Search the Community

Rangers are reported to have rejected a bid for Madjid Bougherra from Terek Grozny. The ambitious Russian league club, managed by Dutch legend Rudd Gullit, revealed their interest in the Algerian defender ahead of last nightââ?¬â?¢s Sporting Lisbon game. Grozny, owned by Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, are said to have made an undisclosed offer for Bougherra. The Russian transfer window is still open which allows them to do business under Uefa regulations with clubs anywhere in the world. Speaking in his homeland, Terek vice-president Haidar Alkhanov admitted lodging an interest in the defender before going on to admit defeat in the pursuit. He said: ââ?¬Å?We have signed the Pole, Piotr Polczak from Cracovia. ââ?¬Å?As for another centre-half, Bougherra will not come. Rangers have refused to sell him to us.ââ?¬Â Grozny finished 12th in the Russian League last season and appointing Gullit last month has led to speculation linking them with a string of top players. Bougherra has consistently been linked with an exit as he heads towards the end of his third season in Glasgow. He will be asked to sign a new contract this summer with 12 months to go on his deal. However, if an agreement cannot be struck, then the man signed from Charlton for Ã?£2million will be sold on rather than let him run down his deal. PSV in driving seat after draw PSV Eindhoven have a good chance of facing Rangers or Sporting in the last 16 of the Europa League after a stunning fightback secured a 2-2 draw at Lille. Two last-gasp strikes from Wilfred Bouma and Swedish midfielder Toivonen stunned the French side who had been two up at the interval through Idrissa Gueye and Tunio de Melo. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/editor-s-picks/russian-bid-for-madjid-bougherra-is-kicked-out-1.1086044

Correct if I'm wrong, but assuming corporation tax is 26% then that percentage away from their turnover (�£27M) is just over �£7 million? Their debt has increased and the turnover has taken ST sales into account, their full year statement should be grim reading for the orcs since they only have matchday and other income that won't make big inroads left to come in. The sale of players has glossed over the accounts. Next year should be even worse for them since they don't have anyone who could demand such a high transfer fee like aids did.

It's been a couple of weeks now since the notorious Senegal forward joined Rangers on loan from Blackburn. Amidst a career of infamy - from spitting on mischief-making fans, to allegedly mocking injured players - it was no surprise to see the Scottish media jump on this transfer with unmitigated glee. A new villain of the piece was born and the usual hypocrites lined up to vent their spleen. To be fair, it wasn't only non-Rangers fans giving the lad stick. Many bears were also worried about the transfer - not just in terms of the negativity circus the lad attracted but also football wise. In his thirties now, Diouf was surely past his best and just another expensive 'big name' has-been after the Beattie mistake of August's window? Well, three games in and a slightly different picture has been painted from the one the detractors were so eager to depict. A tough d�©but against Hearts to start; an interesting main course versus Celtic to follow; finished off with a tasty Motherwell rout dessert; so far Diouf's influence has been a very positive one. In every game he's done very well; if still lacking in complete match fitness. Creative, hard-working and with a great touch, the lad is simply a first class football player. Whether it be just behind a central striker, running the wide channels or doing the dirty work in defensive midfield, so far he's shown an appetite for the game which is refreshing and well worthy of praise. Indeed, the biggest compliment I can give him at the moment is that he reminds me of Ronald de Boer in the way he finds space, dictates attacks and brings others into play. Add in a field of vision we don't often see in Scottish football, then Diouf is a fine addition to our squad. Nevertheless there has been an unsavoury aspect to his time in Scotland so far but ironically not from the man variously described as "a sewer rat", "a despicable human being" and "the most hated footballer in Britain". So far there have been a variety of outrageous tackles upon Diouf with hardly a whimper of contention from those who took umbrage at his signing. Add in the captain and manager of Celtic having their own less than dignified go at undermining Diouf's resolve; one wonders just how faulty some moral compasses are. I'm sure even a newcomer to Scottish football such as Diouf will be laughing at the double-standards of Scotland's self-righteous zealots. Of course, any praise of Diouf is somewhat premature. With four Old Firm games still to come this season, a SPL title to decide and a declining European reputation to reverse; this season is far from finished and Diouf's contribution is sure to attract more controversy at some point; his fault or not. Indeed, I don't doubt the worst is yet to come for Diouf given he's refused to buckle to the exaggerated attention placed on him so far. Let's hope he can maintain his composure ahead of even stiffer tests. If he can do the business in attack and ignore the school-yard cretins, I've also no doubt that we'll take great pleasure in continuing to call him an honourable (de) Boer in the summer!

RANGERSââ?¬â?¢ Europa League opponents Sporting Lisbon are embroiled in a messy civil war following the sacking of the clubââ?¬â?¢s director of football, Costinha. The former Portuguese internationalist was removed from his post after he broke ranks in a TV interview to accuse club directors of lying to supporters. Costinha openly questioned the clubââ?¬â?¢s ambition and claimed he and coach Paulo Sergio were not informed of plans to sell Liedson, the clubââ?¬â?¢s top scorer, to Brazilian side Corinthians on the last day of the January transfer window. He also criticised internal procedures and called for an ambitious regime to be installed at the upcoming presidential elections. ââ?¬Å?The Sporting fans are separated from the club because of the lies ââ?¬â?? things are always unexplained. Nobody has the courage to openly explain a number of situations,ââ?¬Â he said. ââ?¬Å?When that happens, fans tend to move away because you donââ?¬â?¢t know what is truth or lies. We are spending pennies compared to our rivals and it is not easy to manage this situation.ââ?¬Â Sporting travel to Glasgow next Thursday for the first leg of their last-32 meeting with Rangers. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/sporting-sack-costinha-ahead-of-rangers-tie-1.1084422

