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VLADIMIR WEISS talked the talk with Walter Smith. Then he walked the walk against Motherwell. Now he aims to do the same against Celtic. Rangers' on-loan wide boy from Manchester City was absolutely outstanding in the 4-1 victory at Motherwell. Scoring one wonder goal and setting up another two, Weiss was the shining light in a team bursting with stars. He picked up a bottle of champagne as the sponsor's Man of the Match. But Weiss insists it wouldn't have been possible without the heart-to-heart he had with boss Smith last week. Disappointed with the way his season was going, he knocked on the manager's door and asked for a quiet word. Smith threw his arm around the confidence-sapped star. Weiss is now desperate to repay the faith the Ibrox gaffer has shown in him by starting against Celtic in the title crunch next week. Weiss said: "I wanted to score my third goal of the season and I am happy it came against Motherwell. "After they scored it was really important to get the third goal and get the game back on our side again. "It didn't matter if it was a tap-in or whatever, because the team performance is all that matters. And we were brilliant. "But from a personal point of view, I think that was my best performance for Rangers. "I know I haven't been doing well in the last few games and I spoke to the manager and had a good chat with him last week. "I have not been creating enough, but this has been my first season where I have been playing week in, week out. "I went to see him and it worked from both sides. "I have not been happy with myself and I wanted to get in there. "The manager has got great experience and I knew he could help me. "That was why I went to see him. The chat really helped to boost my confidence. "The manager spoke to me and told me what to do and just to go out and run at defenders. "I have been working hard in training and I am really happy he gave me a second chance and I was able to impress him. "Now I have to do it every week. If I am not playing well the confidence is not as high. "I tried not to think about things. I just tried to get out there and run at defenders and after two or three runs it got my confidence up. Then I just enjoyed the game. "I don't think there is pressure in football - it was just the confidence. "If you are not doing well and you are not happy with yourself then you don't enjoy the games the same. "After I spoke to the gaffer everything really changed and he told me he believes in me and that really helped me. "I just went out to show him I could do better than I had previously shown. "I did not start at Celtic Park and I am going to do my best against St Johnstone on Wednesday to keep my place in the team. "Hopefully I can do the same against them as I did against Motherwell." Rangers produced arguably their best performance of the season with Weiss contributing just one of a number of top-class displays. Steven Naismith was excellent before he pulled up with a hamstring injury, while Steven Whittaker, Steven Davis and Kenny Miller were all outstanding as Gers enjoyed a terrific win. Smith's side clearly mean business at this crucial part of the season. Weiss added: "After the break we've had, we were glad to get out there and impress everybody. "We have been working hard in training and I think we really deserved the win. "The manager didn't say anything personally to me after the game. "He was really pleased with the performance because over the last three games we haven't been doing that well. "But we started the game differently here and we had the game in total control over the 90 minutes. "We need to win the game on Wednesday and then all eyes will be on Sunday. "We want to win every game, but we know this one is going to be really important for us." Next week's Old Firm showdown is the one supporters of both clubs can't wait for. But Weiss insists St Johnstone in Perth on Wednesday is equally important. He added: "We need to get a good rest and recovery and be ready for Wednesday. "Hopefully we can get three points and if we could win at the weekend then, hopefully, we could be five points clear or more. "It could be important, but I still think it is too early to talk about things. "If we can win our next two games and our game in hand then we could go eight points clear and that could go a long way towards winning the league. "We just need to concentrate on Wednesday and then we can see what happens from there." Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3318445/Walt-had-a-word-to-the-Weiss.html#ixzz19INPaVcf

Dec 26 2010 Mark Guidi, Sunday Mail NEXT Sunday's Old Firm clash is in danger of being postponed as Rangers race against the clock to make sure Ibrox is safe. It's understood the water damage caused by burst pipes in the main stand 10 days ago is still a major cause for concern. And if the derby was scheduled for today then police and health and safety officials would not allow it to go ahead. Rangers' last home game with St Mirren was called off because of the damaged pipes. They have not yet been fully prepared due to the freezing weather but sources at Ibrox insist the main stand will be ready and fully operational in plenty of time for the 50,000 sell-out clash. Gers are aware of the concerns and are working non-stop to make sure the stadium is in tip-top condition. They are confident the match will not become another victim of the big freeze. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/2010/12/26/old-firm-clash-could-be-postponed-as-rangers-face-race-to-repair-water-damage-at-ibrox-86908-22807738/

The disaster game was my first ever OF game and thankfully i was only allowed to go because i could use my uncles season ticket for the main stand. I remember the stairway pressure only too well in other games although obviously not to the extent of the disaster day. It really was an accident waiting to happen. I remember my father always telling me to cross my arms to protect my chest and make sure I stayed on my feet. Probably useless advice when it did go wrong. I remember the shouts when the pressure was getting really bad trying to stop more people coming on to the stairs. This was not a one game occurrence but played a part in all games. How no one realised what could happen if things did go wrong long before they did i will never know. To say people see it as if it is a medal to be at the game i feel a bit unfair as the shock when we got home to see on the news the bodies lying on the pitch was also a huge emotional blow. To know just an hour or two earlier you were standing, or sitting in my case, looking at the pitch where the bodies then lay put me and i would imagine all supporters in an emotional state of shock. Yes we attach ourselves to that game but not as if we won a medal but because we felt for the supporters with whom we had just a short time earlier supported our team together, and who were then lying lifeless on the pitch. God bless them.

