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Update & what club are saying Still work to do on Aribo, bit more to do on Edmundson, both deals want completed by Portugal on Saturday Breaking news could come at any point Kent is exact same but will probably take longer as Liverpool will decide that I expect Aribo & Kent (loan) to sign as noises very positive, Edmundson possibly more guarded as Oldham are a nightmare as you will have seen Appreciate not new news but that’s where we are to press etc this morning

Follow Rangers were discussed on here before. IIRC, one of the main differences between them and C1872 were that under FR, shares are held in individual's names. I'd say that it seems a bit unfair to describe the guy as self important when it's just a group of fans wanting to invest in the club and to be given an opportunity not to have their shareholding diluted (and I know the wording isn't yours, Bearger). There's nothing wrong with shareholders/fans wanting to be given the opportunity to invest in the club and to not have their investment diluted.

Just watched the most ridiculous farce I have ever seen in football,ref plays game on then because of rules looks at replays of a tackle in the box AFTER the video panel could not give a decision. Penalty awarded after AT LEAST 8 minutes,saved by goalkeeper,then more V.A.R. farce and a re-take ordered after another 3 minutes delay and scored,on 90+4 minutes. Game restarts and final whistle blows 2 minutes later,therefore no added on time added for 11+ minutes of stoppage. My reason for posting this I HOPE THE F**K V.A.R. NEVER HITS NORMAL LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

I agree. Attempting to provide leadership to the Rangers support is akin to herding cats. Of course, their is tremendous strength in such diversity. However, the aspect of ignoring information on a matter of principle because the source of information is deemed unsavoury for whatever reason, is madness. My professional life found me presenting/being a recipient of a formal set of Orders. It could take 45 minutes and involved copious notes. It's a process of distillation, if you are presenting, you have already attended another orders group and filtered out the relevant detail for your tasking. If you are receiving, you are interested in everything relevant to your designated task. The one aspect which is never filtered, the very same exacting information passes from Field Marshall down to the newest recruit; is information on the Enemy/Threat. Thus, if VB/Rangers Media/Gersnet/Follow Follow, ...... etc unearth a piece of information that makes a difference to how all Rangers supporters are treated/effected by the BBC Scotland/SFA/prominent Journo, ...... etc; then it should be utilised by all. John Mason MSP attends a church that has a literal interpretation of the Bible. He believes the world is several thousand years old. Dippy the Diplodocus was on display at Kelvingrove Museum for several weeks, the skeleton is 160 million years old. John Mason was educated at Hutcheson' Grammar School for Boys'. He is easy to isolate and dissect. Simple adherence to an objective appreciation on each issue as it arises should allow us to prevail. The very second a piece of information is discarded because of source, the appreciation is subjective.

McPake was too old for the Alkass tournament but played all over Europe with the youths last season and will be well known to these big clubs. We need to keep hold of him, he's the long term answer to our no 10 problem in my opinion and won't cost us anything. I still can't believe we're trying to sign Kent with the number of attacking midfielders already on the books. Liverpool apparently looking for a hefty loan fee compared to last season too. Another season of me moaning about his lack of goals and assists and another season of all the fanboys saying "the goals and assists will come" and then decrying the usage of stats and americanisation of the game when they don't ?

If groups want to do there own thing then there should be strength in that. It allows different roads to be followed. Which at any point one will be the right road, and we all get on board. As an example - the vanguard bears do their own thing and do a lot of digging and messy, thankless work. But there must be times when that info and knowledge has to be of use to the club or club1872 or whoever. Agree on the marginalisation point. It's too easy to dig in. But this is where there has to be a message or understanding about what fights to pick. (i.e. you don't beat John Mason by calling him a DFB, you beat him by voting him out and helping Rangers beat his team).

The online Rangers support tends to split on just about every issue, other than wanting Rangers to be a successful team. When you go to matches, things tend to be a bit more diluted and reasonable (with exceptions). The majority of Bears just want to see a decent side and have a few pints with friends and family and barely touch on the politics/causes etc, in my experience. But the same majority will happily read the Record/Sun and tune into Sportscene once a week. They aren't mobilised or focused enough to change things in our favour. That's just the way it is.

