Frankie

Indeed they do. Interestingly Spiers now has had a new show commissioned for BBC Scotland.... Seems to be an expansion of his radio interview nonsense of last year. http://www.gersnetonline.net/vb/showthread.php?t=8018

Perfect analysis Cal...

Interesting stuff 26OF... Can Bitter blame the reverse midas touch of Spiers? One would have thought he'd have brought his army of fans? What next - tempt McNee out of retirement?

I think Whittaker needs a good run of games at right back to show us that he can offer the quality required. At left back, Papac certainly isn't the most most glamorous player in the world but he certainly offers reliability and consistency. He also seems to be improving his runs forward. As it stands we may need full backs but they are not priority.

Never been called a poser before... It's cut me to the quick! For what it's worth, I think the work done in the 5 years so far has been reasonably good given the obvious apathetic nature of the vast majority of the Rangers support. Getting innovative schemes such as GerSave off the ground took a huge amount of hard work and while the scheme certainly wasn't perfect initially (mainly with regard to the price), once the buy price was reduced the scheme remains one constructive and positive way for the fans to increase their say. Add in the other good work such as combating the media issues and various 'political' stuff then you have a voluntary organisation who deserve a wee bit more credit for their achievements than more petty name-calling. There was a wee bit more than clueless posing going on I can assure you. I also still strongly believe that having an elected supporter on the board of RFC would have been a good move not only for the supporters but for the club. Again, this may not have worked perfectly to start with but it was a step in the right direction and it would have been fascinating to see how it worked over the piece. A RST rep would have been the best way to progress this but I doubt that's going to happen any time soon. Certainly with the recent problems I think the RST is now less likely to be successful but the continuing issues at the club suggest there is always a place for a strong Trust with clear aims. Unfortunately, despite recent promises from their senior office holders, it's difficult to tell what's happening in that regard as communication hasn't improved and has actually got much worse. I believe there have been no member emails, minimal website updates and the latest issue of the Blue Spirit is long overdue. Indeed, it seems the only way for members to have access to information is if you use another supposedly non-linked website. That's not a good start for the new board but I guess some things can take time to reorganise. As someone who was a part of the 'old' board I definitely agree that opportunities have been lost via the Trust. Arguably not as much as the original poster claims but it remains to be seen what kind of future the organisation has. That of course is down to the members (existing or potential) to decide if they can influence it. It's always been the case that more people (members and non-members alike) offer non-constructive criticism as opposed to support. So it could be said they have contributed just as much to lost opportunities as the people they blame. Anyway, it now seems the people who prefer a more militant strategy have another group to fill any perceived vacuum. Unfortunately, the questions surrounding this group also remain similarly unanswered. 'Silent', 'clueless', 'lies' or just 'posers'? I hope not but all fan groups should be doing more to improve representation for our supporters. As it stands I don't think the Assembly, the Alliance/Association, the Trust or Reclaim Rangers offer a stand-alone opportunity for the fans. That's the sad thing here and that's what we should be looking to improve instead of slagging off honest people who have tried to achieve genuine, democratic supporters representation.

The same calf injury was given as the reason for his non-appearance.

Never had a problem with people being honest about their opinions on here. We're not as busy as other forums and most posters tend to 'know' others' opinions on most matters so are usually capable of debating openly enough. I think all the threads of late showing negative/positive attitudes and pro/anti protest posts have already shown no-one is worried that they can't defend their point of view if necessary. I certainly back the protests as what has happened over the last week was mainly pretty mild but strong enough to place the chairman under pressure to a degree. How much, no-one can really say but it doesn't matter now we have improved the team and won our first two tricky league games. Now, any protests shouldn't stop but become more constructive in highlighting the issues that remain within the way the club is run. It will be interesting to see how that happens.

I don't blame people for picking Cousin. On form (both physically and mentally) he is arguably our most complete striker - especially playing up there on his own if required. However, I have serious doubts about his commitment and just can't see the lad playing for us again.

Oh, and can honestly admit, I really don't have a preferred team as it stands. I suppose the closest I could get would be: __________________McGregor___________________ Whittaker___Bougherra________AN Other_____Papac Davis_______Mendes_________Thomson_____Beasley _________Novo______________Lafferty____________ Obviously I'd prefer not to play Davis in right midfield and would rather we had a genuine goalscorer up front but that's as close as I can get. The return of Ferguson and an in-form Boyd would be interesting.

