I see another Rangers player, making 9 in total, has refused to have his contract switched to a new company. I understand they may have reneged on an agreement to do so made before the takeover by Charles Green's consortium. This was after an agreement was reached over wage cuts and they were offered a great deal because that meant they could leave for a rock-bottom price if a club showed an interest. These 9 players have shown no club loyalty and seem to be driven by purely financial motives. Actions that will deny Rangers vital funds as they seek to rebuild. As a fan should we be dismayed and disappointed by these actions or is it just a sign of the times we live in? Is there no club loyalty anymore and are we stupid to expect it? Views?
You could always see it as the players going "I have a career to think about, this career doesn't last forever, do I want to spend some of it in the lowest level of Scottish football?"
Is it purely financial motives, or is it also that they wish to be playing at a top level, for a well-run club? Why should players be expected to be so loyal?
They have every right to want to better their careers but Rangers were the top club in Scotland and I think if these were Saints players we would all be feeling badly let down.
Players have short careers. The Rangers players have been through a stressful season, not knowing if they will get paid or not. Many will have mortgages andfamilies to support. When your club goes down the tubes, fans are stuck but players can move on. Loyalty is admirable when you see it, but couldn't blame someone who wants to get out from under and play for another club without stress.
If you weren't paid wages in full then expected to take a permenant signifcant wage drop and were given the chance to leave knowing you are guarenteed a job somewhere else would you not leave
Erm if Southampton had folded and had to start again in Blue Square South or whatever, would you really expect players like Lallana, Lambert and Morgan to go "yeah you know what Conference football sounds great!"
If this had happened to Saints, I'd be feeling let down by the board, not by the players. I'd fully expect our best players to jump ship.
Yes but the point is they agreed to a wage cut on the basis they could go for a cut price fee. Not for nothing.
Don't get me wrong I'm not expecting players to just roll over but it looks as if in this case they have moved the goal posts not just the Board.
Perfectly understandable that the players don't want to play in the scottish 3rd division, don't see it as a lack of loyalty.
If you think about players like Davis are in their prime now, they don't wanna remember the best years of their career playing in the Scotish 3rd div. The standard in Scotland is a lot lower now as well, it's the equivalent of playing for Totton.....
I don't blame the players, they are just taking the rational option. Why gamble that a club will pay your release fee when if nobody comes in you are left on a much reduced salary looking forward to trips to Peterhead and Elgin.
Now, I thought that the wage cut was only temporary til the club was sold. Does this mean that the old contracts are not to be re-instated? If not, then where is the club loyalty? Let's face it, the whole Rangers situation is a fiasco and nightmare. We don't know all the ins and outs.
Am I not right in thinking that there is no Guaranteed place for the new Rangers in the SPL. If that is the case surely that side of things needs to be firmed up before any new contract terms can be offered or given. If the Rangers players do not like what is happening to the club surely it is understandable that they would prefer not to be Salary down graded. After all the mess the club got it self into was not of their making. Also remember most of the top players were drawn there in the first place by the promise of varius things such as the prestige of the club, the chance to play European football Etc. I don't know about you guys but if the company I worked for was falling down around my ears I would want away too. So no I don't see that loyalty comes into it. I would expect most of the Rangers fans would go along with that too.
Not only is there no guaranteed place but it's also looking extremely unlikely they'll get one. They have to be voted in by the majority of SPL teams and I think at the moment, only 3 have said what they'd be voting and they all said no. This is my very limited knowledge but as far as I'm aware Rangers are facing a HUGE uphill battle.
There is no chance of them being in the SPL any more Beddy and the only question is will they go into Division 1 (unlikely) or Division 3 (highly likely). There's no way that those players can be expected to stay, or can be sustained, in what is a Semi pro division. Becoming a free agent now gives them a much better chance of finding employment elsewhere.
The wage cut was taken by the players as a means to help the club exit administration. This didn't happen despite the sacrifice and the new owners failed to secure a cva. I find it a bit poor that the new owners have the cheek to complain about players leaving when they didn't put up the necessary funds to secure a cva. We know from our friends down the road that you don't exactly need to offer a great deal in the £ for creditors to accept. They then would have stood a chance of keeping there sol status and would have honored the contracts of the players which would have meant transfer fees.
Quite often, I'd be on the clubs side. But appalling mismanagement has led the club to what may well equate to a double relegation. These players are well within their rights. I think Sandy Jardine's greedy comments should be directed at some previous owners rather than a group of players who took reduced wages to help out when required to do so in difficult times.
