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When we had Tugay I knew he was a pretty good player and was capable of something a bit extra but he wasn't in most peoples starting XI at the time as we had Albertz, Van Bronckhurst, Ferguson, Reyna, De Boer and McCann all at their peak. But I usually click onto Skysports video website and watch that Paul Merson program where he has players and ex players on giving their all time I-XI of the players they have played with. Tugay is getting into teams quite regularly and players cant speak highly enough of him saying he was a genius. Dean Saunders was the latest this week and said he should have been playing for 1 of the big 4. Tugay has been mentioned in 3 teams in the last 2 months. Why did we sell him in the end? IIRC he wasn't one of the players who wanted to leave. I recall Reyna and Gio wanting to play at a higher level but not Tugay. Seems we had another World Class player on our books.

Not long back from the Fernando Ricksen night in the Louden and what a pleasure it was to be in this brave mans company tonight. God Bless & Stay Strong Fernando Cammy F

A couple of nights ago i was sitting with a friend and commented that season ticket prices had been frozen for two years and next year season ticket prices would inevitably go up in price, When i purchased my season tickets last year i paid £358 per ticket for my seats in the Govan front and i purchased two tickets costing me £716, Now here is where my idea comes in and before i get kicked from pillar to post i know that what i am suggesting will be a lot to ask of most fans but i am leaving my idea open to suggestions. I read somewhere that to gain a majority shareholding of Rangers thus gaining control of the club someone would need to purchase shares to the value of £13 or £14 million pounds, My idea is this next year if i buy the same season tickets i am going to pay upwards of £400 pounds per ticket per seat, Now say i pay £700 pound per ticket per seat this would generate income of just under £26 million pounds based on the current 37000 season ticket holders. £26 million pounds now look at that figure £26 million pounds what could the supporters do with £26 millon pounds well £14 million pounds buys you a controling interest in the football club leaving £12 million pounds in the bank before sponsorship merchandise and other revenue streams which i know little about. There are lots of issues around this idea, Like who would control the shares, Who would make up the board, how would the board be elected etc etc etc i would like input from others on these subjects but i would also like to remind people that supporters already own 12% of the shares meaning if these shareholders would proxy their shares and back this idea we would only need another 39% of shares to gain majority control of the club meaning it wouldn't cost £14 million for the majority shareholding leaving more money in the bank to go towards running the club for the season. Also it would be an idea to talk to influential Rangers supporters in the business world to gain knowledge in how to go about setting this up and looking for investment and we could also approach ex players that contributed to the save the Rangers fund and would hopefully be willing to contribute again towards a fan ownership model. Pie in the sky maybe but its an idea!

ALLY McCOIST insists he hasn’t been told he needs to sell any players next month and is optimistic he can keep Rangers’ best talents at the club for the long term. The manager spoke as speculation slowly rises among fans that the likes of Lee Wallace could be moved on when the transfer window opens in January. Wallace has been outstanding so far this season and has arguably been the standout player in McCoist’s side to this point. Still aged only 26 and back in the Scotland squad again, the former Hearts left-back is one of the most valuable members of the Light Blues squad. But McCoist is of the understanding there’s no requirement to cash in on Gers’ most prized possessions – and he believes Wallace is desperate to stay at Ibrox in any case. He told RangersTV: “I’ve had discussions with board members and the chief executive and there has certainly been no indication at all that we have to sell. “If that’s the case, I’m sure I’ll be informed of that but until that moment comes we obviously want to keep hold of our better and best players. “You’d have to say Lee certainly comes into that category and in moving forward, which the club hopes to do, we’d be delighted to keep our better and best players. “The fans deserve the best team we can afford to put on the park and which can play the best football and entertain 36,000 season ticket holders. “Home crowds of 45,000 would tell me the fans deserve a good product on that park and we’re trying to give them the best side we can. “Lee’s well respected here as a player and a man and the way he conducted himself last year would indicate he’s happy here and he’d want to stay. “I know he’s got a young family too so all things being well, he’ll be here with us for a good number of years yet.” McCoist’s admiration for Wallace has only grown further in the last few months as the defender has turned in a series of highly consistent displays. While the manager isn’t always one for picking out individuals, he happily accepts the ex-Jambo is worthy of exception and added: “Lee has been absolutely outstanding. “He gained a lot of respect from everybody within the club and the supporters for the way he conducted himself through administration. “I think he has enjoyed the responsibility of being one of the older players and helping some of the younger players who have come into the team. “He has also merited getting back into the international squad and he’s running the left-hand side of the park for us. “I can understand the supporters having the opinion he’d be up there among our best performers.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5783-no-need-to-sell

