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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

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.

Somewhere to stick the latest headlines for the latest installment of the silly season. I'll kick things off: Rangers line up Bosman for Killie Goalkeeper Cammy Bell http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/04/rangers-bosman-kilmarnock-cammy-bell

Lifted from another forum.

If we don't get funds for contract renewal or bringing in replacements then 2012-2015 are going to be very baron years I fear.

For no particular reason I started this on Facebook - I know it's futile and he's made his mind up, but I just wanted to express an opinion. http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-wish-Walter-Smith-would-change-his-mind-about-leaving/147709755278312?ref=ts

In conjunction with our friends at RBooks and Mainstream Publishing, we have a copy of the following fantastic book available to win. Follow, Follow: Classic Rangers Old Firm Clashes by Iain Duff For more than 120 years, Rangers and Celtic have vied for supremacy in one of the world’s sporting hotbeds. The rivalry between the two teams is among the fiercest anywhere in sport, making an Old Firm derby much more than a football game. Controversy is rarely far away when the Glasgow giants meet, but amid the fallout that invariably follows their contests, the actual game is often forgotten. In Follow, Follow, Iain Duff recounts the greatest footballing moments of Rangers’ illustrious history in Old Firm clashes, from their very first competitive win over Celtic, in the 1893 Glasgow Cup final, through to the 1–0 victory at Ibrox that was a vital factor in Rangers’ 2009–10 SPL title win. The intervening years saw famous Old Firm contributions from legendary Ibrox names such as Gillick, Meiklejohn, McPhail, Baxter, Johnston, McCoist, Cooper, Laudrup, Ferguson and Novo, all of which are revisited here, along with the goals, the flare-ups and the controversies that make these derby days simply unforgettable for every Rangers fan. Iain Duff is an award-winning journalist, having won the prestigious UK Press Gazette Scoop of the Year award in 1997. He is the author of Follow On: Fifty Years of Rangers in Europe and Temple of Dreams: The Changing Face of Ibrox. He lives with his wife and two sons in Glasgow. Featuring a fantastic foreward by 'Super' Lee McCulloch, this is the ideal Christmas hardback gift for all Rangers fans. As well as a plethora of interesting stats and trivia, there is well over 200 pages of memorable moments which every bear will read with a smile on their face. We will also have a full review of the book online over the next couple of weeks! To be in with a chance of winning the book, just tell us what the result was in the last Old Firm game? Email or pm me now with your answer! Competition closes at midnight on December 18th. Admin decision is final! You can also buy the book online from the usual retailers such as Amazon and from Rbooks themselves by clicking here. Merry Christmas!

By hounding Hugh Dallas, it is showing a paranoia that isn't shared by the vast majority of its followers. Some people are born victims; others though, seek victimhood, and when they find it they cling to it. Like Tam O'Shanter's wife, Kate, "gathering her brows like gathering storm, nursing her wrath to keep it warm", they remain vigilant and alert to any evidence of scurrility. Last week, Peter Kearney, the director of the Scottish Catholic Media Office, penned an incendiary article in which he excoriated Scotland for being a nation where Catholics continue to suffer "deep, wide and vicious hostility". Mr Kearney, an otherwise reasonable and skilled media operator, was responding to the forced resignation of Hugh Dallas, the head of referee development at the Scottish Football Association. Mr Dallas, a former FIFA referee, had been found to have passed on a ribald and satirical picture email about the Pope on the occasion of his visit to Scotland on 16 September. Previously, Mr Kearney had called on the SFA to sack Dallas after implying that the organisation had been dilatory in pursuing its investigation into the email affair. This is when I began to feel distinctly queasy for the blood was high, the night was clear, the crosses were burning brightly and a good old witch-hunt was underway. There can be no doubt that Kearney had made his demand fortified by the authority of the Catholic church in Scotland. As such, it was only a matter of time before Dallas would be forced out. I am a practising Catholic, who still feels the urge to genuflect when there is incense, candles and the glimpse of a lacy black mantilla. I believe in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. But I also believe that the church is nothing if it does not also offer forgiveness, charity, compassion and the hope of redemption. In its treatment of Hugh Dallas, the Catholic church displayed none of these. He was given no opportunity to redeem himself with an apology or defend himself through an appeal in mitigation. The Catholic church took no account of the fact that his future ability to earn a good living will be grievously compromised for having been publicly found guilty of the dread sin of anti-Catholicism. The effect on his wife and children does not appear to have diluted the wrath of Rome. His mildly injudicious act has met with a punishment that is not condign and, indeed, is utterly disproportionate to the original transgression. Having duly received the head of Dallas on a plate, the church, through Kearney's article, obviously felt conditions were ripe to press home her advantage. The email, according to Kearney, may "simply be the tip of a disturbing iceberg of anti-Catholicism in Scottish society". It has caused Catholics in Scotland to draw "a line in the sand". It has done no such thing. A line in the sand is what General William Travis drew in 1836 when his few hundred Americans were defending the besieged fort at the Alamo against Santa Anna's 10,000-strong Mexican army. The Spartans did it in 480BC when about to be overwhelmed by the Persians at Thermopylae. The Catholic church in Scotland is not in a state of siege. In fact, its response conveys more about the state of the church than it does about the state of Scottish society. Quite simply, the Scotland portrayed in the Kearney memorandum is not the Scotland that I and many of my fellow Catholics recognise. When set against the febrile and tumultuous history of Europe and the movements of its peoples since the dawn of the 20th century, the rise of the Irish Catholic population in Scotland is nothing short of astonishing. Little more than a century has passed since the end of the largest of the Irish diasporas to this country. Lowland, urban Scotland, already poor, found a large and unskilled population on its doorstep, itself needful of what little state benefits there were and carrying with them the old and still despised Roman faith. The ingredients and conditions for widespread and violent civil unrest were painfully present. In Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Russia, there were regular pogroms of Jews, Turks, Muslims, Slavs and gypsies. Hundreds of thousands of people died or were left homeless because of state-sponsored racism across Europe. That it didn't happen in Scotland is almost miraculous and says something good about the tolerance of the indigenous Presbyterian population and its civil and church leaders. Even when this cultural detente was tested by the late 20th century manifestation of the Irish problem, the state of peace and harmony stayed largely firm. Within two generations, Irish Catholics, whose parents and grandparents had arrived here with nothing, were beginning to alter the professional landscape of Scotland. By the end of the 20th century, Catholics have risen to the top in the law, the judiciary, trade unionism, party politics and journalism. State-funded Catholic education remains, as the last two first ministers of Scotland have averred, the "jewel in Scotland's educational crown". Throughout this time, the vivid and rough hostility to Irish Catholicism has waned to such an extent that last month the Orange Order was told to reduce drastically the number of annual parades it holds and Rangers FC are aggressively pursuing an inclusive agenda among the more "traditional" of their supporters. The Catholic church in Scotland should be embracing the challenges of the 21st century with confidence and as equal partners in shaping the destiny of our nation. Sadly, there are still many in the church who regard valid criticism of its teachings and its conduct as tantamount to sectarianism. There is a loose alliance of shrill Catholic evangelicals and pious ecclesiasticals who are beginning to hold sway in my church. Many have shown themselves to be intellectually incapable of defending the precepts of their faith in the marketplace of ideas that post-devolution Scotland seeks to foster. When there is reasonable opposition to the Pope's visit and a justifiable outcry over child sex abuse they retreat into their novenas, benedictions and prayer meetings and mutter darkly about anti-Catholic agendas and vendettas. My Scotland is still a thrawn, aggressive, carnaptious and disputatious wee nation. But it is also enlightened, tolerant, kind (in a gruff don't-mention-it sort of way) and remains a beacon in its continuing preferential option for its own poor and the vulnerable and the persecuted of other countries. Occasionally, it will take itself too seriously and retreat into itself and give itself a right good talking to: are we too fond of the bevvy; do we smoke too much; does my public sector look big in this; will Sean Connery ever buy a house here? Sometimes, we come off the ropes fighting only to discover that our opponent went home a few hours ago. We need to relax and get out more. This month, we are getting all introspective again. Are we an anti-Catholic country? No, absolutely not. Last week, the Catholic church had a rare opportunity to offer charity and forgiveness in its response to the Dallas email imbroglio. In this, it was found wanting and we who love both our faith and Scotland are reduced because of it. We are not victims. Kevin McKenna http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/dec/05/catholic-church-pope-hugh-dallas

