BrahimHemdani

For the simple reason that it was possibly the worst loss in our history, certainly the worst loss in Europe, an utter humiliation. I blame PC for the reasons previously stated but I also think we've got no option other than to give him a reasonable chance to put things right. If we finish a close second in the league or at least close the gap on Celtic, then I would consider that a successful season and we should be much better prepared for Europe next time around.

That's the understatement of the century.

Possibly £500k up front and another £250k later.

Thanks for that JC. As per previous comment there's no shortage of reasonably priced rooms at cheap prices on the Sunday night inc a BW apparently reduced from £176 to £50. The Novotel looks good although the £45 is ex breakfast as far as I can see, can't argue with that. It's £53 inc breakfast for one person (normally £13.95 for breakfast). Members get an additional 10% off. Giving it serious consideration. Anyone want to share the car, I'll drive?

I think you mean doubtful privilege. As I said it was my mistake but I think what was in my head was that as you say it was a comparatively small amount in any event. Just to add to previous comment about the wine, BD paid for the bottle of white that he ordered and drank!

That's my opinion, Boss; but as I said I'm happy to put up a poll if there is a divergence of view.

Quite so, shipping out those who are surplus to requirements is important, albeit a short term job. Whilst we're on that subject, the Hamburg Loyal guys I met in Luxembourg were adamant that RB Leipzig DID offer £5 million or perhaps €5 million for Barry McKay in January. It was obvious from the fact that he only extended his contract by one year the previous year that he wasn't going to sign again without a significant pay rise and by all accounts there was a big gap between his wage demands and what Rangers were offering, so why on earth did we hold on then sell him for £500k?

Those shoes have a lot to answer for.

Both have their pros and cons. In my opinion the food and service at Malaga Tapas is the best we have had but Spanish doesn't suit everyone and it is a bit of drive through the traffic. The main issue however is that they no longer have the restaurant next door so we cannot get the private space necessary for a speaker. That said I'm sure he would accommodate us mid afternoon when they are quieter. It's the most expensive option. The big advantage of the Indian Brasserie is that it is 5 minutes walking distance from Ibrox. Indian certainly suits many and European is available for those who prefer to avoid spicy food. The downside is that they had great difficulty serving all the tables at once which resulted in some not getting served desert at all and it was disappointing that they felt the need to charge for meals that were not taken. There were a couple of other issues that I would rather not discuss here. The cheapest option and we may get the place to ourselves if we have sufficient numbers. That said I know of one SC that took more than us and still had to share and I very much doubt they would close it for us if it is the Celtic game. La Fiorentina is a 20/25 minute walk form Ibrox and I think all who were there enjoyed the food and the service was excellent IMO. I feel they deserve a second bite at the cherry as we did not achieve the numbers for the private room that they had reserved for us. Mid level price wise. I would prefer to go back to La Fiorentina (although Malaga Tapas is my personal favourite) which would mean we have been in each place twice; but if there is a difference of opinion then I'm happy to put up a poll.

You are quite correct but it doesn't just apply to you. In the past we only took a fiver from the soft drinkers and it was my mistake not to do so last time. I think what happened was that it was a relatively small bill and I just divided it up by the number attending after CS paid for one bottle, or certainly had that intention. Having one drinks bill makes life a lot easier for the bar staff and facilitated the "first drink free" (which itself was a one off); but it can also lead to an imbalance as did occur in Jan 16, when some wine drinkers in particular paid less than their fair share, whilst those who were left at the end had to make up the balance. If we had been in the private room the intention was to work on a per table basis and that would be my intention next time.

I would go but I really don't want to drive the 500 miles there and back on the Sunday and the hotels are at rip off levels for the Saturday night. I would consider going on the Sunday, staying over and back Monday, if that suits anyone?

That's fine but please vote. EDIT: I suppose it's fair enough to abstain but I'd rather those who are likely to attend indicate their preference in terms of date.

Given that we have a new manager and 9 new players; can someone please explain to me what the DoF does for the rest of the season apart from pick up a fat salary?

Hence the ludicrous explanation from the Chairman, for the 1-5 loss at home to Celtic - Pedro was trying out the players to see who was good enough in terms of ability and character, or words to that effect. A blind man could see in the semi-final that they were light years ahead of us and the only way to avoid a humiliation in the league game was to go five across the middle, instead of same again only worse.

Gaffer, I was there and I can absolutely assure you that Progres were well organised and ran themselves stupid but they don't have one player of any quality. Let's not beat about the bush; they are a diddy team in a diddy league; and even in our humbled circumstances ANY Scottish team in Europe should beat them off the park. Just one example: their goalkeeper had a career in the German 5th and 6th levels but with one exception, kept us out in the first leg and the sub was good enough to prevent us scoring in Luxembourg, not that he had a lot do. I'm honestly still trying to figure out why we didn't gub them over there. I'm in no doubt we have far better players but it's self evident that we aren't a TEAM, our new players mostly weren't fit and in my view we showed little urgency until it was too late. We had one shot in the first half from Kranjcar and that went way over. On another night we would have scored a couple towards the end but lack of sharpness cost us dearly. I think the tactics were wrong; playing two defensive midfielders demonstrated lack of ambition as did taking off Candeias and replacing him with Windass. What on earth is he still doing anywhere near our team? Our defence also gave away a terrible goal from the free kick, which went right through everyone including Foderingham. We desperately need to figure out a plan that makes use of Kranjcar's vision and technical ability. Time after time in the second half he made what should have been telling passes but those around him were not on the same wavelength. I can understand why PC used Candeias and Dalcio and brought on Herrera late on but I just wonder if it might not have been better to stick with the guys who had the 3/4 weeks training under their belts, even if their futures at the Club are limited, it might have been a good shop window. Then again if Herrera was considered fit enough to play a bit part what about Pena; is he not just the kind of player who might have made the difference with one bit of magic? So broadly I blame PC for this devastating loss and just hope he can make a team out of his new players. Undoubtedly Alves will make a big difference at the back. There are major decisions to take as to how we play and who supports Kranjcar in MF. You would think Dorrans has to be a starter and Jack as well. So where does Pena fit in? Wallace was desperately poor going forward and we all know he's not the world's best defender; does that argue for Beerman? On the other side, I'm struggling to believe he thinks that Tavernier is what we really need; I'd like to see Hodson get a run. Up front we have any combination of Candeias, Dalcio, Herrera, Morelos and yes, Miller. I'd love to see us go 4-4-2 with Morelos and Herrera but I can't see that happening. I can't recall the exact words but it was evident from their programme notes that they thought they had drawn a big fish and that this was a one off game for them. I don't think they were being patronising; on paper we should beat them every time; sadly games of football are not played on paper.

Thanks. Everyone VOTE NOW.

I think AEL will beat them comfortably in Cyprus, watched no doubt by some Bears who had already booked the trip/holidays. But let's make no mistake about it, AEL would have been a tough one for us.

Please vote in the revised poll which now includes the Celtic game on 10 March. Previous votes are no longer valid. Admin please transfer over posts from previous poll thread and make this a sticky over the weekend, thanks.

That's fair enough and no disrespect at all to you and Craig but it's clear from past experience that overall more people will attend if we have a good quality guest speaker(s). This is an entirely neutral standpoint as the organiser. Anyway, I'll put up a revised poll and you can transfer this thread across.

Thanks. I have a couple or irons in the fire, I had to abandon my first choice last time because of the SLO changeover; but have already sounded out GM and my plan was to go back when we have a firm date. The player I have in mind is a genuine legend and hall of famer, who I think would be a very attractive guest and I also know him well enough from my refereeing days to think that he'll do it for me for expenses only; but I could be wrong, and he's also getting on in years. So absolutely no harm in sounding out Kevin, if not this time then for the future. He's quite often in the commentary box with Rangers TV right in front of me, so I can speak to him if you set it up.

Both games this past season were 12.00pm or 12.15pm kick offs but it could also be moved to the Sunday. Non season ticket holders are unlikely to get a ticket so that might cost us some who might otherwise attend and chose to watch at home or in local pubs. There is the added difficulty of restaurant arrangements when they are bound to be very busy; but they might accept it if we can guarantee say 25 for the private room. It might also be an issue guest speaker wise after an old firm game; but I can see the attraction. Personally I think it's best after a "normal" league game but will go with the majority. You can vote for "other" or I can redo the poll; perhaps the latter would be best. EDIT: Revised poll now posted, previous votes do not count.

I'm at a loss to understand why the game isn't on the Saturday, would make it so much easier.

Sorry I've got the date of the Dundee game wrong in the poll, it's Saturday 7 April as per the previous thread. Admin please amend, thanks.

The consensus of opinion seems to be that an end of season dinner would be likely to attract the most support and that knowing the actual date well in advance allows forward planning, which rules out the post-split games. Of course it is possible that either of these games might be moved to the Sunday (or in extremis Friday or Monday night) and/or kick off time changed; but the experience of last season suggests that would be unlikely. Please vote in the poll. I'll keep it open over the weekend and extend if no clear outcome emerges.

OK I'll put up a poll for the end of season dates.