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A Rangers fan, who was convicted of breach of the peace after singing part of the 'Famine Song' at an away game, has appealed against his conviction. William Walls, 20, was found guilty of the offence, aggravated by religious and racial prejudice, at Kilmarnock District Court in December last year. He was put on probation for 18 months and given a football banning order. The song refers to a famine which killed an estimated one million people in Ireland during the 1840s. Rangers FC has asked the team's fans not to sing it. It includes the line, "The famine's over, why don't you go home?" which Mr Walls was seen to sing at the match. Although he only sang that one line from the song, the police match commander told the original trial that fans who heard it would know the rest of the words. 'Nothing racial' Mr Walls' defence counsel for the appeal, Donald Findlay QC, said his client had not committed a crime in singing the line. "There is nothing at all that could in any way be said to be racist or racially motivated about those words," he said. In her report to the appeal judges, Sheriff Iona McDonald said Walls was clearly aware of the impact of the song. The song was clearly racist, she said, as it referred to people of Irish descent being told to return "home". Mr Walls, from Cambuskenneth in Glasgow, was sentenced for singing the song and shouting sectarian remarks during a match at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park last November. The appeal was heard at the Justiciary Appeal Court in Edinburgh on Friday. Appeal judges said they would give a ruling at a later date. Mr Findlay said the views expressed in the song were political, rather than religious or racial. "This is not about whether the political element is logical, rational or justified - that is neither here nor there," he said. Referring to remarks made by Mr Walls which led to the charges, Mr Findlay said: "The reference to '******' is not a religious remark. It is in fact a political observation. "Its origin is entirely political and relates to the quest for a non-British, united Ireland." Mr Findlay compared his client's actions to an English person singing a song to Scots about historic battles their country had lost to England. "The individual would be perfectly entitled to express that view because it is a historical fact. He added: "The people who over-reacted might be guilty of a breach of the peace, but not the person singing it." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8052569.stm Some common sense at last.

I said a few weeks back, after the Falkirk game, that I was never going to another Rangers away game due to the dross being served up on the pitch, the current financial climate and the harrassement we receive away from Ibrox. Given that, I reluctantly refused an offer of tickets from the St Mirren game as I wanted to visit their new stadium. I resigned myself to not going and watched the game on Sentanta (a free trial via Virgin - refuse to pay for it!). Anyway, going to the Motherwell game on Saturday and names were being taken for Easter Road on Sunday. Guess what, I stuck my name down of a ticket, so I'm heading into Leithshire on Sunday and look forward to another visit to Easter Road. Now, I have also loved going to Easter Road, there is always a wonderful atmosphere and who can forget Helicopter Sunday? Yip, Easter Road will always have a place in my heart after witnessing the events of Helicpoter Sunday. See, I am trying to justify my decision to break my promise after only missing ONE away game. I also said that I was 99% certain that I wouldn't renew my season ticket. Guess what? It has been filled out, signed, envaloped, but as yet is unstamped. I know that as soon as we have stamps, I'll post my renewal. Why do I allow my heart to rule my head when it comes to Rangers? Outwith Rangers, I am a levelheaded person who doesn't allow his heart to rule is head, but when it comes to Rangers, all sense goes out the window. I hope I have the courage of my convictions and after Easter Road, refuse to go to any post-split away games (yeah, who am I kidding) and refrain from posting my renewal. Cammy F

