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Having read a few forums and group chats this morning, it would appear that our team for Sunday and the remainder of the season should be : Butland anyone but Tav Anyone but Goldson Souttar or anyone but Souttar an unfit and injured Yilmaz Sterling (as well as playing right back and left back and left wing) anyone but Lundstrum McCausland anyone but Lawrence, Dowell or Cantwell anyone but Silva anyone but Dessers or Silva but possibly Sima

If he has I'm backing Clement, get rid of the players.

It's safe to say that since my last site editorial things have not gone well for Rangers... Despite a late draw against Celtic after an awful first 45mins in that game, the side have capitulated further in our subsequent matches at Ross County and Dundee to fall three points behind our rivals at the top of the table. Yes, the title hasn't gone yet and we've clawed back success from worse positions but with the team (and manager if we're being honest) looking a shadow of themselves in recent weeks, Celtic are now massive favourites. With that in mind and with supporters debating/arguing amongst themselves about who is to blame for poor results and who should stay or go over the summer, it's a good time to examine the general status of the squad which you can view in the image above. Please bear in mind these are my opinions only and I appreciate these will differ markedly from supporter to supporter (and perhaps from week to week for some people). Indeed, rather than calling for players to leave, it's perhaps easier to say who we'd keep so from all those who have featured at least once this season (or nominally considered a first team player), I've highlighted those I'd keep in white and those out of contract (or on loan deals due to expire) in orange and those I'd try to move on in red. If I'm not fussy either way, I'll leave them as grey. For info, there are 37 players on the graphic above so I'd suggest we really need to decrease that number to closer to 30 for next season. After some consideration, from this squad of 37, I have only nine players I'd really want to keep and it may well be from those, Butland and Yilmaz could be sold to help finance any new signings leaving us with just seven players plus Tavernier and Goldson plus another seven fringe/youth players, meaning we'd need to sign at least 12 players in the summer if we accept returning loanees such as Hagi, Cifu and Lammers will also be moved on permanently. I would imagine both Diomande and Cortes will be retained (I think the former is already agreed) so that takes us down to 10. If possible, I'd also be happy to bring back Sima and would actually give a (suitable) extension to Lundstram. That takes us to eight players; not an unrealistic amount to sign in one window given we did the same last summer but it could be more difficult if fans really want rid of Tavernier, Goldson and Lundstram - three key/influential players whether we like it or not. Who would you have as our new captain from the right hand column of retained players? It's also worth noting the poor performance (and/or utilisation) of our youth system. Ross McCausland was a surprise, and arguably forced, addition to the starting XI earlier this season but he's struggled to maintain his position since whilst other highly thought of younger players like Leon King and Bailey Rice have been unable to force their way into the side. There are few others we could consider likely to do so in 2024/25 so I wouldn't expect any wonderkids to magically appear. If we look at the right column of the graphic and make some admittedly strong assumptions (though they are popular amongst a vocal element of the support) then you can see how weak our squad could be for next season. Only one inexperienced goalkeeper of note, only one centre-half of note, no left back and just three senior midfielders means it's only really the attacking area of the side that looks reasonably competent. And even that relies on Sima and Cortes returning from their initial loans with the latter and Danilo also regaining full fitness in short order for the season starting. To say the squad would be well short of the standard required and would need significant investment is somewhat of an understatement. With that in mind, it's clearly crucial that we maximise the quality of those that come in but nothing is certain there in terms of contribution. Long term injuries to Danilo, Dowell and Cortes over this season show one unpredictable and negative outcome whilst the rest of our recruitment last summer really was abysmal with only Butland, Sima and Dessers (to a limited extent in his case) offering any kind of positive return and none of them may be here next season! In conclusion, I'm as annoyed and disappointed as every other Rangers fan with recent let-downs and emotionally agree we need to start again in many areas of the squad. However, this article shows such emotion is difficult to apply in a constructive, team-building manner. It's also very, very expensive with no guarantees. Nevertheless, we cannot afford another poor window - both in financial and sporting terms so the pressure is definitely on the manager and scouting department to deliver substantial improvement in an affordable, innovative fashion. That is very much easier said than done...

