UCF2008

Not counting ourselves we were up against 2 from DIV 3, 4 from DIV2 and 7 from DIV1 - including the current top 3. Not that I'm making a big deal of the achievement in winning the SFL reserve league. With previous squads I expect we'd have strolled it. With the players Wilson had at his disposal this season however he does deserve some credit.

How so? Did we not just win the SFL reserve league with our worst reserve team ever?

We can only sign free agents this summer no matter what league we're playing in. The difference is the quality of player we can attract and afford if we're in the SPL.

I know what you mean. I don't like the idea of bailing them out either, but unfortunately it's not the ones who deserve to suffer the most who need bailing out. I also don't think a longer period out of the top tier will help the team strengthen or the fans hatred subside.

I would never have agreed with the club giving in to those or any similar demands, but I'd hope I'm not alone in saying I didn't 'want' to start from DIV 3.

Probably the fairest solution all round would see us move into the 2nd tier of a 12-12-20 with the 2 B-sides stuck in the bottom tier.

I'd accept the invitation unconditionally - That works both ways. I think they'd find out quick enough that our fans won't forgive and forget though.

I think it's a good idea. It could benefit us in the sense that we might get the promotion we deserve and our reserves get regular competitive games. It also means that if we're serious about leaving the Scottish game then those discussions can move forward with a B-side already in place as opposed to having it thrown down on the negotiating table at the last minute. Meanwhile time is given for proper consideration towards those who would take our place. One condition I would add is that the B-sides are rooted to the bottom tier as it would guarantee a sustained revenue stream via increased attendances and sponsors to those clubs. Besides, the split season 'championship' model is enough of a joke already without throwing B-sides into the mix at that level.

Any player over the age of 17 who's been nowhere near the first team this season probably doesn't have much hope of making it at the club to be honest. Younger players with potential however are another story and I agree it is worrying if those players think the grass is greener elsewhere. The budget and scouting issues at youth level need to be addressed. If Sinclair isn't to be trusted with the money then he should be replaced, but we need to invest in our youth system if we want it to be successful.

I think failure to address the balance of power in the corridors of Hampden and Rangers current complete lack of input into moving the Scottish game forward is of far more concern to Green than 12-12-18. Maintaining the status quo of a Ceptic stranglehold on CG's field of play will see us moving elsewhere.

As could rabble rousing amongst the support right now

NO. Hugely overrated manager. Especially by a number of our support.

I agree, but think it goes further than expectation levels of our own team being too high. I also believe that many have underestimated the level of the opposition. Sure, they're part-timers and on paper at least we should be playing them off the park. To these teams however these games against us are massive to the extent that it would be an understatement to call it their equivilent of us playing in the CL. We do need to strengthen and when we do I'd expect an improvement, but I would also still expect to see us having to grind out results. If the current Ceptic side were dropped in div3 I for one don't believe they'd win 36 games. They might do better than we've done in a lot of the games. As much as I hate to say it they do have a far better team than we do currently. They wouldn't win them all though and some of those they did win would be a struggle. I think it's difficult for us all to get a proper sense of perspective here. There have been disappointments this season and Saturday was no exception, but we'll still win this league comfortably ...and the next one as well. To me at this point, that's alll that matters.

Whyte takeover and Ticketus deal emails David Grier claims Whyte withheld takeover information Traynor: Duff and Phelps face serious questions over Rangers' Ticketus deal IMO Grier was up to his neck in it.

That's correct, but you do have to wonder if they would have been so were it not for the fact our administrators were linked with setting up the Ticketus deal in the first place.

I agree, but playing into the hands of our enemies with such OTT language could likewise hinder those possiblities.

Of course bans are possible, but a lifetime ban? We've not even been forced to play a game behind closed doors. To escalate it to the heaviest sentence is ridiculous coming from anyone nevermind our CEO. Then again, it is at least in line with the rest of his mountain out of a molehill comments on the subject.

It didn't stop him bringing through a 17 yr old Danny Wilson, not just in the SPL but also the CL. I don't personally rate Alexander as a particularly good keeper. He was a good reserve keeper, but 5-6 years without a regular game has taken it's toll. His positioning and decision making were always suspect. He was a decent shot stopper, but he's well past his best. He doesn't command his area, flaps at crosses and generally looks sluggish. He gets too much credit imo for making the ocassional good save. I'd be disappointed if we keep him as our number one and agree with the OP that now's as good a time as any to give the lad Gallacher a chance.

...What's more, the Italian FA then fast tracked the new club rebranded as ACF Fiorentina after playing a whole season under the name 'Associazione Calcio Fiorentina e Florentia Viola' in the Italian 4th tier. They skipped a division on "sports merits" after the Catania Case resulted in league reconstruction with Serie B increasing from 20 to 24 teams. Could the same happen with Scotland's most successful club under the same "sports merits" banner? Not a chance.

Fiorentina went out of existence under the name and badge of Fiorentina for a whole season before buying the rights from the liquidators. A similar scenario to Airdrie possibly but not comparable to Rangers.

I agree with the 10pt deduction. Beyond that I'm at a loss to see where you're coming from here GS. The transfer embargo was an illegal punishment handed to us for any and all disrepute charges they could possibly brainstorm into existence on the event of us entering administration. I highly doubt that the majority of clubs which go into admin are all square with their tax liabilities. Yet we were singled out for this 'crime against humanity' by our peers, the mhedia, SFA et all. Liquidation hasn't taken place and won't do for some time. We newco'd off-season and otherwise you have to wonder what the outcome would have been. Nevertheless, everything was transferred from one company to another without any liquidation taking place. Everything except our SPL share that is. Despite Doncaster going on TV and repeatedly stating how he couldn't see any difference between Newco and CVA exits from administration with regards to how we would be dealt with by the football authorities, they changed the rules to allow our rival clubs to vote us out. You were saying about special treatment? In Scottish football there is no clear precedent to our case. Elsewhere there is though and those clubs have not been dealt with in a fashion even remotely similar to ourselves. We have been treated both as a new and old company to suit the harshest punishments they could hit us with. In any other business they wouldn't get away with it.

I don't think it's any coincidence Murray said when he sacked Le Guen that he would never employ another foreign manager, while WS was quick to promote the idea of the need for a Scottish core in his squad.

Can't say I agree or disagree. We'll never know.

I think both of them made the same mistake by forgetting they were managing a Scottish club, recruiting too much personnel from their own nation and allowing large non-english speaking cliques to form. I don't think training methods had anything to do with Advocaat's downfall. He brought in too many Dutch. In Le Guens defence he didn't actually bring in that many French. He just didn't take into account the amount of French and French speaking players already at the club.