ITS THAT TIME AGAIN!
Here We Go For Four-In-A-Row
So here we go again! It seems like only yesterday we were bouncy-bouncying at Rugby Park, title number fifty-four was in the bag, Sir Walter had bowed out on a high while Timothy was celebrating his three-in-a-row run as runners-up as only he can, Lenny and his lot need not reproach themselves, oh how we laughed. C'mon Bears, lets do it all again.
Yet, if I had a tenner for every moan I've heard from fellow FFers this summer I could add considerably to Super Ally's 'warchest' for the season ahead. If it wasn't the pre-season results, the drama queens were having a whinge about the absence of any big name additions to the squad then, when we did sign somebody, they were queuing up to question the player's ability to deliver the goods. Some of us really need to lighten up.
Very good work was done in securing the Ibrox futures of Allan McGregor, Steven Whittaker and Steven Davis, Davie Weir has signed on for another year and I believe even Madjid Bougherra is contemplating staying on. At the end of last term, there was a very real possibility that all five would be posted missing when the Gers got down to defending the SPL title so it is a major boost that we have retained the backbone of the team which completed three-in-a-row.
The panic merchants out there who have been getting uptight about the lack of serious transfer activity over the summer should have a wee lie-down. Sure, we all want to see fresh faces strengthen the squad soon but our top priority has to be to get the right players in, not go down the we-sign-any-player-dot-com route, signing players just for the sake of it, without too much thought going into what they can bring to the squad.
Juanma Ortiz and Lee Wallace will do very nicely for now. Yes, we need to get the numbers up but we have until the end of August to complete the job. Getting the defence of our SPL title off to a winning start is all that matters for now. The fixture list has been relatively kind to us, it is not unreasonable to expect that, by the time we have the international break and I head off to my own wee place in the sun, we should be sitting on top of the heap with maximum points.
What sort of message will that send out? The doom and gloom brigade have been feeding the Great Unwashed's fixation with the famous Glasgow Rangers - and Mark Hateley's piece in the Daylate Rebel played into their hands too. They've been so quick to rattle off name after name who has given us a knock-back, as if they've had none, they've questioned Super Ally's abilities and suggested that our Whyte knight might not be the real deal.
Be in no doubt about it, they are worried. They've had us on the retreat for so long, with no money and with an owner and his well-tanned lackey who were not prepared to put up a fight, it was open season on Rangers, it was time for RaSellick and their friends to stick the boot in and, bhoy oh bhoy, didn't they enjoy it. Yet we still did three-in-a-row!!!
Sir Walter steadied the ship, he got us through a very difficult time and now we are ready to push on again, with no baggage from the Minted One's reign holding us back. Meanwhile, the Scum Of are stuck where they have been over the past few years, probably worse off because a couple of Champions Leagueless seasons have seen their debt start to rise. Where would they be without the sale of the Polish Bigot and Wee Aids? They are fast approaching the day of reckoning, whereas we have met ours head-on and are now ready to make progress.
Of course, such cash conscious talk matters not a jot when twenty-two players cross that white line on Saturday. We've got to put the Watery Farts in their place and I daresay snapping up one of their top players during the countdown to the big kick-off has done us no harm at all. Lee Wallace is a welcome addition to our squad, although at £1.5 million I think he is more than a tad overpriced. I suppose the dosh will be spread over a period, with a lump sum to be followed by add-ons depending on the impact he makes.
Gers fans might even get to check out a rare sight at the weekend, a fully fit Andy Webster. Ferfuxxake, if we'd signed him on a pay-per-play deal, he would have ended up owing us money!!! Aye, another example of Martin Bain's great negotiating skills...and to think this numpty has been talking about taking legal action against the Rangers. Who said you couldn't make it up?
Assuming Nikica Jelavic can steer clear of attempts to cripple him, I'm looking for the big man to batter in a few - with Webster in direct opposition it has got to be worth a bet! - and the movement of Steve Davis and Steven Naismith should cause the Jambos all sorts of problems. They were the best of the rest last season, yet still finished a Maryhill metric mile behind the Champions so we really shouldn't lose too much sleep over them.
Like all so-called challengers, they tend to run out of steam little more than halfway through a 38-game season but, starting on level pegging on day one, they will fancy their chances. Anticipate a few meaty challenges, check out how the ref reacts, don't be too surprised to be frustrated for long periods but, as always, expect to see the Rangers rise above it all to get the quest for our next league title (how many is it now?) off to a winning start.
And if you've got nothing better to do on Sunday, you could do worse than hope for a wee bit of sunshine on Leith. No big deal, if we look after our own business, the rest will look after itself.
C'mon you Gers, here we go for four-in-a-row.
LITTLE BOY BLUE