T-1000

Newgate is a city PR/Communication firm with Roddy Watt being one of their client advisors. Not sure what is happening with respect to appointment of a new NOMAD; has anyone heard anything on this?

I think you may have misinterpreted the latter part of the post by Der Berliner.

I agree the board can probably tap into contacts about possible managers that you or I might not be able to do but I would have thought a footballing fan who considers that the board should have had an extensive list of names at the ready would be able to name possibly one or two realistic possibilities who are obviously better than McCall.

I am sure factors such as, availability, cost, fit with Rangers, ability to converse and motivate players all played a part in the decision to hire McCall. What I would like to hear from you are the names of obvious alternatives who you think would have been more appropriate.

I originally the loans were a good move in that it provided competition for places. Now I am beginning to wonder, given their lack of availability, if it was also a bit of a publicity stunt by Ashley to make it look as though he cared about the club and was willing to help. Trying to be positive I suppose it is possible that all five might be fit and available in time for the play-offs.

I also believe it would be useful to hear a bit more about the rationale for the decision that has been taken by Chris Graham. I think the directors' position was made more difficult because of the way their appointment to the board has been protrayed as a new beginning for Rangers. Dave King has also in a number of interviews made it clear that he (and Paul Murray) need to satisfy the authorities that they are 'fit and proper' persons to be a director of Rangers thus acknowledging the importance given to the Directors being individuals of integrity. Thus, if no action had occurred in this instance then they would have left themselves open to the charge that although the faces on the board may have changed critics would allege that it was the same old Rangers. I also think that if Chris wanted to survive he needed to issue an apologetic statement as soon possible after news of the tweet surfaced in an attempt to pre-empt criticism.

Although there seems to be quite a division of opinion on this issue I hope we might agree that it would be useful if Chris Graham learned from this experience of the need to be careful about what he says either in interviews or on the net because now that he is a director his views will be taken, especially by critics of Rangers, as the views of the club.

i must remember that one; 'No dear, I am not having a wank in the toilet, I am having an exchange of cultural ideas'

In addition, the statement by gunslinger is simply false.

Looks as though Ibrox is about to sink :fish2

I think it is possible to talk about religion without offending its participants and I have had conversations with Muslims on many occasions about their religion and as far as I am aware they have not been offended but I will check this out with them. The statement by Dr Asif specifically referred to the particular tweet and therefore I am unsure how you arrive at your final conclusion.

Do you have anyone in mind who is an obvious choice in the long term as someone who would rebuild the footballing side of Rangers. Names I have seen mentioned as managers, such as Butcher, Davies, Weir and so on do not seem to have any clear advantages over McCall. I think he is worth a shout this season and then believe at the end of the season the Directors should re-appraise what he has done and also have a clearer sense of his abilities and vision for a future Rangers.

Perhaps not an attack on Islam but apparently offensive to Muslims as per quote from stv website below: President of Glasgow Central Mosque, Dr Asid Khan, called for Rangers to carry out an internal investigation and branded the tweet "reprehensible". He said: "With freedom of speech comes great responsibility to not offend other people. In this case, such a tweet is very offensive to a large proportion of the population, not only Muslims.

Your assertion above that it would only be good manners to apologise and reference to the tweet being offensive to any Muslim bear seems somewhat inconsistent with your own suggested wording in post 174.

Perhaps to defuse the situation it might be helpful for Chris Graham to apologise if anyone was offended by his tweet and state that it was sent as an immediate reaction to the atrocities in Paris. Personally, I think, given the public nature of twitter, that it was not the smartest of tweets to send and given the media attention it has received it would not surprise me if his other tweets are subject to scrutiny.

I presume in your final comment are are concerned that the youngsters might show the team up.

I suspect the directors having watched the Cowdenbeath and QoS games are now more acutely aware of the need for a quick change if the club is to have any chance of winning the play-offs. A sort term appointment for McCall seems a reasonable idea assuming of course that he is willing to take it. I rather hope if offered the opportunity that he does accept otherwise we might see the names of Ally and Walter in the running. McCall, of course, might not want to take it unless there are assurances about some long term future role. I would suggest, however, that for the longer term it would be good to see the board looking beyond the UK, to Holland, Spain and so on and not just restrict themselves to who might be available in Scotland/England.

Agree re pre-Fulham. Likeable; depends on whether it affects players' motivation and whether it puts players off moving to the club. Anyway, it would seem that King is not in a big hurry to appoint and also appeared to be keener on a coach rather than a manager.

His last spell as a manager at Fulham was not successful and if the media reports are anything to go by he is not the most likeable of individuals and therefore I believe his appointment would not be a positive one for Rangers.

ok suitably admonished Desired of wandering, this unhappy morn I know not whence possessed me

It was a play on words based on John Milton's work but heh ho.

or is it Paradise found

Let us hope your optimism is justified.

Its good to be optimistic but given that the last share issue was not exactly a success do you have any evidence for thinking there might now be big investment people willing to invest in the club. I thought at his press conference King was quite cautious on this issue.

I tend to go along with Craig's assessment of the situation. The part of today's statement where it hints at satisfying SD might be a warning to King to co-operate with Llambias and Leach otherwise the finds will not be forthcoming and King and others will have to find a quick injection of cash to deal with the working capital requirements in March. Furthermore, it might be that there is a clause whereby if SD is not satisfied they can demand immediate repayment in which case King etc would also have to find 10 million in addition to the working capital requirements. In the statement released today Llambias and Leach also suggest they reached out to King but were rebuffed so the reference to the loan facility might just be a tactic by them to reach some mutual understanding with King otherwise there might be immediate financial consequences for King. I would also have thought that although King might want to rid himself of SD's financial involvement he is aware that the loan is interest free and therefore a cheap source of capital, all be it one that comes with strings attached, that is, the security and right to nominate two directors.