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As it says, should it be kept or binned? There are arguments for and against. I quite like the idea of a team having its squad at the start of the season and thats the cards the have dealt for the whole season, if they get injuries tough - play the youngsters. It also means the likes of Chelsea cant go out and sign a 30 million pound player due to 1 of there stars getting injured.

According to the Traynor and Chick Young Rangers are to reject a bid for Mendes and Newcastle are still looking at making a bid for Fergie.

By David Craig, 31/01/2009 WOLVES swooped last night to sign Hearts skipper Christophe Berra in a Ã?£2million deal. Berra travelled south yesterday to meet Molineux boss Mick McCarthy and thrash out personal terms after the Jambos gave him permission to speak to Wolves. It was third time lucky for McCarthy in his pursuit of Berra. He twice tried to sign him last summer and saw offers of Ã?£1m and Ã?£1.5m rejected. Berra, 24, was under contract at Tynecastle until 2011 and the club had been holding put for around Ã?£3million. However, club owner Vladimir Romanov flew in to Edinburgh on Friday and he gave permission for Wolves to speak to Berra on Friday night. It is understood Hearts urgently need the cash and they didnââ?¬â?¢t want to jeopardise the deal by playing him in yesterdayââ?¬â?¢s 2-0 defeat to Hamilton. A Tynecastle spokesman said: ââ?¬Å?Hearts have given Christophe permission to talk to Wolves. He does so with our blessing.ââ?¬Â Berra watched Wolvesââ?¬â?¢ 3-1 victory over Watford before undergoing a medical at Molineux. Berra, who has three Scotland caps, has also been linked with moves to Fulham and Sunderland. Heartsââ?¬â?¢ dire financial situation ââ?¬â? they are thought to be more than Ã?£30m in the red ââ?¬â? forced Romanov to admit he would be prepared to sell key players. The likes of Andrew Driver and Laryea Kingston may also be sold before the transfer window closes tomorrow. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/scottish/scottish_sport/151049/Wolves-snatch-Berra-Hearts.html

Over the years it has become almost impossible to pen a positive article on the fortunes of Rangers Football Club. Even whilst we were winning trophies under Alex McLeish, the signs were there for all to see (but many chose to ignore them). All our better players sold and replaced with an inferior standard and as was bound to happen, the results and trophies dried up and Alex McLeish was eventually sacked. McLeish was replaced by PLG and for a briefest of moments, we had a glimmer of hope, a promise of moonbeams and the chance to reshape our future and destiny. In true Rangers fashion, the PLG era failed to deliver on those promises and we all have our own thoughts on who was to blame for this failure. Walter Smith was brought back from managing Scotland to steady the ship and get us back on course. He achieved this to a certain extent and we were tantalisingly close to a record breaking season last season but ended up missing out on the glittering prizes and had to settle for the domestic cup double. However, no matter what has been happening on the field, this has been overshadowed by a consistently mismanaged club off the field. We are run by a captain of industry who appears to only be able to see to the end of his nose. During SDMâ��s 20 years in charge, there has NEVER been any long-term plans put in place or a long term agenda to strive towards. Everything has been reactive rather than proactive. Even as we enter the last hours of the transfer window, we, the paying customers, donâ��t know what will happen if the custodian fails to sell one of our prize assets before the window is closed and locked until the pre-season. Our Custodian, via his lap-dogs in the media, is on the offensive (as he tends to do when his ego has taken a bashing) telling everyone that everything he is doing is for the long-term good and that generating �£4M 5 months after sanctioning a �£20M spending spree isnâ��t his fault. He is also using his lap-dogs to marginalise the support and to ostracise those of us who dare question his motives, his financial management and his custodianship of OUR club. Our current management team appear to be contributing to this stench of negativity especially if you examine the team selection and reasons behind this for the recent game in Aberdeen. The reason Walter Smith chose to bench our leading scorer and play Lee McCulloch was simply down to Aberdeenâ��s 4 goal salvo against The Tims the previous week. Had Aberdeen not scored 4 times from set-pieces, Walter Smith wouldnâ��t have changed personnel and / or formation. Have The Rangers sunk so low that we have to change OUR game to suit Aberdeen? Gone are the halcyon days where we allowed the opposition to worry about our players, our strengths, our tactics, our formation etc. I understand the need to change and to react during games and during a season, but on a day where we could have gone top of the SPL, this sent out a negative message and should a complete lack of ambition in our quest to regain our title. It is worth noting here that we didnâ��t haul ourselves back into the SPL title race by improving our performances, we were allowed back in thanks to other teams taking points form a lacklustre Celtc team. It is my belief that Walter Smith either doesnâ��t trust his players, or doesnâ��t think they are good enough to go out and compete and win this SPL title. He is hoping that other clubs take points from Celtc and I believe that when we role up to Torbett Towers next month, if Boyd is still here, we will revert to 4-5-1 with Boyd once again warming the bench whilst we try to earn a draw instead of attacking the tims and trying to defeat them. Walter will be happy with a point, just like he was post-Pittodrie. I canâ��t agree with his assessment that we controlled / dominated the game. The game was dross, was there to win and we couldnâ��t win the game. We only really created chances in the last 15 minutes of the match with Boyd and Novo missing guilt-edged chances. Not having a go at Boyd, but I donâ��t think that he is as prolific with his head as he should be for a centre. If my memory serves me correctly, Boyd has only scored one headed goal this season. His headed effort at Pittodrie was a prime example. Boyd somehow managed to hit the defender rather than the back of the net when the goal was gaping. Walter Smith and Lee McCulloch stated this week that getting to the CIS Cup Final would be something to lift the gloom and unite the fans. Sorry Walter and Lee, whilst winning the CIS Cup would be nice, it doesnâ��t take away from the fact that there is a veil of negativity hanging over our beloved club and itâ��ll take a lot more than getting to the CIS Cup Final to lift the mood or to clear away the clouds to reveal clear blue skys bathed in sunshine (or should that moonbeams?). As I said at the start of this article, it has become all most impossible to pen a positive article regarding The Rangers and I canâ��t see this changing in the foreseeable future. Cammy F -