Iââ?¬â?¢m certain that most of us over a certain age will fondly remember this annual publication. In fact, I can remember keenly awaiting its release every season (along with the wee red book). Thanks to a work colleague, I have been given (a loan) of several Wee Blue Books dating back to 1936-1937 season and some of their content is amazing (some of which Iââ?¬â?¢ll detail below). Whilst times have changed since the 30ââ?¬â?¢s and 40ââ?¬â?¢s the content of these books show just why Rangers Football Club were a cut above any ordinary football club and the great traditions were continually being built upon. The Managers Reports make fantastic reading and the spirit of Mr Struth should never be forgotten, nor underestimated. The layout of The Wee Blue Books hardly changed over the years and were all (I believe) printed by Hay Nisbet & Co (printers ââ?¬â?? Glasgow) and all (until the late 60ââ?¬â?¢s) had advertisements for Bovril printed on the rear cover. They always started with a list of club directors, manager, etc then came ââ?¬Ë?The Managers Reportââ?¬â?¢. This was followed by a list of the previous seasonââ?¬â?¢s fixtures / results (which my colleagues relative has painstakingly entered all our results, by his own had) and our achievements (trophy wise). Then you would get a review on the ââ?¬Ë?Second XIââ?¬â?¢ followed by (my favourite part of these older books), Items Of Interestââ?¬â?¢ (including a list of the previous seasons ââ?¬Ë?cappedââ?¬â?¢ players). A list of goal-scorers followed by international dates proceeded a list of ââ?¬Ë?Rangers Scottish Cup Medallistsââ?¬â?¢ through our history. A list of registered players and the seasonââ?¬â?¢s fixtures were followed by a breakdown of all our trophy triumphs ââ?¬â?? year by year. A table of the previous seasons league placings, a comprehensive list of all league games in Scotland, a comprehensive list of all capped Rangers player and our historical league record gave way to a final ââ?¬Ë?item of interestââ?¬â?¢ which in season 1936-1937 was an article on Ibrox Park which gives some very interesting insights to the clubs plans to redevelop Ibrox - . ââ?¬Ë?From the year 1902 a steady transformation has taken place. Firstly came the removal of the timber terracing and the replacement by solid earth properly stepped. This was followed by converting The North Stand into a covered enclosure. The Old pavilion in the south-east corner ââ?¬â?? once the finest in existence ââ?¬â?? was demolished after having served its day and generation, to be replaced by the executive block, which was afterwards embodied in the New Grand Stand which was erected on the south side of the ground in 1929. During the past season, on the invitation of the Scottish FA, the club explored that possibilities of being able to provide adequate accommodation to house the Scotland v England International match, and as a result of long and careful deliberations they were able to lay plans before the association showing accommodation for almost 200,000 spectators. Of that number 17,000 could have been seated and a further 30,000 under cover. Alterations on the ground to put those plans into operation would have been made by erecting a new stand on the site of the present covered enclosure ââ?¬â?? a ââ?¬Ë?double deckerââ?¬â?¢ stand with standing accommodation under the seats ââ?¬â?? and an extended terracing on the east and west ends of the grounds. The Rangers club were prepared to proceed with these alterations and considered that nothing less would be satisfactory if one kept in view the increasing popularity of the game and had implicit faith ââ?¬â?? as we have ââ?¬â?? in its future. All that was asked from the association was a measure of financial guarantee. The Scottish FA decided that our plans were too ambitious and went beyond their ideas, and in the end, said to be due to opinions expressed by outside authorities, they decided to proceed with a minor scheme at Hampden Park. But our labours during the season ââ?¬â?? and they were long and arduous ââ?¬â?? will not be altogether in vain. Before very many years have passed, Greater Ibrox may come into being and our own supporters may gain benefit of what was planned for an International crowd. What our capacity is today no one can tell. We await a test and are prepared to abide by the resultsââ?¬â?¢. Some interesting facts gained from this edition : J Dawson & D Gray played in every League & Scottish Cup game of the previous season ââ?¬â?? GOOD GOING! In the previous 10 seasons, Rangers had never failed to win one or more of the major honours and in season 1929-30 had won everything possible. The closing page of the 1936-37 Wee Blue Book focuses on Athletic records made at Ibrox and states that several of A Shrubbs times were not only records for Ibrox, but indeed, World Records. Mr Struthââ?¬â?¢s report mentions the our ââ?¬Ë?Home & Awayââ?¬â?¢ friendlies against the English Cup Holders (Sheffield Wednesday) and League Champions (Arsenal) both of which Rangers emerged triumphant and that ââ?¬Ë?it is pleasing to record that in these encounters the reputation of the Rangers Club and of Scottish football were maintainedââ?¬â?¢. Mr Struth was also full of praise for the champions of Scotland ââ?¬â?? ââ?¬Ë?We heartily join in the congratulations which have been extended to the Celtic club in again becoming league champions after a lapse of ten years. Their record during the season proved their right to the title. During the past few years, honours have not been so plentiful at Parkhead as in former years and no club welcomes the reincarnation of the Celtic more than we doââ?¬â?¢. Mr Struth finishes his report with these wise words ââ?¬Ë?Even in the knowledge that we have a high tradition to maintain, we shall welcome the challenges of the new season with every confidenceââ?¬â?¢. The managers report of the following season gives further insight into the expectation, traditions, standards and expectations expected by Rangers Football Club and Mr Struth ââ?¬â?? While we may look back on season 1936-37 with a measure of satisfaction in that the team was successful in winning two of the major competitions, viz, the Scottish League Championship and the Glasgow Cup, it would idle to suggest that Rangers followers were satisfied with the play of the team over the season. Indeed, despite those successes, one might search the memory for a good few years back and yet fail to find a season wherein so many matches were played by a Rangers team in such ââ?¬Ë?un-Rangerââ?¬â?¢ like fashion. Somehow or other there were many occasions upon which that machine known as ââ?¬Ë?Rangers Footballââ?¬â?¢ simply could not get going and our followers could have been pardoned if at times they felt over anxious at these displaysââ?¬Â¦Ã¢â?¬Â¦Ã¢â?¬â?¢ ââ?¬Ë?ââ?¬Â¦Ã¢â?¬Â¦ In our success we sympathise with the Aberdeen club in their unavailing fight for first class honours. For the major part of the season they led the league race, and at one period had what might have been considered an unassailable lead, but the strain of the league fight and their efforts in the Scottish Cup proved too great and the end of the season found them with neither flag nor cupââ?¬Â¦..ââ?¬â?¢ Further evidence from the managers report from season 1937-38 ââ?¬â?? ââ?¬Ë?It is always an easy task to review a past season which has been full of glory and honour; it is not so simple when one feels that, notwithstanding a certain measure of success, the attainments of the team have hardly been in keeping with what we have become accustomed to. There can be no doubt that such a felling does exist. The Rangers club have set themselves a very high standard by the achievements in post war years, and their position is naturally judged from that standpoint. Thus it is that many clubs would have been perfectly happy to have won The Glasgow Cup, finished 3rd in the league championship, reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup and contested the final of the Glasgow Charity Cup, but from The Rangers, something more is expected, and it is the lack of that something that is causing some disquiet amongst the Rangers followers.ââ?¬â?¢ The tone of Mr Struthââ?¬â?¢s Managerââ?¬â?¢s reports changed from season 1939-40 onwards with the outbreak of World War II ââ?¬â?? Mr Struth starts ââ?¬Ë?Season 1939-40 will go down in history as one of the craziest ever experienced in the sport. When war broke out all entertainments and outdoor gatherings were prohibited in anticipation of aerial activity of the enemy, and when that did not materialise sport was permitted under conditions which made it next door to impossible to carry on without incurring substantial losses. ââ?¬Ë?Playââ?¬â?¢ was our slogan and we carried it through the best we could. We felt that in taking that course we were making some contribution to the national effort. What the future holds no one can foretell. Military service will make great inroads on our playing staff. The majority of our players were lads between 18 and 25, and, like others, they will answer their countries call. We can only hope that their absence will be short, and meanwhile let us carry on with the policy adopted at the outbreak of warââ?¬â?¢.

