Tannochsidebear

Good point Davie. Last season we would continually switch the front three around, with Waghorn/Miller/McKay all taking up other positions along the front line, thus if our opponents chose to man-mark, they were never sure which player they were up against in that period of the game, and if one of their defenders was getting the better of us, the continual changing would disrupt their momentum. This season it has happened from time to time, but nowhere near the same regularity as last, and on Saturday I dont recall it happening at all. I hate this inverted wingers nonsense, especially when the likes of Waghorn is so one-footed, it surely makes it easier to defend against when you can show him outside only and double up on the inside. I have never worked out why professional footballers dont work every day on their weaknesses. Within 6 months they could be two-footed to a decent level. One hour per day using only their weak foot practising short passes, long passes, shooting, trapping and control.

Superb post - bravo sir!

We have goalscorers available that would score more than 6 goals IF they were given the same game time as Miller has received. I would put my house on Waghorn (11 goals this season but mainly in the LC), Dodoo, and even Hardie who we punted out on loan, scoring more than 6 goals in the amount of time given to ever-present Miller. MW's blind spot in this area is one of the reasons our teams scoring record this season is so underwhelming.

I'm delighted with this news, but as with everything in the Scottish papers, I treat it with huge suspicion and mistrust. I must agree with BlueDell in that what is the rush? He is 37, has no sell-on value, and we can make these decisions at the end of the season when his contribution can be assessed over the whole season, the player requirements for 17-18 worked out in terms of playing style, formation and what players we will need. I can see no circumstances where Miller can be seen as a useful asset next season given how poor he has been since coming back in 2014, but in all fairness these decisions only need to be made now for players who you absolutely KNOW are going to be a big part of your plans, like McKay. If this means we lose out on Miller because Hibs offer him a pre-contract (no laughing at the back!) then we are not really losing out on anything. There is of course the added layer of suspicion in these rumours of management change when any new man will not want to build a side around a 37yo guy with a dreadful goals record. The fact both scummy tabloids are running with this story on the same day shows that Miller (or his agent) have planted this story to try to get fans sympathy - not for the first time in Miller's career either. I wont be breaking out the Champers if he signs with someone else, but I certainly wont be upset to see the back of him - again! I still wouldnt rule out him getting another 12 months deal with us either if MW stays, but it is absolutely right to refuse to give him a deal at this stage.

Davies is spot on, absolutely 100% spot on. Best player interview i've read in years. No bull, no cliches, just accurate honest assessments of the game, of his team, of the opponent. Would be interesting to see where this article was picked up from, my guess would be an English paper as it cant be from the Rhebel or Scum (they would have cut the Ibrox atmosphere is better than the piggery line) and they havent felt the need to sensationalise what Davies was saying, they just reported it.

Any changes would be for next season as you cant really change the rules mid-season, so the discussion can go on right through the rest of this campaign before a decision needs to be finalised. As for late changes, I only ever change my FGS once the team is announced if my initial pick is benched. I think that is only fair. We have the option of noting an alternate when making the selection to cover for the first pick not starting. We dont want to make it too much work for Rousseau either!

Thats absolutely disgusting. Kiernan is one of the worst CH I think I have ever seen, but he seems a nice lad, gives 100% every time, trains hard and is well liked within the squad from what we hear. While I want him nowhere near the first team, I cannot understand abusing him from the stands when he is NOT playing. Those fans need found and banned. Its not what we want at our club.

Can I suggest a new rule for 17-18 where there are no points for the result, only Rangers goals, correct score (Rangers wins only) and first Rangers scorer. It really sticks in my craw that Bears will predict, in a daft wee bit of fun like this, anything other than a Rangers win. For them to be rewarded for their disloyalty with points makes the feeling worse. There have been many games this season I haven't fancied us to win, so I just pick how many goals I think we will score and forecast a Rangers win on that basis so if I'm right I will get our goals right even if the result is wrong. I like to bet on football, but I have NEVER bet against us even when the odds are incredibly generous and I think we will get pumped (like at Tynecastle). What Bear can do that? If the consensus is against this fair enough, as I say it's just a bit of fun.

Was delighted to see Kiernan & Halliday dropped, but then utterly amazed to see the one midfielder who naturally wants to get into the box to shoot stuck inside his own half for the first hour of the game. Surprised Garner came straight back into the starting side, but not surprised it was Waghorn, our top scorer, who was dropped again instead of the ever-present but rarely scoring Miller, who continues to be teachers pet. This 4-3-3 formation doesn't suit the players at our disposal (who the manager bought) but MW stubbornly refuses to try the one formation that it looks like would suit our players more, a 4-4-2 with a twin strike force and a 4 man midfield. I have asked the bears on my bus a few times since Tynecastle first time around if it looks to them that the dressing room are not on the same wavelength as the manager, and have mixed responses. In the 30 plus years I have been follow following home and away I have seen a few Rangers sides where the manager has lost the dressing room and the players are under-achieving and capable of better but seem to have lost their belief in the manager. I've seen it happen to Advocaat, McLeish, McCoist, and there are lots of similarities between those times and this. I hope it's not the case as MW is rebuilding the club really well OFF the park, and looks like an ideal DofF, but clearly is struggling to get his visions across to the players, all bar 3 of which he signed. We should remain patient and stick with MW, however should we be knocked out the cup next weekend it will be all over and I can't see how he would survive that. Similarly if we lose heavily at Pittodrie or the piggery the shouts for his head will increase to a point where the board may get twitchy to deflect away from them.

But at least now our board are Rangers fans and generally agree with and understand most Bears ambitions, probably the first board in over 30 years that could say that.

Rangers 2 ross 0 Fgs McKay I might change this at 2.00 when team is announced!

Two of my RSC committee didn't get in. They certainly had valid tickets, but when they got to the turnstiles near kick off they were told the ground was full and they weren't getting in. No discussion, end of. I heard this also happened when the tims played them earlier this season, although I think if that were true we would have heard a lot more about it at the time.

I havent seen his apology, nor his supposed explanation of his changes, but lets be honest, we could replay the post-match from any one of a number of sub-standard away performances in the last 12 months. Since 1 Feb 2016 our away league results are as follows; W 1-0 at Raith D 1-1 Alloa W 1-0 QoS L 2-3 Falkirk D 3-3 Raith L 2-3 Hibs L 0-1 Livvy D 2-2 St M W 2-1 Dundee D 1-1 Killie L 1-5 tims L 1-2 sheep W 1-0 ICT D 1-1 Ross C W 2-1 Partick L 0-2 Hearts W 2-1 Hamilton D 1-1 St J W 2-0 Motherwell L 1-4 Hearts Adding them up it's P20 W7 D6 L7 F27 A32 27 points out of a possible 60. Our away games against the top 2 from 15-16 and the top 3 from 16-17 show the following results; L 1-2 Hibs L 1-2 Falkirk L 2-3 Hibs L 2-3 Falkirk L 1-5 tims L 1-2 Sheep L 0-2 Hearts L 1-4 Hearts P8 W0 D0 L8 F9 A 23 GD -14 Sometimes stats dont show the whole story, but in this case the overwhelming evidence is that Warburton just cannot find a way of playing tough away games to get a result. Arguably, in only one of these 8 games have we put in a decent performance, against Dolly, where we should have got a draw at worst - but we didnt! Look again at those 8 fixtures, that is nearly 3 goals a game we are conceding when up against decent sides, and we are scoring about 1 goal a game, so on average we are losing 3-1 every time we come up against a challenge. I dont know any manager of any shit club that could survive those stats over two seasons, never mind a manager of a club of our size, where our budget, cut as it is as a result of the fraud against us, still dwarfs 4 of the 5 clubs listed above, in some cases many times over. When the discussion moves on to "who would come in" or "could anyone do better" then you know we are royally goosed in several ways. And yet, there is still a lot of love and desire for Warburton to get it right, to get more time. A lot of credit goes to him for what he is doing off the pitch, and most fans have an realisation and acceptance of what he found when he came in and the magnitude of the task in hand. I for one dont want him to go, but he is making it more difficult with each passing week to defend him. His continual selection of the failures in the team, his blindness to the weaknesses of his favoured players, his insistence that his formation/tactics will work with the players he has bought when clearly it doesnt work when pressured, all add up over time to a very difficult situation that no Bear can be sure that MW has the necessary quality or experience to work his way through and out of successfully. Most, myself included, will certainly hope he can do it. I believe the board will let this season run its course. If we do not finish clear second it's an unfortunate no-brainer. Any shock cup defeat (Morton for example) should see the timeline move forward. A cup win and second place finish would certainly see him earn another crack at it next year. A close (last-day) second place finish and a cup defeat to the tims or say at Pittodrie/Tynecastle in the QF would leave the jury hung. Moving on to this weekend, we have to see at least 5 changes to the starting line-up IMO. Definately OUT should be Kiernan, Halliday, Miller. None have performed sufficiently over 18 months and have been given more than enough chances. I would perhaps also leave Toral on the bench as his return to match-fitness may be stretched by 3 games in a week, Tav is under real pressure from Hodson for his place, and while not likely to be popular, Wes would make way for the new guy to see if he knows when it is safe to pass or not, and how to position yourself to give you a chance of saving good shots. Wes shot to save rate is abysmal. The odd fantastic save like the one tipped over the bar last night is outweighed by very poor positioning for the second, and a disaster at the fourth. Adding in his continual putting Halliday and others under pressure with poor choices of pass and the new guy we spent money on for a reason surely deserves his chance. Jak Hodson Senderos Hill Wallace Forrester Hyndman Holt McKay Waghorn Dodoo It's only my opinion, but that selection in a 4-4-2 formation would wipe the floor with Ross County.

Hearts 1 Rangers 2 Fgs waghorn

Because our Europa Cup qualifiers start in mid-June and we simply HAVE to qualify.

Its what your glass is half full of thats the problem sometimes mate! I follow Rangers all over the place, have done for three decades, and I dont do that hoping to be disappointed. If I want to be disappointed I can sit in the house with the wife! One persons half empty glass is another's gritty realism! Hopefully tonight we can agree that we played really well, scored some great goals, and got a valuable three points. That will certainly fill my glass right up!

