JohnMc

I know the day after our second heavy loss in a row isn't the day for considered analysis, we're angry and we need someone to blame. That said the season is long and we're not far into it yet, Real Madrid lost at home to a side from a country that doesn't exist last season and still won the tournament. We're not Real Madrid, I accept, but we've not become a bad side over night, as quickly as things have turned sour they can improve again. I can't help but feel the exertions of last season are still taking their toll. We played 65 competitive matches last season, from July to mid-May. Only one of those matches could be described as meaningless, away at Hearts at the end of the season, almost every other one was a 'must win'. As a comparison Ajax played 47 competitive matches last season. Tav, Goldson and Kamara played over 50 games each last season (excluding Kamara's international appearances), Kent, Lundstrum, Barasic and Arfield played only a handful less. That's the core of our side. That Tav has a niggly injury and Goldson, Kent and Lundstrum are a yard off the pace can't be coincidence I feel. What this will mean for the rest of the season I can't say, but it seems clear we'll need the 'squad' a lot more in the coming weeks at least. Hopefully Davies has returned to fitness and Lawerence is only a week or two away. Likewise a fit and focused Morelos returning would be timely too. I'm not sure we have adequate replacements for Tav, Kamara, Kent and Lundstrum, so some younger players might need to be given time, something we're not good at. I get we all want to blame someone; Gio, Goldson, Ross Wilson, the board, anyone. It might get worse before it gets better, but I feel we have the right manager in place for this transitional period, I'm not sure a change of direction now would actually help.

Lovelace, Stevens and Nsio all came on against QOTS but I think it's fair to assume they'll be on the fringe first team this season.

A little surprised how downbeat so many seem to be. Not buying someone in the last weeks of the transfer window doesn't mean we don't have any money. We have been planning for this transfer window for months, it might be that everyone was happy with the business we did early and only if we were forced to sell someone were we likely to look at bringing someone else in. I think the people in charge of the club currently have shown they're not incompetent, quite the opposite. Maybe we need to have some faith. As a support I feel we've long forgotten that the youth and B teams are there to supplement our squad. That's quite literally the point of them. For a club of our current size, playing in the league we are, it's essential we're able to bring through our own players. Some will flourish and bring us big transfer fees, some will simply provide cover and not make the final step up. But we need to realise that's a large part of the future for us, if we are to have a future. We have to expect players like King, Lowrie, McCann, Devine and Ure to play 10 to 15 matches this season. Sometimes as subs, sometimes in cup matches and sometimes in our biggest games because senior players are injured or suspended. Rangers have to become a club that's recognised for developing and promoting younger players. Now that Patterson is starting regularly at Everton and Bassey at Ajax that will help build that reputation. We need more of them and perhaps we have them, they just need a chance to play. I don't know if Ridvan can speak much English, but I do know he's not long turned 21 and is living in a new country that's culturally very different from everything he knows, playing for a club with high expectations. That we're breaking him in gently smacks of good management to me. The Govan front can destroy the confidence of even the best fullbacks, two misplaced passes in a game we're struggling in and they'll be on his back. Plus, Borna is playing relatively well currently. Again, have a little faith. Lastly, I fully expect to see Morelos back to his best in the next few weeks. His public telling off and the side progressing without him will have provided some incentive to sort himself out. He wants to play in the Champion's League, every player does. Oh, it goes without saying that should we lose our next two matches I reserve the right to revise all of the above and berate everyone at the club for not splashing the cash.

Ironically other than scoring I didn't think Ure did very much. His goal was well taken and should be applauded, that it came from a piece of poor control by him in the first place adds to the irony. If that points to him being a 'lucky' striker I'll take that. I think the last forward we actually produced was Gary McSwegan so we're well overdue someone coming through that can score goals. I look forward to seeing him get some more game time this season. I thought King did well, he was partnered with an experienced player but not a defender so he had to take more responsibility. He could do with a Goldson or a Helander (or a Weir) beside him for a few months to talk him through games. Ridvan and Devine also played well I felt, both are a bit slight but they'll get game time as the season goes on. I worry that Matondo is this season's Diallo/Oduwa/Zalalem/Weiss. A player with loads of ability and clear potential but missing the certain something to pull it all together.

