BrahimHemdani

Are you going to select A N Other; better still are you going to reveal his identity?

I managed to walk out the park on my own and met some fellow Bears in the town, where some guy had miscalculated the exchange rate and had taken 200,000 Dinar out of a machine when he mean to take 20,000, he was acting as a black market banker for a while. I recall we were held back well over an hour after the match as the police, having swept our end, refused to tackle the ultras on he opposite terracing.

Not sure what your comment has to do with this thread but perhaps if you'd finished higher than 9th you would have a different point of view. I like my badge and I'll wear the shirt proudly when it arrives. I note you don't appear to be competing this season.

He doesn't strike me as that kind of manager.

I think it is going to be very emotional, a sell out vs Hamilton Academical, now that is something.

I hesitate to say that the real Hemdani carried us through to the UEFA Final as there were many other heroes, including McGregor (with that wonder save in Bremen) Cuellar (a rock throughout), Ferguson and even the often Lone Ranger J-CD. For me Hemdani's best performance was in the 0-0 draw in the last qualifier for the CL group stages in Belgrade vs Red Star. They tried (unsuccessfully) to keep us walking round a park during the day and held us in the buses outside the ground till the last minute before KO. The group of 1000 Rangers were packed into a secure area on the right corner of the ground, guarded by two layers of armed riot police on either side and in front. Hostile barely begins to describe the atmosphere on a massive European night but Rangers largely managed to cope despite a really early scare. Their fans made a noise like a train, incredible atmosphere.

Benzema ran us ragged.

We are not set up to play a pressing game and I didn't see our MF press anyone on Saturday. Barton sat deep and covered in front of our defence as much as possible but was overrun on numerous occasions. Kranjcar is an attacker out and out and Halliday can play either role but was pushed forward as is likely to be his role this season. In stark contrast, Burnley playing 4-4-2, pressed us with 6 men high up the pitch, disrupting our normal easy play it out of defence mode but quickly fell back into two lines of 4 on the rare occasions it proved necessary. I thought the tall Boyd was outstanding in that role on the right in the first half and the left in the second. I would really like us to try out a 4-4-2 with Rossiter (or perhaps Crooks when fit) alongside Barton but I can't see any change of Plan B on the horizon. If we stick with 4-3-3 and Kranjcar and another attacking MF then we will score goals but we will continue to get overrun in MF. As we saw numerous times towards the end of last season and in the cup final Kiernan is simply not good enough even at our modest level and Hill might have been good enough at one time in his career but now his experience will not cover his lack of pace and turning ability against any fast/tricky forward. Kiernan seems to get a lot of support on here and amongst my neighbours and Wilson frequently gets his character; so I am interested to see that he is 221 ahead of Kiernan in this poll. If we had been able to keep Ball then Ball and Wilson would have been my selection, as it is it's well seen that Mr A N Other gets a higher rating than any of the incumbents; so I hope he arrives soon and lives up to his billing. I think folk fancy Gilks because he just looks (and sounds, you can here him in the stand) a more commanding goalkeeper than Fotheringham. As a rule, G'Ks are not selected for their kicking ability. Similarly defenders are here to defend first and foremost which is why Hodson is so far ahead of Tavernier, that it's a no contest.

He plays way too deep and anyone with any pace will run him ragged as happened on Saturday.

I'm not certain about this but I looked back to Rangers FC v St Johnstone FC The Scottish League Cup Round 3 last season and there's no indication on the email that it was cheaper for ST holders. Prices for this match are adults £18, concessions £12 and juniors just £5. It might be that those on the CCCS don't pay a fee?

I was there and will never forget the feeling 8 minutes into the second half at 3-0 we all thought we had died and gone to heaven. To my eternal regret I didn't take a picture of the scoreboard. They were all over us in the first half before McCulloch popped up with a header and and Juninho hit the bar just before half time. Cousin's long ball to Beasley for the third was a thing of beauty that will long live in the memory. IIRC they had been 6 or perhaps more times consecutive champions of France and after losing 3-0 to Barcelona thought they would get back on track by giving us a doing. The memorable table after two games: Barcelona Played 2 Points 6 Rangers Played 2 Points 6 Olympique Lyonnais Lyon 2 0 VfB Stuttgart Stuttgart 2 0

I've just heard from a friend at Istanbul Ataturk Airport than SDM's private jet has landed.

Looks like his agent Kees Vos

[ATTACH=CONFIG]625[/ATTACH] Certainly looks like him, but where and when? And who's the guy in the ill-fitting jacket?

Whilst it all seems like a fairy story, it would indeed be a massive capture if it were to come off. RVP is a player who has scored more or less a goal every other game throughout a career at top flight clubs as well as 50 goals for Holland in 101 appearances. However he will be 33 in August and his injury record isn't great, missing 22 games in 2013/14 and 9 games in each of the last two seasons. He still managed to score 16 in 31 games in the Süper Lig last season. He also has an assist every 4 or 5 games played. If we could get him on a 2-year deal, he wouldn't need to play every game and I'd fancy him to score plenty in the SPFL.

As usual we agree on most things BD, especially Hill and Wilson, Barton over Rossiter, I think you may be correct about Windass over Halliday but not immediately, and again we agree on Forrester as the "third" forward.

I think you are pretty close. I think the starting back 5 will be the same as last season, though I'm wondering if Hill will get a start vs Burnley. Personally I would send Kiernan back to League 2 and I thought Hill and Wilson together looked good albeit East Stirling were hardly the biggest test. I think Hill is there as back up in case of injury, suspension or loss of form or either of last season's duo can't hack it in the SPFL. I would also prefer Hodson at RB, no question that he is a better defender than Tavernier but again I think MW will stick with Tavernier if only because he would not be much use on the bench. (I discount him as a possible MF given what else we have available). Hodson gives you more options on the bench. He can play either side at FB and I suspect he could also do a job at CB if necessary. I looks to me as if Halliday, Barton, Kranjcar will be our starting midfield although Rossiter was impressive in his half an hour vs Stranraer and he does play further forward than Barton. If he comes in to start would he take Halliday's place? More likely it's a choice between him and Barton, not an easy one; but Barton will surely get the nod to start. I don't think we can afford to have his wages sitting on the bench or in the stand. There is a possibility that Kranjcar could be used as one of the front three, thus freeing up a space for Rossiter; but if so he would have to be given a free role. Then again wouldn't Mackay be better in a free role than tied to the LW? He is coming inside more and more anyway. That still leaves Holt who has been unfortunate with injury at exactly the wrong time, Crooks who is in the same position and Windass who has looked very able and is a threat to score, not forgetting young Jordan Thompson. An abundance of riches indeed. Up front Waghorn is a shoe in, personally I prefer him on the right but I think he will be our starting CF or main striker most of the time. Mackay will start on the left, though again I prefer him on the right. I like Forrester who has shown great skill on occasions and is also a threat to score. I would prefer him to O'Halloran who no one has mentioned. He is fast but his final ball is woeful. I don't think he will be a starter. I have a feeling that we've not seen the last of Miller as a starting striker but I would keep him for the last 30 mins when he can still be devastating coming off the left wing against tiring defences. I think Dodoo is his natural successor and his pace will frighten a lot of defences. I have a feeling that if he gets into the team he will be hard to dislodge but he may have to be content with a seat on the bench in the early games. MW's team? Fotheringham; Tavernier; Kiernan, Wilson, Wallace; Halliday, Barton, Kranjcar; Waghorn, Miller, Mackay BH's team Fotheringham; Hodson; Hill, Wilson, Wallace; Halliday, Barton, Kranjcar; Forrester, Waghorn, Mackay

A friend of mine who is a ST holder says that "Tickets for most/all Barca games can be purchased in the official store/museum @ Sagrada Familia on a walk-in basis. All categories"; however that might not be something you would want to take a chance in if you are paying for flights and hotels. As I said IMHO the best bet for advance tickets is Barca's own web site http://fcbarcelona.entradas.com/sports-web/event/FCB?seller=61&lang=en So far as I can see there are about 3,000 - 3,500 currently available for most games; but if you'd like to watch Barca v RM it will cost you €2,000+ for a VIP package.

I have been to see Malaga a few times when I was over and never found any difficulty buying tickets from their site online, in fact they even offered a 10% advance purchase discount for Barcelona game. However, I do accept that Barcelona at home is a different matter; but you could buy tickets now for various league games.

Yes I totally understand that, although I did launch the idea about 3 months or more in advance IIRC, the timing perhaps was not the best at the end of Jan when people are still reeling from Christmas presents etc.

I would think it would depend on the opposition but this guy says "the *only* games that are sold out are: "games against Real Madrid and Champions League games from quarterfinals onwards. For the rest, there are always seats available." https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-easiest-way-to-purchase-FC-Barcelona-tickets-from-the-US and this article is quite helpful though doesn't really answer your question https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g187497-c169881/Barcelona:Spain:Fc.Barcelona.101.A.How.To.Guide.html I would keep my eye on the web site, tickets for a few of the league games are already on sale, so it's clear that they are NOT all season tickets but there are only hundreds not thousands for sale and the "cheap" €77 Euro seats will sell out quickly. Click on the seat map and you'll get a shock at some of the prices https://www.fcbarcelona.com/tickets/football/football-tickets Avoid the so called "official" sites that mostly sell to unsuspecting American tourists at inflated prices. I would be interested in a trip especially if we could get a weekend and CL game the same week (though I appreciate I may not be your choice of company). I would also be interested in doing a Gersnet Trip if there was some interest. I did try to do one for Malaga v Barcelona last year but there were no takers.

Well seen he only signed a one year extension, so we'll be in the same situation with him this Jan as last season with 18 months to go on his contract. I think he'll run it out or we'll have to sell him to recoup something.

Jealousy is a terrible thing TB; better luck this season More than happy to be the runner up in my first season in the big time with such exalted company.

According to the punters in the Kirky RSC it wiz the Russians interfering.

Sebo is a legend:rfcbouncy: