Roundup: 48 hectic hours at Ibrox

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Roundup: 48 hectic hours at Ibrox

Well if the past 48 have not been some of the most ‘eventful’ at Ibrox in some time…

It seems pertinent to try to make sense of the latest official and (less) official stories surrounding our Club and try to organise it into some sort of order.

First the official stuff – there has been a big Academy reshuffle, with four ex-players returning to work with the kids. Peter Lovenkrands, rejected for the assistant job, is handed a part time gig with the intermediates, while Brian Gilmour will work alongside him. Stephen Wright returns to coach with the U15s while Andy Little is back at Auchenhowie to tutor the 9s and upwards.

It spells a period of trying to balance up the club’s core values with some respected ex-players getting a chance to impart their knowledge on the youth setup so tomorrow’s players will be better equipped to understand what this club truly means.

Meanwhile the transfer situation in the seniors has hit a chaotic 24 hours. Reports have been made that eight players are up for sale; if Pedro thought he had nailed the mole, he had better think again.

Joe Garner, Barrie McKay, Harry Forrester, Matt Crooks, Josh Windass, Rob Kiernan, Martyn Waghorn, James Tavernier and Michael O’Halloran are all said to be available on the market, with the latter said to be part of a swap-plus-cash deal for Motherwell’s Louis Moult.

Ipswich have been reported to already be in for Garner, a price tag a third of what Warburton wasted on him being quoted, while McKay’s tag is reported to be a modest £2M.

Prices for the rest are mostly modest as well in the six-figure range, with Kiernan only expected to fetch sub-£200K.

Just how much we believe these stories is another matter though. And the same applies to the latest with defensive target Bruno Alves. If the reports are to be taken at face value, discussions between both clubs have not gone terribly well and after giving his word to Caixinha that he would quit Cagliari for Ibrox, the Sardinians have now apparently offered him instead to Turkish cracks Galatasaray.

Meanwhile Callum Paterson now looks set for Cardiff rather than Govan with recent claims that the Welsh side are set to snap him up from Hearts rather than Rangers seizing him.

In truth, none of this is really what Rangers fans want or need to hear. The rebuild which had been underway in earnest still has not got going yet – even the Jack story still is not 100% confirmed, albeit Aberdeen bitterly took the captaincy off him for the cup final. Given the climate of late, we would barely be surprised if he was off to the MLS rather than Ibrox.

And last but not least the resignation of director John Gilligan. Following his altercation in the director’s box at Ibrox with fans and the negative reports it generated it may be the former Tennent’s man has had enough of boardrooms and feels the time was right to bow out. Some will be grateful to him, others probably nonplussed about his contribution.

But on and off the pitch we need progress, and very soon.

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26 COMMENTS

  1. Agree with pretty much everything here – I'm not counting on any signings until pen is put to paper. Very importantly, whoever is talking to the papers needs to be stopped NOW – However, it may be that no one is, and that the mischief makers in the media are playing with their pet hate

  2. It's good to see ibrox men coming back to help out. Personally to me it shows ped etc realise the values of the club and want to install that for future generations. And it's good to see the waste of our team are probably moving on. We need players who want to be here to win things and not to take a wage home

    • I agree 100 percent with you Stuart, we have suffered on occasion with managers getting their own nationalities or those who do not understand the Rangers club and for me we need to be picking the best youngsters in Scotland and a network set up throughout U.K. and Europe.

  3. Pedro must be playing with McKay…2 million?! Warbs will snap him up for that and laugh. The pain goes on it seems.
    Please tell me it's mind games…
    Isn't it the job of the club to get the best out of the youth players, to encourage, train and motivate? If we sell McKay then
    there is no hope for the Academy, no matter which ex player is in charge.
    Give McKay a 1 year extension with options and increased wages.
    Maybe we do need a Director of Football after all?! Whether we all like it or not, football is a business and I can't see the business model right now re the team for next year with this OTT fire sale.
    I just can't see a stable team in place for the start of the season.

    • Don't think he will get a new contract. Only English teams would be stupid enough to pay him 25k a week

    • I share your concerns completely, Zippy. McKay is an excellent young player and he wants to stay. It's Pedro's job to get the best out of him on the field and the board's job to reach an agreement with his agent. Letting Windass and Crooks go for the peanuts mentioned is, if it happens, criminal too. As you say, we need new faces but we also need a stable team.

  4. Seems to me, the shit that is the Daily Record, are deliberately trying to set our situation even worse,than what it is….the Scum from their are definitely,saying things to try and stop players from signing for us….NO wonder,we Rangers fans will ALWAYS hate these low-life..!!