Only got tomorrow remaining after today to sell 1 of our so called star players. I cant see much business being done on match day so today would be the day for moves. Anyone got any gossip???

This from Roddy Forsyth (I know, I know) in The Daily Telegraph - the heat is being turned up on Murray and his bullshit. David Murray is supervising a careful retreat over Rangers' ambitions. Rangers are still on course for a clean sweep of the domestic honours and have it in their own hands to overhaul Celtic for the Scottish Premier League title and an automatic and lucrative berth in the group stage of next season's Champions League. So why are so many Ibrox supporters so vocally fearful? The answer, quite simply, is the confusing mixture of actions and statements from the club chairman, Sir David Murray, over the course of a bleak month. Murray was in the headlines again this week, having provided his house journal, Rangers News, with a lengthy statement highlighting the virtues of prudent housekeeping, reduction of costs and the nurturing of new players. Since this was a rehash of his declarations at the start of the month in defence of Rangers' abortive attempt to sell top scorer, Kris Boyd, for a measly net gain of around Ã?£2.5 million, what was the point? In this case, look at the timing, not the substance. The transfer scene has been moribund since New Year, but it is a buyers' market and those with money to spend will drive hard bargains as Monday's deadline looms. Rangers have players who are surplus to requirements but, like Woolworth's stock in the latter days of that institution, what is on offer has been gathering dust for months. On the other hand, if Allan McGregor, Barry Ferguson and Boyd attract bids totalling Ã?£10-Ã?£11m this weekend, they will be off, no questions asked. Hence Murray's reiteration of his newfound commitment to an austerity regime in which – dread phrase – "youth is the future". Murray sarcastically observed: "I find it amazing that football scribes question my financial management." Well, a cat may look at a king and it requires no mastery of economics to see the contradictions in the Rangers' chairman's claim that defeat by Kaunas in the Champions League qualifiers had been "a disaster". When Murray plans Rangers' budget each year, he makes a prudent assumption of no European revenue beyond that of the first round of the Uefa Cup. So the difference between projected European income and this season's reality adds up to only two home games. Moreover, Kaunas knocked Rangers out of the Champions League qualifiers on Aug 5 – but after that Murray sanctioned the spending of Ã?£8.6m on Pedro Mendes, Steven Davis and Maurice Edu, in the full knowledge that there would be no further European income. The earlier summer acquisitions of Andrius Velicka, Kyle Lafferty, Kenny Miller and Madjid Bougherra cost Ã?£9.8m. Meanwhile, between January and September Rangers sold Alan Hutton (Ã?£9m), Carlos Cuellar (Ã?£7.8m) and Daniel Cousin (Ã?£1.5m). In total, then, expenditure in 2008 was Ã?£18.4m and income Ã?£18.3m – nothing there to petrify Mr Micawber. Plus the fact, the most recent accounts (to June 30, 2008) reported record turnover of Ã?£64.5m and a pre-tax profit of Ã?£8.3m. True, the overdraft was up to Ã?£21m and is now evidently around Ã?£25m – but debt never frightened Murray, except when he realised that he had allowed Dick Advocaat to become the Scottish football equivalent of Fred the Shred (and to much the same end). However, what does concern him is the health and morale of the other companies in the Murray Group. Murray's executives are famously discreet, but there have been mutinous mutterings about Rangers' place in the chairman's affections. Put simply, their feeling is that when he is asking them to sweat the companies for optimum revenue and profit in torrid trading conditions, the time and energy spent by Murray on Rangers is not only disproportionate, but unseemly. The attempt to get shot of Boyd may have shocked Rangers fans, but it had exactly the opposite effect within the Murray Group. And this is more than gesture politics. When Murray's father went bankrupt while he was in his teens, the future tycoon began his business career selling shirts to schoolmates. In that respect, he had a soul mate in Peter Cummings, who started in the Bank of Scotland at 17 by sweeping the floors and went on to be head of corporate banking at HBOS. But Cummings, a Glaswegian with a native sympathy for football, is one of the scapegoats for the HBOS debacle and lost his position in this month's takeover by Lloyds TSB. Under the new banking regime, there is no question of the benevolent attitude that allowed Murray to remedy Advocaat's excesses by buying up his own rights issue from other resources, as he did for Ã?£50m from Murray MHL Limited in 2004. All of which is a far cry from the bombast Murray once uttered about spending Ã?£2 for every Ã?£1 laid out by Celtic. Napoleon observed that an orderly withdrawal was worth a victory. Murray is supervising a careful retreat with the sensible aim of preserving his empire. Rangers fans, though, are not accustomed to occupying an outlying province. Nor, having been promised cakes and ale, do they have an appetite for powdered egg and Spam – and certainly not if Celtic should uncork the bubbly yet again this season.

