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I'd tried to temper my bewilderment at our close season signings by reflecting on the often used mantra that "there is no substitute for experience". But having a manager with a propensity for playing just one out and out striker it seemed reasonable to question the wisdom of signing 2 ageing, albeit proven strikers, taking our total to 5. I suppose in some ways the fact we played with 2 up front today is a positive improvement - cherish it, its probably the only positive you will find in this article. With young Charlie Telfer exiting Ibrox and directing barbed comments at our manager's apparent unwillingness to blood youngsters, the departure of goalkeeper Scott Gallagher and the re-signing of the veteran and occasionally calamitous, Steve Simonsen does little to suggest that youth is to be the favoured option. One wonders how young Nicky Clark feels his development will fare as the least favoured option behind Boyd, Miller, Daly and given today's personnel selection, even Shiels. Why is this important ? Well if we do manage to successfully negotiate the championship, and I appreciate after today some are saying that's a pretty big "if"; rather than return to the top league with the nucleus of a young team we will instead be replacing ageing players in key positions. "Professors" of football often speak about the "spine" of a team - goalkeeper, centre back and striker. Of our current spine I see only Cammy Bell offering any kind of continuity in this regard. Which of course means new blood, a settling in period and that's before we find the readies for such an overhaul. Without wishing to induce further panic it's probably worth asking the question if there will even be the money for such an overhaul ? So what does all this experience get you for your money? Well not a lot judging by today's performance. You could forgive a schoolboy team for switching off after scoring and giving yourself a lifeline but a team brimming with seasoned pros? Furthermore how can it be that Nicky Law and Ian Black despite having countless games together under their belt, give the appearance they have never played with one another before? The booing of the formers man of the match award should serve as a warning to all at Ibrox that whilst we may be loyal we are certainly not gullible. Kenny Miller did what we have come to expect him to do, and were it not for the detrimental effect to Nicky Clark's development and the fact he is a short term rather than a long term answer, you would see this as a beneficial signing for the season, particularly if young Clark was paired alongside him. Kris Boyd I'm not so sure of. He somehow managed to look even less mobile than 1st time around, so much so, I half expected Police Scotland to bring the game to a halt and announce they had found Clyde, the missing Games statue. The progress and improvement of Lewis Macleod and Fraser Aird has been deeply satisfying for us blue legions, the former in particular showing particular potential. Could a few others have benefited from an extended run in first team football ? Some will remember Dick Advocatt recognising the potential of a young Barry Ferguson and building a team around him, sadly that will not happen so long as young Macleod finds himself played out of position on the wing We need to stop making excuses for Ally. Yes he has had to endure challenges no other Rangers manager has had to contend with but that really does not excuse signings which are devoid of long term vision, as well as tactics, team selections and substitutions which have us all bewildered. There was a moment today when the cameras panned to John Greig sitting in the stands, and on seeing his image on the screens applause echoed around the ground. John is a Rangers legend on and off the park. Unfortunately he was not a very good manager. I fear history may be repeating itself.
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Former Rangers chief executive Charles Green is launching a bid to return to Ibrox as a director by fronting a £10 million investment in the club from an American billionaire. New York based George Soros has told Green to make his move within the next 7 days by offering existing Rangers shareholders 20p per share to become the company’s biggest shareholder. If that move fails, Soros and Green will offer the current board a £10 million loan at 5% interest, with the Murray Park training ground taken as security on the deal. Clyde Sport understands Green would then return to the club as a director with a new chief executive to be appointed to replace the current man in charge, Graham Wallace. The move would also throw into question the future of Rangers manager Ally McCoist with both men known to be fans of club legend Brian Laudrup. Green still has close contacts with the current Rangers board through Sandy Easdale. Mr Soros has been involved in Major League Baseball in the United States and currently has a 1.9% stakeholding in Manchester United. He played a significant role in the transition from communism to capitalism in his native Hungary in the 1980s and is a well known currency speculator who gained the title, “The man who broke the Bank of England” in the 1992 Black Wednesday currency crisis. Forbes magazine has listed 83 year-old Soros as the 27th richest person in the world as recently as 2 weeks ago and he’s the 7th richest man in America with a net worth of £23billion. http://www.clyde1.com/superscoreboard/green-eyeing-ibrox-return/
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Sometimes you feel like a wee greet. http://willievass.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/100814-Rangers-v-Hearts/G0000hlKyrxgNifI/I0000Ko1_cYXoR6o/C0000DwY1ciUOXqU Will somebody put the pic. on here please.