Exclusive: Rangers fan tells of his 'year of hell' from cops as court clears him of UEFA Cup final rioting Apr 6 2009 by Craig McDonald A RANGERS fan has blasted cops after he was cleared of rioting at the UEFA Cup final. James Clark was charged with violent disorder although he claimed to have been the victim of a brutal police assault. He walked free from court on Friday after a jury sensationally rejected the evidence of five different police officers. Yesterday, James, 35, said: “I have been through utter hell because of the police. They picked me out of a crowd of fans at random, beat me black and blue with their batons and set their dogs on me. “Yet they charged me with being violent. You couldn’t make it up. “My defence lawyer said the police were trying to portray me as some sort of cross between William Wallace and Rab C Nesbitt. I think the jury related to that and I am beyond relieved that they saw through the police’s evidence. “I went down to Manchester for what should have been a memorable time – and ended up being put through a year of hell.” James, of Baillieston, Glasgow, added: “When I was arrested, the first thing the police had to do was take me to hospital because I was bleeding all over. “The dogs they set on me were taking chunks out of my legs. The riot police were battering me senseless and I have baton ‘stripes’ all over my body.” James was one of around 175,000 Scots fans who travelled to Manchester for the UEFA Cup final on May 14 last year between Rangers and Russian side FC Zenit St Petersburg. Rangers lost 2-0 but the occasion was notorious for clashes between fans and riot police after giant TV screens set up for supporters failed. James said: “Two friends and I hired a motorhome and we travelled down looking forward to having a really good time. “When the screen went down, we tried to make our way back to the van but got split up. “I was with a large group of supporters when I became aware of a wave of people coming towards us. It was the police who were actually rushing these people towards us. “I saw a massive line of dozens of police, many of them with dogs. I was making a ‘calm down’ gesture towards them. I froze and they hit me and knocked me off my feet. “They released three or four dogs on me and were whacking me with batons “I’ve been left with a large permanent scar on my lower right leg and upper left leg and marks all over my body. At the time, I was bruised from head to toe.” James was charged with violent disorder alongside fellow fan Simon Toland, 19, from Belfast. James said: “I’d never met the guy before. The police picked the two of us at random and I ended up sitting next to him in the dock. It was very strange.” He says what followed was “a year of hell”, with the court case also costing him his job as a scaffolder. He made a total of 13 court appearances before the case eventually went to trial last Monday at Manchester Crown Court – and he says he was paid off from his job because of his absences. Police claimed James and Toland taunted cops and goaded fellow supporters to defy orders to move away. But a jury took just two hours and 50 minutes to find them not guilty by a majority of ten to two. James said: “My faith in British justice has been restored thanks to the jury’s verdict. “I feel the people of Manchester have judged me and believed me. I was overcome with emotion. I felt relief and ecstasy. “But the police evidence was a shambles. They gave conflicting descriptions – some said I had a beard while others said I had a moustache. I was clean-shaven. And they produced no CCTV footage of the events.” He added: “There was shocking violence that night – not from the fans, from the police.” James – who lives with mum Margaret and sister Linda – said he is thousands of pounds out of pocket in travel and other expenses. After running out of cash during the trial, he slept on the steps of the court before the final day. James said: “I was physically, emotionally and financially drained. “I tried to get into a homeless hostel but they had no room, so I slept rough on the steps of the court as I just didn’t know what else to do. “I was moved on by security and ended up in a park before police moved me on from there. “When morning came, I just had a wash and tried to get myself together.” James is now set to lodge a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission over the the conduct of GreaterManchester cops. Mum Margaret, 59, said: “The brutality with which he was treated by the police is utterly shocking. “The stress we have all felt over the past year as this case hung over us has been terrible. The verdict has come as such a relief and we will try to move on from here as a family.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2009/04/06/exclusive-rangers-fan-tells-of-his-year-of-hell-from-cops-as-court-clears-him-of-uefa-cup-final-rioting-86908-21257142/

