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MANAGEMENT may ask SFA for review of Thomson dismissal More...

Kevin Thomson will miss Wednesday's Scottish Cup replay, but Rangers team-mate Danny Wilson is clear to play despite both being sent off on Sunday. Wilson's offence was denying a goalscoring opportunity to Craig Dargo in the 1-0 Co-operative Insurance Cup final win over St Mirren. And his one-match ban will come into effect in next season's competition. But Thomson's tackle on Stevie Thomson was deemed serious foul play and he misses the match against Dundee United. The offence also took the midfielder over the points threshold and he will miss one Scottish Premier League game from 4 April, with Aberdeen due to visit Ibrox that Wednesday. MY SPORT: DEBATE Give your reaction to Rangers' suspensions Thomson's absence adds to Rangers' selection headache for this week's replay at Tannadice. Steven Davis is doubtful after coming off at half-time during Sunday's win over St Mirren. The Northern Ireland international had been a doubt for that game through illness and had clearly not recovered as he failed to make an impact before being replaced by Maurice Edu. Lee McCulloch is definitely unavailable to fill one of the midfield spots as the Scotland international is also serving a cup suspension. Meanwhile, Madjid Bougherra and fellow defender Kirk Broadfoot remain absentees with hamstring injuries. Rangers are hoping that the Hampden win will be the first leg of a domestic treble. The SPL leaders must overcome United at Tannadice if they are to retain hopes of retaining the Scottish Cup, with First Division Raith Rovers facing the winners in the semi-finals. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/8580683.stm

The last few weeks have really been a hoot in the ever hilarious world of the SPL. As Rangers edge closer to an unprecedented 53rd league title and the chances of a worthy treble, the conspiracy theories are ever more wild as players, managers and commentating legends trip over their petted lips. Rather than concentrate on Rangers' admirable domestic record via an orthodox playing style but with an ever- increasing goals scored column amongst chances aplenty backed up by one of the most solid defences in club football (wood touched!); the talk is of hard done by clubs, players and managers cheated out of points by officials allegedly ordered to gift the SPL to Rangers because of our financial problems. The list of examples to 'prove' the theories are endless: Celtic denied a penalty at Ibrox; Celtic denied a goal at Parkhead; Motherwell denied a goal at Fir Park; St Mirren denied a penalty at Ibrox; Celtic captain unfairly ordered off at Ibrox; Rangers defender not sent off after being penalised for a few fouls; etc etc etc. You may suppress your grin at these claims when you find out it isn't your average Sean next door phoning the ever impartial Radio Clyde panel but this is Celtic Football Club making the allegations via their 'unnamed source' handing in a dossier of decisions going against Celtic and for Rangers. Add in the club manager, senior players (such as Aiden McGeady - yes that, non-diving; non-hacking and non-dissenter of official decisions during games Irish internationalist); ex-playing legends such as Billy McNeil (ask Davie Hay about McNeil's managerial integrity); then the full picture unfolds of what is being attempted here. This isn't a few fans moaning about a few decisions. This is a football club with strong political connections in the game and beyond questioning the partiality of officials and the authorities in Scottish football. All because they chose the wrong manager, spent too much money on loan players who weren't really any better than what they had and are looking for an opportunity to deflect (and deny) from their own inadequacies as their crowd numbers go into free-fall. Let's be something they can't be and be objective though: Celtic have been unlucky when it comes to a few decisions this season and Rangers have also benefited from a few. Celtic should have had more than one penalty at Ibrox earlier this season (they did get one though - when was the last Rangers one at Parkhead?); Madjid Bougherra could easily have been sent off in the most recent game; and John Gilmour made our life a lot easier at Fir Park last month. I'm sure there are a few more debatable decisions that have went our way of late. I'll take them when they come though as just as many go against us. Similarly, neither should anyone apologise for being right. Firstly, Scott Brown was harshly sent off at Ibrox the other week. However, we've spent the last 10+ years hearing about how John Rowbotham should have sent off Paul Gascoigne for exactly the same aggressive behaviour in a game against Aberdeen. Where is in the consistency? Secondly, Fortune's goal at Parkhead earlier this year was harshly disallowed. Yes, at first glance, he looked to have jumped higher than McGregor and the decision looked wrong. However, any fair-minded person would agree that Steve Conroy (that well-kent Rangers supporter!) was in fact correct when viewing the various replays available to us we see Fortune clearly fouled the Rangers goalie's arm when jumping impeding his chances of catching the ball. Such incidents are always black and white but grey areas where consistency is the most difficult virtue to find for officials - as opposed to the lack of honesty implied by some! Finally, when one wants to examine the officiating debate, one really needs to be balanced when doing so. Of course, I'm probably not such a person but were the red cards dished out to Kevin Thomson, Madjid Bougherra, Pedro Mendes and Kenny Miller really warranted this season? Maybees aye, maybees naw; but we got on with the games in question and secured points in all of them; away to Hearts, Motherwell and Kilmarnock amongst them. I could also list a plethora of other decisions that have arguably gone against us in recent times - from disallowed goals; to unpunished opposition players; to denied penalties but any impartial observer would come to the conclusion such decisions do even themselves out - perhaps not over the course of a season but certainly on an ongoing basis. Or do they? A cursory look at the last five years of the SPL shows an interesting anomaly for the Celtic-minded wishing to infer bias against their team. Since 2005/2006 only in one season have Celtic had more yellow cards (07/08) or red cards (06/07) than Rangers. Much more often than not Rangers have the worst disciplinary record. Again, quick simplistic science based on basic stats but hardly signs of institutional bias year-by-year suggested by the likes of Billy McNeill? And this is where the debate breaks down. Because we all have our valid arguments about that one game, that once incident where we lost the 3 points because of the barsteward in the black. So, the next time an Aiden McGeady, a Tony Mowbray, a Craig Levein and even Gus McPherson want to rant about being hard-done by, perhaps they should reflect afterwards to think where they may have been the one on the receiving end of a fortunate flag from an otherwise nameless linesman. And instead of questioning people's integrity or fair-mindedness they may show a bit more humility and class when attempting to discuss the foibles of our national sport. Anything else is just bringing the game into disrepute for the sake of a cheap jibe to deflect from their own failings. That isn't the mark of fair people with integrity - just the actions of hypocrites who should know better.

