Budget: Rangers’ 2021 a major £10M departure for Stevie G

If there’s been one constant since Steven Gerrard became manager, it’s been that £10M-£13M transfer kitty he’s had every summer.

2018, 2019, and even 2020 all saw a budget around that amount being used to enhance the squad, and see high quality players arrive.

18 obviously began it all, with Katic, Barisic, Goldson, Grezda, Lafferty, Murphy et al arriving for a combined total of about £10M, with a glut of excellent frees in there too.

19 saw Helander and Kent alone cost that, the rest all being low cost or free.

And summer 20 saw Roofe, Itten, Hagi brunting the main cost, again, around £10M, with, once more, a host of low-cost or free extras.

This summer, however, was different.

This is the first summer Steven Gerrard simply hasn’t had a penny to spend, relying on frees (Lundstram, Sakala, Ofoborh) or undisclosed low costs such as Bacuna. Actually, only Bacuna.

We said before this window got underway that this transfer period was critical, and that in order to turn the screw on Celtic and make a serious case for the CL we had to buy serious additions.

Instead, for whatever, reason, Gerrard didn’t get a bean.

Many will argue it’s because the squad was built, but that’s a complete crock – Walter did not stop signing players just because his existing squad was the best. You do NOT rest on your laurels and just stick with the same players. You keep reinvigorating.

Now, of course, it’s unfair to say we didn’t sign anyone. We got in four fresh faces. But the reality is the impact of these players has been negligible so far, and the squad we’re ultimately using is pretty much the same one as last season really.

What does this mean?

It means that while we crucially didn’t lose anyone this summer, pertinently we didn’t really bring in enough, and we spent the least in a transfer window that we probably have since summer 2015 and Mark Warburton’s arrival.

We don’t want to flash the cash and measure our club by how much we spent, but to grow in this sport, and at this level, that’s what you have to do, and Rangers simply didn’t do that this summer.

We dearly hope that lack of cost doesn’t cost us on the pitch.

Update: We’re astonished by the number of people who read this and slated us. There isn’t a word of fiction in this article – it’s clearly stating that factually we did NOT spend £10M this summer, and that was really about it. It analysed that difference between previous summers where we did. Somehow, a number of readers took this as some kind of attack on our transfer strategy. It is simply reality, and if you consider us observing the lack of spending this summer as being ‘cloud cuckoo land’, that’s on you not us.