The photo at the top of this
piece is easily the most important evidence of the changes under Mark
Warburton.
piece is easily the most important evidence of the changes under Mark
Warburton.
The captured image, courtesy of
@RFC_youth, was taken at last night’s Rangers U20s v Tynecastle FC friendly at Murray Park.
@RFC_youth, was taken at last night’s Rangers U20s v Tynecastle FC friendly at Murray Park.
The youthful home side trounced
their senior visitors by 6-0, but as welcome as that drubbing was, the most
important aspect of the evening was not the display, not the score, not even
the fact it was all achieved against a senior side by, essentially, a bunch of
kids.
their senior visitors by 6-0, but as welcome as that drubbing was, the most
important aspect of the evening was not the display, not the score, not even
the fact it was all achieved against a senior side by, essentially, a bunch of
kids.
No, the base argument resides in
the photo above; Rangers’ manager Mark Warburton’s presence at the match.
the photo above; Rangers’ manager Mark Warburton’s presence at the match.
As regular readers will have seen
from some of today’s entries, the new boss is making widescale changes to the
way Rangers are run from a football perspective, both on and off the field, a
way of progressing the Club from the absolute hole it has been in for too long
under previous regimes.
from some of today’s entries, the new boss is making widescale changes to the
way Rangers are run from a football perspective, both on and off the field, a
way of progressing the Club from the absolute hole it has been in for too long
under previous regimes.
And Warburton is putting his
money where his mouth is; showing up at Murray Park
to cast his keen eye over the youngsters. These are the future of the Club,
these are where, if youth schemes are to be taken seriously, tomorrow’s Barry
Fergusons and Alan Huttons are to be found.
money where his mouth is; showing up at Murray Park
to cast his keen eye over the youngsters. These are the future of the Club,
these are where, if youth schemes are to be taken seriously, tomorrow’s Barry
Fergusons and Alan Huttons are to be found.
It is where today’s Lewis Macleod
came from, with bitter irony that Warburton himself, then-manager of Brentford,
could see his potential and shelled out that near-£1M for him.
came from, with bitter irony that Warburton himself, then-manager of Brentford,
could see his potential and shelled out that near-£1M for him.
Whether we will see Lewis back at
Ibrox soon is a debate for another day, but the point holds true – Rangers cannot
spend £5M any more on a shiny new foreign star; we have to build our own now.
Ibrox soon is a debate for another day, but the point holds true – Rangers cannot
spend £5M any more on a shiny new foreign star; we have to build our own now.
Rangers’ youth is doing its best
to help with that, and destroying a senior side 6-0 while your own Club’s
senior manager watches on justifies Warburton’s hands-on approach and serious
focus on the younger players.
to help with that, and destroying a senior side 6-0 while your own Club’s
senior manager watches on justifies Warburton’s hands-on approach and serious
focus on the younger players.
As we know, at least four young
players have recently been officially affirmed in the seniors; Murdoch,
Sinnamon, Hardie and Walsh.
players have recently been officially affirmed in the seniors; Murdoch,
Sinnamon, Hardie and Walsh.
With the close attention the
manager is paying to that side of the Club, expect that number to rise.
manager is paying to that side of the Club, expect that number to rise.
If they are good enough, they are
old enough, and coupled with choice signings, there is every inch the ship that
sailed so dreadfully under Ally McCoist can be anchored back.
old enough, and coupled with choice signings, there is every inch the ship that
sailed so dreadfully under Ally McCoist can be anchored back.
It is not too late for Rangers to
get the youth system right. And Warburton is proving that.
get the youth system right. And Warburton is proving that.
Looks promising. I would like to see us being benchmarked against clubs from Holland and Portugal in the future where we develop our own kids and sell them on to flourish elsewhere. There needs to be a shift in mindset to achieve this both amongst the support and in the boardroom. We need focus away from competing with Celtic at every step think about developing the club, the facilities and the team. Automatically, we will then have a flourishing team that will be able to compete as well as being renowned as for youth development.
100% with you Zizou… I'm getting sick of Rangers fans on here bleating about marquee signings and big name players arriving… It ain't gonna happen fellas… Time to adjust to where we are in the world – the fact we didn't already got us to the sorry state we are in right now.. Rangers traditions for the last 30 years mean fans are so alien to the concept of us rearing our own players that they've already started criticising this fresh approach before a ball has been kicked.
Lets be honest here… if we finished 3rd in that league last year with the shite Ally gave us, then a well organised team with positive mind-set and some steady older heads mixed in should be champions in this division.. I don't think that's being over confident either..
Zizou probably the most sensible comment I have ever read on this site.
That approach should have been implemented at the beginning and the club would now have not only been on a more stable financial footing but also benefiting from a team produced at home with a gradual learning against low level opposition up as they moved through the divisions and who knows maybe even getting ready to play top flight football.
This is not hindsight talking, I have been preaching this since the very start when Ally was using a sledgehammer to crack the nut that is Division 2.
The danger is that with the money that has been squandered and the financial dire straits that the club is now in the opportunity to properly invest in youth and make this work properly has been missed for the foreseeable as proper youth developent requires decent investent also.
Possibly right now Warburton is looking to plug gaps in the senior team rather than specifically looking for gems to make an impact on an already complete squad.
But regardless Warburton attending youth football is exactly where he should be if he is looking to build rather than just manage.
my god 2 positive sensible people!! What on earth is going on Ibrox Noise where are all the NUMPTYS?
I could not agree more with you chaps we must keep going down this road
Warburton is our marquee signing people I have no doubt he knows what he's doing so let's sit back and enjoy. The days of multi million pound players are long gone but that may be a blessing in disguise with him at the helm. Get behind him ffs!!
I think we should also be looking to improve our scouting network. its no good having the facilities and the vision and youth development without the youth with the potential to progress. I would like to see us looking at not only youngsters at home but also across Europe. i'm not talking going to top clubs and having our pick as that will never happen. I would love us to emulate Arsenals scouting policies. they seem to pluck decent youngsters early on and develop them similar to what we did with arteta.
Which as I posted earlier takes investment.
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