Glasgow giants in a sad state

Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers seem to be limping along at the moment.

They will again be competing for the SPL title next season but that’s because only themselves and Celtic have the capabilities of winning the league title in Scotland.

Finances

The lack of finances must be worrying for the fans and directors of Rangers. The club are struggling to make ends meet. It’s the same throughout the SPL.

Rangers and Celtic are supposed to be the biggest hitters in the league and even the Old Firm can’t keep themselves on an even financial keel.

Exits

Due to the lack of funds Rangers have had to let some of their best players leave this summer. Star striker Kris Boyd has left on a free transfer to join English Championship side Middlesbrough. Midfielder schemer Kevin Thomson has followed him to the North East in a £2million deal.

Spanish striker Nacho Novo returned home and American star DaMarcus Beasley also left when his contract expired. It’s a sign of the financial times that Rangers haven’t got the ambition or money to keep some of their best players.

Boss

Rangers boss Walter Smith revealed his frustrations on the clubs official website: “Market forces are against us right now and that is happening a lot,”

“Everyone says we have a small group of players and that we will need to bring new ones in and, of course, that is correct.

“But when we are looking around it’s difficult to achieve the balance of getting the level of player you want given the level of finance available.

“So that is the task that faces us and we will obviously try to bring in the best we possibly can”

Past

In the past Rangers had the stature and finances to attract some superb players and they could pay higher wages than a lot of England’s top flight clubs. Now they are struggling to compete with some clubs from the English Championship.

Rangers had always been a relatively big name in the European game. However they have suffered numerous poor European campaigns of late due to the fact that they are losing quality players every summer.

Standard

Most Scottish football fans will admit that the standard of the SPL has slipped in recent years because of financial problems. Rangers may be reigning champions but that was more down to Celtic suffering a terrible season.

The rest of the SPL can’t compete with the two Glasgow giants, even though they are no longer able to pay big transfer fees and wages. The gap is closing however and last season both Old Firm sides suffered shock defeats.

Rivals

Rivals Celtic have managed to strengthen their squad despite financial problems. The Hoops under new permanent boss Neil Lennon have been able to bring in a few new faces in the shape of Charlie Mulgrew, Darryl Murphy and Joe Ledley.

They have lost a few of their players but they have also made some superb signings. The Hoops are also looking at signing Mexico World Cup star Efrain Juarez. The right-back/defensive star impressed in South Africa and it’s believed he is close to clinching a move to Parkhead.

With Celtic attempting to strengthen they will be far more of a threat to Rangers next season. The Gers will find it hard to replace the goals of Kris Boyd and I can see Celtic knocking them off their perch at the top of the SPL.