FOLLOWING events on Friday evening at Fir Park Stadium, Celtic Football Club today announced that it has issued precautionary suspensions against 128 individuals preventing them attending matches involving Celtic, pending further investigation. These suspensions will cover matches at Celtic Park and away matches. In addition, the Club will be relocating around 250 season book holders in Section 111 to other areas within the stadium, or offering refunds covering the remainder of the season to those who do not wish to be relocated. Events such as those on Friday night do not represent the Celtic support or the Club. These events were an embarrassment to our great football club and are absolutely indefensible. It is clear that there is an element which has no hesitation in bringing Celtic’s name into disrepute. This is something the Club will not tolerate and we therefore have no other option but to take this action. We will not allow the great name of Celtic to be damaged in this way any more - our supporters deserve more than this. While recent events are very regrettable, we would like to thank our many thousands of fans for the wonderful, positive backing which they continue to give to Celtic. We are sure these supporters will understand the position which the Club is in and we are also sure they will unite with the Club as we move forward. Celtic Football Club is in excellent shape on and off the field. The Club is in a very safe and strong position and we have a young, exciting team working hard to deliver quality football and success for our supporters, as they did on Friday evening with a magnificent performance. This is what we want to be talking about and this is what we want to celebrate. Celtic has a proud 125-year history and fundamental to that history have been our fans. Our supporters enjoy a wonderful reputation earned across many years, many families and many generations. This is something we must protect vigorously.

A cloud cluckoo land thread on RM is questioning whether fans miss the old firm games. Very bizarre given it is the highlight of the season aside from occasional CL games. Watching us is absolutely terrible at the moment and I can't wait to get back in the SPL playing them again.

How much money has been pocketed by so called board members since Craig Whytes takeover it is an astonishing ammount of money we are talking about close on £100 million pounds has went through the club and what have Rangers football club got for it, well come April we have £1 million pounds left, Now i ask you another question what has Craig Whyte got for it, What has Craig Mather got for it, What has Imran Ahmed got for it, What has Charles Green got for it, What has Brian Stockbridge got for it, What have the Easdales got for it? What will Jack Irvine get for it? Back this board at the clubs Expense as you will need to look yourself in the mirror every morning.

Got a phone call earlier on from my parents who live near Airbles station on Airbles Road in Motherwell and they said there's was mega chaos after the match tonight. The mass of police and ambulance sirens interrupted their TV viewing and they looked out to see total chaos. Will be interesting to see if anything is reported in the mainstream media.

RANGERS legend Derek Johnstone today appealed to the warring factions battling for control of the Ibrox club to agree a truce. DJ fears the threat by board protest group the Sons of Struth to boycott season tickets and club merchandise could be disastrous for the club. But he has warned the club's under-fire board to ignore the warning at their peril. He said: "I don't think the board can take this threat lightly. The fans have saved the club from extinction. The board has said that they will listen to what the fans want. If they don't listen to what the fans want on the 19th at the AGM this could happen. "If enough Rangers fans think this way then they can hurt the club. "The loss of income from season tickets and from merchandise sales could be serious for Rangers at a time when the financial situation of the club is a concern. "I have said all along that I think the two groups, the board and the nominees, have to lock themselves in a room and try to reach a compromise agreement." SoS, who are planning another major protest at the SPFL League One game with Ayr tomorrow, have emailed all of the major investors in the Glasgow giants. They say fans will refuse to buy season tickets and official merchandise if the current board survives the AGM. Former Rangers chairman Malcolm Murray, who is seeking election to the board along with Scott Murdoch, Paul Murray and Alex Wilson, this week warned he fears for the Ibrox club if the current directors win the vote at the AGM. Johnstone would like to see both groups settle their differences and work together to return the Light Blues to the forefront of the Scottish game. Johnstone added: "What is important in all of this is not the individual personalities, it is Rangers Football Club as a whole. Nothing is more important than the club. "If somebody can do a good job for the club on the board, if they can bring in investment and help in its revival in some way, then I think they have to be considered. "Somebody has to say: 'This individual has got a bit of quality, let's get them in and use their particular expertise to get the club moving forward on and off the park'. That has to happen. "Dave King tried to get the two sides together. I think he is hoping that something like that can happen either before or after the AGM. Then he can get involved." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangers-legend-derek-johnstone-urges-warring-faction-to-give-peace-a-144638n.22879912

