Seemingly riding the crest of a wave after our unlikely triumph, then-manager Alex McLeish somehow conspired to turn the following campaign into one which no Bear wishes to remember, thanks to his appalling lack of preparation and nonsensical (at best) dealings in the transfer market. You will recall that Ian Murray was recruited early doors via the Bosman ruling, as was Brahim Hemdani. The Kyrgiakos saga had come to an abrupt end, with Rangers reportedly trying to renege on the previously-agreed transfer terms, and thus we were left with a gaping hole at the centre of our defence. Step forward Jose Pierre Karl-Fanfan who, whilst carrying a decent pedigree, was the archetypal ‘panic buy’ (“Wullie! We need a centre half - stat!”) that would largely sum-up that season.
Well into August Julien Rodriguez followed and Kyrgiakos re-appeared, and most Bears began to question the seemingly random signing policy and increasingly baffling approach to football. Worse was to follow. Imagine being diagnosed with impotence, chronic piles and leprosy all on the same day. Apply that in footballing terms, and you will no doubt arrive at the Bosman signings of Francis Jeffers, Olivier Bernard and Filippo Maniero; all of whom arrived less than five hours before the transfer-window closed (and two of whom would make their debuts in the starting XI of our opening Champions League game!). By this point, it was terrifyingly clear that our manager had:
- No idea what system he wanted to play.
- No idea what style of football he wanted to adopt.
- No idea what his best XI was.
- No idea.
Thus, the season unfolded as a to-be-expected disaster: Rangers finishing third in the League, despite stodgy (relative) heroics in the Champions League. It is worth noting that of all the signings made that summer, only Hemdani can be considered a success, as three had been jettisoned (read: paid-off) within six months (!) and one within a year.
Now, following our glory-Double, current manager Walter Smith finds himself at a similar crossroad. Rumours abound of random, squad-plugging signings from the SPL. Howard, Mulgrew, Gomis, Miller, Cowie: the list goes on and frankly, makes for dismal reading. Nobody is in any doubt that we will be spending the sort of sums we once did, but equally, pillaging the Bosman market for every Tom, Dick and Harry that pops up on Wullie’s list has, as above, proved a far more terrifying approach.
The likes of Hemdani, Ferguson, Dailly and the Smiths are among those confirmed or likely to depart this summer, with the futures of Broadfoot, Beasley, Boyd and McGregor still up in the air. It simply won’t be the case that we lose eight to twelve first-team players and fail to replace them. The ideal scenario would be for our youngsters to take the step up into the first-team squad, but Walter - who won’t admit this publicly - doesn’t buy into the hype surrounding our current crop and so won’t take that gamble. Thus, the various holes in the squad must be filled with players who can make an instant contribution, and can do so at a low-low price.
Walter’s second spell has allowed him to indulge in his odd penchant for signing players whom he doesn’t seem to rate (Carroll, Beasley, Faye, Gow, G Smith, Velicka); a similar approach this summer could see all of this season’s good work undone, as above. The Champions League carrot should allow us to attract a higher-calibre of player, but we’ve missed out on all the top-end Bosmans (Prso, Boumsong, Vidmar and Mols were all signed by March) so now more than ever, we need to utilise our scouts (yes, both of them) and contacts (assuming he’s dodged jail again) to ensure we spend our transfer budget (whattywhatnow?) as effectively as possible.
The signings we make will go a long way to underlining our intentions for the season - will we attempt to scrape by on the footballing equivalent of the 2.55am growler who still hasn’t pulled, or do we swoop confidently on the top-heavy Page-Three wannabe with the spray-tan and handbag for her handbag? Only time will tell, but isn’t it odd how some analogies give you more faith in the assistant boss than the gaffer himself!?