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Amidst all the doom and gloom highlighted in Blueflag’s “What’s Next?” thread, we still have The Second Semi Annual Gersnet Dinner (with Special Guest *Star*) to which can look forward. A reminder of the story so far. The official result of the official poll for the Dinner - time of year - was a draw: Early Season - August/September 4 votes 40.00% Autumn – October/November 4 votes 40.00% In the posts on the thread some specific dates were highlighted: Frankie had weddings on the 8th and 9th of August; JC said that he is doing the deed on the 24th August and then off for a European road trip for 10 days so anytime after about the 6th Sept suits him fine; SC said not Aug 20 – 23 or the weekend of September 19th when he’s getting married; some suggested avoiding the September weekend as well, 27/28 September; GS commented that if we have something reasonably early we can perhaps then have crimbo drinks; and STB pushed September/October time from the start. All of which shows how difficult it is to get a date that suits everyone. Whilst it did seem reasonable to go somewhere in between the two winning time zones, which would have argued for September or October; the fixtures weren’t kind to us in that respect with only two home games over the two months: 27 September 2014 v Hibernian (September weekend, see above) 18 October 2014 v Raith Rovers We then have two home games in November 2014: 8 November 2014 v Falkirk 15 November 2014 v Alloa Athletic (may be postponed if Rangers have players in the Scotland squad) which dates are within the poll result. (I personally cannot make any arrangements between the beginning of October and mid November but that shouldn’t stop you going ahead in that period if someone else wants to take over.) In a further poll: the winner by a short head 6 votes (46.2%) was 27/09/2014 v Hibernian; and in second place with 5 votes (38.5%) was Christmas/New Year Only two other options received one vote each: 15/11/2014 v Alloa and End of Season None of the other options received any support. BT Sport then knocked out 27 September and I suggested either: Dec 6th v Cowdenbeath - easier from a restaurant point of view (and less likely to be moved perhaps); or Dec 20th v Livingston - slightly more attractive fixture, but last shopping weekend before Christmas and might be difficult for restaurants. In the subsequent thread TB rightly said that “Most decent restaurants are in full "Xmas special menu" mode by the 6th December, meaning busy restaurants with overpriced menus. Any restaurant not busy or overpriced at this time of year probably isn't up to much.” He was supported by four others (two of whom were at the first dinner). At the same time 75% of those voting opted to go back to Malaga Tapas. Based on the above, I have had a discussion with Cristobal the owner of Malaga Tapas, who appreciated our custom for the first dinner and the guys who have been back in since. He makes the point that because he is not in the city centre he does not feel under the same pressure as city centre restaurants to provide a Christmas menu or indeed to provide it at or from a certain date. He will do so subject to demand but he always wants to accommodate his regular customers and would never say it’s Christmas Lunch/ Dinner or nothing. In other words he will give us what we want when we want it. Therefore my suggestion is that we go ahead on the 6th of December. I don’t feel that there is anything to be gained from yet another poll so what I would ask is that folks post their agreement or otherwise in this thread asap and I’ll act accordingly. Oh and no speculation on the identity of the mystery guest, please, all will be revealed along with the detailed arrangements once we finalise the date. -
In Eck's later years we played turgid, negative long ball stuff. We signed a lot of dire players that were barely fit to play in Scotland at any level. He had a habit of playing strikers out of position eg Arveladze (played wide left a lot then went to Holland and finished as top goal scorer playing as a striker), Thompson, Prso etc. It's possibly the Scottish approach to football but IMO they are basically exactly the same. -
Side splitting stuff,,,,, ......and back on the payroll!
