It’s always amusing when someone who is so eager to leave a club realizes that the move they’ve dreamed of isn’t happening. And it’s especially amusing if the club had hoped to sell him for a big profit, and like him finds that neither will get what they want and they are stuck with each other instead.
This seems to happen more often at Ibrox than elsewhere. The reason? Players often convince themselves that they’re too good for the club and start hoping to leave, while the club, which signed them and paid them exorbitant wages, tries to cash in by hyping up their talents and using the media as go-betweens and sales clerks.
It happened with Morelos, with Hagi, and now reality has finally caught up with Jack Butland and those inside Ibrox who were convinced of an eight-figure sale all summer.
They were so sure it would happen that they even talked about a potential Scottish record transfer fee. Their own manager claimed Butland wouldn’t be allowed to leave unless an offer in the tens of millions came in.
The only person who seemed convinced by this lunatic valuation was Jack Butland himself. It’s common knowledge that he told the Ibrox club he wanted out this summer, and they were excited because it gave them something to tell the fans after they sold him on.
How do we know this? Some of their pet hacks in the mainstream media reported it at the time, and this blog, among others, pointed out that the club would only have leaked this information if they were convinced offers would pour in.
The amusing part? Everyone knows the truth. The fans know it, the media knows it, the other players in the Ibrox dressing room know it, and nobody can pretend they aren’t fully aware of what was going on behind the scenes.
But what happened over the course of this window?
No offers came in! Of course not, as any sensible person could have told them. Clubs which had passed on the chance to sign that guy for free were not going to suddenly offer eight figure sums for his signature, and especially not after watching him.
But no-one told the Ibrox hierarchy that, and they must have been as stumped as any Daily Record reporter forced to write the words “Saudi Arabia” and “James Tavernier” over and over again would have been when the anticipated interest failed to materialize.
Butland remains an Ibrox player, stuck with them as they are stuck with him. And because there’s no hope of anything changing, everyone is scrambling to spin the story and manage the damage.
To be honest, I don’t know why they’re bothering. Spin control and damage limitation are pointless here, but still, they’re trying hard. And that has given us one of those fantastic stories that is almost too ridiculous to cover with a straight face.
Apparently, Butland has now committed himself to the club after what can only be described as a few minutes of chatting with a director on an airplane.
Based on that, he’s suddenly sold on the club’s big plans for the future and fully supportive of the vision laid out in that short span of time.
So, let’s get this straight: Butland wanted to leave before last season ended, when they still had a chance to win the title, the cup, and secure automatic qualification for the Champions League. But now, after the club has admitted they’re skint, don’t even have a home to call their own, and are in total shambles, he’s been convinced to stay … after a five minute chin-wag with the chairman?
Well, John Bennett may not know how to run a football club, but if he’s managed that, then he is one heck of a salesman.
Maybe I’m just a cynical sod, but this screams a marriage of convenience, of necessity, of having no other bloody option. And that doesn’t make happy families, does it?
A shambolic wee club trying desperately hard to convince ra peepul that everything is fine in their funny wee world. As you pointed out, who’s going to shell out the mega fictional fee they dreamed of getting when they were not interested in taking him on when he was available for nowt.
Without the record and the main stream west of Scotland media, the current version of the rangers would be lucky to merit a mention these days. Their whole existence depends on CL qualification money. It’s time that the scottish media told it like it is instead of the nonsense they persist in pedalling. It will be interesting to see how things pan out if they ever get back to their own midden.
Yet another “I’ve been sold on the vision” eejit. These cretins are just kicking the can down the road. Last week it was Cuntwell. Now it’s Butthole. Hun pricks.
Expect some heart warming tales from the SMSM nodding dogs of how remarkably loyal and decent big Butland is ? One of those ‘angels with big thick wings’ types who is the salt of the earth for his massive self sacrifice and preservation of the clumpany!
He’s a decent keeper, but low and to his left isn’t his favourite. Watch the Celtic games, we’ve found him out. The rest of the teams should follow.
Every fan of every club team cheer on keiv for the good of Scottish football we do not need sevco we do not want sevco they must die like the previous poisonous cheating fake entity to cleanse soottish sport
They got the Motherwell keeper on a free to sell Butland. Pigeons coming home to roost. He was their biggest marketable asset, he will likely see his contract out and leave for free. It’s the rangers way. HH
Welcome back Adam.
Hahaha I forgot all about that 🙂
Always good to see The Comedy Gold flowing outta Liebrox…
Just as long as it’s delivered to us all by Celtic Blog, Celtic Blogs and Celtic Forums !
Fake clubs oldco and newco and the smsm in scotland are just as bad fake jounralists especially for the daily hun record and The Sun scumbags i dont understand the clubs in the spfl honest they all stay silent including my club celtic who are full of cowards and torie ratbags who do nothing for the celtic fans so its time toget shot of they cowards at paradise.