Warburton fallout: the evidence was there…

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Warburton fallout: the evidence was there…

With many fans still in absolute shock over the backstabbing apparently committed by the terrible trio of Warburton, Weir and McParland, it is worth a little hindsight and exploration of precedent to investigate whether the events of the past 24 hours were actually as stunning as they seemed.

The first thing we must always remember is the ignominious nature of Warburton’s departure at Brentford. The Griffin Park side released a cryptic statement which hinted at a difference of opinion between the hierarchy and management:

“Given Mark’s increasing profile within the game, we recognise that he will deservedly have turned the heads of other clubs. As with every other sensibly run club, we plan for various possible eventualities. We are a progressive club who do talk to other people within the game to learn about other ways of doing things, and to consider novel strategic approaches to the game. Those conversations continue internally, and are part of a healthy dialogue. Football is sometimes called a village, and in any village, gossip and rumours can spread like wildfire, whether or not such rumours are true. It would not be in the club’s interests to disclose any of those discussions, but Brentford FC do want to confirm that Mark Warburton remains our manager. The team’s performance has been magnificent this season and that is primarily down to Mark’s leadership. Mark will continue to lead the club in its push for Premier League football. At this critical stage of the season, we don’t propose to make any further statements in relation to these rumours.”

Not long after this, Mark Warburton was sacked/resigned/mutually consented. Take your pick. Rangers fans like myself only saw a Brentford side punching well above its weight in England’s Championship and thought this man could take Rangers forward. We all are guilty of ignoring the nonsense which surrounded Warburton’s exit from Brentford, as fans often are when it comes to bringing someone new in. Think Julien Faubert and the chaos he caused at Bordeaux – demanding his switch to Ibrox. All us Bears could think was a great player REALLY wants to join us. We ignored the fact he was raising Hell in France to achieve it. Us fans do this a lot – overlook the poor conduct because we believe their ability is worth having.

In short, last night’s revelations actually were not that shocking. Warburton appears to be quite a dubious chap, if the various accounts are true, and while we cannot know the absolute truth about either his departure from Brentford or now Rangers, they have something in common – they both surrounded him and his chums like a cloud.

However, an even more telling piece of evidence of Warburton’s inevitable failure at Ibrox is a long-forgotten interview with Bees player Harlee Dean just after the Englishman’s exit from Griffin Park. One thing Rangers fans have validly complained about is Rangers’ defending under Warburton, or lack thereof, and his frankly absurd set piece management. Yet there was a worrying sign for those willing to open their eyes to it.

Speaking in 2015, Dean said:

“We’re (now) focusing on set-pieces. Last year we didn’t have one session on set-pieces and it showed. That was Warbs’ way. Perhaps that’s where we fell short. Warbs’ corners weren’t the best. He wanted to play short and quick. As a centre-half, we didn’t enjoy that as we want to get on the end of them. If you look at individual centre-halves in the league I don’t think there are many better than what we have here (At Griffin Park). But last year we didn’t look like that. We got left two v one and two v two. We know we’ve got people around us now and I hope we keep a lot more clean sheets and make ourselves look a lot better. We’re focusing on set-pieces. If we can add to the 10 goals from centre-half combined then we’ve done well. We’ve just repeated set-pieces and free-kicks and knowing where you’ve got to be.”

Meanwhile Dean’s new manager could barely believe his eyes at the atrocity taking place in front of him once he took over. Marinus Dijkhuizen could not believe the lack of leadership from his new charges and called the first match ‘awful’ and ‘embarrassing’.

The signs were there that Mark Warbutron simply is not interested in set pieces or defending, or organising it. Put simply, he does not care. He wants to manage like Barcelona and play tiki tika to death, and if his bosses and the club fans do not like it, tough. He knows better.

The fallout from Warburton and his cohorts will continue long into the year, but the signs were there from the start that trouble follows him and them.

It appears Rangers have dodged a bullet long term, and the board has played this one exceptionally well.

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1 COMMENT

  1. It appears that Nottingham Forest have also dodged a long-term bullet, and the Rangers board used better tactics than Warburton (that wouldn't be hard) and the directors did play this one exceptionally well.

