Rangers Discussion Posts 5

29 Aug 2026 08:29:44
Far better Rangers teams have lost at Pittodrie. Have to go strong in midfield, like the team some have posted but would play Devlin in beside Barron for more dig and get in about them. This really is a no-lose game never mind a must-win.

29 Aug 2026 09:19:21
I'm not a fan of Barron tbh, but maybe it's worth trying Devlin, Drago, Tchocwani, and Barron across the middle, Drago just behind, like u say, a bit of dig.

29 Aug 2026 09:31:41
Strong team needed and one that will fight for every ball and each other. 🇬🇧

29 Aug 2026 10:08:33
Barron is better than Neil Chucky and Devlin.

He's a good player, he just offers a different skill set than others.

It's clear.
To see the ones people think are better than Barron aren't doing it, so give the lad a shot.

29 Aug 2026 10:29:07
Stevie, I for one like a fit Barron and would keep him and get his fitness up and play him. 🇬🇧

29 Aug 2026 10:35:06
I like Barron. He puts me in mind of Stuart McCall. Although, his passing could be better.

29 Aug 2026 11:12:52
This type of game is what Devlin was signed for. Would play him and Barron from the start. Only worry is the red card.

29 Aug 2026 12:40:24
I wouldn't sell Barron. He only wants to leave due to lack of mins; if he's playing more often, he wouldn't want to leave.

It's not about being an automatic starter, it's about playing regular.

29 Aug 2026 12:41:10
Living in the Midlands, I don't get to see games live, but last season, before his injury, Barron was getting rave reports in every game report that I read. Not everyone can be a silky midfielder, but my god, we need battlers at the moment, as I'm not reading that the current lot are doing much of this. Am I correct?

29 Aug 2026 13:14:36
Barron maybe called a headless chicken by some, but I'd rather that than the lame ducks we've been playing.

28 Aug 2026 16:29:14
You can't just scrap an entire team, especially after spending millions putting it together.

I still don't believe that players arriving at Rangers aren't motivated or determined to be the best they can be. Every new signing should want to prove himself, make an impression and show that he deserves to play for this football club

Year after year, however, we hear the same excuses: the players need time to settle, the squad needs another rebuild, the manager needs his own team, or there are too many players who don't understand the standards required.

I can't keep accepting that explanation.

If talented players repeatedly arrive at Rangers and either fail to perform or appear to regress, then perhaps the bigger problem isn't solely on the pitch. At some point, you have to question the recruitment process, the football structure, the coaching environment and the people making the major decisions.

For me, the clear-out now needs to happen behind the scenes, from top to bottom.

Does that include Jim Gillespie? Yes.

Purdy? Yes.

Thelwell Jr? Yes.

It isn't about finding scapegoats after one bad performance. It's about accountability for a sequence of poor appointments, questionable recruitment decisions and a team that looks disjointed despite millions being spent.

You cannot keep ripping up the squad, spending another fortune and expecting a different outcome while the same people and the same structure remain responsible for building it.

The club needs experienced, proven people behind the scenes who understand Rangers, understand football and recognise the standards that come with representing this club.
People with credible credentials behind them Until that changes, I fear we'll continue repeating the same cycle new manager, new players, another rebuild and the same excuses.

That is only my opinion. I'm not trying to shove it down anyone's throat or claim that I have all the answers. It's completely open to debate and discussion, and I'm interested to hear
Your thoughts

28 Aug 2026 19:22:56
Stig, there is an issue beyond the players not wanting to play, I think. But we have now had how many recruitment teams over the last 10 years, with how many managers. A good few in each category have had successful pasts, but then supposedly fail here. I can't even begin to compute the odds of every player not being able to play to a decent standard.

So why can't players who play well at their previous teams, and even when they leave, not be able to play to a decent standard when they are with us? I can't get past we are a demanding club to play for, and it takes players time to truly understand that and manage to adjust to that fact.

But we change them every manager/season, so that time is never given.

We then need to get rid of a whole squad who can disrupt as they wait to leave. If we build a core, then hopefully that disruption will be fewer players each year and we can cope better.

So until we get that sorted, imo, then we will be here again next season and the one after, and so on.

28 Aug 2026 19:50:15
Angus, just to be clear.
I'm not wanting McInnes sacked. I want him to succeed.
Something needs looked at behind the scenes to see what is actually going wrong.

28 Aug 2026 22:11:18
Stig, I didn't think you did. You started a conversation about the reasons why we are so poor, and I just wanted to have a chat about it as you weren't being emotional about the whole thing. I agree there is something more to it than we see and it seems to have continued after the takeover.

Not sure what it is, but a few managers have now spoken about the mentality issue. Odd, it has spread over so many players who have been signed. It isn't entirely ability imo.

28 Aug 2026 22:39:02
Agreed, Angus.

Not sure, how the club get all the answers to the problems we seem to be facing and how we manage to get out the other side?
Without fans causing a revolt. 😩

29 Aug 2026 04:02:39
Stig, totally agree. We need to clear out the back room people. Purdy and Thelwell need to go, they have been an absolute disaster and a complete disgrace in their recruitment.

