JFK-1

Never noticed it before.

The games continue to come thick and fast for Steven Gerrard and his Rangers players with their eighth competitive game in little over a month. However, given they remain unbeaten, who's counting?! The positives of this busy schedule are pretty obvious: firstly with only a few friendly matches played, the earlier Europa League qualifying rounds were effectively our pre-season. Next these games not only allowed our vastly changed squad to get fit but to get to know each other and the management team's expectations. Finally, given our unbeaten record - despite two red cards in our first two league matches - it has seen confidence and morale build amongst the players and the supporters. Already the team and football looks a lot better than in recent years and that's vital if we're to challenge Celtic once more. Unfortunately, there are also concerns. Because of the bad officiating and our own questionable discipline, we've only had 11 men on the pitch for 40mins of our first two league games. Add in the fact this is our third two-legged European game, then already it's obvious there's a demand on player fitness. As it stands the players have coped well with this but it won't be long before injuries and knocks start to niggle so Gerrard has understandably looked to rotate his squad. With players also unavailable tonight due to suspension (Flanagan has picked up three bookings) and rules (Barasic can't feature until the group stages) that means care has to be taken in team selection. Indeed, the question of who plays tonight at left back is arguably one of the most important decisions Gerrard has yet to make. As expected, does he bring in Andy Halliday who struggled last season (but has done fine so far this term in short cameo roles) or does he shuffle his pack and opt for three at the back with one of Murphy, Kent or Middleton playing deeper than usual? Given Maribor haven't been short of goals this season - especially at home - then this will be a key tactical choice this evening. Moreso when we consider the Slovenians will be keen to score early to bring themselves back into the tie. Interestingly, the manager suggested in his pre-match presser that, despite this, he won't be looking to sit deep and protect our lead. Instead he wants us to stay on the front foot and look to gain territory ourselves; perhaps enough to continue to create the kind of chances we seen in the first leg and score the away goal which would surely put the tie beyond the reach of Maribor. Of course that's easier said than done in practice. However, Gerrard and the Rangers fans will have been encouraged with the way they've played away in Osijek and Shkupi already in the competition. In these games, whilst we didn't sit deep per se, we didn't commit men forward either; instead looking to maintain possession, control the game and keep things tight at the back. An early Rangers goal in Croatia helped and the same in Slovenia would do wonders again tonight. In terms of the team, it's not just left back that raises questions. OK, other than that position the defence of McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson and Katic is pretty much a certainty though McCrorie may help form a back three should that system be considered. In front of a more probable four though, Ryan Jack is expected to return from injury to continue his fine summer form. Despite picking up a knock on Sunday, Lassana Coulibaly should partner him centrally with Scott Arfield perhaps favoured in a slightly more offensive position. Ross McCrorie may again be the odd man out here but will definitely play at some point. Moving into the wider areas, Gerrard is spoilt for choice with Kent, Murphy, Candeias, Middleton and Ejaria all capable of featuring right across the attacking lines. In truth, any two of the five could be used effectively but I'd expect the experience of Murphy and Candeias to start the game. Meanwhile, the lone striker role will again be taken up by Alfredo Morelos. It's no surprise French side Bordeaux are the latest to signal an interest in signing the Columbian given his excellent contribution so far this season but suffice to say he won't be going anywhere for the figures reported in today's media. That leaves us with the XI in the graphic below in what has been our favoured 4-2-3-1 formation this season. However, this side is far from guaranteed and that personnel and tactical fluidity is another positive in a summer that has Rangers fans smiling so far. Another performance of quality, grit and belief will be required to keep that grin on our faces tonight. This tie is far from done and there's also a long way to go domestically. Nevertheless the future is bright and I can't wait to see this Rangers squad and manager leap the latest hurdle in front of them. Possible team (4-2-3-1):

And rightly too I would say, if there is a pick of the bunch among the new recruits he has to be up there among the leading candidates. This guy is sewing it up at the back while pinging inch perfect 50 yard passes from defence and nodding them in up front. http://sport.bt.com/football/steven-gerrard-credits-connor-goldson-for-rangers-resilience-S11364289095149

I said sinister undertones and there can be no denying masking of faces during such activities fits that description. I frankly don't care if they're all arrested in some other situation because then it wouldn't be my concern. But when they're being connected to the club and arrested then we should all be worried about the image of the club.