RANGERS captain David Weir has accused the club's bankers of unreasonable behaviour in placing fresh restrictions on manager Walter Smith ahead of the forthcoming transfer window. The veteran defender is bemused by the policy, confirmed again by Smith earlier this week, which currently means no funds will be available to spend in January for either permanent or loan signings. With Rangers still in limbo as they await the outcome of the latest takeover bid for the club from businessmen Craig Whyte and Andrew Ellis, Lloyds Banking Group continues to dictate the financial management at Ibrox. Weir believes Rangers' bid to win a third successive SPL title this season and qualify for next year's Champions League could be seriously compromised if they are not allowed to strengthen the squad next month. "It seems illogical that we can't sign any new players in January," said Weir. "Given how successful we have been in reaching a European final and playing in the Champions League, reducing the wage bill and the squad at the same time, you wonder how much further you can go down in terms of numbers and still be competitive. "I'm an amateur when it comes to finances, but you look at the debt and the money brought in since the manager took over. You'd like to think that you could have wiped out the debt in that time with the money we've brought in. I'm obviously missing something." Lloyds last night declined to comment on Weir's criticism. Rangers' debt in their most recent annual accounts stood at �£27.1 million, of which �£22.3 million is owed to Lloyds and incorporates their long-term loan agreement with the bank and overdraft facilities. A two-year transfer embargo was lifted by Lloyds last summer, allowing Smith to spend �£5.25 million in transfer fees on strikers Nikica Jelavic and James Beattie and secure the loan signings of Vladimir Weiss and Richard Foster. That investment was offset by the sales of Kevin Thomson and Danny Wilson for �£4 million, however, while four other senior players left the club at the end of their contracts. Rangers raked in almost �£14 million from their participation in the Champions League group stage last season, allowing them to record a profit of �£4.2 million, and will earn even more from the current European campaign which has seen them finish third in their Champions League group to progress to the knockout stages of the Europa League. Weir is also concerned that they may face that challenge with their existing squad further diminished as prize assets such as Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor are vulnerable to potential transfer bids. "That's what the manager and his staff are fighting," added Weir. "You cannot underestimate the job we've done with one hand tied behind our back. "It's not inconceivable there could be departures next month. It's the reality of where we are at (with the bank]. It's no secret that, if a right bid comes in, then the player will go. We'd prefer everyone to remain and keep our best players to be successful, but it's out of our hands. "The tightness of our squad has been the basis of the success we have had in recent seasons, but that can change as well." Weir was speaking at Hampden, where he promoted ESPN's live coverage of SPL football over the festive period which will begin with Rangers against Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday. He was joined by Celtic captain Scott Brown, who made his return from injury as a substitute in his team's 1-1 draw at home to Kilmarnock on Tuesday night. The 25-year-old midfielder is likely to be restored to the starting line-up on Sunday when Celtic seek to put their recent stuttering form behind them for the visit of St Johnstone. But, while manager Neil Lennon is able to add to his squad next month, Brown insists Celtic already have the strength and quality required to overhaul Rangers and win the title for the first time in three years. "Our squad is probably the best in the league, to be perfectly honest," said Brown. "We've got around 25 or 30 player who can come into the first team at any time. We've pretty much got two good starting elevens. If we went through January without buying a player, we would still be fine. "We have a big game on Sunday and we need to keep close to Rangers before the Old Firm game at Ibrox on 2 January. "There is no real concern about our form. We are looking good in training and we are dominating teams in games. We are putting the ball in the box and we just need a bit of luck." http://sport.scotsman.com/football/Bank39s-tight-grip-on-spending.6670700.jp?articlepage=2

From the BBC.

Will our game against Motherwell go ahead? The Lanarkshire club have called in plumbers to try and fix the problem at Fir Park and are hopeful their Boxing Day tie will go ahead. Plumbers are currently at Motherwell's Fir Park to fix burst pipes and leaks caused by the freezing temperatures which have gripped Scotland for several weeks. The Lanarkshire club are due to host Rangers on Boxing Day, in a match which is likely to attract a bumper crowd. A Motherwell spokesman told STV on Thursday the club were optimistic the fixture would still go ahead, despite similar problems causing postponements at other SPL grounds of late. The playing surface at Fir Park remains playable, with the managerless club having hosted Hearts on December 14. Recent snowfall has also been cleared from the pitch in preperation for Sunday's game. Rangers' home game with St Mirren on December 18 was called off because of burst pipes at Ibrox caused by the big freeze, while Hamilton have also had to postpone fixtures because of a fault in their undersoil heating system. Fears the Old Firm derby on January 2 may be postponed because of the problems at Ibrox however have been played down by Rangers, who insist the game will go ahead as planned unless there is a significant and more severe dip in temperatures between now and the match. The adverse weather has played havoc with the Scottish football fixture calendar, with a raft of call offs meaning some teams haven't tasted action since mid-November. http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/motherwell/217041-motherwell-optimistic-rangers-game-will-go-ahead-despite-burst-pipes/

SCOTTISH football could change forever with plans for money-spinning play-offs in the SPL. Representatives of Hearts, Kilmarnock and Dundee United have secretly discussed ground-breaking proposals to bring the format to the top FOUR teams in Scotland. SunSport can reveal their sensational plans would mean the team who finished top of the league WOULDN'T automatically be crowned champions. Instead, there would be two-legged semi-finals between first and fourth and second and third, before a glittering winner-takes-all Hampden showdown. The men behind the plan - which they believe will be worth at LEAST �£4million per season - had hoped to table the sensational plans at today's SPL summit which was postponed due to the weather. Last night an SPL insider revealed the top-secret proposals United, Killie and Hearts believe will smash the Old Firm's football stranglehold. A source said: "This has only come to the fore in the last 48 hours but the implications are MASSIVE. "The league propose play-offs at the bottom but is that really going to float the boat of the broadcasters or fans? "If you do it at the bottom, why not the top? It's radical and people will initially assume it's madcap. The people involved say it's anything but." The minds behind the controversial system acknowledge the Old Firm are likely to be against it. They believe that's exactly why EVERY other club will back the move. They have calculated all five play-off games would attract a total of 200,000 fans, with gate receipts totalling �£4m. That's before any broadcasting deal to show the play-offs would be struck. Going by last season's final SPL table, Walter Smith's champs Rangers, Celtic, Dundee United and Hibs would all have been involved. A source said: "There isn't a reason why anyone outside the Old Firm SHOULDN'T vote for this. They've nothing to lose." Dundee United chief Stephen Thompson admitted he was in favour of play-offs at the top end of the table. He said: "The proposals that have been put to us contain a lot of decent ideas and a lot of good things have been tabled. "However, if there is to be a 10-team league - and I still do not think that is right from a purely footballing sense - why can't it be more radical? "I strongly believe that fans of teams outwith the Old Firm have become fed up of those two sharing the title between them. "It is incredible and extremely regrettable that the last non-Old Firm title win was 25 years ago. "I think we need to go further and make things more interesting at the top of the table as well as having promotion/ relegation play-offs." Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/3309058/Play-off-for-SPL-title.html#ixzz18dMejHZU

