Dave M609

Sky Sports are reporting a fee has been agreed for Katic and some Croatian feed is reporting he has also passed a medical

Really hoping we can get this over the line as well, sounds like the lad has a lot of potential. Will be good to have a couple of big lads at the back as well, particularly for set pieces, its something we really need to work on, I will be happy if they are just solid though, that's the main thing.

The thing I find odd about the last week is the silence from all the other clubs, its deafening, are they happy to continue with the status quo, are they to scared to speak up, who knows, I thought there might have been more calls for a review if after the info that has came out. If it was the other way about I'm sure everyone would be all over it.

Great article and a lot of points and very well written. This is the first time in ages I feel rangers are really up for a fight, I get the feeling most other fans think that as well and you can sense Celtic fans being a bit uncomfortable about it.

Hit the nail on the head with the compliance officer as well, it has long been a gripe of mine, particularly the season just past, he let a certain lego muncher off with a few bad ones at the start of the season, inevitably there were similar tackles from other players of other teams, but he then can't punish him because Brown has free reign, so has basically backed himself in to a corner and his position has become obsolete.

I agree about the merchandise, when it is released I am going to be a full kit wanker, going to buy all three kits and a couple of mini kits for my wee ones. the club needs as much money as it can get and I think the new release might be the biggest we will have, some of that might be down to Gerrard as well.

On to the media, I think Gerrard is an astute appointment on that front as well, Gerrard is one of the darlings of English football, can you imagine how much coverage the game is going to get up here if the BBC Scotland sports writers start writing negative stories about Gerrard, English and McLaughlin will get there baws wrapped and handed to them. As you say this is a chance to educate people, and with Gerrard at the helm and the coverage he will receive, there is no better time.

#Lets Go

Anyone heard anything on Mo Besic of Everton and Hegazi from WBA, iv seen their names linked before but nothing more than that, seen a mention on twitter.

38 minutes ago, DMAA said:

I really hope we don’t waste more money on veterans at centre back. There’s absolutely no chance we’ve bid £4m for Skrtel though. Liverpool sold him for £5m 2 years ago when he was 31. 

The Brighton guy sounds like a good prospect. I’m confident those are the kind of guys Allen will be looking at. 

I know I'm the same mate, we don't need to be punting that much money on a vet, especially when Alves is still there. I think that price has come from Fener though, I would really like Skertl, he was a good centre half and he could more than cut it here.

I had a read about the guy from BHA, he looks a good player, however he has been out for a while because he had a heart condition and had to be operated on.

I have confidence in Allen as well, I think some of the guys he has brought in have been pretty good.

I haven't seen Shawcross in years so can't really comment on him, a bigger issue I have with centre half's is positioning and awareness, they don't necessarily need to be quick, but those two things are a must for me. As long as there are other players to support I don't see speed being an issue

I didn't think it was as much as 2 mill, I thought it was somewhere between 800k and 1.3 mill. I quite like murphy, maybe under the right manager he will shine more. I think his return hasn't been to bad though 4 goals and 5 assists since January, definitely something to build on

I thought Murphy was an obligation to buy rather than an option to buy. Did Windass, Tavernier and Morelos not just sign 3 year extensions or am I making that up

The thing that they are fucking up is the main man, the manager, the leader of the club, someone who commands respect, who can attract players that would otherwise be out of reach, that's why I'm glad we never got McInnes, who would he be able to attract, Niall McGinn, no thanks.

The board have a lot to answer for, but we cannot just simply get them all to fuck, they will continue to make appointments until they get it right.

I must admit I think Mark Allen has been a great appointment from what I have seen so far. On the evidence of last night the academy looks like they are producing good footballers, every time I see the U20's they are tanking some of the biggest teams in Europe.

So to me the biggest problem is the man in charge and don't get me wrong we have a number of issues with players. They need to get the manager correct, I am still up and down about Gerrard, the fact he has no real managerial experience gives me the fear but its fucken Steven Gerrard, who wouldn't want to play for him and I think he will be able to attract players that may have otherwise been out of reach. I know his reputation will only take him so far and he will need to have the resilience and character to pick the team up when the shit hits the fan.

On to the playing staff, I don't really care who leaves, we need a massive clear out though, to many players within that team do not have the mental strength or ability to play for Rangers. To many of them feeling sorry for themselves, they need a boot up the arse.

I think its because the storey was broken by a journalist called Andy Devlin who is meant to be pretty close to King

Was also wondering if this is sponsor driven, trying to promote rangers as a brand and get a lot more exposure.

Let be honest it wasn't that long ago Gerrard would have been in most folks world 11, this is a massive storey globally and maybe the board are weighing up success against how much money he could bring in to the club. Who knows, maybe I'm wide of the mark, just a thought.

Good chance we will be able to attract a higher standard of player, ther will be players that may have been out of our reach that will want to play for him, its a big selling point.

8 minutes ago, Bill said:

I think that's what worries me. There's no evidence whatsoever that he "commands" respect. He receives respect for what he's done as a player but I seriously doubt he has the personality to command anything, let alone Rangers. I hope I'm wrong.

Don't get me wrong Bill, I'm absolutely shiteing myself that this is going to be another disaster, but for a guy that has captained his country and captained Liverpool for however many years he must have something about him. I just hope he was paying attention to his managers because he has worked under a lot of good ones.

