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LEICESTER have told Rangers they will make a £7.5million January bid for Nikica Jelavic. Ibrox owner Craig Whyte rejected a £6.5m bid from the Foxes for Jelavic in August. The big spending Championship side remain interested in the Croat who has netted 11 goals this season for Ally McCoist's side. Last month's sacking of Sven-Goran Eriksson won't stop Leicester's wealthy Thai owners stepping up their chase for Jelavic as a gift for new boss Nigel Pearson. With Gers' finances remaining precarious and a potentially crippling £49m tax bill looming it's highly unlikely Gers chief Whyte could afford to snub such an improved offer for Jelavic. The 26-year-old hitman cost £4m from Rapid Vienna in 2010 and has since delivered 30 goals from 40 starts. That's despite Jelavic missing almost four months of last season through injury. Boss McCoist desperately hopes all bids for his main frontman can be rebuffed and has been in constant dialogue with Whyte over their transfer window plans. He remains worried, however, an offer will come in that can't be refused. SunSport also understands Sheffield United are still keen to lands Gers' fringe men John Fleck and Kyle Hutton on loan deals. Blades boss Danny Wilson was left gutted back in August after a move for the duo fell through, but he will try again for the youngsters. Fleck was a sub in Saturday's 0-0 draw against St Johnstone while midfielder Hutton has impressed on loan at Partick Thistle since September. Meanwhile, Gers have joined a host of Premiership clubs in tracking Dulwich Hamlet centre-half Michael Chambers, 17. The 6ft 2ins prospect is also being watched by Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3950827/This-time-Gers-cant-say-no-to-Foxes.html#ixzz1eQLgxSI3

Chettri, left, and Lalpekhlua, below. RANGERS are weighing up a shock move to sign two Indian international strikers - in the hope of opening up a new market in the subcontinent. Record Sport can reveal Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sunil Chettri are expected to arrive in Glasgow before the end of this month to begin a trial with Ally McCoist's squad. And the visit - which has been set up by director of football Gordon Smith - has been timed to allow McCoist to make a move to sign one or both when the transfer window opens in January. The potential double swoop is also being looked upon in the Ibrox boardroom as a chance to open a new revenue stream into the lucrative Asian market where both players are held in high regard. Lalpekhlua is hailed as the hottest kid in the Indian game after bursting into the international team this year at the age of 20, scoring four goals in his first three games. He plays for Pune. jeje lalpekhlua rangers Image 1 Chettri - under contract with I-League rivals Mohun Bagan AC - was regarded as the country's poster boy and has been linked with Celtic and QPR. In August 2009 his agent claimed the Parkhead club were considering an offer after sending scouts to run the rule over the striker. But later that month Chettri signed a three-year contract at Loftus Road only to have his dream move to Europe collapse after failing to secure a work permit. He then failed to make an impact in the USA after a failed stint with Kansas City Wizards in 2010. Meanwhile, anxious shareholders could be given the chance to grill new owner Craig Whyte at a much-awaited agm just six days before Christmas. Record Sport can reveal that although no date has been set officially, Monday December 19 has been pencilled in for the meeting at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall. That would mean Whyte will have only three weeks left to make public the first set of accounts since buying Sir David Murray's majority shareholding for £1 in May. It's understood the auditing process should be signed off in the next few days. If December 19 is confirmed Whyte will then have until November 28 to send the accounts to shareholders. The meeting should provide much needed clarity on the financial health of a club that has been rocked by rumours of administration throughout Whyte's six months at the helm. Whyte insists he has become the target of a malicious whispering campaign designed to blacken his name and undermine the SPL champions. This week a longrunning £49million dispute with HMRC was reconvened in court, with a final decision expected in February or March.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/7289378/?

