shannon2007

The Chairman’s Interim Report (July-December 2004)
Stuart Redmond

The disappointment of our failure in Europe can clearly be seen to be reflected in the current state of our balance sheet. It was always going to be a tough task to get into the Champions League groups, and the £3M+ it would have generated would more than likely have covered the current £3.8M loss the club has made so far this season. Without the sale of Alan Hutton, that loss would have been much worse, and it’s fair to say that one or two more players will have to leave if the club is to stay solvent. Stephen Hughes and Charlie Adam are attracting interest, and we could probably get between £4M and £5M for the pair, which would at least give us a chance of surviving.

The fans wouldn’t be happy, but then most of them have failed to heed my plea to come to our aid. Our average attendance of 18,928 is about half of what my target was, and it certainly isn’t helping the day to day running of the club. If any supporters were in any doubt about the seriousness of the debt, the sale of Hutton in particular, and the fact that we simply cannot buy anyone should have made it sink in for them by now. Season ticket sales were very disappointing, as we only sold around 3000, raising a mere £540,000. Considering we have to pay the bank £1M every month, you can see the problem. And of course, we also have maintenance costs, and wages. Wages though are well under control, the current wage bill being £24,000 a week. Before I arrived some players were making that by themselves and more, so we have certainly got rid of that wolf off our back.

If we can get back to the SPL, our worries will be eased a little, and despite some rather shaky results, we seem to be back on course. Many people doubted the ability of Steven to do the job, but I think he’s showing that he can handle it so far. If everything goes right, and we gain promotion, then the club should still be alive come the summer, and although its almost odds on we will have to sell a couple of players at least, those sales will allow us to search for out of contract guys who can come in and do a job. As its very unlikely we will be in Europe next season, my prediction is that we wont be able to dabble positively in the transfer market for at least three years, and so that means we have to pick up crumbs, and somehow try to raise our own players.

There have been many rumours that we might have to sell Ibrox, or the training ground, or even both. Although we have considered the prospect of selling the ground, and perhaps moving to Hampden, for the time being this is not an option, and in all honesty I hope it never becomes one. For now, we remain at Ibrox, and I remain confident that we can come through this harsh period, and we will all be stronger for it.

shannon2007

January 2005
Steven Laidlaw

The Rangers support got a little bit excited this month, as the Chairman announced he was ploughing nearly £2M more into the club. But the fact was, this was just money to reduce the debt, and make sure we could keep pay the bills, there was nothing for transfers. And as the Chairman pointed out to me, he couldnt go on putting money in indefinately, somehow we would have to find ways of raising some, and that would inevitably mean player sales.

For now though, all I could do was manage the team, and hope for the best. The New Year started off with a home match against promotion chasers St Johnstone, and now we had a chance to finally open a bit of a gap at the top. The Perth side though didnt come to Ibrox to lie down, and they gave us a real game. On 52 minutes, Ross McCormack sent us ahead from the penalty spot, and that should have been that. Inexperience I guess could be the answer to why we ended up drawing this game, and blowing a great chance.

Back in Dingwall yet again, and despite a bright start from the home side which saw them go a goal up inside 2 minutes, by the 20 minute mark we were in front through Hughes and Adam. Yet once again we failed to capitalize on our superiority of possession, and with twenty minutes left, County were level from the penalty spot. With St Johnstone winning, the gap was back to just one point, and the title race was really starting to get interesting.

A break from league action saw us travel to Falkirk in the 3rd round of the Scottish FA Cup. A decent performance as we put the pressure of the promotion battle behind us to run out 3-1 winners, and in a twist of fate, the 4th round draw paired us with Morton, our League Cup Semi Final opponents. That match will take place a week after the Semi.

And, having just played Falkirk in the Cup, we now had to face them again in the League. This time the match was at Ibrox, but amazingly we found the match much tougher, as Falkirk threw everyone behind the ball in an effort to kill the game. We were heading for another draw, which would have put us back into second, when Tom Brighton finally broke the deadlock with four minutes left. It wasnt the prettiest game of football you'll ever see, but in the end, the win is all that really mattered.

