Just where do Rangers go now?

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Just where do Rangers go now?


There is no denying that while our club hasn’t gone anything like as close to the pit of despair we teetered on in 2012, the past week or so has to have gone down as probably the worst modern period in the history of the club, as my colleague Robbie discusses.

In truth, it’s not absolutely miles off the dark days of 2014 and fan protests at the board –and right on cue silent protests are being planned by the UB. When that sentence was originally written last night, we assumed we had not quite descended yet to protest levels – well, bingo, following day, here we are!

The past week has been up there as close to as toxic a period as we can remember, and every day has seen something new dominate the back (and front) pages of the tabloids.

The bulk of this piece was written last night, and we were only too well aware something could have happened overnight to descend events into further misery and the Rangers support will wake up to some latest utter dread coming out of Ibrox, as evidenced by the second paragraph.

And we just have to wonder what is coming next – what direction is our club going in?

For a couple of months we flirted with being a Rangers the fans were starting to believe in, yours truly included, but that has unraveled more spectacularly than we can remember since 2012 and while the levels of grim have not gone as low as that was, this certainly comes close to the worst since.

We just don’t have any clear path forward right now, although we did propose that 10-part strategy to restore something like our old selves.

But with recent events, who knows what will happen?

We can’t even predict if Murty will be kept on or not as things stand – despite the mutiny against him and his completely losing the dressing room, in-fights and uproar among the squad, the board has backed him and suspended players.

That is a big statement. Maybe because we can’t actually afford anyone better, and Murty is as good as we can cough up for.

But either way, there is a long tunnel in front of us right now, and anyone who can see the light at the end of it is doing better than we are.

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24 COMMENTS

  1. I will you , us Gallant Heroes are rudderless and gutless, never can I recall such a shoddy display as Sunday we were atrocious to say the least, Murty has to go, fucking clueless, we are a shambles and from the top we need changes

  2. Honestly, with the mutiny of the players over the weekend, they should all be sacked. It’s bad enough that they played like schoolboys without a care in the world, but to throw tantrums and stab the manager in the back is unbecoming of a professional footballer.

    Murty, if he’s still in charge this weekend, should bench everyone associated with last weekend’s disaster with the possible exception of Alves who was halfway decent when he came on and showed class by trying to break up the infighting among the squad. In their place, Murty should seriously consider playing those on the fringes of the squad and perhaps even some youth players who are dying to make an impression and will give us 110% on the pitch. Players who haven’t soiled the reputation of the badge.

    Maybe that won’t work and we lose regardless. But better to try something different than give another chance to those who have completely lost the plot. At a minimum it should be entertaining football.

  3. Dave King initially rescued the club and has put money in; maybe not the pot of gold we all hoped for but it was the small steps to rebuilding the club. Pardon me for stating the obvious but we are now in a position where we need some serious investment and I am not talking 10 or 20 million it is going to take at least 50 to 60 million to really get the club in to a challenging position in the PL and in europe. The question is, who would want to invest such an amount? It would certainly have to be a very long term investment. However, I think the club in the right hands is a viable proposition for investors willing to take the risk. Our past history and we being the biggest club in Scotland and our place on the European stage should in theory be a mouth watering proposition,. We are a huge club just waiting in the wings for the right investor. I can only hope they are out there and willing to take the risk

  4. That’s not far off how every Bluenose feels right at this moment in time. It’s been a hand grenade of a week one after another. Funny in Ally’s snippet about the Whyte and the tin hats on for a few days.

    The Clubs in a mess the players are in a mess it needs not a band aid but a full field dressing to stop the rot. I honestly believe those two are gone not just on Murtys request but that of MA and even on Walters input over it. No future Manager would stand for that so they’ve zero option on it. Also to the point it would be a bad president to set for the Club in the future as no player will ever be bigger than the Club ever..

    We’ve been blessed with true Legends over my time supporting Rangers – we need to find new Legends to take our Club forward…

    Got to be positive in our way forward from this…

  5. The other top five teams must be relishing the opportunity to finish above us in the League. Keeping Murty in the hot seat could well see Rangers losing all five remaining games. It can get worse. Bottom six next season?

    • Alex, and others, we can sack Murty but to what end? Who replaces him? With 5 games to go we are stuck where we are. I think Murty has shown enough that he won't be getting the job. I think season ticket sales will be slow until fans know who is, so a new person will be in early doors.
      If there isn't somebody already identified, and there may be, my money would be on Steve Clarke or Alex Neil. Either would steady the ship, get the most out of what is there, develop our good youth players and bring in players to improve with resale value.

      That is exactly what we need. We don't have any money. Anybody wanting a big name manager and £30 million worth of signings is delusional. So let's suck it up, back the team and get ready for the good times to return.

