ChrissBurns1993 - Comments

David Somers today announced that the winner of the 'choose the next manager' vote was Rangers current under 16's coach; Christopher Burns. With all the controversy at Rangers these past few years they could truly have outdone themselves with this one. The thinking behind this decision is somewhat barmy, of course the fans want to be heard and considered but to give them the sole responsibility of picking the new manager of such an institutional club is quite bonkers. That's what happened though and despite the inclusion of the higher profile names such as Barry Ferguson and Terry Butcher, Christopher Burns is the man the fans choose as their winner. It has been widely speculated that fans of rival clubs such as bitter rivals Celtic have hijacked the voting in order to embarrass the club further. Nonetheless the decision has been made and Burns is the man with his name on the manager's door at Ibrox. It has been confirmed that the 30-year-old Christopher Burns has been placed in charge on a 1-year deal on just under 5k per week. Either a very bold move has been made by the club or a very desperate one.. as expected most people have declared that it's most likely the latter. The Scottish, Rutherglen born man is a Rangers fan and has worked with their under 16's for several years now and that, some would say, makes the appointment that little bit easier to comprehend. We do however have an interview coming up with the new manager who will take his first press conference alongside chairman David Somers shortly.

Hayley McQueen leads our interview with Burns;

Hayley McQueen: Thanks for joining us Christopher and congratulations on the new job, it's fair to say this has come as a bit of a surprise to us all?.

Chris Burns: Thank you Hayley, yes it has been a bit of a whirlwind these past few days.

Hayley McQueen: I'm sure everyone is as intrigued as we all are by your appointment it is a bit out there isn't it?

Chris Burns: I must admit it is quite.. unorthodox! Having said that I really can't complain can I?

Hayley McQueen: Certainly not Chris, is this the dream job then?

Chris Burns: It is indeen Hayley, I've loved this club from my early years and to have worked here these past couple of years has been a dream come true but this? This is something else this is fairytale come true stuff for me. I can't wait to get started.

Hayley McQueen: What do you make of the speculation that you have been appointed after the voting was hijacked by fans of rival clubs?

Chris Burns: It's merely speculation and no one other than the people that voted know why I was chosen but the fact is that I have been. If it was hijacked and that's the reason that I'm here then I say thank you, thank you for putting me in charge of my favourite team. Listen I'm no joke character I'm serious about this club and I want to make a success of my time here. I have all the badges needed to be here and I intend to be here a long time.

Hayley McQueen: You've been given a 1-year contract Chris, what do you think you can do over the course of the season to extend your stay beyond that?

Chris Burns: Well I think that over these past few season we've massively underachieved by only winning the leagues which were inevitable. The league and the challenge cup should have been a minimum requirement and this season I intend to achieve that minimum and also go further by trying to win the Scottish Cup or the League Cup, even both.

Hayley McQueen: Do you think the team you have at your disposal is capable of that?

Chris Burns: Absolutely not, no. I'm not a great fan of Ally's work here as manager and his transfers have been a big factor in that as I think they have been a great disappointment.

Hayley McQueen: So will you be looking to make some changes then and if so do you think you'll receive the backing from the board?

Chris Burns: I will be making drastic changes yes. I'll be starting with the back room staff and getting rid of anyone I feel aren't worthy of their job title. The same will apply with the players and I'll be cutting out the deadwood immediately.

Hayley McQueen: So we're in for a busy summer at Rangers then Chris, what do you make of the most recent signings of Kenny Miller, Kris Boyd, Darren McGregor, Marius Zaliukas and Lee Robinson?

Chris Burns: To be honest I wouldn't have brought any of those players in but that's not me saying they aren't quality players. I feel that the money spent on Boyd and Miller could have been utilised way better. I am a massive fan of Kris Boyd and I thought him and Kenny linked up brilliant during their time here before but this is a time when we should be looking to the future and trying to build a team for that future, not reminiscing and bringing back players who've been successful before. Youth should have been the way forward for us when we went into the Third division but it hasn't worked like that and that's something I want to change.