The 57-year-old fell ill yesterday morning and called an ambulance to take him to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, friends said. Johnstone was a popular football pundit on Radio Clyde for 25 years, but announced at the end of last month he was to join former Scotland teammate Alan Rough at arch-rival station Real Radio. A spokesman for his former employers at Clyde, where he anchored the Super Scoreboard show from 1986, last night expressed hopes he would bounce back from the heart problems as soon as possible. He said: ââ?¬Å?On behalf of all at Clyde One, Clyde Two and the Super Scoreboard team we wish Derek a speedy recovery and we wish him and his family well at this time.ââ?¬Â A spokeswoman for Rangers also voiced concerns for the veteran striker, a regular on the Ibrox teamsheet through the 1970s and early 1980s. ââ?¬Å?Everyone at Rangers sends him our very best wishes,ââ?¬Â she said. Friends of the former Scotland player said he felt unwell around 11.30 yesterday morning but managed to call for medical help himself. He is thought to be recovering in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley. In December 2005, Johnstone was rushed to hospital after a heart scare. He collapsed at a charity event and was kept in overnight at the Western Infirmaryââ?¬â?¢s coronary care unit. Originally from Dundee, it was with Rangers that Johnstone secured his place in football history during the 1970s. A uniquely versatile player, he racked up appearances for his club and national side in many positions, spanning attack, midfield and defence with ease. In 546 appearances for Rangers he scored 210 goals, including ââ?¬â?? at the age of 16 ââ?¬â?? the winner in the 1970 League Cup Final against Celtic. He made his debut for the national team in 1973, and joined Scotlandââ?¬â?¢s World Cup squad in Argentina in 1978. After 13 professional seasons at Ibrox he was signed by Chelsea, where he played for two years before moving back to Ibrox for a year and then briefly managing Partick Thistle. In 1986 he launched his second career as a pundit for Radio Clyde, and he was a regular on the Super Scoreboard programme for more than two decades. Last week, however, he announced his transfer to Real Radio, where he was to join Rough on the Real Football Phone-in show. ââ?¬Å?One of the major factors is I will be freed up at weekends to go and watch games,ââ?¬Â he said at the time. ââ?¬Å?I have been in the studio for many, many years every weekend at Clyde and not seen a lot of games, which I have really missed.ââ?¬Â He has still to take up his new post at Real Radio, reportedly because of legal issues around his move from Clyde. A Real Radio spokeswoman said: ââ?¬Å?We know Derek was in hospital for tests today and our understanding is he is absolutely fine and we look forward to seeing him soon.ââ?¬Â Station director Jay Crawford said this month he was ââ?¬Å?thrilledââ?¬Â to have Johnstone joining the Real team. Last month, Johnstone joined his former team-mates to mark the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox Stadium Disaster, which claimed 66 lives in 1971. Johnstone was married to his wife Marion for 21 years and the couple had four children together. In December 2006 he announced his engagement to former Miss Scotland June Lake. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/pundit-johnstone-suffers-suspected-heart-attack-1.1084338

HE could have gone to Liverpool and he could have gone to Tottenham, but here he was in Renfrewshire. If either of those Barclays Premier League heavyweights had got their way last week Charlie Adam would currently be one of the most expensive players in Scottish football history, carrying a price tag of just under Ã?£7m. For the time being heââ?¬â?¢s still at struggling Blackpool and no-oneââ?¬â?¢s ever paid more than Ã?£500,000 for him, but yesterday Adam could walk the corridors of the Scotland squad hotel knowing that heââ?¬â?¢s been the talk of the steamie. Itââ?¬â?¢s only a week since Sky Sports News spent transfer deadline day hyperventilating over three main moves: Fernando Torres to Chelsea for Ã?£50m, Andy Carroll to Liverpool for Ã?£35m and Adam to Merseyside or London. Only one of those was not completed but it was still a January window which redrew Adamââ?¬â?¢s profile. For a day or two he was one of the most talked about footballers in Britain. Who would have thought it? There were times when Adam was cast out to Ross County and St Mirren on loan. Heââ?¬â?¢s been jeered and an easy target as a Rangers player and was allowed to leave for buttons. The reinvention from footballing ugly duckling to swan seems to have been made with no feathers ruffled. He was the same likeable, vaguely bashful individual yesterday that he has always been. ââ?¬Å?It is like any other window,ââ?¬Â he said. ââ?¬Å?Everybody goes mental; Sky Sports goes mental. But it is like any other day in a footballerââ?¬â?¢s life. There is always speculation. Thatââ?¬â?¢s what happens. It is crazy but it has gone. The speculation has not affected me. Iââ?¬â?¢ve just gotten on with it. Iââ?¬â?¢ve dealt with it.ââ?¬Â Adamââ?¬â?¢s remarkable improvement reached the point where Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish made two unsuccessful bids, the second worth Ã?£6.8m. Spurs claimed they made an 11th hour offer for the same sum which was accepted by Blackpool but the paperwork could not be signed off in time. In the middle of it all Adam himself made a transfer request, which was rejected. He was less than chuffed about being denied the chance to leave. It was a dizzying episode for the 25-year-old. Even if he hasnââ?¬â?¢t switched clubs he still has the baggage of being rated at a supposed Ã?£14m by Blackpool manager Ian Holloway. ââ?¬Å?How can you value someone nowadays? At the end of the day people will pay what they want to pay. It is important to me that I just keep doing what I can for Blackpool. You know that there is a lot of money in the Premier League and you cannot help what people want to pay. ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢m fortunate, I played for one the Old Firm and I learned a lot of hard lessons there. I played a lot of big games and you have to be able to deal with it. So I think that stood me in good stead. Since leaving Rangers my career has just gone on leaps and bounds and that is what happens when you are playing regularly. Iââ?¬â?¢m getting enjoyment from playing in a good team, with good team-mates and a good manager. They should get the credit, too. If it wasnââ?¬â?¢t for them I wouldnââ?¬â?¢t be in the situation I am in. ââ?¬Å?You never know what will happen. Iââ?¬â?¢ll still have a year left on my contract when the summer comes and for me the focus is all on Blackpool. Iââ?¬â?¢m fortunate enough, I have played at Rangers, it is a massive club, and now I am playing in one of the best leagues in the world so how can I complain? It is nice to be complimented but you cannot be too excited or get ahead of yourself or it will be gone as quick as it has come.ââ?¬Â There must be embarrassment around Rangers about Adam. The club were shrewd enough to insert a sell-on clause which will give them 10% of any transfer fee above Ã?£500,000. Still, many will wonder why a player who was peripheral at Ibrox, and often a focal point for criticism from supporters, has blossomed so dramatically in a grander football environment. Did he feel he had proved people wrong since leaving Ibrox in 2009? ââ?¬Å?Yes, I do. There are certain people that I have proved wrong. I can have a smile on my face when I see certain people, knowing that inside they are hurting. You are always out to prove people wrong in this game. You canââ?¬â?¢t please everybody. When I step out on to the pitch Iââ?¬â?¢m there to prove and to show to people that I am good enough to play at this level.ââ?¬Â Like who? ââ?¬Å?I cannot name names, but there were people in football. You are always trying to prove people wrong.ââ?¬Â Did he mean the manager who sold him 18 months ago? ââ?¬Å?It is nothing to do with Walter Smith. I have got a lot of respect for Walter, for what he has achieved and for what he did for me. He gave me the opportunity to go to Blackpool and get regular football. I do not have any bad words to say about Walter. He is a terrific man and a great manager. ââ?¬Å?I never thought I was the whipping boy at Rangers. I got a bit of stick for my performances but you have to take it on the chin and get on with it. It was difficult but the most difficult thing for me was not playing. I would play one week and then not play for another four or five weeks. That was the hard thing. Fortunately now I am playing regularly in a top league and hopefully my performances have justified where I am. ââ?¬Å?I had periods of playing regularly under Paul Le Guen and Walter Smith but when you come through the ranks [at Rangers] it is more difficult to get in the side because the club spent money on players and the chairman wants to know why they are not in the team.ââ?¬Â He could afford to be diplomatic about his current club. His dad, also Charlie, probably revealed the familyââ?¬â?¢s feelings last week when he described Blackpool as ââ?¬Å?cheap-skatesââ?¬Â for wanting even more money for his boy. He claimed any transfer was blocked out of spite because Charlie recently took them to a tribunal over an unpaid bonus payment. No-one has enjoyed the flowering of Charlie Adam more than his father, who had reached a point where he found it too upsetting to come to Ibrox and witness his lad being jeered. ââ?¬Å?I have just bought a new house so he is down every week. He loves coming to watch and who wouldnââ?¬â?¢t when you are playing the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham? It was difficult for him to watch at Ibrox but that is the way it goes at the Old Firm. Someone has got to get the stick but I am enjoying the way I am playing and he is enjoying watching it.ââ?¬Â The same goes for non-relatives. The blossoming of Charlie Adam has been one of the most uplifting stories of the season. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/more-scottish-football/i-can-have-a-smile-on-my-face-when-i-see-certain-people-1.1083899

