Inside Rangers Recruitment - The Athletic

11huistra11

Well-Known Member
Good article again from Jordon Campbell, this part in particular jumping out at me as a positive sign going into this window:

“That has freed up a chunk of wages that will help Rangers invest in replacements, with a commitment to quality over quantity. There has been a feeling that too many players are simply there to make up the numbers without contributing. That has to change and it is hoped a tighter squad will make every player feel like they have a defined role.”

 
I get that we may have been top heavy with regards squad numbers, but also feel the manager should maybe have trusted some of the squad fringe players to come in and try and impress rather than stick to the same old tired legs playing Thursday Sunday each week. Dont think we utilised the squad as best we could but Im not the gaffer.
 
I dont usually agree with copy and pasting of articles but this is one I'd love to be pasted in here :))

Looking back I'm surprised Gerrard didnt kick up more of a fuss about recruitment, even last year it was shocking when you look at Barker etc.

Got a feeling Wilson will "get it" more than Allen did. We need to recruit mentally strong players.
 
Our focus this summer has to be to bring in a few players of quality. We made far too many squad signings last summer, the majority of which contributed nothing.

its a difficult balance because if we get to the group stages in Europe the amount of games take their toll
All wingers
 
I dont usually agree with copy and pasting of articles but this is one I'd love to be pasted in here :))

Looking back I'm surprised Gerrard didnt kick up more of a fuss about recruitment, even last year it was shocking when you look at Barker etc.

Got a feeling Wilson will "get it" more than Allen did. We need to recruit mentally strong players.
Do you not think the manager has the final say?
 
Do you not think the manager has the final say?
I suppose so. But if that is the case that worries me even more. Rubber stamping 10k a week Barker. I'd be worried if they thought last years recruitment would be enough to mount a title challenge.
 
The bulk buying has been a problem every summer since we came back to the top div. I really hope we will be looking at quality instead of squad players that will never play.
 
I don’t think we signed a British player that hadn’t played against us, Hastie, Barker, Stewart, Jones,being 4 examples. Much as I love the manager he has to take responsibility for them. The Manager tells the DOF what type of player he wants and what positions he needs strengthened.

The Board ( and us ) provide the cash. In my humble opinion we should have signed a striker the moment Alfredo was suspended. we should always have the option of a BIG striker. Our loss of form was down to a loss of goals.

Whatever our budget is we need a striker, a strong aggressive ball-winning midfielder and a centre back.
 
The bulk buying has been a problem every summer since we came back to the top div. I really hope we will be looking at quality instead of squad players that will never play.
We really need to use our cash to buy a couple/few first team players, and make up the rest of the squad with the likes of Kelly, Patterson etc...
 
I dont usually agree with copy and pasting of articles but this is one I'd love to be pasted in here :))

Looking back I'm surprised Gerrard didnt kick up more of a fuss about recruitment, even last year it was shocking when you look at Barker etc.

Got a feeling Wilson will "get it" more than Allen did. We need to recruit mentally strong players.
We need winners
 
100% we need quality over quantity now - no more squad fillers required.

If we are putting so much effort into out youth system, would really hope that some of our young players (if deemed good enough of course) can step and and fill fringe squad positions next season.

Do players like Kelly, McRorie, Patterson, Kennedy etc really offer that much less than we got from Barker, Polster, Halliday, Flanagan and so on..
 
100% we need quality over quantity now - no more squad fillers required.

If we are putting so much effort into out youth system, would really hope that some of our young players (if deemed good enough of course) can step and and fill fringe squad positions next season.

Do players like Kelly, McRorie, Patterson, Kennedy etc really offer that much less than we got from Barker, Polster, Halliday, Flanagan and so on..


Probably not
 
100% we need quality over quantity now - no more squad fillers required.

If we are putting so much effort into out youth system, would really hope that some of our young players (if deemed good enough of course) can step and and fill fringe squad positions next season.

Do players like Kelly, McRorie, Patterson, Kennedy etc really offer that much less than we got from Barker, Polster, Halliday, Flanagan and so on..

Agree.

And on your last paragraph. The additional benefit of the youngsters v these others is that they have more scope to be better players, and real
Assets, in the longer term.
 
We still need to get rid of Polster, Barker and Jones. None of them are good enough.

I do like Stewart though. Gerrard started him in his natural position once last year, and he ripped Aberdeen apart. He is a player I’d like to keep to help break teams down. He suits playing against the low block whereas a player like Arfield suits a European style game.
 
We still need to get rid of Polster, Barker and Jones. None of them are good enough.

I do like Stewart though. Gerrard started him in his natural position once last year, and he ripped Aberdeen apart. He is a player I’d like to keep to help break teams down. He suits playing against the low block whereas a player like Arfield suits a European style game.
Everything good said about Stewart is based on that one game, he's been mediocre
 
Its a phrase I heard last summer as well from the manager, we then got Hastie, Barker, Stewart, Ojo etc etc etc

We desperately need quality thats for sure
 
Yeah, we have talented youths who can fill in if necessary.

The harsh fact is most guys who come through our youth system will struggle to get to the level of Barker, Holliday, Jones etc. Suppose the argument is do you gamble and use the money spent on squad players on fewer starters of real quality and then plug the gaps with kids who sooner or later will be asked to do a job they are not ready for.
 
