JohnMc

I'm less concerned about pundits talking up his price, I struggle to believe that it makes much difference other than heighten or temper fan expectations. Tierney has Champion's League and international experience, is young and under contract so anyone wanting to buy him will have to pay a decent fee for him. I'd be astonished if it's £25 million though, indeed I'd have thought £10 to £12 mil even in the inflated English market is good business for Celtic. That said football transfers are mental these days. Chelsea sold a full back to Torino for £9 million earlier this month and I'd never heard of him (Ola Aina anyone?), indeed he only played 3 times for Chelsea. I guess if a 22 year old Chelsea reserve player with half dozen caps for Nigeria is worth £9 million then maybe someone like Tierney is worth double that. It does make you realise though that if Morelos can sort his discipline problem and score consistently in Europe he's potentially worth £20 plus million.

The Teirney stuff is bizarre and lacking in any self awareness. He's a decent player, with a concerning injury record playing in a secondary European league. To suggest Arsenal aren't good enough for him is deluded. I'm amazed a club the size of Arsenal are even considering buying him. I genuinely thought he'd join a good Championship or smaller EPL side and if he does well there then a move to one of the big English sides might happen. Hutton, who was a better player at that stage in my opinion, struggled at Spurs, it's a big jump from the SPFL to the big English sides. If he leaves Celtic I hope he does well, if he stays I hope his injuries are chronic and he spends next season in the stand. In the end Celtic have him under contract and can play hard ball at this stage of the summer, that might change as the summer goes on. Sportsound stopped dealing in reality a long time ago, it's fanzine levels of balance these days.

One of the things the film gets across well is the sheer brutality that Maradona faced in every match he played. Italian football was still fairly defensive during that period too, 'catenaccio' was still the over-riding culture in 80s Serie A. For me that's why he's the greatest player ever, I just don't think Messi in particular would have been allowed to play at that time. I wonder if the gradual decline in Italian club football (and I accept these things are all relative) is connected to the rule changes in football that have removed much of the physicality and fouling from the sport.

I think we need four strikers, even if we're playing one up front. Assuming Morelos and Defoe start the season I think we need at least one more experienced striker and then one younger one. If one of our strikers gets an injury, and that will happen during the season, you need options from the bench. You also require competition to keep everyone on their toes and lastly having a variety of playing styles helps too. We've potentially a lot of games this coming season, rotation might be very important. Liam Burt was highly thought of when he first went pro with us, but he's been hampered by injuries. I'd be surprised if Celtic fancied signing him though.

It's hard to know how difficult some of these fixtures will be. Kilmarnock could implode without Clarke, their managerial appointment is certainly ambitious but would anyone be surprised if an Italian with very little previous experience of leading a side and no experience of Scottish football actually struggles. Livingston fell away last season after a blistering start, I expect them to spend the season fighting the drop this coming season, they've lost a couple of key players as well. Hibs at home and St Mirren away we should dispatch, you can't challenge for a league if you can't win those matches. End of November to the New Year is a busy time with some traditionally difficult matches, that could be a difficult period. Qualifying for the Europa League could be a double edged sword. We should start the league season having played some competitive matches, in theory perhaps a little ahead of some other sides. But those games might catch up on some players as the season goes on, we'll need to use the squad wisely. Anyway, bring it on, can't wait for it to start again.

This seems to have been greeted with a collective shrug yet I can't help but feel this is a significant decision. Is it the right one though? If the goal is playing against 'men' as is stated in the article then surely sending players out on loan is the answer? If it's playing against better 'reserve' sides than the SPFL currently have then fair enough. I guess my only concern is the SPFL reserve league will have an element of competition to it and an element of rivalry. The matches against assorted English and European sides will be friendlies. It'll be interesting to see if players can push on this season and this change does bear fruit.

Anyone else read this and picture Gonzo with his faced daubed in woad and shouting 'Freedom!' at the top of his lungs? Got to watch these deep, deep cover cybernats...

I met a Cork City fan once, he told me that sometimes Cork supporters say they follow Rangers as their 'Scottish team' to noise up the Dublin sides particularly Shamrock Rovers. Looking at the LoI table Cork aren't having a good season, however they'd be up for this and as they play a summer season will be sharper than most. Gerrard has a huge profile in Ireland, he'll be a massive draw there too. Be good to horse the Luxemburgers though, then just Chesterfield left to avenge!