This is really perceptive. I remember a while ago a continental manager talking about 'pressing' and how the trick is knowing when to do it. His point being that no side can do it all the time, it takes too much energy and good sides pick when to do it. As DMAA has said we created the mistake, first Laurence closes down the blonde fullback, Kamara closes out his forward pass so he's forced to pass back to the centre half, Colak then closes the centre half forcing the pass to keeper, the only pass available as Kent and Tillman have moved up stopping a pass to the other centre back. The keeper should have punted it but he needed a touch because of the hurried pass to him and as Colak was sprinting onto him he had only one possible pass. Everyone knows what happened next. But DMAA is right, this was no accident, it was tactical and done really well, something I didn't fully appreciate watching the game live.

Haven't Mr Powar and Ms Mir gone their separate ways? I'm sure I read an article about 'single parenting' she wrote. If i'd sent my weans to Bearsden Academy and they'd left being a Celtic fan I'd want my money back.

Hope you're both feeling OK and you have a speedy recovery.

Well, my daddy left home when I was three Didn't leave very much to my mom and me Except this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze...

So he's a man, you can never be too sure these days. His first name threw me when I saw it written down. How are we pronouncing it, anyone know? I wonder how much the link to Man City played in this. I assume Gio met him when he was involved with them, should we expect some young Man City players on loan soon.

You do that in every aspect of your life Compo? How's it worked out for you?

I enjoyed last night much more than I expected too. As has been said above Sands and Goldson looked good together, Sands looked really composed on the ball despite playing on the left side. Barasic had the kind of game you know he's capable of. How we went from Barasic running at our goal along our own byline to scoring 10 seconds later is a thing of wonder, what a move that was. Experience has taught me not to judge anyone on pre-season friendlies, but both Lawerence and Matondo looked like good acquisitions to the squad. Matondo is really fast, hopefully he's not this season's Diallo. Interesting that Lowry isn't in the squad. I've heard some say he's injured but not heard the club confirm this. Devine looked assured when he came on. He's right footed I think so not a natural replacement for Barasic, I think we can expect a left back to be signed as cover then. Lastly, a big thank you to the lady who paid for my son's drinks last night. He went down to the kiosk in the Broomloan rear and ordered two cokes and a water and tried to pay with a £20 not realising they only took card payments. He doesn't have a card and a woman behind him offered to pay and wouldn't take his money. I've no idea who she was and he couldn't point her out to me when he returned to our seats. On the off chance she reads this thank you very much, that was very kind.

I don't see how the club could turn down any bids over even £8 million. Even with the run to the Europa League Final and the sale of Aribo and Patterson we're still a club that needs to bring in money and if someone offers us that kind of cash and I don't see how we can turn it down. I also think it's important that non-Scottish players see Rangers as a way to the EPL, because whether we like it or not that's where most of them ultimately want to play. If we sell 3 players into that league in 6 months it makes us a more attractive option for the next Joe Aribo or Calvin Bassey*. Young English guys with no connection or affiliation with Rangers far less Scotland need a reason to choose us over a Bournemouth or a QPR. If we can show them a path that develops them as players, offers them European football, passionate fans, competing for trophies and ultimately leaving for huge money back to England and back that up with genuine examples of it happening then we're strengthening the club for the future. I watched the Rangers 72 film on Amazon a few weeks back and while on holiday last week I read a book on the village of Glenbuck, the Ayrshire hamlet that Bill Shankly, and further 50 other professional footballers, was from. Both really underline just how far Scottish football has fallen. The sad reality is we're a middle tier club now, a stepping stone to Brighton or Southampton. That's painful to type but it is what it is. Maybe, at some future point finances in football will change and we'll compete at the level a club of our support and history should be competing, but for now this is who we've become. That's why we should sell Bassey, it's an investment in the future. It'll help establish us along side Porto, Sporting, Benfica and Ajax as the perfect finishing schools for players not quite ready for the big money leagues. We just have to hope we have the people in place to find adequate replacements. (*I know they're Nigerian, sort of)