  2. I read the comments that dean had made when warburton had just arrived at Rangers if you analyse it all the comments he makes are exactly what has happened with us short corners no set play plans gungh ho football no basic frame work to the team add to that playing his favourites even when they are rotten good riddance lets get it right this time an experienced manager is needed not a mathematician

  3. We should have guessed that an ex London City Trader would be fairly unscrupulous. I for one am glad that the board called them out. Why should we have allowed them to stay when they were so very keen to be moving elsewhere and essentially at our expense what with lack of compensation to us. We were gracious enough to wave whatever compensation may have came about only for them to shift the goalposts again and want further from us. I am tremendously pleased with the board for having the balls and sticking up for the best thing for Rangers which is evidently not Warburton & co.

    Keep up the good work Ibrox noise! You all deserve to raise a glass to your good work and being way in front of most of us with Warburton. A site telling it like it is.

  4. " dodged a bullet long term" more like a neutron bomb. He was a con-man. A Wall street scammer type, a guy used to taking off widows and orphans.
    What is going on with Rangers? What is the schedule of events that will shape our near term future and long term ambitions. Kit contracts, legal disputes, major advertising contracts, new share issue ? Time scale for these events would give fans a much better insight as to what is happening at the club. Even more so as to who is handed the managers job for the next three months or three years for that matter. Mr King we need visibility and be quick about giving it to us. Our focus is on you, don't let us down. It is intolerable that Rangers are relying on soft loans from directors to exist. There are hundreds of thousands unable to buy merchandise from the club because of Ashley.Sorting this fact out out is priority No.1.

    • Having just read Mr King's statement I'm disappointed he wasn't more forthcoming with the concerns I mentioned earlier.

    • It has been documented many times that the merchandising problem is top of the list and that because of the Laws in the UK it is an ongoing investigation so cant be spoke about as it can be used as evidence against the club. Also we are dealing with Mike Ashley who has made a fortune on ripping off people and companies and knows exactly how to use court systems to his advantage. Mr king released a statement last year explaining that it would take time but is a priority to sort the merchandising issue. There is also if you bother to look on google a downloadable PDF file from end of last year with all the Rangers Accounts. All the things you mentioned are there if you do a small bit of homework or just look on the rangers website. Also why the fuck does he need to be Visible he stays in south Africa he can watch the game on RTV. as long as his best interest are for the club then who gives a fuck if he's at the game or not.

    • Big difference from watching at the game versus on TV and yes I would absolutely prefer our club chairman attend every game home and away. Given our present circumstances it should be fuckin' COMPULSORY.

    • the chairman is there to be a business man not a spectator. What difference does him watching the game in the stands make? he is a busy man. i would him rather him to be out branding our club around trying to build the brand for finincial gain rather than sitting in the stands. So it shouldn't be fuckin compulsory cause it has no affect on the club. what so ever as he is no say in how the team plays who they sign and who starts in matches. its just another stupid load of crap pointless point for you to put another negative on our club

  5. iv been saying this for almost two years – and got dogs abuse particularly on 'rangers rumours' from a bunch of knuckledraggers.

    perhaps this has been missed but i think warburtons comments after hearts game were telling- particularly his need to protect loan players. I believe he saw protecting his reputation as a developer of loanees crucial to his next job and more important than his current role.

    He may well get another job in english championship, but it wont be long till he is found out again.

    Mr weir, massive mistake pal.

    Although ur board must take a good share of blame. No direction, no leadership and no cash.

    • I wouldn't say 'no' cash. If we go by Mr King's account he said we've already spent £18m of the £30m that he said was being invested. Our spending has been far more than anyone else in the League bar Celtic. It's the way the £18m has been spent that I think is the problem. Bringing in players that don't add to our potential at all.

  6. To many of us still think Mr King is our saviour, Mr W like Mr A are going to cost us at least £12M, which is great for Mr King, he will then be able to say he "has spent £18M so far and a further £12M paying of Mr W & co and Mr A and that is my £30M I promised all spent and everything is fine, wait a minute I forgot about our team, our stadium and did I tell you about a wee promblem with……..". I leave that for the next episode, King must also go J

    • when was the last time you where at Ibrox because i can see work getting done on the stadium. we also relaid the pitch at the start of the season spent 1.8m on a striker king didn't want. 20k a week for barton. senderos, hill, garner, and many more all getting big wages because Warburton asked for them. King has gave his support maybe you should start giving yours.

