calscot 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 RANGERS Ins: Carlos Cuellar, defender (Osasuna, £2.37m); Jean-Claude Darcheville, forward (Bordeaux); Alan Gow, forward (Falkirk); Kirk Broadfoot, defender (St Mirren); Georgios Efrem, midfielder (Arsenal); Graeme Smith, goalkeeper (Kilmarnock), DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven, undisclosed), Roy Carroll, goalkeeper (West Ham United); Marco Michetschlager, midfielder (Admira Wacker, loan); Lee McCulloch (Wigan 2.2m) Outs: Dado Prso, forward; Stefan Klos, goalkeeper (retired); Gavin Rae, midfielder (Cardiff City), Karl Svensson, defender (Caen, undisclosed); Lee Robinson, goalkeeper (Morton, loan) Looks to me that we have definitely enhanced the squad from last year. Out: Dado In: Darcheville, Gow Dado was great but his performances have declined since his knee became too dodgy to keep him going. Darcheville looks like he could fill his boots as any deficit in ability will be made up with his pace. Having another squad member in Gow enhances the squad giving us more options up front. So I would say there is an improvement there. OUT: Svensson IN: Cueller, Broadfoot Svensson never looked like settling in to me, he played like a 16 year old who couldn't make the step up to the first team. He always looked lost and hardly won anything in the air. He showed nothing to suggest he would improve enough to be taken seriously. Cueller seems a much better player and has already done a lot at a high level, definitely an improvement. Again Broadfoot increases the numbers giving us more options and more cover, so I'd say the defence had also definitely improved. OUT: Rae IN: McCulloch, Beasley Rae was hampered by his injury but never really showed us that we'd missed anything. He wasn't quite up to the demands of a big club like Rangers but I'm sure he could have improved most of the other SPL teams. McCulloch is obviously more accomplished and should improve the team with consistent performances. Again we have an extra man to choose from in midfield and Beasley looks like he could be good to have on the wing with more experience and a few more tricks than Adam. So the midfield looks better as well. So it looks like we'd not only improved the quality of defence, midfield and attack, but we've improved the quantity too. OUT: Klos, Robinson (loan) IN: Carroll, Smith While Klos was a world class goalie, he was a waste of a very high wage for the last couple of years. His heart wasn't in it and while you can't blame him after the way he was treated, he stopped bringing anything to the confidence of the squad. Carroll doesn't bring me much in anticipation, but he has enough of a career to suggest he can do the usual job of filling in now and again when our number one is injured or suspended. I don't think spending fortunes on second keepers brings much of a return - as long as they are reasonable, they won't lose us many points in the few games they play. Brown brings us more experience than Robinson and for that reason should be an improvement. So although Klos has been replaced by an inferior keeper, in the end it's pretty irrelevant and there is no way we can afford to pay a fortune for someone who will mostly sit on the bench. That money has obviously gone into increasing the squad elsewhere. So overall, I think the squad has improve noticeably if not spectacularly over the summer, and if you remember the previous one under Smith was the best team in the league then we have reason to be hopeful for the new season. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 When you put it like that it it boosts my confidence for the coming year. Good analysis . 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmck 117 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 When you put it like that it it boosts my confidence for the coming year. Good analysis . agreed. might be worth making into an article calscot. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 919 Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Yeah it certainly makes the squad look a lot more beefy. I cant believe we have 4 options for left midfield 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,665 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Yeah, good stuff cal... Will post it on main site... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 double post 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Before you do, I've cleaned it up a bit for more general viewing: QUANTITY OVER QUALITY, OR GENUINE IMPROVEMENT? The following would appear to be the full list of transfers that Rangers have completed during the current transfer window: IN: Carlos Cuellar, defender (Osasuna, �£2.37m); Jean-Claude Darcheville, forward (Bordeaux); Alan Gow, forward (Falkirk); Kirk Broadfoot, defender (St Mirren); Georgios Efrem, midfielder (Arsenal); Graeme Smith, goalkeeper (Kilmarnock), DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven, undisclosed), Roy Carroll, goalkeeper (West Ham United); Marco Michetschlager, midfielder (Admira Wacker, loan); Lee McCulloch (Wigan 2.2m) OUT: Dado Prso, forward; Stefan Klos, goalkeeper (retired); Gavin Rae, midfielder (Cardiff City), Karl Svensson, defender (Caen, undisclosed); Lee Robinson, goalkeeper (Morton, loan) Barely a glance is needed to see that the squad must have increased in size and looking closely at the players listed, there is a hint that better players have been brought in to replace those leaving. Ignoring the young players for the future, letâ��s break the list of transfers down and look at the various