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Youtube Link taken from TBO website - quite interesting, Rangers fans belting out FOS - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uPMZRMFb1Hc&feature=related Some brilliant footage from pre-kick off - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4VGylDaB7cI&feature=related Cammy F

I signed up for this site a few days ago,( www[dot]rangersfg[dot]com ) when I read about the Marseille fans clubbing together to try raise the funds to buy back Didier Drogba. I looked around for one for Gers fans and found this new site. Trying to tell as many Rangers fans as possible about it so hopefully can see if I can put some money towards my hopeful suggestion - Darren Fletcher I know it's never going to get us Ronaldo or David Villa but it would be great if it did actually come to something and get us a stronger squad, after all that's what cost us at the end of last season. Take a look see what you think. Cheers all.

Agree with the guy If Rangers want to compete with Celtic then we have to get the maximum amount of people possible into Ibrox. I also feel it is crazy to have a stadium doing nothing for most of the time. Shops ,fitness clubs and other amenities should be built in to generate an income from the building. I wonder when Murray will make a statement on this?

Sorry i can't say Mo Johnston and Kenny Miller in the one sentence.

I hope we don't sign him on the basis of 500.000 after 50 games. We know after 49 games he will never play again.

Now, I am generally not a fan of ‘pre-season friendlies’ and as a rule don’t go to many. This changed last season when we were visited by Chelsea and I have to say, I really enjoyed the match and the atmosphere generated pre and post match by the fantastic travelling Chelsea support. I am also not one to indulge in love-ins or ambulance chasing that the Tims have off to a tee. However, the Chelsea game was a fantastic spectacle and our welcome certainly transmitted through to our visitors as Jose Mourhino, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Didier Drogba all later commented on the atmosphere that day and some Chelsea players were convinced to show their allegiance to The Rangers after that game. When I read that this season, we are to play Liverpool, my initial thoughts were of genuine anticipation of welcoming Liverpool to Ibrox for the first time in many a year but as the game has gotten closer, I have started to have major reservations regarding this ‘glamour friendly’. At the Chelsea game last season, the atmosphere was superb with Rangers and Chelsea songs being sung together. The same should happen this season, like Chelsea there are many Rangers supporters who have Liverpool as their English team. I for one have never supported Liverpool but was always aware that many Bears did and whilst I was growing up, they always had a ‘Scottish Connection’ with players like Souness, Hansen, Wark, Nichol et al. More recently, I have been very impressed with the Liverpool support. They have introduced many brilliant songs celebrating their long and proud history. Now that we have touched on the subject of songs, you may now have an idea as to why I have started to have reservations regarding this friendly. There is no doubt that Liverpool fans will sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at Ibrox, why shouldn’t they, it is their anthem. However, with this being a pre-season game, and with ‘joe-public’ able to buy tickets, there will be some Rangers supporters who will and for no reason, believe this to be some sort of ‘Celtc Loving Wind Up’ from the Scousers, nothing could be further from the truth. At this junction, it is worth noting that Liverpool fans routinely sing a version of ‘Every Other Saturday’ and have a wee ditty that is sung to the tune of the sash. It is also worth noting that Liverpool have a huge following within the Loyalist / Protestant community in Ulster (as they do in the Republican / Catholic community). In fact, if you visit the Official Linfield Store on The Shankill Road, you can purchase Linfield, NI, Rangers, Chelsea and LIVERPOOL merchandise from the store (Linfiled online store - http://www.linfieldfc.com/ worth a wee look!). In fact, on my recent visit to Belfast, I saw more Liverpool tops than I saw Rangers. I have also been witness to several Flute Bands finishing off a cultural evening by playing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, both in Ulster and Liverpool. So what I am getting at here? Well, basically, You’ll Never Walk Alone isn’t a Celtc song – it’s a song that their fans (stole) sing, if that makes sense. In fact, almost all ‘big clubs’ supporters sang You’ll Never Walk Alone in the 60’s and it wasn’t unheard of for the ‘Rangers end’ to give this laldy at Scotland matches during this period. For whatever reason, it only really stuck with Liverpool, then like most things in their history (their catholic identity, their beloved hoops, et al), the Tims stole it and tried to convince the world it was theirs. It is the reaction from certain Rangers fans to this Liverpool anthem that I fear could turn this glamour friendly into something less enjoyable. What I hope for is that when the Kopites start You’ll Never Walk Alone, we drown it out with a rousing rendition of Follow Follow (or The Blue Sea Of Ibrox, or the likes). I hope this is the only reaction we give to Liverpool fans singing their song. I will be attending this friendly and will be hoping that I enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the Chelsea game last season – it’s always nice to get one over the English, even if they are fellow Blues, or in this case, Red Brothers. Cammy F

