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#264610 "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference between football success and football failure."
ChrissBurns1993
Creating a structure.
It's sure as hell been a busy couple of months in the job but I'm now very happy with the players and backroom staff we've managed to bring in. I haven't been disappointed with any of our incomings or outgoings as I've felt every deal has been necessary and for the good of the club. I got a bit of stick for terminating the loan deals of Niko Krancjar, Mauricio Isla, Mauro Zarate and Eduardo Vargas but I just didn't think they were the right players for the club this season. I don't see any of them being the kind of battlers that we need and that's my reasons for terminating their deals really. A bit of stick came my way regarding Alejandro Faurlin too but with him injured for over a year and he'd be out of contract by the time he's fit what's the point delaying the inevitable? He wouldn't be earning a new contract and he has the means to fund his own rehabilitation. Sacking Les Ferdinand didn't go down to well either with him being a club 'icon' and all but I didn't feel that he was right for the director of football role. I now feel confident in every department as we've got a proper scouting structure in place now which bodes well for the future, we're covered with coaches, goalkeeping coaches and fitness coaches now too. With and under 18's manager and assistant manager in place with the youth squads I do feel we could add a little more there but we'll do that over the season once we've got an idea of what works and what doesn't and such. My base formation for the season will be a 4-1-3-1-1 with wingers while our tactical strategy will be one where we'll be looking to control the match with possession and play to a high tempo. I don't want to be the type of manager who plays with a defensive outlook to try and frustrate your opponents and come away with a 1-0 win, I'd much rather lose 4-3 and know that we've given the fans a performance. Now that all the preparation has been dealt with it's time for the hard work to begin starting with our opening fixture of the season against our fierce London rivals Chelsea.
QPR fans will be relishing their opening day fixture against prospective title challengers Chelsea
#264606 "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference between football success and football failure."
ChrissBurns1993
It's a busy summer as QPR boss does some wheeling and dealing
Despite the fact that Harry Redknapp had made some vital signings over the first few months of the summer Christopher Burns obviously felt the need to change things up on his arrival. First out the door were loanees Mauricio Isla, Niko Krancjar, Eduardo Vargas and Mauro Zarate, it's not reallly known why their deals were terminated so far. A further 6 senior players were given the boot, previous No1 goalkeeper Robert Green was sold to Liverpool for £750k and Yun Suk-Young was sold to Leicester for £2.9m. Alejandro Faurlin, Bobby Zamora, Clint Hill and Richard Dunne had their contracts terminated as with Faurlin injured for over a year and Zamora, Hill and Dunne way past their best Burns deemed them redundant to his plans for the season ahead. It is perhaps a bit harsh on Faurlin that he has been released but having made a fair bit of money through football he'll have no trouble paying for the treatment he requires, a bit of no nonsense managerial strategy there. There were two players leaving on loan and those were Michael Petrasso and Coll Donaldson who will join Port Vale and Kilmarnock respectively for the duration of the 2014-15 season. Over a dozen, 16 to be exact, reserve and/or youth players were released by the club too. Despite some huge efforts to offload Shaun Wright-Phillips no one was interested in signing the 36-times capped English winger and he too wasn't interested in leaving as he turned down numerous mutual contract termination attempts, it's a bit silly as he's obviously not going to feature this term but it shows a determination to see out his contract with the club. Another player who will stay after attempts to sell him is Adel Taarabt as despite several clubs showing an interest in him none of them were willing to meet QPR's demands and a few loan deals were rejected by the club too.
With the departure of 26 players it was obvious that Christopher Burns wanted to bring in a few of his own men and that is exactly what he set about doing. First in were domestic loanees Rolando Aarons and Jordan Ibe who will cost £170k each month for the duration of their loans and they will provide Matt Phillips and Junior Hoilett with some competition on the wings. With the departures of a few defenders the side was obviously lacking in numbers and so 4 defenders were brought in. Ciaran Clark, Paul Dummett, Tyler Blackett and Chris Gunter were brought in for a combined £9.3m, a little over the odds you could say but each player has some great potential and it may prove to be money well spent. Having shipped quite a few experienced players out there were 2 additions that brought some back in as Kevin Nolan and Peter Crouch were added to the squad, it's likely that both players will be back-up/rotation options but they are 2 good additions it has to be said. The last player in the door was Ben Amos who will play understudy to Alex McCarthy which relegates Brian Murphy back to third choice 'keeper.
As well as the many changes to the playing staff there were loads of movements within the backroom staff too as 16 members of the previous regime were shown the door soon after Christopher's arrival. Those include the likes of director of football Les Ferdinand, assistant manager Kevin Bond, coach Steve Black and under 21's manager Steve Gallen. Each member of staff was replaced man to man and the 16 men brought in include people such as new assistant manger Bruno Demichelis, new director of football Nicky Hammond, new goalkeeping coach David Coles and new under 18's manager Peter Farrell. With each position now filled by Burns' men and 'higher quality' candidates QPR should have great stability over the upcoming season.
#264597 "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference between football success and football failure."
ChrissBurns1993
A great opportunity and a great club.
Isn't football just the funniest old game? How I find myself in this position so early into my coaching career is remarkable but before I go into any of that though I'd first of all like to thank Roberto Martinez for giving me my first coaching job and having that faith in me. So much faith that he actually forwarded my name to Tony Fernandes for this job. What an amazing opportunity I've had thrown my way and I'm looking forward to getting out onto that training ground and seeing what I've got to work with this season. I'm under no illusions that this will be an easy job, particularly as it's my first senior one, but it's a job that I will put my life and soul into to make it work. Harry Redknapp is a man I've long admired and he has done a great job in his recruitment drive this summer with the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Steven Caulker likely to be stand out players for us this season. I've been handed a good sized transfer budget to make some signings of my own however and after a re-evaluating my squad my next step will be to bring in my own backroom and playing staff for whichever positions I feel need strengthened. I've definitely got some tactical ideas that I'll be looking to integrate early and it'll be a tough old pre-season for the lads as they'll be intensely training to get them upto speed with my ideas. Now the fun begins.
Rio Ferdinand is a great acquisition by the club.
#264446 "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference between football success and football failure."
ChrissBurns1993
#264296 "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference between football success and football failure."
ChrissBurns1993
After the shock resignation of Harry Redknapp in July QPR chairman Tony Fernandes had to seek out a new manager and the club were linked with several names including Martin O'Neill and Tim Sherwood. Both O'Neill and Sherwood turned the club down though as Aston Villa nicked Sherwood while O'Neill remained loyal to the Republic of Ireland. The Martin Jol link was dismissed by the club chairman as he elected to give the job to Christopher Burns. Everton were paid £200k for his services after he left his post as under 18's manager. Burns forged a respectable career for himself as a right back for several teams in the English Championship and League One as well as the Scottish Premiership and Championship. Rotherham, Ipswich and Doncaster were the teams Burns played for for most of his career but his first professional club were Hamilton Academical whom he played for for 2 years before a year long spell with Motherwell led to a move to England. By the time he retired at 33 Burns had already gained his coaching badges, after starting them early on in his career, and was offered a job with Roberto Martinez when he was appointed Everton manager, it was during their spell at Motherwell together that Martinez and Burns got friendly which led to the Spaniard offering his old pal a job as a youth team coach. After a couple of months in the job the Scot took over as the youth team manager following the departure of the previous one who had a disagreement with the top team boss.
After a chance encounter with Roberto Martinez Tony Fernandes was sent in Burns direction in his quest for a new manager after the Everton boss referenced Burns as "the next big thing in management". Curious about Martinez suggestion the Rangers manager sought out and interviewed Christopher. He obviously made a big impression on Tony as just a week after Harry Redknapp resigned 35-year-old Christopher Burns was named as the new QPR manager. There aren't many optimistic R's fans after hearing this news as they believe a more experienced manager should have been placed in charge for what will be a very hard season for their club. With the team already significantly strengthened by Harry Redknapp it remains to be seen whether Burns will be handed a transfer budget to play with.
It helps to have friends in high places.
#264288 "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference between football success and football failure."
ChrissBurns1993
Harry Redknapp resigns as QPR manager
Harry Redknapp has quit as QPR manager, blaming imminent knee replacement surgery for his decision. The 67-year-old informed chairman Tony Fernandes of his decision to leave the club just yesterday. "I need immediate surgery," said Redknapp. "If I can't give 100%, it's better for someone else to take over." Head of football operations Les Ferdinand and academy coach Chris Ramsey will take temporary charge but it's thought that Fernandes will be looking to bring in a permanent replacement as soon as possible. Redknapp led QPR to promotion to the Premier League last season via the Championship play-offs which was the least that was expected of him. He's admitted recently though that if he hadn't lead the club back to the Premiership he'd have retired from the game. Despite that perhaps being a hint that he was going to stay on for this season he has instead decided to step down. "I have had such a fantastic time at QPR and it's a real shame that it has to come to an end this way. That being said, my health and my family are more important to me than putting myself into an early grave with another relegation battle," said Harry Redknapp. "I would like to thank the board, the players and all my staff, and especially the supporters who have been absolutely fantastic to me. "My relationship with chairman Tony Fernandes has been one of the highlights of my footballing career and I wish the club every success. "I am confident they will survive in the Premier League this year although it won't be easy." Fernandes thanked Redknapp for "everything he has done for QPR", adding: "We part on good terms and I would personally like to wish him all the best for the future."
Early speculation on The R's next manager is rife and it's the usual suspects who have been linked to the post such as Tim Sherwood, Martin Jol, and Martin O'Neill. An outsider for the role though is rookie boss Christopher Burns who has also been tipped for his first senior managerial post after serving his apprenticeship under Roberto Martinez as Everton's under 18's manager for the past 2 seasons, it would be big jump though and we're not quite sure where this link has come from. Sherwood has also been linked with the Aston Villa post as well which gives QPR competition for his services. O'Neill seems happy with the Republic of Ireland too so it's doubtful whether he'll move which makes Jol and Burns the most likely candidates out of the names being mentioned, with the former currently unemployed and the latter looking for his first senior management role it's perfect timing for both men. A job such as this one is likely to garner a lot of interest though and there will be many candidates for Tony Fernandes to consider.
Harry Redknapp leaves Loftus Road for the last time.
#264248 "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference between football success and football failure."
ChrissBurns1993
Starting from 30 April 2011, QPR hopped on to one hell of a roller coaster journey. After secured promotion to the Premier League by winning the Championship with a 2–0 win over Watford. A subsequent FA investigation involving QPR's acquisition of Alejandro Faurlín threatened to deduct points from the side and put their promotion into jeopardy. The investigation concluded on 7 May 2011, with QPR found to be at fault in two of the seven charges, and received a £875,000 fine. However, there were no points deducted by the FA, and QPR's promotion to the Premier League was secured. Several months afterwards Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes bought the club from Bernie Ecclestone after his attempts to buy West Ham earlier in the summer fell flat as neither David Sullivan or David Gold wished to sell their club.
While Neil Warnock remained as the club's manager for their return to the top-flight, a run of eight Premier League games without a win eventually led to his sacking. Mark Hughes was named as his replacement, just 36 hours after Warnock had been dismissed, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal in the process. Despite their new manager, QPR's poor run of form continued, which left them fighting for Premier League survival on the final day of the 2011-2012 season. Relegation rivals Bolton Wanderers needed a win to have any chance of survival, but could only muster a draw with Stoke City, meaning QPR were safe, despite losing 3-2 to Manchester City after Sergio Agüero's injury-time winner - a goal which stole the Premier League title from arch-rivals Manchester United on goal difference.
Queens Park Rangers endured another miserable season in the 2012-13 season and on 23 November 2012, Mark Hughes was sacked as a result, having amassed only 4 points in 12 games and with the club languishing at the bottom of the Premier League despite significant financial investment in new players in the 11 months of Hughes' tenure. Expensive signings such as Park Ji-Sung, Samba Diakite, Jose Bosingwa, Esteban Granero and Stephane Mbia among others were not justifying their wage or selection and something had to give. A day later, the highly regarded Harry Redknapp was confirmed as the new manager and was entrusted with a hefty transfer budget which he used to splash £12.5m on Chris Samba, £8m on Loic Remy and £2m on Jermaine Jenas while Tal Ben Haim and Yun Suk-Young also joined. Redknapp couldn't stop the rot though and after only winning 2 league games the rest of the season QPR were relegated with 3 games of the season to play.
Despite their relegation the club decided to stick with Harry Redknapp for the 2013–14 season and he went on to make some more of his own signings. Signings which included the likes of Danny Simpson, Richard Dunne, Charlie Austin, Oguchi Onyewu and Yossi Benayoun. While Chris Samba returned to Anzhi Makhachkala for £12m after a poor spell, 10 others were released and Jose Bosingwa was one of them, a great relief to many R's fans. It was a big summer clearout for Harry Redknapp as he also allowed 9 senior players to leave the club on loan as the club tried to cut costs by saving in their astronomical wages. It was to be a mildly successful season for QPR as they finished 4th in the Championship, and qualified for the play-offs where they defeated Wigan Athletic in the semi-finals and then Derby County in the final to return to the Premier League in dramatic fashion as they won 1–0 with a goal by Bobby Zamora in the 90th minute. It wasn't exactly the way the club or their fans wanted to go back up but they did go back up and that was all that mattered.