By Lindsay Herron SIR David Murray has called on all fans to unite with one aim, stop playing into the hands of Rangers' competitors by scoring own goals in the media and accept that he is acting to secure the financial future of the Club. Some supporters were dismayed when they learned that a player had to be sold in the January transfer window and then a small group issued a 17-point list of complaints under the heading "We Deserve Better". Today, the Rangers chairman clarifies the current position the Club is in, explains the new structure for the future and calls on every supporter to get behind the team as they strive to bring the Championship back to Ibrox. Sir David MurraySir David has revealed that the squad will be trimmed from 28 down to 20 and bolstered by the best crop of youngsters that Murray Park has ever produced. He has explained that money must be brought in to compensate for the losses of this season which have been exacerbated by the current economic downturn. And he has reiterated that if he does not act with fiscal prudence then future investors may be put off and the financial future and stability could be undermined. Speaking exclusively to Rangers Media, Sir David said: "Over the past couple of weeks there has been an increased amount of media reporting about our Club and for the avoidance of doubt the required clarity needs to be given to our supporters. "If we go back to last year; it was a tremendous season. However, it is obvious that our runs in the two domestic cups and, of course, the memorable run to the UEFA Cup Final had a detrimental affect on winning the league. "I think any fair-minded Rangers fan would agree with that. "Then came the start of this season and we had the problem of Carlos Cuellar leaving the club on the back of the Kaunas result. "I met with a group of supporters at that time and I told them that we were unaware that Cuellar was invoking his get-out clause and leaving but I also told them that we would spend the money received and that was achieved.Ally McCoist and Walter Smith "At that point we had not entered the level of economic downturn which currently exists. "We are no different from any other business. Our static overheads are too expensive and we have less revenue. "You have to look to the future and analyse where additional revenues are going to come from outwith an extended run in Europe. "We had to take these things into consideration because the Club must be run professionally and financially correct. "Yes, we could continue to spend money but we would develop more problems and the Club would not be in a good condition. "What we must not do is play into the hands of our competitors by scoring own goals in the media. "We have to stick together and if we do that then we can come through this situation successfully. "I accept as the Chairman of the Club I am not immune to analysis or criticism. "We are a great Club with a great history but we must remain positive. "This mischievous element that we have is only going to destroy the things that they supposedly care so passionately about. Murray Park"I genuinely believe that the plans we put in place when Walter came back has been knocked off course by a couple of factors in a very, very difficult economic climate which I believe will become markedly worse before a recovery in the future. "What I'm doing is not panicking. It is a controlled management of the Club. "We have a financial facility with the bank and we must work within that framework. "I spoke to Walter and confirmed the need to bring in funds to compensate for the fact we are going to make a loss this year. "However, if we don't sell any of our players during this window then we don't sell any of our players during this window. "I think most Rangers supporters must realise that our overheads are too high for our income.Chris Burke "What can happen is when you announce that you are ready to sell then it can happen that regular first team players are targeted when you would rather that was not the case. "I have a responsibility to run the business properly. It's easy for people to be critical, but they are not offering any solutions. "As a Rangers fan I can understand why people are questioning why we are doing it but it's not just about the short-term, it's about the long-term financial stability of the Club." The trimming of the squad has started with the departures of Jean-Claude Darcheville and Chris Burke and Rangers want to get to a situation where they work with a smaller group bolstered by a fine crop of younger players. The Chairman added: "At the AGM in October Walter made it clear that the squad was too big and that we didn't need 28 full time pros and going forward he would run with 20 and younger players. "It is no coincidence that players like Loy, Furman, McMillan and Shinnie are all out getting experience at the moment and we are hopeful they will come back ready to be part of the pJohn Flecklans. "We have John Fleck, Jamie Ness and Danny Wilson now knocking on the first team door and they are undoubtedly part of our future. "In November I did say that we needed to prune the squad and essentially move six or seven players. "However, I also said that if there was an emergency then we would bring in a player if required. "Murray Park is now bearing fruit. People have complained about our youth system but it takes time to work. "We have never had so many players out on loan and we have never had so many promising young players. "I understand that some fans have concerns but I hope they understand that I am acting in the best interests of the Club and if we stick together we can achieve our goals." "Finally may I take this opportunity to thank all the supporters who have taken the time to write to give me their backing. Thank you, it is greatly appreciated."

