maineflyer

I think it's more likely there would be no more than a murmur of discontent before composed silence returned to the Ibrox stands. Perhaps the odd "tut tut Walter, I hope you cleared this with Sir David", before heading for home after 70 minutes.

I bask in your suspicion.

Wrong. No one will ever hear or read about what celtic supporters say or do. There is a very effective filter in the Scottish media that screens these things out and proactively cultivates an impression of Rangers-bad-Celtic-good. What good is done by Rangers will be ignored, while shameful goings on at Parkhead will be ignored. Celtic in turn cultivate their influence in the media while Murray boasts of how much he spends on a PR outfit hat does nothing but protect his personal image (�£700K wasn't it?).

The link doesn't seem to lead anywhere.

Oh let me see, there must be a reason there somewhere. How about the day he nailed his colours to the mast and announced to the whole world that celtic supporters are more loyal than Rangers supporters? Or allowing celtic fans and others to use TBB tune while banning Rangers fans from doing the same thing? Or his inability to find and attract a credible manager since Souness left (think about it)? The club used to own the Albion, the shops, the catering - where did these assets go? Edmiston House, sold for a song. The ludicrous deal with JJB, allowing the once-mighty merchandising operation to go to the dogs. The complete lack of any scouting operation. Total unwillingness to counteract media-based attacks on the club and its fans. Propping up season ticket sales with duplicitous announcements year after year - casino anyone, the Ibrox resort? Interesting to hear you defend his 1990's record as outstanding. You might want to remember thatw e were successful and had turned the ship around before Murray darkened our door. Holmes and Souness were the real catalysts for change. The foundations of NIAR were already largely in place - by 1997 the club had been allowed to grind to a standstill and from a position of strength we had to completely rebuild - and after doing so at huge financial cost and with celtic in disarray, we again allowed supremacy to slip through our fingers. He inherited a successful club and turned it into the shambles we see today. The stadium is a mess, the ticket office a disaster, the stewards treat Rangers fans like dirt, we are clubbed and beaten at away games in Europe and the club says it served us right! At every turn this liar who owns us reminds us of NIAR as if it was his to flaunt. But he's obviously fooled enough of you to keep him sweet.

Like most Rangers supporters I'm more concerned with the situation at Ibrox than any comparisons with other clubs, even celtic. And no smoke and mirrors at Rangers? I thought David Murray invented them. Maybe I'm confusing them with moonbeams?

At the time I couldn't see past the hopelessness of the situation and I'm not convinced PLG had what it takes - but I agree completely that a complete revolution is needed in the way this club works, on and off the pitch. Something that will sweep away the drip drip drip of mediocrity that we're mired in, including captains who think they should be running the team.

Completely agree with your decision to select Broadfoot ahead of Whittaker, which is an indictment in itself, but I would play Novo instead of Miller in the hope of scoring some goals.

Like many others, you seem to take it for granted that last season was a success. Compared with the two previous seasons I suppose it was. However, from the beginning of this year there was little to embarrass the history books with. We won only 25% of games, limped over the finishing line in the League Cup after being hounded by Dundee Utd, dragged our way into the Scottish Cup final and struggled past lowly QoS, stuttered to a complete standstill in the league as celtic came from a distant second to comfortable winners, and approached our UEFA Cup final like a team that was shyt scared to be there. Exactly what success is it that you think we would be jeopardising? Are you afraid the next manager might not want to continue with 4-5-1? Or that he might not feel confident enough to play without a midfield? Perhaps you don't want to risk having a manager who would try to develop our own young talent? I mean, there's so much to lose.

You've been watching the same players, the same team as me and everyone else. Just how much worse do you think this can get?

If we are so afraid of the future we shouldn't get up tomorrow morning. The trouble with Smith is that this isn't just one bad result. As someone else posted already, winning just 5 out of the last 20 competitive games is dreadful - matched only by the negative, pointless style of play Smith has chosen to bring to Rangers.

Er ..... em ....... er ........

I'll volunteer to drive him to Stoke for his medical. Useless plank.

