calscot

That will confuse the Japanese in their pronunciation of our players...

Sorry Pete, didn't get to your post before replying...

At today's prices of around $1500 per ounce and Alan's shagging weight of 11st9lbs, his weight in gold is worth just under �£2.5M. So if he's worth his weight in gold then �£12M is a good price for him.

After the criticism of Whyte's financing it's not too surprising to me - and yet there is still criticism about how fast we're spending the money.

There's now more money in the Championship as they have a bigger TV audience - and I think they charge more for a ticket. Sponsorship is bigger too. Then there is also that the top clubs are so desperate to get to the riches of the EPL that they are willing to debt finance their efforts to get there. I would guess the motivation to go to Cardiff is mostly more money with the semi chance of playing in the Prem - and once there the chance of a big money move to one of the bigger clubs. One of the embarrassing things is that within a few years, the top two Welsh clubs could be far richer than us due to the riches in the EPL. Our independent Scottish league is going to be our ball and chain.

Really don't get how "too expensive" turns into "skint". I easily have enough money to be "able to spend" a tenner for a pint of beer, but it's still "too expensive" for me.

Don't get your logic - you think the UK government is fantastically better? Don't get your motivation - you desperately want Scots to show they are incapable of governing themselves?

Did Greig even know what he was signing? I can imagine them giving him a pile of stuff to sign with that in the middle and him going, "righty ho" and signing them blindly...

I think it's always been obvious who the hostile ones were and McClelland and Greig were not in that category. I think Bain was onside to start with but nailed his colours to the wrong mast at the last minute. A CEO won't get away with signing a statement like that as he will be considered one of the main two protagonists - and if he isn't then he's just plain incompetent.

Yes but his father and manager wanted him playing in a stronger league and so I think he's earmarked to go on loan to Spain with Espanyol. That's another avenue we pursued but didn't succeed.

It seems to me that while we can have a few irons in the fire we only have the personnel to forge the deal one at a time. We've just been focusing on Hemed and made him a firm and reasonable offer but we can't help it if he turns it down for more money in a richer league. We have to be careful with our wage structure. If he'd come to us we'd have made a signing already. We would probably have made progress on Bartley and Cuellar but both of those deals have been delayed firstly by a manager that wants a good look before letting the player go and secondly from a sacking and a new manager who pretty much wants to do the same thing. So in other circumstances we could have signed three players. Before someone who totally doesn't understand the phrase starts going on about aunts and balls, the point is that effort is being made and targets pursued - but you can't always get a positive result when you want it. It's a process the club have to go through and it's not all plain sailing. The time to complain is the day after the window closes - and we've had some cracking signings in the last couple of days in previous seasons.

Could the hidden tax bill of 2.7M be reason enough for dismissal?

I would say while I enjoyed the Rangers side of last season immensely, it was the definitely worse ever season I've had on Gersnet and almost put me off football forums for life. The amount of vitriol directed at an incredibly successful manager and a team doing pretty decently under the circumstances at times made me embarrassed about Rangers fans. The outrageous dig in the OP's post just reminds me of that and makes me cringe all over again. There was one guy in about March who said he was giving up on the season and not watching any more as we would win nothing. What a twat he looks now. But while he was one of the most extreme, there were plenty like him. Then there's the abuse myself and others got for arguing on the more positive side - never mind the irony that we totally vindicated and showed a lot more football nous and connection with reality than the self proclaimed "realists". It seems there are not too many people these days who can support an immensely successful club like Rangers with dignity and humility. Instead many act like a spoiled millionaire's brat, who expects everything to be easy and to be handed to them on a plate exactly the way they want it and they'll have a tantrum if something is not exactly to their taste. Then there is the similar behaviour, that despite warnings, many think they can act any way they like and get away with it, even if society finds it unacceptable. They'll sing their bigotted crap whenever and wherever they feel like, and damn the consequences to the club - it's all about their "freedom" to do what they want. It's time for a lot of Rangers fans to grow up and face of dose of reality. Maybe then they will learn to really appreciate the great club they purport to support. I think it's been one of the worst seasons for decades for Rangers fans but in contrast a great season for the team, the club and a very dignified manager.

