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It was totally over the top. Saying it's the old firm rather than Celtic on the program is a bit of fun but having signs saying "we are the old firm", having it on an arch for the players to go under when they go onto the park and plastered all over the advertising boards is totally crazy. We are Rangers, not the Old Firm. It was embarrassing.

A really disappointing afternoon which demonstrated our season in a microcosm - awful defending, cheap goals and only one goal from a huge amount of possession and territory. Celtic aren't a good team but they've proven themselves better than us which should upset anyone associated with our club. Too many mistakes made throughout the club and we're a team based on a few individuals which is my biggest criticism.

The worst part in all of this is that we have absolutely capitulated to a team which isnt very good at all. Maeda is a headless chicken, Hatate literally couldnt run after 50 minutes because he was spent, and they fell like flies in the second half. And we have capitulated to that - worse, had we won the league and deprived them of CL funds we could, and should, have been out of sight of them for the next few seasons. Last season is looking ever more like a papering over the cracks rather than a new dawn.

Bit over the top I thought, in fact cringeworthy.

Everyone today suggesting Collum had a "decent game" because he "let the game flow". The usual Tim sympathisers. I am no lover of blaming refs for our negative results but absolutely nobody can legitimately claim Collum had a good game when he missed two stonewall penalties (Goldson shirt pull, CCV handball - and sould even possibly suggest he missed the Maeda one where McGregor clipped him, though I am far less convinced that was a penalty) and he also missed TWO red cards for Celtic - Ralston on Kent was a straight red - dangerous, studs up, endangered opponent - and Starfelt could have had about 4 or 5 yellow cards. Ref had a good game ? Aye, if you are Celtic-minded. Absolute shambles Collum was

So poor they created records last season and have now been in later stages of EL for 3 or 4 seasons? Last season they played the best football I've seen from a Rangers team in decades. Our Euorpean record is very impressive and you don't do that with poor players.

Mark Warburton might be available in the summer...

I can see what they were trying to do but it smacked of desperation and lacked imagination.

We started well, so well. High pressing was forcing misplaced passes, mistakes and, half-a-dozen professional fouls. We were rewarded with a goal. Sellik had their first foray forward in the seventh minute, a McGregor run yielded considerable penetration, a couple of shots in two seconds saw the latter find our net. From the eighth minute, Rangers slowly deflated. I thought Sellik stood off us in the second period. They allowed us the ball and invited us on to them, playing for the quick counter attack. I think we created two opportunities, a Sakala shot brought a diving save from Hart and, a flashing near post attempt by Roofe. There's the match, I don't think Sellik had to try too hard? Fcuk me, they even brought on Anthony Ralston.

Watching the game from my seat in the SJ rear yesterday I couldn’t help but feel I’d seen this old movie too often. We dominate possession but create little. The ball goes down one side then back to the middle then down the other side. And maybe same again if we don’t needlessly lose possession. And ditto. Then the ball eventually goes into the opposition penalty box and gets cleared easily as we don’t have enough bodies in the box. And certainly not ones who will anticipate and attack the ball arriving in the box. For me our biggest failing is we’re simply not good enough to play one up front in the SPFL against a packed defence. Whether we could go to 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 is up for debate. And once again poor goalkeeping cost us yesterday. Why won’t the manager play Jon McLaughlin?

That and the handball were stonewall pens. Any other game and they would have been given as the ref saw them which is cheating.

Nasty Nick resurfaces when anything about Rangers happens! yet silent on decades of child rape at Separate Entity FC

We don't have enough good players We don't have any money We have a dud as a manager We still have some fans that behave like morons We are up the proverbial shit creek in a leaky boat

I looked at the Old Firm arch in disappointment. It's clear there are people running our club who simply lack judgement. Whichever way you look at it and whatever motivation you think was behind it, this was an act of absolute stupidity.

He is basically Sebo. Just runs about and leads the press. Has nothing to offer in possession.

that maeida is utterly shite and so are a few of their players but they got away with it easily. Despite being shite he worked extremely hard and made it uncomfortable for us. more than any of our players can really say. they think they became bigtime last year and don't need to work. That was evident under gerrard as well.

