der Berliner

The problem with Roofe is that even if he is fit, he'll only last a dozen minutes or so. If he is actually used.

Stasi he said

Not sure whether some chaps might indeed still leave, e.g. the Turkish transfer window is still open. Dunno about the Brazilian one. So perhaps we might see some movement still. And there obviously is the freebie option. We're left with a couple of fit strikers, of whom Silva probably still needs some time to adjust. We've seen all the talk about Dessers (to name but one of many) and he took some time to settle (or find his form). Sadly, it looks like we cannot afford to give Silva as much time till he finds his goalscoring touch (if any). With Sima out, we are also bereft of another regular scorer. Cantwell, Lawrence, Matondo, and Wright all know how to score, but don't do that regularly enough. Cortes obviously is an unknown quantity, but that also holds true for the Scottish defenders he is up against. Wait and see (and hope) is the name of the game. Diomande looks to be another piece of the new midfield puzzle, should fit right in besides Raskin. Glad that we kept Ridvan, as he looks in form these days, and more positive than Barisic. I assume that we will monitor Jefte till the end of the season and either one of the aforementioned two will be for the off in the summer. All in all, we are not worse off than before, which is the main thing.

Sometimes you sit back and wonder what we've done wrong to suffer such a horrendous streak of injuries to important players. Helander, Roofe, Lawrence, Dowell, Raskin, Danilo, and Sima. So much talent and money benched for long and important spells. It's time we get a break here ...

By the looks of it, we'll get Jefte and Cortes before the deadline, whereas Cifuentes will be off. Lowry possibly too, even though nothing has been said so far. There is virtually zero chance that we let Butland or Dessers go anywhere, unless it is silly money on offer. Signing Jefte would mean that either Barisic or Ridvan could be off, but that's as much tea-bag swinging as is the Shankland "mystery". With Danilo, Roofe, and Sima out, we are seriously short of striking power, essentially an injury away from chaos. We can but hope that much like Sima, someone steps up and delivers, maybe Cortes is that guy, or Silva.

Scott McKenna off to Kopenhagen, it seems. Was rather unlikely anyway.

Dessers took a while to get going, he's looking good now. Others never got going and left, or are loaned. Who knows what will happen to Lammers, or Danilo for that matter. Silva needs his time too, you see that he needs players around him that think as quickly as he does. Which is also a problem that needs to be considered. Unless you put "aligned" people out there, folk like Silva, Lammers, or Cantwell may either be brilliant or abysmal, as their fellow players are not on the same wave-lengths. This is just a general remark, I don't want to compare either guy's "qualities". Same with Shankland. He's on fire right now, scores from all angles. Maybe he can carry this to us, should we sign him, maybe not. As per usual, we won't know until we try. I'd hate to see our in-form striker (no matter whom) get benched to trial any newcomer. I still hope to see the 9 and the 10 playing alongside each other again in a two-striker attack though. Likewise, I am confident that we might shift Dessers into a wider (if not much) role next to a central striker. Sima was playing like that, and Roofe. No matter what, we need people up there to score goals. Sima's done that, now Dessers does. We need two or three consistent scorers though. Cortes is playing across the front-line, going by his stats - similar to Cantwell and Lammers. He's been most lethal for the Colombia u20s, playing mostly on the right. I was about to write that he's sure a "project player" by his age, but remembered that e.g. quite a number of the RB Leipzig or Borussia Dortmund players are not much older than him and doing well.

A bit of rumours, for a change ... Rangers have agreed a deal with Lens for 20-year-old Colombia winger Oscar Cortes - signed by the French club for £4m last summer - to go on loan to Ibrox with an option to buy. (The Herald) Rangers are also hoping to sign 20-year-old Fluminense left-back Jefte - on loan at APOEL but unable to be bought by the Cypriot club because of a transfer embargo - this week. (The Scotsman) Oscar Cortes (21) - AM, RC Lens, Colombia, contract till 2028 - TM - TM Stats - LINK

If Clement expected St. Mirren to play like they did, he did everything well. Only that I doubt that. We essentially put a 7-man defence in front of Butland, and of the three attackers, only Wright and Dessers did their job. The game completely passed Cantwell by, mainly because he is just roving about. Wouldn't be surprised to see him subbed at HT.

Added to OP ... IN - Jefte (20) - LB, Brazil, Fluminense - on loan at APOEL Nicosia, contract till 2026 - TM - TM stats - LINK Let's wait till APOEL says Yes!

Yeah, an option to re-buy by Bayern should we decide to sell him later. Somehow, the deal was more structured than that (and as was known), as we have seen since. That was my point.

Another right out of the blue thing than no-one heard a whisper till "a deal was in place". Don't we love that? Don't we hate that? 🤪 Now that we have a left-back, we can move Ridvan to left-wing till Sima is back! He's of the right size and has all the abilities.

He's got raving reports from some people, but it is probably best to see how he performs in our league first. Wonder whether that "obligation to buy" is a serious as Bayern's was with Tillman ...

Great servant to this club and his country. A quiet legend.

Highlights without commentary ...

Dessers - like most others before him - needed some time to adjust and does rather well. He's our only real striker though, who knows how much time Silva has to get going. Alas, we now have a squad that scores goals and does not rely on a Morelos, Colak etc.. All goals were well taken and Lawrence's IMHO should have stood. A few miss-haps in defence apart, this was a very sound performance. Lundstram covered the DM role excellently, clear MOTM performance. Anyone coming on did well too; you clearly see a difference between Matondo and Wright, as the former was rather erratic with his shooting, while the latter had two rasping efforts saved. Sterling will become a very important player for us, I just wonder where Diomande will play ... All in all, very sound.

You note the quality, he thinks much faster than most around him ...

We'd be mad to sell the Little Tiger!

Butland Tavernier - Souttar - Balogun - Ridvan Lundstram - Raskin McCausland - Cantwell - Matondo Silva Subs: McCrorie, Jack, Dessers, Lawrence, Sterling, Wright, Barisic, King, Devine. One just hopes we don't wreck McCausland, he's been starting games for fun thee days, no matter against whom and on what sort of pitch. He looks to be THE find of this season (aside from Sima). While today you want to play the best you have, Dumbarton was one of these games he might have been rested. IMHO, our best two centre-halfs in action tonight, let's hope they hold firm.

The name Anas is of Arabic origin and is commonly used in Muslim cultures; it means “affectionate, loving, friendly" or “friendliness.” The name Anas also has historical significance, as it was the name of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad: Anas ibn Malik was known for his loyalty and service to the Prophet ... Annass is just a different form of writing it. And yes, I noted the joke.

A game tailor-made for Wright.

A pension deal too.

In the running for an Ajay left-back on loan ...

One of the better Turkish journos: Rangers and Galatasaray continue negotiations for Rıdvan Yılmaz, but there is no agreement or a new official offer made by Galatasaray yet. Rıdvan will start the Hibernian match tonight in the first 11.

Meanwhile, on the transfer front, the BBC Scotland relies on "Rangers Review" for information ... Nordsjaelland midfielder Mohamed Diomande is expected to arrive in Scotland on Wednesday to finalise his move to Rangers after a £4.5m fee was agreed and the 22-year-old will sign a long term contract at Ibrox. (Rangers Review) La Gazzeto dello Sport though ... Roma in negotiations to seal Borna Barisic transfer as Rangers news emerges Roma are now in open negotiations to sign Rangers defender Borna Barisic before the end of the January transfer window, according to Gazzetta Dello Sport. The Italian newspaper has reported in its print edition [24 January, pg 23] that the Croatian is on the radar of the club, who have recently parted ways with Jose Mourinho. Ridvan doesn't want to go to Verona, which doesn't mean Galatasary is off the table ... again via Turkish reporters. Imagine that we lose two left-backs at once ... albeit both for money.