Given that we are yet again in the midst of potential take over talk , one question has always puzzled me , and it's this . Our debt is supposed to be about the �£27 million mark at the last report , and the price for a takeover is �£33 million , now bear with me , what happens to the profit that we will make this year from the C/l , transfer fee's , reduced playing squad , Europa league matches / Tv , and the Scottich cup money . In other words if as is being reported we are taken over by who ever for the reported amounts , does the club then have X amount in the bank for next year .

Now before I go any further this isn't a thread to back up Walter , the management team or anything else like that , I have just taken some time thinking about where we are at present after reading some of the usual knee jerk reaction not just on here but other sites as well . When Walter came back , let's not kid ourselves we were on our knees literaly , financially , players wise ,demoralised and defeated , he gave us our pride back and trophies not forgetting that magical road to Manchester , something I will forever be greateful for , yes ther have been blips along the way ,Kaunus was a major setback , however the financial strings that bind us were loosened as Murray feared greater fans revolt than the usual pathetic attempts by us as a support to protest against him . So after today's game what have we learned and where are we going , what we have learned is that we were poor , we seemed to lack desire and were more than happy seeing the game out , why is another story . Our squad is the weakest just about in living memory , it's filled with older journeymen , promising kids and loan signings , with a smattering of actual scouted players ie Jelavic . The facts are really simple to me , if and when we are actually bought over and the shortsightedness of today's squad building are hopefully behind us , then players will be brought in not just because we can afford them and they will fill a hole in the squad , but because they are right for the team and the way the manager wants to play. EHD had a good game today , but dont kid yourself on ,he was a desperation signing, we found out at 5 pm he was available and that Blackburn would cover the majority of his wages , the management team are getting slaughtered all over the place , but in their shoes how would you react , how would you go about building a side after losing your top goalscorer and not getting the transfer fee , reality time guys the fact we are still in all competitions is IMHO remarkable . Compare that to the taigs , they sold their alleged top player and brought in roughly 14 players , all were scouted , all were brought in intentionally to fit into a plan ,cast aside your opinions on them as a club or a team ,emotions and rivalry always cloud the issue . We brought in Beattie because we thought Jelavic was not going to sign , Weiss is only on loan and flits in and out , we dont really play him in a set position , only Jelavic can be really counted as class . Whether we win this league or not is up in the air , the way things are going and with yet another year of fixture congestion I would put it at 60-40 against , IMHO our only real hope for the future is that we get seperated from Murray asap , I think we all agree on that , whether this guy Whyte is the answer only time will tell , but the thought of reducing the squad further and being unable to offer contracts yet again to our top players frightened me to death . Finally , I hope walter is remembered for what he has done and the great times he has brought us , yes at times his formations are hair pulling , but at this time this bear is glad he is at the helm and I hope for all our sakes that the future is bright ....