Yeah I agree, Hamiliton goal for me, cracking team goal

The thing I find weird is that Candias or Windass are not ahead of Forrest for POTY, how the fuck did Forrest get in there, the last few times they have played us he has been anonymous

No chance he is worth 5m to anyone, I have no idea where these ridiculous valuations come from, I'm guessing Lennon is just trying to get the best value for hibs but he is a 2-3 million player at best. I still don't get the fuss over him.

Every manager is going to be a gamble, even if you get an experienced manager it still might not work out. Don't get me wrong I would have preferred an experienced manager to steady the ship, just not sure who we could have got or afforded, see Ipswich's recent spat with Mick McCarthy and an owner who is trying to implement a plan but an older experienced manager wants more control, maybe that's why we are avoiding making a more experienced appointment.

Gerrard is a guy that has played at the top level of world football, won Champions leagues and captained his country, he commands respect. Just the route we are going down with the DoF in charge of recruitment it is going to be up to the manager to galvanise the team and get them playing, I have no doubt he will be able to do that with this squad, I'm just not sure how tactically astute he is.

DB, I think transfermarkt is out of date, iv heard that Swansea had an option of an automatic 1 year extension and they triggered it, might be able to get him on loan next year, unless Swansea are willing to part with him for a bit of cash.

4 minutes ago, SlimJim said:

https://www.premierleague.com/news/402106

I always thought he was a big target man but he looks half decent, the technique for that last goal was superb, I'm guessing he signed an extension with Swansea then, I seem to remember at one point he could have been picked up on a pre contract.

Man's an absolute helmet, he must just think everyone is a gullible idiot. That's a couple of times he has been caught out with daft shite like that, surely no one takes what he says at face value

Surely not, is that not just idiocy, they bang on about players like Wanyama and van Dijk who they bout low and sold high, surely its madness to spunk that much on loand players who you are going to have for just over a year, unless they think they can qualify for the champions league with them so they are hedging their bets, who knows but it seem mental if that's the case.

On to Alfredo, I really don't want the wee man to go, I like him a lot, he offers something different just with his sheer strength and workrate, however that may be out of our hands, if his head has been turned there isn't much we can do about it, we just need to get the best deal possible for ourselves, I wouldn't sell for less than 10 mill at the minute, we have been told he wants to stay but he may be getting a substantial wage increase over there, and if that's the case he goes with our best wishes.

If we do get a bit of dough I would hope a decent amount would be invested back in the squad, my punt if we have to replace Morelos - Jordan Morris of Seattle Sounders, although i'd like to see them take a chance on Oli McBurnie as well.

As a club we should always be pushing for 1st place, I can see where you are coming from Rosseau, we need to be more consistent, however if celtic don't strengthen in this window I can see us running them close, I think they are starting to wobble already.

#DareToDream

59 minutes ago, craig said:

Personally think we are too far behind in the league to catch them.  I just can't see them being weak enough to drop 11 points more than us.  We would need to win both remaining OF games and that is a big ask.  Hopefully I am wrong on all counts though.

 

The most pleasing thing about the Florida Cup for me is the resilience that the team showed in being 2-0 down to a decent Brazilian side and having the mental fortitude to pull it back - under both Warburton and Pedro the team wouldn't have had the mental strength to dig a result out of that.  Hopefully it is a sign of both confidence and stronger mentality under Murty that they could do so.

 

Agreed on the transfer front.  I must admit I have been VERY impressed with Goss, think he was probably our best performer in Florida - but we need to see him come up against a team like Motherwell to see if he can take the physicality of the Scottish game.  Signs are very good.  Murphy also did pretty well over there.  I haven't seen much of Docherty but seems he is almost universally wanted by the Rangers fans which means he is highly rated, likewise Jones.  Cummings, despite personality, knows his way to goal and has that "gallus" touch that we have needed for a while.  I think he could be a great success for us.  I disagree with pete (go figure, right pete ) - I don't think Cummings and Morelos are the same type of player.

I would have thought that to, however im sure Brenda is a bit of a bottler if the chips are down, a couple of bad results and they could crumble, especially if someone like Brown got injured, they are riding the crest of a positive PR wave, the SMSM think they can do no wrong. I think everyone knows how to set up against them now as well, more teams will have a go, im more worried about our consistency, we can't seem to string together results, however with the players we have added I think we will have a good second half of the season, plus we will have guys coming back from injury as well.

Iv got to say I would have been happy with Martin, Murphy and Docherty to strengthen the squad, but to be getting Cummings and possibly Jones as well, this transfer window will have been a massive success, not forgetting Goss as well, who I thought was a bit of an underwhelming signing, has looked pretty good from what I have seen of him, anyone that signs from now on is a bonus. There is a real feel good factor about the club just now, the florida cup also looks to have been a massive success and the squad look as if they were enjoying themselves and there is a real unity. Hopefully the second half of the season is a success. What do people think our chances are now should we get these guys over the line. Iv got to say if Celtic don't strengthen I can see us running them close. Don't want to start talk of the league title but its difficult not to get excited with everything that's going on at the minute.

17 minutes ago, ian1964 said:

What time are kick off in the UK?

first one is midnight Thursday and the second is 6pm Saturday

Yeah he will still be getting a percentage of his wage if he comes here