ian1964

Back Where I Belong By Andrew Dickson BARRY FERGUSON has welcomed the midfield signings Rangers have made - and says they make him even hungrier to return to action alongside them. The Ibrox captain could be playing again in a month after resuming training at the start of September following ankle surgery in July. Barry Ferguson in FlorenceFerguson is on the comeback trail despite some suggesting his career was in ruins as a result of the injury which has sidelined him since the summer. And the 30-year-old is desperate to prove his doubters wrong after claims there simply wasn't room for him in Walter Smith's side any more after the influx of new faces. Pedro Mendes and Steven Davis have both impressed since penning deals and Maurice Edu is expected to shine in the months ahead too. But Ferguson is adamant there IS a place for him in the Light Blues' first XI and is ready to meet the latest challenge he is faced with head on. The skipper said: "I think the new signings brought in by the manager recently are good players. "Davo (Davis) has obviously been here before and he knows what it is all about when you play for Rangers so it was never going to be a problem when he arrived. "Pedro has quality too and everyone can see that. He knows how to slow a game down and how to pass and he is someone I look forward to playing with. "Big Madjid (Bougherra) has been great at the back and looks like he has been there beside Davie (Weir) for years. Maurice also played well in his debut at the weekend.Barry Ferguson "The boys up front have done well too and the gaffer has built a great squad. Hopefully when everyone else who is out gets fit, we'll be very strong. "It is something I'm very excited about. I can't wait to play in this team and while there is competition, that's the way it should be. You need that. "It is healthy and it's making me work even harder as I come back. I'm giving that extra bit in the gym to make sure I get back to my best. "I can't wait to play and I'm having to try not to get over-excited. I'm stepping things up each day and it's getting harder but that's what I want. "You realise when you are out how much you miss football and I'm so hungry to play again. "I've heard whispers about me being finished but I don't know where people get that kind of stuff. I want to show people how fit and strong I am when I come back."

Just added the Annual Report 2008 link for all the accountants on here

CHRIS BURKE marked his return to competitive action with a goal as Rangers Reserves produced a stunning display to beat Aberdeen 1-0 at Glebe Park in Brechin. Aaron Niguez, RangersThe winger hit the net in the 57th minute with a well-taken finish. John Fleck fired in a terrific 25-yard shot which the keeper could only parry and Burke was there to take his chance confidently with a left foot strike from the edge of the box. The match was a typically fiesty encounter with Aberdeen fielding several first-team players including Zander Diamond, Lee Mair, Jeffrey De Visscher, Stuart Duff, Chris Maguire and Michael Paton amongst others. But Tommy Wilson's new-look team handled the situation brilliantly to record their third clean sheet from their opening three league games of the new campaign. The coach was understandably delighted after the final whistle. He said: "Under the circumstances this was an excellent result for us. "Aberdeen named a very strong team with a lot of first-team players while we had a few younger lads join us because of the like of Dean Furman, Paul Emslie, Alan Lowing and Scott Gallacher going out on loan. John Fleck "We had to make a lot of changes to our system so from that point of view I am really pleased. "I thought Graeme Smith came in to the team in goals and was excellent. "He marshalled our defence throughout the 90 minutes and it was great to see wee Burkey score the winner. "He has joined us for training on several occasions now and worked ever so hard so he deserved that today. "Coming up to Brechin is never easy but this result will give all the boys a lot of confidence going forward." RANGERS (4-2-3-1): G. Smith; Little, Harvey, McMillan, McLachlan; Fleck, Shinnie; Efrem, Aaron (Forbes 70), Burke; Loy

by Lindsay Herron RANGERS boss Walter Smith has revealed that skipper Barry Ferguson could be back in action next month. Smith believes that Ferguson could be only a few weeks away from returning and the Dundee United game at Ibrox on October 18 could be a realistic target. Walter SmithFerguson has not featured at all this season having had ankle surgery in July but all things being equal he could be leading the side out in the middle of next month. He is working hard with the medical team at Murray Park having completely recovered from the operation. Smith said: "Barry should be back within three to four weeks depending how things go and that will be good for us, of course. "Gradually we are getting all of the injured players back and that is going to be beneficial. "I think Kyle Lafferty will be fit for the Motherwell match on Sunday. He missed the international matches with Northern Ireland and then had to sit out the Kilmarnock game. "But we think he will be available again this weekend. "Lee McCulloch is also on the mend and Chris Burke is close to full fitness while Stevie Smith is recovering from his ankle probem so we are gradually getting everyone back,"

