Alchemist Required: Finance and a Major Overhaul by Summer 2023

[Bill 13,717]

We all went into this CL campaign knowing we would probably finish bottom of the group. Perhaps we hoped for more but realistically we were going to do well to get anything out of it.

 

Now that it's over, we inevitably feel disappointment when our expectations are crystallised. However, there's now also a sense of a support terrorised by the distinction of being the worst ever CL group stage club. We can't allow that bitter legacy to dictate our attitude towards the board/manager/playing squad. Mainly because it doesn't actually help in any way, either for us of the teams prospects for the rest of this season, but also because decision making against that backcloth is unlikely to be productive. Frankie is right in his editorial, we have to accept the need for a period of calm reflection.

[forlanssister 3,114]

15 hours ago, buster. said:

 

Moving on........

 

Substantial overhaul required by the end of summer 2023

- Players

- Mgmt. & Coaching staff

- DoF ??

 

 

How do you finance that ?

What level of manager/player will be able to bring in?

 

 

UEFA CL prize money this season....... was LESS than UEFA EL prize money last season.

Figures don't include market pool (TV money)

 

Unless we somehow pull a series of rabbits out of the hat we are destined for another difficult period.

 

When Celtic imploded a couple of seasons back, they pulled the rabbits from the hat to take advantage of our return to inconsistent league form. However, they did that with a relatively major outlay.

 

I don't see who the players are who are going to bring in eight figure fees or anywhere near it.

 

Irrespective of the managers failings (like most Dutch dogmatism seems to ail him) the attitude and work ethic of many of our players has been to put it mildly simply woeful. At the arse end of last season we were playing 3 games in a week with 2 of them 120 minutes long all high tempo, that attitude and work ethic was awe inspiring, those traits must return. I doubt there's one single department at fault for that the blame should be collective and nobody failing short can be sacrosanct. 

 

The DoF has a hell lot to do to find some redemption far, far too many misses, far too many contracts handed out to those who should have been thanked for their services and patted on the back. The goalkeeping situation has been coming to a head for long enough it really should have been addressed and if Wilson really is a DoF then he owns that failure 100%. I get the notion of paying good wages to a decent Bosman Lundstrum, Lawrence and the younger projects like Bassey and accept there will be misses along with the hits but the proportion of hits must greatly and rapidly increase before he dan find some redemption.

 

I concur with those saying we've been unlucky with injuries but it's down to more than luck and anyway as wiser man than me sang "when it comes to good luck you make your own.....". The conditioning and medical departments cannot go unscathed because the deterioration has been so severe so fast, some games when the hour comes we look done in. The dressing room really has to stop looking like the set of Causualty.

 

The Board too have many questions to answer starting with one of my pet woes the eternal and bizarre PR and Communication shambles. They'd escape a gell of a lot of the flak aimed at them ftom the support of they actually had a functional proactive PR and Communication strategy.  As I've touched on before they really should have been open and honest with the fans into just how bad the infrastructure at Ibrox and Auchenhowie was and how long it will take to bring them up to the standards desired let alone explaned what the costs will, they're eye wateringly painful. Nobody notices new roofs, new boilers, new pumps as they tend to be located out of sight erho out of mind but these things are both vital and expensive.

 

Where I will give the Board some credit (apart from funding us through the pandemic which was no small feat) is their apparent determination to run us in a sustainable basis and not pandering to the spend,spend, spend mob. If any set of fans know the dangers in chasing moonbeams then surely it's us but I suppise some will never learn. It's fair to moan about the state of the toilets and it's fair to moan about the lack of options on the right wing but someone has to decide which one the priority is.

 

This is probably the first Board in decades to have a long term stategic plan for the Club it's high time they did us and themselves a favour and shared it, and tell us the bits we don't want to but need to hear as well as the bits do want to hear. The vacuum is doing none of us any favours.

 

We've just been handed a reality check let's hope some good comes of it.

 

 

Oh and the glabrous one being constructive? Savour the moment savour it! 

 

 

[gaspard 562]

6 hours ago, forlanssister said:

 

Oh and the glabrous one being constructive? Savour the moment savour it! 

 

Proverbs 15:31

If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise.

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by gaspard

[ranger_syntax 4,321]

12 hours ago, der Berliner said:

Gio had one transfer window, brought in 6 guys, all of whom good enough to win the league. 

Don't forget about Matondo.

[Blue Moon 1,289]

I can't like any of the comments on this thread and I am signed in.

 

@Frankie

[Scott7 6,004]

8 minutes ago, Blue Moon said:

I can't like any of the comments on this thread and I am signed in.

Works for me. See above.

[Sutton_blows_goats 5,335]

11 minutes ago, Blue Moon said:

I can't like any of the comments on this thread and I am signed in.

happens to me occasionally on ios devices

[Sutton_blows_goats 5,335]

12 hours ago, der Berliner said:

Gio had one transfer window, brought in 6 guys, all of whom good enough to win the league. Thing is, we have 4+ centre-halfs out, of which 4+ would be first picks. Morelos, for the first time in many years, has been out for a long spell (due to not rotating the squad, IMHO) and has yet to find his form. Stalwarts are not performing up to their level. And we continue to pick underperformers (in valuable data, not effort) and play wrong tactics in Scotland. SG managed that throughout his stay, you would hope Gio learns faster.

It still wasn't enough. I bemoaned at the time I thought our general transfer business was good, but we needed to bring in at least 1 midfielder(ideally 2). Even a loan would have done. Jack cant stay fit. Davies and Arfield cant play full games or 2 games a week. Kamara should have been sold he has since disengaged since the move to Nice fell through.

 

Agree the scale of injuries are unprecedented and the general outlook on the summer transfers look good. I still believe Matondo will come good in time. There have been flashes from him.

[Blue Moon 1,289]

It worked.  Gremlins.

[der Berliner 3,744]

2 hours ago, ranger_syntax said:

Don't forget about Matondo.

Oh, Matondo isn't there: Davies, Ridvan, Lawrence,  Colak, Lawrence, and Tillman, with Matondo the one who will have to prove himself a little more. Yet, as I wrote, I do not expect wonders of a winger. At least not any more than I expect of Kent, who went stale this season. 

 

I excluded Souttar though, since I thought that he was a pre-contracted earlier than he actually was. My cynical self just asked: Souttar, who is Souttar?