January ended with a 2-0 win over Raith in Kirkcaldy, and and as the League starts to enter the closing phases, with 22 games played we have 48 points, to St Johnstone's 47. With Clyde back on 40, the race for the SPL is far from over, and we will need to stop throwing away the silly points if we are to hang on to this title....

retired_jgirl87

Hopefully you are getting on top of the Division 1 challenge. I sense that you will win promotion, but based on the struggle so far this year, your upcoming SPL season will be very interesting. KUTGW :cool:

shannon2007

Well, assuming we go up which is far from guaranteed, the squad is very young and can improve. I suspect though having to sell the best prospects, but it just makes the challenge that much better!

shannon2007

February 2005
Steven Laidlaw

The League Cup Semi Final at Hampden against Morton, pulled out a crowd of 45,013, which isnt too shabby for a 1st against 2nd division side. Having put out Celtic, albeit that at that time our rivals were strggling in 4th place in the SPL, The Greenock side would have been pretty confident they could get to the Final. Then again, so were we. A comfortable first half for us saw Adam and Davidson send us in 2-0 up at halftime, and the Final was looking assured. Morton did come more into the match after the break, but try as they might they just couldnt score. Chris Burke rather stupidly got himself sent off with eight minutes left, but Morton couldnt capitalize, and we were into the Final where we would meet Hearts. Burke though picked up a torn calf muscle in training, and his suspension was irrelevant as he would be out for three months.

Losing Chris for virtually the rest of the season was a serious blow, but we would just have to do without him. Nine days after the League Cup Semi, Morton came to Ibrox on Scottish Cup duty. Somehow we didnt seem to have any spark, and a stubborn Morton side held out for a 0-0 draw, and a replay at Cappielow. With us not having a game, St Johnstone moved to the top of the table on goal difference. Four days later we played Morton for the third time in a fortnight, and after just four minutes, the home side had a penalty. Alex Williams missed the spot kick, but our players refused to heed the warning, and ten minutes later Williams sent Morton ahead. This was tough going for us, and at times we looked very ordinary indeed. Nineteen minuted from the end though, Tom Brighton pulled us level. Any thoughts we might have had that we could go on and win from here though were snuffed out just three minutes later, as Mark McGarty sent the 2nd division side through. We wouldnt be in Europe next season.

After the dissapointment of the Cup exit, we had a match at Inrox against bottom of the table Queen of the South which should have given us the chance to get back on track. Just 12 minutes in though, Derek Lyle sent silenced Ibrox as he sent Queens ahead, and eleven minutes later Chris Armstrong incredibly made it two. This was without doubt the worst performance since I took charge, and in the second half it was only to get worse as the Dumfries side added a 3rd and we had been well and truly horsed.

The result left us six points adrift of St Johnstone, with of course 2 games in hand. Yet the way we were playing at the moment, there was no guarantee we would win those games. St Mirren at Ibrox was one of them, and with the Paisley side also down in the relegation zone, they would be desperate for the points. This time though we were up for it, and ran out easy enough 3-1 winners to get ourselves out of the rut, and we ended the month with a 3-0 home win over Airdrie, to remain three points adrift of St Johnstone, with that game in hand. That match though will be at Clyde.......

retired_bbcarr

an excellent idea to make a big club game more challenging :thup: and well written as per usual

shannon2007

Thanks Simon

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March 2005
Steven Laidlaw

With the title race - and with it the only promotion spot to the top division - reaching the finishing stages, it was important for the players to take deep breath, and find their consistancy. This was the crucial period of the season, and if we could come through this month with some decent results, we could achieve the promotion many people doubted we could.

Our game in hand with Clyde was vital, and we knew that if we lost at Broadwood, we would give St Johnstone a huge boost and even allow our hosts a way back into contention. With St Johnstone not only having a better goal difference, but also having scored more goals, we needed to win here by five to go top. That though was the least of our worries, as there was plenty of time to make up the goal difference if we needed it. Ian Harty put Clyde ahead on 27 minutes, and it wasnt looking too good for us. But the young lads kept battling away, and two goals on three minutes just befpre half time from Davidson and then Adam saw us go in at the break ahead. The second half was just as tough a battle as Clyde realised this was their last hope of staying in the promotion frame. Luckily, we managed to hold on for a very vital win.

An all too easy 4-1 win at Hamilton helped us close the gap a little, as St Johnstone could only beat Queen of the South by 2-1, and then we were off to Perth for what many people were foolishly declaring was the title decider. Although I didnt agree that whoever won today would be guaranteed promotion, I certainly knew it would be a great boost to either team. A great first half from us saw Davidson, Adam and McCormack all on the scoresheet as the young lads upped their performance when it was needed. The home side had been left reeling, but the second half they came more into the game, with Alan Mahood finally scoring with five minutes left. By then though, it was too late as we moved back to the top of the First Division.

