MoodyBlue

going on about his Bentley and his comfortable lifestyle does nothing to help him. If he was producing on the pitch then fair enough - but he doesn't ever look like doing anything in a Rangers jersey.

Keep your mouth shut Kyle FFS ! and work on your game - you bloody well need to !!

PM me your address and I'll post you an AK from Bolivia!

excellent - your secret's safe with me mate. you ain't seen me........right ?!

Ewan Chester is and always has been a fucking impostor. I agree. Let's have him shot.

if someone can get me the necessary tool for the job, I'll do him !! :box:

christ - that takes me back !

i remember being quite excited by this at the time. thought they were going to be pretty big for us and all that

True,but if he got his finger oot his erse he wouldn't have to sit and watch anybody,I'll be glad to see the back of the frog

hear what you're saying - but none of his performances have been any worse than Lafferty's. When Lafferty plays there we'd be as well playing with 10 men.

I've always said that we should always be wary of French players or players of Frenchy origin. They never settle in Scotland - on or off the pitch - always moan, complain about the food/culture/weather etc. etc.

personally I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole- more trouble than they're worth.

But in defence of Rothen, he should be playing ahead of Lafferty.............well my deed gran should be playing ahead of Lafferty if truth be told

To be fair to Rothen, when he sees Lafferty being played in his position on the left he must be extremely disillusioned and wonder what the hell is going on.

Mr Chester is still doing a grand job since rejoining us under Smith mate....

obvioulsy mate

I hoped he'd do better than he has when we signed him but quite quickly it became obvious he didn't have the legs (or the will) for the SPL so has only really had the one good game (v Stuttgart) before he lost his place...

 

I'm surprised our scouts couldn't see such an eventuality given the player's recent disappointing record in France.

we have scouts ??

While I agree McCulloch has had a large period of good form at Rangers he came with a decent enough pedigree and while no world beater has by all accounts been a consistently decent and reliable player for us this season.

 

He also played well for the first half of the season he came to us. That suggests to me that he had a period of terrible form and subsequent loss of confidence which was well below his natural level of ability.

 

I think he is now showing his true ability which for the sake of repition is not world beating but fairly decent and certainly passable.

 

He may not have got into teams in more salubrious years but we've usually had a couple of decent, hard working jouneyman players who have been crucial to some of our success over the years. I don't think the likes of Graham Roberts or Terry Hurlock were better players than McCulloch is right now. Even in 9iaR we had the likes of Clelland and Bolan who were lesser players.

my take on that would be that Roberts and Hurlock were far more effective than McCulloch is. They would put in a tackle or interception and it would lift the crowd and the rest of the team. They were busy players who let the opposition know they were there and they helped their team mates in doing so.

McCulloch does neither. I have still to see this new Lee McCulloch who is supposed to be playing 'really well'. For me he is doing the minimum and just getting by. On many occassions he's been overrun in midfield. He NEVER gets a grip of the game and plays a very insiginificant part IMO.

Sorry, but I can't subscribe to this latest wave of optimism about him. Just doesn't do it for me at all. we've spent around �£5m on this guy and that's not been good value at all.

Request denied

 

 

 

Neither did the rest of the team, tbf.

very true. we were abysmal. didn't even try to compete and win the game. against such a shite **** team (and even withus having a few players missing) we should have been going for their throats. Instead we showed fear from the first minute which is totally unacceptable from any Rangers team in any circumstances against that mhob.

Then you are hereby banned from Gersnet

 

 

 

Couldn't disagree more there - I think in many games in the past 2 months he's been doing the work of 2 players, when either Davis or Thomson went hiding. I'm afraid your opinion carries a custodial sentence.

 

 

 

His displays are one of the main reasons for our excellent recent run. I've decided to increase your sentence to death. Do you have any last requests

Last request - Lee McCulloch is transferred to Motherwell please !!

I just don't see where he he has been doing a good job tbh. IMO his involvement in games is very minimal. never dominated in any way and has been dominated on many occassions. Piggery (aprt from his goal) was a classic example - didn't get a look in.

Fair points, but they don't address his years in the national wilderness while still gaining premium exposure plying his trade for Portsmouth and Spurs. tbh, they actually kinda do - Pedro Mendes is not a very good player he's not good enough to play for his country over the options they have in there. The guy has 4 feeble caps, and at his age, he's extremely unlikely to get into Quieroz' thoughts.

 

I suppose his caps did come when he did play back in his homeland, so maybe he truly believes playing for one of Portugal's big 3 will give him the best chance of being on that flight to SA.

 

That said, he wasn't on the plane to Germany in 2006 despite playing for Spurs/Portsmouth at the time.

I can't give specific examples at the moment, but I reckon Portugal had a stronger squad back then. They've struggled over the past couple of years - just scraping qualification this time for example. This weaker squad - if my instincts are correct - has opened the door to players like Mendes. He'll want to do all he can to ensure he has a chance of getting in their squad - and if heading back to Portugal is the option then I'm sure he'll grab it with both hands.

For a player who is the target of much abuse and has never been close to a fans' favourite, McCulloch has been excellent this year and deserves a lot of credit for adapting to the midfield position so well.

sorry mate - i can't agree with that. i certainly don't think McCulloch has been 'excellent'. Far from it.

His touch is still poor, his distribution is poor, he doesn't in any way shape or form get a grip of the midfield and his timing of tackles is way off. Sorry, but I think he's just hiding in that position and doing the minimum.

yes he scored a great goal at the Piggery, but that goal and the one in Lyon do not excuse almost 3 seasons of dire displays from the guy. Big waste of money IMO. If you include transfer fee and his salary over the years - he has cost us in the region of �£4.5m - �£5m !!! (is it any wonder we've been fecked financially ?!) We've not had anywhere near that back in value of performances. Not even a fraction of it.

any 'locals' been in and around that area ? I know there is an inpsection tomorrow, but even looking at the situation now, it must be clear if it is going to be realistic to be played ? doesn't seem as if there will be any thawing for the forseeable future, so surely it won't go ahead ?

Hate that wee ground anyway !

Depending on the fee it's a win-win situation for both parties IMO. We receive ~�£1.5million and his wage goes to Boyd. He moves home to a team he'll play more for and increase his chances of international recognition.

 

If Thomson and Edu can prove their fitness over the next few weeks, then I'd imagine this transfer will take place before the end of the month.

agreed on all counts

Wasn't too keen on that quote - seems a little insulting to us tbh.

 

As for the comments about him having a better chance of the world cup, well he was in the national team wilderness while playing for Portsmouth and Spurs, it was him being at Ibrox which gave him the call up. So if he struggled to be capped while in England, where plenty Portuguese players thrive and get picked for their country, what makes him think he stands a better chance in his homeland?

I know what you're saying about the fact that he got called up whilst playing with us. However he is very much a fringe player and in no way guranteed a place in their squad. I don't think he'll want to take the risk of staying in Scotland when he could be seen week in week out in Portugal pushing himself more into the frame for definite selection. This will be at the forefront of his thoughts IMO. In all honesty, I really think he'll be looking to go back to Portugal. If it had been anyt other time, then maybe not. But in WC year, he will think that he cannot afford to pass up any opportunity to get inton that squad. To be fair, you can see his point. A last crack at being part of a WC squad is massive.

Problem is Mendes and McCulloch are different types of players - one being the creative influence and the other a spoiler. As such, we're not going to ever play Mendes and Davis centrally so the latter (if he stays!) will play more often alongside Thomson, Edu or McCulloch to complement their styles.

 

With all the spoilers fit and playing well, McCulloch should be the least likely to play but neither Thomson or Edu have proved their fitness so big Lee will stay in the team for the time being - Hamilton in the SPL next week notwithstanding as he's suspended.

very true - I know what you're saying mate

Welcome to the forums mate!

 

Your point about his international prospects is a valid one. I doubt he'd play every week when he returns to fitness here (Davis and one of Thomson, Edu and McCulloch) are more likely so he may see this as an opportunity to move home without ruining his reputation with our fans.

Cheers mate.

I agree about his place in our team not being guaranteed week in week out. However, for me, McCulloch should never be ahead of him the pecking order. Mendes may not have set the heather completley alight in his time here, but IMO McCulloch couldn't lace his boots. But that's just my opinion.

If we're happy to let him go, I can't see Mendes stomping his feet and insisting that he wants to stay. It'll probably be a mutal thing with the club happy to let him go and him happy to get back to Portugal and get stuck in to trying to get his place in the WC squad.

Hello Hello.

New poster so treat me gently ! :spl:

My thoughts on this are that Mendes may be keen on a move back to his homeland in time for the run in to the World Cup.

After years in the international wilderness he only got called up recently. He is in no way assured of his place the the national squad, so maybe more exposure back in his home and will tempt him to move back. A crack at the WC is a huge temptation for any player.

I know he got picked for the national team whilst at Rangers, but methinks he may be very keen to make a stake for his place by playing in Portugal where he can maybe cement his squad place ?