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/282922963?-11344 Anyone who has read Gibbon’s masterwork knows, well, knows more than me, as it is a very long book, and I didn’t even nearly finish it. But, all in all, he seemed to think that Rome fell because they ceased to be strong, dignified and gentlemanly, and gave themselves over to self indulgence, prestige, and ultimately decadence. They became trivial, weak, and the barbarians sauntered in and broke up the most lasting of Empires. In truth, I couldn’t care less about Romans. To me it is happy irony that after kicking people’s arses for ages theirs, in turn, got kicked. What is utterly, utterly maddening is that something I do believe in, something whose vision is actually worth fighting for, seems, like Rome, to be burning, with resignations, guarded comments and media noise about infighting etc. When the RST came into existence, it faced two main hurdles in establishing its credibility. Their idea of democratic fan representation, however pure, set them at philosophical odds with the owner, and custodian, of Rangers, Sir David Murray. No matter your own thoughts on his contribution to our club, Sir David Murray is among the most intelligent, shrewd, and powerful businessmen of our time and simply does not suffer fools gladly. If, against the seeming odds against them, that they did make headway with Murray, and enjoy some success, the other main hurdle would present itself: how do ordinary human beings, pure in their vision, being handed big responsibility, a certain celebrity, and a massive task; not fold under the weight of the power that would be thrust upon them? In truth, the answer to both these things was simply gentlemanly personal integrity and industry. Instead of playing reactionary anti-Murrays they realised how much success he had brought and sought out the common ground - the general good of Rangers that they both shared. Philosophical differences (democratic ownership of Rangers and personal ownership are bound to collide) weren’t cast aside under self-indulgent happy talk – like gentlemen, they each seemed to argue their case, respectfully disagree where differences arose and generally get about doing the good that could be done. This gentlemanly approach, and conscientious industry, secured their reputation as representatives of many fans, and in creating (at what only could have been a massive personal effort from those involved) a scheme that, at once, fulfilled their objectives as well as benefiting the club; their integrity, energy and vision simply could not be denied. After all, ‘GerSave’ is a genuinely novel and wonderful idea. And all was well. Murray, who was, probably from his perspective, understandably quite reluctant about fan representation on the board, couldn’t even find it in his power to deny the RST their place – signalling at last year’s club AGM that a fan rep (or reps) would be appointed to the board. Much good was being done. This gentlemanly, yet tenacious, approach is taken in releasing statements. Under less strict decorous bounds than those inside Ibrox, they managed to respond to the hyperbolic media; but never usually with anything other than professionalism – just with a bit more tenacity. As a fan, it’s good to have someone willing to upset the media for your reputation – those inside Ibrox don’t tend to do it because theirs is a more precarious political position. I know some fans had reservations about the decorum in getting a lip reader to confirm what anyone who saw Neil Lennon perfectly understood. I know why they would have reservations and I think those at the RST had them too: but, ultimately, during a period where Rangers fans were receiving such negative press about sectarianism, it seemed the RST thought that such a clear example of media hypocrisy regarding sectarianism and the reputation of the fans was too much to miss. Whatever the reasons, they seemed to make an effort to do the right thing. But it’s a truth as big as Universes, empires, and as transparent as thoughts- all things burst into life – and as soon as they do, they begin to decay. We cope with the decay of thoughts by, in defiance of time, having new ones continuously – continual, tenacious, renewal is the only way thought proceeds; in fact it’s the only way empires stay strong and it’s the only way organisations like the RST survive. But half of the RST’s renewal, half its tenacity, appears to have resigned in the last month. In truth, we simply do not know the facts yet – but this very fact is itself another worrying symptom. The RST, as an organisation, will now be very much feeling the weight of the vision that inspired them; the obligation they have inherited - they represent the fans, they are the managers of a lot of people’s money. These fans voted in half of the people who have now, for whatever reason, walked away. As we turn back to the RST, we see statements thanking the members for their contributions - but no clear reasons for them leaving. And as the statements keep coming - the vague, guarded, explanations seem insincere: were these people troublemakers, throwing a tantrum? If so, why are they being thanked? If they are leaving over some issue (perhaps as the Daily Record’s strange article suggested) of a power struggle for getting a member on the board, then why procrastinate with platitudes? If these people are rogue arses, why not say that from the off? The fact that we’re asking questions like this at all, that questions like these seem obvious and natural, suggests that all is not well. People just abandoning all they’ve worked for is a massive step and it is a symptom of decay. But by the tone of the statements released, nothing is really amiss; there’s been no falling out. If that’s not the case though, and I guess we’ll only find out if the resignees go public with their reasons (via the announced SGM or other methods), then you have to wonder why they’ve felt the need to present it in this way. For an organisation whose name is built on calling a spade a spade; you wouldn’t expect them to present something as amicable that wasn’t. When organisations feel the need to ‘protect’ their members from all the facts, they can’t properly be called a democratic organisation – the RST is literally nothing, if not this. But this is probably drama, hyperbole – taking advantage of the Trust’s first real unsettled period to jump to far more drastic conclusions than is the case. I think there has been a lot of sentiment of this sort in discussion about the issue simply because people have invested in the idea of the trust and feel a part of the success they have achieved. To certain sorts of involved fans (fans spending money and having their name tarnished; and those who just dream about fans, one day, having a major say in how the club is run) the RST no longer fully representing them would be horrifying. It’s probably this horror that paints exaggerated scenes of discord among something that could all be perfectly reasonable: you hear oddly toned and badly advised statements being made – statements like the one about national team boycotts and hidden forces - that may have laudable sentiments but seem a little less gentlemanly than you expect; you hear crappy reports in contemptible rags about splits and power struggles then people like Malcolm McNiven resign; no immediate comment is released about why – and you simply jump to conclusions – you start thinking – please don’t let the virtuoso men abandon the outposts, please don’t let tenacious endeavour be replaced with decadent spin - that’s the decline that leads to fall! In truth, you probably only start thinking like this when you’ve read (parts of!) books like ‘Decline and Fall’ and have too active an imagination - your fear mixes with your amateur amblings in history and produces a modern day worst case scenario about something you actually care about. Thus, I really hope, after the SGM, and retrospect, that this looks like the stupidest of stupid articles and all of us who want the best for the RST can go back to being sane again. The Trust simply hasn’t let us down thus far, so I guess we’ll all look to the SGM with hope that this is all fearful idle speculation of the sort we so often despise in tabloids. On the other hand, if our fears are confirmed – several key board members have left, recent statements and intentions really have started to become petty, they really have been guarded and insincere in their response to this situation - then that is the sort of decline that does lead to fall. It’s our duty to read between the lines, and if the organisation that has so much of our support is not the same organisation as it was a month ago, we must speak up else we would join in the civic decadence of Roman Empire: we would be as responsible for it’s fall as those in power.

" I hope he stays but i must admit having 9mill to spend on a play-maker would make me really think about letting him go.

So have we signed a player for 3 million who is maybe going to be bit part next season and isnt near the finished article!! He looks more than 6ft 4 in this picture: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/7461356.stm

...load of codswallop As a Celtic fan im sick of hearing about them,from ourselves and latterly from Rangers fans.Some you win ...some you dont :yawn: .When in company out socialising and a fellow Tim starts that pish ,it bores me to tears and i find it quite embarressing TBH:sleep: .Ive always said that i dont believe in conspiricy theories towards Celtic and similarly they dont exist towards Rangers.What we have are just very bad referees and equally bad people who ..ahem "run " the game.Whilst im glad we won the league,im glad that it took right up until the last game to win it .I just wish Hibs ,Hearts ,Abaaden and Dundee Utd could last the pace a bit longer,and make it a 3 or 4 horse race for a change