Lovely words BD. The last time I saw Andy Goram in person was in Glasgow Airport, we were both catching the same early morning flight to Belfast City. I was working but his trip looked more social in nature as he was with an accordion band. He was retired from playing by this point but he looked unchanged age-wise from his playing days. It was probably about 10 years ago. I wish I'd said something to him now, but he was with people and I didn't want to bother him. We never have as long as we think.

Mayo isn't that young, he's 22 and needs to be playing first team football regularly. A couple of Thistle supporting friends said he did well there last season, so he's probably earned a shot at the top league. This is the path McCrorie, Kelly and Williamson have taken before him and none of them were able to properly cement a first team starting spot in the top flight following a good spell in the Championship. I suspect the strategy with players like them is to get them regular first team experience at as high a level as possible in the hope we can sell them for something, perhaps just a further 'sell-on' fee, to a lower league English side. These players can look at someone like Docherty, Hardie or further back Kai Naismith and see the potential for a good career at an ok level with the chance of progression up the leagues. I'd be surprised if Mayo is ever a first team player for Rangers.

UEFA and FIFA prefer teams to wear all one colour where possible and for one to be in 'light' and the other to be in 'dark' colours. You're seeing it more and more in international football these days as well. There's some science behind it where they've proved it's easier for officials and spectators to distinguish if a team is in all one colour apparently. The dark/light colours is connected to colour blindness believe it or not. Apparently 1 in 12 men are colour blind (I'd no idea it was that common), and so if a team is in all red and another in all blue for example a person with colour blindness can't tell them apart. So Frankfurt decided to play in all white and us in all blue giving the light/dark contrast. I only read about this recently, that's the only reason I know.

They finished fifth, a point off Champion's League qualification, so I could see the attraction for players. Berlin's probably the biggest city in Europe to consistently underperform in European football.

I think that 'Goal' account is a parody, I think it's a bluenose at the wind up. Funny all the same.

It's ridiculous to only pick one, the effort from everyone was extraordinary and it's not just emotion to say every single player made a significant contribution. If I have to pick one I'm going for Tav. Not only for his goal, but for his leadership, his overall performance was superb and also because his journey is Boys Own stuff. On top of all that he was our best player last night.

There have been a number of occasions in my time supporting Rangers when everything changed. I remember sitting in a Naafi outside Belfast watching Rangers play Shelbourne in a Euro Qualifier in one of Advocaats first matches, Smith's 9 in a row team had broken up in the summer and I think I recognised about 2 Rangers players that night, it really felt like the end of one era and the beginning of another. Likewise when we played our first matches in Division 3, McCoist, McDowell and Durrant remained familiar faces but a lot of the team were new and the feeling of complete uncertainty that had enveloped the club for months remained. A few years later I was watching Warburton's first competitive match against Hibs, we were following it on an iPad while travelling to a wedding. Once again most of the players were unfamiliar, so was the manager, it was another changing of the guard so to speak, a break with the past and a new era beginning. Throughout all that one man remained constant, a familiar face in the background, a reassuring presence for supporters who are far from the boardroom or the dressing room. Despite his low profile it was clear Jimmy Bell was someone players, coaches and managers gravitated too. You'd see him in the background of Rangers News photoshoots from some sun-drenched preseason training camp. You'd see him coming off the coach on Sky Sports as the camera searched for a big name player, these days you'd see him in the background as the club posted pictures from the training ground or travelling to a match. Despite what so many people think football clubs aren't businesses in the normal sense. The hint is in the word club. Rangers epitomise this as much as any. We've had turbulence in recent years, some amazing highs and terrible lows, yet we remain. A club greater than the sum of its parts. As supporters we celebrate the ephemeral, the transient player who thrills for a few season, the great performance that brightens us for a few months, the trophies we celebrate until the next one starts. But I think that as supporters it's really the long term recognition we cling too. The things that don't change like the marble staircase, the blue jerseys, the St Etienne bike; things we value way above their actual value. Jimmy Bell was one of those. His presence reassured us that everything would be okay, whilst everything on the surface had changed below the surface everything was the same. We've really needed that reassurance at times. I never met Jimmy Bell, I never spoke to him. Yet he was as familiar to me as any player or manager. He played an important role, far more important than managing the kit or driving the coach, he represented us in the club. Today is a sad day in the history of our club.

