Could this be Rangers’ XI next season?

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Could this be Rangers’ XI next season?

Thank God that is over. A truly horrific season for Rangers is finally over, and now work truly begins rebuilding the squad into something a bit more worthy of the shirt.

Ibrox Noise takes you through what we know for sure, with a hint of educated guesswork thrown in for good measure, regarding the rebuild which is reported to be well underway and could be close to complete within two weeks if Pedro’s wishes come true.

There does not look like there will be any change in goals. Wes Foderingham might not be quite Andy Goram but he was definitely one of Rangers’ better performers last season (thank hell we can call it ‘last’ now’) and has just about done enough to not be a priority position. Whether his deputy Jak Alnwick remains at Ibrox is another question, though.

In defence Clint Hill, Philippe Senderos and Rob Kiernan have either left or will. Incoming looks promising in the direction of Portuguese Bruno Alves. The experienced campaigner is said to have given personal assurances he will join, and now the conditions of the transfer from Cagliari require ironed out by officials from both clubs. Discussions over Rashid Sumaila have stalled with the news he is not a free transfer as reported, but is in fact tied to Qadsia SC on a three year deal not to mention the reported work permit issues that have been circulating. Danny Wilson looks safe to continue on next season, and may well be Caixinha’s first-choice foil in the event of signing Alves successfully, or Caixinha may elect the Motherwell CB he has been supposedly looking at in Ben Henaghan.

Fullback positions appear in flux too. Lee Wallace is mooted as a ‘new signing’ next season, and Rangers fans will hope he finally delivers in the SPL after a disappointing campaign. Myles Beerman is one for the future and, a couple of shaky displays against Celtic aside, has not let his side down. On the other side James Tavernier might say he is happy here but he is a target for a six-figure bid from his old boss and may well consider next season at Forest better suited. Lee Hodson is subject to speculation too, with Charlton said to be interested; and with Hearts’ Callum Paterson arising as a potential arrival, Rangers may well adjust their RB slot to accommodate.

Midfield sees yet more change – Ryan Jack is as good as done on a pre-contract, with a medical reported as taking place over the next few days. His final Aberdeen match will be the cup final against Celtic. Meanwhile Harry Forrester, Andy Halliday, Jason Holt and Josh Windass’ futures are up in the air – manager Caixinha has stated he now knows who is going and who he wants to keep. With Windass playing a heavily involved role under the new boss he might be a surprise retention, but equally it could be ‘shop window syndrome’. Emerson Hyndman is gone, and Jon Toral followed him following the win at McDiarmid.

Jordan Rossiter and Niko Kranjcar are both fit again finally and Caixinha has suggested the latter is his ‘quarterback’ while the former will play a massive role next season.

We know Barrie McKay’s future is extremely uncertain, with reports Caixinha is not interested in keeping him and will sell to the highest bidder. Probably Forest. And the monies accrued should that happen are being targeted towards a certain Slovakia international who tweeted a cryptic comment stating he was coming home. All of this would make sense.

Up front Martyn Waghorn has been interesting various lower league English sides with Scunthorpe reportedly launching a bid for his services, while Joey Garner’s future has been curiously more guarded, with Caixinha singing his praises vividly. We know Kenny Miller is safe for another year, while Motherwell’s Louis Moult is on Rangers’ radar and would add a touch of quality.

So a possible XI for next season then:

Foderingham; Paterson, Alves, Wilson, Wallace; Jack, Rossiter, Kranjcar, Weiss; Moult, Miller.

It beats Kiernan and Tav any day.

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29 COMMENTS

  1. Sorry tae say but imo Kranjcar will never be fit enough to cope with the pace and frantic intensity of Scottish football…as for Rossiter… I won't be holding my breath on his fitness and personally thought there was far too much hyperbole on this young mans potential. So the midfield will still be a rebuild job.