All that being said currently the best way into the Ibrox first team for any young player is to be a current or ex-Liverpool player. *This post would make more sense if I'd actually linked it to the McPake story on the previous page...

As most of us played football, not necessarily to any great level, but even if just as kids, then we've probably all looked at professional players and imagined what we could have done if we'd had their ability. We of course view that opportunity through the prism of our own lives which have been largely untouched by adulation, great wealth and expectation. I saw the new film about Maradona at the weekend, and it's fantastic. Now, it might not be for everyone, firstly it's a documentary and secondly it's largely in Italian and Spanish so subtitled, so if that's not your thing quit reading now. For me, as a football fan rapidly approaching my the end of my fifth decade one this earth, Maradona was the greatest player of my generation. This film focuses on his time at Napoli, the peak of his career. He took a side that had never troubled the honours in Italian football and usually fought relegation, from the poorest and most unfashionable city in the country and turned them into one of the best sides in the world. During that period he also won the World Cup and reached the final again four years later, both as captain. The film is much more than football though, it's an insight into the utter madness that was his life. He was treated like a God in Naples and eventually that drove him mad. It's made by the same director who made Amy and Senna, both of which are stunning films. This is no different. It truly gives you an insight into how his life in Naples was and how no one is really equipped to deal with that. If you can, go see it, I'm not sure what kind of release it's getting, I saw it at the GFT in Glasgow if that helps. If nothing else you'll see footage of the greatest player ever on the big screen, it's almost worth it for that alone.

Four Lads was clearly reading @Govan Rear Bear 's blog at the weekend. That's a horrible looking car, he might as well have been driving a Trabant. I knew almost nothing about this player until yesterday. A quick read up of course now makes me an expert on him and suggests this is his make or break season. He seems to have been some sort of boy wonder, playing for MK Dons under 18s when he was only 13 and costing Liverpool £2million to sign as a 14 year old. After a fairly bright start things seem to have tailed off although not every 20 year old is capable of moving abroad and settling well. Let's hope Govan is more to his liking than the Champagne region of France.

Has it been confirmed that Middleton is going out on loan next season? Surely it's too early to have decided that far less arranged it?

Quite possibly. I initially thought it was a Trabant, it has similar aerodynamics, but I don't think they had wing mirrors.

I know nothing about this player but I think it's great that he drives an ice-cream van, or a Transit van or one of those 'Germoline' old Strathclyde Region social work vans. More players should have second jobs over the summer.

There's probably some sort of correlation between Scotland becoming a poor footballing nation and the 'Tartan Army' seeing football as of secondary importance. I'm not sure we can criticise them for their choice of songs, singing songs that have got nothing to do with football is hardly unique to them. But the dressing up and giving people ranks and all that martial nonsense, they deserve all the derision you can muster for that.

The majority of Rangers fans don't attend matches regularly so there might be something in what you say. Fat Eck always went to Scotland matches and was in the Supporters Club last time I spoke to him (which was a few years ago now) so some who go to both do exist. It could be under 10%, I'm not sure what that proves though? Like a lot of people I was initially surprised by this, but as the club with the biggest support I suppose the odds were we'd still be well represented. As I understand it the data comes from the official Scotland Supporter's Club member database, there's an option on it to declare what side you support apparently. It was the head of digital for the SFA who published it. I'm not sure the SFA are all that interested in deflecting criticism, they're fairly impervious to it all in all.

At this stage of their careers they simply need games, they need to be playing week in and week out and learning their trade. If that's not going to happen at Ibrox then it's better for everyone they go out on loan. It's very hard for a teenager to become a first team regular at our club.