Jan 29 2009 By Alan Marshall DAVID MURRAY has declared Rangers' future depends on a crop of young guns who have been told to shoot for the top. And last night the Ibrox club's chairman reeled off the names of those he believes could have the football world at their feet. Murray was responding again to the "We Deserve Better" campaign and insisted Rangers are very much alive and kicking. He stressed again he is the man to secure the club's financial future and that a posse of players are ready to spring from Murray Park. Murray said: "At the agm in October Walter (Smith) made it clear the squad was too big and we didn't need 28 full-time pros and going forward he would run with 20 and younger players. "It is no coincidence that players like Rory Loy, Dean Furman, Jordan McMillan and Andrew Shinnie are all out getting experience at the moment and we are hopeful they will come back ready to be part of the plans. "We have John Fleck, Jamie Ness and Danny Wilson now knocking on the first-team door and they are undoubtedly part of our future. "I did say we needed to prune the squad and essentially move six or seven players. However, I also said if there was an emergency we would bring in a player if that was what was required. "Murray Park is now bearing fruit. People have complained about our youth system but it takes time to work. "We have never had so many players out on loan and we have never had so many promising young players." Murray also repeated his plea for the fans to stick together and underlined the need to resist those who are calling for activity in the transfer market, pointing out that money has to be found to cope with the problems caused by the economic downturn and the loss of Champions League money. He said: "Clarity needs to be given to our supporters. We are no different from any other business and our static overheads are too expensive. We also have less revenue. "You have to look at the future and analyse where additional revenues are going to come from outwith an extended run in Europe. "We had to take these things into consideration because the club must be run professionally and financially correct. "Yes, we could continue to spend money but we would develop more problems and the club would not be in a good condition. What we must not do is play into the hands of our competitors by scoring own goals in the media. "We have to stick together and if we do we can come through this situation successfully. I am not immune to analysis or criticism but we are a great club with a great history and we must remain positive. "This mischievous element we have is only going to destroy the things they supposedly care passionately about. "But I genuinely believe the plans put in place when Walter came back have been knocked off course by a couple of factors in a very, very difficult economic climate that will become markedly worse before a recovery. "We have a financial facility with the bank and we must work within that framework. I spoke to Walter and confirmed the need to bring in funds to compensate for the fact we are going to make a loss this year. "However, if we don't sell any of our players during this transfer window then we don't. But I think most fans recognise overheads are too high for our income. "It is easy to be critical but I have a responsibility to run the business properly and these people are not offering any solutions." http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/2009/01/29/sir-david-murray-young-stars-will-save-rangers-a-fortune-86908-21079793/

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Its gone all quiet at the moment since Burke moved on. No more news about Boyd leaving. Anyone have any info???

DUNFERMLINE HAVE extended the loan spell of Rangers reserve striker Rory Loy until the end of the season. The 20-year-old has impressed since his arrival last month and could be available on a permanent deal come the summer when his contract at Ibrox expires. Loy struck his first goal for the Pars in their last outing against Airdrie United and although he has settled quickly at East End Park, his ambitions still lie in Glasgow. He said, ââ?¬Å?Obviously my ultimate goal is to play for the club I am signed for which is Rangers, so hopefully I can do that by playing as well as I can for Dunfermline and looking to impress. ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢m getting on well here and Iââ?¬â?¢m now on loan until the end of the season, but Iââ?¬â?¢m in talks about my contract with Rangers and will just need to wait and see what happens.ââ?¬Â ââ?¬Å?I came here to play first- team football and I have been involved in most games. ââ?¬Å?The only game where I havenââ?¬â?¢t made an impact was against Dundee, but I have settled in well and Iââ?¬â?¢m really happy to be here. ââ?¬Å?The fact the loan is being extended hopefully means I am doing something right and I will try to continue with that for the rest of the season.ââ?¬Â Loy has coped comfortably with the transition to first-team football and has relished the opportunity to play in front of a crowd each week. With last weekendââ?¬â?¢s game against St Johnstone cancelled due to a frozen pitch, his sights are now set on a clash with Queen of the South on Saturday. He said, ââ?¬Å?I was looking forward to the Saints game which would have probably been one of the biggest I have played in, in terms of a top of the table clash. ââ?¬Å?Hopefully, results will go our way this weekend and we can be even closer to the top by the time the game comes round. ââ?¬Å?I think every player relishes the bigger matches. ââ?¬Å?I want to play in every game, but the big games are special and to be involved with the crowds and the atmosphere is really what itââ?¬â?¢s all about. ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢m finding the first division is a bit stronger and quicker than the SPL reserves. ââ?¬Å?Having said that, there is a fair mix in the reserve leagues and from game to game you donââ?¬â?¢t know if you will be playing against a boy of 17 or an experienced professional of 35. ââ?¬Å?Becoming a footballer is a gradual process and there are not many players that jump straight from playing schoolboy football up to first team level.ââ?¬Â Manager Jim McIntyre praised Loyââ?¬â?¢s attitude since coming to Dunfermline, but would not be drawn on the possibility of a full transfer. He said, ââ?¬Å?Rory has done an excellent job for us a since signing on loan and we have extended the agreement with Rangers to keep him here until the end of the season. ââ?¬Å?It is important to have options in all positions and also to have competition for places and that is something Rory has provided. ââ?¬Å?He is quick and direct and can play up-front or in the wide positions and that is where we need more options,ââ?¬Â he added. http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2009/01/27/sportstory12555491t0.asp