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I said this elsewhere about entire teams being brought back to defend corner kicks: I can see the time coming when the football authorities will feel inclined to amend the laws of the game regarding every player back at a corner kick. This tactic is designed to clog up the area, limit runs, deny space and minimise goalscoring opportunities, and the outcome is often a series of fouls which may or may not be punished. Officials usually favour the defending team and too often a promising moment in the game fizzles out when a free-kick is awarded. It'll take an extensive trial and error period before the cure is found, but if the football authorities want to make the game better, they really need to guard against coaches and managers who are too often negative and safety-first. The general well-being of the sport comes first and eleven players in the box defending corner kicks is not something that should be tolerated indefinitely. In addition, now that we have a fourth official, I see no reason why the game should be stopped to make substitutions. Players on winning teams who are about to be hooked are often told to go to the either side of the pitch before their number is called, and then they make the long, slow walk to the dugout. Let the fourth official take care of this and let the game flow. Managers know that this is an effective time wasting tactic. That's why they do it. On the same subject, let's draw the line at the 75th or 80th minute regarding substitutions. After this point, no matter what happens, no more substitutions should be allowed. If a player has to go off injured, so be it. We really need to end this business of time-wasting substitutions being made deep into injury time purely to upset the game's rhythm and waste more time.
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Richard Wilson has tweeted.
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It may turn out to be an attempted payback for Operation Tango or disappointingly a damp squib but the possibilities behind the statement here are tantalising, to put it mildly: http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk
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Here's the Daily Record on Craig Whyte in November 2010: "Financial whizzkid Craig Whyte stands on the brink of pulling off the biggest deal of his life... Record Sport understands self-made billionaire Whyte has entered into the final stages of negotiations to buy control of the club he loves from Sir David Murray... A deal worth around £30million is now believed to have reached such an advanced stage that sources say Whyte, a high-roller who splits his time between a home in London and the idyllic Castle Grant in Grantown-on-Spey, could even have the keys to Ibrox in time to fund a major refurbishment of Walter Smith's top-team squad in January... By the age of 26, Whyte was already Scotland's youngest self-made millionaire. Now, 13 years on, and in charge of a vast business empire, his wealth is off the radar." Here's the Daily Record on Craig Whyte in October 2012: "A private investigation commissioned for Rangers showed Craig Whyte had a record of tax avoidance, failed companies and double dealings – before he was sold Sir David Murray's majority shareholding... The report, prepared by private investigators Titon, described Monaco-based Whyte as a 'fuyant' – French slang for an evader or manipulator. It warned there was no evidence to back claims circulated by Whyte's spin doctors that he was a billionaire with plenty of cash to finance Rangers. In fact, it said, there was no evidence he was even a multi-millionaire. The report talks of "the questionable source and extent of his reported wealth". And here's the Daily Record on Craig Whyte in August 2014: "The taxman was chasing Craig Whyte for £3.7million before he took over Rangers. HMRC focused on Whyte's personal finances and made several failed attempts to get him to pay his dues before, during and after his catastrophic reign at Ibrox... Documents seen by the Record show: * The authorities instructed debt enforcers to chase Whyte with a bill for almost £4million and threaten him with bankruptcy in May 2011, the same month that he bought Rangers... * Yet when he struck the notorious deal with Ticketus for funds to finance his Rangers takeover, he gave the firm a personal guarantee he was worth nearly £33million... At the same time he was able to run up a further £15million in unpaid taxes and penalties during his nine months in charge of Rangers. Whyte had bought Rangers for £1 from Sir David Murray in May 2011, while agreeing to wipe out the club's £18million debts... A sizeable proportion of Rangers fans still hold Murray at least partly responsible for the club's demise, arguing he should not have sold to Whyte, whose reputation had already been questioned." Perhaps the fans should be holding the Record to blame as well. When the paper was reporting on Whyte's hyped wealth it failed to mention the fact that serious questions were being asked in the blogosphere about the veracity of his claims. How could the Record know that Whyte was a billionaire with "a vast business empire" and wealth "off the radar"? And when it did know otherwise, why did it take so long to inform Rangers' fans? And why no apology to its readers? Note that 2012 reference to spin-doctors, as if it was all their fault rather than that of the paper's journalists for accepting what they were told without checking. The age-old problem of sports reporting was the willingness of journalists to act like "fans with typewriters" (or, nowadays, fans with laptops). The reporting of the Rangers' saga over the past five years has been a classic example of reporters being no more than stenographers for PRs offering them stories they didn't care to verify. http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/aug/06/daily-record-rangers -
I've seen it at Ibrox for a couple of seasons now. I don't think it's appropriate. Please desist.