I don't think you can doubt the credentials of the data, I can't see why the guy publishing it would make something like that up, it could cost him his job for a start. The echo chamber nature of modern digital media, and it's particularly pronounced when it comes to football and politics, can lead to tunnel vision, the lack of exposure to people with different views can lead to you believing they simply don't exist. For me this data simply underlines the one universal truth about our support; that it's a very broad church. Personally I've not been to a Scotland match for a couple of decades, having been to almost every home match for the two decades prior to that. I've absolutely no time at all for middle-aged men dressed as extras from Rob Roy and my heart sinks when you see them marching around with feathers in their hats and a look on their face that suggests they think their more Scottish than anyone else. Knobs. But then, in all honesty, I cringe at some of our songs and some of our fans too, it doesn't stop me supporting Rangers. I hate flag waving (all flags, whatever their colour or design) and all shows of nationalism (all nationalism, whatever its flavour) make me uncomfortable. Yet I still find myself turning on the radio or the TV and following the Scotland match. In the end I still want 'us' to win, or at least fuckin compete. I also think that international football is perhaps the only 'pure' football left at the elite level. It's much harder (although not impossible) to buy success at that level, smaller nations can and do compete, and at some level it clearly stops being directly about money for the players and becomes about winning for winning's sake again. Yip, I know doing well at international level has a direct affect on a players earning ability and profile, but it still feels less mercenary than club football. For me then this simply proves that despite the best efforts of our haters, and some of our own, you simply can't pigeon-hole the Rangers support. We're broad, we come from all over, we've no proscribed views on any subject except wanting Rangers to win. Plus, on some level, the sheer pain and frustration watching Scotland brings does make watching Rangers all the more enjoyable, even in recent years.

What do you think is the point of it Rangers Syntax? I understand there are millions of people in China with a burgeoning interest in European football and an increasing disposable income, but I suspect we must seem like a Junior side compared to the Champion's League and big Spanish and English sides. What I would say is Celtic made some money when they signed the South Korean and the Japanese players a few years ago. I'd a long conversation recently with someone involved in that and apparently Celtic were astonished at the interest it created there, and the subsequent web traffic and shirt sales that followed. For me, a bit more time spent shoring up support in this country would be money better spent. I worry we're heading down the 'Ireland' road now in Scotland. So many young lads in Scotland now support Man City or Chelsea, I suspect there will be a few supporting Liverpool and Spurs in the coming years too. That's a far bigger threat to our club than potential shirt sales in Shenzhen I think. We had that tie in with a Chinese club before, you could buy their shirts at Ibrox for a while. How did that work out in the end?

Very interesting, thanks.

Oh he wanted Laudrup and expected him to be there when he joined. Murray had told Advocaat he was confident he could persuade Laudrup to remain at Rangers. Murray was nothing if not confident about most things. For all his tactical shortcomings Walter Smith was able to build incredible team spirit and Laudrup bought into, and enjoyed, that aspect of Rangers. As has been said by others I also would have loved to see Laudrup under Advocaat, however Advocaat was a Marmite type manager capable of falling out with his best players, so who knows what might have happened.

100% agree. If anyone is any doubt that Laudrup was indeed 'world class' I suggest they watch the Brazil v Denmark World Cup quarter final match from 1998. Laudrup was astonishing in that game, a game a country of 5 million people had no right to be in, against the eventual World Cup runners up.

I saw Sturridge had been released by Liverpool and woendered if Gerrard, who must know him fairly well, might be interested. He was a superb player but his injury record is a worry and Klopp all but questioned his commitment a season or so ago in public. I suspect he's still capable of commanding a hefty salary from someone too. I thought Wallace was home bird and wouldn't leave Scotland? Maybe he thinks he's signing for Queens Park...

Nope, you really didn't say that Pete, you said "Laudrup had failed in pretty much with Bayern and was pretty much a bench sitter in Italy so he was also a bit of a risk." No mention he "was good player but not world class" only that he was a bench sitter and a failure. By all means criticise Laudrup, but to describe him that way is laughable and insulting to those of us who were lucky enough to watch him.

C'mon, Laudrup played 31 times for Fiorentina, almost every match that season. He struggled to get into the AC Milan side but be fair, that Milan side were the best team in the world at the time. They won Serie A and the European Cup that season. The 3 foreigner rule was in place so he was competing for a starting spot with Boban, Desailly, Savicevic, Papin, Radicioui and Van Basten as well as most of the Italian national side. Not getting into that side hardly made him unproven. Every signing is a risk but with a player like Laudrup or Gascoigne, or today someone like Arfield or Defoe, you already know they can play at our level, they've already proven themselves at a higher level. They are still a risk of course after all they might not settle or there might be a personality clash but they're proven at our level, that's why they're paid so much. A player like Polster is a different type of risk because he's not proven at our level yet. The gamble is can he step up, improve his game, develop and adapt.