Right, so this is last week's man of the match! Couldn't figure out why someone had voted for Arfield. Wondered if Van Vossen had joined Gersnet...

I think you're probably right, but sometimes events can overtake people. Circumstances outside his control might force King down a particular path, ill health might become an issue, perhaps his children or his wife might feel differently about the shares should they come into their possession. Plus, sometimes people hear what they want to hear, 'I was duped' springs to mind. I suspect David Murray would rather his legacy was 9 in a row and Auchenhowie rather than crippling debt and Craig Whyte. Knowing when and how to leave the stage isn't always in our own gift, no matter what we might have planned.

I don't have a huge issue with them buying King's shares. I understand the argument that the money would be better going into the club, and in a perfect world that would be ideal. However, if Club 1872 don't buy King's shares I worry about who does. Assuming our major shareholders and current directors haven't expressed an interest in buying them then, for me, Club 1872 is a better option than some of the alternatives. From a business perspective if we want people with resources and business acumen to get involved in the club it would be an easier 'sell' if there's a clear exit strategy too. Club 1872 or something similar strikes me as a decent one. The thought of a decent chunk of the club falling into the hands of someone like Mike Ashley or Charles Green again is a bigger concern for me than Club 1872, for all its faults. The antagonism that seems to exist between Club 1872 and some of the current board isn't helpful, it pushes us to take sides. Fixing that would be in everyone's best interests. Easier said than done I accept. If, as a support, we expect our shareholders to simply write off a lot the value of their shares rather than expect to at least recoup what they paid for them, then I worry that will discourage a fair number of people from investing in Rangers. Even the wealthiest of supporter must baulk at potentially losing millions of pounds.

There was a tactical battle last night. We started strongly and were able to get Kent in particular running at them and causing them problems. They changed formation and stopped Kent, Bassey and Tav from getting forward and isolated Sakala. We then changed formation dropping Lundstrom back allowing Borna and in particular Tav to get forward. As soon as Tav was playing in their half we started to cause them problems again. It was a frustrating evening as it feels like Braga are beatable, they're technically good and have some excellent movement and passing as you'd expect but we've played better sides this season. Everyone can see we're missing Morelos, Sakala can't play that role and I don't think Roofe can either. How we adapt the side to deal with his absence will be season defining. We're still in the tie, hopefully we can find goals from someone as that's what this side is missing.

I don't think so, but let's be clear, I don't know any inside info, that's just my amateur opinion. Alegria can't get in the Thistle side currently, and i've not been impressed when I've seen him play. I don't think Weston is ready to step up to our level, if he ever will be. McCann might be, but I think a loan move is more likely.

Yes, I'm feeling more optimistic than most, I don't think there's much between the sides. We'll need to see where the squad is come August but I disagree that we needed wholesale changes. I also think there's a plan, the club know certain players are out of contract in the summer, this isn't a surprise, likewise others are entering their final year. Discussions around this will have taken place, the club must know who is open to renewing and who isn't, they'll know who they'd like to sign as replacements as well. Next season will be a strange one. The World Cup will be a big interruption coming mid-season and players who go to it will inevitably return jaded. We won't have many going as things stand, even if Scotland qualify it's still only likely to be a handful of players at most. Let's see how we react to this defeat, that will tell us a lot about this squad as well. There's still a lot to play for this season.