Search the Community

As much as I think the days of us making big-name signings are in the past - partially because of the JJB deal (less money to be made from a name), but also because we seem to be trying to make the big-name players these days as opposed to signing has-beens - As the '6th best team in the world' not to mention UEFA cup finalists, there's no doubt we could attract our fair share of the worlds best (OK, better) players. If you had your pick of household names (at least try to be realistic) who would you go for? Let's say the transfer kitty for this endeavour is �£10 million

Reports in the Belgian papers are that he is about to snub Germinal Beerschot, and join Cercle Brugge. As Rangers have made him transfer free no money will be paid but it will free up his wages.

Unfinished business For this to work we need to get the scouts off their arses and if Walter Smith is the man to lead the way is also debatable, given his record in actually playing young players. Davie Weir? I rest my case.

Barry Ferguson made his debuut as a 16 year old in season 94\95 but it was when Dick Advocaat arrived in season 1998/1999 that he became a regular member of the team. In 2001\2002 he became the youngest ever Rangers Captain at the age of 23. In his first season under his leadership Fergie led Rangers to a cup double but rumours were already ripe that Dick Advocaat had lost the dressing room and that there was a Dutch-Scottish divide. Dick Advocaat was promoted to technical manager and Alex McLeish took over the managerial reigns. In 2002\2003 Fergie captained Rangers to a Scottish treble of the two cups and the league championship. He was named player of the year and became a cult hero to some supporters. He has never captained a league winning team since. At the start of season 2003\04 he left Ibrox to join Blackburn in which some supporters think he committed a cardinal sin and see him as a turncoat, while other supporters think he was pushed unwillingly out the door to ease the financial pressures, Rangers were under at that time. During a tormented time at Blackburn in which he claimed to be homesick, he suffered a serious injury,when he fractured a knee cap. Admitting he had made a mistake in leaving Rangers and after much negotiation Barry returned to Rangers just before the transfer window shut in January 2005. He played his part in helping Rangers led by captain Fernando Ricksen, lift the SPL trophy with virtually the last kick of the ball in what was called helicopter Sunday. At the beginning of season 2005\06 Barry was reinstated as Captain which again split the Rangers support in pro and anti Fergie groups. As Rangers League chances quickly diminished again rumours of dressing room troubles reared their head and Alex McLeish was informed he would be leaving at the end of the season. A great run in the Champions League, where Rangers reached the knock-out stages gave McLeish a great add on to his CV, and the supporters hope for the new season under paul le Guen. Rangers had a great start to the season under PLG which was without an injured Barry Ferguson. Some would say we played the best football in years. When Fergie was fit, PLG reinstated him in the team and quickly results started to go pear shaped. Again dressing room drama's were hitting the media. Players not wanting to follow special diets. Players not wanting to train twice a day. PLG dropped Barry Ferguson saying he was undermining his authority. David Murray chose to back Fergie and possibly keep the majority of fans happy and let Paul le Guen walk away on mutual agreement. Enter Walter Smith, who has been brought back in to steady the ship. He supposedly warns Fergie to toe the line. Fergie is pushed into a more forward attacking position, playing behind the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation. With only a handful of good performances again this season and Rangers losing an almost unassailable lead, Barry is once again portrayed as captain courageous playing through the pain barrier for the love of his team. Rangers supporters again seem split on the Barry Ferguson enigma. Is he the super captain he portrays or is he the dressing room snake in the grass PLG tried to oust? Is he a team player or is he on a one man ego trip? Is Barry Ferguson unmissable as many supporters believe or is he actually a negative catalyst on the team? Is Barry Ferguson the world class player some people believe he is or the mediocre player other supporters see him as? That he has a Rangers heart is beyond question but does that give him an endless claim to a starting place no matter how he performs? Personally i think he does have the best for Rangers at heart but in that lies his pitfall. I believe he thinks he is Rangers knight in shining armour and the weight of the club lies on his shoulders. I also do not think we got the same player back from Blackburn that left us eighteen months earlier. Barry Ferguson is not unmissable and certainly not bigger than Rangers football club. I am under no disillusion that he will be replaced in this transfer window but it must be time to evaluate his true worth to the team and have a replacement waiting in the wings.