      The team was diabolical on Sunday, but we have got some good players, who need structure, leadership and hope. Until the end of the season, get rid of any player who is not behind the club, the team and by extension the manager. Jimmy Nichol could and should be whispering in Murty's ear – where was he on Sunday?

      Play Cardoso and Alves at the back and McCrorie as CDM. We have 2 decent wingers, but if conditions allow it, sub one after 60 minutes and give Atakayi or Middleton a run out. Let's see what they have got. Docherty plays in front of McCrorie and Morelos plays up front. Either play Dorrans or Windass in behind him, or play Cummings up with him.

      FFS, I know nothing about football and I can work this out. Get some kids on the bench and let the first teamers know that their jersey is up for grabs – perform or get used to this kid wearing your jersey next season while you hunt for a new team. We have a lot of good kids screaming for a chance. Check out how the Unders have done this season. Bayern Munich away!! While the grownups lose to "wee" teams and disgrace the jersey against the scum

      We march on
      RTID

    • Aye you’re not wide of the mark there SWH.. We’ve got to get something from these last games. If that means blooding the young team I’m all for it it’s the only they’ll get the experience of a full Ibrox.. I’d start Middleton in Murphy's place to start the game and let him showcase his talent.. Got to think of the future

  6. Here is what needs to happen to get us bk on track
    (just my opinion so no hate/insults)

    1. The Board (King, Park, Robertson) MUST be removed!

    2. They can Take Murty with them
    …need a lift to the station Graeme?

    3. Push Miller into a Coaching Role
    (Under 17s perhaps)

    4. Reinstate Wallace/Halliday & Doche and Play Players in their Natural Positions!

    5. Send Martin Bk to Norwich

    6. Sell Morelos
    7. Give Cummings a Run as a Starter

    8. Bring Goss&Cummings in Permanently

    9. Sell The Deadwood/Baggage …
    Fod & Jak
    Hodson, Alves, Cardoso, Holt, Rossiter, Pena, Dalcio, Dodoo, O'Halloran, Herrera, Morelos

    10. Shopping List of Players —–>

    2 New Gks,
    1 RB
    4 CBs
    1 RM
    1 CM
    1 CAM
    2 ST/CF

    • Stevo

      Not disagreeing, but have you costed that out?
      A) Paying off the ones we want out
      B) The cost of what we all like to see brought in

      Can't see it being done under £30-40 Million. Minus what we can raise for the deadwood, so probably £28-38 Million. Except those on good contracts will have to be paid to leave – so back up to £35-45 Million.

      I've got a spare tenner, so £34,999,990 to £44,999,990

      Long way to go

    • Long Way to Go Indeed
      But we gotta start somewhere to gt our club bk on track! 🤔⚽💙

  7. We all know we are in a mess but to suggest that we can't afford anyone better than Murty is the pit of despair. Would it be possible to get anyone worse? The man won plaudits at the start – but this would only be for removing the toxic atmosphere left by his predecessor. Murty doesn't have a clue about team selection, team formation, tactics, changing the game, man management to say nothing about appearing as a rabbit caught in the headlights when he embarrasses us all in every media interview.

  8. TO BE FAIR TO MURTY SANDY, HE SPEAKS THE WAY HE DOES IN THE MEDIA BECAUSE WE NEEDED THAT AFTER PED, HE WAS PROBABLY DIRECTED IN SOME WAY BY THE BOARD TO ACT THAT WAY. DO NOT DISAGREE WITH THE REST OF YOUR COMMENTS WHICH KIND OF BRINGS US BACK TO THE REAL PROBLEM MR KING. J

  9. I may be completely off base, but that Murty has survived until Wednesday seems to suggest he will be here at least through the weekend. We’ll see how he deals with the adversity of the past week…

    I’m cautiously optimistic he picks a squad for Hearts that is totally different than what we saw over the weekend. 10 changes would be preferred. And if he selects players who have a point to prove, who want to show what it means to wear the Rangers shirt, I like our chances of coming out 5-0 winners.

    I also think those players who partook in last weekend’s farce will have to make amends at some point or they will be out of the club this summer. Every one of them ought to be embarrassed by their effort, and if they have any personal pride at all they will to a man step up and deliver a much, much, better performance next time they see the pitch.

    The next two games will tell us a lot about the mentality of both the players and the manager and whether or not they have the mettle to represent our club.

