RangersMedia

Another 48 Hours Thursday, 26 January 2012 16:47 Written by JCS

The January transfer window has perhaps not been the blockbuster that 'Another 48 Hours' was, and I’m sure Hollywood stars Eddie Murphy & Nick Nolte are blissfully unaware of the resonance that the movie title has with all Rangers supporters. 

But, once again, we were subjected to another round of potential transfer developments in, yes, you’ve guessed it...another 48 Hours. 

I didn’t really believe that things could get much worse than the debacle that was the summer transfer window or indeed that my nerves could be ‘frayed’ much more than they were in July and August……but how wrong I was!

Like most of you, every morsel of transfer information (or, more accurately disinformation) would lighten my mood or deepen my depression, dependent upon the nature of the particular snippet of news. 

For the past few weeks, mine has been a daily diet of football transfer rumours, and the highs and lows and peaks and troughs that inevitably follow. 

The suspense would have been unbearable had it not been for the frequent trips to my local for liquid refreshment…purely for medicinal purposes mind you!

Over the past few weeks, we have received a drip-feed of potential developments about this or that transfer target, accompanied by the odd tantalising ‘morsel’ of information leading us all to believe that, perhaps, a favoured target may have put pen to paper, or an established Ibrox star may be making his exit.

Then we would all wait with bated breath to see our new hero presented in a Rangers shirt on the world famous marble staircase, or suffer the depression that invariably accompanies the departure of another Rangers hero to the EPL or the Championship.

But, more often than not, we were bitterly disappointed and frustrated by the mind-numbing inactivity - another round of debilitating nervous excitement, and another profound feeling of let-down and loss.

To be fair to Ally, he was not the author of these stories or indeed the source for the local rags who had us linked with every loanee, free agent, has-been and ‘mature’ footballer in Europe! 

Indeed, on a number of occasions, he attempted to lower our expectations by making it clear that his transfer fund (if, indeed, there was ever a fund at all) was severely circumscribed.

The fact that he was ‘keeping his fingers crossed’ about the outcome of the tax tribunal perhaps said all that needed to be said about his funding in this difficult and uncertain climate.

With the ‘vultures of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs circling over Ibrox, and the scavengers of the local press and media awaiting our death throes, maybe these transfer stories were designed to boost our collective morale and generate some positive vibes in circumstances where the atmosphere at Murray Park and the darker recesses of Ibrox has been one of constant doom and gloom of late.

So I am persuaded that the ‘powers that be’ at Ibrox (I’m not quite sure who they actually are these days) compiled the undernoted list of transfer targets to keep us fully focused and totally immersed in the exciting race for these potential new signings. 

Here are the many players available during this window we were linked with (and I use that phrase advisedly):

Michael Uchebo; Fran Sandaza; Jorge Claros; Jerry Bengston; Juan Manuel Martinez; Javi Guerra; Enar Jääger; Mervan Celik; Benik Afobe; Jamie Vardy; Grant Holt; Jordan Rhodes; Garry O’Connor; Kris Boyd; Scott Allen; Chris Birchill; David Templeton; Graham Dorrans; Derek Riordan; Gary Kenneth; Nigel Hasselbaink; Nacho Novo; Semir Stilic; Paweł Brożek; Hamdi Salihi; Peter Lovenkrands; Adam Hammill; Zlatan Muslimovic; Siboniso Gaxa; Jameel Cox; Luigi Bruins………and ‘Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davy, Dan'l Whiddon, Harry Hawke, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all!’

But surely the fact that we were interested in so many players is unassailable evidence of our ‘bona fides’ in the transfer market, and our determination to bring new faces to the Club….isn’t it? 

Or is it simply window dressing and wishful thinking?

In reality, it seems that our desire to bring in fresh faces is wholly contingent upon our ability to ship someone out! Either we ‘punt’ someone from our current squad to free up the wages necessary to bring in these new faces, or we can’t really enter the transfer market at all.

Certainly, we cannot compete in any meaningful way in circumstances where even an insignificant transfer fee is required, and that of course means we are essentially locked into the loan market and free agents. 

The results, of course, can be a bit embarrassing, and I still cringe when I think of our attempts to sign Sandaza who, in my humble opinion, is a player that we should never have been linked with in the first place!

However, in stark contrast, we have brought Mervan Çelik on board.  Although I know very little about the lad, he appears to be a good young prospect full of commitment and enthusiasm, so all is not doom and gloom in the ‘lower end’ of the transfer market. 

In the last week or so we have witnessed a steady stream of out of contract free agents wind their way to Murray Park for trials, and it would appear that some of these could prove to be promising additions to our squad, if we have the money to meet their wage demands.

Regrettably, the inescapable fact is that we must sell our most valuable asset if we really want to do some meaningful transfer business. Jelavic must depart Ibrox if Ally is to have even one or two (rather meagre) millions to spend for an adequate replacement striker. Whilst Mervan Çelik is most welcome, he is nevertheless an unknown quantity. We require a proven goal scorer, a proven finisher.

The transfer window has not yet slammed shut, so there is still time to do business and fill those gaps that we all know there are: a solid right back; a ball-winning, creative midfielder and a proven striker. 

These are prerequisites not luxuries! If we don’t focus on these positions, if we don’t buy quality in these positions, we will not prosper and we may hand the league title to the dark side.

Whilst I acknowledge the diversity of views and opinions about our manager - the legend that is Ally McCoist - we must understand that he is not his own master. 

If we are depending upon him to get the team strategy and tactics right, he is equally dependent upon Craig Whyte to get the finances right and underwrite his transfer requirements.

The inescapable fact is that neither of them can fulfil their promise in these circumstances and it may be that we must simply take what we can get and get on with it!

But let me end on a more positive cinematic note. 

If any of you have bothered to go and see Meryl Streep in 'The Iron Lady', you will not have missed this famous quote.  It could have been written for all of us at this most difficult of times,

‘Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope.’

I think we all should contemplate these prescient and highly applicable words.