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was listening to the real radio phone in last night to catch up on the transfer gossip. Timmy after Timmy was phoning and texting in saying Keane was at Celtic Park right now for talks. Delighted so they were. One guy even phoned up to say his mate drove him there. 5 minutes later Keane was named in the Spurs starting line up for the Arsenal game!

Just a thread for us to post the latest "news" from the papers and rumours. Lots of places are carrying the Hartley story. Rumours still persist that we've also bid for Nielson and/or Gordon. The latter I still find very hard to believe, but Nielson might make sense if Walter doesn't rate Hutton. Besides, the NOTW reckons Bayern and Arsenal are in for Gordon at 6M, but then it is the NOTW we're talking about. The Buffel story is also mentioned in a few places. Any more?

Transfer window closes tomorrow and it would be nice to get at least 2 of our targets in. This will allow them to gel and settle for our title launch next season. And also try and get us another few rounds in the UEFA cup. Our defence is sorted for the season bar maybe a RB. But id like to see Webster sign permanently and we wont have to worry about sloppy centre halfs for a while. Id also like McCulloch in. He would be my first choice target at the moment. He can play on the left, not as a natural winger, but a more solid midfielder. He also props up with goals and will be suited to the scottish game. Dont know whats happening with Hartley, Buba says the deal is dead - maybe he can shed some light??? But he will improve the team aswell. I think those 2 would be enough to get us through until the summer. I dont fancy Gow or Fotheringham. Upfront we still have 4 strikers but its time to play Sebo from the start and I can see him coming good for us.

The Italian Football Federation's disciplinary committee has summoned Serie A leaders Inter Milan to respond to claims of falsifying papers concerning the transfer of goalkeeper Simone Brunelli, according to a report by Reuters. Brunelli transferred from AC Milan to Inter Milan in 2003, but after being loaned to several lower division clubs, he claimed the signature on the transfer document was not his. Inter Milan could be fined if found guilty. The transfer is also the focus of a separate investigation by Milan magistrates into false accounting by the two clubs. Last week, Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti and AC Milan vice-president Adrian Galliani were interviewed in an investigation into the way the two clubs controlled its balance sheets by inflating the prices of players it buys and sells. Neither of the men has been charged. The magistrates said they would hand over their conclusions to the FIGC, which would then decide if it would open its own investigation. Last September, Rome magistrates called for the president of AS Roma, Franco Sensi, and the former president of Lazio, Sergio Cragnotti, to stand trial for false accounting. Both men deny the accusations.

Danish starlet Adda Djeziri is being tipped to move to Rangers before the close of the transfer window. The teenage forward trained with the Scottish giants last week and is understood to have impressed Walter Smith and Ally McCoist. He currently plays for BK Frem and reports have suggested he would cost Rangers a fee of �£125,000. Frem chairman Hans Hermansen has confirmed talks have taken place and appears optimistic a deal will be concluded before the window shuts. "A couple of details remain to be discussed, but I am convinced that the transfer will take place this month," said Hermansen. Seems to be the new Lovenkrands

Again, according to sky sports Hannover want to sign Rangers midfielder Thomas Buffel. The Bundesliga side believe the 25-year-old can bolster their midfield, but Rangers boss Walter Smith may be unwilling to part with the Belgian during the transfer window. Hannover's Sporting director Christian Hochstatter is believed to be set to fly to Glasgow in an effort to secure a deal for Buffel, who cost Rangers �£2.3million in 2005. Head coach Dieter Hecking said: "I�´m not the right person to ask to say whether a deal is possible before January 31. "But if we fly over there, I'm sure there�´s a chance for him to play (for Hannover) in the second half of the season." However, Smith has already indicated his desire to increase his midfield options after losing Jeremy Clement to Paris St Germain. "At this time of year, it's not ideal to lose someone unless you can bring someone else in," said Smith.