  10. The next managerial appointment is the most important in the club’s history (again). After the failed experiment that was Warburton, the self harm that was the Caixhina appointment, and the ridiculous extended tenure of a rookie youth coach in the managerial chair – the Board and Mark Allen cannot afford to get it wrong again. If they do – Rangers may never recover as a major force in Scottish football. It is that serious!
    So what/who do we need. First and foremost it has to be someone who has the gravitas and experience to immediately command respect both in the dressing room and the Board room. Someone with the knowledge to weed out the rotten in every sense of the word, and the bang average from the squad – and someone who can organise and improve the rest while slowly improving the quality and refreshing the team transfer window after transfer window. Those who will immediately cry that we can’t afford such a manager then if King has to personally bank roll them – then so be it – just as Rodgers is being bankrolled by Desmond at the other end of the city. If we need to bin Allen and throw his salary into the kitty, then so be it. I seriously doubt we need a DoF in our current state.
    The only good that may come from Sunday’s shaming is a sense that the support which was in danger of slowly accepting mediocrity is showing signs of mutiny, of taking no more from a Board that has dined out on its rescue ticket for too long.
    The truth of the matter is that if Celtic reach 10 in a row, it may easily become 15 or even 20 as the financial imbalance increases year by year. The irony being that the more titles Celtic accumulate beyond the 10 – each one becomes more meaningless – shown for what it is without competition from a strong Rangers. Cruising to title success year in year out interspersed with routine beatings in Europe will eventually take its toll on attendances and sponsorship. With each title and treble then Brenda’s stock will also fall as no one has respect for the winner in a one horse race. How hollow Celtic’s masterplan then. It may now be slowly dawning on Doncaster, Regan, Petrie, and Lawwell that when they viciously and unjustly, out of jealousy and spite, kicked Rangers down to the bottom league – that they really did murder Scottish football for ever!

  11. Murty was becoming a bit of a star a few weeks ago. Now it's all his fault. Hardly the reaction of a loyal group of fans.

    There is no money. There won't be 6/8/10 replacements next season. And Murty may be in charge.

    Don't expect a tilt at the title. Hope for 2nd place and a good cup run – at best.

    • KetIron, you are right. We as fans are a fickle bunch.

      For what it’s worth, and I know this opinion is not widely shared, I think Murty is the best manager we’ve had since Walter, and I think he will eventually convince the rest of the fan base of that if given the proper opportunity. He was put into an impossible situation, and aside from a couple results against Celtic, the team has actually performed better and more consistently than at any point since our demotion to League 2.

      It appears Miller and Wallace are on their way out of the club. If Murty finds his backbone and benches those who failed last weekend and starts an entirely new team, we may look back on this past week as a turning point. Whoever the manager is needs to be in charge (not the players, and definitely not the ‘fans’) and he needs to make it explicitly clear that anyone who fails to show up and be counted will not last at the club.

      I can handle losing to a team that has lost 2 domestic games in as many seasons. What I can’t accept is the sheer lack of effort and lack of pride exhibited by the starting 11 last Sunday. If Murty gets that message through to the squad, even if it means playing the U20’s against Hearts this Saturday, we will be far better off next season.

      I for one think the bigger problem is the inferior squad in the dressing room, with losers mentality, than the manager. Give Murty and Allen £5m per year in transfer budget (as opposed to the £0 they’ve been allowed to spend thus far), and I’m sure they will replace Pedro’s and Warburton’s dreck with guys that actually have what it takes to play for this club. I don’t think we can fairly judge Murty until he’s been given the opportunity to select a match day squad of players that he has signed.

  12. I personally feel for Murty now this situation.
    King did nothing to help him with the comments in the build up to the game.
    By doing so it seemed to give a green light to the players to disrespect the management team and act like school boys.
    The players need to take a look at themselves after Sunday, as they embarrassed themselves and let down the club and fans.
    They were playing for a chance to potentially win the first major trophy in seven years.
    But instead they were unable to put in a performance worthy of a Rangers players.
    They decided it was acceptable to mouth off at the management when subbed, or storm off up the tunnel when subbed.
    These situations would not arise if King had not thrown Murty under the bus.
    I am all for voicing healthy debate, however when you start to verbally abuse your manager then you have crossed a line, so I have no sympathy at all for Miller or Wallace.
    Being loyal does not come into the argument it's all to do with how you conduct yourself.
    No one regardless of how much they care is bigger than the football club and it's high time that these over paid imposters remember this.
    They have let everyone down.

  13. Johnny

    Fair point. I think January improved the team, although I wouldn't keep Martin. I have lost faith in Murty but accept he may develop into the answer, just not now. But I think that Allan will find another couple of gems in the summer, hjopefully including McBurnie, so happy to give him the benefit of some more time.

  14. Trouble is, even before Sunday, we had no plan, we do have some decent players, unfortunately the really good ones are past their best. There are comments about Scottish football and our east end rivals and how they will go back as their fans lose interest because we are not strong and they will continue to be beaten in Europe. Probably, however, people miss the point, they have a plan, it is working, if it does not, they try to sort (their last managerial change) while we appear clueless and jump from one shambles to another led by King!! J

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