Dan Plumley may upset Rangers fans as sensible spending helps sustainability
We’re delighted to welcome football finance expert Dr Daniel Plumley as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Rangers...
Dan Plumley has admitted he is risking upsetting Rangers fans as their lack of spending has been viewed as a sensible approach this summer.
The Finance Expert insisted that clubs can take the risk of spending too much when reaching the Champions League, only to see it backfire down the line.
Rangers are already on the UEFA watchlist for Financial Fair Play compliance, and that may have reflected their lack of spending in the summer market, which concerned the fanbase.
“I think it might be, at the risk of upsetting some fans, a sensible approach,” he exclusively told Ibrox News.
“It does air on the side of caution, but when you factor everything in, you’ve had a really good couple of seasons with the Europa League run and the league performances over the years, winning trophies, and then you get to the Champions League, but of course, that’s not guaranteed so you’re only one season away from missing out.
“Then you look at generating the money from the squad, and that will stabilise the finances for the next two to three years. So, the gamble is, when you get to the Champions League, do you go all in and try and compete? The risk is that you do that and you still don’t get out of the group as the odds are stacked against you.
“That will have been the conversation that happened, they have all this money coming in, but do they look to stabilise and bank that, giving it a good go and a more sensible way to look at it is to protect that money?
“From a sustainability type of view, it makes sense.”
Giovanni van Bronckhorst admitted that he was happy with the spending, although not many others agreed with his point of view over the summer.
Antonio Colak was brought in for cash, as were Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies, but others arrived on loan or for free and there were clear gaps in the squad that were not addressed.
Time will tell if this was a mistake not to spend, with consistent qualification for the Champions League needed to make sure that this year was not wasted.
In other Rangers news, one player could be hoping for only his second start of the season against Hearts this weekend