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Folk are just putting a negative spin on everything. In a big game, you play your best left back.

Once Ridvan’s Rangers contract finishes I suspect his career will be effectively over

If we are stuck with Cantwell and Hagi then Hagi and Cantwell are stuck with us. I am not quite sure how to parse that, particularly if the Hagi bonus scheme is real. I think that sticking them in the stand, or with the stiffs, would suit neither the players, nor Rangers. The players have no showcase, and the Club sees their value diminish, for, substantially, that reason. One could argue that the cost of fielding Hagi, and his bonus, might keep his value at a level which would cover, or even outweigh, the cost of said bonus. If so, reintegrate him. As for Cantwell, I think it difficult to fathom that mind, and its motivation. The lad has talent, but is tactically indisciplined, and,I suspect, has the attention span of a goldfish. I am not sure that he has sufficient ability to enable him to play the maverick role in the current set up. I am not sure that we even have enough talent in the squad to carry a wangeroo in the side. (Maybe Gazza, but that's a different class.) I am sure that Clement does not like allowing a free spirit much, if any, licence. It seems like an impasse, unless the wife/gf takes a view, and tells him to grow up. We have two assets, which dwindle in value, and that, in any enterprise is not a tenable situation.

And get the bonus that qualifying presumably comes with. However Mack's point is certainly a valid one, and it needs to be taken into consideration, but he shouldn't be dismissed just on a point of principle as some are suggesting when the impact has such a big impact.

An afterthought from last night - it showed that we should 100% push for foreign referees to be appointed to officiate OF games this season.

Get nits or something worse if that happened.

Rumours rife that we'll announce our new CEO tomorrow - Andrew McKinlay from Hearrs. 2 questions; 1. Anyone checked his socials? 2. Will he smuggle Shankland in his suitcase?

Pretty much bang on.

Same logic applies to him for that reason mate

My eternal optimism only.

It's a shame they didn't take child safety seriously at their boys club.

I'd take Armstrong but i doubt he would want the hassle of coming here considering his history.

The surprise here is that we as Rangers supporters are surprised. Sellik and their support have a monopoly on history. They enter agreements only to revert to type by insisting upon their preferred revisionism. Sellik are playing to the gallery by flagging safety concerns, knowing their friends in both print and broadcast media will reinforce those concerns. The Green Brigade are lauded for their Pig Watch banners, they vet the Police officers that work their section. The next campaign coming down the line is Asbestos Watch, the ground is being prepared.

Best news i've heard in while.

Clement has yet another puzzle to solve with regards to LB. If Ridvan is going to be missing over the next month or so I would be handing a jersey to young Frazier. Jefte looks better in advanced positions and Sterling is wasted there. Davies is also a no. Give the young man the chance to make a name for himself and get him to prioritise the novel idea of a defender actually defending. It can't get any worse? Can it...?

Or he could play, contribute and get the move he wants / desires.

He referred to us as "huns" on a social media post. I don't think he'll be taking the club to court.

I'm not going to say what I really think about Ridvan Yilmaz, but he's just another player we've paid to spend more time on the treatment table than on the pitch. He's the new Kemar Roofe without Roofe's contribution.

Shouldn't really be included with the others. None of us have seen him play yet.

We'll probably need to offer them 7,500 for the NY game to ensure its a sell out 😄

Looks like Ishaka has been sent back. And if we look for experience and a cool head in CM at a low cost, a certain Stuart Armstrong is a freebie these days.

Rangers seeking talks with the league bosses - sure they'll back Rangers in this dispute and implement their very own rules rather than back Celtics stance.

They might be doing us a favour

Re Cantwell we have a player seemingly want to move so if we did play him is he likely to give 100%? IMO no because he might pick up a serious injury leaving his moving chances null and void.

Very well said.

I've actually said on several occasions that I can see Cantwell being brought back into the team if he doesn't find a club. I can see why he isn't involved, though.

Yeah, let's miss out on £5 million of CL money on a point of principle. I agree it's not ideal, but he's still our player and it's not playing our best players, and it's arguably cost us points in the league and a lot of cash in Europe. We're not in the position where we can leave players out. Out of the CL, £5m worse off and 2 points behind Celtic. Obviously it's all "what ifs" but Cantwell has the spark of inspiration that the team has been crying out for. There's been plenty of other examples where we've played players who won't sign new contracts and effectively signalled that they are signing for new clubs.

See this is where it gets contradictory. We "almost" won the league last season with a squad of diddies. We should have won the league, but didn't. We can point to several factors, but in those factors is strange team selection/subs and a sudden obsession with narrowing our full-backs. The board appointed Beale then gave him full control of recruitment (I'd say down to penny pinching) and we're paying the price for it now. That's NOT Beales fault. As for CEO and steel updates, it appears Bennett has gone into hiding again, conveniently when we require a strong and determined leader.

I said it earlier in the summer and it might be controversial but we should have openly touted the sale of Butland in the summer. His sale could potentially bring in 10-15 million and that combined with player sales would have help fund our much needed rebuild. Butlands a great goalie (not as good as some people make out though...) but we have bigger issues in front of him to fix. Kelly would be good enough for the SPL and with better players in front of him.

We also need to stop filling our first team squad with out of contract players. This seldom works. There are often reasons why these players are out of contract & looking for a new club

Thanks you got my drift and my point about Tav is that he has lost a fair bit of pace and is there fore caught out too much.

Total conundrum. Instead of addressing the obvious, "we" like to blame this or that player for being not good enough. From the days of Waghorn onwards, we have shoe-horned strikers into that one-striker role against a packed defence and even if he clocks up 20odd goals like Colak and Dessers, he gets it in the neck. When our team is not failing because that striker's inability to covert 80+ % of his chances, but because our team simply lacks fire-power beside him. We need a Sima or two quickly, or simply play with two strikers in certain games. It's blatantly obvious.

Ok Dessers gets it in the neck but he isn't the worst player in the team,at moment that is Tav. IMO.Lookat last night a Kiev player has a hard shot "brilliantly blocked by Soutar" Dessers has a shot similarly blocked but is accused of missing,he can't win can he?.

Ditto for Hagi. 2 decent players who would add something even coming off the bench. Although I'm sure Cantwell has spat the dummy and doesnt want to play.

If we're still paying Cantwell then we should be playing him. He can't possibly offer less than Lawrence is at the moment.

Dunno don't think Davies covered himself in glory and I've not seen it again but IIRC he took ages to get out to his man just before the first goal. I need to be careful about how I speak about a current Rangers player but safe to say I'm not a fan.

Why didn't he bring on Fraser when our left back went off

It's worth pointing out that Celtic have reportedly spent over £15 million this summer to have the exact same squad as last season. The Irish forward and the Portuguese midfielder(?) were both there last season. That's a lot of money to stand still. They might well sign more players before the window shuts of course, but currently they're a changed veteran goalie away from the same team as last season. They weren't much better than us last season, they had more upfront and a stronger midfield, but a defence that wasn't anything special and a support ready to turn on an unpopular manager and board. I don't think we're stronger than last season, I can't yet tell if we've stood still or slipped back a bit. Tonight will tell us some more, and we can't judge the squad until the end of the window. Dessers has done enough to be our first choice no. 9, with better supporting players around him and some decent alternative(s) on the bench we might yet be chanting his name this season.