It's looking like it's going to again be a summer of upheaval for the newly promoted side as 18 players have left the club permanently and 14 left on loan so far, although it was only Samba Diakite who was a first team player out of the players leaving on loan. Both Luke Young and Park Ji-Sung retired while Loic Remy and Jordan Mutch left for £10m and £5m respectively. Andy Johnson, Stephane Mbia and Yossi Benayoun are amongst those who have left on free transfers. The recruitment for the summer is looking to be much better though as the legendary Rio Ferdinand was brought in on a free transfer and will be joined by Steven Caulker in defence. Lerey Fer and Sandro look to be excellent additions too and both players have joined for £6m fees. Italian based Chilean duo Eduardo Vargas and Mauricio Isla have joined on loan as have Niko Krancjar and Mauro Zarate. The season ahead is looking very promising for QPR and Harry Redknapp.
#264246 The Shire: From The Bottom
ChrissBurns1993
#263670 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
Football Focus' Dan Walker speaks with Christopher Burns on today's programme
Dan Walker: Thanks for joining us today Chris you've been a great guest, while we've got some time to play with do you mind answering a few questions?
Chris Burns: No problem Dan it's been a pleasure.
Dan Walker: It's fair to say that you came into top level management in a fairly strange way, how has that affected you?
Chris Burns: Well I guess to an extent that's true because not many managers are voted into the job but I was also working within the club so it was one hell of a promotion to say the least. It has helped though because with all the problems that have surrounded Rangers in these past five years I was expected to fail so anything other than failure was a surprising success!
Dan Walker: You've coped excellently though it has to be said. You spoke about the problems Rangers have had in the past couple of years, have any of those problems directly impacted you yet?
Chris Burns: They haven't at all Dan, no. Our supporters have been and will always continue to be this club's rock, with the fans on side and a bit of a change of set up behind the scenes and on the playing field everything's looking up for us. Touch wood, I've had no drama yet.
Dan Walker: That's excellent news Chris, it certainly makes the job easier when everything's running smoothly in the backround. You had a fairly busy summer too in regards to buying and selling players, with three key players leaving how in the loop were you on those deals?
Chris Burns: All three deals were arranged and dealt with by myself, I'm not really one for stepping aside and letting other people do everything for me I'm very much hands on and involved in every decision within the club.
Dan Walker: Do you feel that the offers were too good to turn down and have your side missed the players since their departure?
Chris Burns: I wouldn't say they were too good to turn down but more a fair reflection on how well they'd done over the previous season(s). Fraser Aird was great for me from the moment I arrived and because he was home grown and such it was hard seeing him leave but at the same time we were covered with his departure. I guess you could say we've missed Patrick Bamford but then that's only because Steven Naismith was ruled out for so long and that's kinda left us short up front. The massive thing about both sales was the inclusion of a fifty percent sell on fee on both deals which means if they go for a significant fee in the future we'll benefit further, or we could even bring them back if we felt like it, for a discounted price.
Dan Walker: Your loyalty to players has been called into question recently. Is this something you feel has been an issue?
Chris Burns: Absolutely not, no. In football so many things change all the time and since my arrival we've came from title challengers in the Scottish Championship to who knows what expectation in our first season back up in the SPFL and now a year down the line again we're defending champions. You have to make changes to keep up with that kind of pressure and expectancy or you'll be staying still or going backwards. I'm a forward thinking person and that's something I've brought to the club.
Dan Walker: That's fair enough Chris and very understandable. Since we're speaking about forward thinking and ambition can I ask about the link to the West Brom vacancy in the summer, did anything come of that and is it in your sights to make the move down south anytime soon?
Chris Burns: I was offered an interview for the West Brom job Dan but it's not a vacancy that at the time, or any time in the future, I'd be interested in. I'm very happy here in Glasgow rebuilding my childhood team but as I've said, football is an ever changing game so who knows what the future holds?
Dan Walker: Chris, again, you have been a great guest and thank you for doing this interview with us too. Good luck with the season and we'll see you soon.
