, to suggest that we should be turning-over a side because we have a bigger wage bill shows little respect for the football Queen's play. They are a very well-drilled, hard-working side with talented youngsters. This Queen's side have exposed our inadequacies several times, so it's no wonder we approached the game pragmatically: the objective is not to play nice football, it's to win; we've won the first 'half', but there is another 'half' to go. We should be doing better, but the situation is as a result of tricky operational circumstances -- in which anyone would struggle -- and poor managerial decision-making. To imply that our squad "does not look fit for purpose in Scotland’s Premiership" and "that this is the very level at which today’s Rangers actually belong" because we have approached an important game in a pragmatic manner is a bit of a stretch. I truly doubt there is much of a difference in quality between Hearts, Hibs, Queen's and ourselves and the bottom-six in the Premiership. Again, we should be doing better, we must do better. It does not imply that it will "come apart in a puff of smoke." (I don't know why this piece annoyed me so much? I usually don't take too much notice of what he says. We've certainly not done as well as we should have, but 'one step at a time'.) 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,652 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) Please can I remind everyone to include links when posting stuff from newspaper websites... Even bromidic stuff like this. Edited May 11, 2015 by Frankie 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I was speaking to a workmate about the standard of our play today. I cant believe how weak we are. I really cant argue with what jackson has said here. We need a whole new team for next year, the vast majority of our overpaid under achievers will be shown the door in the summer and it does seem like king is dragging his heels. I hope to hell king is up to something good bwhind the scenes. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,803 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 The sad thing is that he gets paid for this. We've being hearing stuff like that from all corners, just as if we, who watch our team all season, are blind and cannot see what is going on. No-one is actually expecting to see the same team playing next season (no matter where), a dozen contracts run out, a whole summer of transfer activity ahead of us. That is all a given. Yet, he goes on and tells us that this team will be going no-where. As has been pointed out, even worse sides these last two years have beaten SPL/Premiership opposition. Maybe it is more the case that the difference in standard in the "top" leagues is generally not that great and while we obviously always aspire to be better than the Yahoos, they are not in the "same league" as the rest of the Premiership. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC 150 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Please can I remind everyone to include links when posting stuff from newspaper websites... Even bromidic stuff like this. Excellent word, Frankie, not heard that in ages and doubt I've ever seen it on-line. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,652 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Excellent word, Frankie, not heard that in ages and doubt I've ever seen it on-line. Haha - reason for that was I was working with bromine in the lab earlier this morning.... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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