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I'd love him to stay but if I were McCausland I'd get on the first plane to Bergamo or Rome on the first of January. Doig, Ferguson and Hickey have all flourished in Italy and Rangers have proven that they can't produce first team regulars. Some won't like to hear it but it's the truth, until we start giving young lads **SUBSTANTIAL** minutes we can't complain when they leave to pursue a better career.

This next block of games between Pittodrie on Sunday and Kilmarnock on 2nd January there are 12 games in 37 days in 3 different competitions. The League Cup final v Dolly will surely see us welcome back the old trophy we have won more than anyone else, while the 2 Europa fixtures will hopefully see us confirm post-Xmas Euro football to look forward to, but it is of course the 9 league fixtures where our season will be defined when the dust settles. Aberdeen A St Mirren H Hearts A Dundee H St Johnstone H Motherwell A Ross County H Bheasts A Kilmarnock H The 5 home games should be straight forward victories, so it is the 4 away games that will probably let us see if we have a shot at this title or not. A successful period will have us top or certainly close to it, anything less and it’s probably done. Thoughts?

My Grandfather was ten years of age when Rangers secured the 1899 league championship and, he never let us forget it. Uniquely, Rangers won every league game that season and the club skipper, Robert Hamilton played every game as centre forward. His record over ten seasons is remarkable, reaping 184 goals in 209 appearances and notching another 15 goals in 11 Scottish internationals. According to the auld lad, Robert just wanted to shoot from anywhere on the pitch. Robert was a genuine lad o'pairts, finished football and entered tertiary education, became a teacher the a Headteacher, became a Councillor in his native Elgin for a couple of decades, spending the last several as the town's Lord Provost. He concluded as Chair of Moray Education Board. The club should honour Robert C Hamilton's legacy. Jimmy Fleming holds a few club records to this day; highest scorer in a single match(9), the most goals in the Scottish Cup(44) and, in a Queen of the South game at Ibrox he ran from the Rangers bye-line to the Queens six yard line, evading between six and a dozen tackles(dependent upon the number of wee goldies my Grandfather had consumed) before finishing high into the net. He scored 220 goals in 267 appearances over ten seasons. Another of this era with fantastic stats is Willie Reid, 195 goals in 240 appearances then, there is Jimmy Smith with 249 goals in 258 appearances and again, Bob McPhail with 261 in 408 appearances. My old man did not care for Jimmy Smith, referred to him as a bully. He loved Willie Thornton, Millar and Brand but, particularly lionised Jim Forrest. We know Jim was the John Lawrence decreed scapegoat for Berwick'67 and Dad was strong in his opinion that Jim's absence in Nuremberg cost the club the ECWC later that year. Jim was prolific scoring 145 goals in 163 games. I remember as an eight year old being in awe of his figures in 1965, 57 goals in a season. Jim only spent five and a half years at the club. My first real Rangers hero was Colin Stein, signed for £100,000 from Hibs in 1968. He notched two hat-tricks and a double in his three games against Hibs, Clyde and, Arbroath. We felt we were on to something amid the dark days of Jock Stein domination. Colin was a forerunner for Morelos, sure he had a temper and never backed down to challenges presented by opposition defenders. Colin missed the League Cup final 1-0 victory over Sellik because the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, Sir Bob Kelly(also Celtic Chair) suspended Stein for six weeks which finished the Monday after the Saturday final. Waddell turned him into the Lone Ranger, support when it arrived came from Bud Johnson. This combination grabbed the necessary goals to secure the ECWC in '72. Colin chased down everything and this was never better epitomised on Christmas day 1970 at Easter Road. Shivering on that old high terrace, the snow fell in injury time with game locked at nil-nil. Stein went on a long run to get on the end of a ball into the box, knocking it into the net. He returned to the same pitch and superbly headed Rangers towards our first title in 11 years. Derek Parlane was the King of Ibrox Park for a time, notching a five goal haul and a four goal spread against the Pars and Killie respectively. He vied continually with DJ for the number nine spot. Derek Johnstone was a remarkable player whether it be in defence, midfield or, attack. DJ's 210 goals must contain the reminder that at least half of his 549 appearances were not as centre forward. We come to Hateley and McCoist. They are correctly remembered fondly as the partnership and I believe if Ally had not broke his leg on international duty in Lisbon, they would have secured Rangers the big one in season '92-'93. They were special. Mark could do it all, run in behind and beyond defences and score with either foot or head. Ally missed as many as he notched but importantly was always in position to miss in the first place. Ally's exceptional record is unrivalled at the club, 355 goals in 581 appearances. He had at least a dozen partnerships up front in his 15 seasons at Rangers. My front pairing is McCoist and Stein.

