Before we judge or even ridicule the manager lets take a look back over the last 18 months. Has anyone ever thought that Walter might be a visionary? Where football in the 21st century requires four central defenders across the back four? Where a mishmash of midfielders, forwards and defenders make up our midfield? Where the lone striker, who has very little 'lone striker' type qualities poses the only real goalscoring threat.
Maybe football in the modern era requires a team to be imbalanced and lopsided by playing individuals out of their favoured positions - could this be Smith's 21st century version of the much celebrated "Total Football". Where a right back must be able to play on the left wing or where a central defender must play effectively at fullback. Walter has even tried to convert a forward come midfielder into a central defender: are there any limits to Walter's "Total Football" ethos?
Maybe the manager's vision extends to the youth setup as well - where tried and trusted professionals are preferred to their more enthusiastic and youthful team mates. Perhaps Ajax, Arsenal and Barcelona have been getting it wrong all these years. We have evolved in such a way that Walter refers to Kyle Lafferty (21) and Maurice Edu (22) as "younger players". On the continent these guys are making their debuts at 16 and 17. Yet Smith is still too reluctant to play them. I wonder how many decent young players have been put off from signing for us, due to Walter's incompetence in bringing through the youngsters. A fact that Barry Ferguson was not shy in telling us- "I know a lot of good young players who have been scared off from signing for Rangers in the past few years because they knew they wouldn't get a chance"
The unbalanced nature of our squad is another aspect that has me somewhat puzzled. When there are obvious weaknesses within the squad - lack of natural fullbacks, lack of a natural right winger, lack of two reliable central defenders - why do we splash out on the one area of the field that requires little surgery? Why buy three central midfielders when you already have four international class players in the squad. This coupled with the fact we still find a place in central midfield for both Lee McCulloch and Christian Dailly. Is this another pivotal point in Walter's masterplan?
Maybe even the training methods are a futuristic insight into the direction football is heading? The question must be asked, what form of training occurs at Auchenhowie? Is this £13 Million state of the art training facility an environment where the players congregate for a few hours a day, lift some weights and do some stretching. Do the players benefit from these training methods? We rarely see a well worked set-piece, corner or throw-in, and we certainly do not see the benefit in something so fundamental as the player's fitness. Even by his own admission the players "looked tired" following the league cup final defeat. But then again who am I to question Walter - perhaps this is his vision for Rangers FC in the 21st century.
Then there are the team selections; I may be wrong but I am a firm believer that if you're playing poorly over a consistent number of games you should be dropped. Now this rule applies to some but not everyone. If Steven Whittaker plays poorly (even if he's played hideously out of position) he is dropped. The same applies to Boyd, Beasley, Novo, Naismith and Lafferty. However this rule does not apply to Miller or any of the three main midfielders. Where do they find the motivation to improve?
Walter Smith is a hugely successful man, winning more trophies than many managers could ever imagine. That said, if this is the direction he intended our football club to he heading in, then I've well and truly fallen out of love with the game.
Thanks Walter.