Will he won't he? - Alan Hutton, staying put is not a crime

What a chancer!  At least that's the collective feeling of our friends in the Scottish Media. One by one all the usual suspects Spiers, Waddell, Nicholas, Walker and Provan to name but a few have taken it in turns to castigate Hutton for having the gall to knock back Spurs. He's a fool to turn this down they cry, what if he gets injured they whine, he's not as good as he thinks he is.

The foregoing was entirely predictable, let's be quite honest here none of the aforementioned have Rangers best interests at heart, Davie Provan has even stated that in Cimbonda Spurs already have a better full-back, if that's true, then why would Provan want AH to move when he'd not be guaranteed 1st team football?

As I say nobody would be surprised that this bunch wish to see Rangers weakened for the title run-in (and let's be clear about one thing we would be seriously weakened, should Hutton leave) but the most worrying thing is the apparent desire of  Rangers FC to see Hutton go in the January window. Numerous quotes form "Ibrox insider" have left me in no doubt that this is indeed the case. Now don't get me wrong £9m for a boy who cost us nothing is a damn good offer, but, it is his right to accept or reject any offer, he's under contract  at Ibrox.

So why then has AH rejected this offer and will the pressure being brought to bear on him  force him out the door?

A move to Spurs would undoubtedly see him play in a more competitive league, there's no argument on that, but would it make him a better player?

Craig Gordon, Shaun Maloney, James McFadden and Stan Petrov have all made the move south, are they better players as a result?

The inside track on this tells us that AH has wind of a better offer, maybe from one of the big four, now this may or may not be the case although any interest from Man Utd appears to have cooled if we're to believe the media.

Maybe, just maybe, Alan wants to play for Rangers, that's not a crime, is it?

A move to Spurs while lucrative in a financial sense would seem to scupper any chance of silverware, for what are they going to win in the near future? It would also deny Hutton the chance to ply his trade at the highest level in club football, The Champions League. The perennial defensive problems at White Heart Lane could also impact on Hutton's performances, as he's living proof of what confidence can do to a player's performances. Is it any wonder that he's decided to stay put?

I've no doubt that pressure will be brought to bear on Alan Hutton from all sides urging him to accept the offer from Spurs, and regretfully I fear by the time you read this he could well be gone which would be a crying shame.

The Big Cheese