#262317 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
#262280 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
September was a great all round month for us as we managed to win all of our games in the three different competitions that we played in. Both Motherwell and Macabi Tel Aviv were no match for us as we overcame both sides with a three nil scoreline. Dundee picked up a few injuries in our match against them and they never really got going because of that and in the end they too had no answer for us as we beat them three one. Our Scottish League Cup third round tie against Stenhousemuir was a breeze as we never had to get ourselves out of first gear yet still won five nil. Ahead of our match against Celtic we had a massive injury pile up and had nine players injured while a couple of others were really struggling for fitness. How we managed to win that game I've no idea as we were outplayed from start to finish but hey, we won it and that's all that matters. To an extent the same could be said for our final game of the month against Braga as we were outplayed in the first half but remarkably still went into the break two one up. We kicked on a bit in the second half though as John Fleck and Jesse Lingard managed to get on the scoresheet to secure a second win on the trot in the Europa League group stage. Valencia up next twice in the next month will be a much sterner test and will possibly be two of my biggest matches since taking charge, that's what being in charge of a club such as this should be like though and I can't wait to meet the Spanish giants. Jesse Lingard had am amazing month for us as he scored a hat-trick against Dundee as well as setting up a couple of goals for his team mates and was justifiably awarded the September player of the month award. Conor Bell picked up the young player of the month too, not to be left behind I was also awarded manager of the month as we hogged the limelight.
#262048 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
With our first leg against Videoton secure enough we could've took our foot off the gas but we didn't do that and we managed to score double our first leg score to pull off a six nil aggregate scoreline which saw us through to the Play-offs where we would face Young Boys. Now you get bad opening day results in the leg sometimes but ours? God that was dreadful. Quite frankly our finishing was just shocking as we had a little under thirty shots on goal whilst they had five yet we scored two and they scored four, more clinical I guess. Doubles by Pavel Savitskiy against Dundee United and then Martin Odegaard against Inverness Caley Thistle ensured we bounced back in the league after that opening day defeat. A couple of nil nil draws against Young Boys and then St. Johnstone was disappointing for us but it wasn't the worst set of results. A much worse result followed on from them though as we crashed out of the Champions League Play-offs after falling to a two one defeat to Young Boys. Pretty much the same story as Kilmarnock, COULD NOT SCORE, enough anyway. A first and a sixth goal of the season for Ryan Hardie and Pavel Savitskiy earned us a two nil victory over Aberdeen as we climbed up to third place in the league in the process. As we went out of the Champions League at the Play-off stage we qualified for the Europa League which will give us a stern challenge, especially with the draw we were handed.
#262032 On a quest to be the best. [FM15]
ChrissBurns1993
#261952 Dans Journey Around The World [FM15]
ChrissBurns1993
#261945 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
Exactly! I haven't read in a few days I'll have a look when I finish work pal
#261915 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
#261880 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
I was apparently a well sought after man this summer after being offered interviews and being linked with club after club over the summer but I'm not going anywhere any time soon, all approaches were rejected. We had a very active pre-season this summer and there will be many people who will disagree with a few of my decisions over that period. Of those decisions it's fair to say that we, sorry I, will receive a fair bit of stick for my decision to play twelve of the best teams in Europe for our pre-season. Subsequently we were beaten in almost all of those matches with people claiming that my lads would be disheartened by their pre-season as a result. Between gate receipts, season tickets and player sales we raised twenty million last month and I'm certainly not going to care if we come in for some criticism because for me, raising that kind of money is what this club should be doing and the fact that they weren't doing that a couple of years ago sunk this great club. Our players won't be locking themselves away crying because they lost a couple of friendlies! I arranged those friendlies but I let Michael Lindeman take control of them as in all honesty I've absolute no interest in friendlies. In between those friendlies we overcame Dinamo Zagreb nine two on aggregate and that is an extraordinary result given the stature of the Croation club, we've also gave ourselves a great chance of progressing to the Champions League Play-Offs as we hold a two nil lead over Videoton from the first leg. I was in two minds whether to sell Fraser Aird and Patrick Bamford but we kept receiving bids for them and when our asking price was eventually matched I made the decision to accept the offers for them. Twelve and a half million is tremendous profit on two lads who haven't cost us a thing while we'll also benefit from any future sale of the two players as we've inserted a clause in their deals which will see us get fifty percent fee of any future transfer either player may make. After two years of chasing him we eventually managed to get John Souttar in the door and he will be a big player in the centre of our defence for many, many years. After Matej Delac's successful loan deal with us last season I was looking to bring him in permanently with his contract expired but unfortunately he decided to go to Manchester United where he will spend his time in the reserves for the foreseeable future, probably, Alphonse Areola was brought in as our new number one goalkeeper and hopefully he can finally fulfil some of the potential that's been expected of him for years. Seeing Nick Powell without a club I decided to bring the lad in and then immediately loan him out to Premiership side Watford after they bid two hundred thousand a month plus his full wage for a year. That's almost two million in profit without us even having to do anything with him. Our new/old striker Steven Naismith picked up an injury in training which will see him miss four or five months of football with knee tendonitis. I'm hugely positive about the upcoming season regardless of any negatives or doubts anyone may have.