Much has been written about the abrupt departure of Mr PLG and the reappointment of Mr Smith and the possible reasons behind PLGââ?¬â?¢s departure, but nothing is going to change the fact that Walter Smith (plus Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowell) has replaced the much lauded (well, before his arrival in Govan) Frenchman. For sometime now, probably since Dick Advocaatââ?¬â?¢s departure, it has been obvious that Rangers needed a period of stability, whilst David Murray downsized our ambitions as we were in uncontrollable debt. In retrospect, Alex McLeish gave us a period (2 years) of stability where he appeared to have steadied the ship, won us trophies (albeit both Championships were won on the last day of the seasons) whilst the ââ?¬Ë?top earnersââ?¬â?¢ ââ?¬â?? hence the ââ?¬Ë?decentââ?¬â?¢ players were sold and replaced with inferior ââ?¬Ë?talentââ?¬â?¢. Last season was unbearable for most of us, the record run of defeats, horsed out of both cups in the early stages but we had have a decent run in the Champions League and were in truth, very unlucky to be put out by a very good Villarreal team. When it was revealed in these very pages (thank you Mr KPTB) that PLG was going to be replace AM we were all delighted and after the ââ?¬Ë?official announcementââ?¬â?¢ we all looked forward to ââ?¬Ë?moonbeams of successââ?¬â?¢ and ââ?¬Ë?substantial financial investmentââ?¬â?¢ Ã?© David Murray. Now, it is safe to say that most of us were unimpressed with PLGââ?¬â?¢s dealings in the transfer market (partly blamed of the miserly transfer kitty he was given) but we all thought that PLG would mould them into decent players and therefore, us into a decent team. The first signs were encouraging, then, well, it went tits up. Knocked out of the CIS cup by St Johnstone, the first time in our history that we had lost, at home, to lower league opposition and a woeful 17 points the beggars in the SPL and struggling to cement even 2nd place. The arguments for sacking and retaining PLG were fascinating, the reasons for his eventual sacking clouded (depending on what version of events you believe). However, as I said above, that is all history and we have WS, AMc and KMc in charge and they have been installed to act as a stabilizing team. Now, whether you agree with their installation, I donââ?¬â?¢t think any Rangers fan can deny that we need stabilization and I am sure that the current management/coaching team can deliver this. What I am not so sure is if they are the team to project Rangers in the ââ?¬Ë?long-termââ?¬â?¢. On my humble opinion, what David Murray has done, as he had done with the AM and PLG appointments, is bought himself some time. No-one, even Murrayââ?¬â?¢s greatest detractors, which I am one off, can deny that Murray can manipulate and buy himself time. He has effectively bought himself a further 12-18 months by appointing ââ?¬Ë?Rangers legendsââ?¬â?¢ knowing the fans are unlikely to turn on them if things go bad, we are more likely to support / give more time to them. If DM thought that appointing the ââ?¬Ë?dream teamââ?¬â?¢ was a long-term solution, he would have put another ââ?¬Ë?layerââ?¬â?¢ of management in place between Smith and McCoist. Someone like Billy Davies, Gus McPherson or even Stuart McCall as they would be better place / more experienced than Ally McCoist to take over from Walter Smith. Now, this may happen in the summer, I sincerely hope that it does. PLG ââ?¬â?? Right Manager, Wrong Time Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I remember talking to a few guys on our supporters bus who had reservations about PLGââ?¬â?¢s signing. Their biggest concern was his lack of communication skills and the fact that he had been out of football for so long. I didnââ?¬â?¢t agree with them, but in hindsight, they may have had a point. Whether this affected his ability to be a success in Scotland is up for debate, but it certainly didnââ?¬â?¢t help (neither did his signing nor Barry Ferguson, depending on whoââ?¬â?¢s side you are on! Lets be brutally honest here, weââ?¬â?¢ll never know the real story thatââ?¬â?¢s for sure). My thoughts that PLG was the right manager for Rangers, but was given the job at the wrong time. I would have loved to have seen PLG as Rangers manager when we had financial stability and money to invest in the squad and when the Youth Set-Up was properly funded and run. In saying that, that is all hypothetical, as under David Murrayââ?¬â?¢s leadership, that is never going to happen. Willie Gardiner Ex-Rangers and Boââ?¬â?¢ness United player Willie Gardiner sadly passed away a few weeks back. Willie signed for Rangers from the ââ?¬Ë?BUââ?¬â?¢sââ?¬â?¢ in 1950 and played under the legendary Mr Struth. He managed a total of 31 appearances for Rangers, scoring 19 goals before being sold to Leicester City where he went on to score 34 goals in his first season for The Foxes. Cammy F ââ?¬â?? We Are The Peopleââ?¬Â¦.

http://www.gersnet.info/fmrangers/newmain/110107.html First of all I think itââ?¬â?¢s quite important that we keep an element of perspective in this article. Not many Rangers fans like Bain in a personal way and that can often cloud judgement when it comes to the job he does. Martin Bain first joined Rangers in 1996 serving under former commercial manager Bob Reilly. At that time football was in the midst of a commercial explosion; TV money was high even in Scottish football and other opportunities were there to be grasped because of that huge media exposure. As a result, Bain ââ?¬â?? like other members of the commercial team ââ?¬â?? can say he was partly responsible for bringing in the large amounts of money to the club in those heady days. Because of his relatively young age in those days ââ?¬â?? he was 29 when he joined the club ââ?¬â?? Bainââ?¬â?¢s potential was spotted early by the senior staff. Although not having a background in football his good work in the commercial arm helped him secure the (rather vague and general) post of ââ?¬Ë?Director of Football Businessââ?¬â?¢ in late 2002 ââ?¬â?? a year after being appointed to the Rangers board. Of course that season really saw the Rangers financial downsizing begin in earnest. Although Mikel Arteta joined the club for a near Ã?£6million, Rangers fans started to see the influx of below average Bosman players such as Kevin Muscat ââ?¬Ë?complimentââ?¬â?¢ the squad. Alex McLeish was the manager and it was soon obvious that he, and Bain to be fair, would have a difficult job on their hands delivering success to the restraints of a club trying to ship excess baggage to attain an even financial keel. To that end, they were reasonably successful. McLeish delivered 7 trophies and Martin Bain made some difficult decisions to ensure Rangers (as of their 2005/06 accounts) were back almost into the black. Of course both still suffered for their thankless work. McLeish couldnââ?¬â?¢t achieve real consistency, and, as the Ibrox Scrooge, Bain was the ultimate supportersââ?¬â?¢ scapegoat of an unimaginative board and a chairman who had disappeared for a few years and lacked the ambition of his initial spell. In February 2005, nine years after his first arrival at Ibrox, Bain was appointed Rangersââ?¬â?¢ 4th Chief Executive. David Holmes was the first such employee and no-one can forget the club-changing work he did under the Marlborough administration. Since then, the club has had another 2 such CEOââ?¬â?¢s - Alan Montgomery and Bob Brannan (now the chairman of Dundee). Both perhaps had it easier than Bain working in less stressful times. Unfortunately, it was around this time that Bain was starting to make mistakes that this high-profile job couldnââ?¬â?¢t afford. Dragan Mladenovic, Jose Pierre-Fanfan and Olivier Bernard were just 3 examples of players that had to be paid off their lucrative contracts. Meanwhile rumours of staff fall-outs were rife. Retail director Nick Peel, long time club secretary Campbell Ogilvie and Youth manager George Adams were all moved on in quick succession amid rumours of disagreements with Bain. In more recent times, Bain has also been seen as incompetent in other areas. On holiday in the Alps while Paul le Guen and Barry Ferguson had their much publicised fall out and failing to get any sort of fee for players on the transfer list. Bainââ?¬â?¢s biggest detractors point to the success of Celtic and specifically their CEO ââ?¬â?? Peter Lawwel ââ?¬â?? as the main evidence for his failure. Continuing and unacceptable media problems, continued transfer market underperformance and continued poor relationships with his staff and our fans are all a marked contrast to Lawwel ââ?¬â?? who has to operate under the same financial restrictions and in the same market as Bain. In the last year we have seen 2 managers sacked from Rangers. The last 2 seasons have also delivered no trophies to our club. That is wholly unacceptable and that underperformance can be attributed to the mistakes and incompetence of Martin Bain. Sure, could be argued that, in the same way as the departing managers, he has suffered from a lack of backing from a chairman who seems to lack the fight and ambition for the challenges we face. However, our now infecund owner canââ?¬â?¢t be sacked which leaves the right hand man he groomed for the job. Mistakes have been rife and success has disappeared. Martin Bain should no longer be the Rangers Chief Executive. Now, is the time to make that change.

Julien Rodriquez is set to join Marseille today on a free transfer subject to an in-progress medical.

