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This lad could dance across a rice puddin', and no' break the skin.

Having watched the game back, it's hard to pick anyone other than Kamara - he was on a different level last night. However, it was a very good team performance with Helander, Goldson, Davis, Kent all putting in excellent performances. Also worth mentioning the part the subs played last night, they closed the game out brilliantly.

Just, wow! If you saw that from the likes of Messi it'd be rightly hailed as World Class... Just goes to show the talent we've got in Kamara (amongst others!)

Yeah, with the season Goldson's having it wouldn't surprise me if there's interest in him. Albeit I've no knowledge of this player (or the Aberdeen player we've signed whose career to date has slipped well below my radar) I'm delighted we're looking to strengthen and increase competition. He's played at a decent level, he should, in theory, be good enough for this league and he keeps everyone on their toes. Great management.

I'm guessing that it was this: http://www.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000qBW2OLU5Siw/s/800 This "stamp" by McGregor on Kamara was, if anything, worse than that alleged against Morelos. Clancy seemed to have taken the view that both were accidental. Morelos, if you look at any replay, is focused on the ball. Nevertheless, there will be a witch hunt, against him. Indeed it commenced last night, in the sour dough ferment of the SKY commentary box. The incident that should have resulted in a dismissal, of course, was Porteous' "tackle" in the first or second minute, which was reckless, and endangered his opponent.

Any guesses what incident led the Radio Scotland sport news reports this morning? No, it wasn't Rangers great win away at Easter Road and our imperious march towards the title, or plucky Celtic getting their first win of the year against bottom of the table Hamilton, or indeed Motherwell getting their first win in ages in the relegation battle away at Ross County or even St Mirren's remarkable 5 goals at Tannadice. Nope, none of those things, for some reason those stories are of secondary importance.

@Billwill enjoy this. Ryan Jack’s league record this year. Played 15, Won 14, Drawn 1, Lost 0 Scored 40 Conceded 0 Points: 43/45We have not lost a goal in any League game that he has played this season.

After tweeting the shit out of it including to Rangers I have been informed the club are on to it ?

I don't get this attitude. I don't care about Porteous enough to even begin to dislike him that much. He's irrelevant to us but if Alfie was red carded (as he should have) I would have been more than angry. His antics could have derailed our momentum in a few games recently.

Given his past record regards Rangers comments, I think it was odds-on Welsh would make some sort of derogatory comment about Rangers after being asked onto Hibs TV for this game. Can we therefore assume that his invitation to appear on Hibs TV was done deliberately with this in mind? Personally I could give a damn what Welsh said. My team beat his team and that’s all I care about. But next time the anti-Rangers pond life crawl out from underneath their rocks with accusations against us let us ask them why they made no comment about what Welsh said last night

The initial post was two months past, it seems a log longer. We played 16 games in two months, won 14, drew one, and lost to St Mirren in the League Cup. The arithmetic equates to a game every four days. It has been a tough schedule and it sees us continuing to sit top of the Premiership, currently 23 points ahead of ra Sellik in second position. Specifically in January, we played five league fixtures winning four and drawing with 'Well sat Fir Park. The victories at Ibrox were 1-0(Sellik), and 5-0(Ross County). Results away were Aberdeen(1-2), Motherwell(1-1), and Hibs(0-1). Thus, 13 points from a possible 15. The Scottish Cup game against Cove Rangers has been postponed, the national cup competition may be another victim of Covid? February appears kinder, we have four league fixtures; two at home against both St Johnstone and Killie, and two away in the plastic worlds of Hamilton and Livi'. The other two games scheduled(home and away) involve Europa Cup tie against Royal Antwerp. At this moment, ra Sellik have three games in hand and are due to catch up and surpass us by the end of February. I believe if ra Sellik play all scheduled and rescheduled fixtures, they will have played one League game more than Rangers by the time we run out at Livi'? Of course, ra Sellik have been knocked out of the Europa, so have free midweeks. If our separated Brethren win all seven of their February league fixtures, gaining 21 points, then they will achieve 70 points. Again, currently we are on 72 points and any extrapolation of between zero and 12 points can be added to that total. I want to see us continue to lead the Premiership by at least 14 points and qualified for successive last 16 of the Europa Cup, by the end of the month. In the mean time, one game at a time.