Great little clip of Kevin Thomson's shattering tackle on Keano the pikey.

Anyone else heading to the south side of Glasgow tonight to cheer on our nation ? Very strong squad, glad no one has really pulled out. Excited to see Boyd & Miller start up top again for country. I think this will be tonight's line up ___________Gordon____________ Hutton___Heid_____Berra___Wallace/Whitty Brown____Fletcher___Thomson___McFadden __________Boyd_____Miller Well it won't be far off that, maybe Charlie Adam might start instead of Thomson to give us a more attacking threat, saying that Robson can do that too. Tonight is a start of a new era, lets get behind Levien and the boys. Step 1 of Euro 2012. Let's give them a doing and run them scared for the qualifiers.

A little problem has surfaced in that Thomson, Davis, McCulloch and Edu are fit, available and in form. It seems such a waste to have even one of these guys on the bench, given how much they can all give. Davis is a driving force through the middle, Thomson can do that to an extent plus defend brilliantly, McCulloch can do lots of dirty work, and Edu is a very, very good all rounder. In recent weeks I have to admit Whittaker has hit a real purple patch, and Papac I felt had a great game on Sunday. My point? Accommodate all 4 of the midfielders in a sort of diamond, and let Whittaker and Papac continue to provide the width on the flanks. We can still have Boyd and Miller up front and it would make us really rather strong in the middle because the whole wing-play thing hasn't happened since December's Novo/Beasley period. So what do you think of this: :sw::mb::sp: :lm: :me::kt: :sd: :kb: Bench: :na::kirk::wilson::ss::kl::nn::sn: Not the worst team and bench I've ever seen...

Returns for Boyd & McCulloch. No place for McGregor and Ferguson. Reports are that Levein contacted Smith regarding McGregor and Smith felt his return should be postponed. Goalkeepers Neil Alexander (Rangers) Craig Gordon (Sunderland) David Marshall (Cardiff City) Defenders Alan Hutton (Tottenham Hotspur (ON LOAN TO SUNDERLAND)) Christophe Berra (Wolverhampton W.) Gary Caldwell (Wigan Athletic) Paul Dixon (Dundee United) Garry Kenneth (Dundee United) Lee Wallace (Heart of Midlothian) Andy Webster (Rangers (ON LOAN TO DUNDEE UNITED)) Steven Whittaker (Rangers) Midfield Charlie Adam (Blackpool) Scott Brown (Celtic) Graham Dorrans (West Bromwich Albion) Darren Fletcher (Manchester United) Paul Hartley (Bristol City) Lee McCulloch (Rangers) James McFadden (Birmingham City) Barry Robson (Middlesbrough) Kevin Thomson (Rangers) Forwards Kris Boyd (Rangers) Steven Fletcher (Burnley) Chris Iwelumo (Wolverhampton W. (ON LOAN TO BRISTOL CITY)) Kenny Miller (Rangers)

