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One other thing that hasnt been mentioned with respect to Wilshere, which I think we all should acknowledge..... if we didnt have Gerrard as manager would Wilshere even consider us ? We have had a few players now since Gerrard came in where you think "did we really sign him" - Defoe, Roofe, even Hagi. Gerrard commands respect even in management. Clearly we need him to win us silverware but WHEN that happens we could very much end up the dominant force in Scotland again with Celtic eyeing us enviously whilst they have Lennon snarling along..... "quietly terrified" indeed Graham Speirs...

He would walk into their team. Far better player than any of their midfielders. I would much prefer Jack Wilshere at Rangers than Celtic. A risk ? Sure. But we wouldnt be able to get someone of that quality without there being risks present. On his day a sublime footballer.

We've started already!

Two different types of player both good in their own style IMO.

Except goals.

i expect lots of clubs are talking to Wiltshire we would be remiss not to be one of them.

He didn't become footloose and fancy free until Monday, it seems. No point in pursuing him until he achieved that status. We would have to have dealt with WHU, actually. He presents an opportunity, potentially golden, but one that has to be carefully assayed. Get him up here and stress tested, sez I.

I would be concerned, because I would assume -in the absence of evidence that it was merely a vanity or g i r u y signing- that JW was fit, and firing, and ready to rock and roll. In that condition, the fhilth would have a top notch midfielder.

If he were signing for celtic, would we worry? No.

Moyes clearly did not want him. Whether that is more to do with Wilshere or that Manager is open to at least some conjecture. I think that other Clubs were unwilling to take over his high salary, or pay a high fee and/or signing on payment. Hence WHU had to do a Martin Bain. Ouch! He is now available as a free agent, and, probably (I cannot be sure), looking to resurrect a once stellar career. As I said, more or less, in a previous post, I think that he is worth looking at and putting through his paces. Obviously, the financial aspects, and contractual niceties would require to be understood, in principle, if, by necessity, perhaps somewhat sketchily, before putting him under the scrutiny of our coaches, medics, physios, etc, and not forgetting, as there seems to be some doubt about his impact on the collective mind and will of the dressing room, the acute psycho-social analysis of our kit man, and our senior players. Signing him is a risk, but it is really a question of understanding, and minimising, that uncertainty, and its potential impact on the club, before even considering committing to a contract. Of course, if he pitches up to Auchenhowie, trains and plays like a dog, and upsets the playing and other staff, all bets will be off. It would be disappointing, but few will lose sleep. Michael Stewart might commiserate.

From what I can gather, WHU paid Wilshere off, with a stunning 85% of his outstanding contract, in a settlement comprising a mixture of cash and Woodbines. Hence he is a free agent. He may fancy playing for SG, at a "Big Club". Any deal, however, would have to have break clauses, in favour of the Club.

On his day, Wilshere is one of the best midfield players in world football, IMO. Unfortunately, he's not hit that peak in quite some time. His injury record is really bad - and added to that, the lad likes a drag. ? He'll be on huge wages, but if West Ham are footing the majority, it won't be that big an issue. A pay-as-you-play deal would be wise. I feel if troubled players just get stability and to feel wanted, they can be rejuvenated, which he could get here. I'd be delighted to get Wilshere, but I'm not getting my hopes up. (I've been burned in the past... Oh, sweet Josh...)

"I am still incredibly hungry, ambitious and desperate to play football and achieve success. I'm still only 28 and feel fit, strong and ready to play" Part of Jack Wilshere's statement on leaving West Ham yesterday. Sounds to me like he wants to prove the doubters wrong. I have no insight however to the allegations that part of the problem may be "lifestyle" driven. What I do believe is this is a very good midfielder, well schooled in his art who if not plagued by injuries would command large transfer fee and wage demands our club could not dream of matching in normal circumstances. If he is looking to make a fresh start and was interested in giving it a go for say, a season with us he would be well worth a punt. Sometimes players just need a refresh and new outlook. Who knows? Depending what Gerrard's evaluation is of him from their England days, it may be something they wish to explore. I'd certainly back it!