Teams seem to have figured us out. Tav and Sterling barely got out our half all match, certainly significantly less than they were a few weeks ago. Other sides realise how important both full backs are to how we attack and have changed tactics to prevent it. We need to have a counter to that. I assume much more was expected of Cantwell and Lawrence last night, creative players capable of producing something that wins you a match. Both were poor, losing possession regularly and slowing us down instead of upping the tempo. Goldson's 'passing' was horrible last night and on Sunday. But, if there's no pass to midfield and no pass to the wings then it's either back to the keeper or across to Souter. Eventually though it goes long. His passing should be better, but the long balls shouldn't be needed in the first place. So many players seem to have lost form at the same time you do wonder if there's an issue we don't know about. A problem in the dressing room, a bug that's swept through the squad and drained players of energy. I'm grasping at straws here because I don't understand how the entire side, with the possible exception of Butland, can collectively lose form simultaneously. Everyone was rotten last night, defenders, midfielders, forwards and subs. Amazingly, despite the collapse, we can still win the league if we win all our games. I mean I don't think we will, anyone with eyes can see we're so far off it. It's massively frustrating, but I can see why Clement is talking things up and putting a gloss on things. He needs to work with the players he's got, throwing them under the bus at this stage won't help.

Have they changed your medication?

The chickens are coming home to roost. NEVER MESS WITH THE JUJU!! @Whosthedado had the title won two weeks ago...

Rangers fans: Why does he [PC] keep tinkering with the team?! Also Rangers fans: Why does he [PC] keep picking the same players?!

My issue with those wanting to get rid of Tavernier is that he's one of our best players. Surely you get rid of the rubbish first?

@CammyF's list: Yilmaz Yilmaz Yilmaz Yilmaz Yilmaz Dessers gets a bonus and a new 10-year contract. @der Berliner's list: Tavernier Tavernier Tavernier Tavernier Tavernier Scott Wright gets a bumper new deal, and is made captain.

Three points off the top...five games remaining, a cup in play, and it's all hands to panic stations... Am I saying we are gonna run the table? No. But shit man...watch till the credits.

The overriding narrative tonight is that the “old guard” are at fault. It is simplistic nonsense to pin a collapse like this on Tav, Goldson and Lundstram. Fans love a simple answer to a complex problem and that's what they've gone for. The sudden turn in our form since Hearts has been utterly mind boggling and I have no idea what has caused it, but I do know that the simplistic narrative being peddled tonight is not the answer.

I have no idea why people take pressers at face value. No manager tells the absolute truth when facing the press.

We don’t rate the opposition.

My glass is back to being half full.... amazing what a win against and Edinburgh team can do 6 wins to a treble.... lets do it

We were much better today, showed a lot of effort and commitment and some lovely moments, especially from Diomande and Cantwell. Great to see Balogun and Diomande back and McAusland doing well for us too, especially tracking back. Dujon had a good game also. Well done to Dessers for his 2 goals. Lundstram started badly but came onto a good game. The keeper made a couple of excellent saves. I didn't miss Connor Goldson slowing the game down by taking too long on the ball and the boring passes along the back line. We have given ourselves a good platform now and need to carry the same urgency into our next game.

Remember when I said Silva should get a run as a #9? I was pished...

I'd contend that someone of Struth's stature not being involved at the club nowadays is one of the main reasons our mentality on and off the pitch is so fragile. We're fortunate to still have John Greig who still commands genuine gravitas but he never led the club successfully in the dugout so we miss someone in that vein to add some guidance to whoever is in charge now. Walter Smith was a huge loss for the modern football club.

One thing that was glaring last night, more than normal, is that we didn't have a midfielder on the pitch who was brave enough to take the ball and with his first touch, face the opposition goal. Everytime that the ball was played to Lundstrum last night, his first touch was towards his own goal. While that doesn't sound like its a massive issue, when we are building from the back, its fundamental to play quick. To play quickly, the first touch has to be a positive touch, otherwise the opposition get an extra few seconds to press and close down space. Compound that with the fact that Lundstrum is the deepest midifielder, you're stuffed because teams find it easy to set up against us. Dio was hugely missed last night (and on Sunday)as, while he sometimes can be erratic, he is always positive with that first touch which opens things up and has teams scrambling more. The way to kind of mitigate this is to stretch teams with wingers, but last night we started with Sima and Silva, neither of which are out and out wingers with width. Matondo came on but always looks to come inside so, again, no width. Add to that, two right footers on the left side means the balance of our squad is some of the worst I have ever seen it. There were many things wrong last night, but that was the most glaring things to me

I'm still gutted from last night, but one thing has become obvious to me. When I was considering who stays and who goes I came to the conclusion that there is not one player in the current squad it would sadden me to loose. I have also noticed a few mentioned we need to buy players capable of beating Ross Co, not Man shitty. The players we have are well capable of they that but for whatever reason have decided not to do so. For some like Goldson, Tav and Lundstram this is not the first time they have let down us, the club and the manager.

