Rangers haven’t been big spenders in the transfer market since the days of Dick Advocaat and have been even more reticent to break the budget since the dark days of 2012.
When Steven Gerrard took over as manager, he was given a decent budget to build the sort of squad necessary to win the league.
Most of the players who arrived had been in his little black book for a while, however, there was one player who had already shown that he could be a difference maker for Rangers.
Jamie Murphy tells how Rangers move nearly collapsed
Speaking to the Open Goal podcast, former Rangers winger Jamie Murphy has spoken about how his dream Ibrox move came about and why it nearly didn’t happen before Gerrard rubber stamped a summer deal.
This isn’t a secret, however, at the time there were reports of fans from a certain club bombarding Brighton with emails about Rangers financial situation and their ability to pay for Murphy in the January window of 2018.
Given that Rangers summer rebuild would go on to see over 20 players leave and a similar number arrive, it makes the situation even more bizarre.
When asked about sealing a move to Rangers, Murphy explained the behind the scene’s skullduggery:
“It was a bit of a fiasco. I fly up on the Thursday and have the first part of the medical. The second part of the medical is the Friday so I do that and I’ve to go to Murray Park because they were flying out to Florida so it was trying to get it all done for then.
“It was a transfer, no loan so it gets to 2 o’clock and they needed to get some stuff done with Brighton, but they weren’t really responding so we just had to sit for a bit. It gets to 5,6,7 o’clock and the Rangers boys have all met up now. They couldn’t get a hold of them.
“My agent then got a hold of them and they said the deal’s off. Let’s just say another SPL team had phoned them and told them that Rangers couldn’t afford it, they’d no money.
“I was actually sitting with a McDonald’s because we’d been in there all day, wondering what’s going on. There was no food! Mark Allen said not to worry, leave it to them and they’d sort it.
“It gets to 11 o’clock at night and he’s like nah, they’ve said it’s off. So I phoned Paul Barber, the chief executive at Brighton and told him I was not coming back down, there is no chance on this earth. I’d moved the wife, the kids, we were in a house and selling the one down south.
“Paul said, ‘Unfortunately Jamie, sometimes this happens,’ and I hung the phone up. My agent is on the phone with them all day and the next day. Brighton said it could be a loan and Rangers have to pay this money. It’s all agreed, are you alright with that? I was like aye, just get me in.”
What might have been after Murrphy’s Rangers dream turned sour
After starring on loan the previous season, Murphy started the Steven Gerrard era with a bang, scoring the first goal of the former Gers boss’ reign.
Murphy then suffered the cruelest of blows when league action kicked off after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, a trauma not helped by Kirk Broadfoot’s over zealous defending.
Not blessed with lightening pace, Murphy’s game was one built on movement and trickery, skills that are heavily dependent on having good knees.
Despite still playing, and doing well, for Ayr United in the Championship now, Murphy never fully recovered but has at least been able to enjoy a long career at a good level.
After producing six goals and 10 assists in his initial six-month, 19 game loan spell, Gerrard thought he had the experienced winger capable of producing numbers to give balance to the raw but exciting Ryan Kent on the other flank.
With both players capable of switching flanks, it seemed like the perfect balance.
It’s just a shame that one of football’s good guys never got to enjoy the success that his talent deserved at the club he loved, in a move that so nearly never came off due to the pathetic actions of those who will always be jealous of Rangers.
