Doc

Beaton (surprisingly) had a good game and let most incidents go, only stepping in where he needed to. Hopefully his report will throw this nonsense out. This is victimization of an individual plain and simple. Morelos is being tried and hung out to dry by camera each and every week because he's our spearhead and an obvious threat to Celtic's continued dominance. Forget the fact that he is being kicked from pillar to post by every defender on the pitch for 90 minutes. No we can't show any of that, it's not relevant. Our media only want the out of context incidents to scrutinize and dissect. If he played for Celtic he would be untouchable by the CO and lauded as the new Henrik Larsson - but he plays for Rangers so he's fair game.... Scottish football and the media parasites that feed off it make me sick.

Chris Sutton was hurting on Five Live tonight as well. Normally I don't give the man the time of day but I felt his pain......?

Just got back from the in laws. We were magnificent today in so many departments apart from finishing. Celtic were there for the taking and on another day we would have battered them 3-0 or 4-0. The attitude the players showed and the way they got into Celtic's faces from the outset was wonderful to see. That lays down a massive marker for the future. The hoodoo that afflicted Warbuton and Pedro and Murty's teams is gone. We know we can stand toe to tow with them and beat them and beat them well. Let's go!

Amazing how it sticks in the memory. League Cup Final in 1983 with Jock Wallace back in charge was my first OF game. 3-2 after extra time. The Tims got an equalizer right at the death to send it to another 30 minutes. My nerves were shredded by the end but couldn't wait to come back for more.

Ineptitude on an epic scale? Or a cabal of Rangers-hating staff who think they can get away with anything? I know what I'm thinking. Behind the smoke and mirrors, the facts still stand. Rangers are top of the league and Celtic looked fucking awful yesterday. If we end up on top in May then no amount of whitewash, "genuine mistakes" or sticking their heads in the sand at the BBC will save them for looking like the utter clowns everyone knows they are.

Agreed. How many times did we try that at Dundee to no effect? We have to be smarter.

Excellent article. First class analysis of the blinkered nature of what passes for Scottish football journalism and punditry. Morelos understands why Rangers fans love him and why we cheer the efforts that he puts in for the team. That is what matters to him. Not blind referees or lazy incompetent hacks. Keep on doing what you are doing Alfredo. Then we'll see who's laughing at the end of the season.

Absolutely. Put it outside PQ and BBC Sport in Manchester. Make the connection so the bosses in Manchester can't just brush it off and wonder why they are being educated. The local CSC will hate it, especially if it's paid for and they can't do anything about it. The bosses in Manchester will hopefully be forced to ask the harsh questions that should have been asked a long time ago.

Greatest fans in the world apparently. Except when it comes to reflection and respect for the dead it seems.

I wouldn't wish those bloodsucking vultures on anyone else - not even Celtic. They are pure poison but I can't see how they are going to leach money out of Morton the way they did with us.

Fucking BBC text commentary went down for me right at the end. Thank God for Gersnet! Fantastic result.

A realistic assessment for me. The Livi game will be tough but if we get through it with a victory and carry that through to when we face Hearts I will be a lot more convinced that we are finally back to being the real deal. We had leads at Aberdeen and Motherwell and just failed to see the game out. If we can sort that aspect and win ugly when we need to that'll do me.

Celtic look worse than average at the moment. Luckily for them they played us at just the right time - straight after we were dead on our feet after the backs to the wall 9 man stand against Ufa. And they then celebrated like they had won the league when in fact they did the bare minimum. Since then that optimism has evaporated and the cracks that got papered over have opened up again. Boyata is working his contract and can't wait to be shot of the Piggery and you wonder how many others are thinking the same. They were sold the idea that the treble treble was a sure thing and 10 in a row was just a matter of time away because Rangers were light years behind and a rookie manager would be crushed by Brendan the Magnificent and his expensively assembled team. Now that the Champions League money tap has been turned off and the goals have dried up, that's starting to look like the bluster it always was. The Gerrard Project has them rattled and the smell of fear at the Piggery is overwhelming. There's a long way to go but right now they are in trouble and it's fucking great to see.

