pete

GRETNA have signed Sheffield United youngster Kyle Naughton on loan for the rest of the season. The 19-year-old, who has been used in midfield and as a striker as well as his natural left-back position during his time at Bramall Lane, will join the Gretna squad on Monday.

Well what a waste of wages he was. 15000 a week i believe. Stevie Banks to come in possibly.

Larsen agent in Ibrox talks over possible �£1.4m move Rangers have been offered Soren Larsen, the Danish international striker, as a potential replacement for Daniel Cousin. Larsen is available for �£1.4m from the German side, Schalke 04, and his agent, Ivan Marko Benes, met with Rangers chief executive Martin Bain yesterday to discuss a possible move for the 6ft 4in centre-forward. Rangers have also been linked with a move for the Hearts goalkeeper, Steve Banks, after Derby County reached agreement to take Roy Carroll to Pride Park. Paul Jewell, the Derby manager, had hoped to have the Northern Ireland goalkeeper at training this morning, but Walter Smith was only willing to sanction the transfer if he had another back-up to Allan McGregor in place. "The chairman has spoken to his agent and Walter Smith and hopefully we can get that one over the line today or tomorrow," said Jewell. "If he comes, Roy Carroll is a top-class goalkeeper." Banks has reclaimed his first-choice status at Tynecastle after the recent failed experiments with Eduardo Kurskis and Anthony Basso. Hearts caretaker manager Steven Frail is reluctant to lose the Englishman, who also doubles as goalkeeping coach, but moving to Rangers would be more lucrative for him. Benes left Bain with a DVD of Larsen's scoring feats for club and country in an attempt to expedite a deal. Rangers are in the market for a centre-forward regardless of Cousin's future but while no deal is imminent, Larsen fits the bill. He scored six goals in his five international matches for Denmark two years ago and has been nicknamed Die Waffe - The Weapon - for his prowess alongside his countryman and former Rangers attacker, Peter Lovenkrands, in the Bundesliga. He has scored 17 goals in 55 starts but wants a new challenge. He would cost around �£1m per year in wages but his physical prowess is ideally suited to the rigours of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg and FC Copenhagen have already enquired about the 26-year-old - who was linked with a move to Celtic in August 2006 - but Larsen has no intention of returning home to Denmark. Smith was at the Emirates Stadium last night on a scouting mission at the Carling Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Bolton and Middlesbrough have been alerted to Cousin's situation. Rangers are confident they can keep the striker, who signed a three-year deal in August, at least until the end of the season but may find a bid of around �£3m irresistible.

Good to see him get a chance.

We have to hope it doesn't snow for the next few weeks(Inverness dodgy) otherwise if a game is cancelled we could lose Hutton and McCulloch. What a travesty that would be if they had McGeady and we were without Hutton for the OF game

And Birmingham won't be playing most games with one striker?

Stevie Smith, Rangersââ?¬â?¢ highly regarded left back who has been out of football for a year with a pelvic injury, is now back in full training and ready to return to the team.Walter Smith said ââ?¬Å?Heââ?¬â?¢s had a tough time of it but is doing very well and is now back to full training.I certainly hope we can see Stevie back in action by the end of this month.ââ?¬Â

The Scottish Football Association last night agreed on a five-man shortlist from which the new national coach will be chosen. The governing body's office-bearers met at Hampden Park yesterday to sift through the applications received since Alex McLeish departed to become manager of Birmingham City. They compiled a list of suitable contenders and interviews are scheduled to commence next week with a view to an appointment by the end of the month. Mark McGhee is a leading contender on a shortlist that is also believed to include Joe Jordan, Tommy Burns, Billy Davies and either Jim Jefferies or Craig Levein, who have also been under consideration. One of them is expected to be invited for interview. McGhee's case is the most compelling and now most complex. The Herald understands the SFA will be sympathetic to the sensitivities of the Motherwell manager's situation in light of the recent death of Phil O'Donnell. advertisement The tragedy has complicated McGhee's candidacy for a job he had previously expressed an interest in. He has pondered the moral hypothesis of leaving a club in a state of mourning should he be offered the �£400,000-per-year post. The SFA will not press him to confirm his availability for the post but will allow him time before deciding whether or not he wishes to be included in the shortlist. One possible compromise, should McGhee impress at the interview stage, would be for him to remain in charge of Motherwell for the duration of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League campaign and for him to take control of Scotland on an initial part-time basis. Scotland do not have a competitive fixture until September 6, when their World Cup 2010 qualification campaign starts with an away match against Macedonia and a visit to Iceland four days later. Even though the Scotland package is eclipsed by the �£6m salary commanded by Fabio Capello, the new England manager, all the candidates to succeed McLeish would be in line for a pay-hike from their current wages. Davies has been out of work since he was sacked by Derby County and is still negotiating his severance package from Pride Park through his lawyer. He has publicly expressed his interest in the post but seeks a clear five-year commitment from the SFA and an agreement that he will be able to influence a restructuring of the youth development set-up. In a fresh twist, both Levein and Jefferies, outside bets for the Scotland job, have also been included on the shortlist for a possible return to Tynecastle as manager of Hearts.

