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A win which should have been by a much greater margin. Reminders of last season

SAKAAAAAAALLAAAAAAA!!!!!! Anyone who wants to sell him, needs to have a hard look at himself! 😜

I had a wee enforced lay off last season, but I really enjoyed being back at Ibrox today. Watching the UB's sing along with the Hamburg fans, and the "No Surrender, union flag" tifo was cool. As for the game, I thought a few Gers played well, with Souttar, Sakala, Dowell & Yilmaz standing out. I was also chuffed to see Lawrence & Roofe get some minutes. WATP

The back page of today's Daily Record is bad news for Rangers supporters, Keef screeches Feyenoord's perception of Rangers low ball offers for Danilo. The front page blames Alan McGregor's testimonial for exacerbating Glasgow's homelessness problem. Yesterday, it was reporting a Rangers fan being banned from Scottish football for eight years because he threw a boiled sweet at a Police van. Tomorrow in the Sunday Liam, Rangers will be exposed for creating more than their fair share of pot holes.

He must be doing something right.

I'll be honest if Souttar is better on the right side than the left I think there's a serious question as to who starts on that right side, Souttar is as just as good a passer and, imo, a better carrier and out and out defender. Goldson has credit in the bank but he isn't a stellar defender, just consistently solid. Souttar has a higher ceiling in terms of performance but might dip more than Goldson. Or is this all waffle?

I don't really know how Lammers got man of the match? Looks ok, but pretty wasteful in the final third.

Sakala makes both goals lol

Matondo looks a complete lost cause. Took me a year to get there but he just can’t put anything together at all. Raskin has started poorly. Dowell and Yilmaz look bright.

Not bleeding likely. Women choosing their husbands’ clothes explains why so many middle-aged and even elderly men are wandering the streets dressed like infants.

We can't afford strikers with the numbers that look great. What we have to rely on is MB identifying someone who will score hols in our system.

Looking forward to tomorrow's match against Hamburger SV. Hopefully we'll see a decent game and I'm sure the atmosphere will be enjoyable, although the German side might not have as many fans over as we'd have expected (high travel and hotel costs being the main reason). I've been over to Hamburg twice and attended one match at the Volksparkstadion (they lost 1-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt, who I'm really developing a dislike for). The people over there were very friendly, particularly in their own HSV fan bar a couple of stops from the stadium. Now the clubs have an official partnership it's good to finally get a friendly match. Here's hoping there's a return leg in Hamburg sometime soon.

Cannot say I'm impressed with Sima so far, but it's early days

Sakala is into the final year of his contract. If we/ he not extending it he should be sold & the money put towards replacing him. Same goes for Lundstrum & Barasic.

Stirling.

I think Yilmaz did himself a lot of good today, especially defensively.

That Dompe (Dombe?) is good.

I can't believe Rice is 16. He's taking the piss out there.

Would have liked to see a bit more of an identity forming. Still looks a bit disjointed to me.

Wasn't there a big chance that came from Butland through to Dowell in the box? I agree with @Frankie on Dowell btw, it's amazing what players with good fitness in their prime or coming up to it can do to a team. Early days but I think you can see the profiling that Beale has done is hopefully going to make an impact.

Sounds like I'm in the minority. I was not impressed. We had some good chances, but I didn't feel they came about through anything we did; it was mainly counters. That's not a bad thing - counterattacks are a key phase of the game - but I'd like to see us create from open play, through initiating our own attack, building through the thirds.

Yes, I think he does favour the left side, so he can cut inside.

He's got something, certainly, but I fear he will never be in Vogue

The absence of both Roofe & Tom Lawrence was massive last season

Absolutely, we can only hope his op is a success, no doubt he is the best striker we have, when fit??

You're on you own there...

I'm on the way now, with my wee boy. 😎

The mainstream media don't have scooby, which is just the way I like it. Begs the question: why do Bears read that crap?

The fact we could have signed him for free last season when we decided to instead go for a journeyman in Colak or a Matondo and now we are looking to spend 6 million doesn’t seem wise. Good business by feyenoord for a guy who is a squad player.

Pretty sure Sakala has 2 years left, didn't he sign a 4 year deal on a Bosman 2 seasons ago? If anything I'd be looking to give him another couple of years on top if he can supplement the attack this season with 20+ g/a in rotation. Invaluable.

Well did we show anything to make us look forward to the season ahead .

All other things being equal, I should have Souttar in. It's not my First XI, but Beale's: so if Goldson was fit, I suspect he would start. Butland and Tav will start, as will Raskin, and Cantwell. I suspect, strongly, that Dowell will, too. Thereafter, your guess is as good (if not better) than mine. And of course we don't know about Danilo, or Cienfuegos (whatever). Ultimately, I think he is going to have a pool which allows flexibility, and cover, so we might be wrong to get hung up on 'The 1st XI'.

