Ibrox fans are being softened up for another transfer window with virtually no money flowing out of the Blue Room. Earlier this year the club settled with Sports Direct over the breaches of contract while Dave King was chairman.
Throughout May the gullible bears were fed tales about cash flowing into the club from multiple stories. In one memorable yarn the Scottish Daily Express claimed that UEFA would send a cheque for £50m from the run to the final of the Europa League. Unfortunately that was £33m more than the real figure.
After two transfer windows paying token fees for players Steven Gerrard jumped ship to Aston Villa, it looks like van Bronckhorst will have to sell over-rated stars if he is to deal meaningfully in the summer transfer market.
The protracted attempts to sign Antonio Colak from PAOK highlight the difficulties the new boss faces, so far van Bronckhorst hasn’t said a word but next week in Portugal he is likely to go in front of carefully selected media outlets to apply some spin on tumbleweed.
Writing for one of the club’s media partners, Rangers Review, Stevie Clifford explains the role of transfer guru Ross Wilson:
What we must do is ensure that anyone we have is maximising their value and if we are honest then a few big earners aren’t doing that. Kemar Roofe and Helander being unavailable so often isn’t their fault, but it’s problematic because our big earners must be contributing every week.
The market has changed and I suppose what I am saying is it isn’t as easy as it being Rangers’ fault. Even PAOK won’t sell until they find a replacement for Colak and this highlights how difficult it currently is – they too have to be cautious.
So these are things we possibly don’t consider when we look at the landscape. But Rangers will spend money, I remain sure of that. We just might need to see what happens with a Joe Aribo or a Glen Kamara first.
To those being highly critical, maybe this board are just safeguarding our future and ensuring we don’t make the same mistakes as before. Maybe we are just taking our time to ensure our moves are judicious. I also accept that maybe people have a point and we ARE being overcautious. Some will say I’m finding excuses for a boardroom who are dragging their heels and not being cost-effective with a bloated squad in the first place. I suppose it depends on where your truth is.
Mine lies somewhere in between these poles. I’d lose ten from this squad including two or three big names who aren’t effectively contributing and bring in three who could. That might just be the freshening up we all predicted we needed but I know it’s never that simple.
The truth never hides. Excuses or relevant facts? We will find out soon enough – the Champions League is merely six weeks away.
With no bids or interest in the current squad it looks like The Rangers Review will be busy over the next few weeks warning bears not to panic.
Loving the ‘cheque for £50’ typo
Editor: Woops…
Psst!
Yer club’s deid.
There’s a truth you never stop trying to hide.
Wallopers!
They’re screwed they’ve not got a pot to piss in and nobodies interested in their “star studded” line up. All these fantasy bids for el buffalo and not one bite in ten transfer windows.
Stuart McCall is the latest ex-player trotted out out to tell the gullibilly’s it’s going to be a long summer with no bids for any of their galacticos.
It’s no wonder as their valuations aren’t based in reality, “but, but we got to the Europa League final” so what, seven wins from twenty-one games prove that that was pure luck, a freak of nature result.
The galling thing for them is that we’re strengthening even more and so far our outlay is only nine million nett spend but that’s what big clubs do and Celtic are flexing their muscles and showing that we are and always will be the biggest club in Scotland.