We always tend to return to the same old background. problems and questions underpinning much of any such debate,....you could call it quicksand. Somebody mentioned our collective strength but we are a long way away from being anything close to a collective We discourage quality leadership because of the way we have tended to treat those who do stand-up We are good at loyalty and following the team, not at politics We tend to follow pied pipers and not want to learn lessons We are increasingly marginalised and we inadvertently seek to go ever deeper (where others want us to go) We tend to respond positively to ideas that take us further down the road of marginalisation and vice versa (club often react to this so as to curry favour / ie. PR between club and support/customers). That doesn't mean such a road is always mistaken, it's not You could fairly argue that the general political situation and societal tendencies have exacerbated such marginalisation and helped take it to a level that it's difficult to see changing positively anytime soon... #confrontation

RANGERS Football Club can confirm the Development squad has withdrawn from the SPFL Reserve League for season 2019/20. Following an evaluation of last season’s Reserve League the decision has been taken to instead embark on a games programme which will test young players against teams from across Europe. More here: https://rangers.co.uk/news/academy-news/spfl-reserve-league-update/

Good news & Andy devlins uodate tonight fits in perfectly with my uodate this morning I appreciate wasn’t huge news but least you know it was accurate & I do my best with that Two good players coming in for less than £1m lets hope they excel

Thanks a bunch for remind me of that disaster.

Lifted from FF. General meeting today passed off without much of note. However, one guy who identified himself as being from "Follow Rangers" made a very self important intervention to berate James Blair over the dilution of shareholdings and to demand that his group are given the opportunity to buy shares. Not much info about them online but according to some Twitter posts they have about 50,000 shares. That is about 0.034% of the shareholding unless I'm mistaken and will be even less after these loans are converted? Pretty odd that such a tiny group would feel such a sense of entitlement. Guy after him stood up and thanked the investors for providing the soft loans which have rebuilt the club and will now likely be converted to shares. He got a round of applause in contrast to the stony silence and shaking heads at the "Follow Rangers" rep.

For a change, one or two trips NOT to the East would be good. Last season essentially defied belief, as we met one potential stumbling stone after another.

You have to say that the list of provisional second round opponents isn't daunting, at least in name (benefit of squeezing into the list of seeds). Pressure will come from a general expectation that we are now already in the 3rd qualifying round draw

Potential opponents for QR2: PFC CSKA-Sofia (BUL) or OFK Titograd (MNE) FK Riteriai (LTU) or KÍ KlaksvÌk (FRO) or SP Tre Fiori (SMR) Cork City FC (IRL) or FC Progrès Niederkorn (LUX) or Cardiff Metropolitan University FC (WAL) Debreceni VSC (HUN) or FK Kukësi (ALB) FK Ventspils (LVA) or KF Teuta (ALB)

All that being said currently the best way into the Ibrox first team for any young player is to be a current or ex-Liverpool player. *This post would make more sense if I'd actually linked it to the McPake story on the previous page...

I am a VAR fan but I have to agree with you tonight. VAR was not what was wrong in my opinion it was the stupid rule that a keeper can't be one step off her\his line. When you are in the heat of the battle how can you walk on a 5 inch line. I personally also think there was no clear evidence she did not touch the ball so no penalty should have been given.

If they bring VAR into Scotland - I am out. It is an absolute farce of a system

Can't be any worse.

Let's hope this move is beneficial to the youngsters

An interesting read. However I'm skeptical of the idea that Aribo is a no 10. I think he is most similar to Ryan Jack in terms of what he aims to do for the team and I don't think he would be played in the Arfield/Kent position in the 4-3-2-1.

Haha, you are much more reasonable than the fanboys on FF trust me.

As the resident Kent fanboy (I think I may have been the only one on the forum), I have accepted that I conveniently ignore the stats, despite demanding them in my professional role. I've said it before, but I just like him because in my opinion he's exciting to watch. I'll put up with your moaning and you can tolerate my ignorance of the facts. I just want him to rejoin us, and most of my friends and family are the same (although I also accept they may just be saying that to me to stop me going on about him). Arfield and Kent were the only ones I felt were "effective" in those forward midfield roles so I think we need all the help we can afford up there.

