Caught by the Fuzz?
The summer always sets tabloid speculation into overdrive. Not only are the wildfire transfer rumours spreading intensely, but with a lack of on-pitch action to describe in the press, attention has also turned to off-pitch events, and over the past two days a significant story broke involving Rangers and two Premiership sides; Newcastle United and Portsmouth.
News emerged on Monday the 16th lunchtime that search warrants had been deployed to ‘raid’ the aforementioned clubs’ grounds and other locations in connection with football corruption. There was a strict lack of concrete information about what exactly the connection was supposed to be, but unsurprisingly the recent Stevens’ report, which detailed many dubious transfers, was name checked more than once, with its highlighting of the Jean-Alain Boumsong transaction to Newcastle being rounded upon, and automatically causing implication on Rangers’ part in light of the lack of any solid news to the contrary.
It remains unclear, on official grounds at least, exactly what the investigation is explicitly trying to establish, albeit the police statement served only to suggest a serious problem of which the clubs searched may have been guilty of; "We can confirm that search warrants were served at three football clubs and the homes of two individuals in connection with corruption in football and its impact on owners and shareholders."
It has, however, been strongly argued that this is merely ‘procedure’ and the clubs involved are simply assisting in a police investigation, but an official lack of information serves only to cause smoke and mirrors in the search for the facts and not tabloid sensationalism.
Whatever this story actually centres on will hopefully float to the surface fairly soon, and Rangers’ involvement revealed as nothing more than routine compliance with official procedure.
In lighter news, Rangers played Bundesliga outfit Hanover 96 in a friendly on 17th Tuesday. It was served up as Rangers’ most significant friendly yet and their biggest in the German tour which has thus far served up two victories.
Sadly, the match at the AWD Arena did not follow this pattern, with a slightly disappointing 1-0 reverse the outcome. The side played reasonably well, with undeniable solidity throughout, never more highlighted than by the winning goal being with the aid of a very messy deflection off the helpless Weir. The defence was otherwise organised enough, and dealt with most Hannover attackers with the minimum of fuss. Cuellar looks to be a quality signing, and Hutton’s progress continues, albeit a couple of red-mist moments highlighted his occasionally dreadful temperament. The midfield was rather quiet albeit not outright poor, and the attack was likewise uninvolved until a few changes were served up, particularly the introduction of Jean-Claude Darcheville who looked lively, sharp, strong and skilful and was the single reason Rangers began to look zestier up front. It led to no reward though, and a defeat was Rangers’ punishment for a lack of guile overall.
There can be no doubt this Rangers team is not the finished article, and manager Smith still has some major decisions to make with regards how he will organise his troops over the coming campaign.
The fans await with interest.
News emerged on Monday the 16th lunchtime that search warrants had been deployed to ‘raid’ the aforementioned clubs’ grounds and other locations in connection with football corruption. There was a strict lack of concrete information about what exactly the connection was supposed to be, but unsurprisingly the recent Stevens’ report, which detailed many dubious transfers, was name checked more than once, with its highlighting of the Jean-Alain Boumsong transaction to Newcastle being rounded upon, and automatically causing implication on Rangers’ part in light of the lack of any solid news to the contrary.
It remains unclear, on official grounds at least, exactly what the investigation is explicitly trying to establish, albeit the police statement served only to suggest a serious problem of which the clubs searched may have been guilty of; "We can confirm that search warrants were served at three football clubs and the homes of two individuals in connection with corruption in football and its impact on owners and shareholders."
It has, however, been strongly argued that this is merely ‘procedure’ and the clubs involved are simply assisting in a police investigation, but an official lack of information serves only to cause smoke and mirrors in the search for the facts and not tabloid sensationalism.
Whatever this story actually centres on will hopefully float to the surface fairly soon, and Rangers’ involvement revealed as nothing more than routine compliance with official procedure.
In lighter news, Rangers played Bundesliga outfit Hanover 96 in a friendly on 17th Tuesday. It was served up as Rangers’ most significant friendly yet and their biggest in the German tour which has thus far served up two victories.
Sadly, the match at the AWD Arena did not follow this pattern, with a slightly disappointing 1-0 reverse the outcome. The side played reasonably well, with undeniable solidity throughout, never more highlighted than by the winning goal being with the aid of a very messy deflection off the helpless Weir. The defence was otherwise organised enough, and dealt with most Hannover attackers with the minimum of fuss. Cuellar looks to be a quality signing, and Hutton’s progress continues, albeit a couple of red-mist moments highlighted his occasionally dreadful temperament. The midfield was rather quiet albeit not outright poor, and the attack was likewise uninvolved until a few changes were served up, particularly the introduction of Jean-Claude Darcheville who looked lively, sharp, strong and skilful and was the single reason Rangers began to look zestier up front. It led to no reward though, and a defeat was Rangers’ punishment for a lack of guile overall.
There can be no doubt this Rangers team is not the finished article, and manager Smith still has some major decisions to make with regards how he will organise his troops over the coming campaign.
The fans await with interest.
posted by RangersMedia @ 7:25 PM
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