The consequence... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/scottish-football/10499198/Financial-gulf-grows-between-Old-Firm-rivals-Celtic-and-Rangers-with-clubs-share-prices-facing-contrasting-fortunes.html The truth http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2250854/Charles-Green-pledges-Ally-McCoist-10m-spend-Rangers-flotation-LSE.html The source http://davidleggat-leggoland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/what-happened-to-25m-war-chest.html

Moyes tried for 11 years to get Everton above Man Utd and now he has succeeded. Yet another defeat and 12 points off the top. Everton were far better shape than Utd and look more like scoring. The appointment just wasn't right. I admire Man Utd giving a British manager the chance but surely the football club is more important that a few morales about continuity of a manager. Jose whilst not hanging around for too long would have kept the trophies coming. When Liverpool were winning in the 70s and 80s they did it under 4 managers which says the club was all ok and the players were up for it. But perhaps its just the cycle of football. This is a side that won the league at a canter last year but don't look like they will finish top 6 this season. I didn't tip them for top 4. I understand managers need time but that's normally when things aren't going well. This is the champions and they have been derailed. They need 2 players in the quality of Fabregas, Sneidier, Modric, Schweinsteiger, Xavi, Iniesta. They should break the bank in January for Juan Mata. The centre midfields and creativity of the other big 3 is not worth comparing. Chelsea have Oscar, Hazard, Lampard, Ramiries, Essien, Mata, etc. Man City have Silva, Toure, Fernandinho, Nasri etc Arsenal have Ozil, Ramsay, Wilshire, Arteta, Flamini, Rosicky, Cazorla

This is from a well known poster on FF, jeez if this is true! Nae wonder Stockbridge is fighting to keep others out. " What would you say if we only got a couple of pence per strip sold in the clubshop? And that we pay, yes we pay someone from a large sport retailer £20k a month to run our retail arm and has never been seen at Ibrox".

I was thinking about our 19 game winning run. UEFA have an interesting article on unbeaten runs. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=esp/news/newsid=1588768.html I'd forgotten that Celtic had gone on a pretty extensive run about 10 years ago. How much I would love to beat that record and catch the excuses and fallout. You just know it makes sense. Seven to go? Europe's longest winning league runs 29 games – SL Benfica (Portugal) 1971-73 28 games – NK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 2006-06 25 games – Celtic FC (Scotland) 2003-04 22 games – PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 1987-88 18 games – FH Hafnarfjördur (Iceland) 2004-05 17 games – FC Steaua Bucureşti (Romania) 1988 17 games – FC Dinamo Bucureşti (Romania) 1988 17 games – FC Internazionale Milano (Italy) 2006-07 16 games – Valur Reykjavík (Iceland) 1978 16 games – FC Barcelona (Spain) 2010-11 16 games – Olympiacos FC (Greece) 2005-06 15 games – SL Benfica (Portugal) 1963 15 games – Real Madrid CF (Spain) 1960-61 15 games – FC Bayern München (Germany) 2005 15 games – AC Sparta Praha (Czech Republic) 1999-00 15 games – Bangor City FC (Wales) 2010

@SonsofStruth: PROTEST ON TUESDAY Meet Copland Rd stairs seven o'clock. Protesting Stockbridge and Irvine to be removed from club. SHARE IF YOU CARE.

Anyone know anything about this guy? Only on twitter at the moment. Ian Cathro is the name being touted as the man, who will be brought in to see over Auchenhowie new youth development programme.

Easily our biggest problem position. Even more so than right back (which is our second biggest issue). Aird should never have been dropped. He wasn't fantastic in the last game. But he was significantly better than piss poor which is what Peralta usually provides. It may well be that it's not his fault as he's out of position and that's fine. But it doesn't change the fact that we have at least one other player who looks more effective there. Aird's performance in the previous game was significantly better than anything Peralta has shown up and again when he came on yesterday he added more than the Honduran. The only good thing I remember Peralta doing was one time he chased back with an attacker and won the ball back. I get really pissed off with people bashing the likes of Little more than his performances deserve but for me it is as clear as day, we are a better team with Aird (or one of the other options) playing instead of Peralta. I wouldn't be opposed to giving Peralta a few games at right back as I'm not convinced by Faure there either. We need to stop this habit of negative team selections though. The only reason I can think Peralta gets played is he is thought to be more solid, more defensively capable than an Aird or McKay. But if you watch him his positioning is poor, he isn't strong on the ball or in the challenge and he doesn't contribute fantastically to our defensive outlook. That's a myth. He was ridiculously easily bumped off the ball in the first half. Aird simply has to start next time out on recent performances. We look a much better, more balanced, creative and incisive team.