PSG have been linked with the captures of France legends Ludovic Giuly, Claude Makelele, Robert Pires and Lillian Thuram. I wonder if they will change PSG's fortune after surviving last season.....

Celtic were reported to be in for him a few weeks ago. Do Rangers and Celtic play follow the leader when it comes to transfer candidates.

And the details they mentioned are....... Good to see that he's telling Boyd to aim higher even if he has had a fallout with the club. I haven't really followed how he's been doing down there tbh Hopefully he will take these comments, plus those from WS yesterday, on board.

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

Hopefully not another youth player disappearing untried. Will we ever learn.

RANGERS are poised to make a shock bid for former Hearts striker Andrius Velicka. Record Sport can reveal the Ibrox club will table a s1million offer for the Lithuanian who joined Viking Stavanger in Norway from the Tynecastle club in February. Manager Walter Smith expects to get his man and is also confident the transfer of Kenny Miller will be completed this weekend. Velicka scored 14 goals in 26 games for Hearts last season, including one against Rangers at Ibrox. Smith hopes to land the 27-year-old hitman for around s1m, the same figure that took him to Norway where he scored three times in six appearances after his move. Smith expects Miller's controversial s1.75m switch from Derby County to be sealed before Monday. The Scotland striker will sign a three-year deal to become the first footballer in modern history to play for Rangers twice and also for Celtic.

Stoke City are keen on Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch, but not his team-mate Daniel Cousin. The Premier League new boys are set for a summer of substantial spending and have earmarked former Wigan man McCulloch as a realistic target. Stoke boss Tony Pulis is keen for players of proven Premier League pedigree but whether Rangers, or the player, would be interested in striking a deal remains to be seen. "We are currently working on our targets for the new season and we are going through our list to talk to targets, agents and their clubs," said Stoke's director of football John Rudge. "We have a lot of names on our list and it is now a case of doing our homework and trying to get the best players who we feel would help strengthen our squad for the step up to The Premier League. Fits the bill "Lee McCulloch is certainly a player who would fit the bill for the type of player we are looking at but we don't even know if he would be available. "He did really well for Rangers and as far as we are aware he is happy up there and, as I said, I don't even know if they would be prepared to sell him." While McCulloch seemingly fits Stoke's transfer criteria, Rangers striker Cousin is not on the club's radar. "We have a list of players and I am in regular contact with the manager and Daniel Cousin is definitely not on our list," he added in the Daily Express. "We are aware he is available but he is not one of our summer targets."

This could get interesting! Sir Awex has made his way over to Austria to see him. I wonder if he will make him sit in the stands

Going to try and break this lengthy article down into the next 5 posts lads... :box: http://www.gersnetonline.net/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=646&Itemid=1 Gersnet is quite unique in an online sense, in that we try to offer an ongoing analysis of every game via pre and post match debate ââ?¬â?? not just in terms of discussion but via our archive of results, appearances and man of the match awards. Using our archived man of the match awards and weekly player-by-player ratings, we can then look back on every playerââ?¬â?¢s contribution. In the following article, you can read our findings. First off, using the man of the match awards (decided by all Gersnet users ââ?¬â?? main site and forum), we can immediately see who our best player was in season 2007/08. ââ?¬Ë?Kingââ?¬â?¢ Carlos Cuellar, I hear you cry! And youââ?¬â?¢d be right of course but interestingly it wasnââ?¬â?¢t as clear cut as one would think. Weââ?¬â?¢ve also had other players mentioned throughout the campaign as either important contributors worthy of transfer interest (eg Hutton, McGregor and Cousin) while some players also attracted criticism for their less than excellent input. As such, weââ?¬â?¢ve decided to list the top five players in terms of man of the match awards received as well as go onto to take each player in the squad and rate their individual performance. Feel free to disagree! Gersnet Player of the Year: Carlos Cuellar (11 MoM Awards); Joint Second Place: Barry Ferguson / Kevin Thomson (6 MoM Awards); Fourth Place: Allan McGregor (5 MoM Awards); Fifth Place: Steven Davis (4 MoM Awards); The choice of Cuellar is an obvious and well deserved one but it wasnââ?¬â?¢t actually until later in the season he really moved away from the other players above. Indeed, up until March, several players were in contention (including Darcheville and Cousin) while Davis made an immediate impression on his arrival. This shows until then the squad was doing its job. After this point, few other players challenged Cuellar for any award which accurately describes the drastically falling player standards of that period. In a positive sense, as seen below, there was a fair spread of good performances so even some of the less supported ââ?¬Ë?squadââ?¬â?¢ players have shown they can contribute to the required level. What is needed is improved performance over the whole campaign but given the fixture congestion of season 2007/08, one feels there will be less pressure in that regard next season. Onto individual ratings then where you can also find out what players did manage to win awards as well as their Gersnet rating for season 2007/08. [Continued on Page 2]