  7. Correct J
    For those who think this episode is now over because Dave King says it is, better think again and had better prepare for yet more damning revelations in the coming weeks. King is up to it again and its the same old play from the same old dirty tricks book. Once again all the blame for the state we are in is being roundly dumped on peoples shoulders, other than his own and by jumping in first with the 'statement' and the timing, it just goes to show how much he wants to deflect everything and confuse things…..that statement is nothing but a crass propaganda piece that even Kim Jong Un was falling over laughing as he read it.
    As always its what King doesn't say that you read into his statements and get the clearest picture.
    "£18 million of the originally estimated £30 million investment has already been made.” is a pearl to start and get people thinking there really is investment going into the club. I would question that statement on a number of counts, 18, 30 and investment being the three kickers. Mr King has a severe inability distinguishing the difference between Investment and Loan….they are not the same and never will be, yet he clearly states it 18 has been invested…lie, 18 has been loaned and not one penny from him, DP is the man footing the bills and people need to wake up to that fact instead of believing anything that he says…a pathological liar can never be anything else…and someone so good at it as King makes it look easy-peasy lemon squeezy.
    "Your board’s routine questioning of management was leaked to the media and conveyed as being a negative reflection of the board’s attitude to the manager and the recruitment department. It was confirmed to me that the leak did not come from a board member. Irrespective of who leaked confidential information.” possibly the best line in all of that powder puff piece…. this coming from a man who has been proven in courts to be a pathological liar!! The brand and the good name of the club has now all but gone and the fiasco this weekend has reiterated and hammered home just what a basket case we really are….can we blame W&W for that? No, but we can point fingers at money poorly spent and a team unfit for purpose, but the stench and the real rotten eggs in the basket aren't on the playing staff, the stench will still be there until people look beyond the spin and lies and press for facts….have we not learned any lessons about taking peoples word for things and not questioning them and challenging them …. Murray, Whyte, Green & King…. 4 cheeks of the same arse, but they spin good yarns so they must be true….until we attract honest investment and not the short term soft loans we are getting by on at the minute, the more we fall behind in everything ….I would think another 'soft loan' will be heading the way of the club to keep the lights on until season end, and if, as many predict, W&W are within their rights to go to court…and probably win any court case, the bills will be piling in….. you can't resign without resigning….you cant resign by proxy and you cant force someone to resign…dark days ahead yet again as we get dragged into more courts…..is this what you want from our club?
    GSTQ

    • Well said Dave King new board we need in fact fan onwership is so clear now lets face it the lies we have been told are so clear for every one to see.

    • Well I have been in the "minority" of Rangers supporters when it came to King and co. I have felt, and said, all along that King was a mistake. If King thinks he is bullet proof when it comes to this latest debacle he is, as always, sadly deluded (lying). It i beyond me why so many bears cannot see this guy and some of his cohorts for what they are…. Liars, deluded, masters of spin…. take your pick. 18 million spent… where and what on?
      Rangers, the club I love has been duped by people who's only "real" qualification to run such a wonderful institution, is they are "Rangers men". I cannot see ANY other qualifications.
      We all, well too many, Bears were duped by the "Rangers men" rhetoric. We thew out many players who could have taken over and led us to a much better place than the present "Rangers men" have led us too.
      Aside from money, or in Kings case the "mythical money", we are lacking what has happened to the Rangers way that these so ccalled "Rangers men" should know about. Many ex directors of our great club must be turning in there graves with the way King and co. have gone about there buisness. Butcher and Gough summed it up when they spoke about the "Rangers way" of doing business on the quiet, effectively, out of the mhedia spotlight and succinctly. King cant claim he has achieved one of those.
      Its not like me to agree with Davie Provan, but I think his latest assesment about the mistake of Rangers going in Kings direction as opposed to Ashley's (and I aint a huge fan on Ashley either).
      Absolutely shocking situation. The faster King and co and controoled by proper business people, with money and are gone the better.

    • is that your opinions of fact cause i would love to know where you all get your info fae. Every piece of investment is a loan ya fudd nobody gives money away for nothing there business men they all want a return eventually. your running your own club down its professional keyboard button bashers like you lot that give our club half the problems they have Support your team rather than give the daily record more pish too put in there anti rangers columns. the board handled the Warburton sacking perfectly which is what most fans wanted and he still gets bull shit negative press from people who are suppose to support the club. Hang your heads in shame.

