Tannochsidebear

I was utterly amazed at the way Saints set up against us last season at Ibrox (not at Perth as indicated in the Scotsman article). They were very defensive and hardly crossed the halfway line. As a result the game was a borefest as our central midfield duo of Law/Black found it hard to open them up. The difference between the teams was the one class player on show, and even though he scored with a header (unusual for him), Lewis MacLeod always looked as if he could get us across the line. I was expecting Saints to come and have a go, given how poorly we had been playing (although we had been winning most games at that time of the season IIRC), and thought their dangerous forward players would give our shambolic defence a torrid time. However they didnt pose a threat at all from memory (not always a reliable resource tool!) and we were comfortable, if boring, winners. I am hoping Saints come with a little more ambition and invention on Tuesday, as that will help our style of play as we are struggling to play our best against teams who "park the bus" and given their better quality up front, it would be dangerous against our still nervy looking defence. That will give us a good challenge and let us see how far we have come.

Not sure but for a farm I don't recall seeing many animals but it sure did stink!

It could be but I don't recall the singing specifically! Got soaked at Tynecastle a few times in late 80's/early 90's!

It was fine in the main stand at Ayr! It was nowhere near as bad as Livorno, which is the worst soaking I have ever had, with a close second the game at the old Tynecastle around '91 or so when Hateley scored a last minute winner (1-0) and we were in the uncovered terracing behind the goal and it absolutely chucked it down all day. We were soaked in the walk from the farm about 1.5 miles away where they parked the buses in those days, never mind the standing about for 90 minutes, then the walk back. Some of our guys left a couple of minutes early to start the walk back to the bus and missed the goal so got drenched for nothing!

It is just a wee stat and nothing to be too worked up over. Nobody is comparing Warburton to Struth. It is like saying who is top of the table after 2 games, completely irrelevant but it is still a stat. The game is becoming increasingly Americanised with multiple stats for everything. Let us see how long the winning run goes first, and ultimately what it leads to with what we end up winning at the end of the season before we jump to any comparisons with other managers. If McCoist/Smith/McLeish had won his first 15 games in his first season would it have made him a better manager than Struth? Only trophies are a proper barometer. Unfortunately Warburton cannot win his first 10 top flight games in his first season as that is not where we are, that doesn't automatically make him incomparable with other Rangers managers as a bit of fun and a news item to fill the endless hours of media interest.

A drug cheat is a drug cheat. Professional sportsmen should not be anywhere near banned drugs, recreational or performance enhancing. If coke doesn't make him run faster or pass better, it may make him relax, help with diet, etc which while not directly performance enhancing can still aid his overall well-being in a positive way and is therefore still cheating. In athletics, cycling etc drug abuse is rife and those caught get two/four/life year bans, of which only the life bans are appropriate in my book. IF his drink was spiked etc, then he wouldnt have been banned, clearly the authorities thought his story was nonsense, and he is therefore a drug cheat. I have heard that coke use is rife in football among young scottish men, I am hoping this ban stops some others from using illegal drugs, which can harm their mental health as well as their physical well-being. If wee neds want to do a few lines of coke, then dont be professional sportsmen. How anyone can think a few lines of coke is ok for a professional athlete is beyond me, I thought this was an absolute no-brainer as they say.

The performance was probably our worst of the season. So many misplaced passes, a lack of movement from our middle 3, our two wingers didn't get into the game at all. I would put a lot of the above down to our opponents work rate and tactics, where they gave up half the pitch and chased down everything in their own half in packs. If one of our players got past a man, they were either fouled or crowded out. They delayed the restart at all times and retained possession better than anyone we have played to date. Frankly if they played this well every week they would be challenging for second but I will be betting on them getting a heavy defeat next week, no matter their opponent, as it is very evident this was cup final football from them today. It is credit to Livvy for their negative but effective tactics and we need to sharpen up when faced with these tactics, as we will probably see a lot of it this season and beyond.

There is a reason the players mentioned are still without clubs post-window. Asking too much money Injury prone Declining talent Questionable/disruptive attitude Pish agent I don't know which of the above match which players but in this money mad game now there must be serious question marks over anyone not picked up. In any event, none of those players are suitable for us or we would have approached them

I really enjoyed that piece, thanks to the author. It wouldn't be out of place on a Livvy (I will call them what I like!) forum as well as a Rangers one, and it was certainly an worthwhile read and a good format. It is quite like the couple of pages in the matchday programme this season (a great read now) where we interview a local journalist from our opponents area about how they are doing, who to look out for etc and is a good insight into our opponents when really I dont have a clue about them and havent heard of any of their players. No poetry, no physcobabble, no trying to cleverly relate a game to nothing whatsoever to do with it, just a good old-fashioned football preview piece. More of this please!!