I honestly worry about McCoist becoming manager.

By Gary McDaniel So it has come to this, our referees have decided that enough is enough and they're taking strike action in demonstration as to the constant flack they have been subjected to recently. I say good on them. Celtic chairman, John Reid, is without doubt the Keith Flint-esk firestarter who has been regularly stoking the flames on the burning issue of referees, especially Dougie MacDonald. Mr Reid is adamant heads should role as the heinous crime of a lie has been told to their manager Neil Lennon and the SFA match observer. Now I don't condone lying and I�m sure as his time as a politician John Reid would never condone such a thing............. Oh hold on wasn't he a member of the Blairite New Labour party which was built on the foundation of spin? Wasn't he once a prominent member of our government's cabinet? Let us remember that John Reid was part of one of the biggest lies in our country's recent history in the run-up to the war in Iraq. He was privy to information of claims of 45 minute warnings and weapons of mass destruction, which all turned out to be a load of nonsense but yet thousands of Iraqi's lost their lives and many of our troops were killed, all for what? We were then told that the removal of Saddam Hussein was part of the plan, didn't remember being said on the run-up to war? Change of story there, doesn't that sound familiar? He was part of a government which deviously set about ditching bad news on the day of 9/11. Ok he wasn't directly involved in that but that all stemmed from the culture being set by the party he was a member of. So how many heads rolled after the PR disaster which was the Iraq war cover-up? Erm one, namely a Dr David Kelly who took his own life. Now Mr John Reid wishes to see P45s issued within the SFA and to Dougie MacDonald over the Tannadice incident? A lie, which I agree was stupid, but which was taken without real thought. A decision which in essence did not have any real effect on the outcome of the game in Dundee. Compare that to Reid's political decisions in the past. Yes, he has a cheek to sit in Parkhead and believe he has the moral high ground. I have a lot of respect for Celtic Football Club and many of their fans for what they have done for Scottish football. Their achievements abroad. The behaviour of their fans when following their team in Europe over the decades. For me though, the likes of John Reid and Peter Lawell are tarnishing that image. I would have more respect for them if they cleared the smokescreen and laid their cards on the table and openly admitted that they believe that there is a valid question about the integrity of Scottish referees. I might not agree with them but I would respect their bluntness. I've been over this ground in a previous post about referees but we seem to forget how invaluable they are to our game and the fact that, like us, they are human beings. They are committed to the job and have taken up the call in which the vast majority of us wouldn't touch with a barge pole. They face, not just stick from managers and players, but also from fans whose abuse is much more colourful. Who in their right mind would run the line and suffer constant verbal attacks from fans questioning their integrity, their eyesight but also the much more darker issues of having their sexuality questioned, members of their family verbally abused and threats to their personal safety? Imagine its like a taxi driver having every fare in his cab hurling abuse at him or a call centre worker being told were to stick their double glazing on a regular basis. You would pack it in after a while for your own sanity. We now live in a culture were football referees are now constantly in the spot light. Many ex-referees are TV pundits or have their own columns in national newspapers. This didn't happen 20 years ago. We are fascinated by officials and the decisions they make. It frustrates us and it annoys us but we accept, well I do, that they have taken an honest decision in relation to an incident. We have a situation in which players earn thousands or millions of pounds. They have the life style they desire, the house they dreamed of, the sports car they sought after and the eye candy on their arm they thought was never possible when they were a plukey wee pubescent teenager. They virtually do what they want. They can demand more money and sign up to lucrative sponsorship deals. But when they run out onto a football pitch and have a referee blow the whistle and tell them its not a penalty, they blow their top. How dare this authoritarian weasel that I have no respect for tell me I'm wrong. Let us all remember players and managers never get it wrong? They never lie or cheat? No no never. Yet their behaviour is never regularly punished by their club. A manager rarely criticises one of his players for diving to get a penalty. They never take action when their players hound match officials to get an opposing player red carded. No its all accepted as part of the game. Referees are demonised by many quarters from within the game but we also forget the other role in which referees play. Not only do they have to judge if a player has dived or feigning injury but they are there to protect the players. It is the job of the man in black to blow the whistle and ask for urgent attention for a player who has a head knock. It is them who decide when a pitch is unplayable and is threatening the well being of those playing on it. It is them who red card a player, not to annoy a manager or fans, but to punish a player for recklessness which could threaten the career of an opponent. We sometimes forget that. We have also heard calls for referees to reveal the team's they support. What a load of nonsense. Which referee would put their career at risk by revealing that they support one of the top clubs in this country? For example how could they excel in the profession if they were forced to reveal they supported one half of the old firm? They wouldn't get on the UEFA or FIFA list to officiate top international or Champions League games as they hadn't been able to referee a top SPL match due to their integrity being questioned. They are professional and wouldn't wish to put their career in jeopardy. Do we do the same when a former Celtic player returns to Parkhead? Like when Henrik Larsson scored for Barcelona in front of his adoring fans? No he's a footballer doing the job he is employed to do, no matter the opposition. Imagine that in the last game of the season Celtic need to beat Aberdeen for the title and it's late in the game, finely poised at 2-1 in favour of Celtic. The Dons have a corner which lands at the feet of Zander Diamond (a well known supporter of his bhoyhood heroes) who is in front of goal 6 yards out. He skies is shot over the bar and the final whistle blows. Would we suggest he did it deliberately? Make-up your own mind, but I would hope he just fluffed his lines. So what does the future hold? Well I don't think Celtic will give up on this issue lightly until a certain few go through the exit door at Hampden. What makes this whole episode ironic is that you could say that while this whole issue has blown up, Celtic's performances on the field have suffered. Has Neil Lennon's focus been distracted? What you may find is that in the end Celtic may have scored an own goal by allowing an ever increasingly tired and threadbare Rangers' side remain top of the SPL. http://www.theawayend.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=468%3Athe-hypocrisy-of-john-reid&catid=59%3Agary-mcdaniel&Itemid=119