RANGERS Football Club today published its annual financial results to year end June 30, 2008. During the year the Club achieved: - Participation in the UEFA Cup final - Winners of the Scottish Cup - Winners of the CIS Insurance Cup - Runners up in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League - 68 games in the season - Record turnover at �£64.5m (2007 - �£41.8m), an increase of �£22.7m or 54% - Net operating expenses increased by 32% to �£56.8m (2007 - �£43.1m) - Net trading profit on player amortisation and gains of �£0.7m (2007 - loss of �£2.7m) - �£13.3m uplift in profit before interest and tax to �£8.3m (2007 - loss of �£5.0m) - Additions to player registrations of �£18m (2007 - �£7.2m) - Net debt of �£21.6m (2007 - �£16.5m) Sir David Murray, Chairman of Rangers, said: "These results reflect what was a remarkable Sir David Murrayand historic year for the Club both on and off the park. We should be very proud of our collective achievements. "Our participation in European and domestic cup competitions obviously contributed greatly to our record turnover and it is encouraging to report a substantial net profit. "The increase in turnover also highlights the necessity for Rangers Football Club to qualify for Europe to meet the overheads that exist to run a club of our size. It is therefore important to look at all costs in running the business going forward. "Existing levels of expenditure cannot be maintained in the current economic climate and, as we look to the future, it is becoming more important to focus on the development of young players to ensure the long term sustainability of the Club. "I genuinely believe we are now seeing a steady stream of young talent emerging from Murray Park, and will continue to do so. "We were delighted with last year but extremely disappointed not to qualify for Europe this year. We have, however, re-grouped and invested as promised in the playing squad and I know that we can count on our fans' support as we strive to bring the league title back to Ibrox." http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/staticFiles/8e/c/0,,5~134286,00.pdf

I hope he recovers,but I can't help thinking the guy is on a suicide mission

Deffinately contact made,soft penalty ?..........maybe, for me it was a pen.

I wonder if big Kirk is going to keep improving,just like Hutton ?

Pete,Gribz........maybe he is just saying what a good player BF is, like a lot of Rangers players/fans think, after all he is still our best midfielder by far, proven, unless he is kept out of the team by consistent performances by the other midfielders.

I actually think Adam is a talented young player,who could/should improve with experience.But as has already been posted he may get slaughtered into leaving.

I'd have Ferguson every time before Hemdani, Hemdani should have stepped up to the mark as soon as BF was out injured if he is that good,but he hasn't and isn't. One good season then he has offered nothing to merit a starting place. Thanks Brahim, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Correct, he HAS to produce now,and I would be surprised if he hasn't realised this,if not TA ! TA !

I thought Morrison was out ?, no?

Surprised no thread has been started,unless i've missed it,and if I have missed it........apologies. So what's all the thoughts on this tricky wee game ?. Can't say I've seen too much of them,so can't really comment,however it is Scotland so as per usual i'm not very optimistic,but if we can come away with a draw I suppose that will be a good start to the campaign. By the way,can someone tell me if the top two qualify from this group ?,or does the second place get you a play off ?.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1640053.ece

You have to give the guy a lot of credit,he certainly has character as he showed in the OF game,fair play to him considering the amount of stick he constantly receives,well done Kirk.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THEY'RE supposed to stick together. The fabled goalkeeping fraternity is meant to forge ties as thick as any blood ones. But Andy Goram won't be making any effort to put a metaphorical arm around the shoulder of Artur Boruc this week. The Celtic stopper had an excruciating afternoon on Sunday when two mammoth mistakes helped Rangers to their most comprehensive win at Parkhead for 14 years. And Goram loved every minute of it. "I have no sympathy for him," he said. "None at all. If it was Allan McGregor who was in this position, I'm quite sure Artur Boruc wouldn't be feeling anything for him. "It's about what you do for your team. That's it. I enjoyed myself on Sunday. I enjoyed the result and I enjoyed the manner of the victory. It's exactly what Rangers needed and it proved a few points to everyone. "Artur Boruc won't have a good week - but that's of no concern to Rangers." Boruc ought to have stopped the opener on Sunday when Daniel Cousin beat him at his near post, but the biggest howler of the game came when he spilled a Kirk Broadfoot cross at the feet of former team-mate Kenny Miller. Miller, of course, stroked the ball in to the net much to the glee of the visiting support and Boruc's day of misery was complete. He will be sidelined this week as Poland begin their World Cup qualifying campaign as punishment for flouting a curfew when he was last on international duty with Leo Beenhakker's side. Headlines in his homeland of a drunken night out were quickly followed up by revelations that he was fined by Celtic this summer during the Feyenoord tournament for a similar incident and Goram, no stranger to either boozy nights or the wrong kind of headlines, has watched with interest. And the fact that Boruc has become something of a nemesis for the Ibrox support sweetened Sunday's win. "When you want to go down that route of going out and enjoying yourself then you still have to be able to do it on the pitch," said the former Rangers keeper. "When I was at Rangers we all loved a good time. But we could back it up. We knew we had the talent on the pitch to afford to go for a night out and still do the business. "Artur has discovered that he can't. My worst time as a goalkeeper was when I just arrived at Rangers. "I had a hard few months, but the advice I got was that it was all about how I dealt with adversity. "That's what the Celtic people will be telling Artur. It is all about how he reacts to this. He is a decent keeper - but I think he has believed a lot of his own publicity. "If he wants to talk the talk then he has to be able to back it up. He has enjoyed winding the Rangers fans up in the three years he has been at Parkhead, and he has to take it on the chin now that they're enjoying him squirming a bit." The emphatic nature of the win at the weekend will be the biggest disappointment for Celtic to come to terms with, and Goram believes that the result is huge in terms of its psychological significance. When Martin O'Neill's side humbled Rangers 6-2 in the opening Old Firm game of the season back in 2000, it set down a precedent for the season to come. The Ibrox side never really recovered from that defeat, despite hitting back in the next Old Firm game with a 5-1 win. It gave Celtic the belief that they were championship contenders and a shell-shocked Rangers side under Dick Advocaat started to crumble. It's something that Goram can now envisage happening the other way. He said: "There has been all this talk that Celtic are invincible at Parkhead and that is nonsense. "But many Rangers teams recently have been obviously intimidated about playing there. Too many sides in recent seasons have gone into their shells when the time has come to go to Parkhead. That wasn't there on Sunday. "They took the game by the scruff of the neck and could have scored even more. It puts to bed this theory that Celtic are brilliant on their own ground because they're not. "I actually don't think the current team could hold their own against our Rangers team of the 90s - we'd annihilate them. And so would the Celtic team of that time, too. "Tommy Burns' Celtic side were a great footballing team and they'd play the current Celtic side off the park. "But I fancy big things to come from this result. I fancied Rangers at the start of the season for the title and on Sunday they put down a marker to that effect." And Kenny Miller's goals at the weekend were the perfect way to endear himself to a section of the Ibrox support unsure of his credentials. "I was pleased for Kenny because he works his socks off," said Goram. "If Mo Johnston could play for Celtic and then go to Rangers and score plenty goals, why can't Kenny? It's all about what he does for Rangers now. "But the biggest thing for me at the weekend wasn't Kenny, but Walter. He came in for so much criticism last season that was unwarranted. "He knows what he is doing and people have to trust him. I'm sure he'll take the championship back to Ibrox this season and he deserves all the plaudits this week because I'm sure it was a long summer for him."