    • I could answer your question fully mikel, but given the level of your argument I wont bother….. Am a "fudd"…. Very reasoned argument there (How old are you?) I have noticed that a lot about quite a few pro King camp… as soon as someone has a negative opinion against King….. start shouting and start throwing childish remarks. That point is backed up by the statement immediately before the name calling "Every piece of investment is a loan" – Do you actually think about things before you say things or do you just say the first thing that comes into your head OR just spout what other Pro King camp says…. Let me educate you… an investment is NOT the same thing as a loan. Try looking up the two word in a dictionary. If you cant be bothered OR cant use a dictionary read GordoRFC statement above, that should help.
      In very simplistic terms, an investment in something is where you put your money into a company or similar and for that investment you may get dividends or other payments and the value of your investment can go up or down. A loan is where you give a company or whatever a sum of money with predetermined agreement as to interest rate its payable back at, length of loan and / or other agreements tied to that loan.
      Oh am I "professional keyboard button basher" am I? I have an opinion which I can back up, like an adult, and that makes me a button basher. Once again VERY reasoned argument – NOT!!! For your info…… I have a season ticket at Ibrox, even though I live overseas, and have a high 5 figure worth of shares in Rangers. By definition, oh and the law, am probably more entitled (as everyone who owns shares in any company is) to say what I think about how that company is being run.
      Warburton was sacked was he….???? My God, you cant even get your own story straight, cause according to your messiah, he wasnt sacked…. Warburton and co. resigned. BIG DIFFERENCE!!!! In any case I never argued whether or not it should or should not have happened, it is simply the case that this, along with a catalogue of other instances has not been handled in the way we expect from Glasgow Rangers.

    • I agree Graham, the Rangers way isn't to wash our dirty linen in public. Even if we can avoid paying compensation to the former management team, there will be substantial legal costs. I'm delighted that we are rid of Warburton and his mates, but on reflection it would've been better to sack them and have a clean break. It used to be the filth who tried to avoid paying compensation to failed manager's and ending up in court. I think that my late father would have been disappointed with the way King is conducting Rangers business. I was brought up to expect Rangers to handle situations with dignity.

  8. GordoRFC I've read your comment. And now I challenge "Ibrox Noise to 'keep it real' and give us an insight to his comments. Are we as fans just buying everything Dave King is saying as the truth? If we have been saying for nearly 5/6 month that Warbs was a nowhere near good enough to take us forward then what about DK? Thanks to both. M

    • I think Ibrox Noise have always kept it real and will continue to do so without your request.
      Also why do you think the Ibrox Noise guys will be able to give you an insight into Dave King's comments? I doubt the guys are his minions..

    • Martin
      You are correct in your thinking, if the writing was on the wall that long ago, why was it not handled in a manner conducive to what I, and I dare say a good many other honest Rangers fans believed, was the Rangers way, the proper way to do things, with dignity and honesty at the front of any decisions made and any such turmoil handled as best to protect the club, fans and the team from the ridicule that follows such events.

      There is NO dignity and no decorum where Dave King is concerned and I believe a greater number of our fans are at long long last beginning to question the sanity of having such a man as Chairman. After Murray, Whyte….the administration and subsequent events, we needed to come out of it squeaky clean and with some dignity, instead we have continued to stumble from charlatan to crook, to criminal. There is nothing in the 'Old Club' way of doing things left (by Old Club way I mean pre David Murray), any decency we had has all but been ripped from us and teams, chairman and fans of every club in the country have yet more ammunition…..our brand and good name is destroyed and will continue until we move on….when that will happen, who know's but let me ask one thing to anyone reading this …. "Would you buy a used car from Dave King" ….If you can think and answer that one question honestly…. you will know where we are at and where we need to be.

      There are any number of Statements from Dave King in the archives of News Media outlets online … have a look and look back at the promises made, deeds done and words spoken, I think you may be shocked at some of the goings on the past 5yrs and the continuum of this ….

      Ibrox Noise are always the first and only outlet I check as the rest seem to be filled with only one thing, here we can give opinions without fear… debate is acceptable, proving points is brilliant…. lets keep it that way here .

