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Surely the last vestiges of debate on this are over. when celtc were losing 45 mins into their game you knew they would win. When we went a goal down after 4 minutes you knew we wouldn't says it all.

In VAR's first weekend in Scottish football, it has upset both Chris Sutton and John Hartson. What's not to like?

Only issue is everything took too long. 3mins of injury time first half and another 7 at the end of the game which could easily have been 10mins.

Are you sure that isn’t a leaked starting 11 for the Aberdeen game on Saturday?

I think this is another player similar to Sakala in that his strongest qualities aren't best used against low block sides, but when there is space in behind, or when he can run at people without being doubled up on... I still think he can come good, just has to be used the right way to maximise his skills, happy to give him time, still only 22 years old so plenty of time to improve against domestic style teams.

I think you could have wrote this post 8 months ago and it’s as true then as it is now. The board won’t act though.

Here's my line up for the Napoli game, consists of the classic 1-10 format. MCGREGOR TAVERNIER DEVINE KING DAVIES SANDS JACK DAVIS ARFIELD YILMAZ BARISIC .

I don't recall ever being this certain that we're going to get absolutely annihilated.

Only the most goals ever conceded in the Champions league . But yes, you're right we should do something different, ...defend.

The difference is in the energy, intensity, creativity, goal threat and belief.

That is obviously up to the members but your quesion could lead us to what IMO is the real issue. DK has from way back looked to influence and essentially capture C1872 for his own purposes. However, like several things in the past, he has come up short or lost the investment, eg. Rangers v SDI, lost 20M Rangers/Sir Duped. Further back Dave King v SA Tax Authorities. Now he wants to sell his shares. He had the C1872 executive primed to push it forward and it has predictably bombed. Once money goes into the club, it is very difficult to recuperate all of it, never mind make a profit. That goes for anyone, including previously successful businessman. There is no sign that will change and that is why you have to ask where do asset strippers plan on making money with Rangers. What next for DK ? I don't know if the story is true, about threatening Rangers with pushing them toward administration if we didn't pay him back his loan. The problem being I don't trust Mark Dingwall, who I know will always be prepared to bend truth for others (sometimes for the greater good), nor do I trust Dave King that he wouldn't make what would probably have been an empty threat. Is he somehow involved with this apparent interest from Kyle Fox and the company she represents ? If Paul Murray is/was, then very possibly but really, I don't know. The current board are certainly reaching a difficult juncture. One that shows just how difficult it is to make a a club accustomed to run at a loss into a sustainable business and keep everyone happy.

There doesn't seem to be an ounce of enthusiasm among the playing staff, no enjoyment. I'm beginning to think Mr Dull is simply sucking the energy out of the squad. He seems to think leadership and motivation is conveyed only in words.

Is it possible that the 'philosophy' of "No tricks, tricks are for the circus" is straitjacketing those players who have a trick, or two, in their locker, say, Kent, and Matondo, and is contributing, majorly,to lack of form?

The fhilth hate it, already, and those two Muppets Sutton and Hartson declared, independently (obvs) that Pederasty FC had beaten both Hertz and the VAR man. It helped us by ensuring a red card was, rightly, dished out to a Livvy player. All good, then.

He has shown some genuine quality but only in (limited) flashes. However, he is more suited playing wide left, whilst we persist playing him wide right.

He hasn't really had a chance. To judge him on Saturday when the whole team were rubbish is hardly fair. He is a left winger and can't get to play there because there is an automatic selection there who hasn't kicked a ball for months.

Overall, it's favourable. It's not going to correct all mistakes, but it did seem to correct quite a few over the weekend, and that's got to be a bonus.

There's no reason I can see why Tamundo can't be making real contributions in this Rangers team but it's clear he doesn't believe he has the confidence of the coaching staff. Like some others, his confidence appears shot to pieces and I worry about the apparent inability of this coaching group to lift players out of their gloom. Perhaps this is pain we (they) need to go through to be stronger in the long run but I feel myself slowly accepting the inevitability of a change of manager.