Exclusive by Lindsay Herron GAVIN RAE is hoping Stevie Smith can join the growing colony of ex-Rangers at Cardiff City next season - in the Premiership. Chris Burke and Ross McCormack are also regulars with the promotion-chasing side while Stevie Thomson is currently on loan at Burnley. Stevie SmithOut of favour full back Smith has been interesting Bluebirds boss Dave Jones and he travelled to Wales last week. Smith played in a specially-arranged friendly game and had a good discussion with the Cardiff manager. With the window for loan signings in the Championship now closed, Smith is hoping there can be further discussions in the summer. And old team mate Rae will be thrilled if a deal can done AND Cardiff have made it into the top flight. He told Rangers World: "I spoke to Smithy when I heard he was down for a trial and Burkey saw him when he was down. "Obviously the gaffer has a few ex-Rangers players on the books and he seems to have done well with them so it would be great if Stevie could be the next one. "He is a great wee player so hopefully he can come down and join us." Cardiff are nine points behind Alex McLeish's Birmingham, who currently occupy second spot which carries automatic promotion, but they have two games in hand. There are eight games left in the Championship but Cardiff have four in eight days, starting with bitter rivals Swansea on Sunday morning. Rae said: "We are still in a good position. We have not been out of the top six all season and hopefully we don't fall out now. "We have eight games to go so the plan is to go on a run and just go for it.Ross McCormack celebrates his strike for Scotland "We have a heavy schedule of games coming up but that's normal down there. You seem to play more than you train but we are used to it now." Unfortunately, Scotland hero Ross McCormack will be missing for the Bluebirds after being sent off in the last league match - a 3-0 defeat by Sheffield United. However, Rae is in no doubt that he has arrived as an international player. He said: "He has been doing brilliantly for us since he joined and I think he's got it all in his locker. "Playing week in, week out at Cardiff has been a big thing for him and obviously helped him. "There is nothing like making your Hampden debut for Scotland and it was a bit special for Ross. In saying that he was probably our best player against Holland too so to get two man of the match awards and a goal can't be bad."