RANGERS are unhappy with the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for scheduling an Old Firm game between the two ties in the last 32 of the Europa League. They were drawn against Sporting Lisbon yesterday and now face a pivotal eight days in February which will be hugely significant in their pursuit of four trophies. Rangers realised weeks ago that if they made it through to the Europa League their first ties in 2011 would come either side of the third league game against Celtic this season. Now they know exactly what is being demanded of them as they face Sporting at Ibrox on Thursday February 17, go to Parkhead at lunchtime on Sunday 20, and are then in Portugal for the second leg on February 24. Rangers have been unhappy with the scheduling since the SPL announced its league dates months ago, even before they knew it would definitely affect them. Privately the clubââ?¬â?¢s view is that the derby should have been scheduled away from the European dates. The UEFA draw in Nyon, Switzerland, also paired Rangers with either Lille or PSV Eindhoven in the last 16 if they were to make it past the Portuguese, who have former Rangers man Pedro Mendes in their squad. Currently, they are third in the league, 12 points behind leaders Porto. Rangers memorably defeated Sporting in the quarter-finals when they went on to reach the UEFA Cup final in 2008. Given that Rangers were unseeded and could have drawn the likes of Manchester City or Liverpool, being paired with Sporting and then Lille or PSV was a draw warmly welcomed by the Rangers management. The first leg against Lisbon is at Ibrox and, if they progress, they would have home advantage in the second leg in the last 16. Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, was pleased with the draw and reflected on the 2-0 away win which eliminated Sporting in 2008. ââ?¬Å?We know we will face two really tough games because they are playing well at the moment and we had to play well to win there last time out. ââ?¬Å?We played some good football against them across the two legs and we will have to repeat those kinds of levels to have success in the Europa League. Of course, Pedro Mendes is there so we know the quality of player that we will face. ââ?¬Å?Weââ?¬â?¢ve got good experience now in European competitions and weââ?¬â?¢ll need to use that to handle the situations. You can use every element to your advantage and we can try to do that with having the first leg at home. There is plenty of time between now and the games. We we will have them watched closely and will know what we are up against.ââ?¬Â Sporting werenââ?¬â?¢t at the draw as bad weather prevented Francisco Costa, their director of football, from arriving in time. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/rangers-dissatisfied-after-euro-dates-sandwich-old-firm-game-1.1075234

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!

Nikica Jelavic is due back at Murray Park next week to step up his recovery from ankle surgery, but Walter Smith is pessimistic about the prospects of the �£4million Croatian striker being fit to face Celtic on January 2. 'Nikica is back here next week, although there is the complication of his wife expecting a baby next week, as well - so it might be put back another seven days,' explained the Ibrox boss. 'When he gets back, he will get into his training but, realistically, it will be the middle of next month before he is ready. It's more than likely he will miss the Old Firm game.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1337638/Rangers-boss-Walter-Smiths-worry-Kenny-Miller-talks-stall.html#ixzz17o1NRIJY

By Glenn Gibbons The most depressing aspect of the general decline in the standard of Scottish football is that, at the top end, it seems to be not only readily accepted, but embraced. In this regard, Rangers, as champions, have the responsibility of representing the country. As such, they have been over the past couple of seasons the kind of ambassadors whose questionable comportment at times would occasion the need to take refuge in diplomatic immunity. Of course, it is an old truth that supporters - especially those unused to the kind of regular trophy-gathering that is the preserve of the Old Firm - will acclaim success in any guise. It is very likely, for example, that Hearts' unconvincing penalty shoot-out victory over Gretna - after a conspicuously unimpressive 1-1 draw - in the 2006 Scottish Cup final was celebrated as intensely as their inspired 3-1 defeat of Celtic in the corresponding fixture 50 years earlier. But, as the touchstone by which the level of excellence in the SPL is to be evaluated, Rangers in the last two Champions League campaigns will have left the impression around Europe of an old gem that has long since lost its lustre. Walter Smith has been able to claim, with a degree of justification, a certain improvement in the performance of his Ibrox side in the group phase that ended in Turkey on Tuesday compared with that which left them seriously embarrassed last season. But, in truth, three goals scored and one victory gained - the latter by a single goal at home to a Bursaspor team who took one point from the series - in six matches is hardly the stuff of dreams. Nor is the need to have come from behind to salvage points in six of 14 domestic league games this season, or to have won the same number of fixtures by a single-goal margin, on too many occasions leaving either Smith or his deputy, Ally McCoist, to tell the post-match media conference that "we weren't at our best today". Coming through these various trials successfully is, understandably, acclaimed by Rangers supporters as an indicator of the players' unquenchable spirit. But to place such a positive emphasis on their character is to ignore the mediocrity that often necessitates the resilience. Simply better-than-average sides, far less exceptional ones, tend to be, in the main, less troubled and more convincing than the Scottish champions have been at home and abroad these past two seasons. There could hardly be a more damning commentary on a team's capabilities than that which has been applied to Rangers - that they are at their best when they don't have the ball. What should disturb the club's followers more than anything is that acknowledgement of the team's deficiencies begins not with media critics, but with Smith himself. The manager has been regularly on record with the claim that his ultra-defensive philosophy, especially in Europe, springs from his conviction that his players are not good enough to flirt with a more open and adventurous style without being picked off by demonstrably superior opponents. It is quite bizarre to note that the Rangers player who often shows the most aggressive instinct in their European games - who appears at times to have the unbridled instinct for flight of a prisoner who has gone over the wall - is the central defender, Madjid Bougherra. Yet, to the neutral observer, it is often clear that skilful, inventive and potentially incisive players such as Steve Davis and Steven Naismith are shackled by cautiousness, conditioned to looking behind rather than ahead for team-mates. It is the tactical equivalent of playing in leg irons. What should disturb followers of the other 11 SPL teams, including Celtic, is that, despite their imperfections, the reigning champions have shown themselves over the past two campaigns to be unarguably - and by a considerable distance - the best. http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/Glenn-Gibbons-Rangers-fail-to.6657506.jp?articlepage=2