Probably the best draw we could get.

Cork or Progres/Cardiff Met in next round...

Can't get CSKA Sofia or Debrecen so that's good news...

Exactly you sow many seeds and harvest what you need. One model that stands out is the amount of celtic-view reared journos across the MSM. They've been given that foot up, trained and seasoned, then allowed out into the wider world. Where they regularly pop up and throw grenades at Rangers. It serves its purpose short-term, then pays out even more beyond that.

You’re right and those who aren’t interested are entitled to their apathy. The rest of us are entitled to want a supporter group that actually represents our and the club’s interests, rather than appearing to represent its own organisers.

McPake obviously sees a move to Liverpool as his way into our first team Roma's apparent interest in the lad would surely be on the back of the tournament success in the middle east. RYD is the way to go but we can't continually lose our better prospects before they get a sniff of our first team. I guess it comes down to the increasing financial gulf between the footballing rich and poor. The rich look to hoover up the talent (ownership) and loan them back to the poor to fatten them up....#NeoliberalismRuiningTheFitbaw

Ojo looks the part from that video - he's a big lad, good with either foot and looks extremely calm on the ball and when in goal-scoring situations. OK, Youtube videos are never the best way to judge a player but he definitely provides another exciting option.

I love it went people quote that ? I get Mrs 4lads to shout it at the start of our passion, haven’t heard past ignore....

I entered a draw at work today and pulled out number 55. I didn't win the draw but I couldn't give a toss because now I know we're gonnae win the league!

It’s a time thing to be honest ? I try my best

ID 10 is Stevie and Fourlads I am pretty sure.

Will probably be back to the same part of Europe we started in last season as the Kosovan team easily got past a team from Gibraltar last season. Thu 29/06/17 UEL Norrköping 5 - 0 Prishtina View events More info Thu 06/07/17 UEL Prishtina 0 - 1 Norrköping View events More info Thu 28/06/18 UEL Europa 1 - 1 Prishtina View events More info Thu 05/07/18 UEL Prishtina 5 - 0 Europa View events More info Wed 11/07/18 UEL Fola Esch 0 - 0 Prishtina More info Thu 19/07/18 UEL Prishtina 0 - 0P Fola Esch

