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Arfield, Hagi, Barisic. All did us proud tonight. Much much better all round. Did we really need to drop 5 points before we woke up?

Does every Rangers attack need to go through Davis? Slows our game down in my opinion

Aye, I have noticed that the last few games, the pitch looks terrible!.

I never pay much attention to sponsors’ MOTM

Don't be silly! however if anything is said against any board member or the staff then watch out! but Rangers do not defend the fans or want to upset the SFA, they are still too busy trying to build bridges! bridges that aren't there' This is what Rangers board are all about now, despite the fantastic job they have done financially.

Madden runs Wullie Collum a close second as a prize eejit

Today the fight back begins, I can feel it. We are going to demolish hibs and Celtic are going to struggle. Katic will be lucky to keep his place, I think we may see Edmunson today, although it could be for Kamara as much as Katic. Kent will tear them apart and Hagi is going to show some real flair. Ojo won't make the bench. I'm going for 3-1 to us and Celtic to draw. Come on!

A week is a long time in football so a lot has happened since my last match preview last month ahead of the Stranraer game. In that preview I was extremely complimentary of the players given our strong league position tucked in behind Celtic with a game in hand. I discussed our points tally improvement as well as progress made in terms of goals scored and conceded. Importantly I also discussed the character of the team with what seemed an improved belief in the squad when it came to adversity. Winning at Parkhead at the end of 2019 was clearly evidence of that after disappointment at Hampden. Unfortunately, since then we've went backwards in frustrating style: losing to Hearts and drawing at home to Aberdeen, meaning we've dropped five points in six days, falling behind Celtic again and minimising any supposed title challenge in short order. The manager has since spoken of 'missing a spark' and he's right. Suffice to say we've not played well in any of our five games in the new year and although we won our first three, unconvincing and functional were as good any 'praise' got. As such, it wasn't a huge surprise that we struggled against Hearts and Aberdeen: two physical outfits that usually cause us problems. The reasons for this loss of form are less easy to put a finger on. Yes, we've been without a combination of key players since the winter break: Morelos was suspended for three matches, Tavernier has been injured for all five and Ryan Jack has missed the better part of two games. Arguments can be made for the likes of Goldson, Davis and Barisic but, in my opinion, the three that have been unavailable are our three best players and any team would miss such. Even worse is that those you'd expect to step up such as Davis, Arfield and Kent haven't played well recently either whilst no-one else in the team (aside from perhaps McGregor and Goldson) have found the level of form they had towards the end of last year. All things considered, when you're not sure of an answer, the simplest solution is best so any lack of quality is demonstrably down to the loss of key players: either via their unavailability or just a loss of their form generally. Yet other worries also persist. Our preferred 4-3-2-1 system has worked well for the last nine months or so. Within this setup our football is good to watch and usually played at a high tempo with various players capable of creating or score goals; especially with the focal point of Morelos. However, when the tempo is missing and when teams pack their defensive areas, we can struggle and that has been fairly obvious in recent weeks. Yes, aside from the Hearts game, we've still dominated most of the matches (and should do so at Ibrox in any case) but we have failed to reliably breach defensive setups when faced by them. Opposition sides haven't necessarily parked the bus per se but they're working very hard across medium blocks and in half-spaces to stifle our creative outlets. Davis becomes anonymous, Kent can't find space, Kamara continually turns back, Defoe isn't physical enough and our full-backs are closed down very quickly too. Indeed, it's often left to the centre halves to make the play and you'll even find any opposition attacker trying to limit Goldson's use of the ball. Quite simply teams aren't giving us the oxygen to breath and we don't have the imagination to combat this. So much so that, for the first time in a fairly long period of time, we changed system at least twice in our most recent match against Aberdeen. First of all, Sheyi Ojo was brought on to play more as an orthodox winger as opposed to one of the 'double tens' we usually deploy. That didn't work so we even tried a 3-5-2 later in the game with two men up front and new signing Ianis Hagi trying to play vertically from deeper positions; again without success as Aberdeen sat deeper and deeper towards the final whistle. This shows finding the missing spark isn't necessarily as simple as changing the formation, though it can be argued without being more flexible across more games, subtle changes won't work when used 'off the cuff' or when under pressure. And that last word is proving interesting as well. I mentioned character above and, as much as it's difficult to suggest this team lacks it (see our December results), in certain positions we do seem to lack belief. Not necessarily when reacting to tricky situations but when put under pressure ourselves. For example, we've done very well in Europe this season with little expectation at the start of the group stage. However, as soon as we were expected to qualify, our form wasn't quite as good. Similarly, when behind Celtic in the league, we seem to tick along fairly well but as soon as we become de facto favourites, we look lost. We couldn't beat a ten man Celtic side in the League Cup Final and twice this season we lost league title initiative almost as quickly as we grabbed it. That should interest Steven Gerrard and any sports psychologist. A final valid point, and I don't need to wear tin foil whilst making it thanks to Rick Roberts' fine polemic on the site yesterday, is the effect of the officials. A common sight this season has been opposition teams attempting to disrupt games right from the first whistle. Not only do we see a large number of niggly, cynical fouls made throughout games but time wasted as well. Bizarrely, officials don't seem keen to clamp down on either of these so we find a general lack of rhythm to our matches, decreasing our tempo, increasing player knocks and generally stopping us playing our usual game. OK, it's hardly a scientific answer but it is a factor nonetheless and one the manager and players can't really account for - or even change. All the above should represent food for thought for Gerrard when attempting to find our spark. There's no doubt in my mind losing our three best players has affected us most of all and contributed more than anything else to our loss of momentum. Having James Tavernier back for the visit of Hibs will help and getting Alfredo Morelos' mind back on the job will be key to any aspirations of success we have. Yes, Ryan Jack remains injured but good sides should be able to cope with that so Gerrard and his coaching team will be eager to prove that on Wednesday night. After all player form is partially their responsibility with team selection, the system(s) used and how we deal with gamesmanship all part of how players will perform. With all that in mind, I'm hoping for a proper reaction at Ibrox tomorrow and I suspect we'll see some changes to reflect that. Tav should return to the starting XI and I think the likes of Katic and Kamara would benefit from a rest too. Kamberi will miss the next two games of course but having Hagi and Stewart available should help creatively if Hibs fancy playing for a point. Meanwhile, the combination of Aribo, Arfield and Hagi allows for flexibility in attack with all three capable of drifting wide and supporting the attack or making passes from deeper positions if required. We certainly have plenty of options so finding a spark needn't be as complicated as at first glance. If only football was as simple as that... Possible team (4-3-2-1):