If Cousin was aloud to wear a boxing glove on his head.........he'd be a world champion by now !!!!

MOTHERWELL fans are in mourning today following the death of former midfield star Jamie Dolan, who has died aged just 39. It's another blow for the Fir Park fans, coming less than a year after skipper Phil O'Donnell died from a cardiac arrest while playing against Dundee United. The midfielder was given his first team debut by then 'Well boss Tommy McLean after playing in the Youth Cup final against Celtic during the 1986/87 season, and quickly established himself as part of Mothewell's midfield, forming a famous trip alongside Paul Lambert and Billie Davies during the mid 1990s. In January 1997, he moved to Dundee United as part of a swap deal for Owen Coyle, before joining Dunfermline for two years. Spells with Livingston and Forfar followed before his top-flight career came to an end during a final season with Partick Thistle in 2002. After retiring, Dolan retained close links with Motherwell, and was involved with the club's former players' group and charity events, and also managed junior side Broxburn Athletic. A statement on the club's official website said: "Everyone at Motherwell Football Club would like to pass on our sincerest condolences to Jamie's family and friends at this sad time." R.I.P.

IMO,Barry will raise his game,he'll have to,but with good football players around him i'm sure we will see him back playing to the standard we all know he can produce..............if he can get back in the team ???

Still a top of the table clash all the same mate

It's the 13th Sept. isn't it ?,after the internationals

Still in tact then !!!!!

Following Mo's Lead Exclusive by Lindsay Herron ALLY McCOIST believes Kenny Miller's fantastic double at Parkhead will unite the Rangers fans behind him - just like Mo Johnston back in 1989. McCoist was in on the Johnston transfer to Rangers from an early stage and was prepared when the amazing deal was announced in July 19 years ago. He was close to Johnston as he endured stick from both sides of the Old Firm and he will never forget the moment when he completely won over the Rangers fans with a dramatic winner at Ibrox on November 4 that year. Miller's situation has been remarkably similar and now that he has scored twice against the old rivals, the assistant manager is sure he will be weclomed by everyone. Speaking to Rangers World Ally said: "It was brilliant for Kenny. It was a tough afternoon for him. For Kenny to go to Parkhead and score two goals must be beyond his wildest dreams. "He even had a wee chance to make it a hat-trick in the last minute! Well, maybe I'm getting greedy. "It brings back memories of Mo Johnston nearly 20 years ago. I can remember him scoring against Celtic at Ibrox as if it was yesterday. "If I close my eyes I can see wee Mo hitting it down low to the keeper's right side on 88 minutes down at the Rangers end, the Copland Road end. "The thing about Mo and Kenny is that they are both terrific players and good team players. "And when you work as hard as they do then you are always going to win the fans over."

Agreed