MANCHESTER UNITED are the only reason Sir Alex Ferguson never became boss of boyhood heroes Rangers. Ferguson turned down the chance to take over at Ibrox when he was at Aberdeen and his pal Alex McLeish claims it was because he had his eyes on the United job. Govan-born Fergie returns home to Gers tomorrow in the Champions League and McLeish - who played under him in the all-conquering Dons side 30 years ago - claims the club still has a place in his heart. He said: "Alex declined the chance to manage Rangers - but that was only for one reason. Even then he had this big vision of going to England and managing Manchester United. "Rangers weren't the only club he declined at that time. There was Arsenal and Tottenham too. "In my opinion, the boss was waiting for one club and one club only - United. The rest is history." McLeish was Gers boss when United won 1-0 at Ibrox in the Champions League seven years ago thanks to a Phil Neville strike. Big Eck remembers seeing the twinkle in Fergie's eye as he sat in his office after the game, reliving his days as a supporter and then a player at the club. McLeish, now boss at league rivals Birmingham, said: "Sir Alex still has a soft spot for Rangers after all these years. He loves walking into Ibrox and being inside. "I still remember him coming into my office when we played them in the Champions League seven years ago. "There was quite a big entourage in the of f ice that night. I can remember Andy Roxburgh being there, too. "But Sir Alex was holding court and he loved every minute of it. He was so pleased to be in the Rangers manager's office having a drink and a laugh. "It was good to see him walking through the door, even if the result hadn't been so good for us." And McLeish won't rule out a place in the Champions League last-16 for Rangers. It would take a shock win over Manchester United at Ibrox for that landmark to be reached but Big Eck thinks that's possible. And he's convinced Walter Smith has got better attacking options now than he had when he took his side to Manchester for the 2008 UEFA Cup Final. He said: "You look back on that time and realise that Rangers maybe didn't have all that much going for them in an attack. "There wasn't a huge threat about them going forward but I think Walter has come up with a way now where they can make chances." Rangers only scored five goals in eight matches on the way to the final against Zenit St. Petersburg and needed a penalty shoot-out in the match against Fiorentina to make the journey to Manchester. But McLeish sees greater all round strength about them now. He said: "Defensively speaking, Walter's got them looking sound. They lost plenty of goals in the Champions league last season but, apart from the last 20 minutes of the game against Valencia in Spain, that's not been the case this time. "That's why, looking in from the outside, I think they have a real chance against United. "I always thought they had a chance of pipping Valencia into the last-16 and if they beat United you never know what might happen. "I wouldn't rule that out by any means. If it does happen Rangers will have a great chance in the final game in Turkey against Bursaspor, especially since Valencia have to go to Old Trafford when United may need a win to qualify." Rangers' home form in the Champions League this season has increased McLeish's belief that the team, and the fans, could be in for a memorable night against the man who keeps Govan on the map from a Lancashire base. Eck said: "Rangers have been really good in their games against Bursaspor and Valencia. Walter's come up with a formula that suits the players at his disposal. "Not only does it work for them defensively, but they're making an impact going forward and look far more potent now." Despite Fergie's feelings for Rangers, he'll be focused on taking full points and defender Patrice Evra claims United want to wrap up qualification before their final game against Valencia. United play Arsenal six days later at Old Trafford and Evra claims they do not want to play Valencia, needing a result to go through. United require just a point at Ibrox to make the last 16 and Evra is confident they can cope with the hostile atmosphere. He said: "Our aim is to make sure that by the time we play Valencia we will have already qualified. "But that won't be easy. We know that it will be a big occasion for Rangers. The Scottish fans will make so much noise."

David Rae, the Queen of the South chairman, last night called for Celtic counterpart John Reid to apologise to the Scottish refereeing fraternity in order to salvage his sideââ?¬â?¢s ALBA Challenge Cup final appearance. Queens are scheduled to take on Ross County at McDiarmid Park in the glamour game of the Scottish lower divisions this Sunday, but the match has been thrown into chaos in the 48 hours since Scotlandââ?¬â?¢s Category 1 referees voted to take strike action this weekend. The referees in question have been careful to deny that their industrial action was in response to the actions of any particular club, but Rae for one suspects the comments of Reid at last weekââ?¬â?¢s annual general meeting ââ?¬â?? where he called for Dougie McDonald to resign, and suggested that all referees should be forced to declare their childhood allegiances ââ?¬â?? were at the root of the problem. ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢m a bit concerned about it [the cup final going ahead] and I want to have a word with George Peat [sFA president],ââ?¬Â Rae said. ââ?¬Å?The SFA appoint the refs and itââ?¬â?¢s their job to find officials to run that game on Sunday. Itââ?¬â?¢s an all-ticket game and everything has been organised. It needs to be sorted by Wednesday. You have to think about the hospitality, because there are a whole lot of things involved. ââ?¬Å?I have some sympathy for the referees,ââ?¬Â he added. ââ?¬Å?There has been too much criticism thrown at them. Last week, a chairman of one of the biggest clubs in Scottish football came out with some comments that were out of order. ââ?¬Å?He went over the top and I think the referees and Hugh Dallas are due an apology. He is an ex-member of Parliament and they are used to slagging each other off all the time. That is politics but when you are chairman of a football club you have to respect officials, especially the referees. ââ?¬Å?This is not just going to affect Queen of the South against Ross County on Sunday. I have never known anything like it in the history of the game.ââ?¬Â The SFA have the power to import foreign officials or promote lower-grade referees in order to ensure that their fixtures are fulfilled, and Rae last night said he would accept any referee that the association deemed suitable for the match. ââ?¬Å?I would accept any official appointed by the SFA,ââ?¬Â Rae said. ââ?¬Å?But George Peat has got to come out of his ivory tower and speak to clubs like us because without the football clubs, he and the others wouldnââ?¬â?¢t have jobs. ââ?¬Å?But letââ?¬â?¢s face it, the referees have taken terrific abuse. They are human beings and canââ?¬â?¢t get every decision right. I believe they are the most honest guys. We need to get behind them. Itââ?¬â?¢s time to sit around the table and talk ââ?¬â?? clubs, chairmen, the SFA and Hugh Dallas.ââ?¬Â Rae feels that Reidââ?¬â?¢s plans for referees to declare their allegiances is unworkable. ââ?¬Å?Glasgow is the hub of Scottish football while in England you have 92 clubs and a lot of big cities who are spread the length and breadth of this country.ââ?¬Â http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/more-scottish-football/rae-calls-for-reid-to-apologise-to-scottish-refereeing-fraternity-1.1070137

THOSE WHO know me will testify my musical tastes are better served by Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Rodgers and Hart and the Gershwins, than Bob Dylan. But there is one of the old troubadour's nasal ramblings which strike a topical chord. The Times They Are A'Changing. In this case it is the Scottish edition of the Times of London which is changing. And not for the better. The ABCs - the circulation figures, and the numbers by which the wordsmiths live and die - for October, published today, show the Scottish edition of the Times has suffered the biggest year-on-year percentage plunge of any daily paper on this side of the border. The Times went hurtling downhill to the mindboggling tune of almost 14per cent - 13.8per cent to be precise. Of course, since Odious Creep joined, it may be the lack of precision in the sports section - of what used to be regarded as the paper of record - which has chased away so many readers. So, here begins another wee lesson for all my growing army of loyal readers, as to how newspapers work. It was around four years ago that time ran out at the Herald for Odious Creep. Since the change of editorship from Mark Douglas Hume - I worked with him in London - to Charlie McGhee - he was my assistant editor at the Sunday Mail - Creep's working practices were believed to be under greater scrutiny. The timing could not have been better for his escape, as one of the Edinburgh blethering classes, Magnus Linklater, had been appointed as Scottish editor of the Times of London, and told to beef up the staff ahead of what is known in the business as a relaunch. Linklater is a friend of Creep, and also of Richard Holloway, another of the blethering bleeding hearts who are to be found in Edinburgh, and who is also a friend of Creep's. It is a mere short step from there to Odious Creep being offered a job on the Scottish edition of the Times of London. He took it, despite the fact it meant losing his prized role within the Herald as golf correspondent, something which allowed him to attend the Masters every year, a trip he wallowed in, but was not on offer at the Times. On top of which, if my information from an exteremly senior source within News International in London, is correct, he moved for less money than he was getting at the Herald. However, history has a way of repeating itself, and the same thing which happened when he was at the Herald, is now happening at the Times of London's Scottish edition. When Odious Creep joined the Herald such outstanding sports journalists as Ian Broadley and the late Ken Gallacher, were the big names in the paper, whose circulation was north of 80,000. Creep's presence, and his friends in high places there, spelled the end for those two oustanding newspaper men, and also signalled the beginning of the Herald's circulation plunge. Though, despite the Herald not being anywhere near the force it was before Odious Creep joined, it still outsells the Times of London's Scottish editon by more than two to one. In fact, the Times of London's Scottish edition is actually selling fewer copies now than it was four years ago, before a significant cash investment allowed Linklater to make his flawed decision to employ Odious Creep. How long this situation is allowed to continue is open to debate. But the one thing I know for sure is the greatest newspaperman of his generation - Rupert Murdoch - is not known for throwing good money after bad. His long term strategy is directed towards the internet, and he belives eventually people will be willing to pay to read the Times online, to which end he has already put the online version of the Times behind a paywall. The result is a dramatic fall in online readership, which Murdoch is willing to ride out for as long as the circulation of the paper does not crash alarmingly. As it continues to do in Scotland. Cuts within the News International organisation's four titles, the Times, Sunday Times, Sun and the News of the World, are on the way. The Murdoch way ahead has already been revealed by the closing of the Sunday Times Scotland operation earlier this year. What's next? It is unlikely to be the Sun or the News of the World which will suffer in Scotland, as Murdoch is prepared to fund them in their fascinating fight with the ailing Trinity Mirror's Scottish titles, the Record and Sunday Mail. I am sure you can work out where the Murdoch axe is likely to fall. These are interesting, and most certainly, A'Changing Times in the old inky business. Though I still prefer the masters of the Great Amercian Songbook to Dylan, not to mention Odious Creep's favourite, Elton John. As the late great Malcolm Munro(Big Malky) used to write....'Nuff Said! AND.... Sad news came my way this morning as a colleague phoned to tell me of the death, at 88, of Bob Ferrier. Bob was one of the last links to the golden era of the Daily Mirror when such giants as Hugh Cudlipp and Bill Connor ruled the roost, and the circulation topped six million. He escaped from what became a Mirror madhouse when the lying thieving Bob Maxwell took over, and returned to Scotland where he worked for a number of papers, reporting football on a part time basis. Bob Ferrier, who retired to Helensburgh, was a gentleman of the old school, with an impish sense of humour and a deep knowledge of newspapers, football, and indeed, life. He came from an impeccable football background, as his dad was Motherwell legend Bobby Ferrier, who along with George Stevenson formed the Stevenson-Ferrier left wing through the 1920s and into the 30's. My thoughts are with his family. Read more: http://davidleggat-leggoland.blogspot.com/