Our promotion push was put on hold, as we went to Hampden to face SPL title chasers Hearts in the League Cup Final. It was a strange thing, as Celtic, although top by virtue of having played more games, were not running away with the title as expected. In fact all of the top six teams were potentially within two points of the lead if they won their respective games in hand, and the title race was probably the most exciting ever. At least in terms of the closeness. It seemed without Rangers to battle with, Celtic had lost the will to win.

All that though was irrelevant to us as we faced up to the side who could well be SPL Champions come the end of the season. With most pundits wondering if we could survive the SPL if we did go up, this would be a great a test for us. It was one we passed adequately, as despite Graham Weir finally sending Hearts ahead on 62 minutes, Stephen Hughes levelled the match with ten to go and forced us into extra time. With no more goals, it was down to penalties, and after both teams had scored their first four, Neil Janczyk of Hearts missed their 5th, leaving Graeme Watson with a kick to win the League Cup. Sadly for him he missed, and a few kicks later, Fraser Coyle also missed and Hearts were to victors. Overall though, I felt we had performed very well and came away with a lot of credit.

Our final game of the month saw us trounce Ross County 6-0 at Ibrox and with St Johnstone having drawn at Clyde, we ended March five points clear with seven games left to play, and the SPL was well in sight. Our success though were overshadowed by the dramatic happenings at Celtic Park. With the club now trailing Aberdeen by two points, the board decided to dispense with the services of Martin O'Neil. It seemed a rather harsh sacking and it would remain to be seen whether it was right......

retired_jgirl87

PM7, excuse this question, and the answer may be well-known to the more established FMSers, but are you are Rangers fan? If so, do the goings-ons at your Old Firm rivals make much difference to you (O'Neil dismissal in this case) or are you mainly just interested in your club?

shannon2007

Yes sadly I am a Rangers 'fan' for my sins. In terms of the game, I think what Celtic do will always be important to what Rangers do and vice versa. Generally though, in most stories I tend to concentrate on my own club and/or characters, but some things which seem impotant I'll mention

shannon2007

April/May/June 2006
Steven Laidlaw

As we entered the home straight, we had promotion firmly in our grasp, and the truth was we could only throw it away now. Still, we had some tough matches to get out of the way, and going Falkirk was one of them. A Charlie Adam goal on 2 minutes settled any nerves we may have had, and we eased to a good 3-1 win, bringing the SPL that little bit closer.

Wins over Raith and St Mirren, both by 2-0, and a 3-1 triumph over Clyde, kept our noses in front but with St Johnstone also winning, we werent safe yet. As we went to Airdrie with three matches left to play, we were still those five points clear and we could ill afford any slip ups at this stage. A rather timid first half saw no goals, but two minutes after the break Adam sent us into the lead and from that there was no turning back. A second Adam goal and a Gary MacKenzie penalty saw us come out 3-1 winners, and when the news came through from Perth that St Johnstone had lost to Raith Rovers, we had won the First Division title.

Wins over Hamilton and Queen of the South rounded off what in many ways had been a really good season. Although there were times when promotion had seemed a long way off, at the end of the day we had actually only lost three matches in the League. We havent been given much hope of doing anything in the SPL, but I think we wont get relegated, although to be honest I cant see us mount a title challenge.

Final Table

During the summer, Charlie Adam came to see me and told me he wanted to leave the club, and requested he placed on the transfer list. The youngster had been voted the First Division Player of the Year, Rangers Supporters Player of the Year and was in fact our top scorer with 30 goals. It would be sad to lose him, but at the end of the day if he wants go, then he can. The money from the sale, coupled with what we would hope to be increased season ticket sales and also the £1M TV money, will go a long way to clearing the current debt.

At the time of writing, it is unclear how much money will be available for transfers. The truth is though, I am happy enough with the current squad, and believe they can at least sustain our place in the SPL. Of the youths who came through, only 15 year old Andy Sim - a player who can play in defence of midfield - looks to be able to achieve anything, which is dissapointing. It will be a few years before we know if Sim will indeed be the player we think he can.

New faces will only arrive if I believe they can really improve the squad, and if they fit into our tight wage budget. My target for the new season is to get into the top six, and from there we'll see what happens.....