Willie Henderson fears Dave King hasn't forked out enough cash to compete with Celtic

[ian1964 10,613]

FORMER Ibrox winger Henderson reckons his old club needed another £10m of investment in the summer and fears Saturday's derby clash could prove to be a wake-up call.

 

WILLIE HENDERSON fears Celtic could make Rangers pay for not splashing the cash and insists the Light Blues side is still £10million short of investment.

 

And the Ibrox hero has warned that Gers boss Mark Warburton won’t hang around in Glasgow if his reputation starts to suffer due to a financial disadvantage against their Old Firm rivals.

 

Henderson doesn’t want to see a return of the wild spending that ended up crippling the club and led to them being sent to Scottish football’s bottom tier in the most turbulent spell in their history.

 

But the former wing king wants to see enough money pumped in to allow his old club to compete against the Hoops and described Saturday’s derby clash at Parkhead as the “biggest ever” for his old club.

 

Chairman Dave King said two years ago it would take “a minimum of £30million but probably £50m” to seriously challenge the five-in-a-row champions and Henderson feels the loyal fans deserve to see that investment.

 

The 72-year-old knows the Champions League windfall has been crucial for Celtic’s coffers after reaching the lucrative group stage of Europe’s premier competition for the first time in three years.

 

And on the park Henderson reckons the trip to the east end of Glasgow could be a moment of truth for Gers where a Hoops win in the high-noon shootout would take them four points clear of Rangers with a game hand at home to Partick Thistle.

 

The former Scotland star – who spent 12 years with the Light Blues – said: “Rangers don’t want to be playing catch-up this early in the season.

 

“Every Old Firm match is important but I don’t think there has ever been one that’s more crucial for Rangers than this one.

 

“This one will tell us whether or not Rangers have been shy with money. That might be proved this weekend.

 

“Celtic have obviously been spending money on their team and they’ve also earned themselves a huge bonus by qualifying for the Champions League.

 

“So unless Rangers spend some money on the team it’s going to be difficult for them to compete and they can’t now spend anything until January.

 

“This match at Parkhead could prove to be a wake-up call for Rangers.

 

“The Rangers fans have been unbelievable with what they’ve put up with in the last three or four years.

 

“It would be nice for them to see that the club is going to get the financial backing that was promised.

 

“Sometimes things happen and, for whatever reason, that money hasn’t been put in. Maybe there was a mistake or perhaps it has just been slow in coming.

 

“The other side of that, however, is that the club has been in a very hard place for a long time now.

 

“They went through a terrible time and, now we’re back in the top league, the last thing you want is for the same thing to happen again in terms of spending money they don’t have.

 

“But there has to be a happy medium where it can be done sensibly without putting the club at risk again and getting into another rubbish situation.

 

“The people running the club know how they want to run it but I believe another £10m spent on the team would have made a big difference.

 

“Whenever that money comes along I’ve no doubt the people in charge will spend it sensibly.”

 

Warburton has admitted second is nothing for Rangers on their top-flight return but if they fall too far behind then that could be the best he can hope for.

 

And Henderson said: “Mark obviously has his reputation to consider and he would have been a lot happier if he’d had that £10m to spend on the squad.

 

“He’s an intelligent man and he’ll review the situation but he certainly isn’t the type of guy who’ll batter his head against a brick wall for too long.

 

“I don’t think for a minute that Mark would want to be second best.

 

“He’ll know what discussions he has had with the board, what’s involved and how much is going to be made available to him – but he can’t work miracles.

 

“Will Rangers fans be worried? They’re always worried when they’re just about to play Celtic.

 

“Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar are excellent players but Scottish football will have surprised them.

 

“Our game is a lot quicker than people down in England think and for Barton to come up here at the age of 34 isn’t going to be easy for him.

 

“I don’t think I could have been a star in Scotland at that age.”

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-icon-willie-henderson-fears-8774613

[Frankie 8,367]

Front loading more cash (and thus more soft debt) may well have been agreeable but without European football and/or retail monies then it's a big risk for anyone to take.

 

Expensive transfer fees are all well and good but still wouldn't guarantee a win on Saturday or a top of the table position come next May.

 

I think Wullie - along with many fans - need to appreciate just how difficult our position is and remember it was reckless spending with abandon that put us in this position.

[ian1964 10,613]

Front loading more cash (and thus more soft debt) may well have been agreeable but without European football and/or retail monies then it's a big risk for anyone to take.

 

Expensive transfer fees are all well and good but still wouldn't guarantee a win on Saturday or a top of the table position come next May.