I saw this on article on Yahoo but believe it was originally posted on Eurosport.com ...... not sure who penned it and won't claim there's much new but thought I'd share it anyway. Edit - seems it was written by one Desmond Kane (oh dear?) Rangers Pay the Price for Murray's Self-indulgence A fool and his money are soon parted. To leaders suffering from hubris, such a proverb can prove to be gruesomely true. As a spectacle, the game of football continues to contain an innate ability to reduce sober-suited, profitable businessmen to regretful rags. Sir Alan Sugar continues to be depicted as a wise old sage on television programmes such as The Apprentice, but the barrow boy from London's East End who discovered a a beach of gold after founding the Electronics firm Amstrad in the 1960s, never managed to use his gumption in avoiding the unique pitfalls of football. The world game remains a forum where can you can squander millions of your personal fortune for the love of one club, and continue to be booed by its supporters when you return. There have never been any laws of logic governing the fundamentals of football. Sugar conveyed the message that he viewed his period as the controller of Tottenham Hotspur in the 1990s as a waste of his time. "Football is about the only business in the world where it's embarrassing to make money," said Sugar. Football is not the only business in the world where it is embarrassing to lose your bread, but it can prove to be the most painful. The dearth of funds affecting Glasgow Rangers, champions of Scotland over the past two seasons, would be embarrassing if it was not so serious. As chairman of a club in the English Premier League, Sugar made money on his controlling interest in Spurs when he sold up a decade ago. He received Ã?£22 million for two thirds of a stake that he paid Ã?£8m for in 1991. Sir David Murray, the owner of Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, put up around Ã?£6m for the Glasgow club three years earlier, but looks likely to be left with nothing more than a series of gilded and galling memories when he finally departs a scene he has been trying to escape with some urgency for several years. He will be left bereft of vast financial rewards for investing his emotional capital in Rangers. In trying to apply the Midas touch to the game of football, Murray has been left badly scalded. There is a growing sense that the worst is yet to come for Rangers as the club is forced to face up to its fiscal responsibilities. Debt has gripped Rangers since the former Dutch coach, Dick Advocaat, was given carte blanche to blow over Ã?£80m on players over a decade ago in an attempt to furnish the Ibrox trophy room with the European Cup, a vision commensurate with such an extravagant commitment to excess. Pride comes before a fall. Common sense, if not finance, was in short supply when Rangers began spending money they evidently did not have. The Glasgow side are again jousting with their eternal foes Celtic as they pursue a third successive Scottish Premier League gong this season in a championship that has not been won been by another club side since Sir Alex Ferguson ran Aberdeen in 1984. They do so against severe financial hardship. Having failed to find a buyer for Rangers over the past few years, Murray has been conspicuous by his absence in failing to inform the fans of what is going on. These are the same diehards who lavished praise upon the proprietor for helping them match Celtic's record of nine successive domestic titles in 1997. It must be said, the supporters of Rangers deserve better than they are getting from a figure who once liked to project himself as a figure of dignity in a rabid Scottish football scene prone to moments of madness. Murray bought Rangers in 1988 before leading them to the fore of British, if not quite European football. To a neutral, Murray is a man to be admired, a brave figure who recovered from losing his legs in a horrific car crash in the 1970s. He is one of the country's leading businessmen, a so-called pillar of society and owner of one of the country's largest sporting institutions, but money never made a man. Before the advent of Sky Television and the English Premier League as we know it in 1992, Rangers were arguably the biggest and wealthiest football club in the United Kingdom. Funded by Murray, Rangers reversed the trend of talent departing Scotland for more lucrative shores. Mark Hateley, Brian Laudrup, Paul Gascoigne and Giovanni van Bronckhorst are a selection of the names to have washed up at Ibrox during Murray's stewardship, but all this has come at a price. It is a price they now seem unwilling, or unable, to pay. The owner's treatment of Rangers since around 1998 has proved classless bordering on reckless. The sums involved are truly astonishing, and not just in unloading Ã?£12m to purchase the much-maligned Norwegian striker Tore Andre Flo from Chelsea a decade ago. Net debt at Rangers reached Ã?£82m in the early part of the previous decade, but they have not yet got their house in order. Murray remains owner in name only with the club's bankers Lloyds TSB taking an active interest since the recession bit deep into his company Murray International Holdings three years ago. To cut a longish story shorter, Rangers are inextricably linked to Murray's other assets. They have taken a hit, and Rangers have been dragged along for the ride. It is unclear where the final destination for the club will be in all of this. Run in the interests of Lloyds, who are attempting to claw back debts of Ã?£27m, it is interest on an unpaid tax bill that leaves Rangers sporting a jaundiced look. Prospective buyers Andrew Ellis and Craig Whyte have appeared to be Walter Mitty characters in failing to purchase the club, but it seems the figures do not add up for them. If they are toying with the idea on whether investing in football makes sense, they need only study the man they are buying the club off to understand the pitfalls of such a foolhardy venture. Money spent without care on Scottish football tends to be money lost. It must be assumed that the real reason why Rangers have not yet found a buyer to purchase the club is that no prospective owner wants to be left with an estimated tax bill of Ã?£24m and interest of Ã?£12m, a figure touted by several commentators on the subject, once a hearing into the case is played out in May. If you read some of the literature swirling around this mismanagement, added penalties for failure to pay tax to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over wages paid into offshore accounts to the club's employees in the past decade could apparently see the tax bill rise to over Ã?£50m by the end of next year. This is before the bank debt is totted up. There remains a possibility that Rangers could be forced into administration when this reaches a crescendo. Rangers look unsellable unless some rich Sheikh in the Middle East decides he suddenly has a penchant for golf or the Scottish Highlands. There has even been talk about Glasgow City council coming in to to take over the running of Ibrox Stadium and leasing it back to Rangers. It is little wonder that Lloyds Bank are refusing to release sizeable funds for new faces if the tax man is about to take back what is his. None of this is good news for the general health of Scottish football. Rangers opted to sell top goalscorer Kenny Miller, a man who had discovered 22 goals in the SPL this season, to Turkish champions Bursaspor for Ã?£400,000 at the outset of the January transfer window rather than watch him walk away for free during the summer months. This was a decision taken by the bank. If Rangers were in rude health, Miller would have signed a long-term contract last year. He walked away because the club is financially paralysed, unable to meet his demands. They were apparently outbid this week by Celtic for the attacking Derby midfielder Kris Commons, who was offered a modest Ã?£20,000 per week compared to the maximum of Ã?£15,000 Rangers could unearth. Who would have countenanced such a possibility when Murray vowed to put down a tenner for every fiver Celtic spent a few years ago? Rangers now toil to stick down a ha'penny without the permission of the bank. Of course, apart from the loss of face, these are trivial moments compared to the wider issues. It is ironic that for a club which wraps itself in the Union Jack and God Save the Queen, Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs could help Rangers plunge into a period of deeper despair. Murray must shoulder the blame. He used to court interest from a fawning Scottish press in the 1990s when money was no object. A few newspapers in the country were furnished with a bottle of Scotch from the Rangers owner back in the day, but he is nowhere to be seen when the going gets tough. The constantly impressive Walter Smith has helped Murray by luxuriating in trinkets since he returned to manage Rangers in 2007 a decade after he oversaw nine-in-a-row, winning with the spine of a team purchased three years ago. An appearance in a UEFA Cup final and two SPL titles in three seasons suggest Smith is more an alchemist than a football manager, but he has been left exhausted by his inability to strengthen his squad. It would not surprise this onlooker to see Smith manage in the English Premier League or Championship next season if he so wishes. At least Sir Alan Sugar got out of the cursed business with millions for his shares in an English Premier League concern. Not so Murray. His silence on the subject speaks volumes. "There is a massive moonbeam of success coming to us. We've got big plans," said Murray at the time he bestowed the job of manager upon Paul Le Guen in 2007. Such sentiments now sound like the utterances of a fantasist. Rather than Sugar, perhaps history will remember Murray as a man who was more similar to Leeds United under Peter Ridsdale, a custodian of a club who believed his own press, a figure who spent money without preparing for an economic downturn that was just around the corner. 
As has been said in other quarters, such treatment of a great club like Rangers amounts to a form of financial vandalism. The fans will thank Murray for fuelling their rise to nine-in-a-row, but they are also discovering that the road to ruin lies in living outwith your means. Time may yet be a great healer for Rangers, but in poring over the effect of the Murray years at Ibrox, it has also been a great revealer. His empire appears to have been built on shifting sands.

From the BBC. How the feck did he earn that tag?

I noticed the Webster Thread further down the Board, and remembered reading on Follow Follow a possible reason for the Webster no show at Rangers. If it is allowed I will re-produce the post here, make of it what you will.... Rangers tried to sign Webster from Hearts in summer of 2006, but Romanov refused to allow it. It was then decided to use a loophole in Article 17 of FIFA's Regulations, allowing him to cancel his contact with Hearts and sign for a Club in another country. An agreement was then reached that he would go to Wigan for a few months, before coming to Rangers, as a way around the Romanov problem. On 4 January 2007, he signed for Rangers on a 6 month loan deal, from Wigan. Romanov complained to UEFA and FIFA about our loan deal, but they okayed it. However Romanov, refused to accept this and appealed the decision. As a result, FIFA decided that he cancelled his contract with Hearts without just cause and without giving 15 days notice. He was ordered to pay Hearts �£625,000 compensation and suspended by FIFA for the 1st 2 games of the 2007/08 Season. Webster expected Rangers to pay that fine, as part of the transfer, but they refused and he took the huff. In Jan 2008, the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided on appeal to reduce his compensation payment to Hearts to �£150,000. Rangers still did not pay that fine, Webster took a hefty hit and was raging at the Club's attitude. The loophole in Article 17 was obviously not his idea and he possibly has a point. Apparently many within Ibrox sympathised with him, but it doesn't excuse his reluctance to play for 4 years.