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Could we get rid and how much for? We're desperate to generate a sale and Beasley would be near the top of my list in any case. For the left mid spot Naismith, Fleck and Aaron have all show more recently. For a small tricky winger, he does not demonstrate any of the attributes you would expect; pace, beating a man, hitting the bye line. He is very negative for a winger, runs up to his man then turns around and passes back to Papac. He is weak, needs too much time and space and is not suited to the game up here. Even his supporters ahve stated their are games they wouldn't play him as he can be bullied out of games. Never mind the 3 listed above, I would play Adam ahead of him too personally. Even if you wouldn't though, he is surely at best 4th in line for a left mid spot and hence surplus to requirments. With our need to get a godo transfer fee it surely makes good finanicial and football sense. Bearing in mind he has CL experience with PSV, PL experience with Man City and international experience surely we could ask for a couple of mil for him? How was his time with PSV? Would anyone in Holland take him? Or even anyone down south? If we could move him on for a reasonable fee wee might not need to sell a key squad member.

Another Game, Same Old Deficiencies …. After another below par performance against the Falkirk Bairns on Saturday, surely we can’t be the only ones who are witness to our glaring deficiencies? Our manager and chairmen have branded us faceless and clueless, but even someone as faceless and clueless as myself can determine that we could get more out of our players, especially if they were played in their correct positions and if they were ‘coached’ properly. Once again on Saturday we were served up an unacceptable performance and we were lucky to run out narrow winners. Even after going 2-1 up, we almost allowed Falkirk back into the game but thankfully held out to record a victory and secure a crucial three points. Understanding that I will probably receive the wrath of our custodian by daring to question the managers tactics, I will endeavour to give my opinions of what is going wrong on the pitch. As a paying customer, I surly have the right to that! Continuing with 4 centre-halves in the back line is restricting our attacking options. Both Broadfoot and Papac have been decent at fullback, but both are centre-halves and play like centre-halves. They play very narrow which allows the opposition to exploit the space down our flanks. Why Walter Smith spent circa Ã?£6.5M on forwards in the close season and ignored the glaring deficiencies in the fullback areas is a mystery. We actually have three very decent centre midfield players who all have experience of playing on the English Premiership. All three have shown that they have the ability to play in what is arguably the best league in the world. However, to accommodate all three of these midfield players, we are forced to play one of them as a right winger. We have another brilliant midfield player out for the season. We have two options for the left wing position, but the manager insists on playing anyone other than our natural left wingers at left wing. Again, with no natural width in the midfield, the game is narrowed and we are forced to play through the congested middle of the pitch. Up front, we are well covered at the moment. Off course, this may change during the transfer window, who knows. As for Saturday, the back four looked shaky, and Boogie was caught sleeping for the Falkirk goal (Lovell scores against us with frightening regularity). The midfield didn’t click (again) with only Mendes getting pass marks. Ferguson and Davis (last 10 minutes apart) were awful. The front two tried, but were uninspiring. The only positive was John Fleck – although played out of position (surprise, surprise) he did well. He had two brilliant runs, one where he beat two Falkirk defenders only to be scythed down. The second he supplied a wonderful cross only for Boyd to somehow header the ball directly into the ground for 6 yards out with the goal gaping and at his mercy. Now, Boynd’s goalscoring record is there for all to see, but I can’t remember a centre who is as bad at heading as Boyd is. Steve Davis cuts a lonely figure wide right and we must move him into has favoured position if we are to get the best out of him or we’ll ruin the lad. In the last 10 minutes of Saturdays game Davis demonstrated just how good he could be if played properly. His slide-rule pass to Novo for the 2nd goal was EPL class, as was his clinching goal. However, 10 minutes a game isn’t good enough. Barry Ferguson hasn’t reclaimed any sort of form