Here's a troubling one from a yahoo forum after our win over St Mirren. This worries me, should the general public be alerted to this condition known as 'severe bus lag'? Are people taking a day trip to Blackpool going to be too bus lagged to do anything once they get there? Because keep in mind this was professional athletes days after this horrific bus journey all the way from darkest Lancashire and still 'severely bus lagged' What chance does that give the average unfit maw and paw on a day trip?

Nobody is happy about this in fact quite the opposite. The whole thing in a paramilitary style exercise with masked faces etc has a sinister undertone to it and is 100% pointless aside from humouring some bunch of boys. The concern around here is the image of the club and this type of thing even if it goes off with zero arrests does the club zero good and still tarnishes it's image.

The Kilmarnock game on Sunday will be an interesting test since Kilmarnock are seen as a relatively tough nut to crack by SPL standards. I expect us to win given that we totally outclassed the sheep in their own pen while playing with 10 men. But if it weren't to be I would rather have a contrary result in this paper cup than in the league. Wondering if he will even play the best available first 11 for it. More than confident Kilmarnock will.

As far as i'm aware the pursuit of another striker has always been about having good quality cover if Morelos is injured or banned. And obviously Lafferty must know that so the fact he still so obviously wants to come to us is an indication to me of the drawing power of Rangers rather than any lack of ambition. He could walk into most SPL teams as a first pick but is still willing to come to Rangers as back up. In addition Stevie seems like he may an unpredictable type who could throw in a a different formation from game to game. Who knows, we may see Lafferty and Morelos rampaging up front together in some games. Imagine the handful that could be for an average SPL defence. Laffery may also be used as an impact player off the bench if we're in search of a goal at the piggery or some other venue to get us a full 3 points. But his main role and purpose for being pursued is back up in case something happens to Morelos. Plus it always helps to have him around keeping Morelos on his toes.

At this stage it would appear that one valuable quality of Gerrard is that he seems capable of looking at players and selecting candidates who can do a job for us. Have any of the current first picks he has brought in been disappointing? Not that i'm aware of. How many times was that the case under Warburton and Pedro? We all know his ambition is to manage Liverpool and so far he hasn't put a foot wrong and we haven't even hit our stride yet. I predict a number of routs will be dished out by this team this season. And these routs could be delivered at any time to any opposition.

I have seen it said by people who have coached him that this appearance of lack of co-ordination can actually work in his favour. It's apparently very difficult to predict what he's going to do next and sometimes what he does next is world class. Chances are even he doesn't know what the next touch will bring. It keeps defenders guessing and draws them into his orbit creating space for others.

I remember some talk of wildcards for the qualifying rounds.

He consistently scores against them which on it's own could help nudge us to the title. And if anything we might expect him to be more prolific in our team considering the number of chances we create.

Can he play in Maribor?

Lafferty Deal All But Done Steven Gerrard could be on the brink of his 12th summer signing for Rangers as the deal for Kyle Lafferty “has been finalised” according to a reliable journalist. Bill Young, from RockSportRadio, made the claim on his personal Twitter account on Monday morning, after Lafferty made the headlines on Saturday, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win for Hearts against Celtic. The 30-year-old striker left Rangers six years ago for FC Sion and could now be on the verge of re-signing under Steven Gerrard. Young added that he didn’t know exactly when the player would be announced but that he suspected it would be midweek. Fans might be split on the move, with some thinking that Rangers can do better than Lafferty but they should really trust that Gerrard knows what he’s doing here. Lafferty has proved that he’s good enough for the Scottish Premiership and he also proved that he’s got enough in his locked to score against Celtic. His goal inflicted their first defeat of the season and by the time the first Old Firm match of the season comes round, Lafferty could be ready to do it again in the blue of Rangers. We think he’s just what Rangers need to to compliment the mercurial Alfredo Morelos up top. He’s got masses of experience of the division and has scored 36 goals in 134 games for Rangers. He could easily get to 50 by the season end. Young’s information is solid and he’s said that his source has told him the deal has been finalised. We’d expect Lafferty to become Gerrard’s 12th signing of the summer and that he will be a Rangers player before their game against Maribor on Thursday night. https://thisisfutbol.com/2018/08/blogs/lafferty-deal-all-but-done/