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ALLY McCOIST today revealed Rangers midfielder Arnold Peralta is currently stranded in Paris - trying to sort out a work visa. Peralta has failed to return to Glasgow since the end of last season and McCoist admits he has no idea when he is coming back. The Honduran internationalist is in France with his girlfriend attempting to secure the visa he needs for a work permit. The 25-year-old was tipped to leave Ibrox last season after newspaper comments attributed to him appeared in his homeland. He struggled to hold down a regular first team place in League One last season and was quoted as saying he would move on in the summer. The 30-times capped player was due to represent his country at the World Cup Finals in Brazil. However, Peralta suffered a thigh injury in Gers final League One match against Dunfermline. He missed friendlies against Turkey and Israel before being ruled out of his national squad for the tournament in South America. He has not turned up for pre-season training or the tours of either the Highlands or Canada and the United States. But McCoist has confirmed he is fully fit after shaking off his knock and expects him to rejoin his team-mates for the 2014/15 campaign. He is, though, just not sure when that will be. The Gers manager said: "The mystery that is Arnold Peralta is definitely coming back - but when he's coming back, sadly I can't give you a definite on. "He's been in Paris trying to sort a visa. That's where he is at the moment and we're waiting. "The good news is that he's fit - the health issues are long gone. It's just location issues. "We are in dialogue with him, we haven't left him. He just needs to get his visa sorted and that of his girlfriend's. He needs the visa for the work permit. It's not getting it that's the problem - it's the delay that's the issue." Meanwhile, McCoist has revealed that Cammy Bell, Lee McCulloch and Lee Wallace should both be fit for the Petrofac Training Cup game against Hibs at Ibrox tonight. The pair picked up knocks in the pre-season friendly match against Derby County at Pride Park on Saturday. Elsewhere, Seb Faure and Richard Foster, who missed the weekend fixture, could both be available for the first competitive game of this term after resuming training. McCoist said: "The boys came in on Sunday and were iced up, but everyone was training yesterday. "Wallace is okay, the skipper and Cammy too. We're all out training so that indicates we're in reasonable health. "Foster is okay as well and Faure has also trained. I'd be hopeful they have a chance." Tickets for the Hibs game are on general sale and are priced £21 for an adult, £15 for a concession and £5 for a junior. Fans can pay at the Copland Road Stand tonight. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/paris-visa-riddle-for-rangers-midfielder-peralta-174850n.24958801
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Did anyone spot David Longmuir at game today? Wonder why he was there?
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Market News alert Rangers Int. Football Club PLC Read the London Stock Exchange announcement...
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Bit off topic for a gers site, but how do people here view the future for scottish clubs? The top five leagues are now so far in the distance that any future european success for a scottish club now appears to be fanciful. England are never going to allow us to play within their leagues. The bottom english club now earns more than a quarter of a billion from tv every five years whilst SPFL winners will receive around 10 million. Personally, I'd approach the dutch and belgian leagues and try hammer out a northern european amalgamation before the damage done to these countries is irreparable, with promotion and relegation from national setups. The old firm both made a second tier euro final last decade. Both clubs spent 30 million (on debt) or so achieving it. Now I'm not so sure that 30 million will come close to providing the squad capable of euro success. IMO the football landscape has changed into a place we have never been before. We are in danger of being permanently left behind, despite the fact our fans are possibly the best in the world. Our grand children will grow up as barca / munich / arsenal fans first, scottish clubs second, if we don't arrest the situation.