CELTIC'S bitter feud with the SFA took a fresh twist last night when it emerged the Parkhead club could be dragged into the Hampden dock for their latest attack on a referee. An official club statement which appeared to call into question the impartiality of big-match whistler Dougie McDonald was released on the internet hours after Tony Mowbray's side went down to a 1-0 defeat in the Old Firm derby at Ibrox. The explosive wording of the statement - which revealed Celtic's intention to appeal against Scott Brown's red card - has angered the game's hierarchy and the matter was yesterday referred to the General Purposes Committee who will now convene to decide whether or not to take action. But already it has poured fresh fuel on what was a combustible situation between the game's hierarchy and the powers that be at Celtic Park. The full Celtic statement read: "Celtic will appeal the red card given to Scott Brown during the derby clash with Rangers at Ibrox. Referee Dougie McDonald sent off the Celtic captain following a tangle with Kyle Lafferty, with the Rangers player unpunished for his part in the incident. "It immediately seemed to be a controversial decision to everyone in the ground and certainly any fairminded person looking at the incident at the time or subsequent TV replays could see it wasn't a red card. "It was a decision which had a major impact on the game and Celtic will now appeal against the red card, which saw Tony Mowbray's side down to 10 men for the last half-hour of the game. "Certainly, the Celtic support in the Broomloan Road Stand and beyond were left mystified and angry at yet another refereeing decision in a derby game this season which has gone against the club. "In the first derby match of this season at Ibrox in October, Celtic were denied a blatant penalty by referee Craig Thomson, who admitted after the game that he had made a mistake. "And in the game against Rangers at Celtic Park, referee Steve Conroy disallowed a Marc-Antoine Fortune goal, though replays showed that there was nothing wrong "Now, Dougie McDonald's decision is added to that list and will be the major talking point from the game." Celtic have compiled a dossier of evidence to back up their concerns over the standard of Scotland's officials throughout this season. Mowbray and chief executive Peter Lawwell will present their file during showdown talks this week with SFA chief executive Gordon Smith and refs chief Hugh Dallas. But the club could be facing a bumper fine if the General Purposes Committee decide to take action when they meet next month. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2010/03/02/sfa-set-to-throw-the-book-at-celtic-over-scott-brown-red-card-web-claims-86908-22079608/

Celtic are considering expressing formal concerns about referee standards to the Scottish Football Association ahead of Sunday's Old Firm derby. A club source has told BBC Scotland of their frustration about major decisions after analysing footage - including the last two games against Rangers. But SFA president George Peat says the Celtic source was being mischievous. He found it "disappointing" that the source would try to "exert additional pressure on match officials". Sunday's game will be refereed by Dougie McDonald, whose last Old Firm match was last season's Co-operative Insurance Cup final, which Celtic won 2-0 after extra-time. The refereeing performances are a concern and a frustration to us Celtic source Celtic are seven points behind reigning Scottish Premier League champions Rangers, who have a game in hand, ahead of the match at Ibrox. The sides drew their last meeting, on 3 January, with Celtic believing that Marc-Antoine Fortune was denied a goal in the 1-1 draw. Referee Steve Conroy ruled that the striker had fouled Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor. Rangers won the last Ibrox encounter 2-1 in October, when Celtic had several claims for penalties denied by Craig Thomson. "We are considering contacting the SFA to highlight our concerns at some of the major decisions we feel have gone against us this season," said the Celtic source. "The refereeing performances are a concern and a frustration to us." Celtic also have concerns about offside decisions given against Robbie Keane, their recent loan signing from Tottenham Hotspur. "It seems that officials are struggling to keep up with his pace," said the source. "Several key offside decisions have gone against him purely because of his speed." Hugh Dallas, the SFA's head of refereeing development, this month himself expressed concerns about the standard of decision-making, suggesting that it had been a disappointing season for Scottish officials. MY SPORT: DEBATE Give your reaction to Celtic's concerns Celtic and SFA officials have met to discuss the Glasgow club's concerns, but the leak from the club has angered Peat. "We find it disappointing and somewhat bizarre that, in the build-up to an Old Firm derby, an unnamed Celtic 'source' would seek to exert additional pressure on match officials by issuing ill-timed and fundamentally inaccurate comments," said the SFA president. "The validity of these comments is questionable in any case, since the 'source' is not courageous enough to put his name to them. "In actual fact, discussions between the Scottish FA and Celtic have taken place, but the contents of these discussions will remain private, as was agreed with the club. "I am sure the Celtic chief executive, Peter Lawwell, will be concerned by the fact that someone has elected to speak on behalf of his club, seemingly without consent, and therefore undermined his authority."

ya feni@n bastard. First minute: well in Thommo :box:

http://www.rangers.co.uk/articles/20...254024_1967825 Heres a run down of how each Rangers player performed. This isn't by me, it's from Laudrup1 on FF. Alexander did what we all know he can do. Was steady and reliable, caught a couple of crosses well and took two corners out of the air too. Didn't have any chance with the second which was a close range tap in. The first...now don't get me wrong, it was a cracking shot high into the net and close to the top corner...however he 'nearly thought' about moving for it. I think this is the slight difference between him and McGregor (and the reason that Smith took the option he did this summer over the no.1) I've seen it a couple of times with him. It's very hard to criticise but I sometimes think to myself "McGregor would have gone for that / actually got it" Certainly, if we're selling folk and McGregor is one to go, we're not gubbed if he has to stand in as we all knew anyway. There's not a gulf between them there like we've had between any other no.1s and their deputies (think more Klos / Waatereus than Goram / Maxwell) The two full backs. Cole's very much in the Stevie Whittaker mould of full backs. His tackling from time to time is suspect but he's good at getting forward (doesn't chip in with many goals all the same) and has looked decent for a couple of seasons now. He played reasonably well as usual but alot of the Killie play went down our left hand side. Kinniburgh is just back from an injury after a succesful loan spell at Oxford. If he hadn't been injured towards the end of that loan, he'd likely have gone on loan again after Christmas. From the first u19s double winning team, he's in the same boat as a number of others. I see him as a very capable player but like McMillan, Shinnie and Gallagher, given they're all 20-22 years old now, they're time may have passsed. I could well see Kinni being moved on in the summer with Wylde having appeared in the first team ahead of him already. The two centre halfs are promising. There's been alot of talk about Witkorski in the last wee while as folk become more aware of him. Both him and Chris Scott are doing well in the 19s and, considering they were up against guys like Sammon and Fernandez yesterday, didn't make too many errors at all. The second goal could well have been defended better all the same. They're maybe not "classy" in the Danny Wilson sense of the game but do have more presence. Nothing to suggest they won't progress further as they continue. Both are still available at 19s past this season too. Stirling, for me, is a cracking player. He's got a bit of a swagger about him in the middle of the pitch. Quite slight but will dictate play in games. Not comparing him to Gazza at all but he'll go past players in a similar manner by harldy moving the ball or his body. Again, like Wylde, I can see him being retained while the likes of Shinnie move on. They're maybe not any better as players (give or take) but being a couple of years younger, have that on their side. He showed his usual performance yesterday with a couple of great balls through to Little and small individual pieces of play that light the game up from time to time. Was good to see Bendiksen back. He was struggling with the pace in the initial stages as you'd expect of someone out for the best part of 18 months. Before his injury I was saying he reminded me or Reyna (and having seen more of Davis now, him too) in the sense that he can play on the right or in the middle and does alot of work while contributing with forward runs. I'd be surprised to see him leave without him getting another year of a chance given the problems he's had. Given that we paid �£100k for him too, I'd imagine he's expected to make something of it. He'll need time to get back into it though. Jamie Ness only played the first half before being replaced by Hutton. He's more of a Thomson type player. A left sided defensive midfielder. Big noises were made about him as Wilson and Fleck were also touted for the first team. McCulloch and Edu plus Thomson all being there in that role for the first team may mean he's going to have to wait a bit longer but he's got a great chance based on his career so far. Did have a poorer game yesterday than he can though. Beasley was just his usual self. Got hoofed in the air a good few times from late and poor tackles. Other times he was just bounced off the ball. Did make a great run for his goal though and took it well. I hate hearing folk go on about him being too lightweight. He's got a tonne of caps for America and played in a CL semi with Eindhoven against Milan which they only lost in the last minute? Are folk telling me that being up against Maldini wasn't as challenging as anything the Hamilton left back can do in the SPL? He is light but while the SPL is a rough league, it doesn't mean someone of his stature shouldn't be able to handle it. He's shown on a few occasions he can do it but we need to play to his strentgths and not expect him to be making tackles like John Brown. Some of our fans just can't accept a player who's not a "traditional Ranger" and always want to criticise. I think along with his lacking stature being blamed for his injuries, he's actually had a bad run of it with us. I hope he can show more of what he did at Tannadice earlier in the season. There's signs he can be a player for us but will never be a Laudrup. Little impressed me most of all yesterday. The Reserve Team Loyal have all long been of the opinion that Rory Loy scores more goals, seems to be quicker and shows more skillful turns to beat players than Little does. For what ever reason though, Little's ahead of him in the managements plans. Yesterday he played as well as I've seen from either of the two of them in a while. He was beating mean in the box to create space for a couple of shots and also held the ball up well regularly (getting the assist for the goal in that manner too) He's not a spectacular player in the sense that he won't do what Fleck does at this level from time to time and score a screamer but has attributes which mean, as he's shown, he will be capable in the first team. For me, he was our MOTM yesterday.