Hayley McQueen: Thank you very much for speaking with us Chris and we look forward to seeing how you get on, good luck.

In the aftermath of Rangers legend Alistair McCoist's sacking by David Somers Rangers have opened themselves up to more ridicule than could be thought possible when the club decided to have a 'choose the next manager' vote. In has been branded both desperate and a huge publicity stunt by the media, pundits and former players not to mention the scores of unhappy fans but the Rangers board have decided that for just £5 per vote the next manager of Rangers would be chosen by the fans. Alongside the likes of Barry Ferguson, Alex Rae, Terry Butcher and Stuart McCall were the seemingly outside options of Jamie Ramsden(fitness coach), Jim Stewart (goalkeeping coach) and Christopher Burns(under 16's coach) and although you would think those last 3 that were mentioned were the most inappropriate for the job, they actually accumulated a majority of the votes than any of the other 4 candidates. It has certainly raised the matter of the club's integrity that they have stooped so low in their search for a new manager. Christopher Burns has the most votes as he has 27% of the 100,000 votes. It can only be assumed that some rival fans have hijacked the votes in an attempt to further humiliate Rangers, if possible. Although having said that, Rangers under 16's group have done really well recently while Ally McCoist was quite consistent in overlooking the youth players that the club has at their disposal which may raise the theory that the fans want to see a more vibrant youthful squad playing for their club. Suffice to say this one has certainly caught the attention in the media, locally and worldwide. David Somers has caused quite a stir and it would seem that he's just the latest in a long line of unsuitable chairmen looking to make a mockery of a once great club.

Christopher Burns 27%
Barry Ferguson 17%
Jamie Ramsden 15%
Jim Stewart 12%
Terry Butcher 12%
Stuart McCall 11%
Alex Rae 6%

There has been a truly unexpected announcement over at Rangers football club today and it has been revealed that Ally McCoist has been sacked by David Somers. It seems the board have finally caved in to the section of fans who wanted McCoist out. It all seems rather odd given that the manager was allowed to conduct transfer activity for up to a month before this announcement. Having brought Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller back to the club it seemed that McCoist was building for a 3 successive league trophy having won Leagues 2 and 1 consecutively. Some awful displays in cup competitions will have contributed massively to the boards decision to relieve the manager of his duties. There have been many criticism's of the former manager's reluctance to show faith in his younger players, aside from Lewis MacLeod and Fraser Aird not many of them have been given a chance. Many felt that youth was the way to go when Rangers were demoted but former SPL player's looking for a quick buck were the targets instead. As well as that, the long ball tactics got boring and the reluctance to change from this drew many critics as well. After 3 years in charge a trophy haul of just 2 (inevitable)league wins just doesn't cut it as regardless of Rangers demotion and financial worries the club still had the 2nd highest wage budget in Scotland and therefore should have done better over the past couple of years. Fan power won in the end though and despite receiving the backing from many fellow professionals not many can deny that Rangers have just scraped by these past few years when they should have been sailing through these leagues and winning trophies in the process, the Challenge Cup at the very least should have been a minimum regardless of it's significance in stature. It remains to be seen where the club go from here however.

Rangers task for the 2014/15 Scottish Championship campaign was made monumentally harder when Capital giants Hearts and Hibs were relegated. Hearts finished bottom of the Scottish Premiership while Hibs were shown up by Hamilton in a relegation/promotion decider. Many people are claiming that the Championship will be a much more exciting contest this season than the Premiership and Sky Sports and BT were quick to snap up more matches for the following season. Quite a few changes were made at the club over the summer and it started off with Andy Little, Emilson Cribari, Ross Perry, Chris Hegarty and Scott Gallacher leaving the club permanently while 8 players left the club to go out on loan including Barrie McKay. There was more criticism levelled at Ally McCoist when former 'Gers Kenny Miller, Kris Boyd and Lee Robinson were re-signed. Many felt that Boyd and Miller were past there best and that the signing of the duo was another huge waste of money. Defenders Marius Zaliukas and Darren McGregor also joined after leaving both Leeds and St. Mirren respectively. Regardless of the many naysayers, Rangers have brought in a couple of experienced players who should help to steady the ship, on the playing field at least. I bet every Rangers fan would settle for a bit of peace in the forthcoming season, no controversy just a team focused on winning the league. It's possible.. or not perhaps?....