"I don't think it affected the result, if my memory is right." ?? Many, many moons ago I was gainfully employed in what was then the Clydeway Industrial Centre, these days, post gentrification it's The Skypark. It had a very different look and feel in the 80s, it was owned by Glasgow Council then and housed mainly light industrial companies by day and ladies of the night by, err, night. On the ground floor was a business who I think were called Heatwise. At a time of mass unemployment they employed a lot of guys who were long term unemployed. The idea was they got used to working again and perhaps learned some new skills. It was quite worthy and a decent idea on paper. In reality it had a load of guys who had to go there for a few months are they'd lose their broo, so motivation and application wasn't always what it might have been. Anderson Primary School was alongside and it had a red blaes pitch, on those rare warm Glasgow days the lads from Heatwise would head down to the pitch for a kickabout of a lunchtime. Around this time the Provisional IRA were fairly active with bombings, and one sunny lunchtime the building's alarm went off and the building was cleared as fire engines and Strathclyde's finest descended on the building and a full search was carried out. We were outside for well over an hour before it was deemed a false alarm. A few days later the same thing happened, again, strangely it was a warm day and again squad cars and firemen rushed to the scene. This happened another 3 times over the next month and even the most work shy of us was starting to get a bit hacked off. On the final occasion this happened a large polis and senior fireman asked the crowd gathering outside in the muster area who among us worked for Heatwise. A couple raised their hands and further fingers were pointed towards the football pitch where the main body of the workforce were furiously engaged in what looked like a full scale 11 a side match. The copper marched onto the pitch, picked up the ball and told them they had to go into the building to help with the search for the 'bomb'. He marched them all into the building, came back out and told us we could all go back in too now. Strangely, there were no more bomb scares after that. I wonder if James Joseph Doherty's dad worked at Heatwise...

RANGERS have been fortunate to have had some fantastic captains in their history and there are many who believe that George ‘Corky’ Young was the greatest of them all. He earned his nickname because of the lucky champagne cork he carried in his pocket, but it hardly seems an appropriate nickname for a man who stood 6ft 2in tall and weighed 15 stone. Young was a massive man in every sense and his influence on both Rangers and the national team was colossal. Originally a centre half, Young moved to right back to allow Willie Woodburn to fill the central area. They were two of the six men who comprised the famous Iron Curtain defence. He had many qualities – most obviously as a tough defender. He was awesome in the air and a fierce tackler, his long legs often preventing the opposition breaching the Rangers backline. His fitness was such that between autumn of 1948 and the summer of 1953 he missed a mere five league games out of the 150 that Rangers played. But perhaps his greatest ability was to turn defence into attack with incredible speed. He could launch a ball 60 yards or more with minimum of effort and it invariably found the front men, and players like Willie Waddell and Willie Thornton thrived on the breakaway. Young and Rangers won six titles in ten years, including the treble in 1948/49, mostly battling with the great Hibernian team of the era. The Edinburgh club won three titles and finished runners-up to Rangers on three occasions. Young also collected two Scottish League Cup and four Scottish Cup winner’s medals – none quite so fulfilling for him as the 4-1 victory over Clyde at Hampden on 23 April 1949 when he scored twice from the penalty spot. Such a career is bound to earn admirers. Eric Caldow, a teammate initially and subsequently a great captain himself, was in no doubt about Young’s standing in the grand scheme of things, saying: ‘He had a fantastic presence at the back and was a natural leader. Every player looked up to him and had everything you could wish for in a defender. He was a big man who was good in the air, was a fierce tackler and also had a lot of skill. He was a truly great Rangers player.’ John Greig, a fantastic skipper in his own right in the 1960s and 1970s, added: ‘George epitomised what being a Rangers captain was all about. He was known as the “Gentle Giant” as well as “Corky” and although he was a very imposing player, he was a fair one.’ Young played 53 times for Scotland, appearing in 34 consecutive matches at a time when there were far fewer international matches than there are today. Indeed, it took nearly two decades for his caps record to be surpassed. He led Scotland a record 48 times but his influence was far more substantial than any captain of the modern day. Basically, Young ran the Scottish side in the days when committees picked teams and there was no manager. Remarkably, he arranged training, theatre visits and even booked local transport for the team. He announced he would play his final game for Scotland against Spain in Madrid on 26 May 1957 – but, cruelly, the selectors did not pick him. During his playing days and beyond he also ran a coffee shop with goalkeeper George Niven in Glasgow’s Hope Street which was a popular haunt. And when he left Rangers at the end of the 1956/57 season, and stopped playing the game, he began to concentrate on his hotel business. He returned to football for a few years in the early 1960s to manage Third Lanark. George Young sadly passed on the 10th January 1997.

My thoughts too. To get the game called off.

Monday night he left I’m sure, they were afraid he was flying out for a last minute deal. I don’t know what the rules are in terms of how far back you have to go, test must have come back positive Tuesday afternoon. My understanding is that the average incubation period is about 4-5 days.