CHRISTIAN NADE is set to be hammered by Hearts after punching Ian Black. Jambos striker Nade swung for his shocked team-mate as they argued after the 2-0 loss to Celtic on Wednesday night. He gave Black both barrels in the Parkhead dressing room as the players picked through the wreckage of their third loss on the trot. But when Black argued back, Nade stunned the rest of the Hearts squad by swinging for the pint-sized midfielder. Despite apologising to Black, Nade will be hit with a hefty club fine by boss Jim Jefferies. A dressing-room insider told SunSport: "Everyone stopped in shock when Christian punched Black. "There had been a heated debate about the game. "That happens in every dressing room, but usually it doesn't end in a fight. "They were next to each other in the dressing room and Nade lost the plot and thumped Blackie. He didn't see it coming. I don't think many folk would want a punch off big Nade." Black refused to retaliate but it's understood Jeff was furious with Nade and will fine him. Nade hasn't penned a new deal and the Jambos could even use this as a perfect excuse to offload the �£8,000-a-week man. Meanwhile, Marian Kello has vowed to make himself new boss Jefferies' No1. Kello, who'll face Falkirk today, was Janos Balogh's deputy under old boss Csaba Laszlo but has kept his place after the Hungarian got injured. He said: "Csaba brought Janos here and he was his No1. "Now we're on the same level, it's just about performances." Jason Thomson could return but Andrew Driver, Ruben Palazuelos, Craig Thomson, Ismael Bouzid and Laryea Kingston are out. http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/2852304/Nades-punch-sunk.html I quite like Nade now

Saw this elsewhere: Could prove important when the chips are down.

Rangers retain ten point lead at the top of the SPL as they head into two cup matches over the next week. http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/2010/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=206:rangers-3-0-falkirk-player-ratings-and-mom-poll&catid=35:analysis&Itemid=67 :sd: for me but was especially happy with the 2nd half display of Thomson. Honourable mentions to Wilson and Steven Smith as well.

A slightly different thread to our usuals. This thread asks the simple question: which players have changed your mind about them, and who were you right about all along? I'll start so folk have a clue what I mean. I was right: Pedro Mendes. Luxury player who flattered to deceive and deceived many fans in the process. Madjid Bougherra. Good SPL player with an attitude problem, but out of his depth at European level. Kenny Miller. Didn't want us to sign him but he won me over with some real impact displays and while he's been inconsistent at times, he has proven me right to rate him as one of our best players. McGregor. Far too many wanted Alexander in goal during Boozegate based on some moralistic view of player conduct rather than pure raw ability. Our goalie is now one of our most valuable assets. Kevin Thomson. I never bought into the hype about him while many viewed him as a messiah. Nowadays he's struggling to even achieve the average level I didn't use to rate in the first place! I was wrong: Kris Boyd. While his poor record against Celtic continues on, he's well and truly dispelled the 'can't do it against a top 6 team' myth this season especially. He's proven me wrong that he has no ability, and as well as scoring he's shown he can pass, run, hold up, header and track back. Novo. Never saw him as more than a sub impact player, one who lacked the basics. His recent run has shown me up, for he's caused absolute hell down the left wing and scored the critical goal against Hamilton. Form of his life and is more than I thought he was. Broadfoot. While no Dani Alves, and was torn apart by McNeedy, he's proven himself to be quite a capable RB. Ordinary, workmanlike but with a little more ability than I used to give him credit for, Broadfoot has a firm grasp of his first team slot and is well worth a new contract. Whittaker. Wrong but in the wrong way. I used to rate him high as the sky, but his defensive frailties and psychological weaknesses have bubbled dramatically this season. Often looking like a rabbit in headlights, his sparkling form of the Uefa run is a distant memory and he now seems like a trainwreck of a player. Any of your own?