Dallas and four other employees were dismissed for forwarding an email which linked the visit of the Pope to the UK with the child abuse scandal within the Roman Catholic Church. Under the SFA’s disciplinary procedures the five staff members involved in the incident had until close of business yesterday to lodge their appeals against the sanction. The SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, refused to comment on the grounds that the matter is now an internal disciplinary affair to be handled by the Association’s human resources department. However, I understand that at least four of the five have appealed and that Dallas is one of those who will now have their cases re-examined by the SFA’s president, George Peat. Meanwhile, the reverberations of Dallas’s sacking and the resignation of Dougie McDonald, the referee who lied about why he had rescinded a penalty awarded to Celtic in their game against Dundee United at Tannadice on Oct 17, continue to be felt within the corridors of power at Hampden Park. On Tuesday, Regan responded forcefully to comments by Jim Sheridan, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North and a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in Westminster, who became the latest public figure to attempt to put pressure on the governing body of Scottish football when he called for “their views on transparency, the structure of the SFA, the conspiracy culture and the way we deal with referees.” Sheridan added: “People I speak to within the game are fed up with every week bringing a new conspiracy theory and another referee being at fault. It has to be brought to an end. “I want a fresh pair of eyes to have a close look at the whole structure and see how it operates and advise how it should be operating. If there is bias or bigotry within the organisation then let’s get rid of it for the good of the game. “Things really have to be clarified as it just cannot continue the way we are at the moment by accusing a referee of bias every time a team loses.” Sport is, of course, one of the areas devolved to the Scottish Executive and as the Westminster committee’s own website states: “Are football governance rules in England and Wales, and the governing bodies which set and apply them, fit for purpose?” In any case, the SFA is already in the process of being scrutinised in a detailed review by another Scottish Labour politician, as Regan sharply reminded Sheridan when he issued a statement which said: “I am surprised by the comments attributed in the media yesterday to Jim Sheridan MP. Mr Sheridan spoke publicly before making any effort to contact me or ascertain details of the work currently ongoing to improve our game. “Mr Sheridan’s comments on alleged bias within the Scottish FA are divisive, grossly misguided and deeply unhelpful. “He has called for an independent review, when it is widely known that the former First Minister, Henry McLeish, presented the first part of his completely independent review of Scottish football earlier this year, and that part two is due to be published imminently. “My intention to conduct a review of internal processes at the Scottish FA has also been widely reported. “Finally, with regard to Mr Sheridan’s comments on referees, we have, again, already stated our intention to work with all relevant parties to create a Referees’ Charter. In short, we are in the process of addressing every point Mr Sheridan makes, and I would be happy to meet with him to clarify these details. “I am also interested to hear more on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s renewed interest in Scottish football, and am especially keen to find out what level of support they are able to offer the game going forward.” As far as more immediate matters on the field of play are concerned, the Scottish Premier League remains cautious about the likelihood of any games going ahead on Saturday. The entire SPL card was wiped out last weekend on police advice and the situation worsened on Monday when Scotland’s road network was paralysed after a blizzard struck during the morning rush hour. Although a reduced train service was in operation, hundreds of motorists were forced to remain in their cars overnight and many more workers chose to sleep in their offices, including 14 SFA staff and the SPL chief executive, Neil Doncaster. Doncaster believes that the thaw which is predicted to reach Scotland on Thursday will allow the weekend fixtures to proceed, although he acknowledged that the issue is not simply a matter of conditions at grounds. “At the top of our priorities we have to have supporters’ welfare,” Doncaster said. “Although the forecast is for very cold weather overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday, it is thought there will be a considerable thaw towards the end of the week so we will be reviewing that over the next 48 hours before we make any final decisions. “We have to bear in mind that clubs want to get fixtures away.” If the SPL games do go ahead, Willie Collum will return to Celtic Park for the first time since he took charge of the Old Firm derby there on Oct 24. The match ended in a 3-1 victory for Rangers, who were awarded a debatable penalty kick, about which Celtic complained. Later on the day of the match, the 31-year-old Collum – a teacher of religious education at the Roman Catholic Cardinal Newman High School in Bellshill – received death threats at his home. On Saturday he will referee Celtic’s home fixture against Kilmarnock. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/scottish-premier/8187340/Sacked-referees-chief-Hugh-Dallas-is-to-appeal-against-his-dismissal-by-the-Scottish-Football-Association.html

According to The Sun... http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3256068/Kirk-KO.html I think a new centre back is a must in January.