IT is best known in Russia as the place where Ivan the Terrible massacred the entire population in the middle ages. But Kenny Miller has been reassured that Kazan is not murder any more ââ?¬â? by a South African called MacBeth. The Rangers hitman is weighing up the prospect of a Ã?£2million move to Russian champions Rubin Kazan. And one player who has been there for six years reckons Miller will find it far easier to settle than he did thanks to the transformation of the city 700 miles from Moscow. MacBeth Sibaya admits he struggled with the massive culture shock when he moved to Kazan in 2003. The Bafana Bafana international could not find anyone who spoke English, and ate all his meals in the club house because there was nowhere decent to eat. He could not even open a bank account because foreigners were not allowed to. Now Sibaya reckons that Kazan is on the up, thanks to money being ploughed in by the local government. They have used the oil wealth of the Tartarstan Republic to give a makeover to a city that was the centre of the military industry back in the days of the USSR. They built tanks and planes here, and latterly helicopters for the campaign in Afghanistan. Stopper Sibaya said: ââ?¬Å?When I first came here it was so difficult for me in terms of lifestyle. ââ?¬Å?It was a different world. It was like the places you saw in the movies when they portrayed the old Soviet days. ââ?¬Å?No one spoke English. I could never find a newspaper to read and eating out was not really an option because the only restaurants were Russian. ââ?¬Å?I used to eat all my food at the Rubin club house after we finished training and thankfully I was a good cook before I came here. That meant I ate properly at home. ââ?¬Å?It was difficult to get things from supermarkets, but now we have everything on the shelves. ââ?¬Å?There has been so much development in Russia over the recent years and Kazan is more comfortable now. ââ?¬Å?There are plenty of places to have a coffee and there are plenty of new restaurants ââ?¬â? my favourite one is a Chinese ââ?¬â? while there are also huge shopping malls with all the best clothes. ââ?¬Å?There are plenty of nice apartments now, so that is no problem. I can catch up with all the news from home on my computer. ââ?¬Å?In fact, most websites in Russia now have English language pages. If Kenny Miller came here, it would be good for me to have someone to talk English to though. ââ?¬Å?Most of the players only speak Russian and you have to learn it to survive. I played against Miller when South African faced Scotland in 2007 and he has played for top sides in Scotland and England, so he will do well here.ââ?¬Â In Kazan, only half the population speak Russian. The other half are Tartars, fiercely proud of their own language and culture. Sibaya came to Rubin in 2003 from Norwegian club Rosenborg purely because of Kurban Berdyev, the manager who last November guided the club to its first-ever Russian title. Advertisement The midfielder admits he had never heard of Kazan, but next season the whole of Europe will know all about them when they make their Champions League bow. Berdyev has been trying to bring a few star names to Kazan for that campaign, failing in a bid for Udinese hitman Fabio Quagliarella before switching his attention to Miller. Ghanaian star Stephen Appiah, who was once at Juventus and was on trial at Spurs last month, is also being lined up. Former Spurs hitman Sergei Rebrov, is another who could smooth Millerââ?¬â?¢s switch to Russia if he takes up Rubinââ?¬â?¢s offer to almost double his Ibrox wages. Veteran Rebrov understands English from his four years in London with Spurs and West Ham and has rebuilt his career since Berdyev took him under his wing. Sibaya added: ââ?¬Å?I didnââ?¬â?¢t know what to expect when I came to Kazan. I put my trust in the manager. He wanted me and he gave me a lot of support off the pitch. But I had to leave my family back in Johannesburg because my three kids are all young and there are no schools here for English-speaking kids, it is not like Moscow. ââ?¬Å?Itââ?¬â?¢s too cold most of the time and anyway, South Africa is a better way of life for them.ââ?¬Â Right now, it is minus 14 in Kazan ââ?¬â? which is why the team are holed up on the Costa del Sol for a pres-season training camp. Their defence of their title starts in late March. There is no skimping when it comes to the players at Rubin. They are enjoying the luxurious facilities at La Manga. Sibaya said: ââ?¬Å?The club never has any problem paying its wages on time, which is not always the case at other teams in Russia. ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢ve heard stories from other African players about delays, but we are well paid and I was given a new one-year contract last month which Iââ?¬â?¢m really happy with. Now Rubin want to go to the next level, which is why they are looking for new signings from Europe.ââ?¬Â If Miller takes up Kazanââ?¬â?¢s offer, he will not be the first Scot to play here. His old Hibs team-mate Garry Oââ?¬â?¢Connor had a shortlived spell with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2006-07 before quitting to join Birmingham City. Oââ?¬â?¢Connor claimed he could not settle in Moscow, something that Sibaya finds amazing. He explained: ââ?¬Å?If you canââ?¬â?¢t settle in Moscow, then you will never live anywhere in Russia because it is the most cosmopolitan place. ââ?¬Å?I donââ?¬â?¢t really remember Oââ?¬â?¢Connor, but the Moscow clubs do a lot of buying and selling and change players often.ââ?¬Â Oââ?¬â?¢Connor cited the long plane journeys to away matches as the real low point of his tour of duty at Lokomotiv. But Sibaya insists Miller would not struggle the same way. He said: ââ?¬Å?We no longer have Vladivostock ââ?¬â? which is a 12-hour flight ââ?¬â? in the league because they were relegated last season. Most of the teams are from the Moscow region, and thatââ?¬â?¢s a 90-minute flight away. ââ?¬Å?Basketball is still the No1 sport here, but our crowds have doubled to 20,000 and we will fill the place when we are in the Champions League. ââ?¬Å?We are only the second team in Russia from outside Moscow to win the title, after Zenit St Petersburg. ââ?¬Å?They won the UEFA Cup and proved that Russia is not just about Moscow. ââ?¬Å?We beat Zenit 4-0 last season, just after they beat Rangers in the final and that was the moment the whole Rubin team felt we could bring the title to Kazan.ââ?¬Â http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article2258876.ece

Scottish Premier League outfit Hearts take Lithuanian defender Arunas Klimavicius on a week-long trial at Tynecastle. More...

Hearts will assess FBK Kaunas pair Marius Cinikas and Begantas Zubavicius during a week-long trial. More...