ST MIRREN 1 RANGERS 3 9th November 2010 Now before we start on the game, letââ?¬â?¢s address a few other issues. Since I started doing articles about Rangers I have incurred a little bit of interest from Celtic supporters. Fuck knows what they are doing reading Rangers websites I donââ?¬â?¢t know. The responses fall into three categories. Firstly, brain dead cowardly bastard oneââ?¬â?¢s where desktop hard men suggest that they hope I die of cancer and the like. I sometimes reply and publish these just so that people can see that these results of inter breeding exist. They are allowed freedom of speech as they live in a country that allows them that privilege because our brave troops have fought and died so that they might remain free. More on that subject later. The second category of response comes from those who quote history, usually in very long emails, making their points well but from a very one sided stance. We are the 'Shame of Scotland' because in 1972 etc, etc, etc. It gets a bit boring reading it especially when the authors can only see it from their point of view and refuse to accept any blame on their own club or supporters. The third view comes from the decent supporters of their football club, who see the bigger picture and admit that both sides have their extreme supporters and wish to deal with football matters only. The first two groups will no doubt spout bile and go down the ââ?¬Å?Yeah, but they did it firstââ?¬Â route. Quite pathetic really. I genuinely feel sorry for some Celtic supporters who surely must be totally embarrassed by the events of the last few days. Lennonââ?¬â?¢s bleating and the resultant conspiracy theories are one thing and with three penalties on Saturday, it may even be working, some might say! The other aspects are enough to make any decent human being appalled. Reports suggested that Celtic banned the sale of poppies at the ground because it might upset some of the clubs Irish supporters. Unbelievable. That statement, if it is true, supports terrorism, does it not? I get stacks of emails condemning the songs that Rangers fans sing. Well to sing a song you must know the words, but songs are an instantaneous reaction. Preparing banners, albeit with spelling mistakes, is a pre planned initiative. The club stewards allowed these banners in and it would appear nothing was done when they were revealed. Did the decent fans boo them? I donââ?¬â?¢t know, I was not there. Did the police move in and have them removed and those holding them arrested? I donââ?¬â?¢t know but I have my doubts. The one good thing to come out of this is that some aspects of the media have, for once, not ignored the subject. TalkSport's Stan Collymore condemned the actions and it will be interesting to hear the comments from the Scottish media, the SFA and Celtic FC. I await with interest. Scotlandââ?¬â?¢s Shame has a new worthy recipient of the title, but then again no... it is Irelandââ?¬â?¢s shame! Anyway back to, for me, more important matters. If I was sensible I would have taken the train to Aberdeen for my Saturday night speaking engagement but no, that would have meant missing the St Mirren game, so after five and a half hours on the road on Saturday, I was out of the hotel at 7.30am to drive down and across to Paisley. Apart from anything else that meant missing a substantial breakfast at the hotel! I arrived at the ground and was parked up by quarter to eleven which at least gave me the opportunity to catch up with emails and confirm yet more trips north of the border to speak at dinners and other fundraising events. (Click here to book Jeff.) I received some good news from Stranraer. I am due there on Saturday 29th January and as Rangers' CIS Cup semi has been confirmed for the Sunday at Hampden, I will be able to do the dinner and still go to the match the following day. I love it when a plan comes together. I rang the Leven boys and was amazed to hear them loud and clear and obviously not driving. Fuck me, they were here. Unheard of, an hour before kick off and no pubs open. This was ground breaking. Durranty came out to drop some tickets off for mates so I was able to square up with him for Valencia tickets. Top man - I appreciate his help on that game because without it I would not have got my tickets as I am not a member of the Travel Club. Then again I could just have bought them at the ground in Spain, couldnââ?¬â?¢t I, which fucks up all the ideas about selling only to registered members! The game started at a slow pace and no goal within the first couple of minutes like last season! I had gone for Rangers/Rangers half-time/full-time. I was also going to go 3-1 but changed my mind. Fucking idiot! The ref, Craig Thomson, made Rangers take a free kick again to much derision from the UEFA 'B' licensed coaches from Fifa sat around me. The free kick had not left the penalty area before Papac played it. Fuck me, didnââ?¬â?¢t you know that? It was interesting to see Edu back home having not taken up the offer of a full time role as a Lucky/Lucky man in Valencia. We seemed to be suffering from a Spurs syndrome, with the after effects of a Champions League game making us look rather lethargic. Miller shot high and wide, then Weiss totally wasted a free kick by lobbing it high into keeper Samsonââ?¬â?¢s awaiting hands. Edu had a shot which flew about twenty yards wide. Pish. The game was littered with free kicks, no flow and virtually no atmosphere in the ground. Sunday lunchtime is not for football! After 25 minutes, the best move of the game so far, but Kenny only half connected and the chance was gone. My bet was looking dodgy. One thing for sure, they werenââ?¬â?¢t going to score. It's not difficult to see why they are bottom of the League. A mere shadow of the side that ran us so close in the CIS Cup Final last season. As usual teams are a bit physical in trying to stop Rangers and finally Hugh Murray was cautioned for another foul on Edu. Weiss was inconsistent, jinking in but also regularly losing possession, one run producing a free kick which Davis clipped onto the crossbar. The Manchester City loanee then got himself booked after a tangle and handbags with their full back Zanten. I forecast his early substitution for Lafferty. It just wasnââ?¬â?¢t happening for him today. Edu must have been wearing one of those trilbyââ?¬â?¢s his brothers were flogging in the square last week when he headed over with the goal at his mercy. Come on boys, half-time/full-time would have paid for my ticket and fuel! At last I got lucky - ball in the net just before half-time. Disallowed. Itââ?¬â?¢s a fucking conspiracy!! As the half-time whistle blew I noticed my mates adopting rather soft as shit behaviour. Bucket had his little bald head covered tightly by the hood on his coat and Scott had his nice posh 'designer' gloves on! It was a lovely day - what the fuck are they going to do when it gets cold? Well the Minister last week said that something needs to be done in Scottish football. Well could I suggest that hamster racing is not the answer! Broxy Bear finished last. Another fucking conspiracy. The world and hamster racing is against us! At least Cash For Kids benefitted. The attendance was announced as 5,674. We took more to Valencia. The second half started with the introduction of the seven foot flute player and within minutes we were camped in their half. The tempo increased, the fans woke up and Kyle created havoc in their defence. Own goal, oneââ?¬â??nil. A great move saw Lafferty square the ball for a Naismith tap in. 2-0, game over. It was like a testimonial now. They were very poor. Celtic will get ten against them and five penalties probably! I noticed a TV camera in front of us pointing in our direction and soon the texts started arriving, I had got a mention on ESPN. Hopefully they noted I was with the boys and not freeloading in the posh seats. To answer the sarcastic questions, my hat was orange, my favourite colour, bought in Valencia, because I was there and my glasses were not borrowed off Jack Duckworth. Have some fucking respect - he does not die until Monday! A mistake from a defender, wide awake Kenny Miller latched onto it and 3-0. This really is a two horse race, even more so than for the last Christ knows how many years. Maybe we should just play them every week! Rangers v Celtic every week - that would be interesting. We could sing our songs and they could practice their spelling on their banners. Boughie tried his best to make a game of it by nearly scoring an own goal, their first effort I think! The Scottish sport of clattering Alan McGregor was practised yet again, before a harsh penalty against Rangers. Walter, you really should start bleating to the press every week. We are going to be cheated against every week you know. The referees are against us! 3-1 and incredibly their announcer states the name of the scorer of St Mirrenââ?¬â?¢s consolation goal! Honesty but probably not the wisest thing to say. He could be joining Chesney on the dole soon. We passed away the closing minutes watching the steward seated in front of us. You may recall I donââ?¬â?¢t like stewards. At Killie I saw the fattest and St Mirren the softest. I am opening up categories. I am looking for the fittest (female) and the dirtiest (female). Well I spend a lot of time alone in Scotland! Suggestions willingly accepted! I wonââ?¬â?¢t be up for the Hibs game, but I am planning to make a suicidal journey from Heathrow next Saturday morning, 470 miles, in time to watch the Aberdeen game, before hosting a dinner in Glasgow on the evening. I am under pressure then to go to Leven on Sunday for their Remembrance Day activities. I will wear my B-L-O-O-T-A-I-N-E-D poppy with pride. AS WE APPROACH REMEMBERANCE DAY LET US REMEMBER FOR ONE MINUTE ALL THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN AND PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. "LEST WE FORGET" http://www.jeffwinterentertainmentandmedia.co.uk/world/0910040.php