What is WS transfer funds ?,if rumours are corrcect it's 10mill,if this is true then I don't think it's enough,how many quality players can we get for that ?.I really hope he gets more than than that to spend,we have had enough of signing mediocre players and I for one think the fans deserve to see some quality after too long watching average players pull on the Rangers FC jersey.I know our days of signing Laudrup,Gazza,Albertz and the likes are gone,and I also appreciate the fact that we need to keep our finances in order,but we have just had a financially successfull season and I think WS should be given a decent amount of money to bring the SPL title back home,also we the fans deserve a team worth watching and bragging about,especially so we can stick two fingers up to all the Rangers HATERS !!!!!!.Sir David Murray.................get yer finger oot and give WS some proper backing because WE ARE THE PEOPLE.

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

Not a bad thing, he will be a good squad player who can fill in a number of positions.

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

Below will be the awards catagories, if you could copy and paste this into your reply, obviously along with your nominations, I will keep on top of things and produce the final results at the end of the season. Feel free to reply whenever you like or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. As I say, please C&P along with your nominations and simply PM me. Thanks to all those who choose to participate, it's normally a little laugh and light relief which Im sure we could all do with at the moment. Thanks again. SPL AWARDS Player of the Season: Young Player of the Season: Veteran of the Season: Manager of the Season: Goal Of The Season: Most hated player: Most hated non-player: Best value transfer: Biggest waste of money: Best team achievement of the Season: Gaffe of the Season: MEDIA AWARDS Best Commentator: Worst Commentator: Best Pundit: Worst Pundit: Best Football Show (Radio or TV): RANGERS AWARDS Player of the Year: Young Player of the Year: Goal of the Year: Worst Player of the Year: Next Season's tip for POTY: GERSNET USER AWARDS Most Knowledgeable User: Funniest User: Stupidest User: User Most Likely to Make You Change Your Mind In A Debate: User Most Likely To Start A Fight In An Empty Room: Most Helpful User: Best Thread Starter: The 'Mary Whitehouse' Award for Perv 2006/07: Best Mod/Admin: Most Missed User: Best Newcomer: Overall Best User for Season 06/07: GERSNET HALL OF FAME (Already has Stuart, Cammy, Frankie and me in it): GERSNET HALL OF SHAME (Already has Graham Spiers in it):

