Frankie

Money isn't a problem mate. Thanks for offering though...

Yep, we've bought another domain name through a more reliable company who renew domain names automatically.

After a short break, Gersnet is now back online. We've had some problems with our domain name over the last couple of weeks through no fault of our own. .info will be back online in the next few days but for the moment if we stick to the http://www.gersnetonline.net/vb/ address that will bring us all here. Apologies again and thanks for your patience. I'll get something on Newsnow asap to announce our return but if everyone can contact the usual folk then that will be cool. Gersnet Team!

Apologies for the downtime... Beyond our control - honestly.

:D Honestly, being linked with Bamba frightens me no end. Rumour or not.

What Koeman said... If we signed Bamba I'm sure I'd join long queue of people throwing themselves off the Forth Road Bridge.

http://www.gersnet.info/fmrangers/newmain/110107.html First of all I think itââ?¬â?¢s quite important that we keep an element of perspective in this article. Not many Rangers fans like Bain in a personal way and that can often cloud judgement when it comes to the job he does. Martin Bain first joined Rangers in 1996 serving under former commercial manager Bob Reilly. At that time football was in the midst of a commercial explosion; TV money was high even in Scottish football and other opportunities were there to be grasped because of that huge media exposure. As a result, Bain ââ?¬â?? like other members of the commercial team ââ?¬â?? can say he was partly responsible for bringing in the large amounts of money to the club in those heady days. Because of his relatively young age in those days ââ?¬â?? he was 29 when he joined the club ââ?¬â?? Bainââ?¬â?¢s potential was spotted early by the senior staff. Although not having a background in football his good work in the commercial arm helped him secure the (rather vague and general) post of ââ?¬Ë?Director of Football Businessââ?¬â?¢ in late 2002 ââ?¬â?? a year after being appointed to the Rangers board. Of course that season really saw the Rangers financial downsizing begin in earnest. Although Mikel Arteta joined the club for a near Ã?£6million, Rangers fans started to see the influx of below average Bosman players such as Kevin Muscat ââ?¬Ë?complimentââ?¬â?¢ the squad. Alex McLeish was the manager and it was soon obvious that he, and Bain to be fair, would have a difficult job on their hands delivering success to the restraints of a club trying to ship excess baggage to attain an even financial keel. To that end, they were reasonably successful. McLeish delivered 7 trophies and Martin Bain made some difficult decisions to ensure Rangers (as of their 2005/06 accounts) were back almost into the black. Of course both still suffered for their thankless work. McLeish couldnââ?¬â?¢t achieve real consistency, and, as the Ibrox Scrooge, Bain was the ultimate supportersââ?¬â?¢ scapegoat of an unimaginative board and a chairman who had disappeared for a few years and lacked the ambition of his initial spell. In February 2005, nine years after his first arrival at Ibrox, Bain was appointed Rangersââ?¬â?¢ 4th Chief Executive. David Holmes was the first such employee and no-one can forget the club-changing work he did under the Marlborough administration. Since then, the club has had another 2 such CEOââ?¬â?¢s - Alan Montgomery and Bob Brannan (now the chairman of Dundee). Both perhaps had it easier than Bain working in less stressful times. Unfortunately, it was around this time that Bain was starting to make mistakes that this high-profile job couldnââ?¬â?¢t afford. Dragan Mladenovic, Jose Pierre-Fanfan and Olivier Bernard were just 3 examples of players that had to be paid off their lucrative contracts. Meanwhile rumours of staff fall-outs were rife. Retail director Nick Peel, long time club secretary Campbell Ogilvie and Youth manager George Adams were all moved on in quick succession amid rumours of disagreements with Bain. In more recent times, Bain has also been seen as incompetent in other areas. On holiday in the Alps while Paul le Guen and Barry Ferguson had their much publicised fall out and failing to get any sort of fee for players on the transfer list. Bainââ?¬â?¢s biggest detractors point to the success of Celtic and specifically their CEO ââ?¬â?? Peter Lawwel ââ?¬â?? as the main evidence for his failure. Continuing and unacceptable media problems, continued transfer market underperformance and continued poor relationships with his staff and our fans are all a marked contrast to Lawwel ââ?¬â?? who has to operate under the same financial restrictions and in the same market as Bain. In the last year we have seen 2 managers sacked from Rangers. The last 2 seasons have also delivered no trophies to our club. That is wholly unacceptable and that underperformance can be attributed to the mistakes and incompetence of Martin Bain. Sure, could be argued that, in the same way as the departing managers, he has suffered from a lack of backing from a chairman who seems to lack the fight and ambition for the challenges we face. However, our now infecund owner canââ?¬â?¢t be sacked which leaves the right hand man he groomed for the job. Mistakes have been rife and success has disappeared. Martin Bain should no longer be the Rangers Chief Executive. Now, is the time to make that change.

Yeah, I'll third it... All the best Wattie and welcome back.

This meeting is to be completely open so anything he tells us about the PLG/Ferguson issue will be reported back. As will everything else in the meeting.

I'll tell him why he was dropped for the Belgium squad. It's because, despite us having one of the worst teams and run of results in our history, he still can't apply the necessary commitment, work-rate, determination, skill and consistency to be in the first team ahead of less talented players such as Novo. As such, he's proved plenty to me in the last 2 years - mainly that he's not good enough.

Was that not published yesterday? I think the players were quoted in the context of a discussion between the merits of Hibs and Celtic - not Rangers. For what it's worth I think we'll sign Brown - but perhaps not this month.

I guess it will depend on the context of the appointment. Although I can see it's obvious short term benefits, I'd argue that it's a backward step overall. And, if I'm at the meeting I'll be saying that. I'm sure the chairman will tell us exactly why Smith is the right man for the job.

We'll know more by the end of the week - not soon enough for most of us but I suppose patience is a virtue.

Successful Celtic Reserve/Youth coach has moved to us apparently...

http://www.rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk/news/2007/080107.html 08 January 2007 Trust Calls for ââ?¬Ë?Clarity, Direction and Leadershipââ?¬â?¢ at Rangers The Board of the Rangers Supportersââ?¬â?¢ Trust have watched with dismay at the events unfolding at Ibrox in recent weeks. The Trust repeats its public call for clarity, direction and leadership. - Clarity We are entitled to know why the Clubââ?¬â?¢s former Manager and former Captain were allowed to conduct a public dispute, which led to both of them losing their positions. We are also entitled to know precisely what role everyone played in this. - Direction We urgently require the appointment of a top class managerial team and the acquisition of quality professionals befitting of the team jersey. No-one is indispensable and no-one is bigger than Rangers Football Club. - Leadership Most importantly, we now need a tangible, public indication that the ambitions of the Rangers support are matched by the Clubââ?¬â?¢s Board and that the necessary investment and strategies to deliver on those ambitions are in place. We call on Sir David Murray to publicly address the Rangers support as a matter of urgency. The Trust has called for an urgent meeting in the next few days with Sir David Murray which he acknowledges and has agreed to meet as soon as is practical.

Yeah, Smith will simply resign and we'll have to pay compensation. He and McCoist will be unveiled in the next few days.

I like Webster but I really think he and Svensson need an experienced defender alongside them to find their best form.

And Sporting Life http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/01/05/SOCCER_Rangers_Snap.html&TEAMHD=soccer

According to SSN

I sincerely hope we can move Buffel on for some reasonable money. Inconsistent, lightweight and no heart despite his obvious talents. Not for me anymore.

I was told last month that we weren't interested in Webster - that may have changed with PLG's removal but I'll reserve judgement. I think he's a decent defender but I reckon he'd need an experienced hand beside him much like Svensson does. As for Gow, he's a player I've always admired and I'd love to see what he could do in place of the more expensive Buffel. He usually plays in the hole and he also offers more of a scoring threat than the Belgium. BTW, I grudge putting Ferguson in there at this moment in time.

I think Brown and Gow may sign, but I'm unsure about anyone else. We certainly need at least one defender and another striker to replace Prso. I'd go for this __________________McGregor_________________ Hutton____AN Other_________Svensson____Smith _________Brown____Ferguson____Adam_________ ____________________Gow____________________ ____________AN Other_______Boyd_____________

http://www.gersnet.info/fmrangers/newmain/050107.html Who�d have thought it? Walter Smith and Ally McCoist to be the new dream team! Is this a master-stroke by McFly or more short-term appeasement followed by heartbreak? Smith is obviously a man with Rangers in his heart. During his earlier stint we had some great times and his contribution to the 92/93 CL run and 9iar cannot be underestimated. However, at the same time, he had millions upon millions to spend; was up against a faltering Celtic and despite that one great CL season our European record was very poor. How will he cope with no financial backing and a Celtic who are now well in front of our mismanaged outfit? In some ways I can understand why we would bring both of them back. Smith is proven at SPL level and McCoist will fix the dressing room disharmony. Thus, as a short-term solution until a new man could be brought on board I'd be quite happy but as a long term solution I'm not so sure. It had been rumoured that Billy Davis was the long term candidate to succeed PLG, but given that era ended so prematurely, I don't think we were ever going to be able to tempt him away from Derby at short notice - especially given the compensation we'd need to pay. If Smith is part-time and McCoist the only full-timer poached from the SFA, then that's cost effective which as well all know takes precedence nowadays. More so if, as rumoured, McCoist, Gary McAllister or maybe still Davies is to be groomed to take over eventually. Of course, that would require long term planning and ambition and unfortunately the current administration don't have that quality. Bloody hell, our chairman and his CEO couldn�t even arrange for their holidays to be different times to keep maximum order in one of their absence! No, short-term appeasement is what Murray is always about. This appointment will deliver that but it won't appease the ever-increasing number of us who expect that little bit more vision. Just last November Murray was telling us that PLG would be here for the long term and his managerial position reviewed at the end of this season. What changed his mind so quickly? Was it Ferguson and the playing staff? Was it the unacceptable results and inconsistency? One can only assume it was the former as he didn�t sack Alex McLeish so eagerly last season when he should have. One thing is for sure Smith should bring stability. Smith was also never Barry Ferguson�s biggest fan in his early years so that might ensure our ex-captain won�t rule the roost as he might expect. We certainly need dominance in the changing room and leadership throughout the club. I don�t think PLG gave us that but I�m not so sure Barry Ferguson or Sir Davie McFly do either. Papering over the cracks just about sums it up. Can one obtain an honour for that?

I heard a wee while back that we had agreed a fee for Brown with Hibs but they didn't want him to sign until the summer. Thomson and Webster I'm not so sure about but I guess targets change for new managers.

Big Marv will be attending the RST dinner in March... I hope we'll have a Gersnet table again this year!