Frankie

I thought Ferguson was one of our better players last night. However, he still wasn't good enough overall and he, Edu and Davis all sat far too deep; abdicating responsibility and making our job of breaking down Caley nigh on impossible. Add in the fat traffic cone that is Boyd then our chances of a goal - despite constant possession - were minimal.

The only player with bottle is the big Algerian. A few more try hard enough but lack the quality required. Too many have no belief. A few cheat us. Meanwhile our manager suggests this is acceptable and adds to our problems by making poor signings and bizarre tactical decisions.

Rangers drop crucial three points with pathetic performance at home to SPL's bottom side. http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=762&Itemid=2 Madjid Bougherra is the only player for me. Ferguson and Papac were reasonable - the rest a joke.

Great stuff again mate.... Many thanks for taking the time to write this.

Great stuff mate - an excellent series of articles well worth a read by every Rangers fan... http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=718&Itemid=2 Will add this one to the main page later today!

Thanks to all who put their name forward... Please remember Match Preview Writers need to: - Write around 500 words on their allocated match. - Provide probable team and formation within this. - Ensure it is posted the day before the match (e.g. Friday am for Saturday games). - Please check all articles for spelling/grammatical errors before posting (e.g. use Word to type the article). - If you want to accompany the preview with a review (or ratings/poll etc) please feel free to do so. May Sat 30 - 15.00 Rangers v St Mirren (Scottish Cup Final) Gazza_8 Please check this thread regularly and pm me if you're unable to make the deadline.

Who? I doubt we even have �£1.5million to spend never mind on a Doncaster player...

Obviously Walter's definition of 'exceptionally well' is rather similar to my own 'below average' description of his recent form... I'll expect a lot better from Ferguson no matter the manager's comments above.

I'd like to see Beasley get a run of games but I have my doubts about whether he's good enough. In saying that I don't think Naismith is good enough wide left and Fleck/Aaron are still rather raw.

If they're so desperate then hopefully we can get a fee for him and at least recoup out initial outlay... You'd think they'd have learned their lesson with Lovenkrands...

Aye, I think the lads are going to try and make this a regular thing. Lochee certainly isn't a Rangers friendly suburb of Dundee. More the Hibernian side of town IIRC.

Of course others do it. But he complained of Hamilton doing it at Tannadice as well as Hearts now. As such, he can't have his cake and eat it.

Was very impressed with Easton at the weekend... Looked a useful player.

He sure is mate... When we played against them in late January they sat back, wasted time and generally played for a draw. As soon as we scored they then attacked us. He's a joke.

Cool... that should take us on until the end of the season nicely... I'll post the schedule later today.

According to the Record at least... http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/rangers/2009/03/03/new-contract-joy-for-rangers-starlet-rory-loy-86908-21167531/ Good stuff...

I believe the singing sections had a good turn out at this game as well, 26th?

Good stuff chaps - keep 'em coming!

Competition winners this month were: Norris Cole Ian1964 Big Spliff (Writer prize) John Kerr (main site reader) Robert Dewar (main site entry) March competition will be up later this week. Just the one prize this month but an excellent selection of three different books... Must reiterate, if you enter these competitions the odds of winning are very good.

Pretty sure your last one wasn't far off it Jon...

Can those who want to do this on a regular basis please pm me or add their name to this thread. I'll write the Caley Thistle one then get a new schedule up by the end of the week for those interested in writing. Match Preview Writers need to: - Write around 500 words on their allocated match. - Provide probable team and formation within this. - Ensure it is posted the day before the match (e.g. Friday am for Saturday games). - Please check all articles for spelling/grammatical errors before posting. - If you want to accompany the preview with a review (or ratings/poll etc) please feel free to do so.

After the weekend I've had, that did make me feel a bit better...

Glad to hear you guys had a great time...

Good coverage in today's ET.... http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display.var.2492155.0.sandi_on_song_for_malawi.php

Part 3 There is a common theme occurring here, buying Rangers merchandise anywhere outside of the UK is close to impossible unless you are willing to pay over the odds by importing it from Scotland via JJB or the Rangers online megastore. Will switching to the other side of the world by getting an Australian supporter's point of view provide some much-needed positivity on the issue? Evidently the same story is appearing the world over. Little to no Rangers merchandise to be found outside of the UK. This is absolutely criminal for a club our size to have such a poor marketing strategy. The demand is clearly there as our last contributor demonstrated. Football is becoming a major sport in Canada, America and Australia and a large Rangers support exists in all three countries. Yet the club either do not have the vision or the business acumen to satisfy this demand and make a substantial profit. There are various ways in which Rangers Football Club should look to improve their marketing strategy both at home and overseas. Firstly, JJB are clearly not holding-up their end of the bargain. The company is in serious danger of liquidation and is not providing a good range of Rangers merchandise in comparison to the former Rangers club stores. We are not making enough of a financial profit from this deal to justify the decrease in market standards. Therefore the club should either look to negotiate a deal with another high street sports store who will guarantee to provide a better range of merchandise, or simply revert back to the old system of having multiple dedicated Rangers stores across the country. Thus the name and logo of Rangers Football Club re-appears on the high street and the initial flurry of supporters looking to discover the new stores will create good revenue, even if that will only be short-term. The same method should be applied throughout the UK where there is demand. Cities like Belfast, London, and Liverpool would all benefit from having a Rangers megastore. In North America there is already an organisation in NARSA which has the power to bring together thousands of Rangers supporters either through local RSCs or the highly popular annual conference. The club must approach both the individual RSCs and the wide NARSA community in order to establish ways of importing merchandise which will be easy for Rangers supporters to buy. Our earlier contributor from Canada had the suggestion of allowing North American RSCs to buy merchandise in bulk and sell it to its members. In essence, this is what should be happening. The club should welcome such initiatives and in turn reward the RSCs with discounted prices on all imported merchandise, free subscription to Rangers World for their members or signed strips and photos. It makes these alienated supporters feel like they are still part of the Rangers family despite being so far away from their spiritual home. The club will also make serious amounts of money by tapping into this market. In Australia ORSA and the local RSCs, although not as many exist, should be given these same opportunities. But the club could also engage with the local sports retail chains all over the country to establish trading links whereby they are willing to have plenty of Rangers club merchandise imported. With football becoming such a popular game Down Under it would be beneficial for the club to exploit this trend and make money and possibly new supporters from it. Why not also show some invention and adapt our merchandise to the climate of the country? Residents of Australia are hardly going to be responsive to buying padded Rangers training jackets and raincoats in such a sun-scorched country. Rangers beach towels, Sun hats, baseball caps etc. etc. would sell much more. The possibilities are endless. Once successful trading systems are in place in the countries where most Rangers support comes from, there is the possibility to expand our horizons further still. The history of Rangers Football Club is an awe-inspiring story of rags to riches, of success and skill and of loyalty and devotion. It is a story that everyone loves, a success story. This story should be told to the world and not just those willing to seek it and learn about it. There are many great books which have been written on the story of the club and the various periods of our history. We could export these books to North America, Australia, Europe and even Asia ( in varying languages) to captivate the world by the club's rich history. This will undoubtedly prompt a bigger demand for Rangers merchandise on these Continents. It would be unreasonable to expect there to be Rangers merchandise at a local level all over the world so this is where the club must embrace the internet much more than it currently is. The current online megastore does not offer value for money for supporters or customers outside of the UK. It is also not a swift and reliable delivery service which is why many overseas supporters are relying on family or friends to send them the latest gear rather than buy from the online club shop. Many British clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool have deal with international export companies who are paid to handle the delivery of all club merchandise around the world at a speedy and reliable rate. Rangers should look to make similar deal if we are to maximise our selling potential. The cost of a quick, reliable courier service will be more than expendable given the revenue we will earn from satisfied customers. In conclusion there is no doubt that Rangers' current marketing strategy is failing both the supporters and the club itself. In times of financial trouble we should be looking at initiatives to improve our income and with their being a huge, unsatisfied demand for Rangers merchandise all over the world, there is an ideal opportunity to gain revenue from this. The club should work with RSCs and Supporters organisations around the globe to develop measures in which the demand for merchandise is satisfied and also to open new markets. The supporters in each country can provide the club with good knowledge of the local markets that can be used to our advantage. It is not an impossible task, we have a fan base to rival any of the major clubs in the world but we simply don't have the vision to exploit it. Now is the time for vision and constructive dialogue between the club and the Rangers support to build towards a more profitable future where merchandise is available to all whom desire it. [With special thanks to: BoltonLoyal, Brissyger, Toni, Bobby, Nvager, CanadaReady, CanadianGer for your fantastic contributions to this article.]