Reading about Dundee United's financial woes prompted an investigation of the Twitter feed of the world's biggest Tangerine Terror fan, Jum Spence. We know Dundee is a three club city because Jum told us so in his Courier column. As Rectum of Dundee Uni' and remember he is Rectum to ALL undergraduates, Jum does post plenty about United, Dundee, and ra Sellik. Constantly, he feels the need to tell readers his older brother is a big Hoops supporter. Anyways, Jum has posted congratulations to his fellow United supporters for handing over a second tranche of £100,000 to the club, quite right too. We know Jum hates Rangers and I thought since he is Rectum to all, he must occasionally mention the famous. I remember the last time I looked, after our 1-2 victory at Tannadice, he was obsessed with Rangers, to be exact, obsessed with Alfredo and ensuring Compliance Officer action. Thus, it took 15 minutes to plough through the stuff mentioned above, his promotion of earners he is involved with ie Podcasts, mass timings, musings of the Pope, daily playlists, concern for police officers, promotion of Dundee culture, ................... etc; and finally I found it. It's a fortnight old and it's a screen shot of Motherwell's Twitter feed, a splash of claret and amber declaring the half time score at Fir Park, 'Well 1 - Rangers 0'. Jum leaves us on tender hooks, he doesn't even provide the full time result. Awe Jum, Rectum to all whilst exhibiting bitter emotions. Still, it keeps you warm in bed at night.

Aye, lack of another goal or two the only fault from last night.

Lovely passage of play. Would have been a great goal

Mr Welsh may wish to reflect on the paradox of that statement. A great thing about closed door football is no home fans, your players are less likely to get attacked taking a throw in, or worse, being subjected to fans launching glass missiles when lying injured on the pitch!

Maybe the highlights are better used here than in the match thread of yestereve ...

@Frankie @Govan Rear Bear

Great read. I think for me it was Rapid Vienna at home that really made me start to believe this wasn't simply another false dawn.

I mean I'm inclined to give it to Alfredo for stamping on that animal Porteous, yes it was unprofessional, yes he could have been sent off and changed the match, yes he'll probably get a ban now, but that prick had it coming. Still, hard to look past Kamara, what a performance.

That was a massive win.

Battle of the clarets was game of the night. Great win for Burnley who are on the way up. Man Utd brought back down to earth but nobody would have seen that defeat coming. City could pull away from the pack now. Over to Spurs v Liverpool Thurs night - winners go 4th.

Hibs TV? David Tanner was tonight's commentator, author Irvine Welsh was the guest. I think we must all accept that club TV stations are deliberately pro/biased in favour of the club mentioned in the title. However, I fear Hibs TV have crossed a line tonight in broadcasting Irvine Welsh's post match comments. Welsh has serious previous, he founded and named his punk rock band, 'Stairway 13'. He was vocalist, guitarist, and song writer. Tonight, his comments on Alfredo Morelos was thus : "Morelos should be chopped up with a machete and sent to all corners of the globe" He referred to Rangers as, "current Buns"; then paying no heed to irony said, "a great thing about closed doors football is no away fans, not needing to listen to that sectarian nonsense". we can ask what Humza says, what Broadcasting authorities say, what do the police say, what do Hibs say.................. ? More importantly, what do Rangers say?

Remember that dirty Hibs git done Morelos early doors with Glanceaway not even giving a free-kick. Alf was hot & cold tonight missing some passes and making some really good ones.He defended a couple of corners,missed two chances,as did Aribo one,and was highly involved in the lead up to his goal.

Oh, a mention for Zungu too. He was excellent when he came on. We are all still working him out, but he was really good tonight.

Very considerate of Mr Kamara, saves Frankie the hassle of posting a motm thread. A stunning performance in a strong team showing. Very comfortable for Rangers really, even though I was nervous as hell for the last 10 mins simply because we were not out of sight.

