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I feel sorry
for Waddo, he’s a genuine bloke trying his best but for whatever
reason it just isn’t working. He’s got key players injured,
experienced pro’s letting him down by making schoolboy errors
and last weekend his predecessor took every opportunity to kick
when he was down.
That’s not
to say he hasn’t made mistakes, he certainly seems to have
alienated a group of the senior pro’s, he has stood up and said
certain players aren’t good enough, transfer listed them yet
carried on playing them regardless and despite his continual
criticism of the defence he still keeps selecting the same back
four. Most concerning though is the fact that he can see what
the problems are but doesn’t seem to have a solution to it.
This summer
was key for Waddo, it was his chance to put his mark on the
squad but it hasn’t happened in the way everyone hoped.
At the back
it was clear to everyone that our full backs were going to be a
problem, Biggy, fantastic servant though he was, is past his
prime and Mauro is no spring chicken, why weren’t these key
areas addressed? Instead we’ve signed foreign midfielders no one
has heard of and been treated to seeing Matthew Rose returning
to the position where he was so terrible in his early days at
the club.
The
departure of Danny Shittu was always going to be a problem, now
we have bought in two centre halves and neither of them seem to
be able to a head a football whilst the heading machine, Pat
Kanyuka, has to sit and watch from the bench.
In midfield
we’ve picked up Egutu Oliseh, who looked sprightly in pre-season
and could prove a decent deputy for Martin Rowlands, yet
recently he’s been shoved out wide. Nick Ward has come in with a
big reputation but for an attacking midfielder has shown
precious little attacking intent and our best midfielder so far
has been Marc Bircham who was listed this summer for not being
good enough,
Then we have
Armel Tchakounte who arrived in the summer, played some
pre-season games, looked like the non league player he
previously was and will probably never be seen again.
Upfront Ray
Jones and Shabazz Baidoo have shown enthusiasm and desire but we
cannot pin all our hopes on two teenagers. It’s great to see
them involved but the last thing they need is the weight of
expectation and the pressure for success pushing down on their
young shoulders and ruining them.
Then there
are Waddo’s two big signings, Dexter Blackstock and Zesh Rehman,
both of whom shone in their debuts and since then have done
precious little to justify the investments made in them.
What’s most
frustrating though is we’ve seen, albeit in very small patches,
this side play some excellent football. At times when we’ve
really gone at teams we’ve looked fantastic but we’ve never
found the cutting edge to put them to sword, our confidence has
faded and then a stupid mistake costs us the game. Gary Waddock
must take responsibility for that, he is the manager and the
football buck stops with him but there are others who need to
take a look at themselves as well.
One year ago
the current board seized control of the club with a promise of a
“bright future”. After ousting Bill Power Gianni Paladini told
to the official website, “I believe that change was necessary
for long term stability. The investors and directors are
ambitious - I am ambitious - but we are not turning things
upside down. We are going to make sensible steady progress and
take Rangers back to where we belong - the Premiership."
Such grand
talk of Premiership returns never impresses me, we were always a
long way from that but stability although never exciting is
something very precious. We had it twelve months ago and in that
time we have slowly slipped and ebbed away. The club Paladini
and co took over was in the top half of the table and ready to
push on and move forwards.
One year
later, one management change and we are bottom of the league and
fast becoming a laughing stock. There are constant unsettling
rumours of our financial problems, we have players arriving at
the club no one has heard of and, if Ian Holloway's comments
last weekend are to be believed, it may be the board making the
signings. If Gary Waddock has to shoulder the blame then plenty
of it should be shared amongst those above him as well.
Personally I
don’t think there’s anything secretly malicious about our
directors, I don’t think they are here to destroy us, sell us
out from under our feet or asset strip us. In a way it would be
easier to believe that. I just think they want to play fantasy
football and that could meet with disastrous results.
Something
about the club stinks right now, all the hard work of the last
few years is being quickly erased and it needs to be stopped
before it’s too late. It’s still early days but we need a
dramatic turn around in fortunes and we need it now before we
are up to our necks in it.
Sadly I
expect Gary will be gone within the next few weeks, another
Rangers legend forever tarnished, but will a change of manager
really make that much difference? They might paper over the
cracks for a time but are the clubs problems far more deeply
rooted than dodgy league performances?
ron@qprnet.com |