      GSTQ

    • Martin, Of course we are buying into what DK has stated, we always have so why would this be any different? Ibrox Noise have been slated in recent weeks by certain fans for sticking it to MW and it is these same fans that still have the back of MW, which is surprising to be honest. lets put a side the fact that he didn't want to be at the club and was only using it as a stepping stone, lets look look at the results, the shambolic defending, the same guys getting picked regardless of their performance, the post and pre match interviews given verbally by the man (MW) himself, the "i dont know what went wrong" or the "I dont know what else i could do" or the "we will learn from this" (lets be honest we didnt cos our defending or players didnt change) comments as they cannot be denied, these did not come DK or anyone else but MW.open your eyes and see the wood from the trees, the guy is full of his own self importance, thinks he is at Barcelona however the reality is this club is way bigger than MW is and ever will be, MW will amount to nothing more and he will never in his carrier manage at club of this stature again. its over for MW and everyone can see it, everyone can now see him for the sham that he is, time to move on and progress now that he is gone, we were going know where with him and the majority could see it.

    • GordoRFC, very levelled headed and accurate statement. For so called "Rangers men" King does NOT know the "Rangers Way".

  9. Legally, I really hope the Rangers Board have evidence to prove the resignations of the 3 ruffians. It appears to me that their agent was looking for clarification from the board verbally, however, we don't know if anything was set in stone, ie, resignation letter, paperwork submitted to the board to confirm resignation. In Kings statement it said
    "While we were dealing with the admin and press releases relating to the resignation the agent again contacted us and asked to defer the resignation until the management had secured a new club. I assume that the new deal had somehow collapsed at the last minute. The Board met to consider this request but resolved to hold them to the original agreement"

    This suggests to me its the agents word against Rangers word. I really hope their was something credible/evidential at that meeting to confirm that the 3 ruffians confirmed they wanted to resign. If not, we will be laughed out of court and we will have to pay them millions in compensation.

  10. I for one am very happy to see the back of the three stooges , but yes Mr King does need to tell it as it is …we deserve that both Season Ticket and Share Holders . We have a long way to go to get anywhere near the Rotten Mob , but if we stick together WATP as we always say we can do it please don't be disillusioned and fall by the wayside nobody said it was going to be easy . Mr Mc Coist and Mr Murray you should be ashamed of not backing the Board . Onwards Brothers

    • why everybody on dave kings back the warburton team signed nearly 30 players and was wanting to sign more half sitting in the stands .mr king has done the right thing getting rid .we will probably need to compensate warburton and co .sell garner and pay them .the gers are back . w,a,t,p

    • Stevie1

      No one is saying we should not have got did of the manager and his backroom staff, that writing has been on the wall for some time now. Whether we like it or not there are ways & means, right and wrong ways of doing things and generally a way to behave and conduct your business.

      Sadly Dave King thinks none of that applies to him and that we can behave in any manner it suits without penalty or recourse. This attitude is alienating us even more and driving a massive wedge between us and fellow clubs…..and employment laws do apply in this country, so be prepared to see us as a club being dragged through the courts again ….we couldn't afford to get rid of them so this stunt was pulled to get them to walk away….does he really think they will walk away after this? Unless there are written letters of resignation, not an agent suggesting it, then they do not have a leg to stand on, so kiss goodbye to another £2m we can not afford.

      You can certainly blame W&W for the players signed and the one dimensional style of play but the policies adopted will never work with a budget of not very much…the players picked and recruited are for the most part not fit for purpose, the best have been some of the loanees, which isn't improving us. The expectations were that by signing a handful of players we would be able to improve sufficiently from last season to mount a challenge within the next 5yrs…. as a Rangers fan, watching a pair of green heels head off into the dust, I cant wait 5yrs…and neither can most fans….we are back to square one, with a team not fit for purpose and Dave's budget all but gone, a true master plan for our club….no one is saying we should be throwing good money after bad, that's not the way to progress….but living on soft loans and ST monies is definitely not moving forward either but sadly Dave King, like the manager he just dumped, has No Plan B either….his cupboard is bare and we are slowly but surely falling further and further behind….the big black hole we are falling into is getting ever bigger I'm afraid…

      GSTQ