  2. Looks a lot better. As long as we can stop those silly 1st goals like we did at the beginning of the season then we can make a go of it from the start

  3. It will be interesting to see what happens during the pre season regards transfers. Onwards and upwards for next season regardless of who comes in or stays. Looking forward to seeing the young guns develop further in the first team under Ped. Rangers will have to prove a lot of their doubters wrong in the press for the next campaign..Do the talking on the pitch with performances worthy of the jersey.. Bring it on

  4. Glad there will be changes BUT Rossiter and Kranjcar will be non starters (injured again) never really thought Kranjcar's heart was in it last season and Liverpool knew that Rossiter was a crock. Also doubts about fitness of Paterson and now Wilson with heavy knee injuries, So would like more to sign for us. Not having a go at your selection…. just prefer to have all of breadmans signings away from our door including the keeper who is a decent shot stopper but can flap at times.

    • Keeper has always scared the hell out of me with the ball at his feet. IMO all keepers good or bad make "great Saves" Now and again. He sure wont ever be an "ANDY THE GOALKEEPER"

    • The team you have named only has 5 players in who play for the gers. Think we should wait to see if Dave king can keep his promise & invest in the playing squad.
      I think it will be frees again.
      So jack is a maybe, the rest you said look pretty unlikely. Rossiter will always be injured, might be back for a few games then out for a few months.
      Hope am wrong but I can't see us finishing any better than 3rd next season

  5. IF, a big if, Liam Boyce can be had for £500k, I would suggest that would be a good piece of business. Scores more goals, for a poorer team, that anyone we have including Miller. If manager doesn't see him as a long term solution – no worries. A season with us and 18 or more goals, he will get a move to Championship and we will make a profit.

    We need to understand, we are not going to build a title winning team in one go. Let's improve, seal second, get a wee European run and compete in the domestic cup finals. This will involve losing some of our poorer players and upgrading. Some.
    Most are on multi-year contracts. If a bid comes in, take it, use it to rebuild. If no bid comes in, let said player and agent know they will not be playing so agent needs to earn his pay and get them a move. We won't be hard to deal with. But until then, there will be no payoff and they will be kept fit with occasional friendlies and under age games. If we are paying, we are keeping.

    So bring in Jack, Paterson, Boyce and Alves. Sell Tavernier or move to Right midfield. Sell Kiernan to whoever wants, maybe Nottingham Forest, and don't quibble too much about the fee – a couple of hundred k should do it. Bring in a second CB.

    Midfield, lets blood a couple of kids like Barjonas alongside Jack and Kranjcar. I hope Rossiter returns, but will not hold my breath. Where is Liam Burt, injured? How did Jordan Thompson get on at Raith, is he worth a squad place? That is 6, keep one other, maybe Holt or Windass, but let him know he is in the Last Chance Saloon. Let the others know it is time to go, or their careers will end with their contract as nobody will want them after not playing for a season or two.

    If Weiss wants to come, great. But not at a cost of Millions. He can get himself out of his contract, or we will pay £500k, tops. Sell McKay for £2 Million, turn a profit on the position. Let agent for Jamie Walker at Hearts know that that we will sign him on a pre-contract January 1st. That is part of 18/19 summer buy done.

    Up front, Kenny, Garner is unlikely to go for anything like we paid, so keep unless we get an offer north of £500k. That would pay for Boyce or Moult. How did Hardie get on at Raith? Waghorn will attract some interest. Take it. Afraid Dodoo has not lived up to the hype, let him go if anybody comes in. Otherwise see if his agent can get him a move or he sticks around to see if he can get and take his chance. The rest can go. Personally, I think Forrester is ok, but his face clearly doesn't fit and the manager sees them every day.

    Those changes, in total, don't cost us a penny but improve the team. The time will come, probably next summer, when we need to find the couple of players that will move us forward significantly, as Sinclair has for the soap dodgers. Let's keep our money for then. It will also give Ped a season to prove whether or not he is the man to spend it.

    Fingers crossed, onwards and upwards, and remember WATP. GSTQ

    • Agree with you on Liam Boyce. How can he ignore the top scorer in the league, playing for a team that creates limited chances?? 500k would be good business as he is still young enough to potentially improve and sell on.

      Remember he learned some of his trade at Werder Bremen so has good understanding of the game and big clubs.

      Can't believe we would take Moult ahead of Boyce…

    • I'd agree with most, if not all, of this. Spend some money on a proper scouting system too- what happened to the DoF? A couple of good signings to shore up and add to what talent we have, skim some deadwood and then keep an eye out for some gems. I wouldn't be averse to pushing Tavernier upfield and having Patterson at RB. We should keep McKay, but I'm not convinced Pedro is a fan, so maybe best he move on sadly. There are some good young Scottish players out there, not least in our U20s; no need to splash on dodgy bodies from the English Championship.

    • Have to agree with Boyce he's been a standout in a poor team.. I couldn't give a cats flying fuck if he supports Celtic or not, the man can bang them in for fun.. Hate to say it but Doug is bang on with keeping a young Scottish core – I'm not McKay's biggest fan but I'd keep him over getting Weiss any day..

  6. On paper i would be happy with that lineup, however i have concerns over the injury proneness of a few of the players in there, also Danny Wilson, he seems to have the makings of a good defender, something that previous managers have tried to pull out of him by trying to buddy him up with older experienced defenders, Davie Weir, which seemed successful as he got his move to Liverpool, albeit based on potential at that time, by the time he came back via Hearts, it was apparent that potential still hadn't been fulfilled, so we sent for Senderos and Hill, hoping for the Weir affect, yet is he any further forward on reaching that initial potential, debatable, now maybe Alves is the man to finally bring out that quality lurking in Danny, i have my doubts, yet the defence has arguably been the most criticised position in the team (for a few years now) and we are trying to stop them making it ten, and we have Euro qulifers, yet we are still trying to get quality out of mediocre, good luck Alves, no pressure then.

  7. Another interesting article helping to keep Ibrox Noise as the most informative of all the different Rangers internet news features. Most of the others don't even come close – well done Ed – keep this standard up!

  8. Too early to say and whilst better than what we have, not good enough for the jersey. Also, what will be in reserve for a busy season?

  9. In my humble opinion i think this side is still rather weak though and with no mention of who could accommodate the bench.

    I don't think if fit Niko will play 90 minutes and therefor i see another midfield arrival.

    I think Barrie Mckay is also a stick on to stay at the club and will play along side the possible arrival of Vladimir Weiss.

    I think Jordan Rossiter has a lot to prove and will be another that will be on the bench.

    Tav will stay and be part of a 4 pronged attack

    Foderingham; RB?, Alves, ????, Wallace; Jack, ????, Tavenier, Weiss; McKay, Garner

    Bench, Miller, Dodoo, Niko, Rossiter, Windass, Crooks, Wilson, Gk??

    ——————-Wes
    RB?——–Alves———–Def?———Wallace
    ————-Mid?——–Jack
    ——Tav——–Mckay——-Weiss
    ——–Garner/Miller/Dodoo/New arrival

  10. Jak Alnwick
    Callum Paterson / Murray Wallace / Aidan Wilson / Lee Wallace
    Jamie Barjonas / Ryan Jack
    Jamie Walker / Barrie McKay / Josh Windass
    Nathan Solanke

    Rest of squad:
    Wes Foderingham
    Danny Wilson
    David Bates
    Myles Beerman
    Kyle Bradley (CB / RB)
    Lee Hodson
    Matt Crooks (CM / CB)
    Jordan Rossiter
    Niko Krancjar
    Jason Holt
    Jordan Thompson
    Serge Atakayi
    Ryan Hardie
    Joe Garner
    Kenny Miller
    Liam Boyce

    If he'd want another year with us on loan, I'd be willing to take the much-maligned Jon Toral back for another season too.

    Xmas time – buy another CB (e.g. Liam Lindsay) and possibly another RB if required (and sell Hodson).

    I'd say we need small, careful steps more than anything. 6 new signings isn't enough, but bedding in more than that in one window will bring the same disastrous consequences that Warburton brought when he tried it.