#261815 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
After our three wins in March sent us ten points clear at the top of the table we needed to win just three of our next six games to lift the league title. A two nil win over Aberdeen seemed comfortable enough but again we needed to give the players a half time rollicking to get them firing on all cylinders. That was followed up by an emphatic four one victory over Kilmarnock and it was disappointing to concede, with their late penalty giving them a consolation. In the game that we could wrap up the title race, we did just that. Aberdeen gave us a fright as we went two up, then conceded, scored one more, then conceded again but Gregg Wylde added a fourth to send us into the break four two up. Fraser Aird added a fifth goal only for Harry Wilson to again pull one back for the home side but that was all they could muster up as the match finished five three and we were crowned champions of the Scottish Premiership Football League for the first time in five years, first time winning the newly branded SPFL too. With Celtic slipping up against Hamilton and St. Mirren this month we were fourteen points clear of them ahead of our match. The gulf in quality shone through as a much different Rangers side showed up for this Old Firm clash compared with the last one which Celtic won two nil. Pavel Savitskiy opened the scoring with a penalty in the first minute and then added a third on the sixty fifth minute, inbetween Martin Odegaard's 18th minute goal. Jesse Lingard wrapped up an excellent performance and victory with his late goal giving us the four nil win. Our final two matches of the season weren't our best or most comfortable as we narrowly beat Motherwell and St. Mirren, conceding in both matches was a disappointment too. After we beat Celtic they went on to lose and draw their next two games in the league and remarkably fell to a three one defeat in the Scottish Cup by Tommy Craig's St. Mirren, a great retirement present for the buddies outgoing manager. It was those league slip ups which saw Celtic slide further and further behind us in the league however and in the end we ran away with it on one hundred points as well as that we were also the team to score the most and concede the least amount of goals in the league.
#261814 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
#261789 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
#261770 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
Getting beat two nil by Celtic in our last match was a big kick in the teeth for us and a potential dent in our title hopes. My players had to bounce back from that and we had a little meeting just to reassure them about how well they've done this season and that just one final push could over this crucial last stage of the campaign could see them deservedly become league champions. The players responded in exactly the way that we had asked and that we required as we won our three games in this short month. A two nil victory over Motherwell started us off and then a great midfield display against Dundee United saw us run out three one winners with three different midfielders getting on the scoresheet. Things weren't exactly plain sailing again St. Mirren and it took a half time bollocking to get the players going but they did get going. Our wingers got the goals for us in the second half and it was Pavel Savitskiy's fourteenth goal of the season which kicked things off and then the impressive Jesse Lingard netted his sixth and seventh goals in just sixteen games to seal it. Whilst we played just three games in March Celtic played six times and a bit of fatigue may have set in for them as they slipped to a five four defeat against Kilmarnock and a one one draw with Ross County. That slip up by them sent us ten points clear at the top of the table with six games remaining and the league title was ours to lose now,
#261760 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
With twelve goals in four games it's fair to say we found our scoring boots in February but our month ended in disappointing circumstances nonetheless. We hammered Kilmarnock five nil in our first match of the month and with them overtaking Motherwell into third position in the league it was quite the performance over a team fairly close to us. It was just a one nil victory which took us over the line against Ross County and what a boring game that was after Patrick Bamford put is in the lead in the first minute. An excellent first twenty five minute spell against Hamilton Academical had us in cruise control as we led five nil at such an early stage of the game. Hamilton recovered slightly though and scored two goals in the ten minutes afterwards. A goal by substitute John Fleck rounded off another big one for us before it was time to face our closest title rivals Celtic. Not a performance to be proud of by my lads against our Old Firm rivals as they comfortably beat us two nil and if I'm honest it was lucky not to be any more than the two goals. Verdict? Must do better, five points separate us and Celtic now.