Anthony Stokes believes his partnership with Gary Hooper is as good as any in Celtic's recent history. More...

PARANOIA, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a mental derangement, which, especially in chronic forms, is characterised by delusions. I thought it would be useful to clarify the exact meaning of the word before exploring examples of paranoia raging around various websites in the last few days. It would seem Celtic supporters are deluding themselves into believing the club they support has always been treated badly by the Scottish Football Association. Indeed, the Celtic Underground site went so far as to say that the SFA has always been governed by people with an anti-Celtic bias. That is a serious allegation. It is also the delusion of chronic paranoia. For a start, of all the people who are both employed by the SFA , and who make up the reprepresentation from clubs and other bodies, who would appear to be the best paid.? That might well prove to be Eric Riley, who is the Celtic executive director of finance, and who earned, according to accounts in the public domain, �£222, 765 last year. That's more than new SFA chief executive Stewart Regan has signed up for. Riley has been the Glasgow Association's member on the SFA for many years, and sits on two of its most powerful bodies. He is vice chairman of the Disciplinary Committee and a member of the Appeals Committee, and has previously been the vice chairman of the General Purposes Committee, which has a wide range of powers.. There is of course nothing wrong, or in any way improper, about that. In fact, it is both right and proper that a club such as Celtic should be represented and have its voice heard at the highest level of the game. Celtic supporters though, blinded by their delusions, cannot see the influence Riley has at that rarified level. They also seem to be suffering from amnesia. For instance, though the latter half of the 1990s and into the 21st Century, a Celtic director - indeed a one time Celtic chairman - Jack McGinn, sat at the pinnacle of Scottish football's power structure as the President of the Scottish Football Association. Such was his power that his reign extended even beyond the normal two terms in office. A sort of SFA FDR is you like. McGinn was therefore one of the most powerful and influential figures in Scottish football....ever! The Scottish Football Association, over which former Celtic chairman McGinn ruled for longer than other presidents, and where Celtic's highly paid director of finance, Riley, sits on one powerful committee, is the vice chairman of another, and has occupied that position on a third, can therefore not be said, by any rational person, to be governed now, or in the past, by people with an anti-Celtic bias. To go even further back, probably the most influential of all Scottish Football Association presidents I can recall was that towering figure from Celtic's history, Bob Kelly, whose trenchant statements in the 1960s were viewed as the authentic voice of Scottish football. In fact, both then and now, it could be claimed that of all of Scotland's major clubs, Celtic have been the most influential . And yet the Parkhead paranoia continues, with a letter from Joe O'Rourke of the Celtic Supporters Association on that group's behalf, and also speaking for the Celtic Trust, the Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters Clubs and the North American Federation of Celtic Supporters Clubs, having been sent to Celtic saying that they are all 100per cent behind Celtic's campaign. What campaign would that be? For we have heard nothing - open and above board and on the record - from either Celtic chairman Lord Reid, or chief executive Peter Lawwell, about any Celtic campaign. It was a point well made in his Monday column in the Record by Jim Traynor when he called for these two powerbrokers to make a statement. Celtic's fans have shown no such reticence, and the Celtic Supporters Association went on to reveal that a number of organisations of Celtic supporters hope to meet in the next few days to discuss and decide on the way forward. As for Celtic Football Club, it will be represented at Hampden later this week as part of a previously arranged meeting between the clubs and the SFA. It is not known if Celtic director and SFA member Eric Riley will ride the two horses at the meeting, or if Reid or Lawwell will attend. Hampden is also the venue for some wild calls out there in cyberspace for Celtic supporters to descend upon and stage a protest on Saturday. There is though one website point which deserves careful attention and thought. The Huddleboard claims Celtic supporters have been denied an independent investigation into refereeing in Scotland. Actually I think such an independent probe would be a good thing, as I am sure its findings would once again reveal the true level of paranoia. It would have to be conducted by someone with impeccable refereeing credentials, who understood written and spoken English, in order that there could be no misunderstandings. England therefore appears to be the obvious place to look for a likely candidate. Maybe someone like....Jeff Winter? http://davidleggat-leggoland.blogspot.com/

Who knows what's going on in Websters head.

Walter Smith has challenged his current crop of Rangers' players to make their own history on Saturday. More...

Walter Smith insists the team cruelly branded one of the worst in Rangers' history have proved themselves to be one of the BEST. Gers gaffer Smith piled the praise on his Treble-chasing stars ahead of tonight's Co-op Cup quarter-final clash at Kilmarnock. After Sunday's storming Old Firm win over Celtic, the cup holders remain unbeaten in their best start to a season in 89 YEARS. Not bad for a bunch of long-ball bruisers not fit to wear the jersey! Smith said: "People are never happy. "There is a happy medium in every situation, but in our country we never seem to achieve that. "We were rotten and now we've been compared to really successful sides. "But we ARE a successful team and we have a strong group of players. "The challenge is to maintain the good start. "If this team is getting compared with teams of the past then that's fine, I have no problem with that. "I am as proud of this team as I am of any team I've managed in the past. "Particularly because the circumstances are so different. "They have a good work ethic in their play. They all work very hard. "We might not have what people consider to be star players, but we do have good players spread throughout our team. "They have accepted every challenge I've given them. "If everyone is starting to make comparisons, that's a step forward for this team. Because in the past they haven't been regarded as half decent. "The team wants to keep winning. "We have a lot of awkward situations because of the predicament we are in. "If you are setting out to try and win a Treble it would be very difficult for this group to handle all those games and achieve that." Such is their desire and collective will to win that this Gers side NEVER knows when its beaten. In five league games this season they have fallen behind. Five times they have come storming back to win. But the tests just keep on coming in a hectic programme. Smith added: "When teams stay together for a period of time then a spirit is forged. "That's not exclusive to Rangers. "Our group has played together for a number of years and in any walk of life there would be resilience if they have bonded well. "Our group has done that. "We've had the same group for a couple of years and they have got a strong bond. But we're asking an awful lot from the players, I realise that. This next stage, in the run-up to Christmas, will be crucial. "We have quite a number of games before the end of the year so it will be a big test." Smith will make several changes for tonight's clash against Killie. But he expects those who come in to reach the high standards which have been set. He warned: "It's about guarding against complacency. "We've just finished an intense seven days after the games against Valencia and Celtic. "Also, the lads who were away with Scotland played in the Czech Republic and against Spain. "These games are not just tiring in a physical sense, but mentally they are very difficult. "A game against Spain would be a drain on anyone especially given the manner in which they play. "You need high levels of concentration for all these matches. These are big games for all the players. "It helps the teams if they are not losing, but there is always motivation to win. You know you are going to face disappointments in a season - that's a certainty. "We have a decent level of confidence about us, but we have to be extremely careful." Gers will be without injured defender Sasa Papac at Rugby Park tonight, but Andy Webster could get a rare start. Smith added: "Papac will miss the game, but we have a situation where one or two could be doing with a rest. "The international lads, for example, have played a lot of football already this season. "The likes of John Fleck and James Beattie will feature." Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3198108/Ticket-to-pride.html#ixzz13Y9ae9Al