Will keep these posts separate from the main thread as the thrust is linked directly with Gersnet... http://www.gersnetonline.net/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=649&Itemid=1 Tennis, golf and RFC supporter group splits boring you? Time for The_Insider to tell you of the latest info he's heard regarding any comings and goings at the club. It's all good, clean fun so please don't get too excited (or more likely depressed) at the gossip we bring you in this light-hearted look through the transfer window... As usual we'll start with the players Rangers are interested in. Despite downmarket red-tops claiming war-chests of Ã?£20million, the money currently available to Walter Smith is nowhere near that amount. As it stands, despite raking in around Ã?£30million last season (from Hutton/Europe) the manager only has Ã?£6million to play with ââ?¬â?? plus any income from players who do leave. Kenny Miller has already arrived ââ?¬â?? much to the disappointment of many Rangers fans ââ?¬â?? so around Ã?£1.6million has already been spent. Because of this arrival Peter LÃ?¸venkrands will now definitely not be coming back to Ibrox. Not sure that will cheer up those of us still depressed at the return of Miller but I donââ?¬â?¢t think weââ?¬â?¢d have coped with two average ex-players coming back in one summer. Moving on, as he was in January, Kyle Lafferty is still very much in Smithââ?¬â?¢s sights. Able to play wide or in attack, the big Northern Irish player may be beyond Rangersââ?¬â?¢ current budget though. Rangers have offered Ã?£2.2million but Burnley are holding out for around twice that fee ââ?¬â?? with Celtic and Wolves the other clubs seriously interested. Rangers are also now monitoring the Dundee Utd midfielder Morgaro Gomis. The former Montpellier and Chelsea youth player has risen up the ranks quickly from spells in English lower league football before being signed by the Tayside club from Cowdenbeath. Impressive displays in three games against Rangers means the club may put in a modest offer for the Frenchman whose contract runs out next summer. Utd are also interested in a couple of Rangers fringe players so a swap deal may please both parties. All the above are hardly rumours which will excite the support so the pressure will be on the club to move on as many fringe players as possible to maximise the budget available to the manager. Several players are available and, while the club donââ?¬â?¢t want to lose prize asset Carlos Cuellar, The_Insider has heard the Spaniard actually has a Ã?£10million release clause in his contract. The player himself doesnââ?¬â?¢t want to go but after the Hutton debacle, who knows what his future will hold. Allan McGregor is another asset whose future is in doubt. Rumours have been abound for many months now that the Scotland international goalkeeper is interested in a move to Spurs. Gersnetââ?¬â?¢s information is that Smith will allow the keeper to leave for around Ã?£8million although Spurs prefer a stepped deal from around Ã?£5million. Despite paper talk of interest from various English clubs in Kevin Thomson the club have not had any offers for the player. However, the lad is looking to sign a new, improved contract and who can blame him a considering he also did his skipperââ?¬â?¢s hard work for much of the campaign. Rangers would do well to instil a disciplinary clause into any negotiations and save themselves some money ahead of his inevitable bookings next season. The strongest link out we have heard in recent days is that Jean-Claude Darcheville will be on his way in the summer. A Ã?£1.5million fee has been agreed with an as yet unnamed continental side so it appears the likeable French strikerââ?¬â?¢s Rangers career has finally been hamstrung. Thatââ?¬â?¢s all for this week, so if you can bear the excitement and tension, keep an eye on the site (and forum) for all the latest transfer gossip concerning the Rangers. :box:

RANGERS fans chief Jim Templeton today reacted with fury as the SPL unveiled the fixtures for the new 2008/2009 season. He branded the governing body a "complete shambles" after they handed the Ibrox side three away games out of four in the first month of the season - including trips to Pittodrie and Parkhead on either side of a potential �£10m Champions League qualification decider on August 27. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/display.var.2343607.0.0.php I'm not a fan of Templeton, but good to see him making some good points. This is obviously payback for us daring to question them last season.

Everyone will have, and are entitled to their thoughts regarding the return to Rangers of Kenny Miller. Iââ?¬â?¢ve heard Rangers fans claim that they are against this signing for varying reasons : he played for Celtc, the way he ââ?¬Ë?over-celebratedââ?¬â?¢ his goal against Rangers whilst playing for Celtc, and the one I plump for, he just isnââ?¬â?¢t good enough. Now, I hope, for the clubs sake, that Miller proves me, and a whole lot of other Rangers fans wrong. I hope in 12 months time that I am sitting here admitting to eating humble pie, however, I have my reservations. Kenny Miller is a ââ?¬Ë?run-of-the-millââ?¬â?¢ player ââ?¬â?? nothing more or nothing less. Kenny Miller, in my opinion found his level at Hibernian and that isnââ?¬â?¢t meant as a slight on the Edinburgh club, or Miller himself. Miller then found himself in the spot-light when Dick Advocaat bought him and then decided not to play him every often. Walter Smith and his backroom staff obviously rate Miller highly, as we as a club are no longer in the position to pay Ã?£2M for a squad player ââ?¬â?? Kenny Miller has been bought to spearhead our attack next season, of that there is no doubt. So, the question is, is Kenny Miller better than anything we currently have at Ibrox, or any other striker that is within our ââ?¬Ë?budgetââ?¬â?¢? To me, the answer is NO. Is Kenny Miller the player to shoot us to the SPL title? Is Kenny Miller the player that could have nicked us a goal in Eastlands Stadium to clinch the UEFA Cup? Nothing that I have witnessed from the striker tells me he is. In fact, I would argue that Kenny Miller isnââ?¬â?¢t a striker who could have won us 2 domestic cups competitions this year (and regular readers will know my feelings on Kris Boyd). In my opinion, the signing of Miller shows the diluted ambitions of our great club. I read a worrying, but very accurate description of Rangers on another website where a poster described Rangers as ââ?¬Ë?the smallest big club in the worldââ?¬â?¢. It seems that no matter how we do on or off the pitch, our current custodian downsizes our ambitions and chances of success year after year. This season we came tantalizingly close to a historic quadruple and with a little investment and an improvement in our squad, we would have taken significant strides over the close season and hopefully signed the players required to take that extra step in the SPL and UEFA Cup. However, it appears that any player leaving Rangers will no longer be replaces by someone of greater ability (another broken Murray promise). As a club, we made over Ã?£30M from our run in the CL and UEFA Cup and cashed in on Alan Hutton to the tune of Ã?£9M. Not for one moment am I suggesting that all of this money should have been given to the manager, but a significant amount should be released to ensure that next season we can win the SPL and maybe, just maybe, go one better in Europe. Watching Holland last night served as a stark wake-up / reality call for me. Watching Gio reminded me of the players that we once had, players with genuine pace, genuine guile and genuine pace. Players who could win you games and players who are everything we are currently lacking. Van Bronkhurst was never going to spend his entire career at Ibrox, but was an outstanding talent who has developed into a true international class footballer. It is worth remembering that Brian Laudrup cost Rangers Ã?£2.5M, Gazza, Mols, Negri cost in the region of Ã?£4M (each), all of whom are far more exciting than any player we are currently being linked with. We simply canââ?¬â?¢t afford to purchase more ââ?¬Ë?squadââ?¬â?¢ players this summer. We have the basis of a decent squad, but we need genuine prospects / players to supplement these players. However, if SDMââ?¬â?¢s track record is to continue, we are likely to see more Kirk Broadfoots (again, no disrespect to Kirk) than Giovanni Van Bronkhursts. In essence, this is the sorry story that the resigning for Kenny Miller reemphasises to this Rangers supporter and this will never change until the current custodian is removed from his post. As for Kenny Miller, like every Rangers player before him, he will receive nothing less that 100% backing from myslef when ever he pulls on that Rangers jersey but I have a feeling that he, even more that MoJo will split the Rangers support. But that is another topic for another thread. Cammy F ââ?¬â?? Support The Dublin Loyal - We Are The Peopleââ?¬Â¦.

Rangers Trust In Meltdown Jun 12 2008 By Alan Marshall CIVIL war has broken out among Rangers fans fighting over a prestigious place on the Ibrox board. The Rangers Supporters Trust has been plunged into meltdown after all six of their directors resigned after a bitter internal dispute. Ibrox chairman Sir David Murray had earmarked two associate director positions with full voting rights for leaders of the club's two main supporters' associations - The Trust and the Rangers Assembly. The Light Blues' supremo was hoping to make the appointments ahead of this summer's agm, however, that plan has temporarily been put on hold. Trust chairman Malcolm McNiven, vicechairman Scott McMillan and fellow board members Callum Renton, Derek Howie, Stuart Franklin and Andy McGowan have all stepped down from their positions in recent weeks. They decided to resign following a dispute with fellow Trust member Mark Dingwall, editor of the Follow Follow website and Rangers fanzine of the same name. It's understood Dingwall, a candidate for the Scottish Unionist party whose motto is Proudly Scottish, Proudly British, was feeling increasingly marginalised within the Trust while the board were unhappy at the militant direction he wanted to take the supporters' group. A Trust source said: "David Murray had offered us a place on the Rangers board but there was no way we could accept it while people like Mark Dingwall were still part of the organisation. "If he wasn't going to step down then the entire board thought they would resign and leave him and his cohorts to go it alone. "Dingwall wanted the place on the Ibrox board for himself but that's never going to happen because Murray and him don't have a working relationship. He thrives on negativity and militancy when the best way for the fans to have a proper say in how the club is run is to change things from within." Ding wall refused to comment other than to refer us to Trust spokesman David Edgar, who said: "The resignations are true. Over the past month six have resigned from a board of 20. "Various reasons have been given for doing so. Initially, some felt the Trust was going in a direction they weren't comfortable with. "But we've had people leave with differences of opinion before and the people left amicably. They are still Trust members. They just felt where it should go wasn't necessarily where it was going. "We understand that, thank the guys and it is up to us to get in new blood." http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football-news/scottish-football/spl-football/rangers-fc/2008/06/12/rangers-trust-in-meltdown-86908-20604164/

Fans complain about Uefa police Trouble flared during and after the cup final Dozens of Rangers fans have complained about their treatment by police in the violent clashes which broke out during Rangers' Uefa Cup final defeat. Many supporters have accused officers of using "excessive force" in handling the trouble in Manchester city centre. A total of 63 complaints are being investigated by the Greater Manchester Police Professional Standards unit. Police made 42 arrests as altercations involving Rangers fans left 15 officers and a number of supporters injured. Rangers lost the final 2-0 to Zenit St Petersburg on 14 May. Trouble first flared on the night after a technical fault with a big screen in Piccadilly Gardens left up to 20,000 fans frustrated. Riot police were sent in as violent clashes broke out along nearby Market Street, Oldham Street and Newton Street. To date the force has received 38 complaints about officers' conduct, the majority of which are for excessive force Force spokeswoman A number of Rangers fans questioned after the trouble blamed the police operation and organisers of the big screens for the scenes. On Tuesday a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) spokeswoman confirmed the force had received a number of formal complaints, but said they had received twice as many messages of praise. "To date the force has received 38 complaints about officers' conduct, the majority of which are for excessive force," she said. "GMP has also received 25 policy complaints to date in relation to the incident. These are more general complaints about the policing operation." She added that the force had also received 108 messages of support and praise from members of the public about the policing operation. "Most of these were via the force website while a handful of letters were sent to the chief constable," she said. The force released CCTV footage of some of the violence, which showed one officer, Pc Mick Regan, being kicked, punched and stamped on by a mob. Pc Regan said the scenes of violence were the worst he had witnessed in 23 years with the Greater Manchester force. A committee of MPs has said it may hold its own inquiry into the violence following the results of Manchester City Council's own probe into the screen failure. Taken from the BBC website.

Jun 1 2008 Exclusive By Scott Mcdermott SPANISH star Carlos Cuellar is ready to commit himself to Rangers by signing a new long-term deal. The SPL Player of the Year has been a revelation in Glasgow since his s2.4million transfer from La Liga side Osasuna last summer. Despite Gers' dramatic collapse in the title race and defeat in the UEFA Cup Final, Cuellar has been outstanding for Walter Smith's side. His form has attracted the attention of Newcastle United as well as a host of Italian and Spanish outfits. But the 26-year-old's agent last night told MailSport there has been NO contact or official bid from any club. And Pedro Bravo hinted his client is so settled in Scotland he'd be willing to extend his current contract which expires in 2011. Bravo is adamant the only way Cuellar will leave is if chief executive Martin Bain receives a bid Gers can't turn down - like the s9million Spurs splashed out to land right-back Alan Hutton. Bravo said: "I have heard all the rumours about Newcastle and teams in Italy or Spain wanting Carlos. "But I haven't heard anything official. There has been no contact or bid. "Carlos is happy in Glasgow and doesn't want to leave. The Rangers fans have been incredible with him. "I spoke to Martin Bain in Manchester at the UEFA Cup Final and told him how happy Carlos is. "He told me Rangers are not interested in selling and that was good enough for me. "The only way Carlos would leave is if Rangers received a bid they decide they can't refuse. Then Martin would have to talk with me and Carlos. "But if Rangers want to speak to us about extending Carlos' contract I will be on the first flight to Glasgow. "Carlos is on holiday at the moment but loves life in Scotland and would be keen to stay."