since returning from injury. This is worrying as he is the only driving force we have in our squad. So, we go to Aberdeen on Saturday only 2 points behind in the league and I for one can see Walter making changes. However, I’d bet that the changes will involve the likes of Adam, McCulloch et al rather than Fleck, Aaron et al. We’ll approach the game as a ‘must not lose’, rather than a ‘must win’. The days of letting the opposition worry about our formation, flare etc are long gone and we have a worrying tendency to alter our team selection to ‘suit’ the opposition (see the changes for the Tannidice game as an example). Somehow we have been given a glimmer of hope in this title race, and we must take full advantage and capitalise on this. Do we have the players capable of doing this? Does our manger have the tactics and coaching capable of this? The next three league games will supply us with the answers. Hopefully, the faceless and clueless legions will be proven wrong and we’ll use this as a springboard to catapult us towards the league title. Only time and the closing of the transfer window will tell. So Do We Deserve Better? There has been much written and spoken about the ‘we deserve better’ campaign and the subsequent response for our custodian and manager. Now, I believe that we all knew how SDM and WS would response, so whilst their responses were disappointing, they were unsurprising. They have basically told us that we are ‘faceless’ and ‘clueless’ when it comes to the running and future of Rangers Football Club. This is the usual SDM mantra – pay up and shut up. So the question remains, do we deserve better? Two last day SPL titles in 8 years, a decade of financial mismanagement, a youth academy that is failing even after numerous changes and a youth development that nobody knows who actually owns it and the players registered to it. A decade of asset stripping that has seen the catering, ticketing, merchandise sold off with little or no money coming directly to Rangers from these ‘outlets’ (apart for the initial fees – short termism at its best). And that is just ‘scratching the surface’. SMD claims that we aren’t entitled to discuss this as we aren’t captains of industry and that we don’t offer alternatives and / or solutions (surely a contradiction in terms there). Anyway, the RST have given SDM pages and pages of solutions, ideas and alternatives, all which SDM dismissed out of hand. Can’t have it both ways SDM. I sincerely hope that this seasons doesn’t fall into the ‘papering over the cracks’ category just like the previous title winning season have. Don’t get me wrong, I am willing Rangers to win this title as much as anyone but fear us winning the title will see the pressure being exerted on SDM diminishing and allowing him to continue with his downsizing of the club and out ambitions. In conclusion, to answer the set questsion - YES, we do deserve better, a hell of a lot better........ Whispers From Murray Park The captain of the ship (i.e the guy who runs our RSC) was through at Murray Park on Friday to get a couple of tops signed for charity. Every player except 4 signed the tops (4 players, McGregor, Mendes, Weir & Naismith had arrived prior to The Captain and were already in for training) but one of the management team refused point blank to stop and sign the tops. Yip, Ally McCoist, hang you’re head in shame, you more than anyone else should know better. Anyway, the general consensus was that ALL the players were happy to stop and not only sign the tops, but to stop and talk for a couple of minutes and were also happy to have photos taken etc. Kris Boyd reinforced his desire to stay at Rangers (as did Boogie and Ferguson) and an unnamed player stated that every player was determined to stay and regain OUR title from Celtc. Most players also confirmed that Boyd was determined to stay and ALL wanted him to stay. Kevin Thomson stated that his operation went well and he can’t wait to get back training and playing. Nacho Novo recognised the guys from the RSC as he was a guest at our POTY Dance 2 season back. NN reinforced his desire and passion to continue to play for Rangers and again stated that he would do all in his power to help our RST (he has in the past – he is a credit to himself and to Rangers Football Club). The two tops are being raffled at a Race Night at the start of February to help raise funds for The Sick Kids Hospital. Cammy F -

Too lightweight for me. A few good moments and a few good goals but has never really looked up for the Scottish game. I cant even remember him taking players on too often, I thought a winger was supposed to go for it. To easily pushed off the ball for me and a bad signing