After a somewhat turbulent 2012/13 season everyone at and connected with Rangers were hoping for a much happier stress free 2013/14 season. Of course that wasn't going to happen though and if we start of with the names of the following; Craig Whyte, Charles Green, Craig Mather, Brian Stockbridge, Imran Ahmad, Walter Smith, Ian Hart, Philip Cartmell, Bryan Smart, David Somers, Sandy Easdale, Graham Wallace, Malcolm Murray, Norman Crighton and James Easdale we have a list of at least 15 reasons that Rangers are still in such a mess. From chairmen to CEO's to directors, over the past 2 years Rangers have had to deal with 15 different personalities trying to, A. Help the club. B. Cash in on the club or C. Humiliate the club, not many of those men have actually helped the club if any have at all. That's not to mention the constant trying in vain of Dave King to try and re-stake a claim in the club. King does seem to be one man who want's to help the club and is willing to spend to help them do so but he's become quite accustomed to the cold shoulder from the Rangers boardroom these days. He's not quite the squeaky clean saviour Rangers need right now though as he battles tax evasion charges in South Africa. There were some transfer signing's amongst that chaos though and Cammy Bell, Nicky Law, Jon Daly, Nicky Clark, Arnold Peralta, Steven Smith, Ricky Foster, Bilel Mohsni and Steve Simonsen became the latest additions to Rangers playing staff. Those signings were much more exciting for the fans as Bell and Law in particular were deemed to be good additions to the squad. Neil Alexander, Dorin Goian, Carlos Bocanera and Anestis Argyriou were 4 of the highest profile players to leave while Barrie McKay, who had impressed last season, was farmed out on loan to Morton.

A much better league campaign resulted in an unbeaten season as they won 33 matches and drew 3. The season hadn't got off to the greatest of start's though as the 'lowly' Forfar knocked Rangers out of the League Cup in the first round, The newly acquired player's weren't able to play for the club until September the 3rd and that was the excuse that was made for the shock exit. No such excuses could be made in the back to back cup defeats to Raith Rovers and Dundee United in April though. Having improved on the year before Rangers made it to the final of the Challenge Cup where they faced Raith Rovers expecting to win comfortably. That didn't quite happen though and Raith won with a narrow 1-0 victory after scoring late in the match to stun the Ibrox side. More misery continued the following week when Dundee United provided a much sterner opposition in the Scottish Cup. Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven had United 2-0 on 35 minutes before Stevie Smith scored a 42nd minute free kick to give his team a lifeline. After a poor second half though Rangers couldn't keep their composure in front of goal and squandered chance after chance which came back to haunt them on the 83rd minute when Steven Simonsen took a heavy touch from Ricky Foster's pass and Dundee United's Nadir Ciftci capitalised on the 'keeper's error and nicked the ball off of him to make it 3-1 and knock Rangers out. Another disappointing season with regards to the cup competition's for The Gers piled more pressure on Ally McCoist. Yet again his signing's flattered to deceive and were deemed a waste of money which would be better spent promoting players from the youth academy and developing them further. Many fans were beginning to lose patience with McCoist's team's style of play and his poor decision's on transfers.

