Finally think fans and the club will wake up to our true position. So many have been saying "we are second, the table doesn't lie" etc but it now must be obvious to all but the most blinkered that the table is bound to get a whole lot more truthful over the next couple of months.
I'm not having a go at Tony because he probably feels he has chucked enough money at clapped out ex Premier players looking for the inevitable last pay-day, jogging through the motions of mediocrity. But the moment Charlie Austin was ruled out for the season and we didn't buy a decent striker - despite knowing we were in desperate need of another good forward even WITH Charlie - was the moment it was pretty obvious that we weren't going up. With Charlie and before the injuries we were robbing wins - now the results are starting to reflect our performances.
Was Doyle even playing? It was hard to tell. And in fairness to him, for all the pleasant tippy tappy passing we scarcely made one really threatening pass into the box all evening. Carroll is as effective as a convector heater in the Sahara, Barton can be good at this level but spent the whole match niggling and moaning, Clint looks well over the Hill, and as for O'Neil, why would you ever start with this player unless you were in League One?
For the first time in quite a few years I can honestly say that there isn't one player we have out there who I have any great fondness for (except for past deeds in the case of Clint). None really look that interested and as such its hard for fans to get that interested either. I've never been one of those fans to call for a manager's head but I just wonder if Tony isn't thinking quietly to himself that he will basically have to start again in the close season - try as best he can to off-load the aged time-wasters and re-build a team with young, hungry players under a progressive manager who thinks long term. Instead we have gone for quick fix heaped upon quick fix and sadly the team and the tactic is completely broke.
I am not saying any of this in a "I told you so" way - I admire the loyalty of those blind optimists who trudged up to Derby tonight. For me though I now know I can stop wasting so much time on Rangers this season and spend my time on more rewarding pursuits. I still retain a fair bit of faith in Tony - the Warren Farm development shows he wants to go about things the right way - and it will be very interesting to see how he plays it this summer.
I'm not having a go at Tony because he probably feels he has chucked enough money at clapped out ex Premier players looking for the inevitable last pay-day, jogging through the motions of mediocrity. But the moment Charlie Austin was ruled out for the season and we didn't buy a decent striker - despite knowing we were in desperate need of another good forward even WITH Charlie - was the moment it was pretty obvious that we weren't going up. With Charlie and before the injuries we were robbing wins - now the results are starting to reflect our performances.
Was Doyle even playing? It was hard to tell. And in fairness to him, for all the pleasant tippy tappy passing we scarcely made one really threatening pass into the box all evening. Carroll is as effective as a convector heater in the Sahara, Barton can be good at this level but spent the whole match niggling and moaning, Clint looks well over the Hill, and as for O'Neil, why would you ever start with this player unless you were in League One?
For the first time in quite a few years I can honestly say that there isn't one player we have out there who I have any great fondness for (except for past deeds in the case of Clint). None really look that interested and as such its hard for fans to get that interested either. I've never been one of those fans to call for a manager's head but I just wonder if Tony isn't thinking quietly to himself that he will basically have to start again in the close season - try as best he can to off-load the aged time-wasters and re-build a team with young, hungry players under a progressive manager who thinks long term. Instead we have gone for quick fix heaped upon quick fix and sadly the team and the tactic is completely broke.
I am not saying any of this in a "I told you so" way - I admire the loyalty of those blind optimists who trudged up to Derby tonight. For me though I now know I can stop wasting so much time on Rangers this season and spend my time on more rewarding pursuits. I still retain a fair bit of faith in Tony - the Warren Farm development shows he wants to go about things the right way - and it will be very interesting to see how he plays it this summer.
Comment