He was at fault for their first goal. I find him and Balogun to be quite erratic at times. Bassey is young and will get better but his delivery isn't as good as Borna's and I felt Barisic coming on mightve given us more attacking options, in the second half.

I know we were taking the piss but we really need to distance ourselves from celtc and fast.

Not really got much to say about that. This team tends to do one of 2 things: 1) start well, score a goal then fall asleep 2) start terribly then have to claw their way back into the game I saw a stat yesterday on Sky that we have come from behind to win 21 games this season. That is not a good stat. The wins are good yes. But it is a huge indicator of the attitude of the squad.

If Covid had not hit and cancelled the season it is debateable if he would have made it out of that season as Rangers manager such was the size of the collapse.

Its plainly obvious we are skint. After taking in a small fortune in the winter window and spending none of it, instead choosing to bring in 2 youngsters and a big risk in Ramsey. While the team across the city actively tried to postpone games so they could back their manager. I have no confidence in this board/club leadership in what is going to be a massive transfer window for us. We have let key assets run down their contracts and depreciate in value massively while not investing in other areas. We have spent big on players that have not contributed much this season (Roofe, Itten, Helander). We have some real quality and experience in McGregor and Davis who have tried to go one season too far by the looks of it. Our team yesterday cost about 12 million to put together. Kent and Roofe were 11 of that.

AGM should be at the end of each season so that the right questions can asked in a timely manner and acted upon.

In the build up to the game there was a lot of debate to how to fill the void left by Alfie being injured. The vast majority agreed that Roofe was the player to take his place, but a change of formation would be required to accommodate Roofe as we've seen how he struggles as a loan striker. What happens today? We play Roofe as an isolated striker. Roofe is a very good player but his strengths are not closing players down, going physically against defenders, that's what was expected of him today. We now have the same issue for the remainder of the season as I don't expect to see Alfie back. We either continue to try to fit square pegs in round holes or we alter our formation.

Part of SG`s heritage. People call for Gio`s head when SG would have changed exactly nothing. We`d still play a non-scoring chap on the left side (who does have excellent stats for a left winger, but not a attacker we need) and some makeshift attacking guy on the left instead of Hagi. With Sakala, we instantly got a threat on that right flank, something we missed all game. And in many games before. Whoever came up with this one-striker trash must have had a fine squad and the correct players in mind. We have no such players for that system, and like it or not, Morelos scores from 1 in 4 or more chances, which simply hasn`t been good enough for years either. You would have hoped that Makaay and Co. would have seen that, and any of them cool tacticians before. A blind man on a dead horse can see our lack of attacking firepower ... due to inadequate tactics.

What are your thoughts, folks?

Pass

CCV committed both pens and was booked. There's another red in there. The handball he moved his hand out to block the ball.

If Bassey had more experience he would have halved Mcgregor given the space he had to run into prior to the first goal. Should have taken a yellow for the team

I think he'll be the first to be moved on since he will not sign a new contract and is the most valuable player we have. Followed closely by Kent, our second most valuable player. If we can get £25m for the pair, that's the transfer kitty for next season right there. I'd like to think we could get another few £m combined for Barisic, Kamara, Wright, Simpson etc. However, my fear is that Ross's player trading model is to chase the easy bucks by selling our next gen talent e.g. Lowry.

Just a wee post script from yesterdays disappointing game. I've paid very little attention to MSM thrrefore has much been made of this incident? At the time I thought it looked like a stonewall penalty but I think the commentator dismissed it as jersey wrestling between the 2 players. I can't recall Goldson grabbing the Celtic players top? Looked like one way traffic to me.

"This game is not Shrouded in Mystery". Above was the Scottish Daily Express back page headline on the morning of the match, it went further stating, "Rangers will attack, Torino will defend". The real deal mystery among supporters was whether the real deal Rangers would turn up? The Turin Shroud was no mystery, it is a 14th century forgery but, hey it attracts a lot of tourists. The second leg of a ECWC quarter-final was a huge attraction, an attendance of 60,000 plus was expected and no one was interested in worshipping false Gods. Although it must be said, if Graven Image wore a blue jersey with number nine on his back and put one in the Italian pokey, he would have been cheered to the echo. The official crowd number was given as 65,000, anyone standing on the terracing would swear to another ten-twelve thousand on that number. Remember, the vast majority of under 15s were lifted over the turnstiles and thus not included in the official attendance. Ibrox was a different animal back in the day, a huge oval Stadium with a broad black ash track - a legacy of Bill Struth's beloved, 'Rangers Sports' Day'. The Archibald Leitch designed Main Stand stood magnificently surrounding on all sides by high terraces. The proximity to the then Abbotsinch Airport ensured low mounted floodlights and the track hosted in excess of 100 light blue painted Disabled Cars, all facing the pitch. Only three-quarters of the ground was covered. Noise was mostly generated by the Derry, situated at the now juncture of the Copland Road and the Sandy Jardine Stands. The old Main Stand generated a unique sound, twelve thousand pairs of feet stamping on the wooden floors projected an eerie rattle. Such encouragement greeted Rangers from the tunnel - McCloy, Jardine, Mathieson, Greig, Jackson, Smith, McLean, D Johnstone, Stein, MacDonald and, Johnston. Torino, again in all white emerged - Castellini, Lombardo, Fossati, Puia, Cereser, Ferrini, Luppi, Crevelli, Bui, Rampanti and, Toschi. The Herald reported, "From the start Rangers were looking for goals as if the world would end at half-time". Looking and achieving are two different things. Rangers began brightly, the support appreciated the vigour and purpose but lamented the lack of guile. The first period contained two points of report, a John Greig snapshot had Castellini scrambling and an Italian counter attack saw Bui slip a cute ball through to Toschi whose shot beat McCloy. A huge exhalation followed as the ball came off the post. Torino looked a supremely fit side and began to exhibit an increasing arrogance. Fortunately, Dave Smith had the same attitude, intercepting any attacks before they amounted to something more serious. The half-time conversations were mostly based upon our ability to hold to a nil-nil, allowing us to progress on away goals. The vast majority of worries evaporated within a minute of the restart, Smith checked, passed to McLean and Tam was off on a 60 yard mazy. A couple of yards short of the bye-line, he slung over a low cross. Torino's left back, Fossati lunged to no avail and both centre backs faced their own goal as the ball curled outward, towards an on rushing MacDonald at the back post. Doddie met the ball with his left peg, it hit the underside of the diving Keeper and bounded high into the net. The newspapers agreed MacDonald had "bundled the ball" into the rigging. Ibrox erupted and the Skipper began to gesticulate wildly. The crowd wanted a confirming second, Greig demanded a more mature approach. Torino made a couple of substitutions, Rossi replaced Fossati and Barberes came on for Bui. The Italians came further forward but were wary of Bud Johnston's pace, he kept them honest. Rangers enjoyed possession knowing Dave Smith was always spare to take a final pass. The Aberdonian was assured and he marshalled both defence and midfield, often barking at a straying MacDonald. Doddie loved a tackle. The last ten minutes were excruciating, Torino were having a go. The final whistle was a relief, every Ranger had ran a most emotional race. The Italian press were fierce in their criticism of Torino boss, Giagnoni; La Stampa spread it further, claiming both Turin clubs had lost to British opposition because they had failed to utilise their better players. Juve had omitted three regulars from their line up at Molineux whereas Torino had not allowed Mozzini, Zecchin, Pulici and, Sala to kick a ball at Ibrox. The following Sunday saw the Turin Derby, Torino winning 2-1 and, it appeared the omissions listed had more parochial reasoning? Whatever the reason, Rangers 2-1 victory over Torino on aggregate was tellingly significant. The Friday afternoon draw for the semi-finals had Rangers, Moscow Dynamo, Bayern Munich and, Berlin Dynamo(East Germany) in the hat. The common acceptance was any of the Dynamos, Bayern could wait until the final. The West Germans were first out, follow followed by Rangers. In eleven short days we were due in Bavaria to face the well kent Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Paul Breitner, Uli Hoeness, Sepp Maier, ........................ They had only dismissed ur from European football on three occasions in the last five years, including a one nil loss after extra time in the 1967 European Cup Winners Cup final in Nuremberg. I do not intend this next true story to be offensive to any of our German posters. The next day we faced Morton at Ibrox and all discussion on the Tannochside RSC supporters bus was Bayern Munich. The overwhelming consensus was, 'we're fcuked'. One of our older members had served on HMS Suffolk as a Petty Officer during WW2. He stood up in great annoyance and shouted his part during the war concluding, the Suffolk was a Cruiser completely outgunned by the Battleship, Bismark, "we engaged salvo for salvo and we sunk the Bismark". He was cheered and told to stay off the rum ration.

Need to look at selling Helander, Morelos and Lowry if we cant get them to extend. I personally wouldn't extend Helander given his fitness issues. I'd also move on Roofe if we get a decent offer.

When I think about it, a lot of these players have looked worse under GvB. If we were to give this squad to a decent manager, they get a better response. Give the job to Bielsa and watch what happens. For GvB to be a success, it's going to take a complete rebuild, and I just don't agree with that approach. It's not sustainable. We can't do it every time a new manager comes in. I think the players are fine, but Wilson has to take the blame for appointing GvB. I would sack GvB. Not because he's a bad manager per se, but because he's not fitting in with our squad. He's not able to get a tune out of this team. He'd need a complete rebuild, which we cannot afford.

So looking at the squad.... And being concerned by some of those contracts being run down on players who we all thought we might get big money for, but its looking increasingly unlikely... I think there's no doubt the squad has suffered from under-investment - or rather investment in the wrong places. We have a very bloated squad and seem to have prioritised quantity over quality. I know the line is that nothing happened during pre-season, but I'd love to have been a fly on the wall during that time as neither the players or the management team looked up for it this season. The Malmo game was a real warning of things to come. What's even more frustrating is that we've gone backwards in some regards this season and the (two) management teams have been unable to resolve some blindingly obvious issues on the park. BTW, I'm saying all of this while realising I'm watching probably the most successful and consistent Rangers team in Europe I've ever seen in my life. Which makes it all the more baffling that we've stuttered so badly in Scotland during the same timeframe. Keepers McGregor - Retires. McLaughlin - Deserves a run as number 1 McRorie & a.n.other as backup? Or when do we expect McRorie to step up and be the number 2/challenge for 1? If not soon, should we not just be moving him on? Unless we pull off a big coup with a new number one, maybe a young prospect from Europe who's good enough to be our #1 for years to come, I guess we'll just be signing a new number 2. Centre Backs Goldson - Will go for nothing. Can't believe we've let him run his contract down and I'm still of the opinion he should maybe have gone as part of the Gerrard rebuild. Still seems suspect to dealing with long balls and anything not on his right foot. Helander - I think he's our best CB, but clearly has fitness issues. Balogun - Good cover, but I'd like to see a first-choice CB signed. He's fast, his attitude is good, but not a commanding presence. Jack Simpson - Another one who I'm surprised we signed. Surely Leon King could have covered that position? Surely he'll leave. Souttar - I still think we should have signed him in January, would definitely have helped shore things up a bit in the league. So we're after a first-choice CB in the Summer to play alongside Helander with Souttar and Balogun as cover? Full Backs Barisic - That 2M offer from Southampton looks like it could have been a great bit of business for us. His injury ahead of the Euros was poor timing and he's struggled with form all season. Which, last season apart, has been the story of his time here. Bassey - Our number one LB for next year right? He's only 22 and is improving all the time, seems to have his head screwed on right too. Tavernier - What a signing he's been. I've been saying for a few years though, that like Goldson, I can't help but shake this nagging doubt that we should have moved him on. Regardless of his amazing input, he and Goldson have been constants in a changing squad which has exhibited the same character weaknesses time and time again. I don't think he will leave though, so that means with Zukowski as deputy, Sands can also play there, we're just going to be in the market for a LB? I'd not be against us signing a new first choice RB and let Tav go with our best wishes. Midfielders Arfield - I think he's still got a part to play as a squad player as he does like to get beyond the front line frequently. He seems to start seasons poorly, then come on to a game though. So maybe he's another one who we can't afford to carry anymore and we need to start using youth more for those games where we rest players or need something different? Aribo - Inconsistent. Another big hope but seems to be one who is undroppable and un-subbable. I wonder if the grind of the Scottish game has just taken its toll on him and a few others to the point of disinterest. Davis - I guess he'll retire, but I've been surprised by just how much he's been sidelined by Gio. What a servant though. Hagi - Like Arfield, I think he offers us something different, but we've not got the best from him so far and again, I don't know if we know his best position. Jack - If he can stay fit he must be the one we build the midfield around? Kamara - He was looking like the one who might go for big money, but has drifted off as the season has gone on. Same as Aribo. He's been played in a few different positions too. But surely there's a place for him? Lundstram - He's come on to a game as the season has progressed, but how many players like him, Davis, Kamara, who can play that role do we need? Sands - He's looked good, but maybe not the 1st choice starter we need. So he's a squad player... How many of those do we need though? Lowry - I'd hope we'd make much more use of him next season, even though he's young. Remember Stephen Kelly though? Ramsey - will move on somewhere, but its a shame its taken us this long to get him fit. Not sure why he was subbed yesterday. Ofoborh - Presumably he's just going to quietly leave over the summer. I have no idea what our best midfield is any more. Worryingly, I don't think Gio does either. Genuinely no idea where that leaves us other than knowing we need a few players of really quality to improve out first XI. That's been the case for a couple of seasons though.... If we don't have the money, then we need to make better use of the players we have, including the younger ones - that's where I think we might struggle with Gio in charge as he's looked out of his depth at times. Forwards Morelos - We have to build a team round him, but also have a plan for when he's not fit. I think he's been treated poorly by Gio - run in to ground, when we should be able to cope in Scotland without him. Itten - Surely will leave. Kent - Inconsistent. Flatters to deceive at times. No doubting the talent, but sometimes could benefit from some time on the bench when its not going his way. Seems undroppable though. Will that Leeds bid finally materialise? Roofe - Another one who we know is going to have injury problems, but I think he's a great striker. Just a shame we drop him in to the team and don't play to his strengths. Again, can we not have a system where he and Morelos can play? Or give Morelos a break by playing Roofe and a system which suits him? Sakala - I'm a big fan of his, but he's another we seem to have signed without knowing where we're going to play them or how we're going to integrate them in to the team. Wright - After a very promising start, seems to have fallen out of favour and didn't take what chances he was given this year. Another squad player or is he one to move on? Or does he deserve another chance if we have a clearout in the summer? Like the midfielders, I've no idea where that leaves us. Light on quality certainly, but there's so many question marks over our tactics, formation etc that I've no idea what our medium-term plans are.

Lundstram and Bassey were arguably the only two players who really seemed able to put the standard in required to win the game but even those two contributed poorly at the Celtic goals.

Cringeworthy. Why the hell are we clinging to the "Old Firm" and handcuffing us to a club who have a class action lawsuit against them in a court of law for historic child sex abuse ? We should be distancing ourselves from them as much as humanly possible and making them the pariah they should be. But, no, our custodians decide to act like a 5 yr old and ram it in the faces of everyone that we are still connected to them somehow... Sickening. The poor judgement coming from the Board right now is astonishing.

Again, there is no suggestion whatsoever that SG would have used different players or tactics had he still been in office. He never did that before in his three seasons and the only player of note who came in was Ramsey. He`s IMHO the instant pick for a No 10, even though I still prefer 2 wingers and two strikers. Dunno how some people look "lost" when others stand at the sidelines doing or looking exactly the same though. Maybe imagination tricks people here? More generally ... We have been treated to Tavernier, Kent and Morelos so long now, that we can`t see past them - and that day will eventually come anyway. One of the heritages of the SG era. We should have long gone beyond that though, not least when it became clear that the 4-2-3-1 is not suited to the Scottish game. And one that simply didn`t work if Kent or Morelos were off form or injured. And instead of seeing the obvious, "we" lay into anyone who are not "a Kent" or "a Morelos", when in fact we should have adapted the squad and system to the opposition at hand. How many laughed at Warburton`s "making Plan A better", yet ever since we tried exactly that under SG and now Gio, and de facto fell short in 4 of 5 seasons. That is some inverted learning curve. It ain`t that difficult to see that what works in Europe is not necessarily also working in Scotland - and as we see time and again, it isn`t working. People may still have fond memories of 55, yet, the reasons why we achieved that were manyfold, and 2 of the main ones were us being able to see out low-scoring games without conceeding silly/late goals (which we did the seasons before and now) as well as the Scum falling apart after the turn of the year, with TLB being made a scapegoat and we laughed heartily and his demise. This season, we still suffer from the same ills, the Scum have not only spent enough to see a CL return next season, but also got more than a helping hand from compliant referees (to the amount of 10 to 15 points). While McGregor alone has cost us half a dozen points this year alone. Given how the Scum play these days and our current form, it is hard to see is clawing back 7 points (given their goal difference), and while the fat lady hasn`t sung yet, she`s already waiting behind the curtain. Maybe we can save a bit of face with a cup win or another EL scalp, but I`ll toast that when it happens.

i thought bassey was the best player on the park not just our MOTM. He really is a find Though i fully understand why a celtc player got it.

21 points mate not games i think

I agree, but how many years is it now that we've been relying on Morelos and seem to have no clue what to do when he's not in the team?

I will be honest and say our failure to buy a striker cost us today. As soon as Morelos was injured I feared for the game today.

WTF?

I would like to have seen McLaughlin get more game time for a while now but there is no way any Rangers fan should be making a scapegoat of Allan McGregor.

What sticks in my craw is that this green and white lot get a free pass into the Champions League that they did nothing to achieve; the coefficient which made it possible was all our doing. We will just have to win the Europa now.

There's a lot of debate about whether GvB is a suitable replacement for SG. Tbh I'm not sure what that even means because, except for one league title, Gerrard achieved so little at Rangers and the disappointments during his tenure were routine. I really liked Gerrard but let's not kid ourselves that we filled the trophy cupboard when he was here. Gio has a completely different personality and it may not be to everyone's liking but I find it hard to judge him as a Rangers manager at this stage. The team on the park is clearly struggling to find its best form but that was also true for Gerrard's first 2 seasons and the first half of this season too. I think the truth is we need a better manager than Gerrard and it will take another season at least before we know if Gio is that man. Mistakes have been made at all levels of the club this season but there are no magic wands and we only have our own renewed efforts to fall back on.

Having done stewarding in the early 2000s in Germany, I am utterly amazed how bottles, tennis balls, streamers and whatnot make their way into Scottish football grounds.

Over half a century supporting Rangers I’ve heard the same response to every setback and period of adversity- sell that player, fire that manager, sack that board. I heard it when we were winning trophies and I hear it now. In truth it’s almost never the right answer. I’m happy to go against the grain and say what we need now is unity and calm decision making …. It may not be enough to win the league next season but it will certainly achieve more than division, discontent and knee-jerk reactions.

Finally, after a somewhat understandable delay due to various pandemic reasons, we've managed to present Connor Goldson with his prize for last season's PotY award. Thanks to @Scott7, @Yorkie Bear, @Bluedelland @blueflagfor their contributions to the beautiful crystal and to everyone else for their continued support of our website. Shout out to the @RangersFCSLOand Nick Thomson at Rangers for their help in making sure Connor received his award.