Birmingham City are preparing a fresh offer for Rangers striker Kris Boyd. The Barclays Premier League club sent scout Malky Thomson to Celtic Park to watch the 26-year-old in Sunday's 1-1 draw in the Old Firm derby. City's Alex McLeish, the former Rangers manager, had a �£3.75m bid accepted by the Ibrox club last January, but the player rejected personal terms. But Boyd is out of contract in the summer and there are no signs of a new deal being agreed with Rangers. He is free to talk with other clubs this month about a move at the end of the season. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/8438777.stm

WALTER Smith has warned of dire consequences for Rangers if they do not resist selling any players during the current transfer window and also retain the bulk of their squad whose contracts are due to expire in the summer. The frustration Smith has experienced for the last 18 months as the Ibrox club grapple with their financial problems resurfaced yesterday as he responded to speculation linking Pedro Mendes with a move to Sporting Lisbon. Rangers, who have not been able to buy a new player since August 2008, remain under pressure from the Lloyds Banking Group to restructure their finances and reduce their �£31 million debt. But manager Smith is adamant Rangers cannot afford any further cuts to the first-team squad for the second half of a season which currently sees them seven points clear of Celtic at the top of the SPL and still involved in both domestic cup competitions. While top scorer Kris Boyd has now been offered a new contract, Smith is keen to see the future of other players tied up. Among those whose existing deals also run out at the end of the season are Kirk Broadfoot, Nacho Novo, DaMarcus Beasley and Stevie Smith. "If we don't start to offer some of them the opportunity to stay with the club, then we will cease to operate, never mind anything else," said Smith. "We have been in negotiations with a few others as well as Kris. We have started talking to Kirk Broadfoot and Nacho Novo. It is something that has to happen." With his resources further limited by injuries and unavailability, Smith was forced to fill out his substitutes' bench with four youngsters in Andrew Little, John Fleck, Gregg Wylde and Jamie Ness. He regards it as a clear indication of why Rangers should not be looking to offload senior players such as Mendes. "Who says we are going to get rid of Pedro?" added Smith. "I've not heard anything about getting rid of Pedro, apart from what I read in newspapers. Last week, we only had two senior professionals in Maurice Edu and Stevie Smith on the bench at Celtic Park. We will only have a couple available to us again this weekend. With suspensions set to kick in for the second half of the season, we will need all of our players between now and the end of the season." Smith is still waiting to learn if Boyd will accept the club's offer of a new three-year contract reported to be worth around �£18,000 a week. "His agent spoke with (chief executive) Martin Bain yesterday and he has gone off to think over the offer being made," said Smith. "We've still not heard anything back." One player Smith would be prepared to lose is French winger Jerome Rothen, 31, who has failed to make the desired impact during his season-long loan from Paris St Germain. He is no longer in the manager's first team plans and hopes to return home this month. Rangers begin their defence of the Active Nation Scottish Cup tomorrow and Smith is able to welcome Kenny Miller and Kevin Thomson back from suspension and injury respectively for the lunchtime kick-off against Hamilton Accies at New Douglas Park. http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/Walter-Smith--warns-.5968866.jp

NOVO could face Accies on Sunday, Thommo also set to return More... NACHO NOVO could be fit to return to the Rangers starting line up as soon as this Sunday when the Light Blues face Hamilton in the Scottish Cup. The Spanish striker had to go off after just 13 minutes of the weekend draw at Celtic after a collision with home player Georgios Samaras. Novo suffered a thigh injury and after heavy internal bleeding, it was thought he'd be out for the next two or three weeks. But while he hasn't yet returned to training, the knock isn't as bad as was first feared and he could yet find himself included in the squad that goes to Accies five days from now. That would come as a huge boost to manager Walter Smith, who is already without a number of other key players. Steven Naismith, DaMarcus Beasley and Pedro Mendes have all been injured lately while Madjid Bougherra is away preparing for the African Cup of Nations. But there's further good news for Smith as Kevin Thomson has now resumed full training after a calf injury and he'll be available for the game at New Douglas Park too. The Gers boss said: "Kevin is one who I'd hope will be fit for the weekend and Nacho has a chance. "It looked like a bad knock in the thigh for him at the weekend but the physiotherapists have been working hard on it. As such, there may now be an opportunity for him to play after all this weekend after it seemed he might be out. "As for the rest, we'll need to wait and see. DaMarcus and Pedro are both coming along well and we're hopeful of having a couple of players back."

