Uilleam

Yours still strike thirteen?

Happens when the player is shoved off the ball all the time......

You and Kenny Miller, eh? Peas in a pod.

And, presumably, stop them getting to the ball.

Firhill for Thrills, Compo. You'll need to sit near a defibrillator.

Such a pusillanimous post that you had to put it in the wrong thread !! 4 - 0... and more in the second half.

A feast of football !! A glut of goals !! Well, a half-decent win, anyway.

Should we be worried?

We don't even steal well!!

Replacing the dross may not be a problem, even replacing them with better players. The real issue is replacing your sellable assets, ie your best players, with equally (as near as dammit) talented guys. We don't seem to have that potential replacement programme in place, so we find it difficult to dispose of valuable players, and, perforce, allow them to run their contracts down.

Ideally, you would have a 'production line' of young talent. The problem is that this, to be successful, requires an enormous operation, involving age groups from 5/6/7 yrs upwards, and, what has always seemed to me, at least, a rather harsh culling operation, telling really very young children that they are being cut. We seem, and are not alone in this, to poach players from other clubs, at c16/17 yrs, for a 'development fee'. This must be a cheaper option. Has it been successful? The aim must be to have young players to step into the shoes of your bankable assets.m, along with a comprehensive programme of potential acquisitions.

It strikes me that the vaunted 'Player Trading Model' only really works when you have gettable, already identified, replacements for the asset(s) whom you wish, or need, to sell. If you don't have this crucial part of the model in place, then you end up keeping players to pacify the manager, and the support, and risking these assets disappearing on a Bosman for free (and, of course, with no replacements in immediate view). Is it too much to hope that we move towards this slicker, more professional, m.o.? Or is it all just too difficult?

@Rousseau will be appointing the Director of Football. He's too modest to reveal this. And, he couldn't take the cut in wages to do it himself.

Ah! Matondo: an enigma: or a complete mystery why he was signed in the 1st place, if you prefer.

A few short weeks ago, Rangers was in poll position, in the the box seats, in the League, and we should be looking, today, at clinching the title, tomorrow, or next weekend. That we are not is mainly down to the players, aided by an horrendous injury list, if we were to be scrupulously fair. I have thought, on and off, for a while, that this season was, and is, a 'free hit' for M Clement and his coaching, etc. staff, and that this was known, understood, and agreed by him, and by the board, at Day 1. I concede that this is purely speculation, but when MB departed, did anybody really think that the team would have won the League Cup, reached the final of the Scottish, and been so in control of the League Championship that winning it was in its grasp? Did anybody really think that winning the 23/24 League Flag was a sine qua non for continued employment of manager and coaches? I don't think anybody did, and the reason for the general grumpiness, now, is that the opportunity to win the Title slipped, dashing raised expectations. (Continued capitulation to PIE FC did not help). I assume that manager and coaches have now a clear idea of who is worth their salt, and who isn't, who has the stones, and who doesn't, who is a malingerer, and who isn't, who has the talent, and who doesn't, whom they can trust, and whom they can't, who they can improve, and whom they can't, and so on.... If we can have a decent stab at putting names to these categories, then surely to God, a coaching team of guys who have played and coached professionally can see this with greater clarity. Next season is not, cannot and will not be a 'free hit', and the Key Performance Indicator must be: Win the fucking League.

Immeasurable, in large part, 'fitness' excepted. Or, at least, they may only be measurable by success on the park - ie winning the fucking league (for a change). (You can throw in success in the Cups, and reaching European Group Stages, or even QFs, too.) As a list of policy prescriptions, I don't disagree. There are eight in your list, and seven of these are, quite clearly, the responsibility of a 'Football Department'. ('Better financial management' seems to cut across all aspects of the Company.) Perhaps a Director of Football, with full responsibility for all of the areas you identify, although not, ultimately, financial management, despite having a contributory role there, is required. I think that that is a difficult position , especially eg when the usual model is to appoint a 'team' of coaches, so individual changes may be difficult. It's not quite like buying a better rb, or dm, or whatever. And, what just what is a 'better medical department'? It has to be reactive, obviously, but is there scope for it to be proactive, and help prevent injuries, or specific types of injury? This might get you towards something measurable, but different players, of course, have different susceptibilities, and might not give you the comparison you seek. This drifts into recruitment, and perhaps a more thorough and rigorous analysis of the players' careers, and like physical/medical/psychological examinations would be required. i

Key Performance Indicator: Win the fucking League.

Right. 15 minutes or so, to go. Somebody transform Raskin into Bryan Robson, and Scott Wright into Laudrup, and we could win it.

Collum only needs a half chance.....and he takes it....

Spring heeled Jack to the rescue!! Again!!

As clear an example of cheating from player and referee as one would wish to see.

FFS! A diver's dive.

I'm thinking an international terrorist group capturing the VAR people would help.

Too many of these guys, too many times, have displayed a clear lack of what used to be called moral fibre. We really need to show them the door.

What on earth was Lundstram doing? Did he have a bet on?