 

I think Wullie - along with many fans - need to appreciate just how difficult our position is and remember it was reckless spending with abandon that put us in this position.

 

Strange article!,he must know we don't have the cash to splash!.

 

If we click as a team I am confident we will get a positive result.

[Oleg_Mcnoleg 50]

They have more money than we do right do. I can live with that: I'm grateful we've still got a fecking club, but hey ho.

[cooponthewing 1,139]

I must say, when we have circa 45k STs and Bournmouth(yeh, I said Bournmouth!) hav a capacity of circa 11k and they can splash out on millions plus attract Jack Wiltshire I just wonder what the fuck is going on with football??

Even if we talk TV money, who seriously pays to watch Bournmouth?? Apart from their limited STs and fan base. It's just bonkers!!

I admit I am a cheerleader for moving on to European leagues etc and financially reaping the benefits but some of the guff that if going on in England is breathtaking???

[ian1964 10,613]

David Weir: Rangers won't change attacking style against Celtic

 

DAVID WEIR has vowed that Rangers won't ditch their attacking style against Celtic.

 

The Light Blues No2 insists the Ibrox side won't park the bus when they take on their Old Firm rivals at Parkhead on Saturday.

 

Celtic's pacey on-form stars Moussa Dembele, Leigh Griffiths and Scott Sinclair have been tipped as potential match winners by ex-Hoops striker Charlie Nicholas but Weir reckons Gers can hurt them.

 

The 46-year-old former Rangers captain said: "We like to dominate the ball, we like to be in possession and I’m sure Celtic will try to do the same so that will be a big part of the game, who has the will to take it and who handles the occasion best.

 

"We look at both aspects, giving Celtic respect because they have talented players both offensively and defensively, there is no doubt about that.

 

"We have to counter that and deal with that, but ultimately challenge them at the other end.

 

"It’s about getting that balance right and we do that week in, week out. We analyse the opposition and give them respect but also focus on ourselves as well.

 

"We are working on some things that we think are specific to this game and things that will take priority, but our style is obvious for all to see."

 

Transfer deadline day signing Philippe Senderos could be in line to make his competitive debut for the Ibrox side.

 

The 31-year-old Swiss defender played in Rangers' 7-0 win over Linfield on Saturday and Weir has been impressed by him.

 

He said: "He’s got a chance of playing, he’s done well in training and in the game he’s played in.

 

"But we have got competition for places now. Danny Wilson, Rob Kieran and Clint Hill can all play centrally.

 

"But Philippe is definitely in the hunt for a game but we will see how training goes this week and make a decision closer to Saturday morning."

 

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/rangers/7232850/David-Weir-Rangers-wont-change-attacking-style-against-Celtic.html

[MacK1950 2,299]

Willie is right in what he says but any serious minded fan should sit back and ask if the cash nonsense which caused our past problems were to re-occur would they follow another "journey".

Okay many are of the mindset that we must achieve immediate success but as I keep saying, let's walk before starting to run, and be realistic,

[JFK-1 1,691]

I must say, when we have circa 45k STs and Bournmouth(yeh, I said Bournmouth!) hav a capacity of circa 11k and they can splash out on millions plus attract Jack Wiltshire I just wonder what the fuck is going on with football??

Even if we talk TV money, who seriously pays to watch Bournmouth?? Apart from their limited STs and fan base. It's just bonkers!!

I admit I am a cheerleader for moving on to European leagues etc and financially reaping the benefits but some of the guff that if going on in England is breathtaking???

 

The TV money Bournemouth get all on it's own effectively makes them one of the richest clubs in world football as it would for us even if we had zero season ticket money and in fact no additional income at all.

[cooponthewing 1,139]

The TV money Bournemouth get all on it's own effectively makes them one of the richest clubs in world football as it would for us even if we had zero season ticket money and in fact no additional income at all.

 

We just cant compete financially. Even entry into the champions league will not enable us to compete financially and football is now a financial and global business. We are a long long way off.

I've gone off topic slightly. Wee Willies point is not practical, we just don't have that kind of cash to spend and although we spent 1.5m on a player, that was the limit for us tbh.

We can and we will still compete, if we get our act together I believe we will still challenge for the league and fully expect us to life one of the two cups. Success this year would be lifting a trophy of any kind, as would European qualification, however as I have said before, no matter what I go into every season with the hope and expectation of winning the title.?

Edited September 6, 2016 by cooponthewing

[compo 6,589]

Where does Willie think this money is going to come from