Source: FOOTYMAD
Miller exit merely latest in growing list of weak Rangers surrender.
The Club has no power over retaining its star players in an era of player power and bank pressure. So, dismissing the canals of Birmingham and the galleries of Florence, Kenny Miller has made the trip in pursuit of the Lira to Bursa. As with Boyd before him, the Club’s refusal/inability to offer a competitive contract to our top scorer has lead to the inevitable conclusion: his exit merely a question of when, with the vain hope that a reasonable fee in the circumstances can be pocketed. Criticism of the player over wages or contract is of no consequence – how many would turn down a move which doubled their salary overnight – but it is also of limited value to go overboard while selecting the Club as the target for opprobrium. The financial situation at Rangers, and the position players out of contract now find themselves in, negates any lengthy post-mortem on why they couldn't afford to keep the striker. His loss in January is a blow to hopes of a third successive title – the 21 goals crucial to Rangers first half of the campaign – and with little hope of positive reinforcements, it is up to Jelavic, Lafferty, Beattie and co. to compensate for the loss. And a loss it surely is. Of course, a small number of fans will be delighted to see the back of Miller - never forgiving the crime of playing for the rivals across the city - and although this hints at a devotion to an ideal pure and righteous, it is often delivered with more than the hint of sanctimony, not to mention the implied notion that someone like Walter Smith is less of a Ranger than the critic. But a rump they remain and most Rangers fans will consider Miller’s exit in terms of his contribution and thus find it troubling. For let’s make one thing very clear - Walter Smith got this one right: the strongest critique of the move to bring the player back to Ibrox concerned his form and inability to score goals and perform consistently well, and judged purely on that basis the jury finds Miller’s second spell with Rangers to be a success. We hope that Miller, unlike a great deal too many Scottish players in the past, makes a success of his career abroad. But, as both the near past and the greater record illustrates, few players have left Rangers and – in footballing terms – gone up in the world. Of greater concern is the unavoidable conclusion that – far from even being in a position to refuse bids - Rangers cannot even accommodate new contracts for most of their better players, and that this saga is likely to become a biannual habit unless the Club is placed on a firmer footing.