If you can’t sell them and they aren’t good enough then you don’t play them and you still look for replacements. I honestly think their mentality seeps through the squad and infects new players. Look at what’s happened to Cantwell and Raskin for instance, they were completely different players when they first joined. I actually said this a year ago, the mentality gets spread through the new signings like a virus and everyone just ends up believing we can’t beat Celtic. I really think we do need a clean break fro, most of these players. Or we can just keep playing them and accept we will be second best.

Got to hand it to the lads. Staved off defeat. Plucky.

It is quite the conundrum. We need to make changes but it is not obvious who would make a difference. If the manager made changes to key players he would be taking a massive risk under these circumstances. I can't see it happening at this stage.

Robbie Fraser is 21 and has not been able to force his way into our first team under Gerrard, Gio, Beale or Clement. His contract is up next month and I think we can assume he'll be leaving the club.

Yilmaz is turkish for Roofe

We've been playing poorly for weeks and there's no indication we'll improve. The game against them at Ibrox was when we blew it. That was a must win game and we couldn't do it.

Tavernier just covered the back-post run, preventing a sure goal. The sky is not falling down. I need to lie down...

Agreed but he is lacking support. FWIW, I think McCausland has had a good first half after coming on though. Matondo clearly carries a threat but his decision-making really is dreadful.

Even if it means bringing in our serial Croation shitbag, we need Sterling in the middle or wide right. He gives us energy.

I'm no fan of Borna, but we need to start with our strongest team, and for me if Ridvan is not available then Borna should start is all I'm saying, too much tinkering with the team is not the right thing to do especially when we are going through a bad spell. Is it possible to play Sterling at RB with Tav in front of him on the right?.

If Borna is fit he should start, we need Sterling to play midfield!.

With all these biblical scholars on Gersnet, I'm surprised that nobody has given the definite quote, of which no one may question: Never fear, inevitably we shall have our years of failure, and when they arrive, we must reveal tolerance and sanity. No matter the days of anxiety that come our way, we shall emerge stronger because of the trials to be overcome. That has been the philosophy of the Rangers since the days of the gallant pioneers. Bill Stuth

Beale more or less did this last summer. Got shot off players. Problem is the replacements mostly weren’t as good as those he let go. we will no doubt spend another summer looking for Bosmans & poundshop bargain signings hoping they improve us but probably won’t

There's definitely something not working with certain members of this playing squad. It's been a never ending cycle of let downs with a few of them, 55 excepted. Clement has my full backing.

Every manager since Gerrard has lost the dressing room maybe we have some insidious individuals in that dressing room who turn when shit hits the fan.

Whilst I hope for a great performance and a decent victory, I'd snap your hand off for a 1-0 win right now.

Surname wasn't El-Nakla, was it?

Barca had 2 in the starting line up, one who is 16 and has started nearly 50 games now, with 6 caps for Spain, and one who's 17 and has played over 100 games, with 20 odd caps - We in this country still think that a 21 year old is young. Barasic, please no.

Are the number of "we've blown it" posts on this thread an attempt at reverse juju?

