Building on Success - is Sir David Murray ready for his biggest gamble?

Last updated : 18 June 2009 By BdTS
Sir David Murray used the phrase "Chasing the Dream" when describing his crusade to bring the European Cup to Ibrox during the 90's.

He attempted to justify keeping on a Rangers manager that had just led the club to its worst winless run on record with a heart-warming speech about "looking into his eyes".

He came up with the wage and the pitch necessary to bring arguably the most highly rated young manager in Europe at the time to Rangers and believed the man's talents alone - and not the tools to do the job - were enough to turn around a Rangers side that finished third in the SPL the season before.

Do you need any more? Ok...

Last season, he sanctioned the signing of Steve Davis, Pedro Mendes and Maurice Edu just after crashing out of the tournament that effectively defines our annual financial performance.

What do all of these things have in common? They were all huge gambles. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether they paid off or not, as there are justifiable arguments for both sides of the debate.

Now, during the summer of 2009, we find ourselves in a position that many of us thought we'd never be in - We are back on top where we belong having won the double last season. As wonderful as this is and was, the next question to ask, naturally, is "How do we stay there?"

Which is why, if I were ever to achieve my dream of enjoying a small lunch with Sir David Murray (copyright The Discredited Journalist) I'd love to ask him one question: "Are you ready for your biggest gamble of all?"

What I mean by that is this: Is David Murray ready to pull the rabbit out of the hat that could keep Rangers on top in Scotland for the foreseeable future? The reason I ask, is because we are better placed than at any other time post-Advocaat to build on this success, apart from, depending on who you believe, on the financial front.

Sadly, we've failed to take advantage of our previous two SPL title wins in the most comprehensive way imaginable. Our title win in 2002-2003 was followed by a summer of asset-stripping, which was essential in our effort to cut costs and reduce a debt that at one stage peaked at over £85m. For reasons most of us are still trying to figure out, we finished THIRD in the two horse race the season after Helicopter Sunday.

Whilst our squad has its obvious limitations - up to 4 well placed specific signings brought into the first team to fill a designated role could make a massive difference. Many of our younger players have already improved due to the boost in confidence winning a title will always give you. They KNOW what it's all about now. A lack of nerve from these players can no longer be justified when it comes to the crunch.

I'm asking a hell of a lot of our chairman given our financial situation, but I hope that Mr Murray is sitting in his office in Charlotte Square coming up with a game-plan of how to make life as uncomfortable as possible for Celtic and their new manager Tony Mowbray. I do hope that the meeting in Perth a few weeks ago where Murray, Bain and Smith supposedly drew up their "battle-plan" for next season was fruitful, and that maximum disruption to Celtic's transition by any means necessary was at least part of their agenda.

We've been told the squad is going to be trimmed by 8 numbers, it's speculated that we'll operate with wage-cap which looks increasingly unlikely as the weeks go on, but a cut to the wage-bill is a cast-iron certainty unless our chairman and manager are lying through their teeth.

So we all know the downside - Money is of the essence, the squad needs trimmed in size and it will be difficult to get rid of exactly who we want to bring in new players.

The upside? Celtic need to strengthen significantly - The element of risk any transitional period and mass-influx of players brings could provide openings for us in the early going and Tony Mowbray has already shown that he cannot lay-out a team to keep a lead - The guy has systematically failed to install a level of grit in his sides and winning ugly/grinding out results just isn't his forte.....yet, as the previous season has shown - they are essential quality to whoever wins the SPL.

I may be requesting the impossible - but what has gone before following our previous two title wins was not acceptable - nothing remotely close to that will be accepted again, nor should it be.

Facilitating Rangers Football Club to maintain its current status as the top club in Scotland is within touching distance if it can somehow be financed...but it may require Sir David Murray to take his biggest gamble yet –

Once again, it's over to you, Mr. Chairman.