BBC Shortbread's evening news show, Drivetime has just flagged up tonight's feast of football. "It's a full card of Scottish Premiership matches this evening and Sportsound are there, from the first to the last kick of the ball". Given Rangers are away at Easter Road, there is veracity in that PQ common currency remark. Full live commentary for all Rangers supporters paying their Beeb license fee this evening; well, apart from the bit where they don't interview Rangers management and players. If you are tempted, Drivetime also informed us that Richard Gordon, Liam McLeod, Wullie Miller, Billy Dodds, Michael Stewart, and Pat Bonner are lined up to bring us the action. I wonder when Lawwell does the decent thing and takes Neil to the Vet' for the inevitable, will the then former Sellik manager find a place in the line up? Think of the added pleasure of hearing both Blarney Bhoys and Neil entertain with three part harmony. Of course, there will have to be a period of retraining and education to ensure Neil is au fait with everything Gang Hut. Neil made an error in his last interview with Beeb Scotland, he referred to the New Year's "old firm" game. Absolutely verboten and the Green Brigade's actions of today emphasise the point. The GB have a List of Liquidation Deniers, and Neil's name has been placed on it. Tune in to the feast of football and hear both Jack Ross and David Potter tell you, 'our approach to tonight's game is the same as every other'.

Really great article! The contrasts of our EL success compared to their CL implosions is stark. Our transfer business has been very astute, Grezda is the only one who paid a substantial fee for that didn't work out.

it's more important the police investigate this than anything.

Get your votes in folks. For Kamara ran the show - after half-time especially - and was our best player. Other good individual performances though as well with Helander excellent at the back, Kent dangerous for much of the game, Davis immense in the 2nd half and I also though Tav had a fine second period as well. What a huge win!

Yes Kamara for me also, he showed last night that he can take some heavy treatment and go back for me, he also had a great match. Special mention for Helander who got a bit of harsh treatment dished out to him none more so than from the ref when he was fouled at the halfway line that tit clancy gave a foul against him also what a clearance header near the end.

one game at a time we need to win our next 3 at that point it will be so close we can taste it.

they do get a game ahead of us. They currently average 2.09 points per game for this season. recent form sees that number much lower.

Still not anything in media about Porteous wiping Morelos out in first 90seconds,which may,but shouldn't,have acted towards Morelos dishing out his treatment to a thuggish player.

https://the4thofficial.net/2021/01/steven-gerrard-the-man-who-took-on-the-impossible-job-at-rangers-part-1/ Here's Kenny's article. Well worth a read ?

I thin he is modelling his hair on Gerrard to help ensure he remains in the latter's good books. ?

Kamara taking the p*ss... (That's a better shot from Kent too: it's more controlled. He just needs to get the accuracy right.)

bound to be huge interest in goldson.

As I said elsewhere, intentional or not, Alfredo hit the guy on the ground, so it was at least reckless. In Scotland that would probably mean a yellow card (given what you get away with elsewhere). Same with the above, methinks McGregor first rugby-tackled Kamara t the ground, than stood on his leg. Reckless again, yellow. Be that as it may, I would expect that should the CO come out of hiding and charges Alfredo, we SHOULD demand similar action for other tackles previously unpunished. Sideonte: is there any other country in Europe that has such a post-match shadow cabal punishment institution?

BBCeltland listeners have to be consoled a lot these days, you know.

Absolutely. The Gerrard factor is incredible. And the old timers coming back for the fight, of course. Even though it didn't happen for players like Ejaria and Ojo, they still had moments or goals that helped the club.

Hopefully the spring and summer will be a time to totally immerse ourselves in Rangers and Gerrard. The more moments and memories from everyone the better. ?

He never did it hard enough.

It was just me being impatient, it came up later, nearer ko.