Celtic have completed the signing of Czech Republic Under-20 defender Milan Misun from FK Pribram The 18-year-old left-back has signed a four-year contract with the reigning Scottish Premier League champions. "It's a tremendous honour to sign for a club of Celtic's stature," Misun told Celtic's official website. "I know that there are some quality players at Celtic and I will need to work extremely had to break into the first team." The defender opted for a move to Glasgow despite interest from Italian Serie A club AC Milan. He is a young man with certainly a lot of potential Celtic manager Gordon Strachan Celtic have deployed Lee Naylor and Mark Wilson in the left-back position this season, but Wilson is a naturally right-footed defender. "We are delighted to complete the signing of Milan Misun," added manager Gordon Strachan. "He is a young man with certainly a lot of potential and we will be doing all we can to maximise his potential and try and ensure that he is a success at Celtic." Last week, Celtic captured Derry City winger Niall McGinn and Dundee United goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska has signed a pre-contract agreement to join in the summer. MY SPORT: DEBATE One for the future I think, but already playing for Czech U-21 team so can't be all bad?? Powered_Up_Pac-Man Whilst on trial at Celtic's Lennoxtown training centre, Misun was joined by FK Pribram team-mate Anton Fantis, but the SPL leaders have put a possible move for the 16-year-old on hold. Strachan said he had yet to make a decision on whether to sign Brann Bergen defender Erlend Hanstveit, although it appears unlikely he will be offered a deal. Hanstveit cut short his Celtic trial to return to Norway for his wedding and will learn Strachan's thoughts through the club scout. "We need to make contact there through John Park," Strachan said on Friday. "Once we make contact then we will make clear our decision." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/7783307.stm

Czech left-back Milan Misun is set to sign for Celtic on Thursday, according to the player's agent Ondrej Chovanec. The 18-year-old, presently with FK Pribram, trained with the Scottish Premier League leaders last week. "We are delighted as we have managed to get Milan to one of the biggest clubs in Europe," said Chovanec. "There was also huge interest from AC Milan, but Celtic acted quickly and my player should be in Glasgow on Thursday to pen a professional deal." And Czech Republic under-20 international Misun says he is delighted at the prospect of joining Gordon Strachan's team. "It is the best gift I could have got for Christmas," he said. We have not received any feedback from Celtic yet Erlend Hanstveit's agent, Per Bjarte "When I was at Celtic on trial for a couple of days, they treated me really well and I believe I can improve as a player there." Celtic have deployed Lee Naylor and Mark Wilson in the left-back position this season, but Wilson is a naturally right-footed defender. Misun was joined at Celtic's Lennoxtown training centre by FK Pribram team-mate Anton Fantis, but Celtic have put a possible move for the 16-year-old on hold. Meanwhile, Brann Bergen defender Erlend Hanstveit, who was also on trial with Celtic, has returned to Norway early for his wedding. Hanstveit's father and agent, Per Bjarte, was last night still in the dark over a possible move. "We have not received any feedback from Celtic yet. We were concentrating on his wedding, but we expect an answer soon," said Bjarte. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/7783307.stm

Derry City turn down Celtic's bid to take highly-rated midfielder Niall McGinn on a week's trial at Parkhead. More...