You'll be fine for a midweek game.

You have to get Dado Prso on your list 👍 And Gordon Durie who I would have as an unsung hero. Did lots of hard work and always good for goals.

I can hardly believe I'm about to put McCoist back on the bench but for anyone who saw him Jim Forrest was peerless, an amazing goal scorer, like McCoist on steroids and on balance he gets my vote as the main striker. My remaining choice of forward is Brian Laudrup. Brian Laudrup and Jim Forrest. So, notwithstanding my original selections, the more I've thought about this team, the more I realise that it can only be done be leaving out some great players. On reflection, my all-time Rangers team is ........ Laudrup - Forrest - Henderson Baxter - I. Ferguson - A. MacDonald Caldow - McKinnon - Gough - Greig Goram An impassable defence, a phenomenally creative midfield and a devastating forward line. On the bench ...... Billy Ritchie, Carlos Cuellar, Sandy Jardine, Derek Johnstone, Ralph Brand, Ally McCoist, Tommy McLean

Wouldn't be surprise if this is his agents trying to work a better deal...

On a goals per game bases I think it would be Sam English and Jim Forrest

@26th of foot is a wise man. He heeds the guidance of his illustrious forebears, what a pedigree. I thought I’d follow his example and with the aid of the ouija board I asked my old man what he thought. The answer from the spirit world without a moment’s hesitation, Lawrie Reilly and Joe Baker. Should have known. Dad was a Spider but the Hibs were his other team. So, using my own skill and judgement: Willie Thornton but there’s no Willie Waddell on the wing. Don Kitchenbrand and Maxie Murray scored plenty but there were better to follow. Jimmy Millar and Ralph Brand - say no more. Jim Forrest a player who was more than just a goal machine. Derek Parlane deserved better than Ally Scott or Martin Henderson as his assistant. DJ probably the most versatile of the lot. McCoist and Hateley, the perfect partnership and the bookies’ favourites. There was no type of goal Super couldn’t score from the sublime to the ridiculous Robert Fleck. I didn’t understand why Souness preferred Hateley. I found out when that famous header went in. Durie and Drinkell - workers but goal scorers too. Negri and Mols - ah, what might have been. Prso and Jelavic would have been a prolific pairing. You would have to be blind not to pick McCoist and Hately but I choose Millar and Brand (Where’s that damn dog with my white stick?) Jimmy Millar could leap and power in headers like DJ and Hateley. His work rate never slackened. No defender had an easy afternoon with Millar on the park. Ralph Brand, the ultimate craftsman goalsmith. I can’t remember him scoring from distance nor did he get a lot with his head but from every part of the penalty area, left or right side Ralphie would rifle them into the corner. Crackshot.

Like most, it has to be Super Ally plus one. What a difficult choice. Hateley the obvious one and will probably win the vote but the start and end of his Rangers career were both dismal, so i'm going to go for Morelos. On top form he bullied defenders, linked up, could score from anywhere and while he didnt have a great record in OF games, (much like Boyd who I nearly went for) his European record was phenomenal. McCoist & Morelos As a footnote, this is the only player of this Century that gets my pick. 23 years into the 21st Century, which is more years than I went to see Rangers in the 20th Century (15), but with the way the TV money is king in football now, the quality of player we can attract and/or develop/keep has gone down and down.

Definitely the best player we never signed. He improves by the year

I think my two will be going on seatsub for this, il dm closer to the time. But as frankie said should be fine for a midweek ibrox game.