Happy New Year to everyone! Sorry I've not been around recently but illness and holidays meant I enjoyed a good couple of weeks away from you moaning minnies! Well, great result at the weekend if another rather poor performance at Parkhead. Obviously the loss of several important players this season for this match (before and during the game) affected our display but we still struggled badly at times and if it wasn't for some dreadful finishing from Samaras and McGeady, we wouldn't have taken such a vital point. Onto the refereeing decisions from the Mason (well Celtic supporter Steve Conroy) in the black and obviously they had an important factor on the outcome of the match. Firstly the disallowed goal - well at first I thought it was a legitimate goal as McGregor was rather flat footed while Fortune rose well to head home. However, replays clearly showed the striker's arm/elbow impede McGregor's arm which is a foul - even if perhaps a soft one. Strange how those desperate to cry out about the use of Miller's arm RE: Darren Dods are so eager to miss this incident though. Secondly, the challenge from Lafferty on Hinkel which I thought was very late and dangerous considering it was high and had studs showing. I wouldn't have complained if a straight red was shown but considering players like Loovens and McDonald have got off with similar in recent times, I'm surprised Celtic fans are now going on about incompetent officials given they were defended by the same people last season. Add in the challenges which went unpunished from the crucial back to back OF games in 2008, then perhaps (as usual) officials should be questioned as a whole as opposed to inferences about conspiracies - not to mention player character? More importantly, I was concerned about our inability to do the basics right again on Sunday. After an incredible display of form in December (lucky according to some), with several players doing very well (not just those missing from the Celtic match) it was disappointing to see us revert back to our early season form in this game. Poor passing; reactive instead of anticipative; weak in the tackle; sitting too deep; and awful control throughout the team. However, in a positive sense our set-pieces were dangerous throughout the match and it was no surprise to me that we did finally score from one ala Lyon. Guys like Weir and Wilson also did quite well throughout the game while I felt Lafferty and Edu improved after the break for reasonable periods in the match. Overall, it was no surprise that we struggled given the enforced pre-match changes to a winning team. The loss of Novo's pace early in the game also affected our ability to support the attack and having to move Davis out wide removed some of his creative threat while Edu's obvious lack of match sharpness and McCulloch's lack of pace meant we sat too deep to compensate. Fortunately, in this case the result is definitely more important than the performance. To be 4 (sic) points clear after such a difficult month (away matches to Hibs, Utd and Celtic) and two home matches (again versus Utd and a tough 'Well outfit) is a great way to start the New Year and decade. Only the churlish would ignore such impressive form given the goals scored and defensive strength also. One poor game away to Celtic (who did play very well actually) can be shrugged off if we address the issues from it suitably. Like everyone else I've no idea if we can keep our squad intact over January but I think the recent involvement of squad players such as Beasley, Broadfoot, Wilson and Novo means we can cope with the loss of most players. Of course if a Boyd or Davis were to be moved on, they'd be a little more difficult to replace - even if the latter's form has been patchy during his stay at the club. Thankfully I doubt either will leave (for now at least). Meanwhile, the imminent return of Beasley, Thomson and Mendes shows those mischief-makers questioning our inability to bring in players we have enough strength in depth to remain competitive in the SPL. It's not as if Celtic's work in the transfer market is anything to be afraid of! As always, it is what we do that matters. December has shown we have a decent team capable of winning any game - even if we get people sent off and suffer from poor officials. If we can continue that kind of form, then we can be confident of a 53rd SPL title. Anything less and we'll allow Celtic to come back into it which means the final two Old Firm league games will be as important and as hotly contested as usual in February and May! I can't wait!

I'm sitting here purring with pleasure, fired by Guinness and the 7-1 demolition of Dundee Utd. That was so cool. And the thing which is making me happiest is not Boydy hitting 5, or Boogie scoring a 'special', or the 7 point gap above 'them' in the league. Dundee Utd tried to put the boot in tonight. Wee off the balls, elbows, leaving the foot in, they were at it. And Rangers totally refused to take it. The 'highlight' (lowlight?) was their big defender feigning agony in order to get Miller sent off. He maybe deserved it for lashing out a bit: it's soft, but there you go, we all know what happens when there's any sort of action like that. I'm not whining about the sending off. I'm celebrating the reaction. McCulloch whacked the big defender, Little took him out. There was a clear message. We can play you off the park, and if you try the rough stuff we are equally good at kicking you off it too. That's a fearsome combination for the other team. Granted, you get things like Lee McCulloch being suspended; but there the advantage of our squad comes in. It may be thinner than in recent years, but it's still deep enough to have a midfield missing Pedro Mendes, Kevin Thomson and now Lee McCulloch and still be able to field Steve Davis and Maurice Edu in the middle. Good enough for me, anyway. Rangers can boss you, and they can beat you. There's your New Year message for the rest of Scottish football as they try to keep up. Rangers - Better.

According to WS,Thomson and Beasley are out for a number of weeks and Boogie won't be available for the Celtic game. Boogie will be the biggest miss imo.

