I always wondered,,,,,is this actually CR's team ?

[dsqpr]

Sure some of you out there might have wondered the same thing ? Anyhow, I had what I thought to be a rather interesting text from a very good friend of mine back home there. We go back to our teen years and he goes along and watches pretty much any game involving Rangers whatever the age group or level. Mostly at home now, not as many away. Anyhow, this is the exact text. No idea if this is factually 100% the case, but the actual source is 100% reliable at it was straight from the horses mouth.

"Spoke to ramsey for a min at the u21s today about joey. I said he covers everywhere on the park and hes a leader which we lack.he admitted we lack a leader.he said hes not involved with transfers in any way at all either in or out. I told him to have a word with your mate Les. He smiled and said cheers"

In a follow up text he said the club did want to keep Joey but it was all about wages. He asked about any thought of a coaching position for him and got no answer.

With regard to transfers tho' and if this were true, is it really good policy. Surely he must have some say, but he very clearly indicated very little or 'none' at all.

So, not in the know at all but I thought this might be of interest and wanted to share.

Interesting post Mick, thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

Must say, I would find it surprising if CR had no say in the players we are bringing in, as would seem to be the case from what you have posted. I'm a big fan of breaking the old "Manager" job into two: Director of Football and Head Coach. Those two jobs require completely different skill sets. The way I understand it is the DoF is in charge of the financial side and the Coach is in charge of the playing side. Obviously the skills required to ensure your wage bill and transfer fees, properly amortized over the length of the players contracts, are within budget is completely different from the skills required to design a set play for a free kick! And if the Coach is responsible for the football side of things then it is he who should be identifying the players he wants and the DoF who should be trying to get them at a cost the club can afford.

[nasser95]

From my understanding of how their jobs work, Ramsey makes it clear of the tactical direction he wants to take the club, citing the quality of players available in each role needed in the squad. it is then down to Les (who has the benefit of knowing his football) to find players needed to fill the gaps within the squad with players that fit the roles the first team coach has defined as needing improvement. He then works with the other financial people (Lee Hoos?) to ensure the shortlist of players is financially viable and brings them in.

[Slydo]

Why is LF on the training ground then ? Does his say outweight CRs on the training pitch, LF is running the whole show.

[Burnside]

CR 'I need a forward'
LF 'Ive got you Konchesky
CR ' I need a winger'
LF 'Ive got you Konchesky'
CR 'I need a LB'
LF 'Ive got you Konchesky'
CR 'Cheers Les'

[dsqpr]

Why is LF on the training ground then ? Does his say outweight CRs on the training pitch, LF is running the whole show.

I must admit, I suspect that this is indeed the case.

[nasser95]

CR 'I need a forward'
LF 'Ive got you Konchesky
CR ' I need a winger'
LF 'Ive got you Konchesky'
CR 'I need a LB'
LF 'Ive got you Konchesky'
CR 'Cheers Les'

Haha. Although to be fair.

CR 'I need a forward'
LF 'I've got a big german and a big Londoner'
CR ' I need a winger'
LF 'I've got you two number 10's who could potentially play winger, one tall, one short'
CR 'I need a LB'
LF 'I've got you a fairly useful cover player but lets try out some of our youth '
CR 'Cheers Les, I'll use him with precaution '

[Garyd73]

This was just a very brief one minute one to one in person. Not a text. Whether true or not, I am 100% certain the conversation took place. It was also fairly common knowledge I think that Joeys wages might well have been a major sticking point. My mate was making the point that he wanted Joey back at the club and that was the answer re player personnel. It might only have been a way to get out of the conversation, that we don't know. The point I was making is, that for me personally I would much prefer the manager to be very involved even tho' any final decision might not rest with him.

Sorry I mis-read the "in a follow up text" bit.

[Stanley]

is this actually CR's team ?

Yes, very much so.

...he (CR) said hes not involved with transfers in any way at all either in or out...

Surely he must have some say, but he very clearly indicated very little or 'none' at all.

Of course he would say that to an outsider because that's the official line. However it would be highly naive to believe that CR has zero say/influence on transfer ins/outs. Of course he has an influence. It's his job to discuss with Les which positions we're short in. And if he feels a player isn't producing the goods LF will know about it. Conversely if he's aware of a player through his shared contacts with LF or via scouting reports then of course he will have an influence over that too. The only thing he has no control over is the club's final decision on whether to buy, loan or sell because that is down to the financiers.

[Stanley]

Why is LF on the training ground then ? Does his say outweight CRs on the training pitch, LF is running the whole show.

Slydo, it's called a partnership. LF is on the training because he's also a qualified coach. See my above post for a further explanation.

[Ramsey is god]

People just want to moan for the sake of it. If Les wasn't on the training field, the next one would be "how can he see what players we need, he's never there to watch them in training.

A DOF and head coach is the way forward with football clubs. The DOF usually gets slagged off as it is always the manager who is in the spotlight and its a good scape goat to deflect blame. Before we kicked off at Charlton, everyone seemed quite happy with the type of players we bought in.

Also, i don't think CR has these type of conversations with fans or anyone outside of the club hierarchy so wouldn't read too much into it.