The Scottish FA's compliance officer is to review footage of an alleged elbow by Celtic captain Scott Brown on Hearts forward Steven Naismith. The incident occurred during Hearts' 1-0 win over Celtic. If Brown is cited the Celtic midfielder could miss the first Old Firm derby of the season on September 2. A separate incident in which Naismith allegedly kicks out at Celtic winger Jonny Hayes will also be reviewed by the compliance officer. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/45172031

The fact we have had multiple red cards rescinded the last couple of seasons doesn't translate to being the victim of bad decisions in the fantasy bubble of those who hate the club. Rescinded cards means conspiracy to give us complimentary special attention entirely bypassing the reality that reducing us to 10 men in key games is the polar opposite of complimentary and has robbed us of precious points.

I want the money for the group stage. When you throw in gate money for 3 home ties we could be looking at around £10 million. Plus as has been mentioned it helps enhance the quality of player we could attract in both permanent signings and loans. There are suggestions from some quarters that landing Solanke on loan from Liverpool may be dependent on reaching the EL group stages.

We look unbeatable with 10 men. What's it going to look like with 11.

More quality signings would at this stage probably amount to more icing on the cake. We're already looking formidable largely playing with just 10 men and still haven't fielded our strongest 11. If we can go to the piggery early September still leading them on points and take something there the meltdown will be epic. They're already starting to turn on Brenda who handed them two consecutive trebles due to one league loss to Hearts. That's going to be magnified 10 fold if they go out in Greece then were to lose to us. They have become too used to being stronger than we were while taking being dominant for granted. As far as i'm concerned we have been the most impressive team in the league albeit after only two games. Two games we dominated while a man down while the yahoos needed a penalty to get a 3-1 win over newly promoted Livingston. The same Livingston who were beaten to the Championship title by St Mirren with a 12 point margin and the same St Mirren we overpowered with 10 men. Next week will be a telling game. Away to Killie who gave us issues last time out but I expect a win if we can keep 11 men on the pitch. I suppose I should also throw in a mention for Hearts. Impressive 4-1 away win at Accies last week then beat the yahoos. I hope they overtake hubz this season though they might not be the same force without Lafferty who looks ever more likely to be coming our way.

Many pundits opining that Rangers are still favourites to land Solanke and also stating that he may be the final piece of the puzzle to take us to the title. As for the Europa league I was always at least moderately confident of negotiating Shkupi but not so confident about Osijek. Once we got through that one with relative comfort I felt even more confident about Maribor because I saw some of their previous round tie and in my estimation Osijek were better. I feel we will score over there which will make it a very tall order for them then if we got through I see no reason we can't reach the group stages. Ideally the yahoos would drop in there too which is beginning to look more of a likelihood than a mere possibility. How many around here would have predicted group stage qualification for us back in just 2 months ago? No one that I can remember and I wouldn't have either. Let's go indeed. It's a major turning point for us on this journey if we get there.

Now there's forward thinking from an inspired businessman.

Sadiq looks like he could be a real handful when he gets up to speed.

Yep, and how glorious that the team actually earns the right to that disrespect. Long may we be disrespecting even more of them. Gerrad has come out said that the red card was also earned so we wont be appealing that one but he wasn't so pissed off with McCrorie as he was last week with Morelos. Last week when Morelos came walking off Gerrard wouldn't even look at him but with McCrorie he put an arm around him. But the fact is McCrorie was at least attempting a challenge during play which Morelos was not.