I must admit at the time Dave King said about the pack of cards I didn’t see it. Since Gerrard has come in I’ve thought that we could win the league in each of those seasons but ultimate I thought they’d probably win 3 out of 5.
This season though has been remarkable, I’m not sure even DK could have predicted it. On field it’s been all Rangers that’s put them under pressure, but off field they’re such a shambles that it could have repercussions long after this season.
They have alienated their fans to the point that there will likely be a drop in ST sales, their biggest assets (Edourd, Christie, Ajer) don’t have long left on their contracts, they’ve spent a lot of money on players that aren’t performing (Barkas, Duffy, Ajeti) and will require a change of manager and back room staff.
They have a wage bill that requires CL or a big player sale, they have neither this season and spent heavily.
On the other hand, our losses are well documented and we’ll also likely sell an asset or two but we’ll hopefully get CL money and have a settled squad and management team.
Obviously everyone would rather be in our position than theirs for this season but (taking emotion out of it) who is best placed for the next season or two? I think most would say us but anyone want to make a case for them?
Longer-term, say 5+ years, who is better placed? Does their financial advantages mean that they’ll likely be on top in next 5 years or is that financial advantage removed after one league win from us?
This season though has been remarkable, I’m not sure even DK could have predicted it. On field it’s been all Rangers that’s put them under pressure, but off field they’re such a shambles that it could have repercussions long after this season.
They have alienated their fans to the point that there will likely be a drop in ST sales, their biggest assets (Edourd, Christie, Ajer) don’t have long left on their contracts, they’ve spent a lot of money on players that aren’t performing (Barkas, Duffy, Ajeti) and will require a change of manager and back room staff.
They have a wage bill that requires CL or a big player sale, they have neither this season and spent heavily.
On the other hand, our losses are well documented and we’ll also likely sell an asset or two but we’ll hopefully get CL money and have a settled squad and management team.
Obviously everyone would rather be in our position than theirs for this season but (taking emotion out of it) who is best placed for the next season or two? I think most would say us but anyone want to make a case for them?
Longer-term, say 5+ years, who is better placed? Does their financial advantages mean that they’ll likely be on top in next 5 years or is that financial advantage removed after one league win from us?