Apr 13 2008 Exclusive by Mark Guidi SPURS are lining up a bid for Rangers keeper Allan McGregor. The 26-year-old Ibrox No.1's outstanding form this season has attracted the attention of several Premiership clubs. McGregor is contracted at Gers until summer 2010 and valued at more than �£5million. Tottenham boss Juande Ramos is aware of the keeper's ability after glowing recommendations from his scouts. He wants to bring in two new keepers in the close season to replace Paul Robinson and Radek Cerny. Ramos signed Alan Hutton from Rangers three months ago for �£9million and the right-back is already considered a bargain buy. Chiefs at White Hart Lane feel Mac could make a similar instant impact. McGregor is happy at Ibrox but has told those close to him he would love to play in the Premiership and is aware of the growing interest in him. He has also not ruled out making a fresh start away from the Glasgow "goldfish bowl". Hutton has raved to his old Ibrox mates about life in the Premiership and has urged them to join him there if they get a chance. McGregor knows Rangers will decide what happens next if they receive any bids for him. Newcastle gaffer Kevin Keegan is also considering a move for the Ibrox No.1 after his first choice, Celtic keeper Artur Boruc, told him he is not interested in joining the Magpies. The transfer fee would not be a problem for the wealthy Magpies. Keegan saw McGregor - and his other Gers target Spaniard Carlos Cuellar - in action at the home game against Sporting Lisbon. Rangers can prepare themselves for bids during the coming months. However, Spurs appear to be in pole position for McGregor and will have a representative in the stand for Wednesday night's Old Firm clash at Parkhead.

I will keep knocking back buy-out bids unless they make the club stronger Sir David Murray by Darrell King RANGERS owner Sir David Murray today revealed how he almost sold the club last summer. But the Ibrox supremo did not feel that the interested suitor was right in terms of taking the club forward. The Edinburgh-based millionaire is approaching his 20th anniversary as chairman, and has said on a few occasions in the past year or so that he would sell up to the right person. But Murray - who again insisted major plans to revamp Ibrox and the surrounding area WILL be unveiled soon - remained at the helm despite the in-depth talks over buying his controlling shares. advertisementMurray said in an interview on RTV: "I repeat this again, I will not sell the club to anybody who I don't believe is in the best interests of Rangers. "I could have sold the club last summer when we had an opportunity to do a deal. But when I examined it, I genuinely did not believe it was in the best interests of the club. "Yes, eventually, I will go. All I can say is that when I do move on, I will hopefully leave the club in good shape and leave it to the right people to take Rangers forward. "As I come up to my 20th year, I have won 13 titles and 28 trophies overall. I have been reasonably successful, I have enjoyed the highs and gone with the pain of the lows - that is part of being chairman of a big club like Rangers. "If you haven't got the broad shoulders, then don't take it on and leave. But I am happy to take on the responsibility, it goes with the ticket. "We won the CIS Cup recently and that was very satisfying for all Rangers fans, including myself, and I would love to win more this season, that is what we are striving for. "I have always tried to be honest and treat everyone correctly. You can't keep everyone happy, everyone has an opinion, but I think throughout my stewardship I have always tried to have an integrity, and hopefully I will be judged that way when I finally leave." Rangers' plans for Ibrox have been met with raised eyebrows given the overall figures of �£750m that have been bandied around. Three options are being looked at, one of which would see the stadium rebuilt to a 70,000-capacity based on the Sapporo Dome in Japan, and Murray is adamant all will be revealed. He rapped: "There has been a lot of cynicism about this, but that is the way of things here in Scotland. But I had further meetings last week with councils and developers. "As soon as it is possible, and all legals are drawn up, we will make an announcement. "There is a wonderful opportunity to regenerate the whole of the area, the stadium, the areas across the road and the whole Hinshlewood area of Govan. "I hope our supporters will be pleasantly surprised when we make an announcement as soon as we can." Fans are more interested, as always, on what will happen on the pitch. Murray has vowed to back manager Walter Smith in the transfer market this summer, with a fund of �£10m said to be available. There was, of course, the �£9m sale of Alan Hutton to Spurs which offset just about all of the net spend last summer on 12 players. The chairman revealed that Smith wants to buy "three or four" first team picks instead of squad bulk like last summer. Murray explained: "The fact is we can only spend the income we have got. If we make a profit, then I'll spend it, if we don't make a profit we can't spend it. "People can moan and groan all they want, but we must balance the books as a football club. I have read people saying: Are Rangers a selling club?' We will only sell if the figure is seen to be one that you can't turn down, as with Alan Hutton. "That was a figure that we, as a board, could not turn down. We did not want to lose Alan, and initially he didn't want to go. "But he came round to the idea that it would be in his best interests, and give his family the security of a wage structure that was so much higher than he could ever get in Scotland. "I don't mind spending money on players who are young and who have their best years ahead of them. What we must not do is spend a lot of money on 30-year-olds when there is no residual value. "If you spend and invest on Steven Naismith and Steven Whittaker, players of that ilk, then it's good sound business. "But where we perhaps got it wrong was buying players at the wrong end of their careers as we strove to get European success - that backfired on us. "Financially, this club is in good shape. We have funds to spend, we showed good interim profits for six months and we will make a profit for the year net of all costs