A long read but have fun... http://www.gersnetonline.net/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=645&Itemid=1 It’s cold and wet outside, the transfer rumours are starting up again and tennis/cricket seem to be taking over the sports bulletins – the football season must be over again! Let’s have a look over the season that, in Spring promised so much, but by last week delivered so little… Firstly, I think it’s important to say that last August, if we’d been told we’d qualify for the Champions’ League Group Stage, draw with Barcelona, beat Lyon 3-0 away, make it to the UEFA Cup Final, take the SPL title to the last day and win both domestic cups, I feel most bears would have been happy with that given the dearth of quality/success in recent years. Unfortunately, when one considers the way we threw away the chance to win the SPL title, our poor performance at home against Lyon and a pretty tame UEFA Final display, then that positive outlook starts to become a wee bit more unrealistic. Some will choose to point to fixture congestion, dubious game call-offs, key players becoming unavailable and/or numerous officiating mistakes but generally we have no-one to blame for not winning the league but ourselves. The season started brightly enough. We made several decent signings in the summer on a budget that we hadn’t seen for a long time. The jury was out on some of them but by early September after a faultless start in the league and CL Group Stage qualification secured, the signs were already there that we could provide a decent challenge to Celtic in the SPL while testing ourselves in the toughest club competition abroad. In contrast, the next two months actually foretold what would happen in 2008. September and October showed exactly the kind of inconsistency that would belatedly curtail our chances of league success. Defeats and draws against Hearts, Motherwell, Dundee Utd and Hibs suggested our squad wasn’t strong enough to compete in Europe while maintaining a high enough quality domestically. Was our league challenge already stuttering? Fortunately, we managed to improve our league form as the year closed while Celtic also struggled to match their reasonable CL form with domestic results. By Christmas we were top of the league again and on an unbeaten run that would cement our status as genuine challengers. Meanwhile, in Europe, we had lost our early advantage in our group by losing away to Stuttgart (DaMarcus Beasley injured for over 6 months as well) and eventually went out in disappointing fashion at home to Lyon – that game actually in some ways being decided by our striker’s late miss, just like what would happen in Manchester the following May. However, UEFA Cup qualification was a decent alternative and this gave us a few months to concentrate on the league. Our form improved in that regard and even although the impressive Alan Hutton had moved south to Spurs for a club record fee, the fans still felt confident we could regain the championship. After all, we wouldn’t do much in the UEFA Cup, would we? Yes, we could actually and soon the debate was what trophy we preferred to win or could we do the unthinkable and win a quadruple? Certainly, the initial signs were very positive – impressive, but unglamorous, wins against Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen and Sporting Lisbon, coupled with important league wins against Celtic, Hibs and Hearts meant we were suddenly in a position none of us could have dreamed of just 6 months earlier. By early April, we were effectively 10 points clear in the league and in the semis of the UEFA and Scottish Cups! Of course doubts remained about whether or not we could cope with the punishing run of games that we now faced. Earlier in the season, we had already struggled badly to juggle our European commitments with league matches. Again, these cracks were starting to show with replays needed to beat Partick and Hibs in the Scottish Cup while we just managed to win the CIS Cup with a penalty win against Dundee Utd. Nonetheless, March had been a good month and April was upon us. Indeed, this was the month that would prove crucial in determining the league title. Two games away to Celtic, extra time needed in both cup competitions and an away game against a Dundee Utd team aggrieved by the league cup final loss the previous month amongst the difficult schedule. Two points dropped at Tannadice early in the month was the first sign that perhaps we were struggling. Our defence didn’t look as sound as it had previously and fan confidence took a hit. This was compounded by back-to-back losses away to Celtic in two games affected by some strange officiating decisions. Further pain was literally inflicted with injuries to Allan McGregor and Lee McCulloch in the first match while Chris Burke and Steven Naismith had also fallen in the Scottish Cup semi. Not only were Celtic back in the title hunt but our squad was stretched further, creative players almost non-existent and the SPL adding to our woes by refusing to extend the season. The writing was on the wall. Suffice to say May was little better. Our incredible run in the UEFA Cup was ruined by an impressive Zenit side in Manchester (not to mention the actions of a few thugs amongst a historic 200,000 fans who travelled down for the game). Meanwhile, two positive wins at home with superb backing from the real Rangers fans couldn’t precipitate enough confidence and energy (mental or physical it seemed) to catalyse the players into managing any further wins in the games that mattered. The league was gone, our UEFA Cup achievements seemed distant and the Scottish Cup win against a determined QoS outfit little consolation for our woes. It was easy to become depressed and react overly negatively to this extremely disappointing end to the season. However, I think it’s important to concentrate on the positives – even if the above wasn’t easy reading. [CONTINUED]

