Soulsonic5791

When then, do we stop building in allowances?

Agreed. With the exception of the goalkeeper, it remains to be seen if the playing squad can handle that expectation. You could argue that the players on the books from last season that are still here struggle to handle it. I'm giving them all a fresh chance though. Four weeks is too short a timescale on which to base any judgement or predictions. If they show improvement tomorrow night, then we can collectively take comfort from things going in the right direction. Forza Gers.

This is the crux though Buster. From a realist point of view, I agree wholeheartedly about the group stages possibly being unrealistic given how they huffed and puffed the other night. But if we keep going into a season settling for the mediocrity of EL Group Stage qualification as representing success, then following Rangers will inevitably change and such diminished ambition will have repercussions which many fans (such as myself) don't even want to contemplate. A difficult thing to achieve given the new financial reality, but the maintaining of standards which sets us apart is something we cannot and must not lose sight of.

N.B. With regard to my last post, I'm obviously preaching to the converted and not coming away with anything earth shattering. I am though, detecting the first murmurs of doubt within the support caused by people being distinctly underwhelmed by Thursday night. I don't subscribe to this querying notion. However, if people who are predicting that SG could be another experimental theorist are proved to be correct, then Stevie is, in all likelihood, in for a rude awakening. I'm firmly in the 'he'll get it right' camp.

Agreed. Possibly correct re a loan. Money being spent is likely to be reduced especially in light of the delay in shirt sales. Easy to be smart with the benefit of hindsight but when King announced that Ashley had been sidelined last summer, it seemed too clean and tidy to me. Most people had a good idea that Ashley wouldn't go quietly, but many, as is usually is the case, preferred to take comfort from 'Rangers' coming out on top and focused on the trees rather than the wood. Surely Ejaria will be a squad player. SG can't be so naïve as to pin his creative hopes on him. Sunderland fans reckoned the boy to be murder. Different scenario of course but it points to the old adage, if someone can't cut it elsewhere, the chances of them doing the business at Ibrox are slim. As such, we should only countenance players on the way up (not that Ove is going in the opposite direction). To be fair to the manager, he's alluded to this notion in some of his interviews. Exactly. If we progress through the qualifiers to the group stage (fingers crossed) and players are added at each round, then that'll give us a feel as to realistic expectations for the first quarter of the league fixtures.

I'm hoping that it'll be a case of the team being greater than the sum of its parts. Not to mention that there is still a considerable amount of time left in the window, but I'm still holding out for a signing of an outfield player if a higher quality (loan or not) than we have acquired so far. That might be wishful thinking on my part but something at the back of my mind says 'if Scott Arfield is as good as it's going to get, we could see a broadly similar season this time round'. I'm not getting carried away here as it's still, very much, 'early days'.

Neil McKay - a horrible specimen. It's not called the Sunday Gherald for nothing.

SG is experimenting imho. And, I don't believe what he has said about Windass in a face value sense. If Windass doesn't cut it, he wont be in the team. Some fans are getting chills at reading his comments about the guy who publicly tells the support to be quiet. A bit of an overreaction if you ask me this early in, but I can see why people are jumping to conclusions. Hopefully, he'll get the best out if him and make us some coin.

Maybe 'Shug fae Glesga' knows a player when he sees one.

Wonder goalkeeper Frank Haffey??? Whenever you asked my Gran the time when it was half nine, she would always say 'nine past Haffey' referencing the famous 1961 England v Scotland game. Maybe some of the older bears can confirm for me, but I was always under the impression that Haffey was a poor keeper.

We managed to get a couple under 50 minutes. Being a bit rusty and not having a running order which specifies which contributor answers which question means that trying to be succinct and still articulate your opinions fully can be problematic from time to time. When we all get back into the swing of things I'm sure it'll tighten up naturally. I'm glad the Gersnet membership and non-members are generally liking it though - it's good fun from our perspective!

As innocent as this may seem, surely Collins shouldn't be discussing details of work permit meetings publicly.

I like the fact that Stevie places this pressure on himself and the players. The past two managers, Pedro to a lesser extent, asked for patience and tried to lower expectation. Gerrard knows that isn't going to wash. If you ask me, verbally, the guy hasn't put a foot wrong.

Dave's wide. As Bill says, if they are trying to shaft him then he will fight his corner and is well entitled to do so. If he is attempting to divest, would he still not be subject to some sort of sanction?

Brian Stockbridge was once a regulator for the Takeovers Panel.

Dave'll face them down. He might not win but he certainly won't lose. As Kieran Prior once said, 'he's a shrewd operator'.

Spiers is a pathetic, sanctimonious little oddity. The kind of wee see you next tuesday that'd get bitch-slapped by one of the hard lassies in the school playground. Apologies in advance here for preaching but we should file him under the same category as Ill three names. By all means monitor their output, but don't openly discuss him and give him the oxygen that he craves. The less we talk about them, the less controversial and newsworthy that they'll become. Eventually he and his ilk will become irrelevant.

People might jump down my throat here, but I think DJ used the word 'decade' because it feels like one since administration. There is no way that the current squad is better than the one Walter handed over to Ally, at least on paper. Even Derek knows that. If they can surpass the 2010-11 squad's achievements on the pitch (granted, a big ask) then the statement might not read back as badly as it semantically sounds. As the year turns during the season, it won't be a kick in the proverbial off a decade anyway. Who knows? Maybe he has said 'the best part of a decade' during the chat and it has been edited? All told, I reckon DJ is like any one of us, in that he is genuinely enthused about the players that were are trying to capture. I also reckon that the level of trust being afforded to Stevie and Gary by the support to get it right first time far exceeds that of Caixinha and Warburton before him. We all hope that they can collectively do the business and I think that they will in a positive fashion to the extent that I think that silverware of some sort will definitely be delivered this coming season. Being a glass half-full realist, I allowing myself to bask in the summer dream that 55 will be secured in short order though. Forza Gers.

Paul Jackson who used to be my GP, is apparently being moved sideways. He was asked to go full-time which reports say he didn't fancy. Some recent medical issues suggest to me that this move might not be a bad thing. Stevie obviously trusts the new Doc implicitly. It'll be interesting to see if general physical health and injury diagnosis and prognosis procedures improve.

Big Kev K the simpleton.

If Jordan is out for an extended period it will be a shame as he made a difference during the outing v Hibs to such an extent, that most fans would be looking forward to seeing him play this coming season. Hopefully it's minor.

RIP Mr Davis. Sad news indeed; two departed legends in the space of a week.

Why is everyone talking about this bottom feeder? You are only giving him the oxygen that he craves.

Surely his lawyers would be interested in this?

Yet another signal that Stevie won't allow us to be bullied this season. He'll inevitably attract some bad publicity in the short term but he has shown remorse for a poor error of judgment. I hope that he can put this and his injury troubles behind him and play well for us as he definitely has talent. And like Rousseau, I've a feeling that he'll be deployed on the left.