#261747 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
After a disappointing last couple of games it was absolutely vital that we got back to winning ways if we wanted to re-establish a bigger lead over our nearest rivals for the title once again. With the club now in a better position I made the decision to dismiss my previous assistant manager Steve Kember and bring in Inverness' manager Martin Jol's ex assistant Michael Lindeman. The Dutchman will be a great addition as his experience with big clubs will ensure that standards won't be slipping here with him and myself striving for greatness here. We had a little setback against Motherwell after opening the month with a narrow win over St. Mirren but thankfully that was to be the only points we'd drop in January as we won four games in a row immediately after. The lads were getting to grips very comfortably with our change of tactical strategy and as a result we steamrollered Aberdeen, Partick Thistle, Dundee and Inverness Caley Thistle. None of our results were won by as many goals as we'd like but our possession has been incredible in the last month and that's something which we hope will lead the way to more goals in the long run. After having a chat with Patrick Bamford and putting it to him in no uncertain terms that he needed to score more goals the lad netted five times in six games this month which is exactly what we need from him. There were two departures this month too as Luca Gasparatto joined Italian side Brescia for 500k and Anderson left on loan to Brighton. Anderson has been impressive in the games he's played for us but Brighton offered 100k per month to loan the midfielder and we felt it was a deal worth accepting, unfortunately he has since been ruled out for eight months with damaged cruciate ligaments.
#261746 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
#261687 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
An away trip to Dundee kicked off the month for us and it was quite an eventful match with six goals scored all in, We got more than Dundee though and a Ryan Hardie double helped us toward that win. Three further narrow wins over Kilmarnock, Ross County and Dundee United were hardly convincing but the performances by the players on the day were just enough. The same can't be said for the last two games that were played in December though as we needed a 90th minute goal from GMS(Gary Mackay-Steven) to snatch a measly draw. Against Celtic for just the second time in my short managerial career things didn't go to plan at all as we lost our first league game of the season. A terrible, terrible result considering we dominated the from start to finish and had twenty shots to their six. What we're really missing is an out and out 20+ a season goalscorer as Patrick Bamford just isn't capable of that despite playing well. After a busy festive period we still sit top of the table, Celtic getting the victory over us has cut that lead down slightly however. Motherwell have slipped down the table slightly but having recently been taken over by Greek tycoon Stelios Kostikos their manager Felix Magath will have plenty of money to spend on improving his squad to put up a fight for one of the top two positions in the league in the second half of the season once again.
#261677 On a quest to be the best. [FM15]
ChrissBurns1993
#261577 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
Despite a lacklustre performance and eventual defeat to Dundee United in the Scottish Communities League cup last time out Rangers made just the one change and that one was forced on them as Lee Wallace was suspended, he was replaced by Kyle Bartley. There were no goals in the first half of this game and Rangers seemed to come out from the break with a more focused and attacking intent as they went on to score a goal finally. Gary Mackay-Steven had a tap in after John Fleck's shot was saved and that was the only goal in this match as Rangers got the narrow 1-0 victory.
It was back to four full backs in defence for Rangers as Christopher Burns opts to rest a few key players with this match coming just a couple of days after the last. A further four changes were made to the midfield as Lewis MacLeod, Rhys McCabe, Fraser Aird and Pavel Savitskiy were selected ahead of Marc Crosas, John Fleck, Martin Odegaard and Jesse Lingard. Partick Thistle were a law into their own though as they weren't taking this one lying down. Steven Lawless put them ahead on 40 minutes. That lasted all of 3 minutes though as Rhys McCabe's first ever goal for Rangers pulled his team back level. Despite a couple of half time changes Rangers just couldn't make their domination count as the match petered out at 1-1 which still extends Rangers unbeaten league run to 12 games.
After another poor performance last time out there were some big changes to Rangers line up as Danny Wilson and Tyler Blackett return to the centre of defence, Martin Odegaard and Anderson, making his début, start in the centre of midfield as they replace Chris Brown, Conor Bell, Rhys McCabe and Gary Mackay-Steven. It was almost the same outcome of late for Rangers as they dominated from start to finish with almost no reward, even as Inverness went down to 10 men after Daniel Devine was sent off an hour in. A goal did eventually come though and that was through Martin Odegaard who spared Rangers blushes against rock bottom Caley Thisle. Anderson went off injured....
