Frankie

:D Was hoping to make it another stag night mate!

I'm gutted we're in the same pot as Prague. Desperate for Rangers to get a game over there so I can visit again and take advantage of the attractions on offer... From a progression POV I'd like Panathinkaikos, Slovan Liberec, Dinamo Bucharest and Mlada Boleslav. But with our current form, I'm not that confident about qualifing unless we improve over the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, there will always be a minority who want to sing such stuff. I don't mind some of the Ulster songs and people should be able to sing what they want. However, at the moment, we're being dictated to by an inobjective UEFA and inobjective media so rightly or wrongly we'll have to continue to desist from singing one song home and away. The rest of the songs at the game suc as Derry's Walls and the Sash are fine IMO. So far we're doing a great job of sticking to the acceptable stuff within the stadium, so I'd much prefer to highlight that than the few people who still want to blacken our club's names with irrelevant and often pointless songs.

Agree with everything you say. IMO, the only reason PLG mentioned Letizi was to provoke a positive reaction for McGregor. He's got that, so there's no doubt he'll remain in the team then he'll have to decide whether or not to withdraw his transfer request which is another factor in his longivity.

40,000 tickets sold the other day and phone lines are seemingly tied up at the Ticket office today so should be a sell out.

Ffs....

Ferguson has been average since his return but no-one can blame him entirely for our defeats. Perhaps if Papac was eligible, Svensson playing well and Clement fit, we could afford to nurture Ferguson back in the reserves. But, unfortunately, we're short of defenders so Hemdani has to play centre-half which leaves 2 places in the centre up for grabs. Gavin Rae or Charlie Adam would maybe fit in one of them but I'd much rather have Ferguson in there as our primary player. Ferguson should never be exempt from blame or criticism. However, he's just back after 5 months out and minimal pre-season training. He was never going to be 100% fit or sharp in his first few games. he should, however, have been able to come back into the team and be helped by the other players whcih hasn't happened. The 2 man midfield system isn't the best way to protect a player returning from injury either. No matter, Ferguson has to get back playing regularly and try and find some form. The best way to do that is to play against the likes Celtic, Molde and Hibs. yes, the results and performances have been poor but I doubt they would have been any better without Ferguson.

Sionko did well against Motherwell, Dundee Utd, Killie and Falkirk. He had poor games against the Pars though but on balance his contribution has been just as average and inconsistent as Martins. The fact Sionko is likely to be here longer than Martin and is more of a right winger than him means he gets the nod for me.

Other than an impressive game against Hearts, Martin has been as poor/average as Sionko.

Sadly the placing of Trust brochures on the seats at Ibrox has had to be postponed as the club’s lawyers consider whether or not distribution inside Ibrox could be construed as the club promoting, as opposed to facilitating, sales of it’s own shares. The club’s lawyers have raised concerns over whether the leaflet could be deemed to be a public offer of securities by the club. Clearly, since the inception of the scheme the Trust has taken careful legal advice in order to address such issues, at considerable cost, and is confident that things will be sorted out. However, as the Trust was only informed today of these legal concerns the placing of brochures inside Ibrox has had to be postponed for the time being. More info on this soon...

http://www.rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk/news/2006/260906.html 26 September 2006 The RST Needs You! Help Needed at Ibrox on Wednesday! Win Hospitality Tickets! As revealed last week, the Rangers Supporters Trust will be sponsoring the UEFA Cup return leg against Molde FC at Ibrox on Thursday 28th September. Part of the sponsorship has meant that we will be attaching a 'Gersave' booklet to every seat in Ibrox for the game, and as such will be looking for as much assistance as possible to help make this happen. We will be looking for people to come into Ibrox at 10am tomorrow (Wednesday 27/09/06) and help ensure each seat in the stadium will have a booklet. This will be a pivotal moment in launching Gersave awareness and thus the Trusts' existence. Therefore we are looking for everyone to help out wherever possible. Even if you are only able to help out for a couple of hours, every little bit helps and would be greatly appreciated. If you turn up and help on the set-up times you will automatically be entered into a special raffle. This will give 2 people the chance to win individual hospitality packages for the game. The match is sure to be a sell-out so this is your opportunity not only to get a ticket but to enjoy our first home European match of the season in 5* comfort. To find out more please email joanne@rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk or contact us through the site form.

For what it's worth I'd go for... Time for a change of system but I would keep Ferguson in the team as the only he'll get properly fit is by continuing to play every game. ___________________McGregor__________________ Bardsley____Svensson________Hemdani_______Smith Sionko______Ferguson__________Rae_________Adam ____________Boyd_____________Prso_____________

I think J-Rod and Burke are both out of the game...

Well I think Hibs have had several young players come through over the last few years as well as good development of existing talent when they took over. Hibs, although inconsistent, also play an exciting brand of football, don't take any prisoners in games and considering their finances seem more than capable of competing with us and Celtic head-to-head. From what I hear, Venus has contributed a lot to that relative success and there's no doubt he'd be an excellent addition to our backroom staff IMO.

No, you are correct mate. It's explained easily enough but an imbalanced media and Rangers fans being able to accept defeat with a bit more dignity generally.

The early signs were pretty positive. The first 4 or 5 games we played some excellent football which we hadn't seen for a number of seasons at Ibrox. However, I'm astonished by the speed in which we have basically capitulated. Unfortunately, PLG seems a bit too stubborn for his own good. I still believe he's the right man for the job but he has to be more flexible with his formation while picking a settled first XI with minimal changes. A 2 man midfield (as shown by Eck last season) does not work in the rough and tumble of the SPL. It's easily thwarted and contained by flooding the midfield and we have bee to too slow to react to this in past games. However, some positive signs haved been seen and this was never going to be an overnight job with the minimal investment in the team. It appears some of the existing players lack the belief and character of a winning team and more major surgery is required on the playing staff if we've to really improve as a club. We all like players like Smith, J-Rod, Hutton, Burke, Rae, Ferguson, Prso, Buffel and Murray. But, as much as they have their qualities, perhaps they just aren't good enough to play consistently well, stay clear of injuries and lack the winning mentality required to be a Rangers player. Certainly the inexperienced nature of the team doesn't help consistency and strength which are basic necessities to be successful in the SPL. Tough decisions are going to be made over the next year. Unfortunately, while this transistion takes place more bad results and performances are gong to be witnessed. That's disappointing but realistic and as a support we must show support while the changes are made. Moreover, I'd much rather PLG was the man overseeing this. Although he should nolt be exempt from criticism I think the man does have a plan and we should be patient while he carries it out. 3 months isn't long enough before we call for his head. Yes, he need to show improvement himself and yes, perhaps he's been surprised by the lack of committment from the senior players but yes, he will improve things and yes, he's still the man for the job.

Well I tried to be a goalie just like you tried to be a dirty, wee, cheating forward... ;) The early signs this season were pretty positive. The first 4 or 5 games we played some excellent football which we hadn't seen for a number of seasons at Ibrox. However, I'm astonished by the speed in which we have basically capitulated. Unfortunately, PLG seems a bit too stubborn for his own good. I still believe he's the right man for the job but he has to be more flexible with his formation while picking a settled first XI with minimal changes. A 2 man midfield (as shown by Eck last season) does not work in the rough and tumble of the SPL. It's easily thwarted and contained by flooding the midfield and we have bee to too slow to react to this in past games. However, some positive signs haved been seen and this was never going to be an overnight job with the minimal investment in the team. It appears some of the existing players lack the belief and character of a winning team and more major surgery is required on the playing staff if we've to really improve as a club. We all like players like Smith, J-Rod, Hutton, Burke, Rae, Ferguson, Prso, Buffel and Murray. But, as much as they have their qualities, perhaps they just aren't good enough to play consistently well, stay clear of injuries and lack the winning mentality required to be a Rangers player. Certainly the inexperienced nature of the team doesn't help consistency and strength which are basic necessities to be successful in the SPL. Tough decisions are going to be made over the next year. Unfortunately, while this transistion takes place more bad results and performances are gong to be witnessed. That's disappointing but realistic and as a support we must show support while the changes are made. Moreover, I'd much rather PLG was the man overseeing this. Although he should not be exempt from criticism I think the man does have a plan and we should be patient while he carries it out. 3 months isn't long enough before we call for his head. Yes, he needs to show improvement himself and yes, perhaps he's been surprised by the lack of committment from the senior players but yes, he will improve things and yes, he's still the man for the job.

Nah, it was an excellent, fast and flat cross which (speaking as a goalie myself) wasn't one McGregor could have got to IMO. The people to blame are the players for not stopping the cross (this happens continually nowadays) and the central defenders for not marking tightly enough.

Actually the £2.5million figure I quoted was the minimum-fee clause I'd heard about from a reliable friend. The fact is Hibs have just reported some decent annual figures and after selling O'Connor to help pay for their new training ground up the road from me, they simply don't need to sell any of their excellent young prospects (be it Brown, Thompson, Whittaker, Fletcher et al) for low fees anymore. The question we should be asking ourselves is not how much these players are worth, but why Hibs are consistently producing good young players capable of playing good football whilst maintaining their strength for the Scottish game. The answer to that is Mark Venus - their first team coach and assistant manager. He (and Mowbray) have just signed new rolling contracts and Venus would be the person I'd be sniffing round as well as the likes of Brown and Thompson.

We'll need £2.5million to be able to buy him.... I'm not so sure we've got that kind of money.

Barry wasn't quick enough and the pass was slightly overhit... Looked what happened to Mols when he challenged a goalie for a 40/60 ball.

Yep, you're right Stu.... We haven't been good enough but we will get better and we should all be supporting our new players and manager not lambasting them at the first opportunity. Some of the OTT criticism makes me cringe. Yes, criticise - we're entitled to - but do so constructively and with an open mind. WATP

I think it's better to wait a wee bit longer than 10 or so games before making judgements on new players and managers... Yes, there a few things we need to sort out and yes we're all hurting but to suggest a manager should be sacked after such a short amount of time is laughable.

Well it was an improvement on last week. I felt we contained Celtic reasonably well in the first half but once again we lose a goal from a cross played from a player who was not challenged. Completely unacceptable! 2nd half we got ourselves back into it but in the final third we were generally awful. Celtic scored a decent goal on the break against the run of play and after that the game was done despite a couple of good chances for us missed. At the minute I understant and share many fans frustration and upset. The season started reasonably well but a few bad draws and now a couple of defeats means the pressure is on the new manager and his players more than ever. Turning round our club was never going to be an overnight job. It seems many of our players lack the discipline, mental capacity and overall belief to win games and play well consistently. Unfortunately, without the financial backing and ambition from the board we're not going to see improvement overnight. However, we have an excellent young manager and the basis of a good young team. Yes, the last 2 results have been poor but we will be back and we've seen some signs of improvement in some areas. At the same time however, I think our manager needs to be less stubborn and more flexible with his formation. In addition, we need to have XI players who afre the core team and we need to stick with them and not chop and change every game. We're all upset and an Old Firm defeat always hurts and hurst badly. But we will be back and we'll be back stronger than ever. WATP

Prso will be fit supposedly so I'll alter my previous team and play Prso instead of Martin...