Danny

It worries me that anyone would want to read that trash in the first place regardless of boycotts or otherwise. It's gutter journalism at its worst.

He's also a complete prick with absolutely no dignity.

Did them

What utter bollocks - both Cotter and Gazza came in with negative comments about Kris Boyd, yet you didn't go off on a rant like this. All I did was point out that I was unaware you were a Boyd fan, and that I respected your view, and would like you to respect mine. I didn't even slag Boyd off! Yet you call that 'hostilities'? I thought it was respectful conversation but clearly you're thin skinned.

Actually, my original post was highly respectful of this thread and your views on Boyd. I only asked for you to extend the same courtesy to me. It's you ruining your own thread by taking my comments as an attack on Boyd and the thread. It all seems very personal to you. I just wish you didn't see it like that.

Cast your mind back 12 months. We'd just won the league, had a promising core group of players to build around, had the Emirates glamour cup to look forward to, a CL group campaign to anticipate, and while we didn't expect a great deal of activity in the transfer market, we felt reasonably confident with the players and manager we had that we could win the SPL and perhaps scrape through to the last 16 of the CL as long as we got the likes of Sevilla and Stuttgart. There was a wee bit of optimism around the place - yes, we were heavily in debt, and yes, SDM's backseat stance as chairman was a bit irritating given his pro active approach in years gone by, but there was a bit of hope nonetheless. None of us expected the world, but we had things to look forward to. 3 events later that year dramatically shifted the landscape - first of all SDM quitting completely as chairman in Auguest and effectively having nothing more to do with the club outwith majority shareholding - end of an era and one actually welcomed by many, including yours truly, but as it transpired, we had been given a chairman closer to John McLelland in his distanced approach, with it becoming apparent that Martin Bain truly ran the club. Second was the ritual humiliations we suffered in the CL. We knew we did not have a world class squad, but there had been the hope that we could emulate our brilliant foray into Europe in 2007/2008 with maybe a giant killing act here or there and the gathering of a few crucial points away from home. On the contrary, we struggled to pick up 2 points on the road, and were clinically dispatched at Ibrox by all who visited us. Third was Walter announcing the bank owned the club, and that we were basically in a black hole. An abyss, and we badly needed a new owner. Despite all these seismic shifts in the landscape, Walter's threadbare squad managed to own the SPL regardless, and there's not a bear who isn't delighted at that - an astonishing achievement given the limitations. But here we are, 10 months after SDM gave up with the club and left it in the hands of Bain, 8 months after Walter illustrated the dire straits we were in, and 6 months after we lost our last CL game to Sevilla in Spain; and we are STILL waiting for certainty. Don't get me wrong, I am glad we're not a Gretna or a Portsmouth, but for any team to go almost 2 years without a single purchased signing, in any league in the world, is absolutely unheard of. The longer nothing happens, the edgier we all get. We get drip fed teases by the likes of Ellis who tells us he hopes to take over the club within 3 weeks, but not only do we hear nothing since then, but he manages to disclose certain intentions which were unknown to the management staff. This is not how we do things, nor should it be. Then there's Dave King who's been linked to us for years it seems, been portrayed as a knight in shining armour, a born and bred bluenose - he's had ample chance to put his money where his mouth is but again, nothing tangible happens. Half of me hopes, naively, that we will finally have new owners this summer and can stop worrying about where our future lies, how our debt will be cleared. But why does a bigger half of me think it's all a great big pile of stinking piss, full of empty promises and complete fabrication. All the while our valuable playing assets don't know if they're coming or going, our management staff have no idea what's round the corner, and certain individuals clearly get tired of the stalemate and decide to move on. Rangers need to get sorted. The more this stuff stays in the rumour mill, the more nothing happens. I fear for us in the CL next season in a much harder group if we go in with the squad we currently have minus some individuals, because if you thought last year was tragic, this one would be an atrocity. Someone bloody buy us, now!