Just two changes to Rangers team for this William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round tie against Kilmarnock and those were Robby McRorie and Ryan Hardie in, Matej Delac and Patrick Bamford out. It would seem as though Rangers have forgot to play however. Pavel Savitskiy put his team in front but just 17 minutes later it was 2-1 Kilmarnock as the away side fell to pieces. With injuries to Fraser Aird and the impressive Anderson Rangers were forced into a couple of changes but just couldn't get to grips with the game and David Goodwillie added a 3rd for Kilmarnock as Rangers crashed out of another cup competition.
#261575 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
Three free agents make the move to Rangers
With the transfer window shut and his team performing well you'd think Christopher Burns would be happy with his Rangers side but apparently not as he has brought in three midfielders over the past month. It has been the midfield who have excelled primarily for Rangers this season but obviously there's always room for improvement and that must be Burns' thinking behind these moves. First in the door was Jesse Lingard then Anderson both formerly of Manchester United joined soon after. Sandwiched inbetween those two was the signing of ex Barcelona and Celtic midfielder Marc Crosas. There have been some doubts raised over the signings as Anderson has long been a player troubled by injury and form which has resulted in a lack of appearances of these last few years. Crosas has played in the Ukraine and Mexico since leaving Celtic but it's that Celtic association that seems to be the stickler for the 'Gers supporters as they struggle to understand their managers decision to sign the Spaniard. Lingard was tipped as 'the next big thing' for a while at Manchester United but he was never really given the chance to prove himself there. Loan spells with Brighton, Birmingham and Fulham have been fairly good for the attacking midfielder though and he'll be hoping to finally prove himself here at Ibrox as will Anderson and Crosas.
#261571 On a quest to be the best. [FM15]
ChrissBurns1993
#261570 Rangers, Rangers Rangers. Problem, problem, problem.
ChrissBurns1993
With eight injuries within Rangers first team there were two under 20's players on the team sheet and it was Ross Lyon and Matt McLaughlin who were brought up to get a taste of the Old Firm derby. Those two of course started on the bench while John Fleck came in for the injured David Templeton. Surprisingly though there was a first change of formation for Rangers this season as manager Christopher Burns opted to play a 4-2-3-1 system. With the game in it's early stages Pavel Savitskiy's surging run down the right wing brought about a goal in 2 minutes as Lewis MacLeod tapped the ball in from a great cross by the Belarusian winger. Rookie Celtic defender Eoghan O'Connell got himself sent off just 15 minutes into the game which put his team under immense pressure. Rangers seemed to amp up the pressure with an attacking display from then on out as Celtic never recovered. Goal number 2 came with 15 minutes to go as stand in centre back Lee Wallace netted past international team mate Craig Gordon after being assisted by local boy and man of the match Conor Bell. An excellent display by the away side and a great first victory for their manager to cherish. That result sent Rangers top of the league after Motherwell slipped up and lost 1-0 to Dundee.
After an excellent derby win over Celtic last time out there was to be only one change for Rangers as Tyler Blackett was ruled out for this game against St. Mirren and as such he was replaced by Chris Brown, meaning there were four full backs playing in defence. There's no point in going too in depth with this match so we'll just say three words to sum it up; Savitsky + penalty = win.
With title challengers Motherwell visiting Ibrox Rangers manager Christopher Burns decided not to make any changes to his team. After a first half annihilation it took 44 minutes before Rangers got a goal and that goal came through Emmanuel Eboue who headed in from a Lee Wallace free kick. Wallace's next course of action in the game was to get himself sent off and his red card came with 20 odd minutes left to play which could've been a game changer for his side. Fortunately for him and Rangers though it wasn't, not in a bad way at least, Gary Mackay-Steven set up Patrick Bamford for goal number 2 and Pavel Savitskiy scored goal number 3 from Conor Bell's long throw in to complete the scoring and the 3-0 victory. A victory which extends Rangers unbeaten run this season to thirteen matches.
There were a couple of changes in this last match of October against Dundee United in this Scottish Communities League Cup quarter-final as Danny Wilson and Tyler Blackett reclaim their places at the heart of the defence with youngsters Chris Brown and Conor Bell dropped to the bench. Two new signings made their début from the start too and it was former Celtic and Barcelona midfielder Marc Crosas who replaced Rhys McCabe in midfield. He was joined by former Manchester United attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard who replaced Pavel Savitskiy who was given a rest. The last change was the return of Martin Odegaard, coming in for Lewis MacLeod after a spell out injured. This game was to be Christopher Burns undoing though as the game remained goalless until the 76th minute when Jordan Moore scored the winning goal for United which sees his team progress through to the next round instead of Rangers despite the home side dominating the match from start to finish.