I think Matondo's Rangers career so far has very much reflected our season: inconsistent, stop-start and affected by injuries. The problem I have is he doesn't look any better than Sakala whom he was arguably brought in to replace. He may well improve with a proper run of games but the manager seems to only reserve that for a certain few.

Don't think so, mate. That was funded by bank overdraft, secured on the club's property (stadium and Albion).

Reserve the right to hold my opinion until it has been in use till at LEAST the WC break. However, the fact that SPL refs are in the review booth, does not instill confidence.

Villa played more like a team yesterday without a manager

So sometime before ST renewals ? Celtic should have got rid of Lennon in late October (really shoudn't have hired him in the showers, we are glad they did) but citing past achievement and loyalty they hung on until well into the following year, despite major fan protests. A month or two before ST renewals they finally pulled the plug.....No replacement until the summer. I wonder how our board see things just now and how much finances are conditioning that view. We don't have the same amount of money to throw at it as they did last summer. They'll probably get automatic CL again and spend much more on the squad than we can. Unless we appoint an excellent manager and our recruitment is the same, then a real gap will start opening up again. With that in mind, do/should the board (with an eye on the league title) look to be proactive and make the change now ? They are in a very difficult situation.

The ball will start rolling when the fans start emptying the stands. Then and only then will the board take notice.

They should be investing directly in Rangers surely?

We get it. It was a shit performance, no one was especially good and you feel you need to make a statement. But enough of this "non-award" nonsense. There is always a MOTM, even if it is only least worst. It's always relative and never absolute.

Nope, far too scared to watch them. It’s going to be a hard enough watch midweek without giving myself more sleepless nights before then!

Cant stand it and agree with Postal glue.... jeez whats happening to me!

A good point. Imagine a coach saying that to Baxter or Henderson. Or Gazza or Laudrup.

My reports of todays U14 & U16 games. https://rfcyouths.wordpress.com/2022/10/23/academy-teams-take-on-hamilton/

This is a perfect storm of the Board failing to spend big on the team, Wilson failing to deliver the first team quality we required, retaining players too long and van Bronkhorst being tactically inept and completely uninspiring. The team is dire, they have lost heart, are unfit and not even going through the motions. Those who do care are flogged until they drop and played while injured. Meanwhile others can't get off the bench. Roofe looked a class apart when he came on the other night and he literally got minutes yesterday. Wright showed he was up for it and never got off the bench in the next game. The manager is hopeless.

Should not have needed VAR regards sending off it was clearly a red from where I sit and referee got it SO WRONG.

Yeah that's the one. I thought it was a stonewaller and would have been ragin if it was us that didn't get it!

I really think that squad is fine, although I would want another #8 or two, and a winger. When I look at the different positions, I think there's good quality there. They're not 'old', either. It's only Davis and Arfield from the midfield that are old. The defenders are around 30, which is not 'old' for defenders, and it's not as if there are no younger back-ups, there. The issue is form; too many players out of form. But what happened to the old adage 'form is temporary...'? Form is mostly down to the manager, IMO.

Racist.

Whilst it's incumbent that we keep an eye on the Boardroom I'm reluctant to compare what we have now to the Murray regime. For starters they're playing with their own money not the banks, there is no one with an overwhelming dominating shareholding, they are in the main Rangers fans and contrary to what people think they actually get it. They won't take us down the same road as Murray and we should at least thank them for that. I was way to late to start questioning Murray, it took the spunking of £12m (of someone else's money naturally) before I realised it was only going to end one way. I totally get where you're coming from and don't dispute that concern is genuinely held. I myself have felt the wrath of the masses for not running with the herd, it can put you in a lonely place.

In the car this afternoon so had no option but Sportsound for twenty minutes either side of halftime. Don’t know who the commentator was (not Squealam McLeod) but he didn’t once mention the champions’ stellar victory at Tynecastle nor did he big-up Livingston’s epic defence. He did go on a bit about any Rangers player receiving the ball in space immediately passing it backwards. Whoever he was is unlikely to broadcast again.