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some new on the Hearts situation, courtesy of the BBC:

Interesting stuff....

He got a bad injury last night at the U20's game and he just confirmed on twitter he has actually broken his leg. Guy has no luck at all.

Rangers' biggest shareholders will back the current board at next month's annual general meeting. Laxey Partners Limited increased their shareholding to 11.64% on Wednesday. Colin Kingsnorth, founder and director of the hedge fund, said: "I want to support stability so I think that means supporting all current directors. "Shareholder worries are the use of cash, transparency and corporate governance. The recent appointments seem to address that." Laxey's stance could prove crucial as the current board attempt to retain control, with another group of shareholders, including former director Paul Murray and former chairman Malcolm Murray, keen to oust them. With voting at the AGM expected to be close, the identity of the seller or sellers of the shares is also significant, depending on who they would have backed. But Kingsnorth told BBC Scotland: "I have no idea where the shares came from. I just bought them in the market." Asked if it was conceivable that Laxey could also vote the "requisitioners" - Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch - onto the board at the AGM, Kingsnorth added: "Of course I could support the EGM people but I won't because their job is done. "They should claim some credit for forcing the club into action, but now it has I hope they accept that. "They would have supported (the new chief executive) Graham Wallace if he had joined them and I think they should be big enough to support him if the club supports him. "I doubt they will. A spurned chairman just wants to be loved again, but the club has moved on and I hope the new board drives it forward. They have the credibility, so why not. "The fact that cash has been spent badly seems fact, but what's the best thing to do now? "We'll get behind a professional board, make sure we never go into administration again, get the on-the-pitch stuff right." Source BBC ( need you ask )

Coming up on SSN. Sons of Struth ‏@SonsofStruth 28m You should tune in to skysports news if your a fan of SOS. Chris Graham ‏@ChrisGraham76 55s Rangers news coming up on Sky Sports.

Was reading elsewhere where a Bear suggested only Naismith had been a relative "success" of the players who jumped ship when the old company was liquidated. Now, dont read this wrong i'm not attempting to say they are world beaters but actually there are a few players holding their own in the premiership are there not? Naismith gets semi regular football for a decent Everton team. McGregor is performing well at Hull prior to injury. Whittaker has played in half of Norwich'e league games this year and a couple of league cup matches. Davis is captain at Southampton. Before people start jumping off the deep end and saying this player or that player is crap or e.g. Whittaker hasn't played in the other half of their league games bear in mind that it still clearly shows that he must be a better player than he is given credit for by even our own fans, opposition fans in Scotland and our media. I'm pretty sure Whittaker's goal was typical of his time in Scotland beating 2 or 3 men with a driving run before finishing well from at least 12 yards. A display of pace, athleticism and agility. Those players were part of an era of Rangers football where we competed with Celtic on a much smaller budget yet these players delivered 3iar. Yet it is still always Celtic players who get championed for £5m, £10m,£15m pound moves. Yet I can think of even fewer Celtic players from the last 4-5 years who have gone on to be successful in a better league. Maybe McGeady (don't watch much Russian football) and perhaps Wanyama will show himself to have quality in England? Hooper has struggled for goals thus far. 3iar, more of our players being competitive in tougher leagues. Yet you rarely here of our players being touted for ridiculous sums (not convinced McGeady or Wanyama went for their reputed fees). Just why are our players generally held in less high regard in Scotland even when we are more successful or our players move on to England etc and are more competitive (if not necessarily more successful) then former Celtic players down there. Does this tactic of having their media luvvies bumming up their players values really bring them more cash when it comes time to sell?