Expect several of their players to fail tests now

Very much agree. It is not a coincidence that Christie is always in top 2-3 of the assists table. Scorers a lot too. Losing Forrest is a big blow too. His stats for the past few seasons have been very good and Frimpong is all they have on that side now.

Professional footballers don't. He does have to abide by UK rules in France though, which means a 10 day self-isolation instead of a 7 day (French rules).

It would not surprise me if these bastards ensured that the 'Away Team' dressing room was dripping with Covid 19 viruses.

Some years ago, Scotland's Shame FC signed a striker from Norway. His name was Harold Martin Bratbaak, and he had a rather good scoring record in the Eliteserien (if such it was called, then). He flew into Scotland to be hailed at the airport by hordes of devout and dedicated sellik fanatics, and that was just the media. However, far from a Norse God, or a Viking Thunderboots, what emerged from the 'plane was a bespectacled chap who looked less a footballer, and more a mild mannered accountant. He played a couple of years for the fhilth, was not terribly successful as a striker, and returned to Norway. With an irony, which may only be described as immaculate, he subsequently played for Rosenborg FC, in the CL, against the beasts from the East, and scored both goals in a 2 - 0 victory, which, a f a I recall, ejected them from the Competition. Oh how we laughed! When I saw the photos of their newly borrowed full back, involuntarily, and immediately, Harald, who had completely passed from memory, came to mind.

Not sure why we are giving this podcast such publicity.

I’d suggest the cover isn’t as good as Helander. Turning out to be one of our best players IMO. No coincidence our form took a hit after January when he was out injured

I think that is a great point. Part of the reason those players you mention are here is down to him. It is no secret that Gerrard was a great admirer of Wilshere. He is quoted in 2013 as saying he could win 100 caps with England. Now 7 years on and an injury strewn career since, we will just have to wait and see if he still feels he could offer us options! Interestingly the first ex Celtic player to pour cold water on it? Step forward the legend that was Carlton Cole! Carlton states Wilshere won't be able to play on plastic pitches. Well Carlton, from what I recall from your time here, you couldn't play on grass ones either!?

Continuing in his sculptured ways to deliberately attract the “Ibrox hordes” to his Podcasts, dearest Graham has lined a one hour special with Hugh Keevins. The nasal whine will advance his quest for Tommy Burns to receive beatification, how he is here to talk football and not child rape, tell how many priests attended his daughter’s wedding, and why Valencia are the Aberdeen of Spanish football. Maybe, just maybe, Graham will ask Hugh to explain his oft’ repeated late nineties/early naughties slur, “ Ibrox on a Champions League night is akin to a Nuremberg Rally”. It was those torch led parades that Adolf the smartie, leader of the Nazi party decided to release their, ‘Race Laws’. Yep, those Race Laws that saw several million Jews, masons, Boy Scouts, socialists, gypsies, Down’s syndrome, ........... etc pushed into gas chambers on an industrial scale. I think we should run a sweep, name the next rancid auld bigot to appear on the Spiers Podcast? I’ii predict Matt McGlone.

Double post. It wasn't that good.

FWIW, I hope I am proved wrong on this.

If we do sign him Jimmy Bell will have a field day with the letter pressing on the back of his shirt! Wiltshire, Willshire, Wilsheer, .... the possibilties are endless! ? Is your last comment a reference to a certain Mr Barton? Will Jack leave with his coffee machine tucked under his arm in disgrace?? C'mon let's sign him be worth it to see the man in the white sannies grinding his teeth!? Great post sir!

Would you be saying the same if Messi was available? 'We've got Barker and Jones for that right-sided spot - on your bike, Lionel!' It's Jack Wilshere. Wilshere was released quite late - certainly, we'd been in talks with Zungu for quite a while, so he's not a 'back-up'. I think Wilshere -- if the rumours are true -- just represents an opportunity.

Surely our players -and managerial, coaching and ancillary staff- are professional enough to deal with a classy player joining the ranks.

I think Wilshere would be a risk to the cohesion and spirit of the squad and that's the last thing we need.

His lifestyle would be a problem nowadays, esp re: fitness.

One of the comments to that tweet was class..... "And now he plays left back for Celtic"

It's the usual mixture of loan repayments and some fresh capital.

If I was Gerrard, I’d invite him to train with us. None of us really know what his health and fitness is like right now, and if he’s still got a career left in him. If it was an either/or situation then he’s not the right call, too big a gamble. However, we’ve got our midfield target so if it’s a case of ‘and’ he’s worth a look, perhaps a deal til the end of the season, with option to extend that.