I agree about Europe in particular and I will forever be grateful for what SG did as part of our rebuild, winning #55 and making us a real force to be reckoned with in Europe. But he wasn't perfect. I think his reputation is growing with every passing month since he left, like one of those former players who isn't good enough to make it but becomes a world beater after he's gone. If he could have motivated the players a bit and sorted out the malaise which seemed to have set-in, I think he'd still be here and his managerial stock would be on the rise. That said, there's echoes of what's happening with this group of players this season, with what happened during the start to his last one.

Now that Gerrard is out at Aston Villa, hope nobody wishes him to return to us. There will be some.

Last season for Rangers fans was very much one of ups and downs. From the incredible high of beating RB Leipzig to reach the Europa League final to the low of surrendering our league title to Celtic, it's fair to say 2021/22 was somewhat of a roller-coaster. However, finishing the season by beating Hearts in the Scottish Cup final - despite the pain of losing in Seville - pointed to a positive future with a squad who believed in their quality and were fit enough to compete on several fronts. With that in mind, fans were excited about the new season. Less European qualifiers were required, our transfer business was done before the competitive fixtures kicked off and aside from one or two areas of concern in the team, most fans felt we had squad more than capable of challenging Celtic for the title once again. By the end of August, that confidence remained fairly high - we'd qualified for the Champions League group stage (no small feat with a fine away win in Eindhoven) and were unlucky to drop points at Easter Road ; a match impacted by a red card that was later rescinded. Less than a week into September though, matters took a turn for the worse. Three quick-fire hammerings from Celtic, Ajax and Napoli with the loss of players to injury as well as the poor form of various others soon put a negative focus onto the manager and our style of play. At this point it's only fair to note that from the outset the appointment of Gio was one the fans knew would deliver a team conservative in style. 'Keep the Zero' was his mantra and even a Feyenoord supporting guest on our podcast acknowledged the defensive nature of his outlook where he liked his teams to control games as opposed to all-out attack. This had been noted during his first six months at Ibrox with some commentators noting this style worked well in Europe but could be less effective in the SPFL. However, it was also hoped a summer of coaching and new additions to his staff (both playing and off-the-field) would result in that balance being improved. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to have happened. Indeed, at first glance further European defeats to Liverpool whilst maintaining a winning record domestically may suggest van Bronckhorst has erred in the wrong direction. Perhaps, instead of maintaining our competitiveness in Europe, he’s left us too open in such games in order for us to carry more of a threat into league matches? Unfortunately, that isn’t the case with our form against weaker opposition as much a concern of that against Europe’s elite. Valid reasons can explain our issues in Europe – the main one being the step up in class from the Europa League to the Champions League. For example, although our Euro wins last season remain impressive, those teams just weren’t on the same level as Liverpool, Ajax or an exciting Napoli side currently top of our group and Serie A. Add in issues with injuries and just some general poor form, accruing even a point from our section may prove beyond us. There’s no immediate shame in that. Even so, at the very least, we can expect a well-motivated, well-organised effort in such games. Yes, important players may miss out or one or two can play badly but aside from a reasonable first hour in the two home matches against Napoli and Liverpool, we simply haven’t turned up. Add in a dreadful display away to Union SG in the qualifiers, then the manager has to take ownership of our struggles which aren’t unique to the last few weeks. In general, though, I think it’s a valid point to separate our European and league efforts this season. In hindsight, qualifying for the CL was perhaps reward enough after reaching the Europa League final – certainly, it represents progress and will be one KPI the manager would be positively judged on. On the other hand our domestic form has to be viewed differently. Ironically, by and large, results have been fairly good with only five points dropped – two of which at Easter Road along with the defeat to Celtic at Parkhead.; neither of which are unsurprising or unexpected across our history. Goal difference is also reasonable; we’re scoring a fair amount and not conceding too many despite having issues at goalkeeper and defence. A cursory look