Roddy Forsyth: soap opera surrounding Hugh Dallas episode reeks of nasty opportunism So the conspiracy theorists were correct all along. The truth, at last, is out there and Scottish football is in turmoil, although it took disruption to the fixture card to bring the whole sorry mess into the open. This goes back to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, of course. The oil has gummed up the ocean bed and switched off the North Atlantic Current, which keeps Europe from freezing. We are at the start of a new Ice Age. You donââ?¬â?¢t believe it? OK, what game are you going to watch this weekend? In lieu of a match programme, you might want to read the findings of Dr Gianluigi Zangari, theoretical physicist at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Italy who says that the Earthââ?¬â?¢s central heating system has broken down because of the oil spill. When the archaeologists of the future dig down through the tundra around Hampden Park they are bound to ask how the planet could have been plunged into deep cold just after a Krakatoa of hot air erupted over the subject of Scottish referees ââ?¬â?? and why there were so many unresolved issues even when the volcanic row became dormant. A couple of facts could be established, mind you. Hugh Dallas was not sacked as the Scottish Football Associationââ?¬â?¢s head of referee development for being satirical or sectarian in forwarding a widely circulated email about the Pope. His forced departure was because he had breached the SFAââ?¬â?¢s rules about IT, which prohibit the dissemination of potentially sensitive or offensive emails. Dallas was dismissed, plus four more employees, because of that infraction. Other SFA staff members were warned about their conduct in the same regard. It appears that the five who were sacked had forwarded the email beyond the confines of the SFA offices, while those who were warned did not. At which point the unanswered questions begin. Why did the SFA begin its disciplinary process all of six weeks after the circulation of the emails had been discovered? Were the sackings disproportionate? Was the nature and outcome of the disciplinary procedure in any way influenced by the much publicised intervention of Peter Kearney, director of the Scottish Catholic Media Office? It would be a surprise if mââ?¬â?¢learned friends were not examining this very point on behalf of the sacked quintet. Indeed, I believe that is exactly what they are doing. Kearneyââ?¬â?¢s role also warrants scrutiny. He was rejected as a SNP candidate for both Westminster and Holyrood by the voters of Coatbridge and Chryston but he retains sufficient political nous to be certain that his pronouncements about the email in question would generate enormous publicity. So, on whose authority did Kearney act? Did he have the prior approval of Cardinal Oââ?¬â?¢Brien or did the Scottish Catholic Church press officer go freelance on this issue? Of the email depicting the Pope, Kearney said: ââ?¬Å?We will not tolerate it. We will not laugh it off or see the funny side ââ?¬â?? because there is no funny side.ââ?¬Â Does that, then, apply to the edition of Have I Got News For You? which employed the same image as the Hampden email when the BBCââ?¬â?¢s irreverent news review programme was transmitted in the week of the Papal visit to the UK in September? And, if so, where was the implacable protest, the declaration that such a display indicated that ââ?¬â?? to use Kearneyââ?¬â?¢s words ââ?¬â?? hostility to Roman Catholics that is ââ?¬Å?deep, wide and viciousââ?¬Â. If Kearney did have the approval of Cardinal Oââ?¬â?¢Brien for his insistence that Dallas be sacked if found to have forwarded the email, is His Eminence satisfied that justice was done by extending the same sanction to a practicing adherent of his own faith and a man of 60 who, having recently lost his wife, has now been deprived of his livelihood at the SFA ââ?¬â?? and if so, what does that say for the application of Christian charity? In Kearneyââ?¬â?¢s denunciation of the Hampden email and others like it he declared that priests in West Lothian and Renfrewshire had been attacked by ââ?¬Ë?thugsââ?¬â?¢. Given that a childcare specialist in Wales was forced to leave her home by a self-styled vigilante mob who could not distinguish between a paediatrician and a paedophile, one could certainly believe that innocent Roman Catholic clergy might be at risk from similarly ignorant or bigoted buffoons. Yet where were the reports or police investigations into these incidents? I ask because, within five minutes of three complaints being received by Strathclyde Police about Dallas, a tabloid newspaper reported in its online edition that the Hate Crimes Unit was investigating him. Strathclyde Police do not have a Hate Crimes Unit and they are not ââ?¬â?? and never were ââ?¬â?? investigating Dallas. And we may ask why Kearney did not denounce the knuckle draggers who phoned death threats to a religious education teacher at a Roman Catholic High School in Lanarkshire ââ?¬â?? who just happened to have awarded Rangers a debatable penalty kick when Celtic lost 3-1 in the Old Firm derby on Oct 24. Whatever may be the rights and wrongs of the Dallas episode ââ?¬â?? and I think that he was stupid to have forwarded the email even if he thought it was a harmless joke ââ?¬â?? the outcome reeks of nasty opportunism. Speaking of which, the forced departure of Dougie McDonald was a declared aim of the Celtic directors ââ?¬â?? stated with considerable force by the Parkhead chairman at the clubââ?¬â?¢s chairman at the annual general meeting three weeks ago. Why, then, was it left to Paul McBride QC ââ?¬â?? in a rare distraction from his duties at the Tommy Sheridan perjury trial at the High Court in Glasgow ââ?¬â?? to speak as someone ââ?¬Å?close to the clubââ?¬â?¢s boardââ?¬Â and say that they had experienced ââ?¬Å?a sense of quiet vindicationââ?¬Â at the refereeââ?¬â?¢s decision to resign, McDonald having lied to their manager about a penalty kick decision at Tannadice in October. There was nothing quiet when John Reid was whipping up the gallery at the AGM, but the former so-called ââ?¬Ë?big beast of the Labour Partyââ?¬â?¢ has gone all coy now. Nor is there a squeak from anyone else at the club whose commitment to transparency is flexible enough to include threats of non-cooperation to broadcast outlets who transmitted Gary Hooperââ?¬â?¢s dopey remarks about Scottish referees. Anyway, as I say, itââ?¬â?¢ll all be academic once the permafrost kicks in. And itââ?¬â?¢s precisely because Russia knows how to cope with the coming freeze that Fifa awarded them the 2018 World Cup. Think Iââ?¬â?¢m kidding? Is the Pope a Catholic? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/scottish-premier/8177228/Roddy-Forsyth-soap-opera-surrounding-Hugh-Dallas-episode-reeks-of-nasty-opportunism.html

I honestly worry about McCoist becoming manager.

An unequalled start to the season by the Old Firm saw us going into the top of the table clash with both teams boasting a 100% record. We of course, drew first blood and took a 3 point and psychological advantage in the title race. We almost immediately relinquished that advantage with a draw home to Caley. Celtic today snatching a draw from the jaws of victory has essentially given us a free result there. Our own home draw with ICT has not hurt us. Our loss to Hibernian was also a sore one, but fortunately we got out of jail as Celtic lost to the other capital side on the same night. A rare occurence for the Glasgow powerhouses. Factor in Celtic again throwing away a lead late last week against Dundee United and this week we have a chance to really hammer home our advantage. Coincidentally against the same opposition who have damaged Celtic's title bid. Bad as Celtic are, though, we will only get so many get of jail free cards as the rest of the league are worse. It is good to see that in the couple of games we have slipped up, Celtic have gained absolutely nothing in equivalent fixtures.

