Steven Gerrard has his hands completely tied…

16
Steven Gerrard has his hands completely tied…


After we brought you the latest transfer news from Ibrox yesterday, as we cited ourselves to near-universal agreement, the names being linked with a move to Govan really don’t sound like the stuff Steven Gerrard needs to launch a credible assault at the title.

A few fans have some hopes for the likes of Greg Stewart and Jake Hastie in our shirts, but frankly we don’t share that enthusiasm.

We discussed in a recent entry how Steven Gerrard’s name had surprisingly failed to manifest itself into a ‘marquee’ signing, a seriously respectable acquisition which would light up the SPL. Well, if the names being linked are anything to go by, not even the rumour mill can muster up a shiny name or two.

While Wigan’s Nick Powell is no slouch, and Greg Stewart has not disgraced himself at Pittodrie by any means, there’s a lack of really frightening incomings being mooted. We know our budget isn’t what it is at Parkhead, and that Celtic do hold a Scottish monopoly on the best players coming into the SPL or switching from their midtable SPL team.

But is Uche Ikpeazu really the kind of striker to take Rangers forward? Sure, he absolutely demolished Joe Worrall last year at Ibrox, but that is hardly a barometer for success, and being stronger than a patchy defender who’s had an up and down season at best is not really enough.

Is there a horrible feeling that these honest, hardworking and honourable players are the best we can do now, and we just can’t attract the calibre of player we’d need to stop the increasingly inevitable 10IAR?

To do that will take something more than Jake Hastie.

It feels right now like Rangers are hoovering up the ‘better’ midtable players, and not even the best ones. And whenever in the past we were linked with the very best ones we simply never got them. Kenny McLean, Scott Allan, Jamie Walker, John McGinn – all of these slipped through our fingers and the one that will always irk is that of Allan.

Meanwhile, sure, Jordan Jones has potential but not much more than Ryan Kent, frankly. Which, we suppose, is no bad thing but he, like the rest of the incoming or potential incoming, just don’t look like they are of the stuff to threaten the monopoly Celtic presently have.

Rangers need to be challenging for the title. This maiden season showed Steven Gerrard has potential but has made many errors too. But no matter how good or bad he is, at the base level he needs the players to take Rangers from the best of the rest to a peer of Celtic.

And we’d have to say John Souttar is unlikely to elevate us to that.

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16 COMMENTS

  1. How van you write an article criticising the standard of rumoured signings? Apart from Jones we have signed no-one yet and I`m pretty sure that there will be plenty more rumours during the summer.I reckon there were over 50 players linked with us last summer and some of the players we signed weren`t even included .I actually think that Hastie will be a good signing for the future and is something we should be doing .As for the rest lets wait and see who actually joins after all a couple of weeks ago it was Holtby and now that has disappeared .I reckon we will make a 2 or 3 marquee signings but we may also boost the squad with a couple of guys like Stewart or Souttar who will give us depth to the squad and replace guys who have not been up to it when called on ( McAuley , Lafferty , Flanagan for example)

    • We always laugh when we get responses to articles agreeing with the content, then we write a follow up continuing that theme then suddenly it's disagreement. Never fails to amuse!

    • I like the silence coming out about potential signings, ok its not great for us fans but at least a price cant be forced up and another team wont come in and look at the same players just becuase we are looking at them, Kris Commons and Scott Allan both come to mind if you get what I'm saying🤔
      RTID
      🔴⚪🔵

  2. If we hadnt allowed Pedro to spend a fortune on absolutely horrendous players or should I say appointed him in the first place we would be in a better situation we are still paying dross that he brought in that was a wasted season and a helluva lot of money we shelled out money doesnt grow on trees it has to be earned either with investment or success through results Gerrard has earned money through the uefa run but you have to realise its not just the cost of the transfer fee for marquee players its the wages they demand and in this day and age that is extortionate

  3. It all depends on who we actually pay a fee for. If we can improve the sqaud with bosmans then great. But there's no way we should even try to buy Souttar. He's decent, but hearts wont sell at a fair price, we've been down that road too often and it'll drag on.

    In terms of signing the best in the SPL. Neither us or Celtic can for that matter i.e McGinn.

    I think SG has a better idea of the personality required to succeed here. I'm hoping for £9m+spent across 3 players and the squad strengthened with bosmans.

    Celtic need to sell to buy. They paid £9m for a striker. But sold Armstrong and dembele for £27m combined and made a profit in the 1st 6months of £19m. They only have a couple of high value players left to punt. Also they no longer have the carrot of rodgers and the bullshit that he made suarez as a selling point. We'll close this gap sooner than we think.

  4. Jones – Pish
    Stewart – Pish
    Souttar – Pish
    Hardie – Pish
    Powell – Pish

    Enough Said 🙄👎🏻

  5. I think that we are continuing to make progress and catch up with Celtic. We have outscored them in the league. We have matched them when we have played them, first game and its tactical errors aside. But we have failed to put away smaller teams while they have been more ruthless. Part of that should improve next season as SG will have learned from this season's mistakes.
    We need either one or two CBs, depending on the youths coming through. I would have liked Halkett, but that ship has sailed.
    Kamara and McCrorie have both been good enough. If Docherty can now play further forward he, Murphy, Arfield and Powell would give us options.
    We need a stiffer defence and a CDM should be tasked with covering when FBs like Tavernier go forward.
    We need a striker to cover/challenge/replace Morelos
    That should all be doable, without breaking the bank. We have a scouting department, let them earn their corn.
    Stevo, if those guys are pish, then who do you want us to buy instead? How much will they cost? Let's see your ideas.

    • Didn't we outscore Celtic significantly in part because we got a bonus 12 goals against a 10-man Killie and a 10-man Motherwell?

    • Yes. Without that they would have outscored us because they put teams away that we didn't. Playing against 10 men usually happens because they have men sent off for foul play. It's the game.
      You have to take advantage of circumstances. We did in some games and didn't in others. I would swap 10 of those goals for 10 goals in games that we drew. That would give us the same number of goals and more points.
      That is my take on it, yours may be different.

    • Wouldn't know Rob, we don't watch Celtic or monitor anything they do. Unless it affects us directly.

  6. Agree with everything in your article. Ok, so there is not much money, but I am still being charged £719 for my ticket plus the wife, so a better quality of player is needed to challenge for the league, so let's stop kidding ourselves on that players from bloody Motherwell or Aberdeen are going to stop that lot doing 10 on a row.

  7. I also agree. Trying to stop Celtic on a limited budget and with mediocre players, is a jinx to the forthcoming season. Like somebody said the other day, Celtic will be strengthening their squad with better calibre. These lot are not going to cut it.

  8. Forget price. Tell me any 3 players we could sign from outside Scotland who could guarantee we would win league. And before naming them make sure they would be prepared to play in Scotland. No one with any real ambition comes to Scotland. Only those at end of career with plenty money already in pocket or young hopefuls. We must bring on our own talent and pick up best of Scots. Even though Celtic have won titles they have been poor. And they are not going to get better. They have spent big money on daddies.

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