Apr 10 2008 By Alan Carson QUICK-THINKING Rangers fans helped revive Chelsea star Paulo Ferreira after he collapsed in an airport terminal. Stunned supporters were having their picture taken with the �£13million defender yesterday when he slumped unconscious. One fan told how he quickly gave him emergency first-aid he had learned in the Boys' Brigade decades ago. The fan said: "He came round after a couple of minutes and said he hadn't eaten anything since the day before. "He also said he had been feeling light-headed when he came off the plane. "At least those BB first aid lessons from 30 years ago finally came in handy. All in all, it was an eventful start to our trip." The drama happened as thousands of Rangers supporters were flying out to Portugal for the Ibrox side's crunch UEFA cup tie against Sporting Lisbon. A group of fans had spotted Ferreira, 29, boarding their flight at Heathrow - wearing a red, white and blue jumper. They caught up with him after the plane touched down at Lisbon airport and asked for a photo. But as the talented right-back posed for snaps, he suddenly lost consciousness. The fan said: "Paulo was on our flight, resplendent in a Union-Jack jumper. "We were behind him in the queue for passport control and when we got through to the other side, decided to ask him for a photo. "I had taken a pic of my mate and him and was going to ask if I could get one with me in it. "But as I turned to shake his hand and congratulate him on the previous night's result, he was slumped over a chair. "I got him off the chair and down on to the floor in the recovery position. I then made sure his airway was clear, while my mate went off to get help." Within minutes, dazed Ferreira came round and admitted he had been feeling poorly throughout the flight. The fan added: "I think he was quite embarrassed about it and didn't want any fuss. "We walked out with him to the exit to make sure he was ok. "He was met by a woman I presume was his wife and a boy." On Tuesday night, Ferreira, who did not play, watched Chelsea beat Turkish outfit Fenerbahce 2-0 to clinch a Champions League semi-final tie against Liverpool. He was spotted out on the town in London later that night as he and his teammates celebrated the victory until 3am. Ferreira joined Chelsea in 2004 in a �£13.2million transfer from Porto. He signed a lucrative new five-year deal in January. After a 0-0 draw at Ibrox last week, Rangers face Sporting Lisbon tonight in the second leg of their UEFA Cup quarter-final.