The Ibrox club are believed to have offered �£100,000 to the Bairns for the in-form, versatile 24-year-old who is also wanted by Wolverhampton Wanderers. "This season is vital for the club, and it's crucial we have at our disposal all our current resources including Alan," said a Falkirk statement. Meanwhile, the Bairns have signed Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel until the end of the season. Gow, who can also play in midfield, was on target in Falkirk's 2-0 Scottish Cup win at Berwick Rangers and hit a hat-trick against Dundee United on 1 January. "Supporters should realise that there are a large number of clubs who appear to be interested in securing Alan's services and there will no doubt be further discussions during the transfer window," the statement continued. Dane Schmeichel, 20, was recommended to Falkirk by City boss Stuart Pearce, who is a former team-mate of Bairns assistant head coach Brian Rice.

This was raised in the Webster injury thread, but thought it would be brought to more peoples attention this way. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/6252783.stm Rangers have been banned from fielding new signing Andy Webster. The Scotland defender, who joined on a loan deal from Wigan but presently out injured, has had his case referred to world football's governing body, Fifa. Wigan signed Webster after exploiting a new Fifa ruling to free himself from his contract, but he remains registered with Hearts at the Scottish FA. Fifa has yet to rule on a fee for his transfer to Wigan and also must now decide if he can play for Rangers. The SFA told BBC Sport: "The whole issue is now with Fifa. They will decide what happens next." Hearts had contested Webster's right to move to Wigan and cut short his four-year contract by a year. Fifa allowed him to sign for Wigan pending a ruling on a compensation fee. But Webster has failed to command a regular first-team place with the Premiership club, leading to his six-month loan to Rangers. Webster was injured in his first training session with Rangers last week and will be out of action for about six weeks. Surely we would have known about this before making a move?

I would be very surprised if any player was up for joining us in the window, given recent events at club. Another masterstroke by Murray to save money

The alleged drinking culture at Rangers is very worrying, if it is true. This is especially so if it involves younger players that have still to establish themselves in the football world. Surely anyone at Ibrox, that knows of our past players, will be more than aware of the problems this can cause. As for PLG not being able to control it, this I do not accept. Like any other work place, anyone under the influence of alcohol should be sent home. The football industry can take it further by fining players, dropping them from the team and exposing/embarrassing them in the media. All are effective deterrents from further abuse of the rules. Taking it a step further and transfer listing the player would also provide the desired effect. This accusation is part of the whole sorry episode in our clubs history that, along with the other revelations, the truth will never be revealled fully.

Buffel wants to prove himself at Rangers Thomos Buffel has ended all speculation over a possible transfer to AZ. The Belgian midfielder wants to stay at Rangers and fight for his place. Az had already stated they had no interest in him and Buffel also said the story was a fable "i want to stay at Rangers and prove myself in the months to come and hope i can get into the pictue again for the Belgian team. They have never told me why i have not been called up recently." "I did indeed have problems with PLG and that resulted in me being dropped to the bank.We couldn't walk through the same door together. Dropping Barry Ferguson put the final noose around his neck i think."

Thought I'd create a few threads for us to chat about the various issues that have clearly all added up to mean we're looking at another trophy-less season (although there's still the UEFA cup). How about we use this one to discuss PLG's role in the events of this season? We were pretty much all very optimistic and excited about his appointment and this was a feeling largely also shared by the media. In fact, at the start of the season, a lot of pundits were predicting we'd win the SPL back in his first season in charge. Could he have signed better players? Could he have got more out of the players who were already here? How about the transfer budget which he gave his approval?

Given that we have already a new management team nearly in place and a new loan signing, it would seem that yesterday's events were not spur of the moment. How soon before Clement follows PLG to PSG, and the transfer fee will cover PLG's payoff

Do you think a pay off was involved? If so surely that will be our transfer budget gone as well!!

In the region of �£3 million?

With all the stories flying around right now, too many to name, this is going to be a very difficult time at the club. Its very bad timing with the transfer window just opening and Durrant has a job and a half on his hands, unless a more experienced man is brought in right after the Dunfirmline game. But as one of the stories is, Barry was seemingly a strong influence in PLG leaving. Is he going to get the harsh treatment from the fans as soon as he is back on the pitch or will the back him? I think giving him the captaincy back right away would be a very bad move, as i thought the same thing when he came back from Blackburn and got it. But as i said this will be a very difficult time for the club and anything other than full support of the team is just going to make things worse than they already are. Although at times it looks like it cant get any worse, we are still in Europe and cant afford to fall any further behind in the league that we already have done.

