Things have been awfully quiet at Ibrox this summer, which was a bit surprising for the team that had just won the first league title in four years. However, boss Walter Smith didn’t have any funds at his disposal and he couldn’t buy a single player. Even though Barry Ferguson was the only player who left the club, things are looking bleak for the proud Scottish club.
Rangers are in heavy financial problems at the moment and that is the reason why they couldn’t afford to reinforce the squad. Considering Celtic are now stronger than last season, the Gers face an uphill task to retain the league title, let alone to do something more in the Champions League. The club will receive a lot of money for the participation in the strongest European competition but Rangers cannot possibly be expected to go past the group stage with such a small squad at their disposal. Gers were drawn alongside Stuttgart, Sevilla and Unirea Urziceni in group G and they would have a very good chance to make it to the knockout stages if they have signed a couple of good reinforcements over the summer, but that simply did not happen.
Even Rangers starting 11 doesn’t look too confident even on domestic stage, thus Celtic could easily win back the Scotland Premier League title. There’s no way Walter Smith’s small squad will be able to cope with playing two games a week once the Champions League starts and the European campaign is likely to take the wind out of their sails. It is really sad to see such a great club struggling but they have only themselves to blame. Early elimination from Europe last season only added to the worries and it denied them heavy increase in revenue, but that is starting to take its toll. Rangers simply have to find a way to improve the poor financial situation even if it means sacrificing one or two seasons, which is better than struggling in the long run. Everybody wants instant results in football today but that is definitely not the right way to go for Rangers.
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