Leaderboard

We were always going to drop points before The end of the season. i just didn’t think it would be to a toilet team like Motherwell at Ibrox. Still a long way to go.

None of his our last two leaders have given us an identity, a style of play or a focus like PC has. Neither of them improved players, had us looking hungry, no matter who was in the line up. Neither of them overturned that lot, and made us look genuine favourites. Midweek we weren't lucky, coming back from a goal down isn't lucky, it's what champions do.

I'll take the blame for the defeat today folks. Bought myself a Rangers Castore hoody in the same and wore it today. Any time I wear a hoody and or Rangers gear, we struggle. Sorry folks.

He came on as a sub so he obviously can. Two games in a row where we've not started with our strongest team. Surely better to start Lawrence and manage his minutes from a winning position rather than when we are chasing the game. Don't want sound defeatist but maybe the injuries are just catching up with us now?

Fucking shambles today! Butland beaten at near post, get him benched!! 😚

Doesn't mean we're incorrect though. However, if it makes us sound like them, should we stop questioning referees and accept ridiculous decisions going against us on a week by week basis? A stonewall penalty denied at Kllie whilst Killie were awarded a non-penalty. Today one of our players was injured due to a tackle that merited a straight red card. The referee didn't even award it as a foul, whilst VAR deemed it an acceptable tackle. A former referee admitting in a podcast he cheated us in a OF game. What will it take for you to start questioning referees? Or does 'sounding like them' make it never acceptable to question these type of decisions? That's a serious question and would be interested in hearing your answer.

I got a bad feeling when I saw the 11 today. Injuries have really taken their toll in the forward areas. It should have been enough but a major error and clinical finish changed the whole game early on. And Motherwell really did turn up today. The game was a reminder that Clement is largely working with the same players Beale had too.

Aye, but Whosthedado has gone full, we're fcuked, hopefully reversejuju

We wont be allowed to win it

They'll annihilate Hearts tomorrow. 4-0, at least.

Are you having a laugh ? perhaps the referee missed it but VAR should have spotted this & sent him to the monitor. Red Card all day long. I reckon thats at least 9 points refs have robbed us this season. The two OF games( roofe’s goal should have stood in the first game & bug eyes should have been sent off for persistent fouling in the second game) then todays game where Casey should have been sent off for the assault on MaCausland above

Silva should have burst the net but then again he's certainly no goalscorer 62 appearances for Wolves and 4 goals someone said something about the next four games well that's 2points lost today we've got to do better .

We seem to be losing a player a game to crazy tackles 🤬 Now we are reduced to Scott Wright as our only winger 😒 Our CB's were bloody awful today and seem incapable of a decent header in an opposition box 🙄 The less I say about the ref the better for my health. I did not expect us to go unbeaten but cheese & onion we were gladys today. The league will be decided on old firm games as per.

Not like you to over-analyse a tongue in cheek comment?

Clement out?

So when did penalties not count as goals? Do we take McCoists many penalties away from him when discussing his phenomenal goalscoring record? Off course we don't- it's not a half-truth, he'll end up out top scorer. How many has he scored this season? Oh, and if either of our left backs were half as good as Tav, we'd be a far better team.

Yes, he will. A team with their RB as top scorer will not win the league. Simple.

Sterling is good in certain games, but he is a defender so you do miss an attacking threat. I would actually rather see attacking youngsters get a game over shoehorning in players.

He might identify as a #9 but he fails the eye test on that one.

When does rotation become tinkering? Get Diamonde in the middle for Raskin and Lawrence in the 10 position. Lawrence will be on cloud 9 after Wednesday. With all due respect to Raskin, the title run in isn't the place to players up to speed. Just play your strongest XI at the start of every game please.

I don't think we're playing badly - especially against 12 men - but we are reverting to the norm in regards to finishing.

Not as disgusting as the ref and VAR ignoring it.

