Knights, Queens and Pawns ââ?¬â?? A Guide to Transfer Chess

[Frankie 8,552]

As the Rangers support rightly becomes ever more impatient with the slow and apparently minimal strengthening of the playing staff this summer it�s interesting to note that this Wednesday the Queen will hold an Investiture at Buckingham Palace. This essentially means that after a 6 month wait since being announced as a Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours list, David Edward Murray will finally be officially known as Sir David Murray.

 

Mere mortals such as I can only imagine the pomp and glamour associated with such an event. I�m sure the pride and indeed honour of being recognised by one�s peers could be considered the pinnacle of one�s professional career. Certainly, Sir David Murray�s business career has been impressive and he deserves much credit for the way he has led his life whilst battling several personal tragedies. Ergo, I sincerely hope our chairman enjoys the day and accepts our good wishes.

 

I then hope that, after the ceremony and upon his return to Scotland, Sir David will then commence a renewed campaign to return our club to the pinnacle of their domestic fraternity. In the last two seasons our great club has not won a thing and the outlook isn�t bright ahead of any new campaign.

 

Beaten to the signature of Scott Brown, embarrassing and pointless bids for Steven Naismith and the usual media stooges announcing non-existent bids for the likes of Claudio Pizarro means the pawns in this game of transfer chess are interesting to discuss. Is it the first class players who we allege we will buy? Is it the young domestic players who we can�t compete with Celtic for? Or is it the fans who are being asked to renew their season tickets at an increased price for little return?

 

No matter the answer to that question, we are losing the game ââ?¬â?? even at this early stage.

 

Alan Gow, Kirk Broadfoot and Jean-Claude Darchville are all reasonable signings. All three have the game to add to our squad as well as the potential to improve it. However, we still need more and we still need players of a class to settle quickly ahead of a huge game in late July where weâ��ll be involved in the second round of the CL qualifers. Teams such Fenerbah�§e, AEK Athens and Sparta Prague then all await if we make it to the third round in mid/late August. Can we genuinely say weâ��re confident of beating these teams? Do we have the squad to cope with these huge matches while getting off to a much-needed good start in the SPL?

 

To maximise our chances, it�s vital we make any further signings as soon as possible. Pre-season will soon be upon our players and its imperative that, considering the number of changes Smith intends to make, all new players are integrated into the squad as soon as possible. The longer our new team has together in terms of training and actual matches the better. Waiting till the window shuts in late August to make the bulk of our signings is very risky and we don�t exactly have a great record of doing good business on deadline day.

 

I guess the likes of Murray and Bain will be trying to ensure that we only spend money we can afford. Obviously, that makes fiscal sense but instead of gambling on CL Group stage qualification with an under-strength squad, why not spend the allocated funds (whatever they may be) early enough to maximise our chances? Yes, that is also a gamble but the odds are arguably not as long as the former.

 

Spending money on players is always a risk. We have suffered in the past from this and will continue to do so in the future. We haven�t helped ourselves by having a non-existent scouting system and by negotiating the kind of contracts that make players lazy. Again, we have to minimise risk by taking the time to analyse prospective players fully in what they may bring to the club. As such, perhaps our lack of real movement on the transfer front is explained by a greater need for full analysis.

 

If this is the case then patience must be advised. However, we�ve been patient now for over two years. We�ve also been incredibly loyal and we�ll continue to be so. What we now need is ambition, commitment and leadership from those we follow.

 

What better leader than a newly honoured knight of the realm? He may not be here for much longer and perhaps his battle days are behind him. But can he leave a sporting legacy that would match the pride he has for his business work? Or is this one step too far for a warrior who can no longer lead from the front?

 

Arise, Sir David...

 

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