I'd be astonished if we signed Bresciano on top of Davis and Edu. Maybe in place of one of them but I can't see all three and Mendes being bought. Of course if we've managed to secure decent prices for a few of our fringe players then it may happen. can't see much being brought in for Hemdani, JCD or Cousin but add Boyd to that list then any available funds rise again.

Fraser: Anyone should be allowed to protest as long as it's done as constructively as possible. There weren't any issues in that respect on Saturday so that's good. While we're all happy with the new signings made, we shouldn't allow a few players to gloss over the recent unacceptable mistakes made as well as many issues still prevalent at the club.

No club would offer more as we had to accept at that figure...

The amount met the terms of the clause... If Celtic offered the ââ??¬10million, we'd have to have accept the offer.

An interesting question for the AGM...?

Knowing our manager, I wouldn't rule it out... Anyway, now McCulloch has played striker, left midfield, right midfield and central midfield this season, I'd expect him to be Bougherra's new partner.. :box:

Fair enough. I look forward to hearing more about the project.

Damien: I've asked these questions in the other thread which you may have missed. Any chance you could answer them as Maineflyer seems rather reticent to do so...? I must admit I'm struggling to see how you can force change without having an alternative in place for like-minded people to buy into. SDM wants to go and increasing numbers of fans agree that his time is up. As such, the protest side of things is becoming increasingly irrelevant. It's the offered alternative that's now important. If anyone doesn't have such an alternative to offer it undermines any such group's credibility IMO. One just can't say change will improve things without evidence or plans. It may well force positive change and I sincerely hope it does but people need to know much more before committing. You seem to be in the know with regard to who is involved and what plans are being discussed. As such, I hope you don't mind me asking a few very general and simple questions: 1. Who is involved in the group? Who is James Baillie? 2. Do you have high net worth backers capable of buying the club? A Fergus McCann if you like. If so, who? 3. How do you intend forcing Murray out given his 91.8% shareholding and apparent lack of available buyers? 4. What protest methods are under consideration? Do you have a time-line? 5. How does the group intend to obtain backing from the Rangers support? 6. What ideas do you have for reaching the apathetic majority? I look forward to you explaining this.

Now, any chance of answering my questions I posted the other night?

He's a left winger to trade but should be capable of playing anywhere behind the strikers.

The one where you brought the financial position of another Rangers fan into a debate where it isn't required. Hence the edited post. The rules are simple enough here. I only request everyone follows them. Let's stick to the debate in hand please.

Oh and I'd also prefer we didn't insult other Rangers supporters on here please... It's obvious another Rangers site has problems with FF so please keep any of the crap for there. I'd much prefer Gersnet was a place where we can all have mature, reasonably intelligent debate without petty name-calling.

MF: Any chance you could answer my questions?

Almost ready for bed... I think I'll read over a few of your and BD's posts to help me drop off... :D

Christ these financial sorts are interesting guys eh...? :moon:

Poll to follow: Rangers take the spoils with solid - if unspectacular - display against hard-working Hearts at Ibrox. * Allan McGregor - 7 One spill late on but superb double block just after half-time helped secure the points. * Kirk Broadfoot - 7 Generally did very well as once again he found himself playing full-back. Very solid defensively. * Madjid Bougherra - 7 Helped create the opening goal and looked very impressive at the back. Excellent distribution. * David Weir - 7 A decent game from veteran but lack of pace was again evident as Hearts pushed for equaliser. * Sasa Papac - 7 Mr Reliable put his usual unflappable shift in at left-full back. Could attack the ball more at times. * Lee McCulloch - 4 Seemed to pick up leg knock very early in game and struggled to get into match after that. Will struggle to feature very soon. * Pedro Mendes - 8 Started brightly and after fading slightly towards half-time did even better in second period. Sublime touches on the ball and looks an exciting prospect. * Kevin Thomson - 8 Incredible graft and work-rate as he was permitted to do the dirty work and allows others to create. * Kyle Lafferty - 7 Always struggling with hamstring but worked very hard and took goal superbly well. Good touch and looks dangerous on the ball. * Andrius Velicka - 6 Flitted in and out of game but has to be stronger against tough SPL defences. * Kris Boyd - 5 Didn't have the best of first halves and didn't improve after the break. Brought one good save out of Hearts keeper and slotted penalty away nicely which should help obvious lack of confidence. * Kenny Miller - 6 Unusual right midfield position for Scotland man but he performed well under spotlight from many fans. * DaMarcus Beasley - 6 Did pretty well when he replaced Lafferty and will feel he deserves starting spot for next game. * Jean-Claude Darcheville - 3 Late sub not seen at all.