Rangers have found themselves too many points and too far behind Celtic both on and off the pitch in recent years.
Despite winning the Scottish Premiership in record breaking style, those who have been responsible for running the Ibrox outfit have somehow managed to conspire to take the club back to where Steven Gerrard started.
Money, despite popular belief, hasn’t been the problem, with current manager Philippe Clement inheriting a Rangers squad that was a shambles.
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Why Rangers need to look at Celtic’s player trading model
Nils Koppen has spoken about player trading, as has Patrick Stewart the CEO, with several areas that need to be addressed.
Signing more domestic talent is essential, as is promoting youth players from Rangers’ academy.
Experience will always be needed too, but they have to be the right profile.
If Rangers are to catch Celtic, a good start would be to look at what they have done right.
Looking at most of the players that they have signed who have been key players or sold for big money, they were affordable for Rangers too.
Daizen Maeda was offered to Ross Wilson, Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley cost less than Mohamed Diomande – combined.
What Celtic have also done, and why they have been able to compete in the Champions League this season, is sign players with pace and athleticism and were seconds away from shocking Bayern Munich because of this.
As the level of football goes up, so does the technical ability of the average player, what makes the elite, elite, is that they are also fitter and quicker.
What is Rangers biggest recruitment problem?
Spending the best part of £8m on players like Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers has to be a thing of the past.
Signing players because they were once good or they were watched a few years ago, they have to meet a certain physical or developmental profile.
Not only had neither of the two strikers had good seasons before joining Rangers, they arrived with players like Fashion Sakala and Ryan Kent leaving.
Pace causes problems domestically, but on the continent it allows teams to compete at a level that they maybe couldn’t normally, and it doesn’t have to break the bank.
