**Official** English Football Season 2025/26

[Tangles]

Amorim’s system is a bit of a red herring. The only obvious alternative is very similar to what Ten Hag played, and we didn’t look any better then. Our squad is a bit like the one Emery inherited at Arsenal where it’s almost impossible to assemble a tactically coherent system. The lack of ball winning ability in midfield is so acute that it can’t really be worked around.

That’s obviously not to say Amorim is doing a good job. He’s been there a year and it’s hard to see any positive impact whatsoever. Our first priority in this cycle should have been to develop our promising young players and instead he’s forcing them out. At this point it’s probably worth firing him just to keep Garnacho and Mainoo at the club. But the recruitment is so bad that it won’t really make any difference.

I said before ETH was sacked and Ole what’s the point with no real plan. Fergie papered the cracks of the Glazer player approach. Without him every manager is walking into the island of misfit toys. Even pragmatic Jose peaked at 2nd then the players dgaf. There’s a rot that’s fatal to progress post Fergie.

Mainoo should stay. He’s still young and developing. Garnacho seems to be toxic and needs to go.

They won’t do it or can’t do it, but the squad needs to be flushed. The silly wages and the soft mentality are linked and need to go. Needs to be ruthless and en masse and they won’t do it.

 

[Ali TT]

In think the whole argument/debate about whether Rangers/Celtic were of a comparable standard to the top English Prem sides died by 2003 at the latest to be honest. I remember Rangers being drawn in the same CL group as Man Utd that year and the press trying to build it up as a "battle of Britain". But in reality both matches between them were complete damp squibs where Man Utd didn't have to get out of first gear to get the win, with midfield dynamo/goal machine Phil Neville (of all people) dominating proceedings. I don't remember anyone speaking seriously about Rangers being deserving of a place in the English Prem ever since.

But probably not unfair to say the two Glasgow teams would be top10 in the PL around then, if not pushing the likes of Newcastle, Everton, Liverpool for the 4/5th slots. Looking back at the tables from then, Charlton came seventh that season and Middlesbrough the year after and I don't think Rangers or Celtic would've feared playing either of them. Agree that the gap in quality exploded after then

 

[sledger]

But probably not unfair to say the two Glasgow teams would be top10 in the PL around then, if not pushing the likes of Newcastle, Everton, Liverpool for the 4/5th slots. Looking back at the tables from then, Charlton came seventh that season and Middlesbrough the year after and I don't think Rangers or Celtic would've feared playing either of them. Agree that the gap in quality exploded after then

Probably. Charlton and Boro weren't prank teams in those days though, to be fair to them.

 

[Uppercut]

Celtic played a pretty good Blackburn team in the UEFA cup around then and won 3-0. They were better than most PL teams. I would have said their level dropped off after the Henrik Larsson & Rangers Tax Fraud era, and the more significant PL quality explosion is in the past 10 years or so.

 

[Pothas]

Question for @Furball but could another club actually challenge for the title at some point? I know Celtic especially still have a huge financial advantage so probably not but if one of them was particularly well run or something.

 

[Niall]

Question for @Furball but could another club actually challenge for the title at some point? I know Celtic especially still have a huge financial advantage so probably not but if one of them was particularly well run or something.

Hearts from all accounts are quite a serious team these days and Tony Bloom has said they want to win it in the next ten years.

Bloom is not a man to underestimate.

Tony Bloom: Hearts title and Scottish football not going to be two-horse race aim

Tony Bloom has stated his plans for Hearts to challenge the Old Firm

www.heartsstandard.co.uk

 

[Furball]

Question for @Furball but could another club actually challenge for the title at some point? I know Celtic especially still have a huge financial advantage so probably not but if one of them was particularly well run or something.

Hearts could. There's quite a sizeable fan base in and around Edinburgh, and they've got access to Tony Bloom's scouting data.

Celtic have a massive financial advantage, but much like Rangers in the 1990s, the financial advantage masks just how badly they're run.

 

[Furball]

In terms of revenue maybe, but any suggestion that Rangers were amongst the top 20 teams in Europe in 2005 in terms of footballing ability is absolutely fanciful.