Thought I would take the chance to have a quick over view of where we are and how we may move forward . Firstly what we know or believe we know . 1. We are in debt to the sum of approx �£25 million give or take , we have an agreement to reduce a term loan by �£1million per year and also it is muted reduce our need of an overdraft by a simillar amount depending on who you believe . 2. We have an ongoing issue with HMRC which has yet to even reach the stage of a first tier meeting and as yet no figure/amount has been demanded , in fact as we speak we still dont even know if we have any outstanding amounts to settle . 3.The squad , which was thread bare to start is 3 less than it was , though I would argue we are actually stronger than we were this time yeaterday . Miller will definetly be missed , Velicka nope , Webster nope .Beattie nope and Loy and MacMillan were only taking wages , now we have Healy , Diouf and Bartley , all may be onloan but all will be involved . 4. Taking away from the personalities and everything else , we are also up financially after this window , Healy took a cut in wages to play for us at �£4000 pw , Blackburn were offering to pay for Diouf to go (wages that is ) so I dont see him costing the earth , dont know about Bartley . So all in all we may be up as much as �£40,000 per week up on the deal plus Miller,s transfer fee and the small amount for Loy. 5. Does this actually do us any good in the long run , if we keep challenging , and as it stands ,if we win our games in hand we are top , why would Lloyds or Murray for that matter want to sell us , the debt is getting reduced , we are being successful and the asking price will not be changing , so Murray and Lloyds win we carry on in a groundhog day sort of way . 6. Our ambitions will never be met by the present board at Rangers , because they will never be allowed to spend the money we are bringing in , we are like George Orwell's 1984 , where we are forever fighting a war against unknown , unseen and never heard from enemies , whether it's Murray , Lloyd's or HMRC the battle is always there and our ambitions and hopes are always tempered . In a way its a bit like waking up every morning and being force fed a Valium . So what's the answer ,f**k knows but this is Rangers from 2001 .......every day is groundhog day and this bear is getting worn down by it all .

OK then gentlemen - the window has shut again for another season and we've managed to keep the bulk of our squad together for our SPL title challenge. To that end, what would now be your preferred first XI? Do we stick with the experience of Weir and McCulloch or do we sacrifice their influence for the freshness of youth? Post your preferred first XI now! :sw: :mb: :sp: :ehd: :sd: :me: :vw: :sn: :nj: Yummy!

�£50m for Torres who although has had a poor season by his standards is still an excellent player. Andy Carroll on the other hand is heading to Liverpool after the clubs agreed a �£30m fee. Have I missed a few seasons or something? He's scored about 10 goals this season which hardly equates to earning a �£30m fee. I'd be fucked off if I was a Liverpool fans but laughing if I wa a Geordie.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/michael-grant-on-monday-1.1082711 The first suggestion was that Craig Whyte might be able to rush through a takeover and own Rangers in time for Christmas. Then he supposedly wanted to have the reins in time for the January transfer window so he could plough in some funds for signings and an enhanced contract offer to Kenny Miller. Christmas is over, Miller is away, the window closes at 11pm tonight, and still there is no Whyte. Not a peep has been heard and sources have said nothing is likely to change. It is now 74 days since the story broke that he wanted to buy the Ibrox club. It wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that the most pressing matter on Whyte’s mind now is how best to spin his retreat from the Ibrox doorstep. Not much is clear about Rangers’ ownership and information remains contradictory about whether or not the club will end up in Whyte’s hands, but there has been absolutely nothing in their January activity to suggest this is a club on the brink of new ownership. They submitted a bid for David Goodwillie which Dundee United rejected, and that was that. No increase, no bargaining, just a withdrawal from the table. They effectively agreed a fee with Derby County for Kris Commons only to realise they weren’t able to follow it through when he asked for Ã?£20,000-per-week. Whatever impact David Healy may go on to have for them, the fact remains that he wasn’t the first or even second forward on their wanted list. The Commons move said it all. The best Rangers could manage was several thousand pounds per week less than he was able to get from Celtic. If the most Rangers can offer now is about Ã?£14,000-per-week, they risk being outbid by their rivals for any player they might want in the foreseeable future. Agents routinely offer the same player to both clubs (same city, same league, same status of club) and their obligation to do the best they can for a client means they would naturally try to play one club off against the other if it might hike up the wages on offer. The Commons deal might not be the last time Rangers are gazzumped by Celtic. Rangers also risk not being able to keep hold of Madjid Bougherra, Steven Davis and Steven Whittaker, who are all out of contract at the end of next season. All three will believe they can get more money by leaving than re-signing. It’s easy to see all three of them going the way of Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller, departing for little or nothing. Lloyds Banking Group’s aggressive clawing back of the debts accumulated under Sir David Murray have been cold and clinical and still it goes on, relentlessly. Around Ã?£22m of the Ã?£27m debt is owed to Lloyds and they continue to be voracious in trying to get it back. “Whether we think it’s fair or not, it doesn’t really matter because we are not getting any kind of reaction any time we ask about it,” said Walter Smith recently. Lloyds don’t look at the football implications of anything. They aren’t interested in speculating to accumulate, which is why they were unmoved by the case for keeping top goalscorer Miller and increasing the likelihood of winning the league and reaching the Champions League. To Lloyds, Ã?£400,000 for Miller sounded a whole lot sweeter than nothing for him in the summer. They don’t give any ground, no matter how often or how passionately the case is made by Smith or chief executive Martin Bain. Those two must feel they are banging their heads against a brick wall. It isn’t going to change. Lloyds want another cut to the wage bill for next season, another Ã?£1m off the players’ salaries. They see themselves owed a big pile by a club facing reduced television income, the possibility of no Champions League money, and even some reduction in season-ticket sales. They see a possible Ã?£36m bill, plus penalties, from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs tax investigation which might hang over the club for another 18 months or so. They aren’t sitting back, waiting for Whyte or anyone else to pay back the money they’re owed. They’re working to get it back through a thousand cuts. Others won’t shed tears for Rangers. Even Ã?£14,000-per-week is way above what any Scottish club except Celtic can pay. Even after Miller’s departure they have four strikers on the books who cost Ã?£11m in transfer fees alone. They aren’t in this mess because of Lloyds, but because Murray allowed the debt to soar in the first place. It’s just their misfortune that Lloyds are being as brutal as a loan shark when it comes to claiming the money back. If it’s exasperating for Smith and Bain, then what must another central figure be making of it all? What kind of job is Ally McCoist going to inherit in four months’ time? Celtic appointed an inexperienced manager last summer, but crucially they backed him with the money to buy his way out of trouble. Rangers will not be able to do that. McCoist will swell with pride when he becomes manager, but there has never been a worse time to inherit the job he has always wanted.