Bain should go back to running a bar because he sure as hell knows precious little about running a business. This idea was ill conceived from the outset. The club just keeps on making an arse of itself, or at least out of its supporters. And they wonder why the fans feel alienated!

There are two comments I would make to your post. The first is that unless Smith leaves first we will be unable to have anyone else in his job. The second is that we'll never know if the next guy is or is not better until he has been in the job for at least a year so the sooner we get started the better.

There are in fact two bucks. A Big Buck and a Small Buck. Because they are different sizes, they stop at different places. The Big Buck is the really important one and stops exclusively at David Murray's door. The Big Buck is ultimately responsible for everything that happens at Rangers, including all the other Bucks, regardless of size. That's what Big Bucks are about. The Small Buck is specifically responsible for team matters and this Buck only stops at Walter Smith's door. In the past, there was a Thing called the Honourable Thing which saw to it that responsibility was accepted by the guy with the Buck at his door. Nowadays, the Honourable Thing has gone to live elsewhere and no longer visits Ibrox, so no one really gives a shyt or is willing to put their neck on the line. This is the age of the snake. The snake almost always lives in the place with the Big Buck at the door.

I think you'll generally (and generally is a dangerous word) find that Rangers fans acknowledge both success and failure in more or less equal measure. That goes for players and management. However, the situation we find ourselves in at the moment is perilous. It isn't just about having lost a game or two, however badly. It's about recognising our club is still years from rescue and yet another stop gap solution is coming apart at the seams. Advocating patience and more of the same is a practice that has not served us well. Hoping for the best isn't going to do it folks. There is no obvious successor to Smith. Murray doesn't even acknowledge the concerns of the support, let alone look interested in generating success. The playing staff is well below par and utterly unbalanced. What's not to be worried about.

Faint heart never won a league title. Fear of change is just fear of failure but when you are already failing, change is the only antidote. Instead of fearing change, we should embrace it, welcome it, pursue it. Inertia has always been failure's best friend.

But this isn't St Mirren and as the most successful club in Scotland the support has every right to aspire to further success. The only question for me is whether Murray can deliver what others delivered before him. Rangers didn't start being successful when Murray arrived and they won't stop being successful when he leaves.

Well it's certainly not taking corner kicks!

I invite anyone to argue with that statistic - or ask for more of the same.

The team has been shite since February. Apart from some amazing backs-to-the-wall results in Europe, we have struggled on all fronts. Without Kris Boyd, we would have finished last season with nothing.

No, he's made a complete dog's breakfast of it. The team is a shambles, the results have been dire, the management seem in disarray, money is being squandered without purpose or return. What fist is it you are looking at?

Completely agree with you on this. But he also has to stop the bollox about moonbeam, museums, casino's or spending �£100m's on stadium development. None of this is ever going to happen and making grandiose statements ahead of season ticket renewals every year, only for those dreams to then be dropped without further comment, that has to stop. Murray has made so many "targeted inferences" for his own narrow purposes that he has lost the respect of the thinking fan. He has also driven a huge wedge between the club and the support by his stupid attempts to over-sanitise the club. The billy boys may have been unacceptable to him but the way Rock Steady and the police have been allowed (encouraged) to treat Rangers fans at Ibrox is ludicrous. He has progressively alienated what now amounts to quite a large number of fans. Murray needs to find a way to introduce openness and (above all) honesty to his dialogue with the fans. No, he needs to introduce dialogue, period.

No one will ever know what is inside Murray's head. Not me, not you. And while speculation can be interesting, it won't help clarify what Murray's intentions or attitude actually are. However, being chairman carries certain responsibilities and at a football club like Rangers it is ultimately to assure success on the field of play. That is done by selecting the right personnel to manage the club and by generating sufficient funds to resource the club. If success is not forthcoming then the chairman will be judged against the aspirations of the support. I can only give you my own personal view but I don't think Murray is doing a good job and hasn't been for quite some time. What he wants is of little interest to me compared with what he is actually delivering.