Since Arjan Robin supposedly returned injured from the WC there is a conflict between Bayern and the Dutch FA. This week Mark van Bummel returned supposedly injured. Bayern are trying to get the Dutch FA to pay compensation for the players injuries. Ronald Waterruis said on Dutch TV that most of the problem was caused when Dr Goudswaard. the Dutch doctor who was Rangers doctor for a while disliked the German Rangers players and Rangers players in general going to Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt for treatment. He thought of the German doctor as a kwak. seemingly since that time the two doctors have never seen eye to eye. Muller-Wohlfahr wants to check up on Bayern players during international training but the KNVB are refusing him permission.

ANONYMOUS is here there and everywhere. And now it would appear He She or It, has joined that old red rag, the Guardian. It isn't long since I highlighted some chancer on the paper by the name of Glendenning, who had branded Rangers - the club that is, not the supporters - as Huns. Now the latest attack has by the paper, which the great Richard Littlejohn so accurately branded, one of the "unpopulars," has been directed at the Ibrox club's fans, and features the biggest managerial failure in Rangers long history, Paul Le Guen. Now - to quote Private Eye - as any fule know, Rangers got rid of the French flop almost four years ago after a short period because he showed, beyond debate, that he was ill equipped to handle the task handed to him by Sir David Murray. It was something I had predicted four years past in February when it was first announced Le Guen was to succeed the successful Alex McLeish. My view was based on research of his record, the resources he had needed for his undoubted success in France, and the circumstances in which he had managed. My conclusion was that he would not have similar resources at Ibrox nor would the circumstances there be anything like what he had experienced in France, and that he was, therefore, the wrong man for the job. It was a view which flew in the face of popular opinion and united most Rangers supporters against me when I expressed it at the time when LeggoLand was published in the old fashioned print form. Press pack pals thought I had gone bonkers, despite me explaining my reasoning, while Ibrox season ticket holders among my Partick pals just did not want to listen. In common with Rangers supporters everywhere, they bought into Murray's poetic prediction of riding a Le Guen moonbeam to glory. Their almost fanatical belief in him was there for all to see when Le Guen took a bow in front of the Ibrox crowd for the first time. The splendid red, white and blue Tricolour of France flew in all corners of Ibrox and the crowd loudly and lustily belted out the tune of that most magnificent of anthems, La Marseillaise. Stirring stuff! I do not think I can recall a new Rangers manager getting a more vigorous reception. Not Jock Wallace when he returned, or the legend that is John Greig when he stepped up from the captaincy, not Graeme Souness, or even the second coming of Walter Smith, when he replaced Le Guen. Rangers supporters believed Le Guen was the man to make them a force and any thought of the Frenchman not being what the Guardian's Mister or Ms Anonymous called, "Rangers-minded" never entered the head of anyone I met. It did not seem to be present among the crowd whose welcome for Le Guen was loud, long and genuine. Yet, with a fine and blatant disregard for these facts, the Guardian has chosen to use a fairytale in the London Times, linking Le Guen with the vacant manager's job at Hibernian, as a sorry and sordid excuse to try and blacken the name of Rangers again. What appeared in an Anonymous article in a Guardian supplement gave a perfect example of why so many folk do not trust this ailing and failing newspaper to tell the truth. This is the libel - for that is what it is - which appeared in the Guardian supplement.... "Paul le Guen, formerly of Rangers, but not considered 'Rangers-minded' by the more confused denizens of Ibrox, could take over at the significantly greener, Hibernian." Just pause for a moment, go back and read that again. Rangers supporters reading this may care to take a deep breath, pause for another moment and then go back and read that outrageous lie again. They may then feel like going to Google and researching the Press Complaints' Commission. Perhaps the Guardian's Anonymous is getting confused with his clubs. Perhaps he is thinking of the view expressed by the veteran journalist and long time acute Parkhead watcher, Hugh Keevins - who makes a welcome return to Sunday column duty with the Sunday Mail this weekend - and his view that there may have been many Parkhead fans who did not take to Gordon Strachan due to a lack of what was described as his Celtic DNA. This opinion was given at a time when, under Strachan, Celtic had won one title, were on their way to a second successive championship, and before he managed them to a third, the first man to do so since Jock Stein. Or - and maybe you believe this is the more likely scenario - Mister or Ms Anonymous in the Guardian, was just venting their spleen against Rangers and their supporters, because that is the sort of stance which is expected of such a newspaper. It has certainly never been kind to the Ibrox club, dating back to the time when current Celtic director, Brian Wilson, was its Scottish football correspondent for a decade from the mid 1970s to the 80s. But - and this includes Glendenning's Huns slur - this latest ,absolutely without any basis of foundation libel, should be the last straw. The very least that should happen is that the Guardian should be put under pressure to unmask the He, She or It who is to good reporting what Subo is to singing. And the first step in that direction is reporting the Guardian to the Press Complains Commission. http://davidleggat-leggoland.blogspot.com/