When Kevin Thomson acrimoniously departed Hibs last January many expected his close pal to follow him along the M8 from Easter Road to Ibrox. During the following summer Scot Brown did indeed follow Thomson along the M8, but instead ended up at Celtic Park. The media took great delight in ridiculing Rangers as being the new owners of the biscuit tin as we were seen as being unable to compete with Cetlic's package to take the young Scottish international to Parkhead. Were Rangers unwilling or unable to match the �£4.5 million pound fee plus �£25k per week in wages? The two midifelders complimented each other well in an exciting Hibs team which regularly chalked up victories against both half of the Old Firm, stimulating the bidding war to take the two youngs stars to Glasgow. Brown took many of the plaudits from those who are not quite as appreciative of the nuances of effective midfield play as his all action combative style and marauding runs were more easily noticed. Keener students of the game tried to educate that Thomson was the better of the pair, with a more cultured game. Rangers won round one as Walter convinced Thomson to become one of his first signings as he rang the changes in Govan following the disastrous Le Guen experiment. Round two was given as a resounding victory to Celtic. Many in the media felt it was a knockout blow in the summer transfer duels. Brown was hailed as a "blue chip" signing along with other players such as Donati the former AC Milan player. So Thomson has had an extra half season to settle on the West coast. The Scottish press, and indeed some fans, were underwhelmed by his early contributions. A waste of �£2 million was the consensus. However towards the end of the season and most notably in the 2-0 Old Firm victory Thomson showed promise as Rangers dominated the mdifield contest. His ex partner in the youthful Hibs midfield then made to many the suprising choice of joining the green half of the city. Celtic fans and many journalists revelled in the bloody nose Celtic had dealt Rangers in securing his services. As Thomson said "It's Scot's decision, he'll have to live with it". Prophetic words as Thomson turned in a man-of-the-match performance scoring the only goal of the game after an incisive run and one-two with Darcheville put Rangers on course for victory at Ibrox on Saturday. Whilst in the early part of the season Brown's uninspiring performances had him bizarrely singled out as the best midfielder plying his trade in the SPL, murmurings of discontent about Thomson continued from the stands and on the back pages. It was only really once Thomson was kept out of the side through injury that those with an active interest in Scottish football and particularly Rangers fans appreciated what he brought to the team. Tenacity, aggression, tough tackling and a great engine. Our midfield looks a lot stronger with the young Scot in it. Conversely as the season drags on, the tide of opinion has turned on Scot Brown. A waste of �£4.5 million according to the disgruntled Celtic fans who watched in agony as he wasted several good chances as they succumbed to another crushing defeat to Smith's Rangers. Again failing to find the net. Yesterdays game could prove pivotal in the two player's Old Firm careers. As Thomson goes from strength to strength, Brown increasingly comes udner fire from those of the green and grey persuasion. As Thomson continues to grow into a true Rangers midfielder the fans demand more and more. And Thomson delivers. He has begun to step out of his captain's shadow. Fans now suggest he should be getting forward and providing some kind of goal threat. And what better time for a Rangers player to bag his first goal for the club than against Celtic. How he has yet to join his more illustrious team mate and club and national captain in the Scotland set up is beyond this fan. Before those from the east end cry bias at this peice let me be frank. Brown undoubtedly has the talent to be a top class midfielder. Not many Rangers fans can honestly say they did not want him at Ibrox. However the focus of this peice is to honestly assess the contributions of the two players many thought joined at the hip. Thomson did not move solely for the cash. He came to Ibrox to play beside and learn from the best Scottish player of the last decade, and maybe more, and under the guidance of possiblhy the most dominate coach in Glasgow. In an era in which Celtic have prided themsleves on the fine business conducted both on and off the field, you have to ask yourself how they allowed themselves to pay an inflated fee for Scot Brown when his more effective former team mate was signed for less than half the price and most likely wages. Ask yourself, would you be happier with Kevin Thomson at �£2million pounds or Scott Brown at �£4.5 million and �£25k a week. Yet again the wily Walter Smith appears to have gotten the upper hand on Celtic. And whilst it has taken most of the media the best part of 7 or 8 months to realise this, it is unlikely Smith was ever in any doubt about who was the more prodigious talent. Hopefully Thomson's first goal for the club in this powderkeg fixture will see his somewhat meteoric rise continue and identify himself as potential successor to the current Rangers captain. A role that many fans worried would be impossible to replace when Rangers number 6 hangs up his boots. Edit: Touched up the typos and a few errors to save Frankie a job before he posts it. Hope there's none left.

THOMAS GRAVESEN will make a shock return to Celtic after failing to impress at Everton. The Dane, 31, was loaned to his former club in August, but has made only three starts. Agent John Sivebaek confirmed: "We expect Thomas to be back in Glasgow in the summer. advertisement "We had hoped he would play more at Everton, as he is fully fit, but it has not worked out that way. "But he will have no problem coming back to Celtic and fighting for his place." Gravesen signed for Celts in 2006 in a �£2m deal from Real Madrid on a staggering �£40,000-per- week wage packet. He is the Hoops' highest earner, and also an expensive reminder of boss Strachan's chequered record in the transfer market, and has a year left on his contract. Despite featuring in 33 games for the Parkhead side in 2006/2007, his debut season was marred by a lack of discipline and the tactical nous expected by Strachan. 40.000 per week for a