I'm not sure that it's wrong, I just think the landscape has changed. Most the teams you quoted above used to be much better than they currently are - whose fault is that? You can't surely blame other sides for taking their places when those places are there to be taken if the traditional top brass become weaker. I mean look at our final - we weren't up against the might of Barcelona in that final, it was a good solid Zenit team who were leaps and bounds better than us and the likes of Bayern. Is it wrong that they have a bit of money behind them? Does that make their progress invalid? If we get investment and suddenly become European heavyweights, is that fair on other teams because historically we've never BEEN European heavyweights. One thing you're forgetting is last year's Uefa Cup was contested between a good Ukrainian team (Donestk), who only 5 years ago were merely average, and a traditionally strong German team in Bremen. My point being that the the Consolation Cup is a much more even playing field than the CL - only 6 or so years ago Middlesbrough made the final! It doesn't always pan out that the traditional power houses of European football make the final - supposed weaker teams can progress and get there too.

Lafferty's V Aberdeen was an excellent goal.

Benzema has been extremely poor at Madrid, hasn't settled at all. Struggles to get a place in the team. It's been a bad move for him overall, and I'm not really that shocked he's not made the WC squad. tbh he was extremely poor in the Euros too.

I think this is a bit unfair. When you look at their squad it's hardly crammed full of world class players - they've merely had an excellent run to the final, just like we did, with our own fairly mediocre team which punched well above its weight, as did theirs. Celtic's was the same back in 2003. Some smaller and weaker teams can occasionally make it to finals - christ, Portsmouth are in the FA cup final without a so called 'sugar daddy'. Instead of slagging Fulham off as being better than they have a right to be, I'd give them credit for managing to make an unlikely final. Just like we did. And they were beaten by the better team, as we were.

Fulham have some good workmanlike players, but the difference between them and Atletico on paper is clear for all to see. They have Davies, Zamora, Duff, Haangeland, Etuhu, while Atletico have Aguero, Forlan, Reyes, Simao and Ujfalusi. In the end they made a good fight of it, but the best team won.

tbh McCann was criticised a lot when he was at Rangers, and Kanchelskis certainly didn't do that well. Tugay was also fairly underwhelming for us. Of that lot, Reyna was a surprise and did very well, before insulting us by saying his new Sunderland club was bigger, Gio was just great, Ferguson excellent, and Albertz was a bit hit and miss with him being brilliant at times but anonymous at others. Time can change a lot it seems.

I tend not to believe too much of what footballers say. Cuellar and Boumsong put an end to my naivette there.

Not 'we' - you, just you. Everyone clearly appreciates the information, but it's only you who gets on the case of anyone who dares criticise him. Then there's a lot of irrational Rangers fans out there Ally

Alleged by whom?

No, I required your whoring of it and him to understand why you're so impassioned in his defence when anyone is less than complimentary about him.

A fantastic player for us, fairly unheard of when we signed him. Went onto a pretty poor spell with Arsenal but his Barca period made him - world class talent.

I hope you're being sarcastic

I...didn't

I was asking a question, not attacking. I couldn't understand why you've been so aggravated by my and others' opinion of Boyd, and now I do. My question stands.

I thought it was something personal, until I saw this thread. You really are just a massive Boyd fan. And I respect that, and recognise what he's done for us. But I'm not a Boyd fan, and prefer others to him. Why can't you respect that too?

Celtic may have better squad depth, but they don't have the winning mentality to become champions that we do. Lennon is being hyped up as going on a great run in the SPL, and yes, he has - once the bloody league was gone. When the pressure was on, in the cup, he failed momentously. So I'm not fearing too much from Celtic next year - my fear is our own uncertainty and insecurity - my hope is we get new owners very, very soon. That's more of a deciding factor about next season than Celtic's quality is imo.

Yup - reports are they're one of the clubs he's rejected in favour of Liverpool.

Davis and Edu for me has to be our first choice CM pairing next year.

If he was a vital member of our squad his absence would have hurt us. We instead won the league both seasons - Edu took his place last season and did fantastically, while Thomson only played one decent month this season in a sea of mediocrity otherwise. I've not given up on Thomson, but I don't agree he's anything like vital.