DOes anyone think we will actually sign anyone in JAnuary?? I honestly dont think we will sign anyone in the transfer window PLG already stated that its hard to find decent available players in the january window i personally would go for R. Anderson, S. Brown and another defender but i dont think any of those will come and if we do sign someone its probarly from Austria Vienna or some second rate country

New on here guys so first of all hello. Lets get one thing straight - yesterdays news didnt come as a 100% shock, we didnt expect it but we knew something was going on with fergie behind the scenes. I am of the opinion that fergie has been our best player this season - some of you may disagree but I dont think anyone can claim that he is a hinderence to our team. So then PLG drops him. Takes the armband away and could have transfer listed him. Bad move PLG. Not only were we starting to turn against you based on results you now take away our local hero and best player we have. Either we finish second now by a large margin or you can shut the door tight on your way out. My patience is running out "Le Gaffer" - We NEED Barry Ferguson and you will soon realise that. And putting Gavin "first touch like an elephant" Rae as captain is beyond a joke.

When DM appointed PLG, along with all the fan-fair and 'look at me' and 'look what I've done', that surrounds The Mint's every appearence on TV, he promised us that this new era would herald 'Moonbeam's of Success' (or something similar) for Rangers. He promised that the arrival of PLG would be accompanied by vast investment that would 'shake Scottish football to it's foundations' that would ensure that Rangers FC would never again be in debt and that the new manager would see a 'substantial' amount as a transfer kitty. When PL was haggling over a new contract, David Murray informed us that if PL didn't sign his contract that we had two players lined up as replacements. He hinted that these players would be of similar, or better quality. When he told us that PLG was taking over for the much maligined (sp) Eck that this was a new era, the start of something special. The reality is that it is the worst and barkest time I can remember being a Rangers fan. We are a circus on and off the pitch, our enemies are still allowed free reign and our custodian sits in his new house not bothering his hint end. The Rangers we knew and love have died, and David Murray is the person who has killed them. I warned a few years back that this would get worse instead of better and I get no pleasure in saying 'I told you so'. Here is another bleak warning and take heed if you care - this will continue to get worse and IMO, we are close to the complete death of Rangers Football Club - David Murray could have gone down in our history as one of the best chairman we had, but at this rate, he'll be remembered as the man that Killed The Rangers. Cammy F

I thought he would go to Charlton after his medical. He is a player i think we should have pulled out all the stops for. That toughens up Celtics average defence by a mile.

Paul leguen has made an absolute c*nt of the managers job at Ibrox, there is no doubt about that fact. Under estimating the SPL and over estimating the squad he inherited are contributing factors but his biggest blunder was in the transfer market and the signings he brought in. They have made no impact whatso ever and we now find ourselves in a bigger mess than we were this time last year. Then again when you only get coppers to spend what do you expect? He came with a big pedigree and i doubt anyone at the time of his arrival doubted his ability but mr murrays moonbeam has now dissapeared behind the clouds of dispair. Big question is, where do we go from here? ideally murray needs to get the cheque book and spend at least 10 - 15 million to get our squad back into shape as its a pityful shell of what it used to be. we need two centre backs, a right back, another midfielder and a striker at least if we are to finish second in the SPL this season. On top of that we have to rid ourselves of the deadwood as well. that will be no mean feat when you consider the cost the last time paid off big marv and co. theres a couple of mill in there if you add it it up. The figures being banded about in the media report that leguen will have around 4-5 million max to spend in the transfer window so theres a bit of a cash difference from what ive been writing. But as usual we will be left hanging around over the next month as the transfer window slowly shuts in our faces but this time around our chairman wont be able to get away with empty hollow cryptic promises as he has done in the past. What he has to do is get the check book out and fix the damage done from years gone past when dick advocaat used fifty pound notes for arse paper. we are still paying the price of that era and we allways will as long as we are shopping in the bargain basement for players. 4 to 5 million wont sort us out mr Murray. Its your call!

Shocked at this as i thought he would stay to the end of the season and play in a 1st team. So the only reason he must be going back to Arsenal is that some one is going to buy him. It says an SPL club and hopefully Mr Le Guen has to spke to Wenger saying that he wants to sign hi as he would be a great signing