SINGING just two lines of the notorious "Famine Song" amounts to racism, a court has ruled in a landmark case. At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Wednesday, a 20-year-old Rangers fan was found guilty of committing a breach of the peace during Rangers 4-0 victory over Killie on November 9. And procurator fiscal Les Brown successfully argued that by singing the lines "The famineââ?¬â?¢s over, why donââ?¬â?¢t you go home?" William Walls, of Glasgow, had associated himself with other, more offensive elements of the song. Walls, who had denied the offence, was remanded in custody until December 16 for social enquiry and community service reports. During the trial, Sheriff Iona McDonald heard that Walls was seen singing the chorus of the song and other offensive remarks during the game by stewards employed by Rangers FC. Nicola Tait, 24, said that one of her tasks was to monitor the Rangers support for sectarian behaviour, including the singing of the "Famine Song". "The ââ?¬Ë?Famine Songââ?¬â?¢ is one song that is not tolerated by Rangers," she told the court. Miss Tait ââ?¬â?? a club steward for the last three years ââ?¬â?? said that her instructions were to take the seat numbers of those guilty of sectarian behaviour and report them to Rangers for further action. Walls, she said, was seen on a number of occasions in the first and second halves standing up and singing. He did this particularly when other fans had stopped singing the song, in an effort to get them to continue. "He was up and down out his seat every two minutes," said Miss Tait. "He had been asked to sit down a few times by another steward." She had reported his seat number at half-time and later saw him being escorted up the stairs by another steward and two police officers. Fellow Rangers stead Michael Rennie, 38, also identified Walls as singing the two best-known lines of the "Famine Song". He was also "constantly in the aisle", singing the song. Two friends of Walls, who were at the game denied that their pal had sung the "Famine Song" or made any other sectarian comments. Both claimed that the "Famine Song" had been sung by only a "small minority" of Rangers fans ââ?¬â?? in contrast to the evidence of stewards that as many as 90 per cent of the Rangers support in Rugby Parkââ?¬â?¢s Moffat stand had taken part. Under cross-examination by Mr Brown, one defence witness ââ?¬â?? David Hopkins, 25, of Glasgow ââ?¬â?? admitted that he had previously been banned from Ibrox, Hampden and Celtic Park. Addressing Sheriff McDonald, Mr Brown argued that while it was accepted that, at most, Walls had sung only two lines of the "Famine Song", it would be clear to the majority of those there that it was "telling people from Ireland to go home". "That, in itself, is a racist sentiment," he said. BY contrast, Bob McDowall, defending, argued that that would require a "quantum leap" by the court. "Evidence is led that one or two lines are used and it is implied that the rest of the song is meant," he said. "Says who?" Mr McDowall described the case as "novel" and "a very serious matter". "Ireland and the Irish are not mentioned in that stanza," he pointed out. Earlier Sheriff McDonald rejected a defence submission that there was no case on answer on the ground that the description of Wallsââ?¬â?¢s conduct given in evidence could not amount to a breach of the peace. Finding Walls guilty, Sheriff McDonald told him that "given the whole context" his conduct was "likely to be generally alarming and very disturbing to others". After the verdict, Mr Brown revealed that the accusedââ?¬â?¢s record included previous convictions for a breach of the peace with a football aggravation and for an offence with racial aggravations. http://www.kilmarnockstandard.co.uk/ayrshire-news/news-east-ayrshire/kilmarnock-news/2008/11/26/rangers-fan-fined-over-singing-famine-song-at-rugby-park-81430-22348515/

Not good but funny anyway.

Jeroen van den Broeck has completed his move from Rangers to AGOVV in Holland. The attacking midfielder has signed a contract with the Eerste Divisie outfit after a successful trial period. He has already been allocated the number 24 shirt for the new season after convincing the Apeldoorn club he was worth taking on. The 19-year-old failed to make a single first team appearance at Ibrox and has previously undergone a trial with Brugge. The Gers snapped the Belgian up after spotting him playing amateur football in Spain. === i didnt know anything about the boy - anyone ever seen him?

Rangers are to offer a trial to the younger Brother of Italian superstar, Andreas Pirlo. Olaf Pirlo, currently on AC Milan's books as a youth player, has been invited to attend Murray Park for a week, and early indications are that he has been seduced by Rangers' attempts to lure him away from the Italian giants by sending Chairman David Murray's private jet to transport him to Glasgow, with current 007 star Daniel Craig as pilot. The deal is thought to be similar to that which took ex-Gers star Rino Gattuso to Glasgow in 1996, and Pirlo revealed Gattuso's part in the move. "Gennaro has told me great things about Rangers and Glasgow, including the culinary aspects regarding my favourite dish, pizza.

As long as he keeps the ball out of the net i don't care who he is shagging. Just because her father has a bad name does not make the daughter a bad person, so the only bad thing is having an affair on the side. Hey better men than him have done that. Dirty wee lucky barsteward.:fish:

Thought this was a great read. At the time I had never seen anything like this and wish that the eye injury had never of happened. I always stated at the time I would love to see a front two of Negri and Mols. Sadly not to be. Another case of what could have been

Allen ends brief Leicester reign Looks like Mandaric and Allen fell out over Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Mandaric had negotiated with him to sign permanently, whereas Allen wanted him on trial. I have a certain amount of sympathy for Allen, surely medelling chairmen like Mandaric (and Romanov etc) must drive managers nuts!