The concept of marginal gains was made fashionable by the Sky cycling team and much of their recent success has been attributed to it. It had its roots in a revolution in British cycling about 20 years ago with a view to winning Olympic medals on the track. The theory was simple, to look at an event and break it down into every possible element that could influence the outcome, then improve them. Many of the improvements may seem insignificant, or arduous, but sum them together and by the end of the exercise you have a measurable and hopefully insurmountable advantage. The principle is nothing new as refinement and ingenuity form part of everything in the world around you. The difference was the systematic thoroughness of it. Cycling was a very conservative sport at that time and was relatively ripe pickings for that type of programme. It would be hard to argue that others haven’t been making marginal gains in the environment around Rangers FC in recent years. Whether by design and planning or by fortunate opportunism is inconsequential once that gain has been realised. New tactics been have adopted which Rangers have yet to counter and perhaps many that haven’t even fully recognised. One notable gain from last season appears to be the decision to cut the Celtic allocation at Ibrox. The previous agreement had been in place for as long as most can remember and from a time when both clubs would benefit from the arrangement (and were on talking terms). This was from a time when any negatives were outweighed by the positives and perhaps when Rangers were strong enough that any disadvantages were negligible or surmountable. Over the years, positions, people and attitudes changed and it had been formed into something else. As PR and marketing become more and more cynical, especially in the Scottish media landscape, then so the imbalance in the arrangement came to mean something more. An entire Broomloan stand of Celtic fans had a greater prominence in its placement than its return counterpart - closer to the pitch and better positioned to affect the acoustics of the stadium, it was tangible to the support, it would be tangible to the players. Furthermore, it was used as a media tool to focus and highlight that support and the feeling was this was never reciprocated - and couldn’t be even if they’d wanted to due to the positioning of the away support at Celtic Park. On top of which, the behaviour of the Celtic support (and team) had started to make it a bone of contention amongst fans for several years. Perhaps it was because the Rangers teams were limited in ability and results not as good as demanded, but then with that lower level (and even longer odds) the need to seek out any advantage multiplies. The reaction to the news of the allocation cut told its own story. Many in our press were upset and, with hindsight, it seems they knew a good thing was coming to an end. Rangers were accused of all sorts but ultimately the position of looking after our own best interests was paramount and justified. The sample size is small but two home wins against them this season suggests it may have been a quantifiable factor, it certainly hasn’t hurt. Perhaps through unsettling Celtic and perhaps through inspiring and re-invigorating Rangers, either way, a gain appears to have been realised. For minimum cost and effort. A rather obvious fact about Team GBs innovations, or any step change in sport, is that they don’t stay secret for long. First the technology is imagined, then tried and tested, then practised and trained, and finally at the competition it’s revealed to the world. You gain advantage in the arms race, but only until your opponent’s figure out what has happened and then develop their own tools or an effective counter. At that moment of revelation, it’s too late for competitors to react but if they want to compete next time around then they had better start learning – to not do that is to knowingly hand your opponent the same advantage. And this is where an obligation comes back to the club and the stakeholders. If we know an opponent is deriving an advantage through a tactic then its negligent to fail to recognise that or allow it to continue without attempting to neutralise it or adopt it yourself. This week has seen several items of direct interest to Rangers. The SFA announcing Rod Petrie, Hibs chairman, as the new president of the SFA, with Alloa chairmen Mike Mulraney, as the vice-president. Rangers supporters will be rightfully wary of these names from their performance and comments regarding us and our troubles in recent years. Fast on the back of this, the SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell brought us news on an ongoing investigation into Rangers UEFA license from 2011. He also declared the existing disciplinary system to be fit for purpose. Both were somewhat left-field and antagonistic messages. The new senior faces at the SFA join the likes of Neil Doncaster, Murdoch MacLennan and Peter Lawwell (2018/2019) at the SPFL. Rangers have previously voiced concerns over MacLennan’s suitability for that position and have questioned conflicts of interest on both him and his ongoing business roles. What is stark is the lack of any Rangers influence in any of the governing bodies and things have been that way for a while now. For Scotland’s biggest and most successful club to be under-represented in this manner is unacceptable and, although easier said than done, it is something the club has to attempt to resolve at some point. As a club and support we need to ask questions of ourselves too - why are we as a group failing to get people to fill these roles and how do we get more politically astute and motivated, generally? If we’re not represented, then we’re not having our best interests serviced. Somebody else is. And that is somebody else’s gain. Of a more clear and present danger is Maxwell’s defence of the Compliance Officer. The performance and statistics from the Clare Whyte led system last season are questionable to say the least. Both through the selecting, censoring and punishment of our players and through the system’s myopia with respect to Celtic players and incidents. As a team on the pitch Steven Gerrard’s players had enough ill-discipline, mistakes and missed opportunities to not lay blame on the compliance system this season. But underneath that, there exists the suspicion that it did have an influence at