Next Season

[Bill 13,717]

1 hour ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

That's fine if its accompanied with some transparency and expectation setting. Ross Wilsons comments at the AGM about us not having to sell players as we are comfortable financially is not quite how it played out in January.

You're never going to avoid that sort of thing in football, where intentions and delivery are often hard to match. Besides, no one has said the individuals running Rangers are perfect but individual flaws and mistakes don't necessarily trump undoubted achievements. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Bill

[BlackSocksRedTops 3,809]

I feel that we've not brought a player in for a while that has made an impact on our first XI. We've bought a lot squad players IMO but nobody that has become an instant starter.

[Sutton_blows_goats 5,489]

8 minutes ago, the gunslinger said:

Surely with that Gerrard and the European run we are breaking even and can use sales money to buy players. 

I hope so but it depends on revenue streams which in the past have not been enough to break even and we have relied on directors to cover the shortfall.

[CammyF 8,408]

38 minutes ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

I hope so but it depends on revenue streams which in the past have not been enough to break even and we have relied on directors to cover the shortfall.

You'd like to think that with the amount of official partners we now have that we'd be coining it it. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by CammyF

[Bill 13,717]

It doesn't take much realism to understand we are a considerable distance away from financial comfort. This is a journey still only half travelled. It's now more than 20 years since it became obvious to everyone the financial model was unsustainable and spending had to be curtailed. Ten years ago we suffered complete financial meltdown and spent the next 5 or 6 years in various degrees of chaos until Gerrard arrived and things finally started moving forward. Since then much of the club's organisation and infrastructure has started to be rebuilt but no one should be under the illusion that the job is anywhere near finished. Recent financial statements confirm this. The road ahead is bound to have bumps and setbacks but I'm hopeful that 3 years from now we will be in a much healthier state.

[Sutton_blows_goats 5,489]

8 minutes ago, Bill said:

It doesn't take much realism to understand we are a considerable distance away from financial comfort. This is a journey still only half travelled. It's now more than 20 years since it became obvious to everyone the financial model was unsustainable and spending had to be curtailed. Ten years ago we suffered complete financial meltdown and spent the next 5 or 6 years in various degrees of chaos until Gerrard arrived and things finally started moving forward. Since then much of the club's organisation and infrastructure has started to be rebuilt but no one should be under the illusion that the job is anywhere near finished. Recent financial statements confirm this. The road ahead is bound to have bumps and setbacks but I'm hopeful that 3 years from now we will be in a much healthier state.

We were told many times that player trading was going to be a big revenue stream for us but have failed to maximise the ROI on some of our biggest assets in years. Yes I'm aware the impact COVID has had not just on us but football world wide. But i stand by this.

[Sutton_blows_goats 5,489]

2 hours ago, Bill said:

One lesson I learned from the wilderness years was the club comes far ahead of trophies. I do not want to see profligate spending if it puts the club in jeopardy. No more gambling. What we spend, we first have to earn.

No one wants us to go back to the days of spending more than we have. But the reality of where we are v where our biggest rivals are financially means they can spend much more on players than us. And in turn have a much better chance of winning things than we do. This will be the case for some time if they continue to get far higher European revenue than us.  This season has been a massive own goal for us in that regard. 55 was the big one but it was supposed to be a foundation for us to build on. Not a millstone around our neck.

[JohnMc 2,802]

3 hours ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

I think that's a bit optimistic John.

 

We will lose McGregor, Goldson, Davis, Arfield out of contract in the summer. We need a top keeper to replace McGregor IMO.

 

Kent, Morelos, Aribo, Helander all have one year remaining and should be renewed or sold. In Helanders case he cant stay fit so would prefer to move him on. Worst case scenario is we fail to move Kent, Morelos and Aribo and lose them for nothing. 

 

Lowry is in his last year and needs to be renewed or promoting him to first team duties and developing him for his next club wont do us much good.

 

Agree RE Leon King. Now at the point we either need to play him and give him games or try to get some money for his potential. Katic is an interesting one. By all accounts his performances have been improving so i wouldn't be adverse in having him back. At the same time if we get a decent bid for him it may be best for both parties to move on.

 

Real question marks over the quality of Itten and Sakala. If we can move them on and reinvest we should. Roofe cant stay fit so we should move him on and reinvest if we can. He takes too big a wage to spend that much time in the treatment room.

 

Kamara was a big asset for us under Gerrard but now looks a shadow of the player and how much would we get for him? 

 

I think these questions were as valid in December when we were top as they are now.

Yes, I'm feeling more optimistic than most, I don't think there's much between the sides. We'll need to see where the squad is come August but I disagree that we needed wholesale changes. I also think there's a plan, the club know certain players are out of contract in the summer, this isn't a surprise, likewise others are entering their final year. Discussions around this will have taken place, the club must know who is open to renewing and who isn't, they'll know who they'd like to sign as replacements as well. 

 

Next season will be a strange one. The World Cup will be a big interruption coming mid-season and players who go to it will inevitably return jaded. We won't have many going as things stand, even if Scotland qualify it's still only likely to be a handful of players at most. 

 

Let's see how we react to this defeat, that will tell us a lot about this squad as well. There's still a lot to play for this season. 

[Blue Moon 1,362]

2 hours ago, JohnMc said:

Yes, I'm feeling more optimistic than most, I don't think there's much between the sides. We'll need to see where the squad is come August but I disagree that we needed wholesale changes. I also think there's a plan, the club know certain players are out of contract in the summer, this isn't a surprise, likewise others are entering their final year. Discussions around this will have taken place, the club must know who is open to renewing and who isn't, they'll know who they'd like to sign as replacements as well. 

 

Next season will be a strange one. The World Cup will be a big interruption coming mid-season and players who go to it will inevitably return jaded. We won't have many going as things stand, even if Scotland qualify it's still only likely to be a handful of players at most. 

 

Let's see how we react to this defeat, that will tell us a lot about this squad as well. There's still a lot to play for this season. 

Thank goodness for your and Bill's optimism.  This thread was really depressing me.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Blue Moon

[CammyF 8,408]

1 hour ago, Bill said:

It doesn't take much realism to understand we are a considerable distance away from financial comfort. This is a journey still only half travelled. It's now more than 20 years since it became obvious to everyone the financial model was unsustainable and spending had to be curtailed. Ten years ago we suffered complete financial meltdown and spent the next 5 or 6 years in various degrees of chaos until Gerrard arrived and things finally started moving forward. Since then much of the club's organisation and infrastructure has started to be rebuilt but no one should be under the illusion that the job is anywhere near finished. Recent financial statements confirm this. The road ahead is bound to have bumps and setbacks but I'm hopeful that 3 years from now we will be in a much healthier state.

Then the board need to be 100% honest with us. There is no point saying that the money recouped from SG and NP would be invested into the playing squad, then not doing so,  or that we are very close to being self-sufficient financially when we are clearly not. 

 

It'll be interesting to see the timing and the price of next season's season tickets.

Edited April 5, 2022 by CammyF