Sorry if this has already been posted,but I just read it and it made me smile:). by Alexander Anderson Can you keep a secret? Can I ask you to keep the following information to yourself? It's classified and - to be honest - even if you are thinking about repeating it to anyone, don't. They'll just think you're mad anyway. Stranger even than the revelations about Scientology made in Panorama last week is this earth-shatteringly, brain-fryingly explosive fact: Rangers, right now, are absolutely sensational. I know, I know - crazy, right? "Crazy talk!", I hear you say. "Rangers? Aren't they the purveyors of anti-football? Aren't they the team who cheat their way through games with the aid of an SFA-backed masonic conspiracy? Aren't they, at best, just benefitting from opponents lying down to them?" Well, yes, of course that's the recieved wisdom - especially in Scotland - and that's what all Rangers fans are quite happy for you to believe. See, we like our image. The Rangers support is happy to be painted as following an intrinsically evil club. Because that way we keep that club to ourselves. Ibrox is busy enough each home game and it's horrendously difficult getting tickets for away matches or cup finals (we've been in five of the last six domestic finals in Scotland AND a European final inbetween times - how can that not be a conspiracy!). So we don't need anyone else getting in on our secret. We're at that stage where everybody knows everybody and we all enjoy each other's company - we all look out for each other too. It's lovely following Rangers but it's is a private party and we don't want no gate-crashers. However, recent events have threatened to expose us and I've been forced to break ranks. I can't live under the pressure that's been slowly building since Walter Smith returned for his second spell as Rangers manager and which has become unbearable in the last week. The last six days to be precise. Going two goals down at Pittodrie on a Sunday afternoon was all well and good. Year after year we go to Pittodrie, fail to win against a club which hasn't done anything for 20 years, then proceed to win the title. It's the defeat or draw which always keeps us real, which always deflects attention from the glorious reality. Last Sunday, however, we stupidly went and scored three goals to win 3-2. Suddenly everyone's thinking "What's up here? Did Rangers do something exciting?". Last year we beat Hearts at Tynecastle after going a man and a goal down. We the won a Cup final with just nine men on the pitch - and it was 0-0 when we went down to nine men. We beat both Hearts and Hibs by three clear goals away from home and destroyed Dundee United - the latest third force - by 3 goals at Tannadice and 7-1 at Ibrox. Yet still no-one noticed how exciting we were. Still, non-Rangers fans had the wool pulled over their eyes and accusations of anti-football were randomly hurled at us. Fine, Great. Seceret safe. But this season we're pushing it. Then there's Champions League home games. We haven't won one for 3 years. Despite making it to the UEFA Cup final 2 and a half years ago, we've managed to go longer than that without winning a match over 90 minutes. Genius! Rangers are probably the only club in history who've been to a major European final in the middleE of a 13-game un-winning streak in UEFA competition. These are the efforts we have to go to to keep our sensational progress a secret. Last Wednesday, however, our camouflage slipped: Our first home Champions League win in six attempts would have been careless enough on its own but - no - we had to go and keep a clean sheet too! Man, we've lost 13 goals in our last four Ibrox Champions League games and - bang! - "out of the blue" we "suddenly" restrict the Turkish champions to one half-decent shot on goal over 92 minutes. Bursaspor are top of their league, a league far superior to the SPL, with a 100% record - it's far too obvious if we put them in our back pockets "just like that". But the worst was saved for last. Today. At Tynecastle. We're playing at Saturday brunch-time - our third game in less than 6 days, our second straight SPL away game and we're a goal down wth 9 minutes on the clock. That's fine. That's cool. This is what's supposed to happen to an evil, boring, rubbish team like Rangers. And then, just to ensure we maintain our cover, we bring on Kyle Lafferty. Big Kyle's a man who's managed to win the title for Rangers two years on the trot, score four times against Hearts and four times against Dundee United and generally turn the tide in many a game but STILL be widely regarded as useless. Kyle's in deep with "the secret". He's an expert in making endless Rangers triumphs look lucky, bland or evil. I thought if anyone could be relied upon it was he. But NO! He guides a free-kick into the Hearts net for an equaliser. While every other Rangers player has been managing to hit the bar and the post and miss from close range and doing it in such a way to ensure the Hearts keeper seems like the hero and the Hearts team who can't get out their own box seem like they "deserve" to win, Kyle's stupidly exposed us for what we really are with just one kick. There's lingering hope of us hiding our true identity when ESPN commentators and radio pundits start assuming that five minutes injury time applies only to Rangers - that some SFA edict bans Hearts from scoring after the 90th minute. Everyone's forgetting that there's been multiple substitutions, three breaks in play for injuries and that Hearts have been time-wasting since the second half kicked off. Great. Fine. This is how we get away with being spotted as a great side. So why the hell did Seteven Naismith have to go and ruin it all with that stupidly obviously, sensational winner?! Why, Steven? Now it's all out in the open. How could you, Stevie? We're supposed to be "knackered" after our "European extertions". We're supposed to be tiring. Now everyone knows we're great. Everyone knows we're sensational and I have to come on here and ask for help. I need your ideas in how to suppress this truth before everyone who supports Celtic, Aberdeen, Hibs, Hearts and even Manchester United starts crashing our party, wanting to swap their scarf for a red, white and blue one. How can I keep my team's genius secret any longer? It used to be the sectarianism argument which always came into play after a great Rangers result but we've made far too many inroads n that front. So people began characterising our football, changing thw subject in myriad, random ways. But we just keep winning! Please someone tell me how to paint this Rangers juggernaut as evil. Or even just as "lucky". Seven wins out of seven in the league and Easter Road, Tynecastle and Pittodire all already done. What now - "Logic is a mason"? The only conspiracy or unexplained activity now left in Scottish Football is how Neil Lennon managed to get the Manager of the Month award for September. His side won all their SPL games, yes - as well as hammering six past Inverness Caley in the League Cup. But Rangers won all our league games, hammered seven past Dunfermline in that same League Cup and held Man United to a draw at Old Trafford before winning at home against a side who've spent �£40M on players in the last 2 years, all to finish thw month top of the SPL and our champions League group. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It's out there now - scoring a 94th-minute winner at Tynecastle has put the tin lid on it - we're a club who've made just one big- money signing in the last two years and he can't even play in Europe. And he was taken off injured today at 1-0 to Hearts!! We play great defence when we're up against sides with more money than us and when we're up against minnows at Ibrox we go all-out attack and bang in plenty of goals. When we go away in the SPL we always give our opponents a goal or two before beating them. We play every kind of football to suit every kind of occassion and we're going for our third straight league title. The secret's out - the Rangers story during Walter Smith's second coming has been romantic, heroic - sensational. I don't feel privileged anymore. Now it's just common knowlegde and, for me, it's totally cheapened the whole experience of watching Rangers. Perhaps. But, then again, if Walter Smith were to be named manager of the month every month it'd be too obvious. Mmmm. Yeah. Clever. And everyone on the radio's currently talking about some foul Hearts should have been awarded in the build up to our winner. Great - this is promising.. Maybe us Bluenoses will be allowed keep the magic of Rangers all to ourselves just a little while longer. Ahem. Because - yes - Rangers are rubbish, don't you know - just plain lucky, boring and rubbish.

On the back of another Kenny Miller double, this time contributing to the demise of Aberdeen at Pittodrie and firing Rangers back to the top of the league, the Scotland forward himself admits he is in the form of his career. Miller has already struck times in the SPL this season with just 6 games played, 11 in 7 if you count the first against Liechtenstein for Scotland. I will not try to re-write history. Miller returned to Ibrox to a hostile reception from the fans, none more so than myself. Even as rumours emerged that Walter might be interested in signing the striker who had served him so well as manager of the national team fans made their thoughts well known at games. Smith, though, is as strong a character as you will find in the Scottish game, (ask Killie chairman Michael Johnstone) and would not be dissuaded. The manager had an image for his Rangers team and would be his own man, making the signings he deemed necessary. Miller has had much to fight against, having scored for Celtic against Rangers prior to being re-singed from Derby and having a less than impressive scoring record for his previous employers north and south of the border. Whilst his work rate has never been in question, his allegiances, his touch and his composure were all very questionable. Miller�s effervescent style along with doubles against Celtic quickly saw many fans change their view on Miller more than repaying the manager�s faith in him. Again, though, I would be being economical with the truth if I were to say that he had completely won over all the fans. As has often been the case with Miller a rich vein of form and goals would be followed by an equal if not longer fallow period. He could not always be relied on to produce the goals. This season, however, Miller has produced goal-scoring form that even Kris Boyd would have trouble keeping up with whilst still contributing to all round team play and providing opportunities for his team mates. How then does this apply to Ulster hitman? Lafferty did not arrive with as much scepticism, nay outright hostility. Despite a modest goal-scoring record with former club Burnley, impressive outings for Northern Ireland saw Lafferty�s arrival greeted with much optimism. More so from fans across the Irish Sea. Lafferty did not have to contend with the baggage of being an unwelcome signing, a supposed traitor among the ranks. However, the first few years of Lafferty�s Rangers career have not been plain sailing. You would imagine that a player who has scored the goal that ultimately sealed the title on the last two occasions would be universally revered by his club�s supporters. But in truth that is not even close to half of the Kyle Lafferty story. Despite occasional flashes of quality from Lafferty he has all too often flattered to deceive. Combine this with moments of gross stupidity, on and off the field, and the rangy forward has all but eroded much of the cautious optimism that greeted his signing. Many of his more fervent supporters would argue that his cause has not been helped by a vindictive media campaign, but we should not allow a Ranger to shirk all responsibility of his behaviour and performances on the field. So, whilst Lafferty�s signing cannot be compared to the loud disapproval with which Miller�s signing met, the gaffer�s continued persistence to fit a toiling forward into his team has engendered much animosity toward the player. This is further exacerbated by a (by Rangers standards) hefty transfer fee. Particularly since the club, until this present season, have had no room for manoeuvre in the transfer window. Lafferty needs look no further than across the dressing room for the inspiration to overcome such adversity. Whilst the source of the hostility towards either player is markedly different, the road to redemption is exactly the same. Committed performances characterised by the skill and ability that Lafferty has so far exhibited all too infrequently and the kind of goal-scoring form required of a first choice Rangers forward can see Lafferty sharing the limelight with his more celebrated team mate rather than merely seeking to emulate a player currently of immeasurable value to Rangers trophy-winning aspirations.