buster.

That's pretty much the team I wanted to see. Hope Goldson is well up to speed. Katic is unlucky to be dropped. Same attitude throughout the team as the OF game and we should get the 3 points.

Thanks to all those involved for a good listen !

My prediction (1-1) is subject to change if I see the starting XI i think is right ↔️

Awarding Rangers a penalty at Ibrox led to Conroy's retiral as a referee

That term wasn't used in the statement from the club. ".....His contract has been terminated....."

Fans can't advocate conflict with media and also reasonably expect a fair crack of the whip. Actions tend to have consequences. That doesn't make it right, far from, especially wrt the public broadcaster.

We have to win tonight and McInnes knows that we'll be looking to attack. He'll almost certainly be employing a version of what were Walter Smiths tactics of soaking up pressure and looking towards the counter-attack and set-piece. First league game of the season showed an ability to change things effectively from the bench. As Stewarty points towards, we may need to be flexible tonight.

Would and wouldn't be a surprise if employed tonight. Would beacuse I doubt it'll be what we go with. Wouldn't be for McInnes (I think it was under Murty) in as much as he'll have seen it recently employed. McCrorie, Jack and Tav are the only three of those starting line-ups who are in real contention for tonight.

There seems to be an unusual uniformity of general opinion about the starting line-up for tonight. If SG agrees, I'd call that a positive development in our quest for a consistency of winning matches. Our in other words, SG&CO would now know their best starting XI.

Given points difference and stage of the season, all League games are now fairly cliff edge regards title challenge unless they start to drop some points. If we can get past Kilmarnock and I think we will, the Cup is very much on. As it stands you can get 4/1 for us winning the Cup. -------------------- I think we need to put in our best performance of 2019 and some to come away from Aberdeen with the three points tonight. We've shown we are capable of playing at a high level against better opposition, albeit that was at Ibrox. Tonight we need to take that level away from home. IMO if Goldson is fit, we'd be best going with the same team that beat Celtic, except for Barisic for Halliday. However, if Halliday was given the nod then I could understand it. I'd have a degree of confidence with that team that I wouldn't have with other options.

Craig, how do you manage to get that out of what I said ? It was pretty much the opposite. Are you skim reading between bottles of rum ?

Blue and Green are the colours involved.

Video is primed to start at relevant point.

One day Chris Sutton will admit he said a lot of what he did for effect, to be controversial and get more work and money. Michael Stewart genuinely believes that he is the guy who is never wrong. From bio-mechanics to the football rulebook, that he knows better than Dermot Gallagher who was only on the FIFA list and refereed an FA Cup Final. A know it all who is naturally confrontational, Michael didn't fulfill his potential as a player and I don't think it's rocket science to suggest a good part of that was because teammates, coaches and managers probably got sick of those traits. Stewart is a man who harbours a grudge, eg. against Craig Levein and it isn't a stretch to suggest he has another against Rangers and their support in general. As a predictably controversial pundit in the low quality click-bait environment of Scottish Fitbaw Hacks & Co he has a value but that really shouldn't be a stipulation that encourages the public broadcaster to offer him a front seat.

IMO the bias is becoming more blatant. It's almost as if a situation has developed into a conflict and some of the subtleties have been shelved.

Good to finally be rid of him. Great, if we've managed to do it without a sizable pay-off.

IIRC the last time Tav accompanied Gerrard for a pre-match press conference was prior to our win against Celtic.

The Scandinavian mindset is often refreshingly different on many issues.

It was referred to twice, neither time were Celtic named,...it was a decision at the League Cup Final. So MacIntryre can ask the question about more Rangers supporting referees than Celtic but neither he or Michael Stewart wanted to mention that the erroneous decision in the League Cup Final was in favour of Celtic. Stewart referred to two other Dallas mistakes, he named names regards a St.Johnstone penalty award against Hearts but didn't mention that Celtic had played in the League Cup Final, nevermind get the benefit of the error. So, the programme puts forward a roundabout inference or suggestion that Dallas might be a Rangers supporter (opposed to Celtic) who erroneously awarded Rangers a plethora of penalties but is at pains to make sure it doesn't mention the same referee awarded Celtic a penalty that never was. #Balance_Aye

I note that Bobby Madden has been appointed as referee for our game at Aberdeen. It's been widely claimed he was/is an ST holder at Ibrox. A penny for his thoughts as he listened to Sportsound yesterday. Effectively, Sportsound has contributed in a mainstream type of way to pointing at him and daring him to make any major 50/50 calls in favour of Rangers #UnreasonablePressue Sportsound has increased the pressure on Madden significantly but in a particular way.

I doubt they will. Klopp is an all round decent guy but when it comes down to it, he's a born runner-up

First and foremost, Souness is a Souness supporter and always was. Most people in the game prioritise their own interests.

PQ (Sportsound) went that little bit further down the road of stripping away it's veneer of objectivity yesterday. They set-up the programme mainly to highlight: - how awful and wrong Andrew Dallas had been in awarding Rangers 4 penalties - introduce a more sinister angle regards Rangers supporting referees They did this by inviting ex-referee Steve Conroy who had already made his opinion on the penalties very clear on another medium. In other words, PQ knew what opinion they were getting and it helped them manage the conversation. Despite Kenny MacIntryre using Steve Conroy to help suggest that there are/were more Rangers supporting referees than Celtic supporting referees, PQ managed to find one (Conroy openly a Celtic fan), of what is apparently a rare species and Kenny MacIntrye pushed the issue as far as he could towards not only controversy, but gently towards corruption that had been claimed in a Celtic supporters video that had been partly filmed in Celtic Park. Another referee, Dermot Gallagher (ironically, born in Ireland) had opined differently to Conroy wrt the penalties. He was mentioned in passing but his opinion given short shrift by the programme and Michael Stewart in particular. Nor was it mentioned to Conroy whilst he had been interviewed by MacIntyre. It was the ticking of a box but the swift & easy dismissal of Gallagher's opinion whilst taking Celtic supporting Conroy's so earnestly with subsequent expansion to Rangers supporting referees tends to suggest perhaps Sportsound have stumbled onto an unobjective and corrupt angle, but that it resides at Pacific Quay. The programme was IMO set-up with one main immediate intention, beyond but in addition to Scottish football politics. To contribute to a momentum of noise that on balance, makes it less likely we'll get the benefit of the doubt wrt refereeing decisions in the near future. A time that is vital wrt the League Championship. Link to podcast of the Sportsound programme referred to https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06zyx61

He is petulant at times and does have his disciplinnary issues. Generally, the media have given this disproportionate coverage and relentless attention to the point of it being campaign like.

The Sportsound programme this evening will almost certainly be analysing the penalties tonight. You'll probably have Stewart, McFadden, and Broadfoot.D on. They've had a couple of days and the opportunity to look at all the various camera angles. Just as PQ used the 24-48 hours after the OF match to come up with the Morelos montage, they should have been able to ascertain that 3 of the four penalties were penalties and the second (which was missed) was very soft. They can criticise Dallas for the second penalty but if they've done their objective homework, they should now praise him for the 4th award, a very good spot on his part. And of course, they can mention the same referee giving Celtic a penalty that never was in a recent Cup Final. This time, at Ibrox, he and his assistant got the edge of the box decisions correct. ps. Those Bears on twitter should supply Kenny MacIntyre/Michael Stewart with all relevant footage including the Russian Rangers supporters link posted by Der Berliner (below) that has the definitive angle re. 4th penalty. http://rangersfc.org/index.php?dn=news&to=art&id=3605