Posted this on another forum and it's creating a tidy debate. Thought I'd post it here to see what you guys think: Going by our free-fall into the financial abyss and lack of ability to be proactive with players contracts, would you? Also, when cash is tight and the squad requires players that can do their bit throughout a season, why would you sign an over hyped player, Beattie, with injury problems....injury problems that have been a focal point of his career. Now we're being linked with Healy and Riordan! And most us would agree that both aren't any better than what we have just now. So that would make 3 players earning but contributing very little. We've sold our top goal scorer because we don't want to lose him for nothing, yet we're prepared to spend the little cash we have on duds. I said it at the time, that the club has valued our title and CL qualification on the cost of Millers transfer. I fear I just might be proved correct! Can someone explain the logic in what we're doing?

I find it interesting and hugely disappointing to look at Rangers and Celtic today and consider the mirror image we saw twenty years ago. Who remembers Celtic's transfer dealings back then and didn't find them satisfyingly pathetic, desperate even. We looked at some of the players they were bringing in and we knew, we absolutely knew, they would fail. We understood it was all they could afford and we gloated because we also knew with total assurance that those signings were simply consolidating failure within the walls of parkhead. We saw their squad as mere confirmation of the superiority of Rangers and the widening gulf between our success and their failure. Now look at the two clubs today and the situation appears to be completely reversed. It strikes me that we have increasingly little prospect of winning the league title this season .... unless of course you win titles merely by wishing it. Our squad is already threadbare, our signings increasingly pointless, and every bit as desperate and deprived as those of celtic twenty years ago. I fear what then lay in front of them now lies in front of us and no amount of bluster and bravado will change the inevitable, final decline of Murray's rotten boasts all those years ago. Why state this now? Just indulging in self-pity? Well no, it would be nice to think that if we would actually admit what lies ahead of us, we might not feel inclined to wait two or three years before expressing what we think about it. We might want to think about persuading the likes of Bastard Murray that he should shoulder public accusation for the result of his management policies at Rangers. Most people call it protest.

Don't really know much about Suarez other than wathcing him at the WC2010. Could be a good bit of business for Liverpool though if they do sell Torres to Chelsea for anything between the �£40m and �£60m that's being reported. A nice tidy profit for Ajax too.

Cast your mind back ten years to season 2000/2001. Ronald de Boer signed from Barcelona; Tore Andre Flo signed for a transfer fee that will never be matched in Scotland; and a squad containing names such as Amoruso, van Bronckhorst and Klos - we could even afford to let Andrei Kanchelskis go on loan to the EPL and Man City for half a season. This was the start of a new decade under the continuing custodianship of David Murray - where he summed up his personality and ambition at the time with one simple quote from 2000 - "For every five pounds Celtic spend, we will spend ten". Most Rangers fans everywhere were enjoying the regular spectacle of Murray lording it in the media. Indeed the word 'moonbeam' didn't exist in those days. Speaking to Michael Grant in the Sunday Herald in late 2001, the loss of the league in 2000/01, coupled with rising debt hadn't affected the gallus 50 year old David Murray. In fact, he was as confident as ever in his club's future and given the success he'd help bring in during the 1990s, he had every right to be. Surely one season without the title wouldn't affect our operations ten years later? After all, Murray spoke candidly of 'being guilty of looking for short-term fixes', 'not wanting to sell the club', and that while he felt a major football club would go out of business it 'wouldn't be Rangers'. Juxtapose such warranties with comments about tying players down on long term contracts and ring-fencing the club against future losses, most of us bought into the security offered by an owner who had helped bring back success to the club along with the vision of Holmes and Souness. Unfortunately, less than a year later, we found out we were �£50+million in debt, Murray had stepped down as chairman and Alex McLeish was to preside over a 'short' period of 'downsizing'. "Not to worry," said new chair John McLelland at the 2002 AGM, "we won't lose sleep over it." With tax 'queries' originating from that period's wage-book casting their shadow over the club, to the ongoing saga over its ownership and declining ticket sales; one wonders if McLelland is sleeping well nowadays. Of course, while it is easy to pick through old newspaper interviews and make anyone look bad, our present situation is something to worry about given the assurances given back then. Players are no longer 'locked away' on long term contracts, we are the ones bringing players IN on loan (from Aberdeen!) and it is Celtic spending the kind of money that was pocket change for us ten years back. The ever-loyal Rangers fan-base still has no long term vision to buy into. Indeed, in 2001 Murray specifically alluded to the wider problems of a declining Scottish product and the Old Firm dominance being problematic for its future. Prophetic words but our club are as guilty as anyone in being over-reliant on TV money and selfishness. Why did we not heed our own warnings? Furthermore, from Sir David Murray to John McLelland to Martin Bain; the same people are in charge of guiding the club through these same deep financial waters. Or at least, they appear in charge - with allegations of bank interference (the Lloyds Banking Group have an increasing stake in Murray's company, thus an increasing stake in Rangers' operations) still rife in the media and amongst the support. The supporters - expected to part with their season ticket money again in a couple of months - have no idea of what's true and what isn't with mixed messages the only certainty in Rangers' dealings with us. Whether it be current chairman Alistair Johnston or even Walter Smith, we just don't know who is being straight with us. Therefore, at some point, we have to ask ourselves who is in such a position to know the truth, to deliver genuine answers and to lead from the front. Well, only one man still owns Rangers and only one man has the power to make the decisions that truly affect our club's well-being. Yet he is missing in action, absent without leave and by failing to lead he only lends weight to the criticism he vigorously defends. I'll conclude with another quote from that interview in 2001: Again, it is easy to find fault with comments that were only truly relevant when they were said. But is it clear from Murray's own words that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Sir David Murray will be 60 later this year. Will that represent an epiphany for a return to the front-line of a owner who once excited us all? Or will it be the final nail in the stewardship coffin of a once successful businessman whose interest in Rangers died as soon as it threatened the well-being of his personal wealth. Where is our owner and what is the future of our club?

Hopefully this is Bullshit but it was said on here he would probably end up with them.

Arsenal sent a scout to Hearts' meeting with Rangers yesterday, with the north London club understood to be monitoring the form of Allan McGregor. Aston Villa, Manchester United and Sevilla have all been linked with McGregor, the Rangers goalkeeper who is expected to generate a transfer fee of about �£5m if, as is likely, he departs Ibrox at the end of the season. Madjid Bougherra, the Rangers defender who has been linked with Arsenal in the past, also played in Hearts' 1-0 win at Tynecastle. McGregor, who turns 29 this month, was a virtual spectator despite his team's defeat. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal's scouts continue to study him as they look to solve what has proved a troublesome position for Ars�¨ne Wenger. McGregor's age may count against him, with Wenger generally in favour of signing younger players. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/23/allan-mcgregor-hearts-rangers?