I am going to be interested to see if MW does anything different tonight (tactically or personnel) to see if he has learned anything from the first half of the season's away games against the better sides. The three good sides in the league, tims, dolly and hearts, all beat us first time around. As did the two best teams in the league last season - Hibs & Falkirk both beating us twice at their home - so MW's record on the road is simply awful when faced with any challenge. P7 W0 D0 L7 Let that record sink in a bit. I go to Tynecastle tonight more in hope than expectation as the evidence is all against us. Saturday's win at Fir Park was our 5th in 11 away league matches this season, with 3 draws to add to the 3 defeats I have already mentioned. We still have a -1 goal difference on the road this season! What gives me some hope is that surely MW will change it up, added to the fact that Hearts have been honking since Cathro took over and the first game after bringing in new faces might be too soon for them to make an impact. I'm not going to second guess the team for tonight, but there are really only a couple of places up for grabs once the chosen few are given their guaranteed starting slots. Wes, Rob, Hill, Wallace, Halliday, McKay, Miller will all start even if a few of these are nowhere near good enough or have been playing well enough to merit it. That leaves the Tav/Hodson full back slot, two rotating slots in midfield to sort out between the two new loanees, Forrester, Windass, Holt, and one striking role between Dodoo/Waghorn and anyone else i've forgotten about! No matter the selection, we simpy must be up for the fight first and foremost, if we repeat the first 30 minutes from Fir Park we may be out of the game by then. We have shown we can dominate other teams for short periods in the game, and we must take our chances when they come along, which we have far too often failed to do (see choice of striker again - just saying like!). There are few better feelings than coming out of Tynecastle, walking back under the railway bridges towards the buses with the bears in full voice after a great performance and victory - I for one hope to enjoy that very feeling again about 9.45 tonight!

Im not having a go at you, it is a well used phrase when talking about keepers, but in this case has no evidence to back it up. FWIW I dont see any improvement in Wes over the course of this season. He is a competent keeper, no better, IMO. His distribution (the main reason he was bought we keep getting told) is indecisive at best and downright dangerous at worst (view the pass to Halliday early on at Fir Park as evidence). Gilks was a far better shot-stopper in my view. After the OF game I thought there was not a chance in hell that Wes would be back in the team given how shaky he had been and how well Gilks had performed. MW thought differently. If I was Gilks I would have been gutted. As a sub keeper you are waiting on your chance, if that comes from injury/suspension/cup rotation it doesnt matter, you have to grab your chance when it comes to show you are better than the other guy. Gilks did this without doubt but still got benched. Wes is one of the gaffers favourites, just like Keirnan, Halliday, Miller. No matter how shaky they are, or how well their deputies play, they come back in straight away. That whole spine of the team is exactly where we are weak, why we concede too many goals, and why we dont score enough. Jak is about to find out it wont matter a jot how well he does in training, bounce games, etc, Wes is going to be played ahead of him. I dont see how that means Jak (or Gilks before him) can "push" Wes to perform better. His only chance is Wes being sold in the summer, perhaps that has been whispered to him. If we get any 7 figure offers for Wes I will be amazed, never mind multiples thereof.

Quite remarkable how our support are rallying to the cause given how badly we are playing, how poorly our transfer window went, how far behind our rivals we are, and how split our board/manager are, if you believe the papers! Just imagine how many tickets we could sell if and when we get it right.

He was pre-booked. Should be an easy disrepute charge for the compliance officer, who we know is one of the few to watch this amateur production. Of course that is assuming he wasn't nodding in agreement as he usually does with the opinions of whatever tims are on the show.

You need to use better bait for your fishing rod! It did make me laugh though so cheers!

There are only two windows to pick from. When we have so many poor players in our first 11, and Europa qualifiers in mid-June, we HAD to make a mark in this window. That doesn't necessarily mean spending cash we don't have, we have to be cuter than that, but four windows in to the Warburton era and it now stands at 1 success and 3 failures. 3 successive bad Windows since McParland came on board as well is not painting him in a good light either. If Warburton genuinely thinks there is no better centre half than Kiernan in the whole of world football for the money we are paying him, he should consider going back to the City. 3 Windows have come and gone and Rob remains first choice centre back. It's absolutely staggering.

Just what does that mean Ian? Gilks put in the best performance from a Rangers goalie since McGregor in the SF v the tims to prevent an absolute gubbing, and he doesn't get another minute of action as his reward. It's no wonder he got himself another club pronto. It won't matter how much Jak impresses in training or bounce games, he ain't getting the gloves for the first team barring injury or suspension to Wes.

Or, whisper it, they are pish and don't have any cylinders to fire. For both these guys to be behind Miller in the pecking order they should stop picking up wages.

So the window has now slammed shut. We have swapped reserve keepers, and brought in 2 midfielders on loan. Still no centre half, still nobody to score goals. Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. Someone somewhere has failed our club big time this month. I am deeply depressed at the thought of watching the next 4 months still with Kiernan and Miller as first picks in our team.