With Danilo, Matondo, Sima and now Cortes all out our attacking options severely limited and lacking. The sterling as a winger trick will run out of magic eventually.

Sitting in a cafe this morning just around the corner from Sammys old pub which is now an empty shell (photo of it in its heyday below). He was great with our club back in the 80s - always made sure the costs were covered as some days they'd be as few as 6 or 7 of us (including the driver).

Another self indulgent post - two of my Dad's favourite Rangers players. Davie Wilson & Eric Caldow. Was lucky enough to meet Eric Caldow when I was a young YTS at local builders yard and he'd pop in as he was a salesman for one of their suppliers. He spent time talking to me and urged me to keep the faith (this was 1984) with Rangers. Proudest moment was walking past Main Stand one match day arohnd 1984 with my mates and Mr Caldow came past, recognised me and stopped and spoke with me / us. Brilliant player, great Ranger and a gentleman.

Self-indulgent as Sammy ran a pub in Bo'ness for years and when I first started going to football our mini-bus left from his pub. Spent many an hour listening to Sammy regale tales of his time at Rangers.

I have a good mate who is a diehard Hibbee and when we meet and the topic of football inevitably crops up, he waxes lyrically about Smith (and rightly so). Mates sadly departed Dad would sit for hours telling him about Smith and the great Hibs (and others) teams of the past. Stories handed down from generation to generation, it's part of what makes football so special, no matter what team you support. Also helps you appreciate players from other eras / teams.

PC said when he took the job that he is a manager who likes to work with what he's got, to work with them to improve them, he's certainly done that. He has also managed to navigate us this far with a horrific injury list and in Sterling, found a player who'll play anywhere and look comfortable anywhere. That helped us when we were short in centre-mid. However, with players falling like flies and our creative players being most impacted, it's going to test those fit to the maximum - we are short of options, so those fit must deliver. Even with a fully fit squad and all players playing to the maximum, we would likely drop points at some point. We just have to strap ourselves in for the highs and lows as we hurtle towards the business end of the season where awards are handed out. Given the reaction during and after the recent Ross County game at Ibrox (one of the best performances this, or recent seasons) shows some supporters aren't ready for "bumps in the road" and will revert to type. Telling that PC mentioned the fans on Wednesday - our travelling support get criticism for certain actions (song book, pyrotechnics etc) but one thing is evident, they are far more vocal and back the team 100% - he has also asked for fans at Ibrox to stay for 90+ minutes and not to desert the team after 75 / 80mins but fear that plea will fall on deaf ears - if only of home support Union Bears apart) was as passionate, loud and appreciative as our away support. Calm heads both on and off field are required and the players and manager have continually stated that we need to stay with and trust the manager and team.

In the first OF game at ibrox Roofe’s goal was chopped off for an alleged foul by Dessers nobody saw. Yet we had the usual yahoo suspects telling us it WAS a clear foul Fast forward to today and we see a challenge on a Rangers player which saw him carried off very fortunate not to get a broken leg but this WASNT a foul if you listen to them Either referees don’t understand the rules or are corrupt. Can’t be both

Truth is there is a long way to go and more twists to come. I just don't see tomorrow being one of them. You are right though - the old reverse psychology. Plus Hearts have got the best striker in Europe playing for them right?

As has been demonstrated in the previous 2 OF games this season. Just inept officials though, so maybe we'll get the."Rub of the green" this time 🤔

That is one we MUST appeal against.

I think the phrase 'bad day at the office' sums up today's performance. Goldson and Souttar both played poorly - they really need to react quicker to what's going on around them and stop falling over so easily.

The red card which Motherwell should have got in the first half aside, until we get better quality in the wide areas up front & a striker who can get 20-25 league goals per season I think we’ll struggle to win titles.

Yes, Toilet Team.

Serial losers, corrupt referees, tav never a captain, new manager same shit. Saving you all the bother of reading any further.