29 Aug 2026 07:00:28
Football people for football jobs?

29 Aug 2026 08:35:29
I'll keep saying this, and it isn't meant as a defence of either of them: Purdy has only been here since last June, and Thelwell since October. So, if recruitment has been poor for as long as people are suggesting, then neither of them can have played a huge part in all of it.

This repeated point about Souness and wanting "football people" involved in recruitment interests me. What exactly is meant by that?

My understanding is that Souness was saying we shouldn't rely solely on stats and data. However, what some fans seem to mean is that Purdy and Thelwell didn't play the game themselves. But both have worked in football and have backgrounds in scouting. Is that not enough football experience, even if Purdy's role has been more on the technical side?

Koppen didn't play the game either, and neither did much of Arsenal's recruitment team. Two of Man City's three senior recruitment executives didn't play professionally either.

The person credited with discovering Erling Haaland only played second-division football in Austria.

Does that mean he didn't have enough football knowledge to identify world-class potential?
The reality of modern recruitment is that it should be a mix of data and the eye test. The eye test is carried out by the scouting department; the people who are actually watching the players and could reasonably be described as the "football people". So, if recruitment is poor, should we be looking at them as well?

Souness was at the club during a period when he could largely buy established, experienced players. His own attempts to identify talent were mixed: Mark Walters was a success, while Jimmy Phillips was a failure. That suggests that even relying heavily on the eye test doesn't guarantee good recruitment.

So I suggest we give the players some time before we automatically discount them as failures after 7 games or so when the raw emotion of not winning games is the main element of this decision.

29 Aug 2026 09:52:22
I've worked for a few people who have no clue about the job they asked people to do and Rangers have that problem just now, as have many clubs. England probably have 40 clubs whose owners don't have a clue. They also employ people who are not competent, so it just gets worse and results in chaos.

29 Aug 2026 10:23:37
Erling Haaland. Yeah, suppose he's not too bad, could do a job for Falkirk. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

29 Aug 2026 12:43:35
Including myself, most Rangers supporters are extremely desperate for our team to be an instant success, possibly this is clouding our judgement. Any new manager with 15-16 new players simply needs time, when I say time, I don't mean 7 competitive matches.

The recruitment can be questioned, but we aren't even at the end the first transfer window yet with apparently more changes in the playing staff before it slams shut.

Common denominator with our problem is a fan base stuck in the past expecting us to be able to instantly succeed every time a new dawn comes. Remember how long it took Alex Ferguson to succeed at Manchester United many moons ago.


That performance on Thursday was absolutely dreadful, to put it mildly, but unless anybody has an alternative idea that will guarantee us instant success, then I suggest we try our best to suck it up for the moment and give the new manager some real backing on a weekly basis, however difficult it gets this season.

Maybe it's for the better just for this season not to be in Europe, which hopefully can help give the coaching staff more time with the players to sort things out domestically.

Though the streets be broad and narrow Follow we will.

29 Aug 2026 13:31:08
There are plenty of examples of extremely successful businessmen who have struggled to make the transition to being successful football owners, even among the richest clubs, because it's a completely unique environment, and unless they have the right advice and people behind them, they get into all kinds of mess.

So far there has been little evidence of getting anything right on or off the park. Who these football people are, I don't know, as I've no experience, but it's hard to argue with what Souness was saying, as in we don't have them.

29 Aug 2026 20:05:15
Kaiser79,
I'm not sure if the people in charge of our club can make the transition into football successfully.

What I would say is, they do have experience, or if not, people they can lean on that have knowledge dealing with a massive American Football franchise.



Our club is unique with the demands of the supporters, but we would do good giving the new owners time to learn, making the transaction as well.

28 Aug 2026 15:19:23
Signing over 11 New players and expecting the manager to work miracles and have them all flying from game one has never happened in the history of football, back the Boss.

29 Aug 2026 07:07:19
No one is expecting miracles, but we should at least expect the basics. Performances so far have been unacceptable no matter how many are new.

28 Aug 2026 14:34:09
I mentioned mid last season I'd seen enough of Gassama to see he was gash, 2 or 3 games he was above average, the rest rank rotten. lazy rubbish attitude and so on, if he scores that sitter he missed I honestly think we could have won 3 or 4 which makes the 2nd leg a little less frightening, also could have gave the team more confidence, that one miss for me personally cost us in the 2nd leg, 5 to 6 million, never in a million years.

Going to be a long season in my seat at Ibrox my 2 mates have chucked it after that performance, I won't though as my name says I'm born a Ger 💙

28 Aug 2026 13:27:33
EHL, can you tell me why you liked McInnes comments last night?

This isn't a call out or disregarding you, just wondering as the comments about not being possession based, counter attacking or direct, worried me as surely we should be seeing some sort of patterns or style by now.