Quite long, but well worth a read....... It was forwarded to me but I believe the source is the Times - I'll try and find a link later... ------------------------------------ (Part 1) Reporter Robert Watt has covered Scottish football for close to thirty years but it was as a Rangers fan he attended last week's UEFA Cup Final in Manchester. What had been a day to remember for all associated with the Ibrox club was only marginally marred by the result of the big match but some incidents of disorder in the city, subsequent exaggeration of the trouble and the ongoing 'spin' from Greater Manchester Police has prompted this heartfelt response. MANCHESTER - THE TRUE STORY The mood was sombre in the car on the way home from Manchester last Thursday. Defeat from Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup Final was being aggravated by a constant flagging up of a few ugly incidents in the city the previous night, everyone was queuing up to stick the boot into Rangers fans, then Manchester City Council, whose enthusiasm for the occasion had never risen above tepid, announced they had consequently abandoned plans for a public screening of Wednesday's Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea. "Surely an over-reaction," said BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans, to rapturous applause from within the car. "C'mon, there were 250,000 Rangers fans in Manchester and only 40 arrests, that's zero point zero zero zero something in percentage terms." The DJ's assessment of the numbers was perhaps slightly excessive but conservative estimates are that no less than 200,000 Rangers supporters had descended on England's third city. And Greater Manchester Police's subsequent announcement that only ELEVEN Ibrox fans were facing charges put all the 'riot, 'rampage' and 'war zone' stories into some perspective. The genie, however, is once more out of the bottle. Subsequent reflections on events have been outrageously hyped up, all the usual suspects - from attention-seeking politicians, journalists with an axe to grind, discredited anti-sectarianism bodies, the butchers, bakers and candlestick-makers who adminster the game and, not least of all, Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police - have jumped on the holier-than-thou bandwagon and put Rangers F.C. on the back-foot yet again. Let it be made clear right now, no right-thinking person would dream of condoning the actions of those morons whose response to the blanking of the big-screens in one of the fanzones was to hurl bottles at the screens and turn on the police. It is indefensible and nobody would lose any sleep if those responsible were to be locked up and the key conveniently mislaid. It is the reaction to it all which has been so disappointing, yet wholly predictable. For the bulk of the past 25 years, Rangers and their fans have been under attack from many sources and it is a relentless drip-drip-drip process which has eaten into any feelgood factor the fans have enjoyed, with every high being clouded by dubious side-issues, while their traditions have been rubbished and abandoned, songs outlawed and individual fans and supporters groups subjected to harassment or worse. Of course, Manchester was an accident waiting to happen from the moment Nacho Novo slotted home the penalty kick to beat Fiorentina and take Rangers through to the final. As soon as it became clear the Gers were Manchester-bound, the messages coming out of the city were unfriendly in the extreme. If you don't have a ticket, stay away; there will be no big screens and no fanzones; the pubs will be closed, drinking in public is not permitted; the police will stringently enforce the local by-laws. Welcome to Manchester? You must be joking! "It took the intervention of respected politicians like Ian Davidson MP, the Manchester business community and various representative groups from within the Rangers support to force both the council and the police authority to soften their stance," explained Steven Smith, media spokesman for the Rangers Supporters Trust. "Wednesday's brief disorder was disappointing but, had the local authorities had it their way, one shudders to think what might have happened." Realizing that a human tsunami was about to descend on the city regardless, Manchester made a dramatic u-turn. But already their position as reluctant hosts was exposed. Yet in a city which claims to be football-mad, home to one of the most passionately supported clubs in world football, they seemed incapable of interpreting the mood amongst Rangers fans. Put it this way, if United were in a European final at Hampden, how many of their fans would travel to Glasgow, with or without tickets? They would surely come close to matching the numbers who travelled south last week, although it is fairly safe to say Glasgow District Council would have laid out the welcome mat from the outset, unlike their Mancunian counterparts. No Rangers fan will need to be reminded that Greater Manchester Police have a history where their club is concerned. In 2003, when the Light Blues visited Old Trafford on Champions League business, every pub in the city was ordered to close, yet the visits of Celtic prompted no such clampdown, despite their fans' overt support for the terrorist organization which bombed the heart out of the city centre no more than twelve years ago. And in the summer of 2006, in a most abysmal abdication of responsibility, GMP ordered the cancellation of a friendly between Bolton Wanderers and Rangers because they claimed policing the match would stretch their resources. If they can't handle a pre-season kickabout, one wonders why they ever backed their City Council's bid to host a high-octane event like the UEFA Cup Final. When the Cup Final went out to tender, it would have been part of the city's sales pitch that they are experienced in hosting such events, no doubt citing regular glamour games at Old Trafford, the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the Champions League Final of the following year. Clearly they expected two foreign sides to arrive in town, enjoy a cozy get-together, then head off home with the minimum of fuss. In a perfect world, it would all work out that way but, of course, we live in a different world entirely. Walter Smith's men stunned Europe with their progress this season and suddenly Manchester City Council wanted to change the rules. Two things immediately bothered Rangers fans. With the City Stadium holding only 44,500 spectators, tickets would be like gold dust and, inevitably, a flourishing black market sprung up. Was it out of the question to switch the event to Old Trafford, with a capacity of close to 80,000? Whatever the logistical problems with ticketing etc, the increased revenue would surely have made the switch financially viable. And if that was impractical, why not set up Old Trafford for a big-screen showing, taking more than 70,000 ticketless fans off the streets? Furthermore, with the city being so accessible from all parts of the UK and beyond, the volume of incoming fans outstripped all the estimates of the local authority, they constantly disregarded the ever-escalating but wholly realistic figures being quoted by the more informed sources in Scotland.

As always, when Rangers are under attack, the critics play the sectarian card, although it is hard to see what part sectarianism played in any disorder last week. But some just can't resist putting Rangers' Protestant traditions in the firing line, their fans' so-called bigotry and the songs they sing are highlighted, as if a different mindset would induce instant sobriety and a more placid response to a frustrating situation. Big-screens have blanked on numerous occasions in the past, most noteably during the screening of World Cup games in various towns in England, and the reaction of those at the venues was almost identical to that of the Rangers fans in Piccadilly Gardens last Wednesday night. Yobs act as yobs because they are yobs, not because they support a certain football team or claim allegiance to any particular religion. If Manchester had occurred twenty years ago, Rangers' enemies would have focused on the club's refusal to sign Catholic players, placed responsibility for the trouble at the door of sectarianism and called on the club to open its doors to all. In 1989 former Celtic favourite Mo Johnston was signed amidst much controversy and the Ibrox dressing-room has long since become a multi-cultural workplace. Rangers have had a Catholic captain, a Catholic chief executive and a Catholic manager (although Paul Le Guen's ill-fated time in charge probably did more for anti-Catholicism than it did for integration!) but sectarianism is still the stick used to beat Rangers. "The signing of Johnston was a very significant point in how our club was portrayed," Steven Smith pointed out. "Rangers had done what so many had been calling out for them to do, the club had deprived the critics of their ace card, yet the attacks have continued incessantly and no less vociferously, perhaps even more so. The motives of our club's critics have been exposed as a sham." The harsh facts of life are that, regardless of the religious make-up of the team, Rangers will remain a Protestant club, just as Celtic will continue to be the flagship for the Catholic population despite the prominence of so many Protestants in their history, because the bulk of the fanbase comes from one community. This may change with the passing of time but, when kids are separated at the impressionable age of five and educated differently, the clever money will always be on the great divide being maintained. Any suggestion that a more ecumenical outlook from Rangers fans would have led to events unfolding differently in Manchester last week is, at best, misguided�or more probably and more sinisterly, further evidence of an ongoing demonization of Rangers and their supporters. As the journey homewards continued with growing exasperation from the within the car, the news that Manchester City Council wouldn't be screening the Champions League showdown at Piccadilly Gardens was nevertheless welcomed from the back seat. "The screens probably wouldn't work anyway, trouble would kick-off�and they'd blame it all on us!" Greater Manchester Police's subsequent denial of a victory parade for United's Champions League winners is confirmation, if ever it was needed, that the force just can't handle big crowds. The F.A. would do well to minimize Manchester's inclusion in any future bid to bring a major football occasion to England.