The harsh fact is most guys who come through our youth system will struggle to get to the level of Barker, Holliday, Jones etc. Suppose the argument is do you gamble and use the money spent on squad players on fewer starters of real quality and then plug the gaps with kids who sooner or later will be asked to do a job they are not ready for.
You say ask a job of kids who aren’t ready for it but the players mentioned quite clearly weren’t good enough. So replacing them with youths is no downgrade in that sense. We might as well start using them because if we don’t what’s the point in having a youth system. At this stage we don’t know if the youths aren’t ready for it as they’ve not been given a chance. Next season the squad should include players like Patterson, kelly etc
 
You say ask a job of kids who aren’t ready for it but the players mentioned quite clearly weren’t good enough. So replacing them with youths is no downgrade in that sense. We might as well start using them because if we don’t what’s the point in having a youth system. At this stage we don’t know if the youths aren’t ready for it as they’ve not been given a chance. Next season the squad should include players like Patterson, kelly etc

Yes but there's a very good chance some of them could be even further off the level we need than the underperforming squad players. That's the gamble. Jones, Halliday etc aren't good enough for us but they have had, compared to most players who are ever attached to a professional club, extremely successful careers and were previously key players for smaller teams, playing every week and doing well. Most guys who come through our development system don't get to that level.
 
This article is up there with Michael Beale’s articles/podcasts about training, styles and formations in terms of being a “good read”

It means nothing if the results aren’t being produced on the pitch though.

Hopefully things change this summer and into the new season.
 
I am pretty sure the same article could have been written last year and the year before. Our moves to tie up squad players last year was probably the strangest dealings we have had in the transfer market for donkeys years.

We have been saying we simply need 3 or 4 quality starters added to the squad and we will be good to go - that hasn't ever happened.
 
is it against the rules for anyone to copy n paste it here ? could anyone summarize instead ? for those of us who aren't signed up.
 
is it against the rules for anyone to copy n paste it here ? could anyone summarize instead ? for those of us who aren't signed up.
Yeah we don’t copy and paste Athletic articles. I think they threaten suing places who do it but also Jordan is trusted by the club so we shouldn’t harm one of our own.

I read it about an hour ago so can’t remember everything. But the main thrust of it was that we’ve signed too many u23s without enough experience, we’re moving our models to target players who we can sell to the top 5 leagues in Europe and not the English Championship, academy and first team scouting is joining up looking at profiles of players, we’re expanding our scouting staff and we didn’t furlough any scouts (like other clubs did).
 
I suppose so. But if that is the case that worries me even more. Rubber stamping 10k a week Barker. I'd be worried if they thought last years recruitment would be enough to mount a title challenge.
If SG thought barker was a player, then that concerns me quite a lot.
We all knew he wasnt, i also thought Kents value should have half what we paid.
There s a big depreciation there.
 
Like the way their thinking, hopefully someone with a foot like Albertz, we need to be a threat from 20yds and a wide attacker who can score goals to avoid being less reliant on Morelos/Defoe.
 
If SG thought barker was a player, then that concerns me quite a lot.
We all knew he wasnt, i also thought Kents value should have half what we paid.
There s a big depreciation there.
Kent's price means he will be here a while. That's fine by me. We wanted the player and that was the price, they weren't budging. We will recoup that eventually and/or make a slight profit.
 
Not against tbe rules, but with people paying their subscriptions they are under no obligations to do us a favour and basically pay for content that they then give to us for free . I was chancing my arm as it's an article I thought would have good bits of insight.
is it against the rules for anyone to copy n paste it here ? could anyone summarize instead ? for those of us who aren't signed up.
 
The Club is in a better place financially, with revenue streams increasing and further investment coming soon. Add to the fact that we've got players of high value, we should be able to shop in a higher part of the transfer market. You're more likely to find winners there.
 
100% we need quality over quantity now - no more squad fillers required.

If we are putting so much effort into out youth system, would really hope that some of our young players (if deemed good enough of course) can step and and fill fringe squad positions next season.

Do players like Kelly, McRorie, Patterson, Kennedy etc really offer that much less than we got from Barker, Polster, Halliday, Flanagan and so on..
All Killer, No Filler (Sum41) :))
 
Because he's miles behind the first choice 11.

We're not catching Celtic with shit players that people like so insist they're "good squad players"

A good squad player is someone that you trust to start any game from home to Hamitlon to a cup final. If you don't, they shouldn't be here.
Exactly right. This was the problem last summer. We recruited guys who were squad fillers. We should have recruited 3-4 guys who were strong challengers for the first eleven. And made up any other gaps with guys like Patterson, Mayo, McCrorie, Kelly etc.
 
And yet Club Brugge were very, very close to getting him ahead of us, presumably for a similar fee.
Thats up to club brugge, he hasnt down much since signing imo.
Big outlay and maybe 30k a week.
We will be very lucky to get our outlay back, so performaces are what matter at that dough.
I am hopeful he will kick on, as its now time to show us his worth.
 
If SG thought barker was a player, then that concerns me quite a lot.
We all knew he wasnt, i also thought Kents value should have half what we paid.
There s a big depreciation there.
Well we wouldn’t of signed him then because that was the asking price.
And remember it wasn’t £7m up front a lot of it was add ons etc.
Kent is one of our best players.
 
QUOTE="Orange Man, post: 6146683, member: 21059"]
Thats up to club brugge, he hasnt down much since signing imo.
Big outlay and maybe 30k a week.
We will be very lucky to get our outlay back, so performaces are what matter at that dough.
I am hopeful he will kick on, as its now time to show us his worth.
[/QUOTE]
He’s not on 30g a week and he’s not one of our top earners.
He will be very good for us all will help when he has better players around him so he doesn’t have to beat 2 men all the time.
Teams double up on him because they know he’s our biggest threat attacking.
 
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