28 Aug 2026 14:24:56
🤣🤣🤣🤣

You might not call a comment like that out, Ayrshire, but I can. I'm astounded any supporter could like what he spouted.

28 Aug 2026 14:45:44
Just interested in his perspective, SS. The apathy I'm feeling towards this club right now means I'm trying to find some grain of hope and maybe EHL can provide that with a different view of things. Longshot but worth a try lol.

28 Aug 2026 15:25:49
Ayrshire, because he was honest and called out the players, without singling out individuals.

He's hinted at his frustration with the playing squad a few times now, but hearing a manager calling it out so openly was, in my opinion, much needed and refreshing.

We've all said for so long that we don't have an identity.

DM like everyone else before him will have been trying to imprint an identity on the squad, yet they continually shrink when put under pressure.

My take from it was that the battle lines have been drawn, and I'll be intrigued to see what happens next.

28 Aug 2026 15:59:15
You would like to think so, but more likely they'll take the huff.

28 Aug 2026 16:02:41
Cheers, Ehl. I hope that the public slating is what needs to happen then.

It does seem that standards have been so low for so long that players coming into the club fall into the same slump, but hopefully McInnes can drive them back up, and things like giving them a couple days off become less often unless they earn it with their application and results.

28 Aug 2026 17:10:48
Ehl,

I could understand the manager's comments more if they were directed solely at players who had been at the club for several seasons and had repeatedly failed to meet the required standards.

However, some of these players are every bit as new to Rangers as the manager himself. With so many new arrivals, I wouldn't have expected battle lines to be drawn or questions raised about commitment and attitude this early in the season.



These players should still be desperate to impress, establish themselves and prove they deserve to wear the jersey.

That's where I'm struggling to understand what I'm watching, what I'm seeing and what I'm now reading. How have we reached this stage so quickly with an almost entirely new team?

28 Aug 2026 12:40:47
Next home Scottish cup game will be played behind closed doors thanks to the actions of the complete halfwit ultras. Thanks Union Bears for once again dragging our club through the mire. Hang your heads in shame.

Anyone else agree that they should be banned?

28 Aug 2026 15:46:00
Wasn't just Union Bears fans came from all stands, and a lot of utter mindless idiots who have cost fans who behave and follow every week no matter the results. 🇬🇧

28 Aug 2026 17:52:48
As it's closed doors, do the visiting team also lose their share of gate money, or do we have to compensate them?
Was always a nice earner for 'smaller' teams, a tie at Ibrox.

28 Aug 2026 18:22:16
Bar, we have been told to give them 100k. However, as an example, last season, first game, we gave Spartans, I think it was, we gave 200k.

Why should these clubs be punished?

28 Aug 2026 19:06:34
Correct John. 🇬🇧

28 Aug 2026 19:25:24
I would suggest it is because we can't control our fans and have no incentive until now to do that.

We could do the decent thing and still give them £200k; nothing stopping us from doing that.

28 Aug 2026 19:44:28
Thanks John, wasn't sure how it worked!
So effectively a fine of 100k & no revenue.
Will people learn from this??
(I know I'm being silly).

28 Aug 2026 21:12:34
My posts have zero to do with Rangers. Why should a wee team also be punished?

28 Aug 2026 11:03:33
As bad as last night was - from All concerned - I think to take the same approach as we have done for long enough and sack the manager right now would be just another piss-poor decision.

As much as it will hurt we as fans must back the manager and give him time or we are just going to 'rinse and repeat' the same mistakes every year. It'll be oh so painful at times but I just feel we need to have patience. 3 titles in a quarter of a century is clearly why a different approach is required.

Our present manager needs someone at his side with knowledge on how the game should be played, a coach with a ton of experience under his belt, and with that in mind I'd start by bringing in Billy Reid as my go to decision maker.

BTW my first ever Gers game was Jim Baxter's last in the late 60's. I've seen some right rotten starting elevens/performances since then and last night was right up there with the worst ever. My last trip to Ibrox wasn't even for a game but was to help lay out a tribute to our Armed Forces that even included my own seat in the SJ rear - kaput lungs means I can no longer climb the stairs ergo Rangers TV is how I watch all the games nowadays.

WATP 🔴⚽🔵👍

28 Aug 2026 13:16:22
Constantly sacking managers is why we win nothing, Parlane, lost count of the managers since Gerrard, a man that got a few years for building a far better squad, now we want managers out are 7 games with a brand new squad, bonkers.

28 Aug 2026 14:05:54
@mystar,

Just to clarify:

I completely agree with your "sacking managers is why we win nothing" statement. That was the essence of my own post.

👍

28 Aug 2026 14:21:17
Parlane, I know that, mate, we need to build a squad over a couple of years, we have many good footballers, thinking the problem could be with players knowing they soon won't be playing for us, but McInnes needs to get his act together as well, this changing the way we play nearly every game or in games will not help with a new side, get a formation and stick to it unless he can see changing in games, we can't continue sacking managers, give him this season and then we'd know much better than we do after seven games.