So as soon as we look a shoe-in to be back in the top flight, Sky jump in to get more tv rights. Only show in town seems about right again.

Gardener's world

oh come on, gardener surely!!

While I would not expect the details of the deal to be publicised on the official website, it will be interesting to see what comes out from the usual sources over the next hours/days/weeks regarding all this now that it is all settled.

Hope you all enjoyed my 8 year old match thread! I really loved watching that back tonight. The funny thing is I couldn't have watched that 6 months ago, it would have been too painful. It is good to have my love of football back!

Even at 3-0 Lyon have twice hit the woodwork and brought out a couple of great saves from McGregor.

I'd forgotten about what a fantastic long pass from Cousin to put Beasley clean through. I remember saying that we might just sneak a draw now!

Our second goal is a thing of beauty. Lots of passes in midfield, Hutton done well finding space and a good pass to Cousin whose turn and finish was top class.

Quite a team we pumped that night with Juninho, Govou, Benzema. We rode our luck a wee bit (as we would do all the way to Florence), but the patient, organised in defence, counter-attacking style we used was very successful. Huttons run from midway inside his own half to win the corner for the first goal was a good example of how we worked things. We had the pace of Hutton & Beasley down one flank and the resolute defending of Papac and the anonymous Jig on the other meaning we were never caught with too many up out of position. Thomson Hendami & Ferguson worked so hard to stifle in midfield.

Oh for McGregor Cuellar & Weir as they were in that side in our current side.

It's on again now. One of my favourite away trips this one. I took a beer away from my mate that afternoon as he told a local that the score was going to be 3-0 Gers!!!

I think the situation with Ally should be split into two pieces, much like the tenure of David Murray. While Murrays first decade in charge is viewed by most as being very successful , his legacy was certainly spoiled by his final decade. I personally thank Murray for the first decade where he built on the revolution started by David Holmes and Graeme Souness, and brought us "9" and should have won the European Cup in '93 if not for cheating Frogs. I hate Murray for the last decade, the vast overspending followed by severe cuts and downsizing and finished off with the bank running us in his name due to his inclusion of our club in his portfolio when it should always have been a standalone. His selling off of our cash-raising assets and his eventual acceptance of the £1 bid from Whyte, no matter the pressure from the bank. As far as Ally goes, he gets my eternal thanks for the part he played during our administration period, and even more so in fighting off the Celtic-inspired attempt at stealing our titles and cups. He stood alone at many meetings with other clubs, SFA, SPL, lawyers etc and fought and fought for our rights. However as a manager the football has been awful, the results poor when they mattered, i.e. the cups, and failing to win the challenge cup in 3 goes is to his eternal shame. He failed to recognise when things were not going well, failed to bring in the experienced coach for a fresh start and ditch his mate in Kenny clipboard, and finally has steadfastly refused to rip up his contract while not working his years notice, despite the financial difficulties the club were in. Perhaps, like Greig after his pathetic managerial reign, time will heal and us fans will remember more the record goal-scorer, mainstay of "9", and guy who fought more than anyone in our darkest hour against our many enemies to keep our "54" intact. I hope so but it is far too raw just now.

More than happy to be able to watch both express themselves within the freedom our system allows them to showcase their talents and applaud their efforts. It's like picking between your kids.

Do a google search for Greg aitken referee rangers and see shocker after shocker after shocker when this referee has a Rangers game. He was responsible for one of the most one-sided refereeing performances I have ever seen in our home game v Stenny a couple of years ago that finished 3-3 when he booked Temps instead of giving a stonewall penalty, then gave Stenny a late pen that nobody claimed for, as well as countless other calls that bordered on cheating. If his performances in games involving us are any guide as to this guys talents, it is very strange to see him still at this level. Do not expect this guy to give our players any protection on Saturday.

I cant quite believe that article was in the scotsman. Was it a fanzine column? Surely this Craig Fowler chap doesnt actually receive a salary as a journalist at a paper where almost every single article about Rangers is negative? It is a well written accurate piece, I can only imagine the comments section below that article given that the Scotsman is well known for having a huge amount of trolling tims in their comments and a less than impartial moderator!

Quite simply the best player to have played in Scotland in my lifetime. The others are quite a distance behind. I hope he comes over to watch this current Rangers side, I think he would have enjoyed playing this type of football in this system.