They look a yard to slow and are over or under passing to much, they need a kick up the arse they are acting like this game was a given after the last week

He has done well so far but both his predecessors started well too. I think he’s rode his luck a few times though. Wednesday night being one such example

A heroic XI. Maybe a bit generous to Morrison but he wore the blue and he scored a few, so …

Apparently, we are waiting on a specialist's report on the Cortes injury. If this injury is a medium to long term job, I hope Clement reintroduces young Lovelace back into the fold. The ability to step inside and unleash an accurate attempt on goal will be necessary in the coming weeks.

Full article here: “Chaos is where we are when we don’t know where we are, and what we are doing when we don’t know what we are doing.” – Jordan B. Peterson It’s fair to say that trailing by two goals and down to ten men against Aberdeen at Ibrox in late September 2023 was chaos. And that the performance out at Limassol the following week was chaos. There were large spells during those games when we didn’t know where we were or what we were doing. There had been a perceptible instability at the club for the past two years (even longer to be honest). There were undeniable regular flashes of brilliance in Europe but domestically something was missing when it really mattered. Even when Gerrard’s tenure was at its peak, we never quite managed that holistic balance across all departments at club. We would occasionally hit periods where things appeared fine, or where excuses could explain away unwanted results, but we never really got to a place of stable competence and performance in all areas. For sure, 55 hit euphoric consistency in the league, but the cup exits showed a weak underbelly, an issue with mentality somewhere within the dressing room, added to a notable drop off in quality across the squad, a faltering transfer strategy, and where questionable decisions off the park still haunted us. I had been surprised at the time with how quickly things got away from Gio and his team. How conditioning and fitness and then confidence had deserted a squad that was in the Europa League final just months before. Signs of mismanagement were showing with many senior players contracts running down and Morelos allowed to literally roll off the rails. Fans were right to question why so many of the starting eleven were the same faces that had been there 4 or 5 years earlier. That is no slight on those players, many of whom gave their best, but it pointed to an underlying dysfunction within the club. When Beale came in, I believed he could be the right guy. He knew the club, he knew the players, you’d assume he had observed and learned under his three seasons with Gerrard and would take that experience and build forward. He was given time based largely on how bad it had been under Gio, with the Champions League reacquaintance being particularly humiliating. Beale played on this and very much told the support what we wanted to hear. I admit to tuning out slightly, trusting we were in safe hands – besides things had got so bad that they could only get better, right? The manager shifting focus from drab performances to under-performing players like Kent or Morelos may have been populist but it was not good management. Any manager reacting to the whims of the fanbase and not to his own plan or principles will only last so long. By the end of last season, we had floated into a sub-optimal limbo between Celtic and the rest, where Beale would generally get expected results and invariably lose the games that mattered. Alongside settling for second best and watching another treble for that lot, other things jarred at the club. The squad wasn’t improving, and worse than that our assets were devaluing faster than crypto. Intolerably, the football was terrible - functional football is excused by silverware and that felt a long way off. And so, the chaos and pain of September mercifully saw the end of Beale’s reign. The board has got a lot wrong in recent years but pulling the plug reasonably early was a credible move. The league was slipping out of sight, but not quite beyond a miracle just yet. It would’ve been easy to hang on and hope things improved but no-one believed that. I didn’t know who I wanted as manager. Some of the names in the hat had big plus points but I had acquired a pessimism through our bad choices and bad luck. The wrong choice would be drawn into the maelstrom of chaos rather than rise above it. The earlier purge of Ross Wilson and the summer reorganisation at board level were promising and a recognition that things weren’t working and maybe a reason to be more optimistic. It sounds so simple but what we needed was a manager that knew what he was doing, a clarity of vision. A leader we can all respect. A man that could get the best out of the squad and could give them some needed direction and purpose. Someone that could release Rangers’ potential and crystalize the expectation of winning every other trophy, as a minimum. A man that could bring order to where chaos had had laid down roots. In his first 4 months at Rangers Phil Clement has certainly done that. A squad (and support) that looked beaten to the point of hopelessness has been given a new lease of life. Results improved. The winning streaks that eluded Gerrard, Gio and Beale are now starting to appear. That loss against Celtic is the only black mark since the beginning of December. Performances have improved significantly. I look forward to every game now and know that entertainment is guaranteed. The atmosphere at Ibrox and general mood is polar opposite from before and the bond between players and support has returned. It is still early days but we appear to be operating at the place where Rangers should be operating. From a tired, overly-familiar, over-worked starting eleven we now have competition for places. We are seeing rotation being used pro-actively, players rested, fringe players provided opportunities, all with instructions and roles that suit them best. The team visibly presses, attacks and defends as a single organism instead of a jumbled mess of individuals at the start of the season. There’s a fluidity in the attacking play, attacking from all angles with goals and assists being shared around. This is all achieved from simple adjustments. Taking the forward option. Variation of corners. Sharing responsibilities. Take Lawrence’ winning goal at Kilmarnock, a quick throw-in from Dessers, then a quick free-kick from Lawrence himself leads to panic in the Kilmarnock back line and the ball breaks back to Lawrence at the edge of the box - ten seconds of sharp play resulting in an invaluable three points. It’s not rocket science but we haven't played that game domestically for too long. We’re not perfect and have limited options in some areas, but Clement is getting everything out of them that we can realistically ask for. And when the manager does get it wrong, he identifies it and makes changes early. I haven't seen so many subs at half time at Rangers. For me, the long-term aim has to be stability. To reach a place where transfer windows don’t mean wholesale changes but more the clinical improvement of the squad. And what then follows is the highest quality starting eleven possible for a club of our means, with a wider squad of players both hungry and capable enough to challenge and win those places for themselves. Clement himself has said that he doesn’t want egos but selflessness and team players, with the understanding that any dreams of individual success and glory can be more than realised through success for the team. There’s no bullshit, just a clear plan and hard work. He doesn’t scapegoat or isolate players, just makes his point and moves forward, and the players seem to appreciate and respect that. Everything is focused on the team and being a winning team. Domestically, we have been relatively poor value for money, carrying too many players that haven’t contributed enough to see us over that line. The signs are Clement is changing this. We need to remember the name and draw of Rangers and the calibre of players we can attract here. Even though things were creaking to a shuddering halt behind the curtains we still managed to bring in the likes of Jack Butland. Granted, we also brought in others in that window which demonstrate that where we get it wrong then the club suffers. Clement gave Lammers opportunities, squeezed something out of the situation and was able to find an arrangement in January that suited both parties. Dessers has begun to turn it around. From living offside and being chronically out of condition under Beale to being a welcome presence on the pitch and posting very respectable numbers. The January arrivals of Diomande, Cortes and Silva are beginning to look like decent business after a small sample of games, not just that they represent upgrades but also bring a much-needed freshness across the squad. With every decision our manager continues to earn our trust. Where injuries had previously left with gaping holes across the pitch, Clements squad is now adapting and finding a way. Losing Danilo in December felt like the kind of misfortune that could totally derail our title challenge but Clement never complained or moped. Again, his actions followed his own words - looking for solutions, not dwelling on problems. One player who always gives his best is our Captain. During the death rattle of Beale's reign, I'll admit wanting the captaincy taken from him, more as a symbolic gesture than anything else. It felt like a millstone around his neck and was dragging his legacy down. Upon reflection I was wrong. It wasn’t Tav’s fault that our management, or squad, or conditioning, or tactics weren’t good enough to collect more silverware. We were very lucky to get him for £200,000 and have been lucky to have him for 8 seasons. No player should be irreplaceable at Rangers but we will struggle to ever match his value and output. But that’s football, it’s a game of moments and you need to make the most of them. Things can change for better or worse in a matter of weeks, all you can do is put the best people in place and hope they do their best, hope that they are able to take us over that line.

A couple of Jocks Wallace and Tiger Shaw and a good blinking defender he was