27 Sep 2016 00:31:20
Why is it that many fans think that now we're in the top league we should immediately be able to compete and be back to pre 2012 form. A lot of us need to let go of nostalgia abd take a reality and the levels we used to perform to, giving the management team time to get the recipie right. We have a young team and relatively inexperienced when it comes to the speed and intensity of Scottish football. I do agree that we could be more adaptive in our formations and systems to encounter all challenges but it will come good. Changing manager will only further cause more instability at the club and delay our progress. Put it this way it's the same in all walks of life, when we start a new job we are not expected to hit the ground running immediately, we are all given time to adapt and grow. 11 new players in. They need their chance!
27 Sep 2016 06:33:23
You obviously did not hear Warburton, King and Miller come out and talk about how we had a squad capable of challenging for the league and that we could compete with Celtic.
Perhaps if they had all kept their powder dry then the fans would not have thought we would compete this season.
27 Sep 2016 07:28:21
Challenge doesn't mean win.
27 Sep 2016 08:22:09
Do you think we're challenging RossW1995?
27 Sep 2016 09:19:33
Don't you think, given our budget, we should be able to beat teams like Hamilton, Killie and Ross County?
9 points out of 21 and no win in 4 games in unacceptable!
27 Sep 2016 10:16:25
I believe Kenny miller said we were better than Celtic and that the aim was to win the league.
Dave king said our objective is to compete for the title this season.
Mark Warburton said rangers have enough quality to challenge Celtic for the title.
It does not matter if you personally believe them, the point I am making is Warburton, King and Miller only have themselves to blame for the fans believing we would be challenging for the title. So don't blame the fans who thought we were going to challenge for the league, blame the people who said we would.
27 Sep 2016 12:24:54
Boss your correct mate they did say that but let's be honest they are not going to say anything else before a ball was kicked. Season tickets had to be sold mate. Simples.
27 Sep 2016 12:29:15
what do you want them to say? that we are not good enough? that celtic are far better? that's a sure fire way not to get the players up for it.
27 Sep 2016 13:31:11
You are out of step with reality in respect of 'New jobs'! When you are headhunted into a Company, (especially one with problems), you are not only expected to hit the road running but in a relatively short space of time you are expected to make a major improvement in the Companies bottom line and then build on that. The same is true when you go into a Company that is in development mode.
In a turnaround situation you have a wide range of objectives from replacing non performers to growing the top line and cutting expenses and you need to get it right first time in terms of targeting who you will keep and who you bring in. (This generally means having a budget for new hires and, in case of need a budget for redundancies) .
If I attempt to draw parallels then in year one the new manager exceeded expectations by winning promotion and getting to a major cup final. The people that he brought in to help him do the job certainly improved the 'business'. So in year two he is expected to build on that but for me that is where the comparison with business ends. In business you bring in a team that you know with some confidence will deliver your business plan objectively for the next 3 to 5 years.
Budgets are already agreed based on financial achievements. Warburton's budget could not be determined by that for two reasons,
(i) there is little financial benefit in the short term in moving to the Scottish Premier Division from the Championship for Rangers, (since they generally secure high Home Gates and the only increase in income in the short term comes from price increases) .
(ii) Warburton did not have the financial support of the Board to build a team to win the Championship that could progress to be in the top 2 or 3 in the Premiership; that, rightly or wrongly had to be deferred until Summer 2016).
Warburton has to be seen as being successful in securing the two Accrington Boys but the fact is that to put a team on the pitch that could challenge Celtic and be confident of a top two finish significant investment was required. This was not forthcoming.
So if you want to draw a comparison with business, having turned the Company round, the guy in charge of operations was not given the budget to take the Company to the next level and as a result it stagnated. In Warburton's case we will never know whether he saw Hill, Barton, Krancjar and Senderos as his preferred choices or even second choices. I suspect it is highly unlikely.
What is more, he has been let down by players that performed to a reasonable level in the lower league but are struggling for whatever reason in the slightly better top league. Personally I have serious doubts about the personnel that the manager has at his disposal including all of the aforementioned, his two centre backs, Wallace, (in respect of his leadership qualities), new acquisitions, Rossiter, Crooks and Windass in terms of their fitness and McKay in terms of his ability to cope with the step up.
Warburton deserves time, assuming that he can get eleven fit players and the funds to bring in the players that he really needed in the summer and that included a leader!
27 Sep 2016 13:53:19
boss hogg got to agree with cee and lance mate what is it u expected to come out of the mouths of rangers players .
"we would be happy to finish top half of the table this season!
fans would have gone aff their nut .
plus you have got to believe that when u play for a team like rangers or celtic .
if u don't then u don't get a game.
27 Sep 2016 17:07:15
I totally understand why it was said but my point still stands, if people at the top of our club are saying these thongs publicly, then they need to accept it will raise fans expectations and if they don't deliver they will come under pressure.
Surely it would have been more sensible to say - it is going to be extremely difficult to catch Celtic but we will try our best. But our main aim this season is to consolidate our place in the SPFL and to get back into Europe. By doing this fans wouldn't have felt lied to and our fan's expectations would have been more realistic. Not only that the manager, players and Dave king would be under less pressure right now.
28 Sep 2016 23:21:00
It is the manager's job to motivate the players and to get the support onside so I can fully understand his comments. It is the Chairman's job to provide the resources to support the Manager. King has been full of hot air for a long time, if anyone is to blame for filling the support with the belief that we would finish top two and would have the players to do so, it was him. For me he is just another David Murray! Full of moonbeams and empty promises. As a Chairman you don't say that you are going to front end load the funds to allow the manager to bring in the quality needed and then end up where your 'Marquee signings are three geriatric freebies!
Warburton can only use the tools he has been given and I doubt that Walter Smith would have done any better with some of the players that we now have at the club.