parts of the team involved - FORWARDS OUT: Prso IN: Darcheville, Gow Dado was an excellent player for Rangers, but the consistency of his performances has deteriorated proportionally to the decline in health of his dodgy knee, until he can no longer give his all for his beloved blue shirt. Darchevilleâ��s initial performances have been good enough to suggest he could fill the Croatianâ��s boots as any deficit in ability could be made up with far greater pace. Hopefully his short fuse can be dampened with some fatherly advice from his new manager. Having another decent squad member in Gow, should also enhance the squad, giving the attack more options, and letâ��s not forget that the former Falkirk player finished second top in the SPL for assists last season. So it seems the forward line has definitely been refreshed and augmented. MIDFIELD OUT: Rae IN: McCulloch, Beasley Rae was hampered by his injury for most of his Rangers career, but never showed the fans that they had really missed anything. In the end he wasn't quite up to the demands of a big club like Rangers but looked to have enough quality to improve most of the other SPL teams. McCulloch is obviously more accomplished and a Scotland regular. He should improve the team with his renowned consistent performances and his positional versatility could prove very handy in a pinch. Heâ��s the kind of player who could score quite a few goals from midfield for Rangers as well as providing a fair few chances for the front men. Heâ��s also not one to shy from a tackle and tracks back well. Again the squad will have an extra man to choose from, this time in midfield, and Beasley looks like he could be a handy player to have on the wing, with more experience and a definitely a few more tricks up his sleeve than Adam. Hopefully he can use his pace on the left, get good crosses into the box as well thrilling the fans by taking on the right backs. So the midfield also looks to have been beefed up to a noticeable extent. DEFENCE OUT: Svensson IN: Cueller, Broadfoot Svensson never looked like settling in to the team; he played like a promising youth player who just couldn't make the big step up to the first team. He regularly looked lost and was hardly adept at winning anything in the air. He showed little to suggest he would improve enough to be taken seriously as a first choice player. Perhaps a new start at another team in another country will be the making of him. Cueller, in comparison, easily looks to be a much better player; he already has shown reasonable achievement at a high level in Spain. His pre-season performances have been of a very good standard and he could provide the perfect flair partner for the no-nonsense Weir. Again Broadfoot increases the numbers giving Smith more options, and he also seems to be able to play left back as well as in the centre. He looks solid enough and could provide much needed cover in defence. So the case for the defence looks that bit stronger for next season; this bodes well considering that even after a terrible start, the Rangers back line was the best in the league. GOALKEEPERS OUT: Klos, Robinson (loan) IN: Carroll, Smith While Klos was arguably a world class goalie, for the last two seasons of his contract, he was a waste of a very high wage. His heart wasn't in it and, while you can't blame him after the way he was treated, he stopped bringing anything to the confidence or success of the squad. Carroll doesn't bring the fans much in anticipation, but he has enough of a high profile career to suggest he can do the unsung job of filling in now and again, when the number one is injured or suspended. I don't think spending fortunes on second 'keepers brings much of a return: as long as they are reasonable, they donâ��t lose a team too many points in the few games they play. Klos may have been replaced by an inferior keeper, but in the end it's pretty irrelevant and there is no way Rangers can afford to pay a fortune for someone who will mostly sit on the bench. That money has obviously gone into increasing the squad elsewhere. Brown brings with him more experience than the young Robinson and at least for that reason should be an improvement to the strength in depth. CONCLUSION It looks like Smith has not only improved the quality of defence, midfield and attack, but heâ��s improved the quantity too: a double whammy which can only be good for the clubâ��s quest for trophies and success in Europe. So overall, I think the squad has improved noticeably if not spectacularly over the summer, and if you remember Smithâ��s squad, after Le Guen left, was actually the best team in the league; it shows Rangers fans have very good reasons to be hopeful for a vast improvement in the new season. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,761 Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I'm in no doubt we have / will improve under WS & Ally,still no big name signings but big signings don't always bring you success,a strong team unit is more reliable IMO 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Is anyone going to add Sionko to the Rangers "outs"? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 919 Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Is anyone going to add Sionko to the Rangers "outs"? On here or main site? I'll do it for main site unless Frankie beats me to it. EDIT: Frankie will have to do it, when I clicked the save tab with the changes it done it with "errors on page" display 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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