2009 was merely hours old when we, the Rangers support got an insight into how fraught this year is going to be. It is not merely the fact that we are willing to sell our top scorer (for Ã?£3.5M), but the indication that ALL of our players are being hocked around by ‘agent’ McLies. It appears that Mr Bain has been caught with his trousers round his ankles, and Mr Murray has kicked his exposed arse for his comments to McLies. Now, trying to decipher the words of three untrustworthy sources (SDM, Bain and McLies), it does appear that Bain informed McLies that Rangers would be open to offers for some of our ‘star players’. McLies saw this as a green light to hock our players to EPL clubs, SDM denied this part, but refused to deny that we are trying to sell at least one player. Bain has had his arse kicked when in reality, he should have been sacked (a novel way to save many precious pound notes Mr Murray). The whole episode is a mess, and highly embarrassing. So where exactly are we? Well, the facts speak for themselves – we appear to have a requirement to generate circa Ã?£4M pounds immediately. The easiest way to raise this money is to sell an ‘asset’. Problem for us is due to a decades worth of asset stripping by SDM, the only assets we have left are Ibrox and our players. The reason for this urgent requirement are not forthcoming – SDM doesn’t like to keep us abreast with what’s happening behind the scenes, but we aren’t selling players other than it being a necessity. Now, the arguments and merits of who should be sold have been the major talking point since the news regarding the Boyd to Birmingham story broke. It appears that the fans want Boyd to stay, but at what cost? Is keeping Boyd worth losing Pedro Mendes? Let’s fact facts here, we are going to lose at least one of our top players in this transfer window as Bain appears to be nowhere close to shifting the 10 fringe players we MUST remove from the books. Another worrying sound-bite from Rangers is that we only require to move on one top player this transfer window. What happens in the summer, if our worst fears are recognised and we finish 2nd again and don’t ensure automatic qualification to next seasons CL? Will be then be forced to sell more of our top players to ‘balance the books’? I would say this would be a highly likely scenario. However, Kris Boyd’s refreshing reluctance to leave Rangers highlights another issue. What if we CAN’T sell a player for the required fee? This is why we must be told the reason as to why we require this money so urgently and be informed if we have a ‘plan B’ (I know, I know, SDM doesn’t have a plan A never mind a plan B). I think we all realise that we need this money to keep the bank from our door. We currently have an overdraft of circa Ã?£25M with HBOS who are currently being taken over. Is this a token, goodwill payment to ensure that the bank don’t call in the entire overdraft? And what if they do call in the overdraft? These are worrying times people, with little or no answers / information forthcoming from our Custodian. So as it stands today, we are no further forward and aren’t likely to be enlightened by the powers that be at Ibrox. There are claims and counter claims regarding Boyd and Birmingham, but in my opinion, this deal is dead (for the moment). Allan Hutton’s deal to Spurs was on then off, then back on again. The Hutton deal was different as there was enough profit for SDM to give Hutton a ‘sweetener’ or pay-off, depending on how you see it. The figures surrounding the proposed Boyd deal, given that Killie are due 20%, leaves little room for negotiation and Boyd will be unlikely to receive a sweetener. From what I know, he wouldn’t accept one anyway – he is living the dream, playing for the only club he wants to play for and holds all the aces here. I expect this deal will only be reconstructed if SDM can convince Boyd that him staying at Rangers will be more detrimental to the club than his staying. Lets not kid ourselves here, at least one of our top players will leave as well as (hopefully) as many as 10 ‘fringe’ players. This may depend on us ‘waving’ fees for these players like we did with Burke. This exercise is to reduce the squad and the wage bill (tell me again why Martin Bain is still in a job, as this appears to be an annual ‘cull’). This off course will be not help our cause in trying to retain our domestic cups and in our efforts to regain the SPL title but financial mismanagement (again) is forcing our hand and will eventually herald the requirement to sell more players IF we don’t win the SPL thus guaranteeing CL monies next season. The most frustrating point in this whole sorry mess is that there is nothing we can do to resolve this situation. SDM is in control until he decides that it is time to sell up and move on. Some journalists are saying that this is the reason for the January cull, that a buyer has been found but they are unwilling to take over until the wage bill is deemed ‘manageable’. This is wishful thinking folks as I don’t think there is a buyer anywhere in site at the moment. This isn’t the time to be spunking 100’s of millions on a football club, even if the club is The Rangers. To have any success in moving SDM we must come together as a force. At the moment we are a disorganised, disjointed and disinterested support. We actually have to take our share of the blame for this current mess. We have sat back and let apathy rule and this has allowed SDM to continue his raping of the club. Now, trying not be overly melodramatic, but this is as a serious financial situation that Rangers Football Club has been in. Most experts believe that it’ll get worse before it gets better and many companies and organisations are rethinking the value of investing in sport through sponsorship, so this avenue may also bleed dry in the near future. Could the early days of 2009 be remembered as the beginning of the end of Rangers Football Club? Only time and history will tell. Cammy F

Talks have begun for a world record transfer fee. I wonder what sort of wage he would command

I know we only seen him for 5 minutes last night but it was more than enough for all to see that the boy has exceptional talent. Only Walter Smith knows why he hasnt been given a run in the first team so far but im going to predict that we will be seeing a lot more of him from now to the end of the season. Not to enhance the team though. To put him in the shop window. Murray and bain will have the dollars already counted in the bank come the end of the season where this kid is concerned. That is what they do best. As soon as anyone in our Ranks shows the slightest bit of talent they are sold off to the highest bidder and fleck will be no different. We have been questioning the level of ambition at our club for quite some time now but the truth at the end of the day is that we have none. Our best players are off the minute someone comes sniffing around and are replaced by mediocrity everytime. McCulloch, Broadfoot, whittaker, Darcheville, Beadsley, Dailly and the real jewel in the crown, Lafferty. So dont get too attached to Young Fleck. My guess is that he could even be off this transfer window. And for a quarter of his true worth to boot.

What will murray do if we dont move anybody on in the transfer window? There a distinct possibility that it could happen.