For this historic time 'Everyone, Anyone' is an inspired choice of slogan and the more people that can share is these good times for Rangers the better. We all come from different places, have different views and yet here we are, all part of this great football club – no questions asked, just to love and respect the club. And we’re all bouncing off the ceiling at how well things have been going and looking forward to what lies ahead. Hopefully this article brings back some good memories and sparks discussion on different aspects of our adventures with Steven Gerrard. In coming weeks, Adam (@adamski152) over on the Heart and Hand tactics site will be picking some pivotal games and examining our tactical evolution, whilst Kenny (@kenny47110) on the The4thOfficial site will be selecting his key games over this period and providing his much-respected perspective. Please feel free to contribute, to share experiences and opinions and help catalogue a truly glorious time to be a Rangers supporter. Early 2018 and no matter which way I tried to look at things I would struggle to see a way of our predicament. Even more so when considering our budget and the more obvious options available to us. How would it be possible to escape the mire of mediocrity that we seemed destined to languish in and ascend to any sort of half-respectable position fitting of Rangers FC? I certainly couldn’t see a path to where we are today. But fortunately, some people did. Steven Gerrard and his team have completed a transformation that us mere mortals on the outside cannot even begin to comprehend. I’m sure plenty people in football would say they’d know how to achieve it but if they truly did then they would be doing it already. The truth is that most managers, even experienced and competent managers, could commit themselves fully, make every right move and still come nowhere close to where we currently are. We got something extra with Gerrard. We have all seen the financial figures for ourselves and Celtic from when Gerrard took over – with our turnover teetering around £30m whilst Rodgers Celtic topped £100m in a Champions League (CL) year. Money is not everything in football but it’s an indicator of power and capacity and it can overcome many variables. However, since that time the trends and fates of both clubs have been strangely intertwined, home and abroad, football-wise and financially. Gerrard’s starting point has been unique but this only intensifies subsequent achievements. Paradoxically, it has given Gerrard time and scope to grow whilst simultaneously making his task more difficult. Perhaps expectations had been lowered to the extent that he could afford to swing and miss, within reason, just so long as we saw progress. But then standards and ambitions changed overnight. Mediocrity and anything less than 100% commitment were not tolerated and passengers quickly jettisoned. This was the progress we needed to see. A blast of fresh air blew through Ibrox. And ever since that magical debut, Gerrard’s reign has been a study of steps and jumps in the right direction – uncompromising, relentless progress - eerily matched by Celtic stumbling and falling in the opposite direction. I’ve chosen to highlight some key games that have changed our fortunes and the context around those games. Each of these games was high stakes and pivotal in its own right and the club would’ve be fully aware of their importance at the time. FC Ufa 1 - 1 (1 - 2) Rangers: 30th August 2018 (Europa League) Gerrard’s first competitive Rangers game was a Europa League (EL) qualifier against Skhupi which was thankfully navigated without any drama. We then had ties against the very decent Osijek and Maribor (which are both significant achievements in their own right) before we faced Russian side FC Ufa. This campaign had already been a relative success and considering the Caixinha disaster the year before we had already exceeded expectations. Surely Ufa would be a step too far? This was a hard-fought win and our new players showed true grit and determination. Going down to nine men is unusual enough without then being able to cling on to the glory. Gerrard had started by making us solid at the back and organising the rest of the team. Our prize was gaining entry to Europa League group stages and games against Villareal, Rapid Vienna and Spartak Moscow. We were finally back playing at a decent level on a proper stage. A very promising start for Gerrard and the team. This single win also represented a guaranteed windfall of upwards of £8m to strengthen and build. On top of that Europe had given us valuable competitive game-time outside of our domestic cell to grow as a team, to bond and develop a playing style and character. The board had already committed to investing in the playing squad (and they really had to) but this windfall hastened the process. Players incoming over this season included Goldson (£3m), Barisic (£2.2m), Katic (£2), Grezda (£1.8), Kamara (£50k), with frees for McGregor, Arfield, Flanagan, and loans for Davis, Kent, Worrall, Defoe and Ajaria. This was a substantial rebuild. For me the home win against Rapid Vienna was a particular highlight of Europe this EL campaign and marked the day Ibrox learned to roar again. Just weeks before our locking horns with FC Ufa, AEK Athens had put Celtic out of the CL qualifiers. For them this translated to a relative loss of £20m. They then sold Dembele for £19m and although he would have moved on at some point, it left a gap in their team that was never properly filled. Rangers 1 - 0 Celtic: 29th December 2018 (Scottish Premiership) Since the Scottish cup semi-final victory of April 2016, we had lost ten, drawn two and won none of the subsequent Old Firm games. To add further insult to the injury, the aggregate score was 31-6. After years of humiliating walkovers this match signalled that those dark days were over and we were now ready to compete for the first time in years. Celtic had taken a bloody nose from Warburton in that semi-final and then set about making the most of their considerable advantage to extract retribution against our then struggling, artless and average newly-promoted squad. Gerrard put a stop to that nonsense and dragged the club up back on to its feet. He demanded his players give their all and show themselves some self-respect, whilst showing Celtic the absolute bare minimum. Our season, Gerrard's first, would eventually peter out with all-too-frequently dropped points against the likes of Aberdeen, Hibs and Kilmarnock being our undoing. A reminder of our weaknesses, lack of options and the work still to be done. Rangers 1 - 0 (1 - 0) Legia Warsaw - 29th August 2019 (Europa League) A new season and another four EL qualifiers to tackle; which this time would include St Josephs, Progress Neidercorn, Midtjylland, and culminating with a showdown against Legia Warsaw. Another tough game against a strong, seasoned European side who were very much the favourites. This victory guaranteed entry to the Europa group stage and again added upwards of £8m to ours accounts. In all likelihood this result enabled the permanent signing of Ryan Kent, for £6.5m; an unimaginable level of investment and ambition from just a year or so before. This season we also brought in Helander (£3.5m), Edmundson (£700k), we’d loan Hagi (in January) and brought in Aribo, Stewart, Davis, Jones all on free transfers. As a side-note, this marked the first time that the group stages had been reached through this route for two successive seasons. The EL group this year contained Feyenoord, Young Boys and Porto. The 2-0 win against Porto at Ibrox a dazzling highlight, which provided a platform to launch us out of the group. Again, unimaginable from a year or so before. Just weeks before this and Lennon’s Celtic had lost to Cluj in the final CL qualifier, shipping four goals at home (agg 4 - 5), and more importantly, shipping another £20m of financial advantage. Again, an important player in Tierney was sold, and never replaced. Rangers 0 - 1 Celtic: 8th December 2019 (Scottish League Cup Final) It may seem strange to have a defeat in this study but no team can win every game and with that you only reach your potential by knowing your weaknesses and learning from mistakes. This loss was a sore one to take at the time as we had played very well and created a glut of decent chances. This would be one of two trophies handed to Celtic by officialdom this season, with the linesman forgetting to flag for offside. Outwith that their keeper was their MOTM by some distance and it just wouldn’t to be our day, but an empty stomach only gets hungrier. A tough lesson, and one which highlighted our lack of options upfront, something we’d later address. And perhaps it also added to the complacency across the city, perhaps covered up more than a few cracks, which would catch up with them soon. Celtic 1 - 2 Rangers: 29th December 2019 (Scottish Premiership) A first win at Parkhead for ten years! And a tonic to the recent league cup defeat? Another good team performance saw us to a relatively comfortable win against that lot in their own back yard. Another reminder that we could more than match them. This was the game where they took great offence at Morelos signalling 'game-over' and Ryan Kent threatening to spray imaginary finger-bullets everywhere after scoring a worldie. The moral of the story? Never give any credence to the indignation of their media cheerleaders, ever. As we now know, we wouldn’t kick on after that winter break but any fear of Celtic had effectively evaporated - whilst uncertainty was surely seeping through the minds of the Celtic team. In terms of lessons going forward then perhaps we had collectively put too much stock in this single game, had our players thought the hard work was done when it had just begun? After all, this wasn’t a cup final, it was just another league game. Braga 0 - 1 (2 - 4) Rangers: 26th February 2020 (Europa League) This was a very welcome distraction from a rapidly-faltering title challenge. This game was about discovering new heights, confidence and pride. Every new step in Europe brought in a bit more cash (millions of pounds), increased exposure and hoisted the Rangers flag that little bit higher. It was all building back the brand and showing any hungry or ambitious footballer that we can really offer them something for their career. A big club with big games and a very capable coaching staff. Another footnote, our neighbours would bow out of the competition to FC Copenhagen the following night. We were now out-performing them in Europe. Another milestone. These have been just a few of the pivotal games of Gerrard's first two years but that’s not to say it was all brightness and light. We took some punches and at times we asked ourselves some searching questions, especially domestically. It took time for our squad to strengthen and at times mistakes were made, tactics or formations just didn’t click, opportunities and big games passed us by, lessons took a while to be learned. But it’s too facile to say Gerrard didn’t win anything during this time - we didn’t win trophies, true – but each game of football brings its own rewards, money to build and grow (too push us away from the pack and complete with Celtic - the games mentioned probably provided a seasons-worth of cash), confidence (with every win and performance), patience (from a demanding support) and respect (which had been lost for years). But I think most fans trusted that this was all leading to the future, a time when we’d smash through the barrier between nearly and definitely, and that a man like Gerrard would never accept nearly. Come March 2020 and the Covid-19 lockdown would hit the UK. The fight for the title would die its unseemly death in the boardrooms and virtual meeting rooms. Back at base, Gerrard and his team would regroup, rethink and busy themselves planning for the 20/21 season.