at Gio’s win rate shows him as high as any Rangers manager even if his sample size is smaller compared to others. Overall, a neutral observer might wonder why so many fans are now calling for the manager to be sacked? Style of play and quality of performance therein are the main justifications. Despite that longer summer of pre-season preparation, the only tactical changes of note were to a disastrous zonal marking system (soon disposed of), the odd change to a back three in European games (equally less than successful) and using our full-backs inside of the winger (perhaps more down to our captain carrying an injury than a deliberate amendment). In fact, it’s not immediately discernible to much more informed tactical observers than me as to what our playing identity is. But there's certainly no tempo, minimal fluency and we carry a minimal attacking threat for long periods in most games. The oft talked about ‘horse-shoe’ recycling of possession is used in a negative sense to criticise our ponderous use of the ball and the manager’s preferences for two wingers and long diagonals long sussed out by opposition defences. Gio has also been very clear (or was initially) that he wouldn’t play with two strikers. This means our goal-scoring talisman of recent years has hardly got a look in this term. Add in other problems, such as the failure to strengthen in central midfield meaning we’re relying on Steven Davis, Scott Arfield and the perennially injured Ryan Jack and our decision to spend the thick end of £5m on a reserve Turkish left back means that any sympathy for our engine room issues are in short supply. To be fair to the manager, he’s not offered much excuses as to our bad form. After the team were jeered off against Dundee in the League Cup this week, he said he understood supporter frustration and that he and the players needed to do better. That’s a positive but, aside from injured players returning (Roofe might help and Lawrence definitely will), Gio is struggling to get any sort of tune out of his current players. It might only be October but ask a fan to name a player immune from criticism then they may struggle. Antonio Colak has scored goals and been an initial success but there are few others. If one or two players are off form, that can be blamed on those individuals, if the vast majority of the team are struggling, then there’s an obvious disconnect somewhere. Should the manager be sacked then? It’s somewhat of a cop out but I can’t see that happening right now even if it might be an inevitability. Rangers Football Club didn’t become Scotland’s most successful team by changing managers during difficult times – especially when they can point to a reasonable record results-wise over their first year in charge, including reaching a European final. As such, unless we go on a run of domestic losses before the World Cup break, it would be a big surprise to see us remove Gio before then (the final two CL results shouldn’t be factors). That will allow the manager to regroup and give him another four weeks to instil his vision into the squad. Players returning from injury will help but he’ll have another five games – including Hibs, Aberdeen and Celtic – to navigate successfully before the transfer window opens again in January. Do we really think we’ll win all our games between now and Celtic at Ibrox? I doubt many fans have confidence in such a run but the preferred alternative in replacing the manager is equally difficult to predict. As it stands there appears to be issues throughout the club. The Communications Director recently resigned, various scouts have gone and the Sporting Director has come under criticism for the status of the squad. No matter your opinion on these issues, it seems obvious that the squad will undergo further changes through the next 2-3 transfer windows. As such, do we believe Ross Wilson and Gio have the relationship to do that effectively on the limited budget we’re told we have? Or should someone else be brought in to make the kind of decisions will affect the club for the short and medium term? If so, who? Mick Beale has just turned down Wolves so will he really fancy the gamble of coming back to Ibrox? Which Scottish managers would we trust? Or can we find a left-field foreign appointment like Celtic to bring back excitement and success? Nothing is guaranteed regardless. To conclude, fifteen hundred words in and I’m afraid I’m no closer to a definitive answer to the article’s question. There’s no doubt we’re in difficult times but we’ve all been through worse. Yet this still seems to be a key juncture in the club’s immediate future. I won’t pretend to know the solution and, I would suggest when a team is being booed from the park after a win, then a change will surely be inevitable but I also don’t think the van Bronckhorst story at Rangers is finished yet. The next few weeks will tell us more. Let’s just hope the viewing in that time is better than we’ve seen in recent weeks. One thing is certain, it can’t be much worse.