In case anyone hasn't seen it yet. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/...t_campaign.php Rangers supporters launch protest campaign by Thomas Jordan RANGERS fans groups today launched a "We Deserve Better" campaign to try and pile the pressure on the club's board. Chairman Sir David Murray's decision to sell off one of his leading players this month to balance the books has been met with a furious reaction from some Gers fans - who held a banner during last night's win over St Johnstone asking him to quit the club. The agreed sale of striker Kris Boyd to Birmingham City in a �£3.8m deal was the final straw for many and various groups such as the Rangers Supporters Trust and the Blue Order have now issued a statement urging supporters clubs and fans to unite and let the club know their feelings. advertisement Trust chief David Edgar said today: "This isn't a campaign to get the chairman out or anything like that. "We know he is in a situation where he hasn't been able to find a buyer for the club but we want to know what direction the club is moving in and we're looking for improvements." The statement lists areas in which he says supporters are concerned with and want explanations and they are as follows; - Only 2 league titles in 8 seasons - Only 2 cups won in last 3 full seasons - Losing to the worst European opponents faced since Valletta in 1983 - A state of the art training facility, yet no advancements in technique or set plays - No discernible strategic vision, either on or off the pitch - No long-term transfer or team-building plan - Only two youth players (McGregor and Hutton) of genuine quality produced in the last decade - Selling first team players to cover losses previously made on fringe players - Consistent failure to move fringe players on for reasonable transfer fees - Lucrative pay-offs for failed players - Failure to profit from our most lucrative ever season - Failure to engage with or interact with the support in any meaningful way - Treating Rangers fans with disdain as customers instead of valuing and working with them as supporters and part of the Rangers family - Inability to either attract inward investment, or to convince fans to invest in any meaningful way - Reduction in the status of our club from leading football force in the land, to almost social pariah status through a failure to challenge those seeking to link Rangers with sectarianism - A PR operation which only acts when senior club figures are personally criticised and all too often fails to defend the Rangers support - Fan morale lower than at any time in the past 24 years

Rangers midfielder says he is determined to not be among those leaving Ibrox in the transfer window More...

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has played down suggestions that his club's move for Rangers striker Kris Boyd was back on. More...

Defiant David Murray last night insisted Rangers would emerge from the winter transfer window strong enough to force the title race to go to the wire. The Ibrox chairman also furiously refuted claims that they have become a '' selling club '' revealing much more had been spent in the transfer market over the past five years than had been banked. And as top scorer Kris Boyd put the finishing touches to his �£3m plus add-ons transfer to Birmingham. Murray admitted it was not a deal which Rangers had promoted as they would have preferred he stayed and others were moved on. He conceded however that most players were for sale in the current financial climate as he saught to reduce the first team squad of 28 players and slash the wages bill of �£24m a year by almost a third. ''Rangers will come through this period. I have absolutely no doubt about that. We are still good and strong anough to end up on top.'' declared Murray. "I am doing everything I can to ensure this club will be stronger in the long term, but I'm sorry I can't win matches as well. "Rangers won't be struggling to survive, Rangers will get through all of this with the proper care and decision making.There is no panic here. We are not immune to what is happening in the world today, but we can and will cope with it. "We are not in meltdown and I'd like Rangers fans to understand that. We know what we are doing and I repeat we can still come out on top after the transfer window has closed.'' Reflecting on the impending loss of top scorer Boyd and the furore the move has caused among supporters Murray explained it was a case of a buyer coming forward without invitation and did not mean Rangers could be classed as a selling club. "I'm disappointed we're doing what we are at the moment with Boyd but I say categorically we are not a selling club. ''We did not want to promote the sale of Boyd but had to consider it when offer was made In a perfect world we would not sell him but the offer was for him and no others have so far come in so it had to be considered ''You can't always get players out that you are willing to let go. You need buyers before you can become sellers "Over the past five years alone we've spent �£52m on players. You can add 10% more if you take in agents' fees and signing-on fees for the layers and we've taken in �£30.9m through selling players. "Even if Boyd does go this year we'd still be net sellers for the current year .Mendes, Davis, Edu, and Bougherra were all bought in for around �£11m after we got �£7.8 for Cuellar so again more has been spent than has come in. "The facts don't back up this notion that Rangers have somehow become a selling club. It's simply not the case.'' he added. "My message to the fans is, please believe me when I say I have the genuine interests of this club at heart. We will come through this. But at the same time we have to make sure we win matches and that's why I am sorry it looks as though Boyd is going."

Just a thought during this whole transfer sale mess at Ibrox do you think Super Ally will stand back and be happy as he watches the Chairman and possiblly the manager sell all our best players in a fire sale to English Clubs I reckon he will be as dissalusioned as us fans over this and will feel even worse as he has no power to do anything about it. I reckon McCoist loves working day to day with Fergie , Boyd ,McGregor etc and has a laugh on the training ground with the scottish lads and for him to see them all sold under his nose , could be the straw that breasks his back and might look to also move on from Rangers. Personally Super Ally was and still is a Hero to me as i grew up like so many other Bears idolising him and if i was too see him go as well because of our current situation i would be a very sad and unhappy Rangers Fan. This is just a thought and i hope it never comes to this. We may lose some players, others will come , no ones bigger than the club and the Rangers will go on Chin up Guys and Gals , we are going through hard times but will get to the other side. :box: