BBC journalist Tom English has annoyed Rangers supporters with his critical view of the club’s initial reported £200,000 bid for Hearts striker Kyle Lafferty.
Kyle Lafferty scored more goals against Celtic last season than Rangers did. A bid of £200,000 from Ibrox – less than a third of what they paid for Greg Docherty – is what might be called optimistic, if you were being kind
— Tom English (@TEnglishSport) July 27, 2018
Tweeting on Friday in response to reports that Rangers had made a firm offer for the 30-year-old Northern Ireland international, English appears to believe the club have come in with a derisory offer that they should increase.
This has prompted a fair amount of reaction from supporters, who feel the BBC man is unfairly criticising the Gers, especially in the wake of silence regarding certain other clubs trying to sign players with lowball offers.
It seems that only Rangers should face criticism for trying to get the best value out of transfer deals.
It’s a ridiculous accusation anyway. Lafferty may have been effective last season but with less than a year left on his contract at Tynecastle, nearly 31 years of age and with little resale value, the opening six-figure offer is a smart strategy from the Gers’ perspective.
He also made a bizarre comparison to the deal for Greg Docherty, a player with significant potential who is almost a decade younger than the forward.
This is how clubs do business in 2018 at all levels of the game. Why pay more than you have to?
These fans took to Twitter to put English straight…
Nothing mentioned about the bids for mcginn being optimistic ????
— jasonfullarton (@jasonfullarton) July 27, 2018
Dochertys 21 with plenty potential of selling on value Laffertys 30! Also u start lower with a bid happens in all aspects of life! Did u take as much interest with the recent John McGinn bid(s)?
— Jordan Skilling✌ (@Bigzeb88) July 27, 2018
We paid £400k for Greg so you need to at least get the facts straight tom. Also hearts are desperate to get him off the wage bill because of the size of his wage
— peter kelman ???????? (@aberlourbear) July 27, 2018
Tom, seriously? After continually low bids for McGinn you say nothing. The minute Rangers bid low you’re all over it!?!? Surely you can see how that looks. Again.
— Gav (@gj_gj7476) July 27, 2018
Cue the mock outrage from the usual arsehole. Not a peep when CFC were at it with McGinn. In negotiation you don’t go in and meet the valuation straight away. Docs an investment for his potential as much as anything but dont let facts get in the way of an excuse to Rangers bash
— LJB1872 (@eljaybee1872) July 27, 2018
What’s up, Tom? It’s Friday – chill. Top trolling btw. It’s actually pretty funny seeing journalists like yourself appear out of nowhere when a Rangers bid is rejected and you’re nowhere to be seen when Celtic have had two failed attempts at McGinn. Impartial? ????
— AMc ???? (@____AM90) July 27, 2018
He’s a 30 year old playing in Scotland and in the final year of his contract, and if we’re comparing prices how much did the east end mob break the bank to sign Scott Allan ?? A player who had best years Infront of him and was the best player at Hibs at that time???? Tell us Tom.
— tommy (@tam_sir) July 27, 2018
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