The Rangers Board – a lack of 2020 vision?

[rbr 1,266]

"

 

Yes we are stuck with the present squad who don't look as if they could beat the minnows from "Somewherestan" at the moment

 

That basically applies to Scottish football as a whole mate .

[Oleg_Mcnoleg 50]

I think there's two arguments here.

 

We give up on the vast majority (including those you mention) and start from scratch or we go down the route of the summer and try to bring in three or four 'big' signings to get the best out of those we know can play well.

 

The latter sounds the best route but we tried that to a (smaller) extent in the summer and, for one reason, or another it didn't work. It's a tricky conundrum but I'd do it again but be a bit cleverer about who we bring in.

 

Don't think we have a choice but to improve incrementally: the amount of money we have available is not going to buy us 12 or more players of a standard that will improve us markedly. A bit of robustness in the midfield and somebody who could hit coo's erse with a banjo would, IMHO, make us look a very different proposition. As you say, we tried it last summer but, for reasons we've trawled over plenty, we did it badly. I'd also add that the players mentioned have all shown they can contribute. For xample, Halliday's been getting it in the neck plenty but he was never supposed to be starting every game in that position, regardless of form, He's had some excellent shifts over his time at the club and would've thought he'd continue to be a very useful squad member even if we look to strengthen there (and I really hope we are!).

[der Berliner 3,803]

Since it has been spoken about a few times, here is what Europa League participation may yield ... http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2398584.html

 

In the new distribution system, the pot for payments to clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds will be equal to 3.5% of the overall gross revenue. Based on the forecast of €2.35bn in overall revenue, €82.2m will be distributed to the clubs in both competitions with the teams defeated in UEFA Europa League qualifying receiving the following amonts:

 

First qualifying round – €215,000

Second qualifying round – €225,000

Third qualifying round – €235,000

Play-offs – €245,000 (only eliminated clubs)

 

No solidarity payment will be made to the winners of the play-offs for this round. However, they will retain the payments received for the first, second and third qualifying rounds, as applicable.

 

Fixed amounts (€239.8m)

 

Allocation to all group stage participants: €2.6m.

Group stage performance bonus per win: €360,000

Group stage performance bonus per draw: €120,000

Non-distributed amounts (€120,000 per draw) will be pooled and redistributed among the clubs playing in the group stage in amounts proportionate to their number of wins.

Group winners bonus: €600,000

Group runners-up bonus: €300,000

Round of 32 appearance: €500,000

Round of 16 appearance: €750,000

Quarter-final appearance: €1m

Semi-final appearance: €1.6m

The UEFA Europa League winners can expect to receive €6.5m and the runners-up €3.5m, inclusive of their share of ticket revenue from the final (no additional amount will be paid to the finalists in relation to ticketing as was customary in the past).

 

A club could receive, at best, €15.71m, not including their market pool share.

[Gaffer 1,665]

As usual, another really interesting piece by you Frankie.

 

Maybe I need to replace my blue tinted spectacles but I think we have some really good players. And dare I say it, I think Kiernan can be a good player too. We've got really technical players in my opinion. What they seem to lack is the organisational sense when we are in particular positions on the field. The movement is good and the passing can be very slick at times but I've been concerned for some time at the lack of positional awareness. I thought MW was aware of this because he often spoke about the "pitch geography" in the first six months, but now I'm not sure.

 

We play a 4-3-3 but the shape never seems to change regardless of whether we have the ball or not. This doesn't make sense. Normally a 4-3-3 becomes a 3 (2 x CBs and a holding midfielder) - 4 - 3 by the time you get to the final third, giving enough forward players to create space, whilst keeping things tight in the middle of the park to deal with fast counter attacks. Then it can change to 4-5-1 when defending. What annoys me is that the holding midfielder never seems to take up that role in attack and the two centre backs don't get wide either. If they went wide we wouldn't have the same defensive problems when the opposition breaks up our attacks. This is the type of tactical awareness and system I'd expect to be hammered in to the players by now but it's not working. And since Weir didn't play in a system with wide centre halfs im not sure he knows how to fix it either. It's this tactical stuff that I think we need to fix, and if we do that I think we'd do well with the players we have.