If we've paid our tax then we owe nothing, seems pretty simple. The tax case is to see if they can claw back tax from a previous loophole, but unless they win it we still owe nothing. Basically you don't owe money until it's proven you owe it.

I think you can opt out of a week in the first month for a friendly...

�£200 sounds like a lot and a bit of a rip-off if they take no-one on. Perhaps they need to give more for the money like say a couple of days professional training with the coaches and first team, feedback in the form of an in depth analysis of their strengths and weakness with likelihood of making it professionally. Add in some stuff like nutritional assessment and advice, topped off with a couple of bounce matches with the best playing with some of the squad and it would seem like a reasonable package - they could maybe even charge a bit more.

Maybe, but not on here. I think the general feeling is usually one of weariness and scepticism from what we see as Silly Season.

Maybe so, but not many people are so publicly reckless with their false promises. You would have to really question his motives. There's no way he can be skint as he's just been waived of �£6M in share price - and I really doubt that there are no covenants in a deal that sweet. He at least must have given Murray his word and if he reneges then his word in the business world will be worthless. I really can't see him not putting up the cash this year; however, future years depend on the outcome of the tax case. If the guy had done a straight share buyout for proper cash then I would be more nervous about these stories, but with all the circumstances, it just doesn't make sense.

Disagree with you completely. We call ALL the extreme, implausible stuff bullshit and actually rarely believe pretty much anything when it comes to signing players. If they said we had loads of money and were signing any top European player in his prime, we'd call it bullshit. We're far less sceptical about a young Israeli Bosman on 7 grand a week with loads of official quotes to back it up - but I still don't think we'll really believe it till we see it signed and sealed. Even the Cuellar has some plausibility about it due to the circumstances - and direct quotes, but few really think it will happen but most would be delighted if it did. So I don't see where you're coming from. Maybe you're thinking of another forum perhaps...?

Sounds a bit to me like slagging off someone who promises to buy everyone a few drinks for not spending a penny on a round - before you actually even get to the pub...

PS He also supposedly sent his resignation by email. That's a bit poor.

Seems fair enough. If managers can receive a huge pay off when they are dismissed due to their contract then it works both ways. He can't just expect to walk into another job without giving them compensation.

It will be all to do with the agents playing their games.

Surely it was a conspiracy that they had to play away for the first game of the season for nine years in a row?

Many so-called fans were still demanding Walter be sacked while top of the table and in three cups LAST season. The fact he won 8 trophies and reached a UEFA cup final in four years matters not a jot to them. You quickly realise that nothing in the real world will please them. That shows that McCoist has to forget about the opinions of the fans completely and just concentrate on getting results. He has to aim to compete to the very end of domestic competitions while qualifying for the CL and then go for at least the Europa cup safety-net. Four in a row is an incredibly rare occurrence in any league and when you consider we should really be going for five when you factor in the end of season cheating four years ago, it’s a huge task to keep on coming top. We’ll have to lose the league sometime whether it is after 3, 4 or 5 in a row, and we need to cope with it with dignity – especially if we compete till the last couple of games. I think McCoist has learned a lot from Walter - he’s also nobody’s fool, was a very intelligent player, and will have ideas of his own. I think he’ll take on board the defensive elements of the last few years but I can see him going for a slightly more attacking game – more like we played in the run in. However, I hope he stays pragmatic and defends in numbers when needed. We have to remember he’s starting older than many managers with a lot more experience as an assistant at a top club with international experience too. He’s not that wet behind the ears and one thing we’ve learned is that he’s no more of a gamble than established managers including some of the most highly regarded in Europe. We can only suck it and see.