The following is from BBC Sport website .... looks to me like a clear pre-cursor to the deal falling through ..... but I suppose we continue to live in forlorn hope ..... By Alasdair Lamont Craig Whyte remains hopeful of concluding his proposed takeover of Rangers before the end of January. Whyte has been in negotiations with the current owner Sir David Murray since the middle of November. He had hoped to complete a �£33m deal before Christmas, but due diligence has taken longer than Whyte expected. Meanwhile, the Rangers Supporters' Trust chief has warned that fans could boycott Lloyds Bank if they continue to deny Rangers funds for squad building. Whyte considers the matter to be largely in Murray's hands at this stage, with Whyte's lawyers and accountants awaiting responses to a number of queries from the current owner. He expects that following a period of relative inactivity over the festive period, which he found frustrating, the pace of negotiations will now pick up. However, if Whyte can conclude a deal soon, he hopes to be able to help Rangers manager Walter Smith strengthen his squad. On Thursday, Smith bemoaned the current financial constraints at the club, stating that he would be unable to bring in new players unless he sold first. Stephen Smith, chairman of the Rangers Supporters' Trust, reiterated their stance regarding Lloyds Bank's involvement with the club. "The sooner Lloyds are disentangled from the running of Rangers Football Club the better," he told BBC Scotland. "I'm as worried now as I was last year when the manager felt strongly enough to publicly criticise the bank's role. "We've had a successful Champions League campaign, we're guaranteed at least two more European games, yet there has still been no change in attitude from Lloyds. "We're challenging for four competitions and that's why the size of the squad is a concern. "If the manager's saying we need help, why are Lloyds behaving in such a vindictive way towards Rangers? "If that begins to materially affect Rangers on the park, we will certainly look to take action to try to change that. "Getting the Rangers family involved in a boycott of Lloyds bank can't be ruled out." As of September 2010 Rangers' debt stood at �£27m. While Smith was allowed to conduct some transfer business in the summer - including the purchase of Nikica Jelavic for �£4m - his hands have been largely tied on that front for the past three seasons. The Scottish champions trail league leaders Celtic by four points, although they have two games in hand. However, as things stand, Smith will have to challenge in all domestic competitions, as well as in the Europa League, with the same small squad of players. Meanwhile, across Glasgow, rivals Celtic appear likely to bring in more players during the January transfer window. Champions League participation over the last two seasons has helped Rangers go some way to alleviating their financial problems. But failure to win the Scottish Premier League again this term, and thereby miss out on the lucrative Champions League, would reverse that trend and make things even more restrictive for whoever succeeds Smith as Rangers manager next season

The past few years we've been fed all sorts of stories from the press, online 'sources' and the club itself regarding our financial position We've had Ellis then Whyte look seemingly close to a deal. only for both to disappear like it never happened. The past two seasons Walter has publicly stated the bank runs Rangers, yet we've been told by the club we have a minimum payment that's easily within our grasp. Now January comes, our top scorer is sold and there's no sign of the squad being strengthened. Last year, financially, was a good year with the debt going down and profit posted. This year should be even better given our improved performance in the Champions League! So, why are we unable to beef up the squad? Why do potential buyers appear then disappear? Why does Walter come and say the bank runs Rangers when Bain has told us we have a new working relationship with the bank, which includes a workable payment plan. Not sure of the exact figures, but half our squad, or more, will be out of contract or entering the last six months of their contract this time next year - why aren't we sorting this out now? It seems we wait until the last minute and receive a minimum fee that won't give us much leverage in the transfer market. What about the rumours of the rabid tim on the board of Llyods bank? Lego has alluded to him on a number of occasions as has some online bears. Surely if it were true Walter or the club would make a play on it? With all this going on the club has on numerous occasions this season warned fans about their behaviour. It seems to be a focal point as if it's important. If the club had any sense of loyalty they would, IMO, sound out all the other offenders in football, case in point Celtic. The yahoos seem to act with impunity and nothing bar the odd snippet is reported. I think you'd have to be naive to actually believe they're not writing letters, sending emails or faxing the football authorities about us, in their effort to deflect attention away from them. They do it very well too. Furthermore, where the hell is Murray? He's still the owner and, IMO, accountable to the fans, particularly ST holders. Slight rant and I've probably went of at a tangent, or I'm reading too much into what's going on at our club. However, does anything seem to make sense at Rangers? Nothing smells right at the moment.