Since the turn of the century, seven Scottish clubs have entered administration. With Rangers new owner Craig Whyte having admitted that he is working to avoid taking the Ibrox club down the same road, the spectre of insolvency still hangs over the national game. The business implications of calling in the administrators are countless and can threaten the existence of a company, or provide it with a road to recovery. The sporting implications also have to be considered, and with clubs answerable to as many as four different governing bodies for different competitions, can be wide reaching. We've put together a layman's guide to the rules and regulations regarding administration from the authorities concerned and answered some of the key questions often posed. How many points will an SPL club be deducted? The simple answer is 10 points. The only way a club can be deducted more than 10 points is if it goes into administration twice in the same season. When will they lose the points? If the "insolvency event" occurs during the season, the points are docked straight away. If it happens in the close season, the club starts the next season on minus 10 points. Can a club appeal a points deduction? Only if it can prove it did not go into administration. What happens if administration lasts over more than one season? If a club begins a season in administration, they will begin on minus 10 points. What happens if a club goes into administration twice in one season? Ten points are docked each time a club goes into administration, unless the events are linked. It is up to the SPL board to decide, this can be appealed. Will a club still be able to sign players? No. The only exception is if a team requires an emergency goalkeeper or if a club is looking to replace a player who has left the club. This means no permanent transfer and no loan signings. Clubs can still sell players. The SPL board has the final say. How many points will a First, Second or Third Division (SFL) club lose? The SFL do not have a set figure. The amount docked from clubs is decided by the board on a case-to-case basis. The SFL are also likely to impose a registration embargo. There are no fixed punishments and the SFL can set any conditions it chooses. Can an SFL team be thrown out of the league mid-season? No. Gretna and Livingston were relegated to the Third Division for being in administration but this can only happen in the close season. What can the Scottish FA do to clubs? The Scottish FA's Judicial Panel has the power to suspend or terminate the membership of any club which goes into administration. This has never happened. Alternatively, the SFA can instead choose to â??censure, fine, sanction and/or penalise the member in such manner as it considers appropriateâ?. This has nothing to do with points deductions. The SFA has never exercised this power. Another option available to the SFA is to exclude a club from the Scottish Cup. This is a new provision which first appeared in the organisationâ??s articles of association in the 2011/12 season. Can UEFA do anything to Scottish clubs in administration? If a club is playing in Europe, it needs a UEFA club licence. If a club goes into administration but has already been given permission to play, it will not lose its licence for the season. Would a club get a new licence when in administration? It is unlikely. The club would have to prove it owes no money to other clubs, to its employees, and to HM Revenue and Customs. Additionally, the club would also have to prove to the SFA it is likely to survive until the end of the season in which the licence applies to. Club licenses are valid for one season and are granted at the start of each season. What happens when a club wants to exit administration? A Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is drafted for a club to try and reach an agreement with its creditors. Clubs must agree with those it owes money to over how much to pay back, and over what period of time. Everyone who is owed money is then invited to vote on the proposal. A 'yes' vote is required from creditors up to 75% of the value of the overall debt. For example, if total debt is £10 million, the company must receive the backing from creditors to the tune of £7.5 million. How long does it take before the club is out of administration? If a CVA is approved, creditors have a period of 28 days to register their opposition to the decision. If there is no opposition, the club exits administration and continues in its current form, paying back its creditors over the agreed period of time. What if a club fails to reach an agreement? A club may try again to reach a satisfactory agreement with its creditors. But, if is unable to agree a deal, the company will be dissolved and the club will cease to exist. There is an alternative for football clubs. As was the case in England with Leeds United, the insolvent company can create a "phoenix" club and attempt to transfer every part of the club to a new business, leaving behind the debt. http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/rangers/277010-what-happens-when-a-football-club-goes-into-administration/ Administration has been a key concern for Scottish football clubs in recent years with seven clubs having gone through insolvency. In part one of our analysis, we looked at cases when a club goes into administration and emerges having resolved its debts. However, in rare cases, a club can go into administration and be reborn as a "phoenix" company. This has most notably happened at Leeds United in 2007. So what is a "phoenix" company? A company that is set up to replace the old football club's parent company but that wants to run the club and keep the team in competition. Can they just take over everything without the team being relegated or having to start in the Third Division? They can, but they have to get approval from all the major bodies in the game. There are licences, shares and memberships that have to be moved over to the new company and each governing body has to make a decision. For Scottish top flight clubs, two bodies have to give consent. The Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football Association have to rule on the new application. A place in the League Cup, run by the Scottish Football League, is automatic if the club is entered into the SPL or the SFL. How does the "phoenix" club keep its Scottish Premier League place? The SPL is jointly owned by all of the top-flight clubs, who hold an equal share in the business. The share is held by the administrator of the old, dissolved company but can be transferred to the â??phoenixâ? club. The SPL board has to approve the transfer. The SPL board can put conditions in place before they give their approval. That can mean they impose a points deduction or any other terms they think are appropriate. The conditions for entry are set by the SPL board, and not the representatives from the remaining 11 member clubs. The board consists of Ralph Topping (SPL chairman), Neil Doncaster (SPL chief executive), Eric Riley (Celtic), Stephen Thompson (Dundee United), Derek Weir (Motherwell) and Steven Brown (St Johnstone). Topping has the casting vote in the event of a split decision. With the SPL rules bearing a broad similarity to the regulations of the Football League in England, a situation they dealt with can give a hint to how things may be handled in Scotland. Has it been done before? Yes. Leeds United went into administration they failed to reach a CVA in 2007. A â??phoenixâ? company, Leeds United 2007, was created and an application was made to transfer their share and membership of the English Football League. The Football League accepted the application but said that the new company, closely linked to the previous dissolved club, couldn't start without some terms being imposed, to keep the spirit of the rules. The â??phoenixâ? company was allowed to take its place in the competition but in that specific case the board only granted the transfer on the condition Leeds started on minus 15 points. There's no guarantee that the Scottish Premier League would act in the same way as their counterparts in England but the similarities between the regulations mean that the precedent may be used as a guide. So will my team be deducted 15 points or more? It should be stressed that the figure of 15 points imposed by the Football League was discretionary and was a one-off. Reports that the SPL would dock 15 points, 25 points or more are speculation. The SPL could impose any conditions, or none at all, if they allowed a share to be transferred. Does the same apply to Scottish Football League clubs? The SFLâ??s Constitution and Rules (Rule 13) give them the same powers over membership that the SPLâ??s regulations detail for their competition. If a new company is created, the League would make the decision on whether to grant a transfer of membership, imposing any terms and conditions as it sees fit. And what about the SFA, do they have to grant permission? The SFA also exercise their authority on the transfer of membership and forbids any transfer of membership without its permission. The governing body makes it clear in their Articles of Association (14.1) that when a transfer is requested, a review is undertaken by the board. The board has complete discretion to grant or reject an application for transfer but also retains the right to impose any conditions or terms on the â??phoenixâ? club. Do the SFA decide on whether the club gets into Europe, provided they qualify? No, UEFA decide that. They issue a club licence every year to sides who make the Europa League or Champions League. Clubs need to be granted a licence to take part in European competition and applications are made on a season by season basis. As stated earlier, if a club enters administration during the season then the licence is not immediately withdrawn so participation in the Europa League or Champions League can continue. If a â??phoenixâ? club is created though, entry into European competition the following season would be affected. Transferring a membership is forbidden. UEFA regulations state that a club must have been a member for three consecutive years in order to be eligible for a license. Any â??phoenixâ? club would be considered as a new entity and would begin a three year wait from its inception before being eligible to play in Europe. http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/rangers/277115-what-happens-when-a-club-in-administration-sets-up-a-phoenix-company/

NIKICA JELAVIC is the finest No 9 to ply his trade at Ibrox since Ally McCoist. There, I've said it. Better than Rod Wallace, better than Kenny Miller, better even than Kris Boyd. In many ways, the Croatian is the COMPLETE centre forward. Remember, eyebrows were firmly raised when Walter Smith shelled out £4.1million for his services last summer. Why splash that kind of cash on just one player when many felt my old boss could've been doing with two or three? Well, right now the Jelavic deal is shaping up to be bargain of the century. He's become almost priceless to Gers. And it would be a brave man who'd bet against him producing the goods against Aberdeen once again tomorrow. Twice last season he conjured stunning winners against the Dons at Pittodrie. I fancy him to nick another at least. That sometimes happens with strikers. Against certain clubs they can't miss. Coisty was like that against Celtic. He just had that knack of finding the back of the net in the big Old Firm games. Jelavic seems to have some Indian sign over Aberdeen and there's no doubt their Dons defenders won't be relishing facing him at the weekend. I for one saw enough last Sunday at Tynecastle to convince me Jelavic is almost back to his best. Climbing out of his sick bed he struck a brilliant second goal against Hearts. Most strikers would have been tempted to put their foot through the ball as it dropped out of the Edinburgh sky. A hopeful lash as it dropped over their shoulder. Not Jelavic. After watching Carlos Bocanegra's raking pass all the way, he caressed the ball into the back of the net. It was a stunning finish from a striker I greatly admire. Listen, I don't think anyone will ever again hit the heights of Coisty. My old mucker was a one-off. A goalscoring enigma who could play a bit. Rod Wallace was a fantastic goal scorer while Kenny Miller would run and run all day. Boydy was an out-and-out poacher who you could always bank on for a goal. Jelavic? He's all three rolled into one. He can run, he can hold the ball up, he can bring others into play, and most importantly, he can finish. And here's the worrying thing for the teams choking on Rangers' fumes. If McCoist's men are nine points clear of second-placed Motherwell without Jelavic firing on all cylinders, what will the margin be when the Croat finally rediscovers the sensational form he showed in the second half of last term? It could be all be over by March! But that's the great thing for McCoist. Jelavic hasn't been at his best so far this season yet his team is still miles in front in the race for the SPL title. I don't doubt for a single minute that his head was turned in the summer by all the transfer talk. Everton and Bolton were linked first before Leicester City tabled a £9m bid on transfer deadline day. Fair play to the board. They resisted and Jelavic was to remain a Rangers player. But all the uncertainty at the time unsettled Jelavic, I'm sure. He looked out of sorts at the start of the season â?? sluggish almost â?? in games. Yet I know he has been working extra-hard in training and all that work is beginning to pay off. Let's not forget, Jelavic has had his fair share of injury problems too. Rangers were robbed of his talents for three months of last season after Ian Black's horror tackle at Tynecastle ruled him out for a long spell. A full pre-season helped him but he's had one or two niggling problems since. Yet his desire and will to win has never waned. He is as committed to Rangers as the likes of Allan McGregor and Steven Davis. He's also a winner with a first-class attitude in everything he does. For such a big man his touch is superb, a fact highlighted with his superbly-taken strike against Hearts. And for me he is a man for the big occasions. The bigger the game the better he seems to play. He's someone who revels in the big-match atmosphere. And if you want to win trophies you need guys like that in your team. During the nine-in-a-row era at Ibrox, the home dressing room was absolutely packed out with guys like that. Make no mistake, there is more to come from Jelavic this season â?? much, much more in my opinion. He's playing his football with a real smile on his face again. And last week's stunning goal in the capital will have done his confidence the world of good. Far more goals and many more big performances will come. We're now heading into the Christmas period and, as we all know, it's an important time for the clubs leading the title race. But with Jelavic back in form, I fear the rest don't stand a chance. Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3898888/Red-hot-Jela-holds-key-just-like-Coisty.html#ixzz1c3xMTXpO

The prepack route for Rangers Newco FC In the event of Rangers facing financial Armageddon after the resumption of their HMRC tax hearing a quick – very quick – recovery scenario is available to them. At any point during next month’s hearing they may consider their position is no longer tenable and, unable to meet the tax bill, a new company could be formed which attempts a prepack administration. A prepack offer from a new company, for example, Rangers Newco FC Ltd, would offer an administrator a deal for all assets of the club, including stadium and offer to meet outstanding player wages. Deals like this seldom offer unsecured creditors much but even a small percentage might realise more cash than the administrator would gamble on raising in an unstructured sale. In such circumstances, the administrator could accept as little as £4m for the unsecured creditors. In normal business Rangers Newco FC Ltd would begin trading and this would be the end of the story but football is not normal business. Rangers Newco FC would own a stadium and would employ some footballers but they would not be part of any league structure. They would need to apply for membership to the Scottish Football League or Scottish Premier League. In this scenario, the death of Rangers Football Club would leave a vacancy in the SPL, presenting several financial, logistical and sporting challenges. Without Rangers, the league would have to invalidate all this season’s results involving the club, one team would be without a game each weekend for the rest of the season, current TV contracts and sponsorship deals could be jeopardised, while future contracts would be worth a fraction of their current values. Every team in the league would have to downsize and some would have to win fresh support from their bankers, which may or may not be forthcoming. There is, of course, a resolution to this problem. Rangers Newco FC Ltd could present an offer to the SPL. The new company, with its stadium and thousands of potential supporters, could take the obligatory 10 point punishment for going into administration and adopt the place of Rangers FC, complete their fixtures and allow every other team in the league to fulfil commercial obligations. If these events took place before Christmas, Rangers Newco FC could be debt-free and signing players in January to enhance their league challenge. To force the deal through, Rangers Newco FC would require 10 of the remaining 11 SPL clubs to vote in their favour. If any two clubs stand against them, they would have to apply for membership of the Scottish Football League, but, having researched this story for several days, I expect Rangers Newco FC Ltd would get enough support to pick-up the place of the defunct Rangers FC. Any natural sympathies towards Rangers aside (which will not exist in all places), money talks and, apart from Celtic, this league is neck-deep in debt. Celtic might be in a position to survive Rangers failing but it would cost our club tens of millions. Crucially, if the other SPL clubs back Rangers Newco FC, they create a template for a snap recovery from their own troubles. Instead of repaying your debts, simply get yourself into a safe league position, ditch the company, prepack and start again with a clean sheet. This would create a clear incentive to stiff creditors. While the banks will get wise and not offer unsecured facilities in future, HMRC and small traders are likely to become perennial fall guys. Why would any mid-table team pay millions in tax, rates and policing bills, when they have a sporting incentive to ditch creditors without punitive penalty, freeing income streams to buy football bling in the next transfer window? This would make a mockery of the Uefa predident Michele Platini’s Financial Fair Play initiative and make our league the poster-boy for Financial Doping. Scottish football will be mortally wounded if it were to parachute a club straight into the upper echelons of the game while establishing a blueprint for the abandonment of creditors. It is incumbent on all who care about the game, in Scotland and throughout the world, that we insist Scottish Premier League clubs do not allow a prepack company to phoenix into the shoes of a dead football club. Celtic fans, as well as those from Aberdeen, Hibernian, Dundee United and St Johnstone, together with fans from Motherwell, who could become genuine championship contenders, and from those clubs who would avoid relegation if Rangers failed, must insist their club votes against any prepack company parachuting into the league. The SFA executive must use whatever influence it can to prevent the name of Scottish football being brought into disrepute. Politicians, who either have, or aspire to have, tax raising responsibilities, must register their abhorrence that a self-serving oligopoly should attempt to vote themselves an escape from paying tax. Fifa and Uefa must explain to the Scottish FA that the days of shady financial deals in football are gone. Watch the media coverage of these events carefully. If and when the decision time comes, the case to acquiesce to Rangers Newco’s demands will be overwhelming. Sincere ‘impartial’ observers will do their upmost to convince us all we must do whatever necessary to save Rangers for the good of the Scottish game. Some voices will even tell you Celtic need Rangers Newco. Whatever part of my club is dependent on Rangers I am willing to lose. Rangers-HMRC tax hearing resumes next month, when there is also a two week international break. The most important element of making a prepack offer succeed is to offer a fait accompli: ‘Here is a solution, you have no time and you have no alternative’. Should Rangers go into administration, I believe this is a very, likely scenario. If you are a supporter of Celtic or any other club, make your views known. taken from celticquicknews.co.uk (link removed) :tongue: :spl::spl::spl:

Everton have completed the signing of former forward James McFadden, the club have confirmed. The Scotland international has rejoined three years after he left the Toffees to sign for Birmingham. McFadden had been without a club since leaving the npower Championship side, relegated last season, in the summer. He had trained with Wolves and both Mick McCarthy's side and Celtic were keen on signing the 28-year-old. However, McFadden has opted to link up again with David Moyes on Merseyside in the hope of resurrecting a career hit by injury in the last year or so. Everton have signed the Scot on a free transfer until the end of the season. McFadden originally joined the Blues from Motherwell in 2003 and scored 11 times in 109 appearances. After moving to the midlands for £5million the Scot scored 13 times in 82 games until a cruciate knee ligament injury curtailed his involvement last season. He was released following Blues' relegation in May but is fit again and will provide another attacking option and experience for manager David Moyes.

ASTON VILLA are preparing a swoop for Rangers ace Stevie Naismith â?? as the champions tighten their title stranglehold. Goals from Nikica Jelavic and Gregg Wylde dumped Kilmarnock last night. The 2-0 win sent Gers seven points clear of rivals Celtic. Naismith sat the game out as he served the first of a two-match ban for elbowing Dunfermline's Austin McCann in Saturday's 4-0 win in Fife. Now SunSport can reveal that ex-Rangers boss Alex McLeish is desperate to wrest Scotland star Naisy away from his old club when the transfer window reopens in January. It is understood that Eck enquired about Naismith just as the last transfer window closed but was given no encouragement by Gers gaffer Ally McCoist. Now he's ready to return in the New Year with a bid to lure Naisy to the Premier League. The Gers and Scotland ace has four years left on his current deal â?? but that won't put Eck off. Naismith has already scored nine goals for club and country this season, notching twice against Pars at the weekend. McCoist, meanwhile, has reiterated his call for fairness from the SFA. He wants transparency from the Hampden hierarcy, with the SFA's new compliance officer Will Cole acted against Naismith on video evidence. McCoist said: "We've won the game. "I'm not going to say we didn't miss him. "I'd far rather he was in the squad, I'm a lot happier when he's in the squad and in the team. "We're still not sure who has banned Steven. "It's not a problem because we've accepted it but it would be nice to know who's behind the decision." Gers are now on course to go ten points clear of Celtic after their eighth straight league win. They will reach that daunting lead if they beat Hibs on Saturday afternoon ahead of Celtic's tough away trip to Hearts on Sunday. Rangers' Kirk Broadfoot and Killie captain Manuel Pascali clashed in the tunnel last night. Both were booked with Kilmarnock boss Kenny Shiels later referring to Broadfoot as "the ugly boy from Rangers" in a bizarre radio interview. Shiels went on to describe Broadfoot as a male model from Ayrshire whose mascara had run. McCoist played down the incident, saying: "It was handbags. I played here for 15 years and that wouldn't rate in the top 25 tunnel incidents. "I'm not trying to play it down but it was absolutely nothing. I saw the whole thing. It was like two boys in the playground." Shiels also back-tracked later in the evening claiming his comments had been taken out of context. He said: "I was just trying to have a bit of fun in the interview. "There was nothing in the incident but the fourth official saw the incident and they were booked on the say-so of him." Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3840453/Aston-Villa-want-Steven-Naismith.html#ixzz1ZCM4fi81

Nikica Jelavic has handed Rangers a substantial boost by declaring himself happy and content to remain in Glasgow. The Croatian international striker was the subject of a £6.5million bid from Leicester City, followed by an £8m offer from an unnamed club, in the final hours of the transfer window. Despite the financial clouds cast by the clubâ??s exit from Europe and Wednesdayâ??s League Cup defeat to Falkirk, however, the £3.4m signing insists that he is happy with life at Ibrox. A scorer in last weekendâ??s Old Firm triumph over Celtic, Jelavic said: â??I know what was written about in the media, but no one said anything to me. â??Of course, itâ??s nice that there are clubs who may be interested in me. But I maintain again, I am happy to be playing at Rangers and winning trophies with them and I have won some cups already. â??If a club appeared and offered something that suited Rangers, and they were happy with the offer, then I would talk to them, of course. â??But I repeat, I am happy here and donâ??t want to leave Glasgow.â?? Jelavic was a second-half substitute at Falkirk after a pre-match fitness doubt and scored the equaliser before the Bairns went on to secure a famous 3-2 victory. Preferring to focus on last weekendâ??s 4-2 Old Firm victory, however, which stretched Rangersâ?? SPL lead to four points ahead of Saturday's lunchtime clash at Dunfermline, Jelavic was equally quick to credit the contribution of fellow scorer and strike partner Kyle Lafferty. He said: â??Celtic was a big result for us. We played really well, particularly in the second half when we ran all over the top of them. â??We could have scored more than four goals and we wasted a couple of excellent opportunities. â??It makes a big difference when you win the first of the Old Firm matches in the league. â??I am always fascinated by the atmosphere at Ibrox for these games and this was no different. â??I would also give special praise to Kyle Lafferty. I really enjoy playing up front with him. â??Heâ??s an excellent player and he creates so much space for me with the amount of running he does. â??Last season, we hardly got to play together because of injuries, but I have played beside him a lot this season and it has been great. â??Itâ??s a good partnership between us.â?? Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2041239/Nikica-Jelavic-pledges-loyalty-Rangers.html#ixzz1Yr25YDMU

Former U19s player :kn: was loaned out to Cowdenbeath late in the transfer window and he's there till January. He got a game today and scored 2 goals in a 2-1 win against Albion. Well done young man!

SEETHING Sion owner Christian Constantin has vowed to take his side to Madrid for the opening game of the Europa League groups - and insists they WILL play Atletico. Celtic boss Neil Lennon saw his side take the Swiss club's place in Group I on Friday after UEFA kicked Sion out for breaching a transfer embargo. However, Constantin has branded their decision worthy of a Banana Republic. And he is adamant Sion will take on UEFA's bigwigs and beat them through the courts. Constantin fumed: "The dice were loaded. It is a travesty of justice - worthy of a Banana Republic. But it only makes me want to fight harder. It is fighting against Goliath but in the end weââ?¬â?¢ll see where David is. ââ?¬Å?The verdict doesnââ?¬â?¢t surprise me at all. When less than an hour is enough to make such a decision, this means that judges are there to formalize a sanction decided in advance. ââ?¬Å?In addition, all necessary steps for an appeal to UEFA lead us beyond September 15, the date of the first group game. So we will be there in Madrid and we will play. I will take that bet.ââ?¬Â The fired-up Swiss supremo also claimed there was evidence of a carve-up, insisting the news of Celticââ?¬â?¢s reinstatement was announced on the clubââ?¬â?¢s official website nearly an hour and a half before UEFA delivered their formal verdict. He sighed: ââ?¬Å?It surprises you that it was all planned? I could see this verdict coming like I was reading a road map.ââ?¬Â Constantin takes heart from Portoââ?¬â?¢s successful appeal in 2008 after they were initially booted out of the Champions League due to a bribery investigation. He said: ââ?¬Å?We will appeal for sure - the same way Porto did when they won reinstatement. ââ?¬Å?But we will be going on the offensive on other fronts too.ââ?¬Â http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2011/09/04/sion-chief-christian-constantin-we-will-play-atletico-madrid-on-september-15-86908-23395257/

This time from Fernebahce. The Turkish transfer window shut at midnight last night. SSN reported it.

McCOIST praises Craig Whyte for strengthening squad and fending off Jela and Davo bids More...

CRAIG WHYTE insists he HAS spent big this summer â�� despite NO box office arrivals. The Rangers owner was last night forced to defend his signing policy in the face of mounting criticism from supporters. Whyte pledged to spend �£25million on new players over the next five years. He later upped that and claimed �£15m would be ploughed in this summer. But SunSport's damning figures show Gers' net spend at the close of the August transfer window was just �£500,000. But Whyte said: "Ally's signed seven new players and re-signed seven more this summer, which has been a significant investment in the squad. "While all Rangers fans want to see as many star signings as possible there has to be realism as well. "Unfortunately. we've not qualified for the Champions League or Europa League group stages and the club has to be run in the correct manner. "Ally and I discuss these matters constantly and he has told me he is happy with the squad he has at his disposal. "We look forward to the rest of the campaign and doing all we can to continue our success." Rangers rejected a �£6.5m bid from Leicester City for striker Nikica Jelavic on Tuesday. Aston Villa also enquired about Steven Davis with Whyte delighted both players are still at Ibrox. He revealed: "We had a serious offer for Nikica, but it fell well short of the player's true valuation. "Ally McCoist is building a good squad capable of competing for the domestic treble and Jelavic and Davis are key players." Meanwhile, McCoist insists Gers' decision to spurn interest in Jelavic and Davis is a big signal. The Gers gaffer said: "I am delighted Nikica and Steven are staying. "There was no pressure to sell either, but the club received a serious offer for Nikica from Leicester. "I have no doubt the players we have here are more than capable of defending the title." Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3789942/Craig-I-am-not-Scrooge.html#ixzz1WkMXOHHX

Just a little bit of fun now that the transfer window has slammed closed for a few months. So, in your lifetime, name your Rangers worst XI. Letizi Muscat Svensson Fanfan Bernard Capucho Faye Emerson Rothen Ostenstad Beattie I didn't want to put Beattie in because although terrible for us, he hasn't really had much time on the pitch to change that but I couldn't think of another striker to take his place other than Sebo, but, in his defence, he scored a 90th minute winner against Aberdeen. Then there's Vanoli and that OG against Dunfermline.

Just heard Peter Liewell giving an answer to a question this morning. The question was, had there been any last minute interest last night in the transfer market. He replied yes, there was a �£29 million offer for Gary Hooper from an un-named agent, an un-named club from and un-named universe. This is much regarded as a jibe at the �£9 million late bid for Jelavic. Very funny I have to say, I just wish they could show the same humour when we wind them up, but that doesn't seem to be the case these days. There's no humour left in the scottish game, mainly due to septic's whinning, but I can't get away from the thought that this question was just a set up at the expense Rangers FC. Hardly surprising, given most journo's attitude to our club.

Was dithering about where to stick this but opted for in here because it's linked to us in a way. Him and Gordon Brown were over at some exhibition at Hampden yesterday and Liewell was asked a question about Celtic transfer dealings during the summer window. This is his response: Absolutely bang out or order but the man is just letting himself and his beloved club down by making such an embarrassing comment. To make it even more cringeworthy, the gathered journalists all sniggered at it. [video=youtube;-3e5NGbqhSQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3e5NGbqhSQ&feature=player_embedded#!

Arsenal have signed Everton's Mikel Arteta for �£10m after the Spanish midfielder submitted a transfer request to force through the move. Arteta, 29, joined the Gunners on a four-year contract just before the transfer window closed. The deal had looked dead earlier after talks between the two clubs broke down but Arteta handed in the transfer request an hour before the deadline. Arsenal also signed Chelsea's Yossi Benayoun, 31, on a season-long loan. "Mikel indicated to me that he wished to join Arsenal if a bid came in," said Everton manager David Moyes. Click to play Benayoun's well-worked goal against Burnley "I am very disappointed to lose him but the prospect of Champions League football was something I wasn't able to offer him." According to BBC sports news correspondent Dan Roan, there is anger behind the scenes at Goodison because Arteta left his announcement so late that there was no time to re-invest the money. Roan added: "Arsenal offered �£5m on Tuesday and offered �£10m on Wednesday afternoon - both bids were rejected. Any deal was dead until around 1900 BST, when Arteta told Moyes he wished to leave. "Moyes spoke to the chairman, Bill Kenwright, and said he did not want to keep a player who did not wish to play for Everton. "Arteta was Everton's highest-paid player ever on around �£75,000 a week and took a big pay cut to join Arsenal." Arteta joined Everton from Real Socieded for �£2m in 2005 and has scored 35 goals in 208 appearances. He started his career with Barcelona before spells with Paris Saint-Germain FC and Rangers. The Spaniard suffered a knee ligament injury in February 2009 and was sidelined for almost 12 months before signing a new five-year deal in August 2010. Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown told BBC Sport that both Arteta and Benayoun were "solid signings". MARTIN KEOWN'S VIEW Continue reading the main story "Arsenal made eight signings during this transfer window, which is the biggest turnover of players Arsene Wenger has sanctioned since he came to the club back in 1998. He brought very well then, with a big group coming in - Petit, Overmars, Garde, Manninger, Wreh. Lots came in at once and we've not seen Wenger do that since. It hasn't really been his style of management. The amount of players he has brought in is a big call and only the results will tell as to whether or not he has got the right blend." Read more from Martin Keown But when asked if they would be adequate replacements for the departed Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Keown added: "No they're not, it's very hard to replace those players. "I think back to the [Dennis] Bergkamp era, the impetus those players brought. Arteta is a great passer, Benayoun is not getting into Chelsea team. It's a mixed bag for Arsenal fans." Benayoun, the Israel captain, wrote on social networking site Twitter: "I sign with Arsenal, very happy and excited about it, but now my head is only in the game against grecce on Friday, thanks for the support." Both clubs later confirmed the move had gone through. Chelsea offered Liverpool �£8m plus Benayoun for Reds midfielder Raul Meireles on Tuesday, but that deal was rejected. He joined Blues from Liverpool for �£5m in July 2010 but was restricted to 10 appearances last season because of an Achilles injury and has seen only one minute of action this time round. It had been rumoured Benayoun would be included in an offer from Chelsea for Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric. Newcastle had also been linked with the Israeli. Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner completed a move away from Emirates Stadium just before the window closed, joining Sunderland on a season-long loan. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14739185.stm

FORMER Rangers player Alan Gow has revealed his excitement about his sensational summer transfer to India. Having plied his trade at teams around the UK, the Whitecrook 28-year-old has just signed for Kolkata (Calcutta) outfit Kingfisher East Bengal which plays in the Indian I-League. The head-turning transfer is an unusual move for a Scottish player of Alan's calibre as he is thought to be the first UK footballer to play professionally in the country which hails cricket as its first sporting love. Alan is only one of four foreigners in the squad which includes two Nigerians and an Australian. The Post spoke to Alan as he sorted out visa papers in Clydebank having returned from completing his medical in India a few days earlier. Alan said: "It just came out of the blue - the manager of the club is English and my agent Kenny spoke to someone over there and they said they were interested in me. "He was asked if I would interested in coming over. "I had a few options staying in Scotland and England but I thought it was time for a wee change. "It's a great contract they've offered to me financially and it will be good to go for the season. "I went over for a week recently and I did my medical at the weekend. "They haven't had many Europeans or anyone from the UK over there so there was a lot of media and it was a bit of madness. "I went to train for a few days after the medical to meet the boys and a lot of the fans came to watch. "You stand out a mile over there - I think some of them don't understand me so I had to slow down when I was speaking." Kingfisher play in the massive Salt Lake Stadium which has a capacity of 120,000 and is the second largest football stadium in the world. They compete in a cup competition from September to December and then play a league season after that. Alan is keen to get back out at the end of this week when his visa papers are all sorted. He added: "It's a big difference with the culture - everything is totally different. "The club I'm going to is one of the big two in India. "It used to be a British colony so there's a lot of British influence and everyone speaks English so it helps. They got us a villa in a gated community and the population is massive, everything is very busy, so they've given us a driver. "It will be a good experience - I have just signed for a season and see how it goes. "I hope to come back and play in Scotland or England at some point."

The time has come again that the transfer rumours are starting to flood in. Now we all know that 98% are bullshit but waiting to chat about signings until after they have signed would miss out on a lot of discussion. Here we go and please add. In: Ivan Trickovski. Blackpool midfielder David Vaughan, Southampton winger Jason Puncheon Michael Almeback- Orbero in Sweden Alejandro Bedoya- Orbero in Sweden Douglao- AO Kavala Iaquinta-Juventus Bradley Johnson- Leeds Craig Conway-Dundee utd Ivan Ivanov (Vladikavkas, defender) for about 2m Andreas Granqvist (Groningen, Sweden, defender) Eliaquim Mangala-Standard Liege Darren McGregor- St Mirren Lee Wallace- Hearts Danny Wilson-Liverpool Kyle Bartley- Arsenal Emilson Sanchez Cribari Tomer Hemed Torsten Frings Out: Sasa Papac -Birmingham Nickica Jelavic-Aston Villa, Man.U Davie Weir-Everton(coaching roll) Madjid Bougherra - QPR Whittaker-Borsaspor Alan McGregor -Spurs,Bursaspor

With tonight's closure of the transfer window now looming closer by the second it's becoming crystal clear that staying in Europe or more specifically, the Champions League this season was paramount to the ability of the new manager to start building a new, deeper and higher quality squad. That may well seem like stating the obvious, but I think we should ask ourselves if Ally was really afforded the opportunity to strengthen for our European campaign given that the club were very public about supposedly bidding for and trying to bring in the players who might have helped keep us in Europe, but either failed or backed off on the deals. Obviously it's all history now, but I wonder what players like Roland JuhÃ?¡sz, Wesley Verhoek and David Goodwillie might have offered the manager in terms of team selection options in our Champions League and Europa League games had we signed them up and registered them instead of messing about with low bids and flimsy attempts to acquire their services. Despite it being too late to help us in Europe, we finally brought in Alejandro Bedoya after a lengthy period of the club saying 'we want him NOW', but if we're to believe media reports, we supposedly went back to Ã?â??rebro with a lower offer than we had previously made just a couple of weeks earlier. No matter what anyone says about the player having been on the last X amount of games of his contract, if it's true that we did that, then it highlights one aspect of our new and somewhat bizarre concept of transfer market dealings. Is it a concept which involves telling the fans, the media and other clubs that there's money there for these new players the club are bidding for, then that money just seeming to disappear into thin air when the bids all fail? Imagine an episode of South Park where illusionist Paul Daniels is running a football club and dabbling in the transfer market with a top hat, a dove and a pile of magic money. No you see it, now you don't. It's Magic! Another strange series of events was the attempt to sign Carlos Cuellar from Aston Villa, now managed by former Gers manager Alex McLeish. In this case, the Scottish press reported that Villa had accepted a Ã?£2m bid from Rangers for the player. Fans were literally ecstatic about it because Cuellar aka 'King Carlos' was a cracking, no nonsense defender who was absolutely brilliant in our run to the UEFA Cup Final, a run which ended in his sale to Villa for almost eight million pounds. Good business to get him back for Ã?£2m then, but what happened to the deal? We had the bid accepted and it was supposedly still on the table until we went out of the Champions League. Then, all of a sudden the deal was off because he was still injured when in actual fact the club knew that he was injured all along. Am I missing something here? Did the guy's return from injury being slightly delayed put us off buying him back for nearly Ã?£6m less than we sold him for? You have to wonder.... Roland JuhÃ?¡sz? Were we really ever intending to buy this guy? After a drawn-out saga of us being told the club were making bids and having them rejected, we were reported to have made a final Ã?£3.5m bid for the player. In actual fact we must have bid significantly less than that for the deal to just fall apart because both JuhÃ?¡sz and his agent were keen for the deal to come to Ibrox to happen and Ã?£3.5m is what Anderlecht were reportedly seeking for the player. I'm intrigued as to what really happened to that deal, but if I was taking a guess it would be something along the lines of going out of the Champions League meant that there was no way the club could afford to spend Ã?£3.5m on a defender no matter how good he is. I think we'll skip all the details of the Goodwillie saga here because it was another drawn-out affair and in this case there were extremely unusual circumstances involved regarding his personal life, but it's worth noting that yet again we failed to sign a supposed top target. I can't help thinking that if we were ever serious bidders and the club really wanted to sign him, then David Goodwillie would be a Rangers player. We certainly need another striker because Kane Hemmings was going to be one of our back-up strikers in the squad this season and now he's out till Christmas or beyond due to an injury requiring surgery. Ally actually said he wanted another striker before Kane got injured, so maybe we need to bring in two strikers now? One thing is clear in my mind and that is that we haven't actually replaced Kris Boyd or Kenny Miller with another deadly goal-scorer. Nikica Jelavic is a fantastic player, but we need another 25 goal a season striker to partner him and fill the glaringly obvious void left in our attacking arsenal since the Boyd and Miller partnership moved on. It's time for our new owner to put the top-hat, dove and magic money back in the box of tricks and get his really money out because this isn't a scathingly satirical magic show on an episode of South Park; this is Rangers Football Club and it's real life. The transfer window closes in a few hours time and we need another striker Mr. Whyte.

ABERDEEN have failed with a sensational late bid to secure Scotland superstar James McFadden on a short-term deal. SunSport can reveal that Dons boss Craig Brown sounded Faddy out last week over a possible move to Pittodrie. He was left disappointed when McFadden turned down his offer. The 28-year-old former Motherwell striker is out of contract at Birmingham City. He's back fit after a cruciate knee injury kept him sidelined for much of last season. Faddy is a free agent after three years at Brum. McFadden has just returned from two weeks' rehab in America and could still accept a new deal at St Andrew's, where he is training. The striker can sign for a new club despite the close of transfer window but wants to make sure he's 100 per cent fit before committing to a new contract. Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3787476/Dons-fail-in-Faddy-move.html#ixzz1WgrZJswU

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/celtic/268290-transfer-deadline-day-live-all-the-news-as-it-happens/

The thing that I find is really lacking and costing us at the moment is a presence and leadership, more so from the management than the playing team. WS had a presence about him in abundance and therefore could get away with his style of play because it brought success. At the moment it still seems like the management team are 3 young boys without their parents. There has been a call by fans over the summer for AM to bring in a experienced assistant like Ray Wilkins to lend that bit of cool advice when needed like ââ?¬Å?its time for a sub Allyââ?¬Â or ââ?¬Å?change this.....ââ?¬Â. I respect AMââ?¬â?¢s decision to stick with his guns and feel his team is the right one but IMO iââ?¬â?¢d have preferred to have seen a Wilkins type guy in there. AMââ?¬â?¢s decision might pay off over the season if he brings home the title. I canââ?¬â?¢t complain about our SPL away form, it is good, but are we papering over the cracks after some dismal home performances so far? On the park Naismith has a bit of presence because he is a mouthy pest to the opposition, but I find this effective especially when he is in his correct position of midfield. What I have noticed about McCoist is a change in style. As assistant he was out there on the touch line every week in his shorts and t-shirt screaming at the players for 90 mins, yet now he has a more reserved place in the dug out and this means the more quiet Kenny McDowall is doing more of the instructions. I personally would still like to see AM being his own man and getting the shorts and t-shirt back on and screaming at the players. His tactics seemed to have changed also. For the last 3 seasons he has been in charge of the team in domestic cup games where we always went out on the attack but he has opted for the more flat defensive 4-4-2 with Edu and McCulloch still being preferred for some bizarre reason, this irritates me as I believe we have some good footballers in the team and capable of much better. We saw towards the end of last season how good Rangers can be when on the attack so why we donââ?¬â?¢t make this our approach all the time is beyond me. Whilst missing out on first choice targets in the transfer market we still have managed to bolster the squad and boast good numbers ââ?¬â?? see below. I canââ?¬â?¢t recall our squad being so good on numbers and options covered for a few years now, this after last season when we couldnââ?¬â?¢t fill the subs bench. However there is still a lack of that extra quality that Davis and Jelavic can offer. But Iââ?¬â?¢ll reserve judgement until the new guys have had 10-15 games plus Bedoya and McKay have settled in to see what they can bring. McKay has been one of the top performers in the Aussie league so I am expected him to be a good signing. So the current squad is like this with a number of players being vertisile. The only position I think needs changing is upfront. Id prefer to get Beattie off the books and bring in a striker. Millerââ?¬â?¢s return would have been perfect but that wasnââ?¬â?¢t to be. Young Hemmings is someone id like to see partner Jelavic. In midfield I still think Davis is the key man when in centre midfield but needs a bit of steel behind him of someone who can break up play and still pass a ball. McGregor / Alexander Broadfoot____Goian___Weir____Papac Whittaker___Bartley___Bocanerga___Wallace McMillan____Perry Bedoya_____Davis____Ness____Wylde Naismith____Edu___McCulloch____Ortiz Hutton___McKay Jelavic___Lafferty Healy___Fleck Hemmings__Beattie

Ok, first off, I am absolutely not blaming Ortiz for our dismal European displays, but for me he's been a symptom of our failings. Quite simply we've been atrocious in the transfer market for a long time now. In order to fix this ailing squad we needed Craig Whyte to put his money where his mouth was, and cough up �£15M for a serious squad injection. A couple of �£3M players, 3 �£2M players, and a few squad players - and if we were lucky, another top quality �£4M player like Jelavic. This squad needed more Davises, Naismiths and McGregors. Not more Edus, McCullochs and Broadfoots. I will admit Wallace seems like a decent signing, but that he's our marquee signing (unless you count Bartley) of the summer shows how little cash we have actually spent (plus we've received �£1.7M for Bougherra). If you spend half millions all the time, that's the quality of player you'll get. A Sasa Papac. An honest enough player but your team will struggle at higher levels with 5 or more of them in it. The reason Rangers are struggling in Europe is because our squad is utterly shite at that level - it's decent enough for the SPL where teams outside the OF cannot afford much more than about �£100k on a single player. But try it against a similar level team from another nation and we look like what we are. We have 4 top players (Davis, Jelavic etc), a few decent-good players (Lafferty, Wallace, maybe Goian), and the rest are average. Add to that a rookie management team and an owner who doesn't seem to be spending the money we were promised and it's easy to see why, outwith of the backwater piss league that is the SPL, we'll struggle. I saw Ally has said he cannot see a Scottish side making the CL group stage for some time. Sadly, that looks to be true.