 

And another peculiar thing is why we play McKay in that position. I've heard MW say that he can play as a winger or a number 10, but when has he ever played the number 10 role? I agree he'd be great at it, but where in our system does a central attacking midfielder play? That just doesn't make sense to me either. 4-2-3-1 is now popular for a reason and it's what I'd like us to adopt. It's popular because it's a solid setup for transitions in play, and it's simple for players to understand and apply. In that system we need two good offensive wing backs which we have in Wallace and Tav. We need a good holding midfielder which we'd need to bring in. It needs a technically gifted number 10 which McKay could be and a central striker with good movement and both Dodoo and Waghorn can fit that bill. The rest of the team just needs to be fit and technically decent which I think applies to this squad.

 

MWs plan A was good but not great. If we have a system that fits our players, which as I've already opined are technically very good there's no reason why this squad isnt capable of doing well next season and in Europe. I really don't think we are that far away and I don't think we need to pin our hopes on signing more than 3 or 4 players in the summer. What we do need is the right managerial appointment. I don't envy the board's responsibility in identifying and securing the services of the next manager. I'd just love to know though how they'll select him. What questions will the board ask in the interview to ensure they get the right person? I don't think they know so it's a real punt. I'd offer to help them but this might just create a conflict of interest. After all, I can't really write the questions if I intend to apply for the job too. Or can I?

 

Come on DK. If ever we needed to see how good you are, it's now.

[Frankie 8,652]

Gaffer:

 

I think we seen much of those tactical nuances last season but they've been missing this term for whatever reason. In fact it's our loss of shape and discipline that really costs us during games and too many players (including the captain FWIW) refuse to take responsibility for their role.

 

I also agree with you in that as much as the squad has arguably failed this season, many of them have shown glimpses of talent and/or potential. Kiernan is one but he simply keeps making far too many of the same mistakes to be relied on. At 26 years old he's experienced enough to know better.

[Oleg_Mcnoleg 50]

As usual, another really interesting piece by you Frankie.

 

Maybe I need to replace my blue tinted spectacles but I think we have some really good players. And dare I say it, I think Kiernan can be a good player too. We've got really technical players in my opinion. What they seem to lack is the organisational sense when we are in particular positions on the field. The movement is good and the passing can be very slick at times but I've been concerned for some time at the lack of positional awareness. I thought MW was aware of this because he often spoke about the "pitch geography" in the first six months, but now I'm not sure.

 

We play a 4-3-3 but the shape never seems to change regardless of whether we have the ball or not. This doesn't make sense. Normally a 4-3-3 becomes a 3 (2 x CBs and a holding midfielder) - 4 - 3 by the time you get to the final third, giving enough forward players to create space, whilst keeping things tight in the middle of the park to deal with fast counter attacks. Then it can change to 4-5-1 when defending. What annoys me is that the holding midfielder never seems to take up that role in attack and the two centre backs don't get wide either. If they went wide we wouldn't have the same defensive problems when the opposition breaks up our attacks. This is the type of tactical awareness and system I'd expect to be hammered in to the players by now but it's not working. And since Weir didn't play in a system with wide centre halfs im not sure he knows how to fix it either. It's this tactical stuff that I think we need to fix, and if we do that I think we'd do well with the players we have.

 

And another peculiar thing is why we play McKay in that position. I've heard MW say that he can play as a winger or a number 10, but when has he ever played the number 10 role? I agree he'd be great at it, but where in our system does a central attacking midfielder play? That just doesn't make sense to me either. 4-2-3-1 is now popular for a reason and it's what I'd like us to adopt. It's popular because it's a solid setup for transitions in play, and it's simple for players to understand and apply. In that system we need two good offensive wing backs which we have in Wallace and Tav. We need a good holding midfielder which we'd need to bring in. It needs a technically gifted number 10 which McKay could be and a central striker with good movement and both Dodoo and Waghorn can fit that bill. The rest of the team just needs to be fit and technically decent which I think applies to this squad.

 

MWs plan A was good but not great. If we have a system that fits our players, which as I've already opined are technically very good there's no reason why this squad isnt capable of doing well next season and in Europe. I really don't think we are that far away and I don't think we need to pin our hopes on signing more than 3 or 4 players in the summer. What we do need is the right managerial appointment. I don't envy the board's responsibility in identifying and securing the services of the next manager. I'd just love to know though how they'll select him. What questions will the board ask in the interview to ensure they get the right person? I don't think they know so it's a real punt. I'd offer to help them but this might just create a conflict of interest. After all, I can't really write the questions if I intend to apply for the job too. Or can I?

 

Come on DK. If ever we needed to see how good you are, it's now.

 

Indeed. 433 is popular because it so readily transforms into something else. But we seem to have lost the ability or willingness to do that. Too often, our movement with and without the ball is shite.