Rangers great form and performance on the park continued with the four nil demolishing of Aberdeen at Ibrox. The team picked up from where they left of previously in a game which easily could have saw a repeat of the eight goal reverse Accies suffered.
Rangers are playing some of the best attacking football I have seen in a very long time. We are giving teams a hiding yet it still seems we are able to go up several levels if and when we need to do so. Not to mention the strength in depth across the team as a whole, the substitutions for example are extremely strong.
Benfica come to Ibrox on Thursday and they are a quality outfit but such is the strength of our performances so far, victory may take us through this group, we don’t fear that challenge; in actual fact we relish it.
The weekend’s real bonus was extending our lead to eleven points at the top of the league. This is unchartered territory for many in our support as it has been a long time coming but it is exactly where this club should be.
The standards this football club should be operating at are coming back in abundance and it is a fantastic time for the club at the moment. I have been blogging now for three years and have spent that time trying to keep positive even in the darkest of scenarios. Now that those good times appear to be here I find myself not wanting to get too carried away, after all nothing is won in November and we have to keep going.
There is absolutely no reason why we can’t enjoy the teams performance however and they deserve all the praise going.
Steven Gerrard was quick to praise his players and remind them of that this weekend and he told our own club website
Look, we are in a fantastic place but we can’t get carried away as there are a lot of challenges to come
He is hungry and he wants more taking every opportunity to remind the squad of that. He has that desire and he looks like a man driven to deliver, it’s brilliant to watch.
There has been a change in our attitude and there is no longer a complacency in our business. Last year when things were going well that may have crept in and over celebrating victory at New Year clearly is evident in Gerrard’s mind.
We are as focused as we have ever been in his tenure.
He has spoken about James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos breaking records but this is normally followed by an immediate reminder that stats mean nothing until trophies are won.
This is music to our ears, it’s exactly the drive and motivation we need.
I have spent a long time blogging buzz words like ‘relentless’ ‘focused’ ‘drive’ and this team is delivering on every single platform. I would go as far as to say I haven’t seen a level of performance like this since days of Dick Advocaat but even then we seem to be outperforming those sides on various levels.
The intensity, pressing and positional rotation of the squad is an absolute joy to watch. Joe Aribo and Scott Arfield are bringing that from midfield whilst Borna and Tav dominate the wide areas. Then up front Kemar Roofe has added a level that has been missing, his movement for his goal on Sunday was indicative of everything that is good about us at the moment.
In fact the only troubling thing about Rangers at the moment is trying to figure out what Kemar is spelling with his fingers when he scores!
Performance levels of the squad has been exceptional and everyone of them deserve huge praise.
However, the individual levels of James Tavernier has been incredible and he is playing a massive part in our form. It hasn’t been easy for the captain and he’s taken a lot of stick but he has shown incredible mental strength and his consistency is now an absolute joy to watch.
I have been critical of him at times and it’s not because I don’t rate him but because I judge my players on trophies delivered for this club. As captain he probably gets more scrutiny than anyone. That is the levels we must strive to but if he delivers the title this year then he, along with all this squad, will take their places as legends of our history.
It’s cup duty for the squad now and probably a chance to rotate things, It’s a chance for the likes of Defoe, Itten and Hagi to stake a claim which is the exciting part of things at the moment because those players are clearly bursting for opportunities. That desire and drive keeps everyone playing to the levels we are aspiring too.
It’s exciting times but as the manager says it’s only November and we have to keep going. I’m not getting carried away just yet, we have been burnt enough to know that there is a long way to go yet but I’m certainly enjoying every bit of our performances so far.
Off the field Rangers accounts were released late on Friday night and made for some interesting readings. Whilst there will be expert analysis from various places and fans more knowledgeable than myself, I will offer a small insight into what I took from it.
The losses of over £15m do not make for good reading but clearly we are in a period of accelerated investment and the board are single handedly pushing the club back to the levels we saw prior to the disastrous times of 2011.
The board have invested above and beyond £50m and knowing they won’t see any of that back is an unbelievable commitment.
In actual fact when we look back on this period in years to come the likes of Bennett, Park, Dave King and Paul Murray should deserve massive recognition to the sacrifices they have given.
Real Rangers men.
But that dependency is something that can’t go on forever and it’s natural that the business model will now start to swing towards player sales and Champions League priority. That was never realistic until we done what we have or rather the Directors stepped up as they have.
Rangers must however become self sustainable and it’s likely that there will be a three year plan which includes Champions league qualification, league titles and the afore mentioned player sales.
Revenue being at £59m is almost at levels of our highest income and that’s hugely encouraging.
Tax levels have risen to £9m of which £7m is deferred. For those that read last weeks blog when I told you this is as exactly what we were doing, the same as many other teams, will not be surprised by this.
The deranged bloggers, who also predicted we were withholding our accounts, made to look extremely foolish with their lies once more. They are beyond laughable parody and they can bitch all they want about our losses but the truth is whilst we have financial beneficiaries in our boardroom then they are pissing into the wind.
Moving on clearly we must get onto a more even footing financially but my upmost respect to the board and those members, both past and present, who have pushed us on financially.
When the title is delivered home we will owe these men a huge debt of gratitude. They are true Rangers men and the level of commitment shown gains nothing but respect from all of our support.
For now we kick on and continue to push. We are in an extremely good place and watching magnificent football on the pitch. We have exciting projects to look forward to like the modernisation of Ibrox and a museum our history deserves.
But it is only one thing that really matters and that is number 55.
Foot down, keep going and let’s make that a reality.
This is Rangers and it’s where we should be
Ignore the nonsense, the irrelevant and the noise 🔴⚪️🔵
Four Lads Had A Dream 