  5. We should be, trying to get decent money for even, our crap players which we payed.
    I know that, might not be possible but its called. TRYING….seems our club doesnt know the meaning of that,anymore….

    • We have a track record of allowing players to leave for free or nominal fees. I don't know the ins and outs of contracts, but I would try to affix sell on clauses to ensure that should the players dramatically improve and end up being sold on for big bucks; Ross McCormack comes to mind and agree with your comment to get money even for our crap players.

  6. But so much has been said about how poor those players are McKay may even go for £500.000 if we are lucky to get that he has not got any deal here and is his old deal up end of month most teams will sit back and take him for nothing the other players maybe no one will want them and they will run out there deals,it is crazy to think they can do this but they know the way forward.

  7. I know I am a stuck record, but there is light at the end of our present tunnel, Mr King is about to resign, watch this space, it is about to, happen!! J

    • Even if King resigns he still owns nearly 15 % of Rangers and there is nobody waiting in the wings guys with any cash let us be real

  8. Mckay hasnt played well beyond championship against part timers. We will be lucky to get 700k for him. Thats the reality fellow bears..

  9. Hats off to Pedro he is in agreement with most fans having clearly identifying the worst of the dross. There will be lots off speculation about targets but we will just have to wait and see

  10. Why isn't Barry Ferguson coaching the young players, looks like they don't want him near Murray park for some reason!

  11. All for getting rid of dead wood but not to replace them with a bunch of has been Rangers men.. Crooks not even getting a chance to show his worth yet and he's keeping Krancjar.. Alves – Jack – Moult – Heneghan – Naismith – Lafferty – Whittaker – Dorrans – Patterson all been linked as we know..
    Not one signed sealed and delivered as of yet does ask the question what is actually going on at Ibrox? HOF all just a ploy to deflect any critiscm coming from the fans over the Warburton – did he don't he carry on.. All well and good ex players signing up as Coaches – where's Barry in all this? To much smoke n mirrors shit coming out in the papers I'll believe it when I see it…

  12. Two words…… Fire sale

    That's what this is. There are no funds there is no investment. Like always a diversion appears in form of an announced youth revamp.

    Come on guys, please wise up to what is going on. King is taking fans for a bunch of mugs.

  13. E-Chef
    Spot on, nail and head hit I think. All this talk of "all season ticket money" going to further our cause is the usual pile of steaming turd that emanates from our Desperado Concerteer as it gets close for the time for the fans to dip into their savings, something that crook has sadly never done…its all spin and all bending the truth and dropping in the buzz words to make you believe it will actually happen …believe me, it wont.

    Talk of binning all those players is once again bollox, how can you bin so many, without two beans to rub together to replace them!!! As for the Bruno Alves story….haha its laughable and people really need to stop swallowing all the bait our criminal lying chairman chucks our way…no one is signed until it is done, agreed, signed and independently verified by three layers, so there will be no mad rush of players desperate to sign for an unknown, 2nd rate manager, backed by a third rate board and a criminal chairman…..the problem remains and I cant reiterate it enough, until he is gone, this is the new norm for us….please look through all the shit and do some investigating….the evidence and facts are all out there.

    GSTQ

    • I would like to hear your plan GordoRFC a Rangers man you may be but what do YOU think should be happening Please enlighten me and the other loyal fans please . If we had an amazing benefactor then we could all look forward , but the only revenue that is going in is Season Book Money some TV Money and maybe just maybe some SPL money for once !!!! What are the facts GordoRFC again as a share holder and a season ticket holder I don't see your conspiracy theory anywhere. GSTQ WATP #fuckyer10inarow

    • BillB

      You don't need an amazing benefactor, you need an honest chairman and a board that can attract investment into the club…its not fckin rocket science its good business sense

      GSTQ

  14. I thought Andy Halliday would be on his way out too,he's not contributed much this season except really bad football.

  15. The season's finished but we need to sell papers so let's take a wee rumour and make it a headline story from an unconfirmed reliable source. Put as munch unconfirmed details in as possible, eg price tags and keep our circulation numbers up. Is that what this is all about? At the end of the day some of these players will move on and the press will say " you read it here first" . Let's not get too excited yet. I do agree that it is promising to have some ex players working with the young lads. That's good news.

  16. I should have added to my previous post, how come the press didn't leak the news about the ex players getting gigs with the young lads beforehand? No reliable unconfirmed source?

  17. Nothing is going to be confirmed until the season ends properly for all clubs, I wouldn't have thought. Rumours are always going to be around Rangers like a bad smell. I'd rather wait and see what happens when we kick off in the Europa League.
    Today's rumour is Halliday being sent away on a free.

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