What's the bigger crime? Drink driving and putting people's lives at risk or telling a white lie to a manager after a game has finished? What's the bigger crime? Drink driving and putting people's lives at risk or forwarding an email? Who should lose their job? You decide. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/11/26/celtic-coach-alan-thompson-on-drink-driving-charge-86908-22741552/

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

THE problem the Scottish Football Association is having with referees at the moment can be traced back a mere nine months to their feeble reaction to an incredible claim on the official Celtic website. You may recall that less than two hours after Rangers had won the Old Firm game at Ibrox in February, in a match which saw the Parkhead captain Scott Brown sent off, the official Celtic website made an astonishing attack on the referee. It claimed no fair minded person could agree the sending off of Brown was the correct decision. The clear implication was the referee was not a fair minded person. The further implication being that he was biased. Yet, when the matter was referred to the SFA's General Purposes Committee,it led to the SFA giving Celtic no more than a slap on the wrist, in the form of a censure. It was hardly the sort of defence a referee deserved from the SFA, and perhaps there was resentment among officials at the lenient way Celtic were dealt with. At the time I felt the SFA decision was tantamount to sparing the rod and spoiling the child. Or, to put it another way, giving an inch which would soon become a mile. However, that was not the first time Celtic appeared to have been indulged by the SFA in recent years. When Hugh Dallas was felled and bloodied by a missile, to the extent that his wound needed stitching, the men in charge of the SFA at the time felt the offence was serious enough to warrant a substantial fine. However, by the time Fernando Ricksen was also battered by a missile and also needed a wound stitched, the SFA appeared to have lost its grip. A slap on the wrist was all that followed, despite the previous. At the time surely stronger action was needed to lay down a marker. Perhaps an order to close the ground for a couple of matches - suspended for five years - was the way to head off any more trouble. People who heaped ridicule on such a suggestion were noticeably quieter just two years later when the Rangers doctor became the latest victim of the missile throwers inside Parkhead. Much of what has followed - and which has climaxed in the refereeing strike - has appeared to take root in a support which gives every sign of being out of control. Two years ago on Remembrance weekend the Green Brigade staged a protest against Celtic wearing a Poppy on their strips. The protest was inside Parkhead in the exact same area of the same stand where the Bloodstained Poppy banner was raised this month. Surely therefore, nobody inside Celtic should have been surprised the Green Brigade - a group many may believe the club has over-indulged - should have staged some sort of protest. Last Saturday there was more bother in the same section of the stand, and Celtic chairman the Baron Reid of Cardowan, was the subject of more hate filled banners. And that despite some harsh words spoken by the Baron Reid of Cardowan regarding the SFA at the Celtic AGM. It seems it is impossible for anyone inside Celtic to go far enough to satisfy the zealots and extremists who have attached themselves to the club. Yet there are still some media outlets who would have people believe the strike action being taken by referees has been prompted by a number of actions by a number of clubs, their managers, players and supporters. In fact, any of these run-of-the-mill confrontations which have taken place in recent weeks and months have been no more than we have witnessed over the years, and are what referees regard as usual. What has been unusual has been the perception of a campaign to get rid of Hugh Dallas, undermine the SFA and create anarchy, which has many Celtic supporters whipping themselves into a lathered frenzy. There was even a letter to UEFA from one Celtic supporter begging for intervention. A supplication which was quickly kicked into touch by that higher authority. Does that make UEFA party to a great conspiracy? Goodness knows what they think about what's going on in Scottish football. Maybe the Eurocrats are having a sly wee snigger behind their hands at the way Celtic supporters are ranting. But surely there is somebody within UEFA who can see the danger, and who can have a quiet word with the Baron Reid of Cardowan and ask him to try and calm Celtic supporters before some extremist and zealot commits one of act of madness which even the recently supine Scottish Football Assocation cannot dismiss with a mere censure. http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/

ST MIRREN bosses have leapt to the defence of one of their youth players after he was charged with being involved in shouting sectarian abuse at Celtic supporters. Club chiefs are backing the 18-year-old following an alleged confrontation with away fans in the moments after the Buddiesââ?¬â?¢ live TV clash with the Old Firm giants on Sunday. The Paisley Daily Express understands that key to the playerââ?¬â?¢s claim of innocence is that he actually is a Roman Catholic CELTIC fan! The youngster ââ?¬â?? who plays for the Paisley clubââ?¬â?¢s Under-19 side but was acting as a ballboy during the game ââ?¬â?? was charged by cops on Monday after they visited St Mirren Park to question him on the post-match incident. They acted after receiving a complaint from Celtic fans. But Saints general manager Brian Caldwell said the player is ââ?¬Å?100 per cent innocentââ?¬Â. He has now rounded up a list of witnesses willing to back up the teenagerââ?¬â?¢s denial. Mr Caldwell said: ââ?¬Å?We are totally defending our player. ââ?¬Å?Having carried out our own internal investigation and looked at CCTV footage of the incident, we are backing him 100 per cent.ââ?¬Â Mr Caldwell then blasted: ââ?¬Å?We feel the decision to charge him was wrong. This investigation is a waste of the policeââ?¬â?¢s time and money. Itââ?¬â?¢s a disgrace.ââ?¬Â It was originally claimed that five Celtic fans had witnessed the incident and were willing to back the allegation that the St Mirren youth had lobbed a sectarian slur towards them. However, the Express understands that four of them have now dropped their claims. The Saints starletââ?¬â?¢s career could be left in ruins if he is convicted of the offence, with one punishment available to judges a Scotland-wide football stadium ban. But Mr Caldwell added: ââ?¬Å?We have four or five of our own stewards who witnessed the incident and are backing our playerââ?¬â?¢s story. ââ?¬Å?Itââ?¬â?¢s a real shame for the lad to have to go through this when he has not done anything wrong. ââ?¬Å?Heââ?¬â?¢s grown up supporting Celtic so why would he hurl a sectarian slur at their fans? ââ?¬Å?His head is in a real mess right now and he is really worried. It should never have got this far.ââ?¬Â A police spokeswoman confirmed that a complaint had been made. She said: ââ?¬Å?An 18-year-old male will be reported to the procurator fiscal for an alleged breach of the peace with religious football aggravation following an incident which took place on November 14, 2010.ââ?¬Â A spokeswoman for the crown office, however, claimed the procurator fiscal had yet to recieve the police report. Mr Caldwell added: ââ?¬Å?Our hope is that once it goes to the PF they will throw it out." http://www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk/renfrewshire-news/2010/11/17/saints-chief-backs-ballboy-87085-27666625/

Taken from his Twitter site....

Walter Smith has been quoted from the pre-match press conferences for this weekend�s match as saying that whilst we had been winning matches, we hadn�t been at our best. We had a 9 game winning streak in the SPL allied to a couple of cup victories and an unbeaten first round of fixtures against each of our Champions League opponents. Much had been made of Celtic�s unbeaten run, well unbeaten if you don�t count European matches, matches against lower division opposition and matches of any significance. Ahead of our trip to Parkhead there was a sense of an Old Firm match perhaps taking on more importance than normal. Could Celtic continue this run or could Smith reassert Rangers dominance over the SPL. As is his want, Smith once more oversaw victory against our rivals and had the majority of the support believing we were nigh on unbeatable, at least within our own borders. Draws at Old Trafford and against Valencia and victory over the Champions of Turkey reaffirmed this view. Since Parkhead, although we have not been derailed we have been redirected. Merely turning up is not enough to sweep past all opposition in the SPL. Smith admits that first and foremost we must start playing well if we are to expect such regularity of victories again. Inverness was a regrettable and avoidable banana skin. In spite of an impressive away record for the highlanders, further extended in defeating our next opponents Aberdeen this midweek past, we should have had too much quality for them. Indeed we created enough chances to win. And although we had chances against Hibs, the less said about a 3-0 defeat at Ibrox the better. Rather than taking advantage of Celtic�s defeat at Tynecastle, a fixture highlighted as difficult, we have confirmed what ICT suggested. We are not infallible. We are not invincible. We must treat opposition with respect (though not too much Walter). We must be prepared, we must be committed and we must earn the three points each and every week. The manager has highlighted a depleted squad and an excuse of fatigue and tiredness. We hear these same justifications annually now. Yet we are just 18 games into the league season. In his 3 full seasons here, Davie Weir has played 61, 47 and 51 games. If the squad elder statesman can compete in so many games it is a poor reflection on his younger team mates if they are tired only a third of the way through the league campaign. If they are tired already they, and we, are in for a very long season. With matches coming thick and fast and a small pool of players it is going to take a fair amount of manipulation from the manager to keep the squad fresh and competitive. However, I would contend that it is the player�s mental states and not physical fatigue that is cause for concern. The midweek defeat was a shocking result, but given we lost no ground in the title race, maintaining pole position, it may serve as a useful reminder to the team that we must be mentally prepared for all challenges. We must respect all opposition whether they are a provincial team, a capital club supposedly in turmoil or, as with this weekend, a club living on past glories and failing to accept its new position in the game. It is up to the management to re-focus the players. Remind them the opposition will not roll up and roll over accepting defeat. If the team are mentally attuned to the challenge our opponents present, more often than not our superior quality will see us triumphant and drive us towards league title no. 54.

PATIENCE is rarely a virtue when it comes to the Old Firm but Walter Smith believes he's now reaping the rewards of a slow-burner approach with key members of his squad. The Ibrox boss is only too aware that a quick-fix is normally the order of the day at Rangers or Celtic. But after adopting the strategy used by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Smith feels the long-term approach taken with the signing of guys such as Steven Naismith, Kyle Lafferty, Kirk Broadfoot and Steven Whittaker is now paying dividends. Whittaker has blossomed into a genuine top-class performer after a tentative start to his Ibrox career, Lafferty is finally coming good while Naismith has arguably been the best player in the country during the first four months of the season. And Smith said: "Patience and the Old Firm don't go hand in hand but I felt we had to look longer term because of the position we were in. "In the past, we looked for players who would be instant successes and the pressure was on us to do that. Now we have to look a bit further into the future. "At Man United, for example, they bring in younger players and the older ones in the group handle that situation and help bring them on. "Cristiano Ronaldo scored five or six goals in his first two or three seasons then all of a sudden he was into the 20s, 30s and 40s by his last season. "You have to allow these players time to mature. The same thing has happened with a number of our players although we had a problem with Naismith in that his injury interrupted the process. "With Whittaker, he has met the demands of playing for the Old Firm and it has improved him as a player. "Some players don't handle the constant pressure but the majority of the group we've got have handled it extremely well and revelled in it in many ways." As he geared up for tonight's visit of Hibs, Smith revealed the obstacles players must overcome if they are to meet the unique demands of playing for the Old Firm. He said: "Players in their late teens and early 20s often produce a good performance and then go down a bit. "With Naismith, you could see his level of ability, but he might not be the same in another game. "The main thing players gain here is a consistency of performance and you can see it with Naismith now. "Whittaker and Broadfoot have raised their levels too and young John Fleck is coming in just now. "He has been here for a few years and knows the demands but it takes these players a while to impose themselves on games. John is going to have to start where Naismith started." Colin Calderwood brings his struggling Hibs side to Ibrox on the back of three straight defeats, including a brutal beating in Sunday's derby at home to Hearts. But Smith has warned his players to be wary of a backlash from the Easter Road outfit who roll up in Govan with nothing to lose. Three points pretty much looks a given for the SPL leaders on paper although Smith admits he is still concerned by the damaging effect of his team's gruelling Champions League campaign. The Gers boss feels his side's mental focus has been blunted in recent weeks on the back of tough European assignments. It's a an affliction not just confined to his own team, with Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal and Group C rivals Valencia all losing at the weekend after being on Champions League the previous midweek. Smith said: "It is not always a physical thing. It is a mental thing. Look at Spurs. "How do they go from beating European champions Inter Milan to losing at Bolton? "Mentally, you are not attuning yourself to the game. "We've handled our matches after Champions League fixtures OK but have been slow to start them. "At St Mirren the other day we had 76 per cent possession in the first half but we never had the edge to go any further. I don't think their keeper had a save to make other than punching the ball into his own goal. "You need that extra edge and we got it for the first 25 minutes of the second half. "It's a natural thing to happen and it is difficult to counter. "Man United do it by changing players and they've also got to a situation where they are well used to it. It's normal. "For us, we have to expend a hell of a lot of energy in the Champions League and we need to do it in every game. "Tottenham are in their first year in the contest and they are seeing it as well. It is a problem. Last season, we dropped a fair number of points after European games and it was a bit of a concern. It still is as we have a hell of a run of fixtures right now. "The edge has come off the team in spells. "We scored the first goal against Inverness and then just played within the game. The edge was missing. "But we have a small group and can't really change things round. "We've been a bit flat in several matches. We have Hibs and Aberdeen next. They have both shown us before that they will make it difficult and these two games are dangerous ones." TeamNews Vladimir Weiss is in line to play against Hibs at Ibrox tonight despite struggling with injury. The Slovakian winger has been troubled with severe bruising on his heel but has trained over the last couple of days and will be available for selection. Rangers manager Walter Smith has no fresh injury concerns but long-term crocks Andy Webster, James Beattie and Nikica Jelavic are still sidelined. BETBOX Kenny Miller can't stop scoring in the SPL and has six in four games against his former club (including a hat-trick this season). Back Miller to score two or more at 5-2. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/rangers/2010/11/10/walter-smith-rangers-long-term-policy-of-investing-in-youth-has-paid-off-86908-22705747/

YouTube - CELTIC ARE RIGHT . DODGY DECISIONS IN OLD FIRM GAMES HAIL HAIL

The phrase "stop start" doesn't quite do justice to the ups and downs in the nascent career of John Fleck. Having only turned 19 in August, Fleck seems to have been around the scene at Rangers for ages, having made his first-team debut in a pre-season tour at 15, his league debut at 16, and set a record as the youngest ever player in a Scottish Cup final when he came on for the last five minutes of the 2008 win over Queen of the South, aged just 16 years and 274 days. So much was expected of him that Fleck appeared to be overwhelmed by the hype, which included being nominated as Scotland's Wayne Rooney, only for him to suffer a disappointingly long spell off the boil. It must be mentioned that he had some extra-curricular problems that would have been normal teenage activity - a tantrum here, an illicit pub visit there - except for the fact that he lives in the Old Firm goldfish bowl where all such misdemeanors are exaggerated into grand felonies. In retrospect, was that early introduction to the big time a hindrance rather than a help? The lad himself is uncertain. "I thought it was great being involved," said Fleck, "but maybe it was too early. I'm not so sure myself, but I just did my best and got out of it what I got out of it. I just tried to let (all the hype] go past me, but obviously there was a bit of pressure on my shoulders with everybody expecting me to do probably a lot more than I did. But I just tried to get on with it myself and do the best that I could." Season 2010-11 was supposed to see Fleck put all that behind him and make the impact which his undoubted talents demand, only for the player to injure a hamstring during a pre-season friendly with Clyde. He made his belated return for 45 minutes against Inverness last week and looked fit again. Fleck explained: "It was just a wee tear of my hamstring at the start, but I did it another twice when I came back into training. It was obviously very disappointing because I just wanted to get back as quickly as I could. Maybe that was the wrong thing to do. "After the last time I did it I had a few weeks off, and that's me back fine to full fitness now." He is trying to break into a team that is unbeaten in the league as Rangers prepare to face St Mirren today in the final match of the opening third of the season, and as such he is realistic enough to know an early return is no gimme. "The team's been doing well, so you can't expect to go straight back in," said Fleck. "You just have to take your chance when it comes. "Everybody's fighting for their places just now, you can't complain because they can't get left out with how well they've been doing." That includes the Champions League matches he sorely misse I felt bad for myself, but the boys did great, which is the main thing that matters here. It's not more important than any other season to me, but the more games I get the better it's going to be for me." His manager Walter Smith has mentioned the possibility of a midfield role for the youngster. Fleck said: "I like playing behind the strikers, but I'd play anywhere really to try to get a shot. "I've played centre-mid, on the left and just off the strikers. I feel comfortable in any of the positions. Wherever I'm put in, I'll just do my best. I'm an attacking player, but I have been working on defending. When you've not got the ball, you've got to get back for the rest of the boys and not let them down." Many Rangers fans thought that Fleck being handed the No.10 jersey for the season after signing a three-year deal was a sure sign that he would be a regular first choice player, but it has not worked out that way. "There's a lot of people keep saying that to me, how did I get the No.10 jersey, but it doesn't bother me. I could wear No.50, it's not a problem to me. If anybody else wants the number, they can take it. "It was Nacho Novo, he said to (kit man] Jimmy Bell to give it to me. Obviously I was happy, but any number is good to me." Fleck will be in the squad for today's match at St Mirren Park, and Smith is delighted that the player's career could soon be back on track: "He started the season really well in Australia, but the injury has gone on for two months. I hope this season he will get more playing time and have more influence on games. His attitude has always been good and there is more of a realisation in him now about what he has to do to make the step up from youth football." The prospect of a fit John Fleck back to his best would have the fans drooling at Ibrox, but this time around, everyone concerned about his future for Rangers and Scotland should perhaps resist hyperbolic urges. "Give the boy time" is the message. http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sport/Interview-John-Fleck-Rangers-player.6615898.jp?articlepage=2