Yes for Kent and Aribo but I thought Arfield was good. One of the biggest problems that we have is that almost the entire team want to take about ten touches before doing anything. Kent and Aribo were certainly guilty of that tonight. Arfield moved the ball relatively quick. That is to say on the second or third touch.

Quite like this picture. https://willievass.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/050220-Rangers-v-Hibs/G0000uywniB0EmAU/I0000C3pvxQiobcw/C0000SOnssHRU67k

Rangers as a club are more guilty than the refs supervisors & SFA/SPFL continue to allow this to happen!.

I’m actually getting bored of writing the same stuff week after week regarding The refereeing of our matches , and what is making it worse is that the ref supervisors in the stand must be happy with these types of performances , it’s beyond a joke .

For a day or two to spend his pay rise no doubt.

I said before the game he should be dropped. I didn’t see the game but I’m not surprised Hagi came up with a goal.

Indeed sinister refereeing again. The refs smell blood

Thanks feck. I really hope we are talking to the SFA about the officiating behind the scenes. It is horrendous.

If it's not cheating, then it can only be that Madden is mental.

Honestly this refereeing is unbelievable. Absolutely shocking.

Jones on or Kent, Kent has been poor tonight tbf!.

Another shameful refereeing performance. It can't just be incompetence, nor merely a bad day at the office. Shameful, did I say? Sinister may be more accurate.

No Ojo, oh no!!

Looks a good team, I think both Kamara and Katic needed a rest from the team.

I should say that it is Vital that we regain our Spark (and, if Dougie was here, he would tell you himself.) The problem, of course, is from where the required improvement in performance will come. This year, the players have looked, frankly, and at best, lethargic and leggy. In the January games (Stranraer, San Mirren, the Hertz, and the Animal Lovers) there have been no discernible signs of improvement, from one match to the next, and, really, only McGregor and Goldson have punched their weight. The question, then, is who will light the boilers? Prometheus? Or, more likely, Dan McPhail?

Saw this one too

That isn't how you spell Claudia mate

I suspect you're not far off the mark. The strange thing is the similarity with last season - the same situation on the park at exactly the same time. We may never know but the coincidence is worrying and suggests a similar cause. Behind the facade of the press conferences I'm beginning to suspect the dressing room isn't as united as we think. Hope I'm wrong. Could it be deliberate external troublemaking?

Claudio.... you clot ?

Speaking of off spring playing professionally.... Claudio Reyna’s son became the youngest scorer in the German Cup for Dortmund tonight, aged just 17

These incendiary posts of yours are only going to light the blue touch paper under a hooligan element who've long been carrying a torch for pyrotechnics at football. Unless you've such a burning desire for conflagration in the stands, I suggest you avoid inflaming the situation further in case the smoke gets in your eyes and the entire affair explodes in your face.

