ian1964

GOALKEEPER Roy Carroll yesterday pulled out of the Northern Ireland squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Latvia and Iceland to concentrate on rebuilding his career at Rangers. The former Manchester United shotstopper made his decision after talking to international manager Nigel Worthington. Carroll, who moved to Ibrox in the summer after a difficult time at West Ham, will remain on standby but Celtic's Michael McGovern has been drafted into the squad. Looks like the big guy is bursting to get playing for the Gers,I hope he has a long wait,only meaning that AMc will be playing well by that comment.He's had a bit of a nightmare in recent seasons,but IMO he's a good keeper and still relatively young

Agreed,hopefully Gow will start getting a run out as he's a player who I think could do a job.You also have the likes of Buffel,Burke and Adam who need to start performing

I think the main thing here is that the feel good factor is back at Ibrox,without getting too carried away,I really see us winning trophies again and for me I hope it's the SPL,european football...........well TBH we have a good chance of securing third spot and dropping into the UEFA cup and an outside chance of getting through to the knockout stages,i'd prefer third and having a decent run in the UEFA and winning the SPL and maybe even throw in the Scottish cup,see what I mean i'm getting greedy now.

He didnae get much help from the ref !!!!

Spot on mate :cheers:

I agree, the u21 rule is not right IMO, but I beleive these players are there on merit,I mean what's the point in having players on the bench if they are not likely to be thought of as being the next players to make the step up to the first team? :cheers:

France 7 18 Italy 7 16 Scotland 7 15 Ukraine 6 12 Lithuania 7 7 Georgia 8 6 Faroe Islands 8 0 Well..............we're still in the hunt for qualification ?,if we win on Saturday,and I think we would want France to beat Italy,we do have a chance

CELTIC seethed last night after Bobo Balde knocked back a move to Sunderland. The Guinea defender snubbed the chance to face Manchester United tonight in the Theatre of Dreams, choosing instead to continue pocketing �£32,000 a week for doing nothing. Celtic are desperate to get Balde off their payroll and were happy to agree a season-long loan deal with Sunderland boss Roy Keane. But the club's delight turned to fury when Balde - who has not played a first-team game since Boxing Day last year - KO'd the chance to kick-start his career. The player has made 229 starts since he signed for Martin O'Neill in 2001 but will continue to be the highest-paid spectator at Celtic Park. Unlike Balde, Kenny Miller grabbed the chance of Premiership football when he passed a medical and sealed a �£2.5million switch to Derby. The deal is smart business for Celtic who got him on a Bosman from Wolves last year. What a shame for the unwashed,dying to get him out of the piggery

Agreed mate :cheers:

Agreed, I am delighted he has stayed, if he has ?. The squad is looking better all the time :cheers:

Smith wins August manager prize Smith has made a wonderful start to the season Rangers' Walter Smith has picked up the first Clydesdale Bank Premier League Manager of the Month award. The Ibrox club have made an impressive start to the campaign, winning their first four league matches to sit two points clear at the top of the table. Rangers have also reached the group stage of the Champions League, beating Zeta and Red Star Belgrade to progress. Smith will have to pit his wits against Barcelona, Stuttgart and Lyon in Europe's premier competition. Well done Walter,the first of many I hope :cheers:

So I take it Hemdani is still a GER ?

IMO we couldn't have picked a better group,GLAMOROUS !!!!,great draw and an outside chance of getting through to the knockout stages,however we are still rebuilding a squad so I would be happy to finish third and get into the UEFA cup,anything else is a bonus

Naismith makes late Rangers move Naismith was a last-minute recruit for Rangers Rangers have finally signed striker Steven Naismith from Kilmarnock for a fee of £1.9m. The Ibrox club failed with repeated offers for the 20-year-old over the summer but got their man in the final few minutes of the transfer window. Naismith submitted then withdrew a transfer request at Rugby Park and has performed well for Killie this term. Rangers claimed they had dropped their interest in the SPFA Young Player of the Year but nipped in with a late bid. Naismith, who bagged 19 goals last season, has been on target once already during this campaign - in the 3-0 CIS Cup win at Peterhead. And he turned in a good performance against Rangers in the 2-1 loss to the league leaders at Rugby Park last weekend. Celtic enquired about a possible move for Naismith in late July but Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies claimed the Scottish champions then failed to follow up a verbal offer.

I thought that Gow would have came into reckoning for this position, the lad has skill, strength and pace

Aye, but he was a player I wanted @ Ibrox before he joined the unwashed,glad we didn't get him now

Don't get me wrong Pete, i'm a big Hemdani fan, so I hope he stays :cheers:

Not great attitude,the team spirit WS is building @ Ibrox cannot be undone by one player,regardless the player,so if this is the case then get a good price for him

Agreed Pete, i can't help feel that the likes of Nacho would have a right to want away, i can't see why Hemdani is so keen to get away, a wee bit of loyalty wouldn't go a miss :cheers:

It's no wonder that it's so difficult to build a squad when players want away when they're not playing every game

So you agree that if a player isn't playing he is entitled to want away,even though the season has hardly started

Thomas Gravesen has returned to Everton on a season-long loan from Celtic, just over two years after his shock move to Real Madrid. The 31-year-old Dane was always a favourite of the Goodison Park faithful but since quitting Merseyside, his career has endured somewhat of a downturn in fortune. Everton boss David Moyes has been in the market for a midfielder ever since his move for Manuel Fernandes from Benfica collapsed at the weekend. Gravesen, who never really established himself at Celtic, is delighted to be back. "I am really looking forward to coming back to Everton, it is a chance to play top-flight football in the Premier League again," he said.

I wonder what has made him so unhappy all of a sudden ?

I'd be happy with 3rd place

No we needed two teams not to qualify, it's pot 4 for the MIGHTY GERS What's the chances of drawing Shalke, PL, in the group ?