AS the row over Peter Lawwell's Celtic AGM comments rumbles on, KEITH JACKSON reckons its time both sides of the Old Firm stopped the grandstanding and concentrated on their own priorities. LIKE Alan Partridge, Scottish football is bouncing back. In just 10 months Gordon Strachan has taken this team of ours and stopped it from being a laughing stock. As a result of all his hard work, Scotland are no longer driving from Norwich to Dundee in their bare feet, gorging on assorted Toblerones. Friday’s 0-0 draw with the USA at Hampden may hardly have been inspirational but even so it was yet more proof that Strachan has us on the road to recovery. His players are not losing games against supposedly vastly superior opponents, even when performing well below their own best standards. That’s progress and it comes at a time when things are looking up. All over the country, talented young players are emerging at club level and thriving with the responsibility of first-team football. Stuart Armstrong has just earned his first call-up to Strachan’s full squad while Ryan Gauld and Stevie May will soon be knocking on the door. At last, after years of internal vandalism, we’re getting our own house back in some sort of order. It’s not immaculate but no longer does it make us cringe with embarrassment. Until, that is, someone goes and mentions the Old Firm. I did it once but I think I got away with it. Oh no wait, that will be the sound of a thousand emails cascading into my inbox. A deluge of dementedness. “Don’t call us the Old Firm. We don’t want anything to do with that other mob.” They may hate the living daylights out of one another but what they do share – in fact what binds them together – is the capacity for ferocious bampottery. Every comment passed in public about one side or the other is picked apart forensically by supporters of both. Often the throwing of these titbits results in an online feeding frenzy, where all reason and logic are the first to be devoured. It has been this way since the invention of the internet. But, just lately, the landscape around Glasgow’s uneasy neighbours has become noticeably darker and poisonous. Which is why Peter Lawwell, of all people, should have displayed better judgment than to poke a big stick into this hornet’s nest at Celtic’s agm on Friday. By gratuitously branding Rangers Rory Bremner FC, Lawwell sent this bitter little world into meltdown. Lawwell’s words were a nod and a wink to the most extremist element of his club’s support and, in a way, a green light for them to pursue their own dubious agendas. Sound familiar? It should do. Because it was not that long ago that a certain big-handed Yorkshireman was doing precisely the same thing to win over the masses at the other side of this never so deeply divided city. It’s called grandstanding and, at a time when emotions are so volatile and feelings so raw, it’s a dangerous road for either of these two clubs to be going down, never mind both of them at once. In opposite directions. The sooner this pair remember that their purpose in life is to play the game, not the galleries, then perhaps the rest of us might be able to get on with the business of helping Scottish football back towards a state of good health rather than constantly being forced to rubberneck by these ceaseless attention seekers. And yet no sooner had Lawwell pressed the button on Friday (successfully diverting attention away from an awkward internal debate about paying his employees a living wage in the process) than Rangers responded with a blast of their own. You could almost hear them inside their Ibrox bunker working out the strategy, above the clicking of a PR guru’s Cuban heels. “Right, where’s that statement slaughtering Celtic and Lawwell. That’s genius. Punters will love it.” Talk about stage-managed rabble rousing? It’s almost as if the current remnants of this Rangers board are being given PR advice from the very same strategical experts who presented Craig Whyte to the world as a billionaire and told him how to go about winning friends and influencing people. Oh, wait a minute. They are. Yes, the very same people who said the Daily Record was lying when it first revealed what Whyte was up to with the club’s season tickets – a full seven months before his ruinous business plan tipped the club into administration. Whoever said motivation doesn’t grow on trees clearly hasn’t gone for a stroll down Edmiston Drive since Whyte stuffed the taxman for £15million under the cover of dark arts. That’s the truth of the matter. Whyte plunged Rangers under and his scandalous behaviour has left a black mark on the very soul of this football club which continues to operate at Ibrox, in blue shirts with the same badges and crests. Whyte was a near-death experience all right but Rangers live on. The real nature of the problem facing Rangers today is not that they have ceased to exist (they are still here after all) but rather they have become unrecognisable from their former selves. And to that end, Lawwell had a point. Like Bremner’s Tony Blair, today’s Rangers are a flimsy impersonation of the real thing. But none of that is the business of Celtic’s chief executive, who would surely be better off concentrating on his own club’s continued dominance, especially now that BT Sport are doubling the value of a ticket into the Champions League. Lawwell was right when he said Celtic are now a stand-alone club. They have proved they do not need Rangers in order to survive and to prosper. The less of UEFA’s loot they have to share, the stronger they will become. Rangers, for their part, face a struggle just to keep HMS Ibrox from sinking for a second time. Let them both get on with it, preferably as far apart from one another as is possible in this twisted little world. In the meantime, just don’t mention the Old Firm.