Butland Tav Souttar Davies Ridvan Raskin Cantwell Dowell Fash Roofe Dessers..........

Again, difficult to take much from pre-season games and it was very much a disjointed game but I thought there were enough bits and pieces to help us enjoy the rest of our weekend. I did like the look of Lammers, felt Roofe looked very sharp (I know!) while Yfeko and Rice both showed up well. Onwards and upwards!

Makes the game look easy. I know it’s a cliche but defo applies here. picks passes in corridor’s so narrow he has no right to pass through

Albeit this is a pre-season loosener, it's been fairly disjointed but I think there have been some glimmers of positivity. Dowell, Hagi, Raskin, Yilmaz, Davies, Balogun and Butland all look comfortable and keen. And of course Fashion Jr is ..... well, Fashion Jr. Sima looks like a man lost overboard, trying to remember whether or not he can swim. And the question keeps coming up - are we wasting our time with Matondo? If I were Beale I'd be particularly happy with the commitment of Hagi, Yilmaz, Raskin and Dowell. New team for the second half.

Should have had 2/3 more tbh, am I being greedy? they were very decent chance we missed

The referee is terrible. *looks up who it is* Oh - As you were.

I agree with you and Graeme of that but part of me thinks we have went out and bought 3 strikers to replace 3 strikers - Morelos - Colak - Roofe a year earlier purely as his fitness can’t be relied on.

Him and Souttar in the second half should be interest - looks like we will be very expansive after half-time...

6 million quid for Danilo seems crazy to me tbh. I hope Dessers plays well today, and Roofe can stay fit.

Fulham have reached an agreement with Ajax to to sign defender Calvin Bassey for a fee in the region of €21million. The Athletic reported earlier this week that the west London club had made an initial offer in writing of around £15m ($19.3m) for Bassey. But the clubs have now settled on an increased sum plus a sell-on fee. The deal remains subject to personal terms being agreed. https://theathletic.com/4711998/2023/07/22/calvin-bassey-fulham-ajax-transfer-news/?source=emp_shared_article

"A wife has been convicted of harassment after plaguing her husband with requests to come home from watching football and hounding her friends about his whereabouts." If ever there was an article on Gersnet to 'bookmark', it is this (although ah say so masel'). Wife convicted of harassment after calls to husband during football Joanne Healey rang the landline at his friends’ house 59 times in two hours new Peter Chappell Friday July 21 2023, 9.25am, The Times Law https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/wife-phone-call-husband-watching-football-harassment-2jpb2stl9 A wife has been convicted of harassment after plaguing her husband with requests to come home from watching football and hounding her friends about his whereabouts. Joanne Healey, 59, repeatedly called her spouse of 37 years, Steve, on his mobile as he was watching Chelsea play Manchester United on television, a court was told. When the former aerospace worker, 60, eventually refused to take her calls, Healey rang his friends John and Debbie Ashworth, leading to an argument during which she called them “paedophiles”. He went home when the match finished but his wife was later interviewed by police over the calls to the Ashworths’ home in Merseyside. It emerged that she had been drinking heavily at the time of the incident. In the days leading up to the football match, she was said to have been abusive to Mrs Ashworth over text messages, social media and calls. Mrs Ashworth blocked her but she began to receive numerous unwanted phone calls to her landline. On one occasion Mrs Healey was said to have phoned the house phone 59 times in the space of two hours. At Wirral magistrates’ court Healey pleaded guilty to harassment and was sentenced to a 12-month community order and fined £80. She must attend 20 days of rehabilitative activity with the probation service and pay £234 in costs and victim surcharge. A request for a restraining order made on behalf of Mrs Ashworth was rejected. Healey, from Rock Ferry, had no previous convictions. Her lawyer Rebecca Boswell said: “Although she likes a drink she is not dependent on alcohol. But she accepts that maybe when she has had a drink, maybe what she has bottled up comes out. “She has gone her whole life without coming before the court. I do not think this is where she envisaged herself being. She is currently undergoing further assessment in relation to arthritis, she is having X-rays on her hips and back and also blood tests. ”This is one occasion of telephone calls. This is someone who has come to court for the first time and is never to come back.” Sentencing, JP Mary Garvey told Healey: “It is unfortunate that you are in court today. The calls were persistent and prolonged but we are not going to place a restraining order on you because of the passage of time. It is over eight months and there have been no further incidents. “But it is a warning to you and a lesson to you and we hope that we do not see you before these courts again.”

July updates applied. Same as always. Anything crazy wrong, let us know

Alas, Frankie, I am too posh....