times through the campaign. Those being times when we stumbled and struggled and ultimately lost ground and dropped out of the title challenge. My hope was the Compliance Officer charade would be scraped going into 2019/2020 and if it had then I’d see this as a marginal gain for Rangers. It’s a system of universal ridicule (amongst fans of many clubs) and it adds nothing to the game - it certainly doesn’t add the few things it’s supposed deliver i.e. transparency, justice and fairness. The fact it could be adversely affecting the outcome of a title challenge would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious. If it continues in the same vein as last season then Rangers really need to nip it in the bud, before season-changing damage is done. At this point it’s worth considering what Rangers FC actually is – at the most basic, season to season, it’s a business which exists to win football competitions. That annual £50m turnover (and all the surrounding fuss) is ultimately pointed towards winning the league (and cups) that year, that season. Alongside that longer-term, ongoing work like marketing, infrastructure, growth, reputation etc, all play their part towards that season's goals. Now, if that challenge is being undermined in anyway by a third party off the pitch, by attempted damage or interference, then it’s in the stakeholder’s interests to correct the situation. They then need to treat it like they would someone walking out the front door with that year’s revenue. From chairman to investors, to shareholders, to the paying fans, we are all stakeholders in this and we should all be asking questions and ensuring the playing field is level and not slanted against us. Which leads to BBC Scotland. It’s quite a shocking allegation to even suggest that employees of the BBC are in cahoots with the compliance system or a favoured team to undermine a title challenge and/or undermine a football team. But that’s where we are. Part of Sportscene’s strategy last year was the targeting of our key players: to make Morelos a marked man – that much was clear from match day one, to attempt to spoil his reputation, to edit and present matches in such a way to prompt the compliance system to charge him over trivial incidents, right through to devaluing him as an asset. Michael Stewart, Tom English and others fixated on Morelos – and frequently tied themselves in knots to do so. Opposing views should be welcome, where verifiable and as part of a balanced discussion, but when that balance never self corrects then they really should stop themselves. How strange does it sound that we have pundits and staff, repeatedly given a platform on the BBC, who are either wilfully or have been instructed to attempt to damage a football club on the pitch and financially? And for what, pettiness over an ongoing dispute with the club? For their own amusement or benefit? Tribal allegiances (if their editing segments are anything to go by)? Mr Stewart's political wishes? Or for someone else’s benefit? That doesn’t quite sound right – so here’s some excerpts from the BBCs own code on the subject. - Don’t do anything that looks or feels like bribery or corruption – even if technically it isn’t. - Everyone who works for, or with us, will know we have zero tolerance for bribery and corruption. - Proper checks before starting any relationships with people outside the BBC (even if we’re not paying them) will be carried out. - The BBC will keep checking to make sure our non-BBC partners live up to our own standard. It all sounds very dramatic and serious but at its most basic, to the season of a football club, it is. Interference on some level is corruption. Interference on someone else’s behalf, be it from hospitality or prawn sandwiches or postal votes, is corruption. If the BBC cannot provide Rangers with a level playing field, then perhaps Rangers should insist on it through the BBC's own code of conduct. As things stand we are losing out across the board due to the behaviour of the BBC so there’s nothing more to lose on that front - of course, they could behave even worse and issue more retractions and apologies but then London would surely have to get involved (or maybe not). The levelling of the playing field, reinstatement of a fair editorial policy, neutralisation of trial by Sportscene, would all seem like welcome big gains compared to the current situation. We’ll never recoup the years of mistreatment from the BBC but that would be a start, as a minimum. An argument is that Rangers should ignore the sensationalists and detractors, be pro-active and fill the void in the Scottish press with their own stories. And without personally knowing the level of effort expended by Rangers on this it does appear on the surface that more could and should be done. But then the club are confronted by a level of mischief and pettiness that makes the environment in Scotland all but impossible. Logic then follows why not look outside Scotland? We have a bigger and friendlier press across the border so why not use what’s available to us? Get the fans to buy in and make it a commercially attractive option. More than that, once links are established, use the system to play the game –give some back for a change and have rivals spend their time and energy fighting fires, the kind that have been set under us for decades. One of our biggest attributes is the size of our support, a huge diverse collection of people with one shared love. We need to be better at using this to our advantage. This is perhaps where I’d be expecting more from the bigger fan groups and investors. It’s surely not enough to simply accrue shares? There has to be more - something more pro-active and more affirmative – flexing our collective muscle. There has to a studied view of the bigger picture and a realisation of the environment. Do we know our own strengths and weaknesses? Do we know our rivals strengths and weaknesses? These represent just a few examples where our overall fitness and efficiency can be improved, and where lost ground can be won back. Even if you don’t buy into any grand conspiracy then these simply represent areas where we can and need to improve. There are dozens more; every reflex quickened, every breath drawn that bit deeper, every profile swept to cut through the air that bit swifter. Admittedly, it’s easier said than done but in a race that is getting very close, every gain matters.