Throughout many coming's and going's in the boardroom, on the football field and in the back room there was only one constant at Rangers it would seem; Alistair McCoist. Rangers record goalscorer took over from Walter Smith in 2011 and appeared to have his dream job with a great squad of players around him such as Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Nikica Jelavic but the latter was sold just before Rangers gory financials became clear to everyone. After being ahead of Celtic in the title race before the new year Rangers blew it as the going's on off the field took their toll on the players and the focus just wasn't there, the club finished 2nd in the league, 20 points behind Celtic. The player's futures were up in the air and they weren't being paid, wage cuts were agreed to and a couple of players left the club but it wasn't enough to save them. In the summer of 2012 most of the club's senior players left and Bursaspor and Southampton beckoned for McGregor and Davis respectfully whilst others like Steven Naismith and Steven Whittaker followed the latter to the riches of the Premiership. McCoist was left with a threadbare squad, a discontented fan base and a cloud of uncertainty hanging over his boyhood club. The club got handed a transfer embargo but it didn't kick in until the 3rd of September which enabled the manager to make some signings for the coming years. Ian Black, Dean Shiels, David Templeton, Francisco Sandaza, Kevin Kyle, Emilson Cribari, Sebastian Faure, Anestis Argyriou and Francesco Stella were the men Ally McCoist brought in while Lee McCulloch, Lee Wallace and Neil Alexander were a few of the players who decided to stay on. Rangers predictably ran away with the league by 24 points but there were more than a couple of times when they flattered to deceive their loyal supporters. The major disappointment's came in the cup as an embarrassing 2-2 draw with Queen of the South went to penalties, which the Doonhammers won 4-3, was followed by a 3-0 defeat to Inverness Caley Thistle in the League cup quarter final and then a 3-0 defeat to Dundee united in the Scottish Cup 5th round completed a miserable set of knock out's. Many fans questioned McCoist and also his signing's that year. The main highlight was the emergence of a new fans favourite in Lewis MacLeod who was by far Rangers stand out player of the season and he was named Rangers young player of the year.

Rangers, Rangers, Rangers. Problem, problem, problem. Those words have become almost double barrelled these days as any Rangers fan would tell you, supporting their club these past few years has been pretty hard work. You could start it off with Sir David Murray selling the club to Craig Whyte but in reality the troubles had long started before. Murray's infamous declaration of; "For every five pounds Celtic spend, we will spend ten." was a bold and ambitious statement but it was fairytale stuff which just couldn't be sustained without continental success. The acquisition's of Tore Andre Flo from Chelsea for 12 million and Michael Ball from Everton for 8 million were signal's of intent but neither player worked out and their inflated fees just seemed ludicrous, especially considering the lack of continental success the club were having. The signings of such players were a key factor of the huge financial mismanagement throughout a long spell at the club. As well as the inflated transfer fees there were the high wages and the controversial payments into offshore accounts of the players. All in all things got pretty disastrous and really took a turn for the worse in the season of 2011/12 when the club went into administration on February 14th 2012 resulting in the club being deducted 10 points in the league. Worse was yet to come for the club though as a battle for power ensued between Whyte, Charles Green and Brian Kennedy amongst others as Rangers came closer to the reality that the club could go under. Charles Green and his mystery consortium eventually took charge and decided that the only way forward for the club was to liquidate their asset's and start again in the Third Division of Scottish Football. This was a major shock to everyone watching on as the everlasting spiral down and down continued for what was once considered a glorious club.

No worries, it did take some will power over the last 5 or so lol! Aye I'm trying to move about and win stuff so I'll find the motivation from somewhere haha! I've written about it in another forum but tbh it's gone quite dead, the stories in here seem to get quite a bit of feedback! Good luck with the next team.

Finally managed to read through all of this! Quite the career eh? Fair play to you for sticking with this even when things have got tough or when you've lost motivation! Since I started reading this I've started up my own story where I'll be doing this challenge too... Coincidently I ended up in South Africa before I'd reached the page and knew you'd been there haha! I've been at 5 teams in 4 years so far; Bienne of Switzerland, Black Leopards and Polokwane City of South Africa, Viktoria Koln and presently Duisburg of Germany. Seem to be losing interest already though!!!

Just about to read the 21st page.. You've had a great career so far, I'm looking forward to seeing what other clubs you've been to and will go to. I'm on a bit of an FM rampage in regards to playing it, doing my own story and reading yours! Try not to do too many more pages for now eh? The joys of 25 hour weeks with 3&4 hour shifts.. Resulting in 12+ hour FM stints a day lol

I've just come across this after looking for a new FM story to read I remembered this website used to have good ones when I was a frequent visitor years ago. I now have an impossible decision... I want to read this but... 46 pages? Shhhitttt this is gonna take a while I'm on page 3 so far