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RANGERS Football Club has today announced a commercial supply deal with the UK’s leading cider and beer business, HEINEKEN, who join our growing portfolio of international partners. HEINEKEN will become Official Beer and Cider Provider for hospitality facilities at Ibrox Stadium including its flagship Heineken® premium beer, a global brand with a proven football pedigree, through its long term association with the UEFA Champions League. Chief Executive Graham Wallace commented: “Rangers Football Club is delighted to announce a commercial deal with HEINEKEN, one of the world’s premier brewers, and the latest in our growing portfolio of international partners. “HEINEKEN, like Rangers, is a massive global brand with a high profile in football given their sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League and this will undoubtedly benefit both parties. “We are in the process of rebuilding this great club, and developing partnerships with world leading businesses such as HEINEKEN demonstrate the progress we are making. We welcome them and their great brands to Ibrox, and look forward to working with them next season and beyond.” John Gemmell, Trading Director for Scotland, commented: “We’ll be working closely with the club to help build on hospitality guests’ match day experience, and to ensure that those who chose to enjoy a beer or cider will benefit from great choice and quality. We’ll also bring our knowledge and unrivalled track record in promoting the responsible enjoyment of our brands.” For more information on HEINEKEN, log on to http://www.heineken.co.uk. http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7339-gers-agree-heineken-partnership
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http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=12035870 Speculate away gentlemen but it seems there's some sort of influential tug o' war happening...
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Can anyone confirm?
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Steven Whittaker says he's no regrets about quitting Rangers despite his injury nightmare at Norwich. SCOTLAND defender headed to Carrow Road 2012 when Ibrox club imploded but he has only made 39 appearances since he moved south. STEVEN Whittaker swears he has no regrets about quitting Ibrox despite an injury nightmare at Norwich. Whittaker left Rangers in 2012 when they were dumped in the bottom tier and moved to Norwich. Injuries have restricted him to just 39 appearances and he said: “I knew I could do better than play in the Third Division. “And I didn’t want to spend three years of my career trying to come back up the leagues. Norwich offered me the challenge to come south and I have enjoyed it. “I still have two years here so I am looking forward to what we can achieve. “I’ve trained hard and all I can do now is make sure I can’t be edged out of the team.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/steven-whittaker-insists-no-regrets-3940468
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5000 tickets already purchased by Rangers fans for the game against Derby, can we sell out the stadium before the season starts? #dcfc
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Regular Gersnetters will know, Stuart Cosgrove is all over BBC Radio Scotland like a rash. He does a 30 minute piece on a Thursday afternoon with John Beattie and Eamon O'Neill, on news coverage of current affairs. A couple of weeks past, Establishment Stu' was invited to comment on Jeremy Clarkson's latest racist faux pas and he lowered his voice to state, "I do not want to return to a society where people can say offensive things without consequences". Compare and contrast with Establishment Stu's piece in a St Johnstone fanzine, "One time we were through at Hearts, and we were at Falkirk station on the way, on the same day Rangers were playing Falkirk. It was Huns galore-thousands of them, and there were maybe 40 of us from the CYS from Perth. We got on the train at Falkirk station, we just opened the windows as it started moving, and gave them 'orange wankers' and all the rest of it, and of course, as soon as it was moving - the train stopped and began moving back into the station. The driver must have been a hun.". A year or so later, the News of the World reported, "Scots radio star Stuart Cosgrove was booted off a station platform by cops for singing anti-Rangers songs, particularly, 'have you seen a handsome hun'? Establishment Stu' utilised his then Daily Record column to reply, he culminated his piece with the question, "can anyone truly say they have seen a handsome hun"? What are the consequences for Channel 4's Director for Diversity, a man who recently breathlessly informed BBC Radio Scotland he was lunching with the Lord Advocate?
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The poll resulted in a narrow win for 27/09/2014 v Hibernian, with the obvious caveat of moving to Sunday if required. As was proven last time, even if an early kick-off is unpalatable to some from a football point of view it gave us a nice comfortable afternoon/ early evening to eat and drink; so in some ways I'd be hopeful of an early kick off again. In the first instance I'm only going to put up two options: going back to Malaga Tapas http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186534-d1087980-Reviews-Malaga_Tapas-Glasgow_Scotland.html or "somewhere else". In order not to appear biased, I will say only that I have confirmed that Cristobal would be happy to have us back; but it is entirely up to you guys if you want to go back or somewhere else. If you wish to go somewhere else then please post a suggestion and I will do a second poll. Unless there is a landslide one way or the other, I'll keep the poll open till the end of the month, so that everyone who is on holiday gets a chance to vote.