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/16047/Qu-Bo-says-no-to-Rangers- RANGERS have been foiled in a bid to land Chinese World Cup star Qu Bo. Express Sport can reveal that Walter Smith had hoped to bring the international striker over on trial but that move has been blocked by his club, Qingdao. The Chinese Super League club had initially given their 27-year-old striker permission to travel to Scotland but that agreement has now fallen through due to Rangers and Qingdao's new season commitments. Rangers wrote personally to issue the invitation to Qu Bo and hoped to get him over after China's Asian Cup campaign but that has now collapsed. His club are keen to cash-in on their �£1 million-rated star but the timing meant that the Ibrox trial was going to run too close to the Chinese signing deadline and Qingdao don't think they had enough time to find a suitable replacement. Qu Bo has been told that he can come over on trial in November but now the frontman, who can also play wide on the right, faces an anxious wait to see if Walter Smith will go back in for him. The Chinese star is seen as his country's top frontman and played in all three World Cup games back in 2002 against Brazil, Turkey and Costa Rica. Not long after that he had a successful trial at Tottenham where he was offered a contract but it collapsed because of work permit problems. Former Rangers boss Graeme Souness at Blackburn was also keen on him but he also failed to get a work permit but since then Qu Bo has played in enough domestic and international games to meet the strict British criteria. If Rangers do keep the door open for him then he could become the third Chinese professional to play in the SPL after Du Wei's infamous stop-off at Celtic and Fan Zhiyi also has a brief spell at Dundee. Rangers, though, are aware there could be a massive commercial spin-off if they do decide to take a chance on Qu Bo.

There's some pics of him over at the official site in today's training section. Looks a bit like Justin Lee Collins...

The club have also signed Austrian midfielder Marco Michetschlager, 17, from Admira Wacker on a six-month loan deal and he will go into Billy Kirkwood's Under-19 squad. I can't see this posted anywhere but why would we loan a 17 year old player if we were not interested in signing him. I guess this is actually a trial for him.

Well that is English Clubs out of equation as he wants to stay in Scotland and i would say Celtic are out as well considering how many players they have got. So really it must be us and Hearts if there still intrested

http://www.thisisjersey.com/sport/sport7.html De Andrade called back by Rangers FC By Lauren Gouyette TALENTED Jersey footballer Jason De Andrade has flown back from a week's trial at Glasgow Rangers FC with news that he will soon be returning to the club. The 17-year-old Highlands student has already received an e-mail from coach Tommy Wilson inviting him back to the club in July, but as the central midfielder's father Maurice explained it is unconfirmed how long it will be for. 'He's been at training sessions for a week with the under-19s and he's since had an e-mail from Tommy to say that they would like him back at the club although we don't know how long for - it could be one week, it could be three weeks but it seems very positive.' De Andrade, who plays for St Paul's, is believed to have bagged a trial after a taxi driver taking the chairman of Rangers FC, David Murray, recommended him as a promising young footballer. 'The next thing Tommy Wilson rang and asked Jason up for a trial,' said Maurice. 'We're now awaiting an e-mail with dates and times of the next trip and we'll take it from there,' he added. Anyone else know if Frank Arneson drives a taxi? ________ Herbal Store

Anyone heard of him? Is he left or right sided?

I remember this boy being mentioned last year. Hopefully the hype will stick and we can have a Klos mark 2 for the next 20 years.

Read in the paper today that he is close to signing for Manchester City after impressing in a trial game at Eastlands. Remember a few years back when Advocaat was manager we were very strongly linked to him. Seems his stock must have fallen big time in the intervening period, could have been worth a look by us though, nothing ventured nothing gained, and he was a pretty good goal scorer. Malky