Frankie

Interesting - thanks for that...

Thread closed. Please take the VB/SZ stuff elsewhere.

I'd rather arguments between other sites didn't form part of the main board to be honest....

SZ: I know that is your plan. That's fair enough and an interesting concept which is why I allowed you to post here previously. However, you cannot argue that you'll struggle to get help with your project - as well as it's credibility - when you write stuff such as you did the other day. As project editor and site owner you should be above such petty and childish nonsense. End of.

I'd suggest then that if you can't write about Rangers in a balanced, reasonably constructive fashion, you get someone else to. Otherwise your site will never be taken seriously. Not everyone who writes about Rangers needs to be a Rangers fan. But it helps if any criticism they offer is reasonable, accurate and worthy of debate. Your article of the other day had none of those virtues. As such, when you claim site neutrality it has to be taken with a pinch of salt if the site editor cannot even bring himself to be reasonably objective.

SZ: I think you'll find many Gersnet members are more than happy to accept criticism of the their club and the challenges we face. Indeed, we're often amongst the first to offer it. However, the problem arises when this criticism is merely subjective, imbalanced and generally just daft. That's how you unnecessarily polemic article of the other day could be described IMO so you shouldn't be surprised when many people take umbrage at it.

Hey, I'm happy with what he says and I think he has improved this season in actual fact. However, I maintain that if he's big a fan as he says he is, then his attitude should be a lot better.

If he loves us that much he should be looking to improve his overall attitude and fitness. Last Saturday his performance was abysmal and he must surely realise while his goals are vital he should be doing more for the team.

Yep, most of these comments software allow individual comments to be moderated first before publishing. Several excellent points were made in that article IIRC and the only reason it was pulled was because these points made it look daft.

Pretty sure he signed a 5 year deal in late 2006...

Competition/Book Details here - http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/327011336?-11344 Excellent Book Review by CammyF here - http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/327011337?-11344 Buy Book via our friends at Birlinn Books here - http://birlinn.co.uk/book/details/Silver-Smith-9781841587530/ Thanks for Birlinn for their continued superb support of Gersnet! PM me your answer before the end of the month to be in a with a chance of winning one of five copies of this book! Just tell us in what year did Walter Smith first become Rangers manager?

Folks, Noticed a few of these cropping up in various threads lately. One or two of the sites which provide these links are currently being subject to legal action. I don't want Gersnet to face similar problems so can we please refrain from posting links to dubious foreign streams. Cheers... :cheers:

Sold to the glum Scotsman with the red face...!

I agree mate. For example, I don't agree with the way the club is being run in many ways. Nonetheless, I'll still be inclined to renew season ticket over the next few months as I still want to support my club. Can they sustain their alleged disdain for people like me? I doubt I'd be patient forever but going by the 45,000 fans at Ibrox last night and the continual high season ticket numbers, plenty more will be....

The difference between supporting the football club as a customer and supporting a business as a customer is primarily the emotion and the subsequent effect that the club has a 'monopoly'. As much as the club lets us down on occasion we simply don't have the option of shrugging our shoulders and going to Tesco instead of Asda as would if our shop let us down. Emotional blackmail is how to describe it. I'm just always surprised at the number of fans who don't demand more of their club.

Mate, After this series of articles is finished, I intend writing a full report. The report will contain the articles themselves and the background of the authors as well as any interesting comments from each article threads. No faceless contributors here. At this point, the report will be presented to various people - the club chairman, the fan organisations, RSCs and high-net worth supporters. Obviously it will also be posted on the web and we'd urge everyone to send it on to friends, colleagues, contacts etc. Depending on the reaction, we can then organise further debate via meetings of interested people which will help us develop the ideas to a greater level of detail. I'm not saying the project will work but it's rather more constructive than sniping. I'd urge everyone to get involved.

Indeed. 4-5-1 doesn't automatically mean negativity.

I'd really like to thank AMMS for this article. A proper youth academy to complement the superb facilities at Murray Park is long overdue. The work done at Largs and Bellahouston Academy shows that a partnership of sorts could certainly be beneficial in the long term. Again, investment/finance is an issue but I personally feel youth is a part of the club the vast majority of supporters are enthused about. As such, not only would we be able to attract investment from high net worth people, I reckon many other fans would help as it could be our kin that would be next to benefit. Imagine a 'Davie Cooper' Scholarship scheme where 5 of our very best young players had their training and education funded every year. This could be extended in the future. Make it happen.

Next in the STS series, is an excellent article written by AMMS (from RangersMedia) who explores the difficulties in rearing successful young players and how the results could be maximised. http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=742&Itemid=2 BEGINS My first job was an apprentice printer, it was a small place employing about 8 or so people at that time and I was their first ‘apprentice’. Times were hard then (sound familiar?) and rather than take me on I was employed through the government run Youth Training Scheme on the princely sum of Ã?£27.50 a week and Ã?£5 travelling expenses. Part of how the YTS was sold to potential employees was that there would be college based training as well as on the job skills. This sounded good; rather than just being exploited slave labour I got 2 week stints at the Building and Printing College every month and more ScotVec modules than you could shake an inky rag at. Eventually after a month or two my boss approached me and asked how I was enjoying college. The reality was I loved it, you didn’t start until 9am, it was a very relaxed atmosphere, and you got to ogle at the hairdressers in the College of Commerce across the road. However if truth be told, I wasn’t learning a whole lot about printing which was what I was supposed to be doing. Lots of theory and not a lot of practical was my diplomatic reply. My boss, who had spent his entire working life in the printing game paused for a moment and reflected on my reply and his slightly confusing words have remained with me until this day; ‘Aye son’, he ventured ‘theory is alright in theory but when you want to learn to swim sooner or later you need to get into the water’. The training of young footballers seems to be a thing of great difficulty for Rangers recently. Part of that problem seems to have been our reluctance to move with the times. In this day of public/private partnerships, you have to wonder why Rangers (and other clubs) haven’t got a genuine tie-in with a local school. A residential aspect to youth development is common place on the continent where boys are schooled from 13 to 15 in conjunction with a club or FA. The acclaimed Clairefontaine centre outside Paris and the famous Ajax Academy all include ‘normal’ schooling as part of their curriculum; these people are children after all. Curiously, a local school to Ibrox, Bellahouston Academy, is Scotland’s first ‘school for sporting excellence’. The school has over 130 pupils who are only there because of their sporting talent. These kids still get a full education but they also get access to specialist coaches, advice, conditioning and sports psychologists. Football isn’t currently one of the sports covered at the school - perhaps Rangers could consider helping to change that? Engendering good habits, influencing technique and seeing at first hand the personalities, weaknesses and the strengths of these young players must be good for the players as well as the club. Tie it in to a trusted, local authority run school environment and you have the perfect ‘academy’ system for a fraction of the outlay running a residential school would cost. If the kids are rounded, focused and aware of the different facets that make up a successful sportsman when they leave school, they might conceivably be in a better position to make the most of the opportunities that come their way later. ‘Specialist’ schools are becoming popular throughout Scotland, becoming centres of excellence in music, dance or sport is relatively prestigious and Rangers could assist this process whilst it is still in it’s infancy. Once at the club however one thing that does seem to be clear is that if a young player isn’t getting a game regularly between the ages of 16 and 20 he is unlikely to make a genuine impact. Now roughly one in every generation seems able to do this currently, be it Durrant, Ferguson or maybe now John Fleck. However these guys are the exception, they were such prodigious talents that they couldn’t be ignored. But for the vast majority games is what they need. Professional football is a trade and they can have many reserve, youth and bounce games but ultimately they need to learn their trade and they’ll need to play in competitive games to do that. Examples of this are all around us. Pedro Mendes had played 31 senior games by the age of 19, by the age of 20 Ross McCormack had only played 11. By the age of 19 Ally McCoist had played 57 times for St Johnstone, Rory Loy will turn 21 this year and has played about 6 games of first team football. Now Mendes played his games for a team you’ve never heard of and McCoist, having been rejected by St Mirren, was learning his trade at the always unfashionable St Johnstone. Both McCormack and Loy on the other hand were both deemed good enough at 16 to be recruited by Rangers where they enjoyed the finest training facilities in the country, trained alongside some exceptional players and by some experienced coaches, so what’s gone wrong? Well to put it simply too much theory and not enough practical. Still not convinced, have a look at the current first team of any successful side and try and find a player who wasn’t playing regular football at senior level by the age of 19. Getting our young players playing at a high level as early as possible can only be in everyone’s interest. If an 18 year old can’t hold his own in Division One he won’t make it at Rangers later. It also makes financial sense, if they aren’t deemed good enough for Rangers, and most won’t be, these boys will leave Rangers on free transfers with some first team experience. At least a player with 30 to 50 games at Division One level is worth something. Ideally Rangers should consider formal or informal links with several clubs, an ideal ‘roster’ of clubs would include some Scandinavian clubs, perhaps a Dutch one, certainly some English ones, and maybe even an Italian or French club. None of these clubs would be in their top divisions obviously however many smaller clubs are looking for good players who are relatively cheap so free young players from the best club in Scotland might well be of interest to quite a few of them. Without improvement in the young players at Ibrox it is folly to continue to invest in youth. Arguably, financially it would make more sense to save the money and take the best from Hibs, Hearts and Kilmarnock etc. However long term, transforming talented young players into professionals has to be Rangers goal, it makes sense on every level. Young men literally schooled correctly, positively influenced at an early age, approaching a career as a professional footballer already knowing about diet and fitness and knowing they’ll be given opportunities at various professional levels during their time at Rangers must be the ultimate goal for the club.

More than likely... I'd rather play Edu if we must play a 4-5-1.

Really not sure. Lafferty seems to have done well the last couple of games so I've no problem starting him. I've also no problem with 4-5-1 as long as we play personnel capable of supporting whoever plays up front. That means Mendes and Ferguson holding and three more offensive players beside them - preferably Fleck, Naismith and Davis. I like the balance of that side but I think it's more likely to be McCulloch (or Edu) instead of Naismith. My main worry ahead of next week is aggression and physical presence. Robson, Brown and Hartley won't allow us to dominate. We have to be up for that battle.

Are suggesting Lennon is sexy mate..?

Superb piece mate - fantastic series of articles! Main site link: http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=741&Itemid=2

Cool....

You can also watch the game via The Scotsman for 99p... http://sport.scotsman.com/football/Scotsmancom-special-offer-Watch-Rangers.4946569.jp