    Oot the door:
    Tavernier
    Kiernan
    Hill
    Senderos
    Dodoo
    Forrester
    Waghorn
    O'Halloran
    Halliday

    • I agree about Liam Lindsay but why not get him for the start of next season?
      I also agree about your squad selection too, we need at least two players for every position, preferably players who will not end up making debuts in hard competitive games like we experienced this season past.
      Another three players I would look at, I don't know their current contract positions, all midfielders; James McArthur, ? Morrison, can't remember hid first name and John Fleck, all three have dig and skill exactly what we need in our midfield.

    • Yeah I'd take Lindsay now too tbh, Alan. I read an Alan Archibald interview recently and he was saying that Lindsay needs to become more aggressive/that's he still Mr. Nice Guy in defence, but no reason why he couldn't develop that trait with us.
      I like McArthur (especially), Morrison and Fleck a lot. Would welcome any of these. Also a big fan of Dorrans. Any of these names would only be a help to us.

  11. That side will still be 20 points behind Celtic next season .
    We need aim higher and expect more my squad would look like this,w foderinham j alnwik c Patterson tav Wilson berra alves Bates Wallace beerman rossiter r Jack holt s Davis r gault kranjkar s naismith k Miller n jelavik j dodoo j garner

  12. We need aim higher that team will still finish way behind them
    Fody C Patterson berra alves Wallace
    Rossiter
    S Davis r Jack r gault
    S naismith
    N jelavik
    Bench Wilson Bates holt Miller kranjkar

  13. I agree w Jorg Cooper that we need to do this in stages. We can't bring in more than 3 or 4 people. After that it will depend on who goes, to free up wages and transfer money.
    So lets see what we can do with what we have. I would take Naismith back with Boyce or Moult, as long as he will come for our level of wages and he realises we are taking him back because we need him. Doesn't mean he is forgiven, that would still have to be earned.

  14. Not got much money maybe we have got some money to buy players in but 15/25/35 thousand a week on players is a no no we can not do that for now as of getting ride of all those players i think most will sit on there ass and take the wages so for another 2 years or so our hands are tied tight,i say get ride of as much dead wood as we can and bring in two three or four new players but do not bust the bank that we do not have just now.

  15. A lot of good thoughts and positive comments, many of the suggestions can only be better than a lot of the showings this season, one point not apparently raised, where is Mr King's promised season ticket money, I assume he is using his own money to pay for things like monthly salaries while our season ticket money goes on new players, at least I think that is what he promised the other day, how much, as a lot of the posts above suggest next to no cost for buying new players, just asking and hoping I am off the mark and money is available, Mr King? Thoughts anyone? J

    • Mr King said that all the ST money would go into the squad. But given that most if not all of it will be needed for wages, this is not really meaningful. Unless we know the exact incomings and outgoings, there is no valid judgement to make either way.
      To be fair, I don't think we should be spending money we don't have, so I am happy he is not throwing money away.

  16. So if we keep 26 players 20 on £10.000 a week two on £15.000 and four on £25.000 a week 20 players take home over £10 million a year wow i just hope we are not going go bust trying to catch first place that would bea very sad day for our great club.

  17. But you miss my point, or I have missed the message sent out by our chairman. Are we now being told, next to no money will be spent on buying new players, I will look up his quote as widely published in every national newspaper, hope you are correct and I have misread his statement. J

  18. Just read the statement, bottom line , we should, according to Mr King, expect circa £13M invested in the playing squad, so I am wrong sorry, he clearly means that this figure will be made up from a variety of high profile large salary players as JG suggests, with the players either already at the club or bring the players in who will not cost a transfer fee (out of contract). So all is well, we will more or less use the season ticket money to pay players wages, the players will be players basically let go by their current clubs and should it not quite work out or we have a big bill to pay, well we might be in a little bit of bother, but in reality, it appears very similar to the season just ended, it also appears kind of strange that there is still no sign of any money from Mr King himself, he is effectively just taking our season ticket money, paying wages and looking for low cost buys in the transfer market while potentially paying over the odds in wages, and suprise, suprise, not using his own funds, which has been clear since he gained control. J.

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