Feb 23 2008 Exclusive by Keith Jackson NEWCASTLE boss Kevin Keegan has begun laying the foundations for a s12million summer bid for Celtic golden boy Aiden McGeady. Record Sport can reveal Keegan had to abort a plan to run the rule over the player in person at Wednesday night's Champions League clash with Barcelona. He instead sent right hand man Terry McDermott to Glasgow, along with a senior director from St James Park. McDermott returned south to tell Keegan it will take "funny money" to tempt Celtic into selling the fabulously-gifted 21-year-old. Now Keegan will spend more time monitoring the player and deciding whether or not to weigh in with a massive cash offer at the end of the season. Keegan has been promised a s50m war chest to rebuild his firstteam squad when the transfer market reopens for business and is keen to draw up a list of priority targets as early as possible. But McDermott did not see enough of McGeady's skills against Barca to be convinced the Republic of Ireland international is worth such a huge chunk of Keegan's budget. Newcastle believe it will require a bid of at least s12m to bring Celtic to the table but McGeady was not given the chance to justify that massive fee on a night when Celtic were dominated and defeated by the classy Catalan outfit. Keegan, though, remains a big admirer and will track the winger's form over the coming weeks as he prepares to reconstruct an ailing side flirting with a top-flight relegation battle.

Submitted by BlueDell The club made a �£2.3 million profit in the first 6 months to 31st December 2007. Sounds good, particularly compared to the loss of �£1.5 million for the same period in the previous year, but is it really? During the last 2 years we have made losses of �£5m and �£6m during the second halves of the year. The extended run in the UEFA Cup may be negated by the increased costs, so we probably make a loss of a similar amount this year. A loss of �£5m added to a profit of profit of �£2.7m means that we would have been looking at a loss for the year of over �£2m (being very conservative), and thatâ��s AFTER we have qualified for the Champions League (CL). What kind of loss would we be looking at had we not qualified for the CL? Given that turnover increased by �£10m due to the CL then we could have been looking at a loss of well over �£10m for the year. The figures show why it was vital for the Chairman to have the Hutton deal go through. This will take us into profit for the year, and will avoid the potentially embarrassing position of making a loss despite qualifying for the CL. The profit of �£2.3m was lower than the �£4m that I had expected due apparently to a higher than expected increase in salary costs, due to more players and it would seem that some of the new players may be on relatively high salaries. Our debt has increased but this is not surprising given the fact that our season ticket money mostly comes in before the end of June and the purchase of Cousin, Cuellar, Whittaker, McCulloch and Naismith will all have had a negative effect. Again the Hutton cash and perhaps some of the CL money still to come the position will be improved at the year-end, but itâ��s too difficult to speculate where we will be by then given the limited information available. So, overall, we are still reliant on both the CL and selling players to keep our head above water. Not a particularly reassuring place to be from a financial perspective. How do our results compare to Celticâ��s? Firstly their half-yearly accounts give a lot more details than our due to their stock market requirements. Rangers are quoted on the PLUS Markets Exchange which requires only a limited disclosure with no balance sheet and only a very limited profit and loss account supplied. It is therefore difficult to any sort of meaningful analysis of our accounts. Celtic made a profit of �£10m but if you strip out the �£4m profit that they made on the sale of players (I believe that we had very little in this area in comparison as the Hutton transfer will be shown in the second half of the year) then they made a profit of �£6m compared to our �£2.3m I believe that the 3 main reasons for the difference are their bigger capacity, our bigger write-off of players due to our purchases and that they have had one more game domestically than us. I believe their profit made on the sale of players was from the likes of Miller and Beattie, and goes to show how important it is for our Chairman and CEO to maximise return from the sale of our players, something that we appear to be guilty of not doing. Their bigger capacity may have added over �£2m to their profit for the 6 months and is something that we are going to have to live with unless steps are taken to increase the capacity of Ibrox.