Delighted with that result. Some real guts shown by the team and a quality finish by Lafferty. This is light years from the shambles of last season. Well done to the team and the management who have turned things around and given us belief again. Plenty more to do though. Let;s go!

I am pretty down about today. I thought we would show more going forward and expose the Celtic defence a lot more than we managed to. I am not offering excuses. Their goal probably involved a foul but any one of their shots that hit the post could have gone in on another day as well. We were second best and we have to look at ourselves and not blame the ref or anyone else. We have to be good enough that we take it out of the ref's hands and we can still win despite what passes for quality referring in Scotland. However consider it from the other side. They absolutely had to beat us today. They had the following advantages: (1) Home advantage - 60,000+ unwashed venting their hatred with only 800 Bears stuck off in a corner and a ground we (and I mean more experienced and more expensively assembled Rangers teams) haven't won at since 2010. (2) Experience - they have a settled team who are used to the manager's system, used to playing with one another and used to winning at the Piggery (the loss against Aberdeen where they threw the match to spite us at the end of last season doesn't count). We are improving but we are still very much a work in progress. (3) Squad value - even ignoring the Seville calculator valuations that appear in the Scottish press, Celtic's squad value is at least 3 times ours. They spent more on one striker than we have on our whole defence. (4) Freshness - despite playing later in the day they had a comparatively easy game on Thursday night and took off players in the second half with a view to today's game. We on the other hand had an epic heroic last ditch stand with 9 men against UFA for a third of the game followed by a grueling flight home. While Celtic could immerse their players in ice baths and cotton wool immediately after the game, we had immediately get on a flight and any rehabilitation was delayed until the following day. Ask any sports scientist about delaying rehabilitation and its effects versus athletes who can dive straight into ice or get massage. It showed on the pitch today. So what would have happened if Brendan's expensively assembled team couldn't raise themselves at home, at the Piggery in front of a baying green and white mob to beat a Rangers outfit who were largely dead on their feet after 15 hours travelling and a punishing encounter against foreign opposition? It would have been great to watch but it wasn't to be... Celtic did the minimum of what they needed today. They beat us but they failed to batter us when the reality is that they'll probably not get a better chance all season. We will gel better as a team and we'll get key players like Coulibally back from injury. They probably won't get much better than where they are right now. Their defence had a light job today but it's still a joke and will get found out a lot more than previous seasons. I wanted to win today. An awful lot. But this is a marathon not a sprint and what we need from the matches that come after the international break is a concerted run of home and away wins. Both us and Celtic will find it tough coming back from EL matches on Thursdays and I fully expect league points to be dropped. We just have to drop a lot less than them. Then the chase will really be on.

Absolutely. They would sell their mothers if it advanced the cause of independence.

Great stuff. I enjoyed that. Thanks for posting it.

Some more miles on the clock with that draw. All those teams will prove a pretty stern test and if we can pick up wins against them that will be a real marker of how far we have progressed under SG and his management team.

I admire your optimism Compo. I fear it won't be that straightforward but I hope I am wrong. However for the first time in ages there isn't the same fear factor in place and we look like we have a management team and players who are up to the task. Come on Rangers.

Absolutely. Makes me warm and fuzzy inside thinking about that. Lesser teams (and previous season's Rangers teams as well) would have cracked today after going down to 9 men. Our players have done us proud and we should be over the moon for them.

If this is true it would shame a banana republic. GCC should just paint the City Chambers with green and white hoops and be done with it. The bias couldn't be any more blatant.

He's doing the right things on a stage that people take note of. It's great for him and hopefully will convince him that Rangers is a place where he can thrive and advance his career at the same time. Win-win for me.

Couldn't agree more.

That late goal was a real sore one. We have to see these games out, by hook or by crook. That's four points lost effectively with the last kick of the game. If today was about holding something back for Thursday, well that went out the window early on. We need everyone to bring an A game for Ufa on Thursday night.

I suspect their respective managerial careers will be incomparable. Gerrard looks like he was born to the role, like he was a captain. Mutton was clueless and will never manage again. Prostituting his anti-Rangers opinions to the highest bidder is all he has left.