......post-Independence Record breakers? Arkadag FC and the winning streak still under scrutiny Turkmenistan’s champions lay claim to a world record but some suspect details lie behind their dazzling winning run John Duerden Tue 16 Apr 2024 08.00 BST Record breakers? Arkadag FC and the winning streak still under scrutiny | Football | The Guardian It’s not often that a football world record goes from Wales to Saudi Arabia only for Turkmenistan to also have a claim. In March, Al-Hilal surpassed the achievement of 27 consecutive top-tier wins set by The New Saints of Wales in 2016. The 18-time Saudi champions have now extended that streak to 34 and look unstoppable at home and abroad. The same can be said in central Asia where Arkadag FC have won every competitive game in their history. The 2023 league title was lifted in December with 72 points from 24 matches. Throw in seven cup victories and six from six so far this season and it comes to 37 and counting. Yet the world record resides in Riyadh, over a thousand miles to the west. What gives? “There’s relatively little detail available for the Turkmenistan league, less than we want for the kind of due diligence we carry out in our research for this and similar records,” a spokesperson for Guinness World Records told the Guardian. “This may also be indicative of a level of governance and competition under what we’d ordinarily look for as well. All this being considered, we have confirmed Al-Hilal as the record holder.” A lack of detail may be down to the fact that Turkmenistan, home to 6.5 million people, is one of the most isolated and secretive countries in the world and, even given the growing importance of the wider region in geopolitical affairs, rarely gets a mention in the western media. In terms of governance and competition, the way Arkadag were formed may also be an issue. It all started with Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, the president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. Berdymukhamedov revelled in his nickname of “Arkadag”, which means “hero protector”. One of his pet projects before he handed the reins of power to his son, Serdar (nominally, at least, as many observers believe father is still pulling the strings), was the foundation of a new city in the south of the country, a smart city that cost upwards of $5bn. A city that, unsurprisingly, is called Arkadag. Home to more than 70,000 people it needed a football team so, ahead of the 2023 season, the best players in the country joined the newly formed club. National team stalwarts like Arslanmyrat Amanow and Altymyrat Annadurdyyew were soon wearing the shirts designed by Berdymukhamedov which, unsurprisingly given his obsession with the animal, sported a logo of a horse. The league’s transfer window was extended to facilitate this influx. The rise of Arkadag FC is almost pleasingly nostalgic for anyone who remember the former army and secret police outfits that dominated eastern bloc leagues in the cold war era. Fans of rival clubs may not agree, however, especially as they suspect favourable officiating – such as in a November clash with Sagadam when, with the score at 2-2 going into the final seconds, the new boys were given a controversial penalty and subsequently won. Indeed that game was a rare close affair, with the champions ending the season with a +66 goal difference. So far this season, that margin is +30 after six games. There are few public complaints as Turkmenistan is not really the place to criticise projects close to the heart of the former president. Guinness World Records misgivings are unlikely to be well received. Berdymukhamedov is known to be keen to get his new city into the storied book in some manner and club officials believe once the team starts competing in Asian competitions, which is scheduled for the summer, then their case for inclusion will be there in black and white for Guinness to see. Al-Hilal also have state backing, largely owned as they are by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is chaired by the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. There are also plenty of fans in the country who believe the Blues get the rub of the green when it comes to refereeing decisions. To be fair to the Riyadh giants, they were the most successful club in Saudi Arabia and Asia in terms of titles – 18 and four respectively – before PIF took charge of them in 2023. This season, however, has been something else – the 34 successive wins has them on course for an unprecedented quadruple. Last week saw the head coach, Jorge Jesus, and stars such as Rúben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly (Neymar and Aleksandar Mitrovic are injured) get their hands on trophy No 1 with a 4-1 victory over Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup final. Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr were beaten in the semi-final, a game that saw Cristiano Ronaldo sent off for elbowing the Al-Hilal defender Ali al-Bulaihi. Al-Hilal are 12 points clear of second-placed Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League with seven games to go. League title 19 is incoming. Then there are two semi-finals in April: the King’s Cup, Saudi Arabia’s domestic knockout competition, against Al-Ittihad, and the Asian Champions League clash against Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates. Al-Hilal are favourites to win both and a fifth Asian title would put them two clear of the next two most successful clubs: Pohang Steelers of South Korea and Japan’s Urawa Reds. Asia is also the next stage for Arkadag. Can they translate their domestic dominance into overseas success? The ambition is certainly there and sooner or later they may well find themselves on the same pitch as Al-Hilal in a game that these two teams won’t be able to both definitely win.

The question is most properly addressed to the players, and it should be in two parts- Can you do it? Will you do it? It is clear that it 'can' be done: Helicopter Sunday, and other damned close run things, happened, actually, and gloriously. It remains possible. It is difficult to envisage that it 'will' be done. The players have spurned the opportunity to make it happen -Motherwell (at Ibrox!!), and Ross Co.- were six points thrown away, meaning, realistically, that winning all remaining games, including a victory at Piggery Place, is required. That, I fear, is too much of an ask, a stretch too far, for the current playing staff. They have run out of that road marked 'playing badly and winning' (as was, as ever, likely), are increasingly vulnerable to organised and determined opposition, and look shot, tired, and confused, bereft of ideas, of confidence, and of desire. I do not see how improvements may be made, nor what players could, or would, stand up, be counted, and drive/pull the rest up to the required standards. I cannot even be confident that they will win the outstanding fixtures against 'the rest'. If the Will is there, it will be done, but they look gey, gey, short in that department. Now, as for the Scottish Cup.......