I'm not going to argue the straw man argument you've created.

My point about Rangers being a potentially top Premier League club is because 20 years ago we were able to generate revenue that outstripped most of the league despite getting **** all in the way of TV revenue; our match day revenues outstripped the top Serie A sides at the time. You put Rangers of 2005 in the Premier League, with access to Premier League TV money, and we would have had the revenue to be able to compete financially with the top English clubs for players and managers.

Whether those players and managers would have wanted to come north to Glasgow is another thing - even in the late 80s with the Heysel ban, while we were attractive to English players (more players in the Italia 90 squad than any other club) the absolute elite English talent were still playing for the big English clubs or were based abroad. I think we would probably be similar to Newcastle in that they also struggle to attract really elite players; London based clubs have a huge advantage they didn't have 20 years ago in this regard.

As to your 2003 point, Rangers were already on the decline by that point and facing the first financial challenges brought on by David Murray's dreadful running of the club.

As Uppercut pointed out, Celtic (with the 5th highest wage bill in the UK) knocked out Blackburn (and Liverpool) en route to the 2003 UEFA Cup final.

I think our 1999/2000 team would have given Man Utd (or any other English side) a right good game. We really should have knocked Bayern Munich out of the Champions League, how we contrived to get 1 point from the two games is beyond me.

 

[sledger]

Oh

 

[Tom Flint]

I'm not going to argue the straw man argument you've created.

My point about Rangers being a potentially top Premier League club is because 20 years ago we were able to generate revenue that outstripped most of the league despite getting **** all in the way of TV revenue; our match day revenues outstripped the top Serie A sides at the time. You put Rangers of 2005 in the Premier League, with access to Premier League TV money, and we would have had the revenue to be able to compete financially with the top English clubs for players and managers.

Whether those players and managers would have wanted to come north to Glasgow is another thing - even in the late 80s with the Heysel ban, while we were attractive to English players (more players in the Italia 90 squad than any other club) the absolute elite English talent were still playing for the big English clubs or were based abroad. I think we would probably be similar to Newcastle in that they also struggle to attract really elite players; London based clubs have a huge advantage they didn't have 20 years ago in this regard.

As to your 2003 point, Rangers were already on the decline by that point and facing the first financial challenges brought on by David Murray's dreadful running of the club.

As Uppercut pointed out, Celtic (with the 5th highest wage bill in the UK) knocked out Blackburn (and Liverpool) en route to the 2003 UEFA Cup final.

I think our 1999/2000 team would have given Man Utd (or any other English side) a right good game. We really should have knocked Bayern Munich out of the Champions League, how we contrived to get 1 point from the two games is beyond me.

Even now if you put current rangers and celtic in the pl and a seasons tv money up front then I would back them to stay up. 2nd season top 10 and after that competing for the European places.

 

[Skipper Pup]

I said before ETH was sacked and Ole what’s the point with no real plan. Fergie papered the cracks of the Glazer player approach. Without him every manager is walking into the island of misfit toys. Even pragmatic Jose peaked at 2nd then the players dgaf. There’s a rot that’s fatal to progress post Fergie.

Mainoo should stay. He’s still young and developing. Garnacho seems to be toxic and needs to go.

They won’t do it or can’t do it, but the squad needs to be flushed. The silly wages and the soft mentality are linked and need to go. Needs to be ruthless and en masse and they won’t do it.

Ragnick diagnosed it best and was shown the door for his honesty. Similarly, Ronaldo called it out and the fan base turned on him.

Mainoo is sensible trying to get himself a loan, he knows it's simply a case of biding his time until Amorim is sacked.

Man United fans are going to hate it but the only bloke who's fit for the job that can come in and handle the dressing room while also managing the media is Southgate. There might be some immediate casualties in terms of primadonna Bruno types, but in the long run it'll be a net positive.

 

[Uppercut]

Aye and I think Liverpool should fire Slot and hire Steven Gerrard. He knows the club.

 

[sledger]

Aye and I think Liverpool should fire Slot and hire Steven Gerrard. He knows the club.

Nah you've got it all wrong. John Barnes is the club man needed.