http://www.extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/4795/ Cork youngster making his name at Rangers 0 commentsby Alan Smith Thu, Jan 20 2011 When Alan Smith first stepped in between the posts for Springfield Ramblers as a fresh-faced schoolboy at nine years of age, nobody would have imagined that shortly after his 17th birthday Rangers would hand him a professional contract. An Irish player signing for the club on the blue side of Glasgow might be very much a rarity in the footballing world, but itââ?¬â?¢s not the only unusual story in Smithââ?¬â?¢s rapid rise to prominence. Having originally made his name playing for Springfield and the CSL inter-league side, the Cobh-born stopper earned a deserved call-up to the Irish underage setup. Although there was nothing unusual about that, as a host of local players find themselves representing their country at various age groups every year, what soon followed was the first surprising turn in the burgeoning career of one of the most promising Irish goalkeepers around. After other teams around the country took notice of his authority in the area and terrific shot-stopping ability, Smith was approached by Dublin side Crumlin United to become their goalkeeper, not too long before a new rule was implemented by the SFAI blocking such moves. Nowadays, it is impossible for a player to sign for a club so far from his home, meaning long distance commuting to play football at underage level is now banned. Smithââ?¬â?¢s move, though, came before the ruling was introduced and he has reaped the rewards since he was spotted by the Dublin side. Firstly, the transfer meant he established an even bigger role in the international setup under the guidance of Sean McCaffrey, with arguably more emphasis placed on Irish scouts watching players plying their trade nearer the capital, before finally he was spotted by the Scottish club while starring for Crumlin. ââ?¬Å?I started with Springfield when I was six or seven,ââ?¬Â he says of his beginnings at the seaport town. ââ?¬Å?Originally, I was playing outfield but I finally moved into goal when I was playing at under-9 but then once I was about 11 everything started to happen for me. ââ?¬Å?I played in the Kennedy Cup then for the Cork inter-league team and an Ireland call-up came for a tournament called the Hibernian Cup. That call-up came just after I played in the Kennedy Cup, so for my first full international I was still playing at Springfield. ââ?¬Å?From the Irish games I played that year, the Crumlin manager spotted me and invited me to the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland to play and be involved for the week. That went well and it just kind of happened from there. I was then spotted by Rangers playing for Crumlin by a scout called Paul Hammond, and that would have been at around under-16 level.ââ?¬Â Moving to a big club cross-channel is always a daunting prospect, with droves of players failing to settle down due to homesickness every year, but Smith believes he has fitted in well despite the big change in scenery from the playing fields of Cobh and Crumlin to Rangersââ?¬â?¢ state of the art Murray Park base. ââ?¬Å?I was at some other clubs on trial, but there werenââ?¬â?¢t any other serious offers at the time. Just things like offering me another trial. To be honest, I settled in at Rangers fairly quickly,ââ?¬Â he says with an air of coolness. ââ?¬Å?I had been away from home a lot for the past few years so it wasnââ?¬â?¢t a major change. I had been on trial at other clubs since I was 13 and my first trial was at Nottingham Forest, so I havenââ?¬â?¢t found it hard settling in at all.ââ?¬Â That initial bedding in period was helped, of course, by making a solid debut for the under-19s in a pre-season game against Wolves just a short few weeks after signing. The result was a positive one too as Rangers ran out 3-1 winners. Since then, however, he has very much been an understudy to Belfast-born Wayne Drummond who was also signed last summer from Millwall ââ?¬â?? but with two years of a gap between them both, itââ?¬â?¢s not like thereââ?¬â?¢s any rush and Smith is quite happy with how things have gone so far. ââ?¬Å?Yeah, it was good to get that 90 minutes in pre-season and I think I have settled in well,ââ?¬Â he adds. ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢m happy with my progress so far. I signed last summer, around July, and I have a two year contract here and Iââ?¬â?¢m happy with how Iââ?¬â?¢m progressing. All the players are brilliant as well, it was great to settle in so early after that game in pre-season.ââ?¬Â Despite the aforementioned attention from other clubs such as Notts Forest, after impressing in a couple of trial games in Glasgow, the youngster was offered a full-time deal and he accepted, becoming the first Republic international at any level since American-born Joe Lapira to sign a deal at Ibrox. Even New Yorkââ?¬â?¢s Lapira, who was handed one cap by Steve Staunton in 2007 and failed to make any impact in Glasgow because of injury, canââ?¬â?¢t be counted as Irish born so it places Smith in a unique list of players from the Republic to play in blue. Alex Stephenson, Alex Craig, James Lowry McAuley and Reuben Evans are the only other Irish-born players on record to have played for the club, making him only the fifth player south of the border ever to play for Rangers. Being part of such an exclusive group makes the move abroad even more special but Smith is, perhaps understandably, keen to play down the rareness of it all. He has a certain air of confidence in his ability though; you can hear it in his voice. He is entirely focused on just getting as far as he possibly can in the cut throat world of professional football and being in such a unique position at Rangers doesnââ?¬â?¢t seem to have any affect. ââ?¬Å?My ambition is to just go as far as I can and make the most of this opportunity that Iââ?¬â?¢ve been given,ââ?¬Â he concludes. And on the evidence so far, that could be very far indeed.

Cast your mind back to two years ago this January when Rangers accepted a multi-million pound bid for Kris Boyd from Birmingham City. Through all the run-up rumours and speculation I never once believed that Boyd would be leaving us and even had a bet on it with a fellow forum member. Even after the substantial bid had been accepted I still truly believed that Kris would be a Rangers player come the first game in February. While that belief turned out to be correct, it didn't mean much at the time other than my hunch/gut feeling being right for once and that I thought the whole Boyd soap opera that January was a bit suspicious. Now bring your mind back to the present day and this January our club accept a bid from Birmingham for our top goal scorer. This time it's Kenny Miller and yet again we have a rather prolonged saga that ends up with the player not moving to Birmingham after a bid has been accepted. Kenny supposedly couldn't agree personal terms... By now peoples' heads are starting to hurt while some of us are close to calling a Samaritans helpline. Serie A outfit Fiorentina were supposedly interested in Kenny, but mysteriously lost interest despite the player being available for a pint of lager and a packet of crisps? Incredible! If I didn't actually trust our club and our press I wouldn't believe it! In step our opponents from this season's Champions League - Bursaspor, who Miller scored against and in a very strange transaction for any football club, Kenny Miller is given permission to speak to Bursaspor and agree personal terms before an official bid has actually been made and accepted. Am I the only one who thinks this is extremely odd? Well, no matter how odd it might seem, Miller is in Turkey and trained with them yesterday, so given that he's supposedly agreed personal terms and we've supposedly accepted an offer 'in principal', it now looks like a done deal. If it were now to fall through at the last minute for some bizarre reason like all writing implements in Turkey and Glasgow spontaneously combusting before pen is put to paper I think some of us might be bordering on getting a little sceptical. Then again, we'd believe anything us fans, wouldn't we? So the Miller saga looks to have finally ended and here we are, two thirds of the way through the transfer window minus our top scorer. There's a definite split in the fans' opinion over the whole thing, with many saying 'good riddance' and equally as many, perhaps even more saying '�£400k?, what a joke!'. Looking at it from a slightly different perspective, we may well have just been literally robbed by the Bosman ruling because Kenny Miller was free to talk to any club he wanted to, but is the water a touch muddy regarding this? I was under the impression that players in Miller's situation were allowed to talk to clubs about a potential Bosman move and signing of a pre-contract, but not about personal terms relating to a direct transfer before an offer had been made for the player. Am I missing something here? Enough of the weirdness because we've got a potential problem: Minus Kenny Miller we don't have a proven goal scorer and we're midway through the season. We all hope that Jelavic, Naismith, Lafferty and others in our squad can step up and score the goals that help take us to our third SPL title in a row, but is hope enough or do we need to replace Miller with another striker? It's a very difficult question because when Walter Smith signed Miller nobody thought for a minute that he'd score as many goals as he has never mind become our top striker. What's to say that one of our other strikers can't step up and score a lot of goals? Well, none of us know and it's quite likely that Walter doesn't know either, so it comes down to a gamble. Ideally, Walter would have some cash to buy a player and would spend some time in the next week with his management team and our scouts (yes, scouts) deciding on some potential Miller-replacing targets, but is our manager actually going to be able to trade that pint of lager and packet of crisps which we got for Miller? If Walter is allowed to look for a replacement what should he be looking for? A cheap buy or a loan signing? Most of us would like to think that David Goodwillie is now out of the picture in the wake of his pending court case and Dundee United's general greed, so are there other cheap, but attractive options in Scotland? The only one I can think of is Leigh Griffiths who's apparently on his way from Dundee to Wolves for �£150k. Griffiths has a great scoring record in the 1st Division, but he's unproven at SPL level so could he be a cheap option and would it be a worthwhile purchase? Personally, I'd be pleased with a young striker like Griffiths joining Rangers, but even happier if our management pulled a rabbit out of the hat and signed a cracking striker on loan for six months to help us win another league title. The problem is that loan signings can be hit or miss just like footballers in general, but if there's one thing that's for sure, it's that we don't need another thirty-something slouch who's only interested in collecting a pay-cheque. It's over to you Walter - Do nothing, sign a bargain with potential or find the loan Ranger! . .