KEVIN THOMSON will sit out Rangers' trip to play Hibernian this Sunday as he recovers from a calf injury. The midfielder was forced off with the problem in the first half of last weekend's excellent 6-1 win against Motherwell at Ibrox. Thomson went for a scan on his calf on Wednesday and it seems unlikely he'll play any part in the three-game sequence Walter Smith believes could have such a massive bearing on Gers' season. The Light Blues take on Dundee United in midweek then Celtic next weekend and along with the Hibees clash, it looks as though Thomson will struggle to make any of those fixtures. His absence could pave the way for a return to the team for Mo Edu after he came through his comeback match unscathed on Monday. The American midfielder played 80 minutes of a 2-1 closed-doors defeat to Partick Thistle at Murray Park and suffered no ill effects afterwards. Edu has been out since May but is now ready to return, although it looks more likely that Lee McCulloch will start alongside Steven Davis in the middle. Rangers' only other absentees are Pedro Mendes and Jerome Rothen but the Portuguese star is back and training and expected to be back in action in around three weeks.

STEVE CONROY will take charge of his first Old Firm clash when Celtic and Rangers go head-to-head at Parkhead on January 3. It will be 43-year-old Conroyââ?¬â?¢s first crack at handling an Old Firm clash ââ?¬â?? and the SFA are convinced he has what it takes to come through the biggest test in his refereeing career with flying colours. Conroy has taken charge of games involving both Celtic and Rangers in the past, but this is his first oppor-tunity to be the man in the middle when they are facing each other. The SFA aim to introduce a new batch of referees to the famous fixture. The only top-flight officials who have taken charge of an Old Firm clash are Craig Thomson, Dougie McDonald and Calum Murray as the recent retirements of Kenny Clark and Stuart Dougal have left the SFA short of referees with Old Firm experience. But Conroy is now believed to possess the credentials to cope with whatever the fixture might throw at him ââ?¬â?? and it is understood he has worked closely with refereesââ?¬â?¢ chief Hugh Dallas in recent times. He did, however, send Walter Smith to the stand earlier this season as Rangers dropped two points against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. The whistler had earlier sent off Pedro Mendes in one of four red cards he has shown in 11 appearances this season. He has also issued 49 cautions in those matches. Conroy was also in charge when Celtic drew at home to Dundee United earlier in the season as well as in their recent victory over St Mirren.

I want to know where all the injury time went on Saturday. 5 second half substitutions and plenty stoppage time for 6 second half goals yet only 60secs of injury time! Disgraceful! Add in the terrible decision by Craig Thomson to give 'Well the corner from which they scored their goal (clear foul on Bougherra in the box as he cleared the ball), then we really need to stop being so reserved in our criticism of the officials this season. I'm sure Jim Gannon will be pointing out the effect of these decisions on our title aspirations...

In conjunction with our friends at Birlinn Books, we have five copies of the following fantastic book available to win. Flawed Genius: Scottish Football's Self-Destructive Mavericks by Stephen McGowan As Rangers manager Walter Smith once put it, Scottish football supporters have always liked their footballing superstars to come complete with very human flaws. But what is it that makes the seriously flawed footballer so intruiging? From Hugh Gallacher, the Wembley Wizard who died of shame, to George Best, Hibernianââ?¬â?¢s ageing lothario, to the Three Amigos ââ?¬â?? Celticââ?¬â?¢s trio of wayward overseas mercenaries ââ?¬â?? the great entertainers have always come with baggage. Never before have the individual stories of these mavericks of Scottish footballââ?¬â?¢s past been collated and told in one place. Flawed Genius does just that. Through the words of the men themselves ââ?¬â?? allied to testimonies from friends and close colleagues ââ?¬â?? Stephen McGowan recounts the in-depth stories of Gascoigne and Goram, Best and Baxter, Charnley and Cadette and the equally wayward figures of Paolo Di Canio, Andy Ritchie, Pierre van Hooijdonk and Willie Hamilton. Here, together for the first time, the colourful contributions of each and every player in the Scottish gameââ?¬â?¢s rich tapestry of flawed genius are brought vividly back to life. Stephen McGowan was born in Glasgow, educated in Fife and went on to complete an honours degree in Public Administration in Aberdeen. Realising that a job managing houses or hospitals wasnââ?¬â?¢t for him, he entered journalism with Dundeeââ?¬â?¢s DC Thomson & Co. From there his journalistic career took him to Dubai and Bangkok before he returned to Glasgow, where he has been a sports writer for the Daily Mail for the last nine years. To be in with a chance of winning one of the five copies available, just tell us from which club did Rangers sign Paul Gascoigne? Email or pm me now with your answer! Competition closes at midnight on December 18th. Admin decision is final! Members of Gersnet can also receive Ã?£2 off the hardback book (rrp Ã?£14.99) by calling 0845 370 0067 and quoting GSN1209 - postage and packing is free within the UK! An ideal gift for Christmas!