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A true Commonwealth Hero The Soldier pictured above is Sam Frickleton VC, Sam was Born in Slamannanan, Scotland on the 1st April 1891 He emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1913 In 1915 he enlisted as rifleman in the 3rd Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, Samuel Frickleton won his Victoria Cross during the attack at Messines on 7 June 1917. Later that same year he was presented with his VC on Ibrox Park by King George V. The RSEA The Rangers Supporters Erskine Appeal was formed in 2007 by Rangers Fans in an effort to raise £1000 for the Erskine Home for Ex Service personnel Such was the enthusiasm for the venture that it is still going strong 7 years later, with Rangers Fans working hard on a completely voluntary basis to raise over £560,000 for the Erskine Home One of the Fundraising ventures is an Annual Golf Day, named in memory of of the Scots Kiwi war hero Golfers play in teams of 4 to compete for the Sam Frickleton VC Golf Trophy Commonweath Games One Hundred years after the start of the Great War saw NZ Rugby, take to the same field that Sam Frickleton received his VC, 97 years previously. To mark the occasion the RSEA has commissioned a Quaich in Sam’s honour to present to the Kiwis The inside base is inscribed “IN MEMORY OF SAM FRICKLETON VC” on the outside it reads “PRESENTED BY THE RANGERS SUPPORTERS ERSKINE APPEAL TO THE NEW ZEALAND ALL BLACKS TO MARK THE OCCASION OF THEIR APPEARANCE AT IBROX STADIUM, 2014″ The RSEA presented the Quaich to MR Steve Tew of CEO of NZ Rugby All Blacks on monday 28th July 2014 to mark the occasion of the Kiwis visit to Ibrox Stadium as a tribute to a war hero who received his Victoria Cross from King George V at the stadium in 1917. NZ Rugby CEO Mr Steve Tew accepts a gift from the The Rangers Support, in memory of Sam Frickleton VC Sam's great grand-nephew Robert Jack who still resides in Slammanan first heard of the Rangers supporters tribute last month said "Our family were very moved to hear that Sam's heroic actions on Flanders Fields during the Great War are still being remembered" The RSEA rep who made the presentation to NZ Rugby, said "Steve Tew was delighted to accept the Quaich and hear that a Scottish kiwi and true commonwealth hero had his vc presented by the King on the same ground that all these years later New Zealand took on Scotland in the rugby sevens" On returning to New Zealand, Steve Tew took time to email and thank the Rangers Support for the gesture made to his team and to their War Hero and promised that the quaich would be displayed in NZ Rugby HQ He wished the RSEA every success in the future http://rsea.org.uk/golf/sam-frickleton-vc/
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Lawwell, Topping appointed to Scottish FA main board
ian1964 posted a topic in General Football Chat
Wednesday, 30 July 2014 The Scottish FA can confirm that both Peter Lawwell, the Celtic Chief Executive, and Ralph Topping, the Scottish Professional Football League Chairman, have been appointed to the main Board of the Scottish FA after nomination by the Professional Game Board. Stewart Regan, Scottish FA Chief Executive: “We are delighted to welcome Ralph back to the main Board, having already benefitted from Peter’s wealth of experience in the past year. I am sure both will play key roles as we enter the next phase of our strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision.” Neil Doncaster, SPFL Chief Executive: “Ralph Topping will be stepping down from the William Hill Board on 1st August. He will therefore have much more time to devote to the professional game. We are delighted that Peter Lawwell and Ralph Topping have been unanimously elected by the Professional Game Board to serve the professional game on the main board of the Scottish FA.” http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2986&newsID=13546&newsCategoryID=1 -
Seeing on FF Rangers played Thistle behind closed doors. (sing along chaps) at Firhill. 1-0 Rangers Lewis McLeod.
