Rangers legend Graeme Souness has featured heavily in the press recently. Premier Sports drafted him in to promote its coverage of this season’s Scottish domestic action. The former Rangers player manager and club icon had plenty to say during a wide ranging press conference. He discussed many topics and shared some not entirely uncontroversial views. And Rangers Souness eviscerates Rangers correctly.
Souness condemns Rangers’ recruitment
The main issue many people are discussing, of course, is his view on recruitment. Graeme Souness is not shy with his opinion, it has to be said. That is appreciable because, quite simply, the boy knows football. He is old school and knows the ropes.
If anyone ever called Rangers out over their absolutely ghastly recruitment, it was Souness. We are more than happy to endorse everything he said during this press conference.
He did not say a single word with which we disagreed. Looking back, we remain unconvinced that his choice Frank Lampard was the best choice to take Rangers forward. But this time around, he’s bang on.
Souness has Rangers’ best interests at heart. His discussion about how horrendously wrong Rangers’ recruitment has gone was correct.
Put simply, he accused Rangers of having complete suits who have never played the game handling recruitment. They potentially scout, analyse and forensically engineer all the numbers.
They then compile a data sheet instead of simply watching the player. He has basically accused those running this aspect of Rangers of not being football people.
This is a pretty direct barb at both Dan Purdy and Kevin Thelwell. Yes, Dan Purdy remains a major reason Rangers are still in the muck regarding recruitment.
Souness was pretty clear about non football people making recruitment decisions. They cannot provide the kind of football perception required on the ground.
Rangers’ trading model remains atrocious
This is why Rangers’ recruitment has been absolutely abominable for the past four, five or six plus years. Quite frankly, Rangers’ recruitment and player trading model have been utterly atrocious since 2012.
Very few players have been sold for significant profits. The excuses about the journey and Celtic getting a head start have long since disappeared.
Indeed, Rangers performed better last summer than they have so far this time around. Rangers received over £6M for a nobody in Jefte last summer. They also collected over £10M for Hamza Igamane.
There were a few other significant sales last summer as well. Rangers brought in well over £20M through player sales.
This summer, Rangers have so far made a grand total of £7M. Most exits have involved loans, released contracts or very low value sales.
Only Oliver Antman and Jack Butland have left for any cash. Those two deals have generated a grand total of £7.5M. That is barely even a third of what Rangers have spent.
Put simply, Rangers’ recruitment is atrocious. It represents one major reason why the club remains in the doldrums.
Derek McInnes already appears to be on a hiding to nothing at this club. Rangers fans love him and he is a Rangers man. However, what can he possibly do with Ben Godfrey injured at the back?
Put simply, while we did not like Danny Rohl one bit, he had the same problem. Of course, his conduct on the sidelines and during press conferences was diabolical. His arrogance today still knows no bounds.
However, even he suffered from the same issue. Russell Martin and Philippe Clement also endured atrocious management involving player acquisitions and sales.
Rangers continue to sign mince
Put simply, the trading model is ghastly. Rangers’ model appears to have nothing to do with signing the proper players the club needs.
Instead, it has everything to do with agents influencing Rangers into bringing their slop on board. Nobody will tell us that Daisuke Yokota represents the correct answer for the right wing with a straight face. Sure, he may surprise us, but on paper a German second division winger with a record of one in 3 is not lighting us up.
Of course, hipster Rangers fans will claim he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. They did the same and still do it with German third division Ryan Naderi.
He has been absolutely abominable. This is the big problem. The club signs this absolute mince, but the fans often back it because they are supporters.
They want their team to do well. Even if Rangers sign an Alloa reserve, some believe he will suddenly excel in a Rangers shirt. They somehow think he will perform far better at Ibrox than he would at Recreation Park.
However, as Souness rightly pointed out, the reality is that Rangers’ trading model remains horrendous. Managers have no chance with their arms tied behind their backs.
They also have toxicity like Dan Purdy, Kevin Thelwell and his son in place. We do not know much about David Hopkins as head of the academy.
We are not entirely sure about the guy from Barrow Town or Mark Priest either. Put simply, these appear to be random appointments who, once again, are not football people.
They are the wrong people in the wrong places. That does not help when Rangers sign some random guy from Philadelphia Union.
He has been sent off more times than we care to remember. Furthermore, he sits almost on the bottom rung for defensive contributions.
McInnes is on a hiding to nothing
Rangers will never improve while the recruitment model remains like this, regardless of who manages the team. Sadly, the only man who could transcend this is no longer with us.
Walter Smith could basically make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. However, not everyone, indeed anyone else, can produce the miracles that he could.
Derek McInnes is on an absolute hiding to nothing unless he gets better players. The signs from this summer suggest that will not happen. And that’s why Rangers Souness eviscerates Rangers.