Reporter Robert Watt has covered Scottish football for close to thirty years but it was as a Rangers fan he attended last week's UEFA Cup Final in Manchester. What had been a day to remember for all associated with the Ibrox club was only marginally marred by the result of the big match but some incidents of disorder in the city, subsequent exaggeration of the trouble and the ongoing 'spin' from Greater Manchester Police has prompted this heartfelt response. MANCHESTER - THE TRUE STORY The mood was sombre in the car on the way home from Manchester last Thursday. Defeat from Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Cup Final was being aggravated by a constant flagging up of a few ugly incidents in the city the previous night, everyone was queuing up to stick the boot into Rangers fans, then Manchester City Council, whose enthusiasm for the occasion had never risen above tepid, announced they had consequently abandoned plans for a public screening of Wednesday's Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea. "Surely an over-reaction," said BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans, to rapturous applause from within the car. "C'mon, there were 250,000 Rangers fans in Manchester and only 40 arrests, that's zero point zero zero zero something in percentage terms." The DJ's assessment of the numbers was perhaps slightly excessive but conservative estimates are that no less than 200,000 Rangers supporters had descended on England's third city. And Greater Manchester Police's subsequent announcement that only ELEVEN Ibrox fans were facing charges put all the 'riot, 'rampage' and 'war zone' stories into some perspective. The genie, however, is once more out of the bottle. Subsequent reflections on events have been outrageously hyped up, all the usual suspects - from attention-seeking politicians, journalists with an axe to grind, discredited anti-sectarianism bodies, the butchers, bakers and candlestick-makers who adminster the game and, not least of all, Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police - have jumped on the holier-than-thou bandwagon and put Rangers F.C. on the back-foot yet again. Let it be made clear right now, no right-thinking person would dream of condoning the actions of those morons whose response to the blanking of the big-screens in one of the fanzones was to hurl bottles at the screens and turn on the police. It is indefensible and nobody would lose any sleep if those responsible were to be locked up and the key conveniently mislaid. It is the reaction to it all which has been so disappointing, yet wholly predictable. For the bulk of the past 25 years, Rangers and their fans have been under attack from many sources and it is a relentless drip-drip-drip process which has eaten into any feelgood factor the fans have enjoyed, with every high being clouded by dubious side-issues, while their traditions have been rubbished and abandoned, songs outlawed and individual fans and supporters groups subjected to harassment or worse. Of course, Manchester was an accident waiting to happen from the moment Nacho Novo slotted home the penalty kick to beat Fiorentina and take Rangers through to the final. As soon as it became clear the Gers were Manchester-bound, the messages coming out of the city were unfriendly in the extreme. If you don't have a ticket, stay away; there will be no big screens and no fanzones; the pubs will be closed, drinking in public is not permitted; the police will stringently enforce the local by-laws. Welcome to Manchester? You must be joking! "It took the intervention of respected politicians like Ian Davidson MP, the Manchester business community and various representative groups from within the Rangers support to force both the council and the police authority to soften their stance," explained Steven Smith, media spokesman for the Rangers Supporters Trust. "Wednesday's brief disorder was disappointing but, had the local authorities had it their way, one shudders to think what might have happened." Realizing that a human tsunami was about to descend on the city regardless, Manchester made a dramatic u-turn. But already their position as reluctant hosts was exposed. Yet in a city which claims to be football-mad, home to one of the most passionately supported clubs in world football, they seemed incapable of interpreting the mood amongst Rangers fans. Put it this way, if United were in a European final at Hampden, how many of their fans would travel to Glasgow, with or without tickets? They would surely come close to matching the numbers who travelled south last week, although it is fairly safe to say Glasgow District Council would have laid out the welcome mat from the outset, unlike their Mancunian counterparts. No Rangers fan will need to be reminded that Greater Manchester Police have a history where their club is concerned. In 2003, when the Light Blues visited Old Trafford on Champions League business, every pub in the city was ordered to close, yet the visits of Celtic prompted no such clampdown, despite their fans' overt support for the terrorist organization which bombed the heart out of the city centre no more than twelve years ago. And in the summer of 2006, in a most abysmal abdication of responsibility, GMP ordered the cancellation of a friendly between Bolton Wanderers and Rangers because they claimed policing the match would stretch their resources. If they can't handle a pre-season kickabout, one wonders why they ever backed their City Council's bid to host a high-octane event like the UEFA Cup Final. When the Cup Final went out to tender, it would have been part of the city's sales pitch that they are experienced in hosting such events, no doubt citing regular glamour games at Old Trafford, the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the Champions League Final of the following year. Clearly they expected two foreign sides to arrive in town, enjoy a cozy get-together, then head off home with the minimum of fuss. In a perfect world, it would all work out that way but, of course, we live in a different world entirely. Walter Smith's men stunned Europe with their progress this season and suddenly Manchester City Council wanted to change the rules. Two things immediately bothered Rangers fans. With the City Stadium holding only 44,500 spectators, tickets would be like gold dust and, inevitably, a flourishing black market sprung up. Was it out of the question to switch the event to Old Trafford, with a capacity of close to 80,000? Whatever the logistical problems with ticketing etc, the increased revenue would surely have made the switch financially viable. And if that was impractical, why not set up Old Trafford for a big-screen showing, taking more than 70,000 ticketless fans off the streets? Furthermore, with the city being so accessible from all parts of the UK and beyond, the volume of incoming fans outstripped all the estimates of the local authority, they constantly disregarded the ever-escalating but wholly realistic figures being quoted by the more informed sources in Scotland. Quite simply, Manchester did not have its finger on the pulse and, even as late as Wednesday afternoon, with the town centre grid-locked with fans, heads were buried in the sand. The volume of humanity in the vicinity and the workload on an inadequately prepared area meant a breakdown in the system was almost inevitable. Part 1

I am sick to the stomach at last nights outcome after the sheep put in there 2nd goal i had to leave the room as couldnt keep my composure any longer we gave it to the tims on a plate. Who is to blame the SPL who could not afford us 1 measley game off against Dundee Utd in fear of offending the Mopes in the east and the conspiritors. causing us to play an unamaginable amount of games in the shortest period of time , i tell you if the sock was on the other foot and timmy was in the same situation there would be cries from the rooftops too get games postponed. Walter Smith ??? We have heard enough about 4-5-1 but his indesicion on making subs during games drives me up the wall he leaves it far too late bringing them on. His persistance in playing D.Cousin - this guy is not a Ranger and does not deserve to pull on the jersey - get him shipped out asap. Sticking with the same team week in week out and not giving youth a chance. I think Walter and co have done a great job and is the right person for Rangers but he is not without his faults The Players. I cannot really fault our players as the games they have had to play must have been gruelling and energy sapping but not everyone gave 110% all the time chasing lost causes and winning 2nd balls, winning 50-50's apart from a select few Cuellar,Weir,Thomson,Novo,Fergie,JCD i thought the rest could have given more to the cause in the run in. I think it is a mixture of all of these , i will never forgive the SPL for this season they showed their colours well and true, all Rangers fans should boycott every away ground next season and hit them were it hurts IN THE POCKET see how the SPL like it then. Hopefully with a few quality signings this summer we will be back stronger next season and win the Title on our own terms. Bitterly Dissapointed but in a No Surrender frame of mind W.A.T.P

First off im a Celtic fan and i only registered on here so i could convey my thanks to all Rangers fans who payed their respects to a Celtic legend. But most of all i felt really moved seeing Ally and Walter carrying Tommys coffin.I honestly can say if i could have, i would have cuddled Ally ,as it really touched me to see both Walter and Ally displaying great dignity and compassion towards someone who was a great rival for many years.Quite clearly these 2 Rangers legends were paying their respects to a friend,more than a rival,and for that i thank them.I am heart sick of all the religious shite between our 2 clubs and hope that some people can learn from this act of common decency and help us move on...sadly i doubt it though.God bless them both. i take it im banned now:sigh:

Just wanted to know your views on this , not just the screens going down in Piccadilly , as soon as i arrived in Manchester it was shoulder to shoulder all the way in every direction a sea of red white and blue made me proud to be a Ger , proceeded to Piccadilly Square which was packed like sardines in the soring heat with people out of the game lying in corners was a bit if a state and that was about 14.00 Was a struggle to move in any direction they were packing us in but there was just not enough space , was with my pal and we both decided the chances of getting a view of the screens from our position wasnt going to happen so we decided to head for Albert Square took us 40 minutes to reach the other end of piccadilly as we couldnt get throught the way we came in as there were too many people there , Once in Albert Square the atmosphere was great a bit more space to move around , there were beachballs and lilos being thrown around and the dj playing music a genuine good atmosphere so to later on see the viloence that kicked off in piccadilly i was a bit suprised but then found out the screen didnt work I got caught up in the trouble heading back to the train station a fan had been knocked down by a car and Rangers fans were desperate to help him but the police were having none of it the guy was out cold , then a van full of riot police appeared from nowhere and about 30 - 40 of them assumed formation and just charged at anyone in Blue who happened to be there i got hit in the stomach as i was standing talking to my friend , i saw a guy get beat to a pulp who was talking to his pal with his back to the riot police the boy was about 18 -19 On this street there were a lot of Rangers fans but the crowd was to see if the guy who was out cold after being hit with a car was going to be ok , in my opinion there was absolutly no need for riot police to be there as all the major incedents were in piccadilly My Girlfriends Boss got smacked in the balls by one of the riot police and this guy is as quite as a mouse. Apart from the madness that follewed the game i had a really good time in Albert Square like many other fans , was dissapointed at the result but thought the boys played well and was proud of them so overall i wont let a bunch of arsehole and middleaged neds wreck my memories.

Firstly the game itself. I thought we played reasonably well. First half we sat a bit too deep as usual and Zenit struggled to break us down. As such, they seemed to sit back a wee bit in the second half, allowed us more space and possession which then enabled them to play their effective attacking game. Essentially the match came down to two mistakes. Our dreadful throw in which the Russians capitalised from. And Nacho Novo/Lee McCulloch getting in each other's way and missing the game's best chance. Who knows what would have happened if we'd taken that? It wasn't to be though but we can hold our heads high and be proud that we managed to get so far and were just a ba' hair away from getting a result. Now onto the rest of the day: 1. There is no excuse for the behaviour of whatever fans caused the trouble at Piccadilly Gdns. I seen Rangers fans and Russian fans involved and these people should disgust any reasonable human being. 2. Quite clearly the local authorities could not cope with the incredible numbers of fans who travelled. Not sure what the final numbers were (it's impossible to say IMO) but there were too many fans in too few areas. I spent most of my pre-match time in Portland Street and next to the Piccadilly fanzone. It was all good natured fun but I was worried that hours and hours of drinking, coupled with the sun and minimal police presence could result in issues later. Trouble was inevitable IMO. 3. I was down with 4 mates - 3 of us who went to the game and one without a ticket who stayed behind to try and get into the fanzone to watch. He couldn't get in and quickly saw the screens were buggered. Unfortunately this seemed to cause problems with people throwing objects. My mate tried to tell a copper but the police sergeant was more interested in chatting up his female colleague. My mate then watched the game in Yates Bar and didn't see any trouble there - a hundred yards or so from the Gardens. 4. After the game we walked back towards the Gardens to meet my mate. On the way, around 5 or 6 police vans sped past us (they were based in a retail park - 60 second drive from the Gardens) so we knew there was a possibility of trouble. We kept walking though as we couldn't get through on the phone to our friend (the networks were problematic all day - still getting texts now!). Around 100 yards from the Gardens (CoM side) we could see the police vans halted but nothing seemed to be happening. We got a bit closer and then we could see around 100 fans challenging the police vehicles. We seen a few bottles being thrown by people with Rangers tops on and by people with Zenit flags. But the trouble was NOT that bad. 5. At this point one of the van doors opened and around 10-15 riot police got out. I thought thank goodness, they'll challenge these idiots and stop the problem. Bizarrely (and was actually very funny watching from the side of the street) they ran from one of the vans, across to another and got in. The vans then reversed, put their lights on and drove away - reappearing seconds later from another side street. It was surreal. Best way to describe the police response would be to compare it with a faulty GTA game engine. No organisation, little aims and crazy driving. 6. As this was happening, obviously we were a bit worried for our own safety so we doubled back 20 yards and walked round the block. By the time we got back round to the place where the trouble had been (2-3mins later) the trouble had ended (or moved). We found our mate and moved on to try and get the train back to Widnes (or elsewhere) since the city centre was still heaving and some pubs had closed. 7. We walked down to the Edwards train station to find all the trains had been cancelled. Replacement buses were to be used instead. Unfortunately, this was not suitable given the numbers of people still needing transport. Thousands of people were at the station but only 4 buses were put on in the 2 hours we stood there waiting for transport. One to Blackpool, one to Warrington, one to Liverpool and one which the fella said 'would go everywhere but take hours'. We decided to start walking out the city centre - still packed full of people trying to get transport home - and get a taxi asap. Eventually (and luckily) we managed to get one around 2 miles out and were over-charged by around �£30 for the privilege. 8. All in all, we still had a great, great time. Our hosts were very hospitable and the craic between the Russians, Rangers and Mancunians generally excellent. Unfortunately, there was just far too many people and trouble was inevitable. I honestly think it would have happened with any club if they took this sheer number of fans to such a game. Law of averages suggests neds, yobs, hooligans and whatever would have had their small time of day and I'm just gutted it's the huge majority of decent, law-abiding Rangers fans (and Scottish people) who have their name tarnished by a small number of mindless idiots. Fortunately, these idiots were minimal and hopefully everyone concerned can learn then lessons for future events.

Having an itchy foot but you can't find the itch to scratch it. Seriously though, what really bugs the hell out of me is that everyone now thinks that all Rangers fans are thugs and hooligans. No one seems to be wanting to listen or change their opinion of us, the well behaved fans who went down for a good time. It infuriates me that some people just want to stick the boot in whenever they can regarding Rangers fans. Outisders will think that the picture of the guy being bitten by the police dog deserved it and had it coming when they don't know the full story. Just because you're caught up in it doesn't mean you started the riot! The small mindedness of some people is disgusting. Rant over but I'm still fuming.