Many, many players to pick from here and we may struggle to find agreement on at least one of the choices. McCoist is a given - what a player he was. Yes, he could be a lazy, wasteful bugger at times but after Mo Johnston joined and he matured, I think he did improve his overall game. His partner has to be Hateley for me. His arrival was an exercise in patience as he struggled for several months to win over the support. Ashe finally found his feet, he really was a fantastic player - physically robust, top class in the air and blessed with enough pace and skill to cause problems for defences at home and abroad. Others since then have been superb: Mols was unplayable at times, Jelavic the ideal #9, Boyd's finishing was second to none and someone like Kenny Miller would suit our existing team down to a tee. But none are as good as Ally and Mark.

Just noticed nobody mentioned Souness for this position. Whilst remember watching games he played in, Im a year or so a bit young to really remember how he played and if he would have been considered for this position / role? Ray Wilkins is another. (Albeit only had a short stint at Ibrox) Is it a case they came too late in their career and had already peaked? A Question for those 46ish and over......

They are severely boring to watch but should be one of the best teams to watch considering their squad. I cant believe against Malta he played Maguire and Henderson. They are joint favourites 4/1 with France for the Euros but they dont have that winning mentality that France, Germany and Italy have - these 3 are "tournament teams" that just need to get into tournaments and will always have a chance.

On matters concerning Rangers, my Grandfather and old man rarely agreed. We sat together in Section G of the old main stand for a decade from mid-60s to mid-70s. I was positioned between them and experienced the sniping growing to heavy artillery exchanges every other fortnight. If you view a photo' of Section G, I am the one of several hundred NOT replete in a bunnet. One player had both singing from the same hymn sheet, the Deedle Dawdle aka Wullie Waddell. Waddell was one of a number of Rangers who had their careers interupted by the several years of World War two. Post conflict, Rangers offensive capabilities were sustained by Waddell and Thornton MM. Rangers iron curtain defence were pitted against Hibs famous five forwards and any forward ball was latched on to by pacey Waddell. He dragged Rangers up the park and regularly released crosses for Willie Thornton to finish. Rangers domination in decade immediately after the was was built on solid defence but, it was Waddell and Thornton that created and scored the vital trophy winning goals. Wullie Henderson made a dynamic impact, his arrival saw Alec Scott depart for Everton. Direct running with pace and a feign followed by a low hard shot. Wullie was precocious and gallus with it, bags of swagger. Often, we hear Jinky did not receive the number of caps his play deserved. An inconvenient fact not parroted by the our separated brethren is that when Jock Stein took temporary controll of Scotland for 1966 world cup qualification, he selected Henderson more often than Jinky because Wullie was more direct and effective. He morphed into a probing midfielder, lots of give and go and, was important in both ECWC sides of '67 and'72. Tommy McLean arrived from Killie and he became the threat to Wullie in the way Wullie threatened Scott. Tommy was a thoughtful winger and possessed a range of chips and crosses to keep most defences on their heels. He formed a wonderful partnership with Sandy Jardine on the right flank and a most effective partnership with DJ up front. His crossing was pin point. Another player who benefitted from Tommy's know how was Alfie Conn. Sandy would overlap, DJ would stretch to the last man up front and, Alfie would come short with a ton of space to work within. I thought Trevor Steven could be the new Tommy and, apart from leaving for Marseille too early in his first spell and almost constant injury in his second; it could have happened, he was most gifted. I watched Brian Laudrup's Ibrox debut against Motherwell in the company of my Dad. After 20 minutes he turned and stated Laudrup's crouched start and stop, start surging running style was reminiscent of Waddell. In the 88th minute with the teams' tying 1-1 and, the 'Well had a corner; the ball was cleared to the right of our penalty area and, Laudrup took off running the length of the pitch. He laid the ball off to big Dunc' and he finished to secure a 2-1 victory. He had it all and gave the opposition the fear. He turned a Charlie Miller lob into the Dundee United box into a worldy nine in a row clinching header. I vote Brian Laudrup.

Somebody crocked already? Should have known. This is Rangers.

When Goldson was missing last season after getting injured against Liverpool his absence effectively finished our season.