Rangers face a fixture backlog after last night's rescheduled Clydesdale Bank Premier League match against St Mirren was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch at Love Street. The latest delay exacerbated a pile-up that already includes outstanding away games against Gretna and Celtic. Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, bemoaned the latest incon-venience as officials at the SPL scoured the calendar to find a suitable alternative date. Ian Blair, the SPL's director of administration, will attempt to address the deepening problem first thing this morning. Finding a new date for the St Mirren game will be the priority since the original match, scheduled for November 10 last year, was cancelled to allow Scotland longer preparation time for their ill-fated Euro 2008 qualification decider against Italy. "Rangers have a lot of midweek games and are also involved in the UEFA Cup," said Blair. "Hopefully, they will be involved in more midweek European games, but it poses a problem for us domestically. advertisement "It is already proving difficult to fit in the outstanding games and this is an added complication for us. We are still trying to find a date for the Old Firm game but we will make the latest cancellation a priority." Rangers will play Gretna - a match postponed from Sunday, December 9 to aid the Ibrox club's Champions League pre-parations against Olympique Lyonnais - at Fir Park next Wednesday and may be permitted to play St Mirren the following midweek, but only if both sides negotiate their Scottish Cup ties without the need for a replay. Tuesday January 22 and Wednesday January 23 are designated as cup replay dates, but the SPL may seek special dispensation to play the match then, provided both clubs are free. Another possibility is to play the St Mirren game on the first midweek of March and delay the league split by playing the outstanding Old Firm fixture, cancelled on January 2 as a mark of respect after the death of Phil O'Donnell, on April 8. Smith will leave it to the administrators to alleviate the increasing burden but admitted that it was an unwanted complication. "There is a difficulty fitting in this game now and we've had enough trouble trying to fit in the Celtic game," said Smith. "We will need to sit down and discuss things again and will just have to fit the two games in somehow." Smith and his St Mirren counterpart, Gus MacPherson, agreed that the referee, Stuart Dougal, was right to postpone last night's game after torrential rain. Dougal made his first inspection at 6.15pm and with no sign of the weather abating decided to call off the match 20 minutes later. "The referee's decision was correct," said Smith. "It was not just a problem with the pitch but driving conditions for the fans on the roads. It is the proper decision." The cancellation has cost St Mirren around �£30,000 in lost television revenue, with Setanta Sports set to screen the match live, but Dougal was more concerned with player safety. "It was a bit of a lottery, or even worse," said Dougal. "It was just about playable after my first inspection but it was clear it was only going to get worse. "I had to take into account player and fan safety. In an ideal world, I would have liked another 15 minutes to make up my mind and but in my heart of hearts I knew it would not have made a difference. "I spoke to both sets of players and they came to the same conclusion." Alan Hutton's future, meanwhile, remains at Ibrox for the foreseeable future after the full- back rejected the latest offer from Tottenham Hotspur. The player and his agent were informed of the improved personal terms of the proposed �£9m transfer but the 23-year-old reiterated his intention to stay in Scotland.

Shirt seller. Back-up for Nakamura leaving.

Burley or McGhee, I doubt if McGhee will walk away from Motherwell at this moment though.

It is not only rain that is the problem with Ibrox. The high stands stop the grass getting enough light. Ajax have the same problem.The best answer to that would be to transfer the pitch outside the stadium as is planned for the new stadium if it happens. Vittese learned from the mistake of Ajax and made it removable and have a perfect surface.

Sky Sports. But i read it somewhere else as well.

Gribz it is Scotland. It can rain for day's in July. I like watching football in the long boring winter months when it is too cold to do other things. Admittedly i am an armchair fan now but even if i was going to games i prefer the winter option. June and July are for doing other things.

I hope that is it finished now but i fear not to be honest. I think they will come back before the window runs out.

I doubt if he will ever play in a Rangers top again but his bad form in france worries me. Maybe they will send him back in January:eek:

That's better than what he did with us.

Hopefully we will have a ten point lead by then.

The summer option would be better,but 8 mill for a new central midfielder and a left back does sound tempting. And we do have immediate cover. I guess Hibs are asking funny money for Murphy otherwise we would have bought him by now.

http://www.gersforum.co.uk It is also a busy site Craig.

Totally agree Steve. I give my donation to the Dutch Heart foundation as i and my family live in Holland.I do stress give generously as you never know when you need it for yourself or your family.

You may be into idolising celebrities but please excuse me if i am not. It is possibly age related as i attended Bobby Mckeans funeral when i was in my teens. These things possibly do make a bigger impact on you when you are young. It would possibly make a bigger impact on me if it was a Rangers player as i am more connected to Rangers than any other club. If you had asked me two weeks ago who phil o'donnel played for i doubt if i could have told you. Other teams just don't interest me as long as they turn up for the game. As for Barry Ferguson, a transfer out will do i wouldn't wish death on anyone. I don't remember games being cancelled or the world stopping for George Best,Jim Baxter etc, Yes it was on the news and rightfully so as people are interested to know. There would have been a minutes silence across the country for all these players, i would imagine, and again rightly so.They were a great credit to football. Are their deaths more important than the soldiers who died in Iraq or even a baby that is probably dying somewhere at this time. Not for me. In fact even Rangers players don't mean that much to me these days apart form their performance on the park. This week they are kissing the rangers badge and next week they kiss another teams badge. Then there is the hypocritical side of it. How many of these people across the country that are so shocked and filling forums with messages that would bring tears to a glass eye were shouting extremities at him just a few weeks ago. I don't just mean Rangers supporters in this as the rest of SPL teams are also good in hurling extremities at players as well. Personally i have enough problems trying to get my own family through life without worrying too much about people that i have never met. As i said i think it is tragic that this happened, he was certainly far too young. Will it be life changing for me? No. Well only to the fact it reminds me again to enjoy life today because it could be finished tomorrow.

If we do it it will be with shopping centres, libraries,Gyms and all sorts of sponsorship.

Can't judge as i have not seen it. All i can say is i think Hemdani is brilliant and can't for the life of me understand why we are giving him a ticket to leave. :confused:

I have no problem that it has had huge coverage but if my workmate whom i have worked with for 30 years,dies I get one day off my work. Sorry it has gone over the top in my opinion.