The more I look at our midfield the more I realise how much we've depended on Ryan Jack. Take him out of the heart of the team and you start to see more starkly the weaknesses around him.

Sorry seems to be the hardest word? It's Sad, so sad(so sad) It's a sad, sad situation and it's getting more and more absurd The above three lines are from the chorus of a Taupin/John composition. They will be most familiar to current Sellik season ticket holder, Graham Spiers. Today, Graham took to social media to lend support to Michael Stewart's bizarre performance on BBC Radio Scotland's midweek, 'Sportsound' show. Paraphrasing, Graham believes there exists an exciting opportunity for a hip, young gunslinging PR Guru at Ibrox, the current incumbent with 40 years of experience is past it. Maybe, Elton John will put the necessary music to the burgeoning narrative? This will allow ra Bhoy in Corduroy to appear live on TV for a third time, fingering his organ through a medley of Elton melodies. Tonight's 'Sportsound' opened with the following : "We apolgise to James Traynor for the discussion on Sportsound last night. It was not fair and balanced and he did not have the opportunity to respond and on this occasion we did not adhere to our Editorial values and standards. We have reminded those concerned of their responsibilities to follow our guidelines whilst working for the BBC". Last night, Mikey went Tonto. PQ CSC don't care what the animals say, thus Michael was pitching for his dream job, Minister for Sport in an independent Scotland. He queried Morelos being interviewed by SKY on Friday, and the piece not being aired until Monday. This ran interference on Sunday's revelation on the tamperer of the Columbian's car being revealed as a being employed by Alfie's wife. He blamed this situation on James Traynor. Further, James Traynor is a dangerous man and a bully. Mikey revealed he was being accused of murder on social media because Traynor had fed the Daily Record the line about car breaks being interfered with, and this is not on. Morelos claiming racism is not on either, Mikey demanded, "show me the evidence"? Is Mikey blaming the victim, is he suggesting Alfie is a liar? We should be told. Another demand for evidence was followed by, "the difference between the Griffiths incident and the one with Morelos, was that Morelos planted his foot into McKenna's groin". Oh, and racism is unwanted in Scotland, Derek McInnes was complaining of Logan being a recipient and that's wrong too. No demand for evidence, I note. Consumed by bitterness and idiocy, Traynor got it again before widening his demands for Rangers to provide evidence of break tampering? The blunderbuss was now fully loaded and primed. Mickey leveled and went off half-cocked. Rangers do not do things the right way, They got confrontational, went to war with the council over their application to launch a Fan Zone. James Traynor was behind this too, and he asked if we knew he sent written pieces to Craig Whyte for approval before publication? Since the start of this season, Mikey was given a platform to get after Craig Levein. He also stated he agreed with the Green Brigade, particularly their political aspirations. He ridiculed Rangers supporters claims of crushing outside Rugby Park, insinuating too many Rangers fans were inside the allocated stand because of forged tickets. He was taken on by both Neil McCann and Billy Dodds after saying orange strips had no connection with Rangers. Both former Gers told him with certainty that the Advocaat Dutch period was the connection. You would think BBC Scotland should accept some responsibility? In fairness, I heard Kenny McIntyre take him on some months past for his preferred prejudice, He called him out for inconsistencies in his opinions on incidents involving Rangers players and players of other teams. McIntyre has paid for it ever since, both Cosgrove and Cowan have continually mocked his support for Rangers. The principled solidarity shown for Chris McLaughlin or Jum Spence is NOT for H-U-NS. DrStu' is occasionally garrulous, his excitement betters him. He revealed in early Autumn that Michael Stewart would be willing to take on the job as Compliance Officer, but only if he was guaranteed anonymity. Although BBC Scotland has apologised to Traynor, there is no apology to Rangers or Rangers supporters. Further, Michael Stewart has not apologised to anyone. The podcast of the show is not available on BBC Scotland and the Daily Record has asked for an apology too. The fall out will continue because for Mikey, SORRY seems to be the hardest word.

So the club have got an apology after one attack on Traynor, but nothing on the continuous xenophobic and racist attacks on Morelos? Hmm. The club's priorities are all wrong.

I'll be really surprised if too many people respond to this. It's such a shame, but this board is losing the goodwill of the fans because it refuses to take us seriously. We want action against those that seek to damage our club and no more false promises (about statements) or dignified silence.

The existing board members should not be backing anybody apart from themself. To actively endorse another candidate smacks of cronyism and shouldn’t be allowed. A timely example of the reason new blood is required to keep C1872 from getting too cliquey.