Barebear

Update from Murty today: Bruno Alves is back in training. Sean Goss has a "neuropraxic injury", but not sure if he's out of the squad. Declan John is being assessed Ross McCrorie has had an injection and might be running soon.

How are we looking on the squad of injured guys we have? Kenny Miller - In full training, back on the bench awaiting full return. Jordan Rossiter - Back in full training, playing U20's matches. Lee Wallace? Bruno Alves? Ryan Jack - Out for the season? Had knee surgery? Ross McCrorie? Graham Dorrans - Had surgery? Due back March sometime? Anyone I've missed?

I wouldn't say John is a nightmare but he's just no very good. I don't really see what he brings, he's not exactly a flying wingback with a lethal Cross, he doesn't make late runs into the advanced areas and I think I can count on one hand the amount of shots he has had. As for defending, well, he's no Stuart Munro, is he. Wallace is sorely missed.

The form of the top 3 is exactly the same for the last five games. Three wins a draw and a loss. Just in a slightly different order for each. As far as season by season improvement goes, as long as we keep progressing, I don't care about the rest

I put that down to Partick being "up for it". We started to get much more on the ball after that. Holt lifted us a bit around that point by chasing down and winning the ball a few times. I wasn't too worried at that point, although there were a few hearts in mouths when Sammon hit the post. Not sure how we'd have reacted to that if it went in.

Hugh Burns really likes "big Bates". Another good performance but I wouldn't have handed him man of the Match. I'm becoming a big fan of Candias. What a supplier he is. Id love to see his assist record.

"Lone striker" is a bit of a misleading term I think. Especially with Candias and Murphy wide and cutting in, and Windass right there. Windass will almost be his partner. He won't be very lonely.

My ironic miss-spelling of his name in the title was a wee bit too ironic it seems.

Cheers. Alarm is set earlier. Hopefully it's worth it...

How's the weather in Glasgow? I heard from family it has been snowing? Is the game safe? I need to set an early alarm. It will be a 6:45am kick off here. I could get another hour in bed if the game is off.

Then he faked an injury to test the crowd reaction. According to the DR. Sounds like the guy was a bit of a wanker.

I’d keep him too. He’s turned in a string of solid 7’s with the odd 8, and we know how hard that is to come by.

I don’t know, we have seen a couple of ex players score against us this season but ultimately they should have been in the pocket of our defence. I’m not worried about Naismith. We should look at players with value and he is another probable Miller type that we can do without. Murphy, Dorrans, Wilson, Jack, and Jimmy Nicholl are all aware of how Rangers should operate and they should be able to pass it on to the new lads. Let Naismith go to Hearts, I say. I’d love to see him and Lafferty rip the scum to bits.

The “best squad ever” comment is what caught my attention here. He bullshits like a wrestler in a trash talk showdown.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-set-recoup-cash-expensive-11814307 Sorry it’s the Record but I couldn’t find his familiar words elsewhere. Rangers are set to recoup their cash on flop Mexican marquee signing Carlos Pena. Pedro Caixinha’s new club Cruz Azul have agreed to pay his weekly wage of £20,000 in full until the end of the season. They’ve also agreed to fork out almost £2million to make the transfer permanent this summer if he impresses on his return to his homeland after six miserable months in Scotland. Pena was in the stands at the weekend as Caixinha watched his new team being booed off after a goalless draw at home to Tijuana. The ex-Gers boss insists the Ibrox outcast will be a soaring success at his new club as he claimed the playmaker was flying at Rangers. Pena hit five goals but split the Gers support with inconsistent displays and his battle to get up to speed with the Scottish game. Caixinha said: “Pena is here and he will be a great signing. I know the qualities he can bring to Cruz Azul. “He was starting to fly in Scotland after taking time to adjust and he will be a great asset for us.” Caixinha’s reign got off to a stumbling start in front of 20,000 disgruntled Cruz Azul fans but the Portuguese manager is convinced his new team are a step up to the side he left behind in Glasgow. He added: “This is by far the best team I’ve managed in my career. “They are the best squad of players I have ever had to work with. We should have won but I think the fans can be pleased at the style of football we have played. “I want us to be aggressive and we were. When I won the league with Santos Laguna, we started with two defeats so I am not worried about only drawing. We will get better.”

Just goes to show that no matter what we do, there are whole shower of haters out there with some influence in the public domain that are determined to put a negative spin on every move we make. This transaction was was no more complex than any other deal out there yet it was painted as 1001 different reasons why we are incompetent and skint. In reality, we have just secured a player that will take us forward, adds depth by allowing Windass to act as cover, or move inside, and makes a statement, along with the appointment of Jimmy Nic, that we are working to a strategy of rebuilding the club with identity.

11 points to make up in the second half of the season. You think it can be done?

Good post mate. On your point about Murty setting us up as a hard to beat counter attacking team, that is a good observation. I reckon if we had a fully fit Kranjcar or Laudrup instead of Windass, the attacking system would work against the bus parkers. I think it only needs to have that one player with a bit of magic, oh and Ally McCoist to knock it in from five yards out.

It’s only a booking the first time around. If Brown for example, is on a yellow, and committed the same offence again, another yellow card would mean he would need to be ordered off, and that would just be silly, right? Is that not the rule in Scotland? On the other hand if we commit a dubious offence, the rule is safety first. Send the player off and rescind it on appeal, sometimes.

I’d like a signed copy please ?. I suspect John Kennedy is in the jannie’s room signing them for him now

Are the cracks starting to show? Brown was murder, I have no idea what position he was trying to play, but he was shown up big style. Brenda has a brass neck, no doubt he’ll come out in his patronising interviews after this and belittle everybody bar his own shower. Will be nice to see the sniping begin. We definitely bossed that second half and deserved to win. And they know it

I see by their pitch side adverts, Brenda’s got a book out ???

Totally agree 2 points dropped.

My first reaction was to be very happy!! In fact I am delighted. There’s a certain level of work ethic that I think he demands.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/42522424 Jimmy Nicholl will be the new assistant manager of Rangers. The former Ibrox player, currently number two with Falkirk, will leave his job at the Championship club after Tuesday's game against Dunfermline. Northern Irishman Nicholl, 61, had an earlier period coaching at Rangers, taking the reserve team under Graeme Souness in the 1980s. Now he will assist Graeme Murty, who has been assured he will be in charge of Rangers until the end of the season. Nicholl, who also had a spell as a player at Manchester United and managed Raith Rovers to a Scottish League Cup win in 1994, will also continue to work with Northern Ireland, having assisted their manager Michael O'Neill since 2015. Falkirk, second bottom of the league, host Queen of the South on Saturday before visiting the Pars on Tuesday. Rangers visit Celtic on Saturday at lunchtime and will then be on a winter break until the Scottish Cup fourth-round tie away to Fraserburgh on 21 January.