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I haven't seen enough of McArthur to judge but i know he has been linked with us for a while. When i am watching rangers playing i don't really see the opponents unless they are far better than us.

As Walter Smith has seen off yet another manager across the city, Tony Mowbrayâ��s ultimately disastrous reign draws certain parallelâ��s with that of Smithâ��s predecessor at Ibrox. Paul Le Guen arrived in Govan to much fanfare and acclaim. The relatively youthful manager came to Scotland with a mightily impressive C.V. from his time at Lyon where he continued their domination of French football whilst punching above their weight in the Champions League. The job that awaited him at Rangers was markedly different to that of the French cracks. Rangers were not, at that time, top dogs in Scotland. Indeed we had fallen quite low under Alex McLeish after a couple of years of fantastic success. Le Guen was charged with returning us to the top of the pile in the SPL whilst utilising the nous of a more tactically and technically gifted foreign coach to elevate our performance and results on the European stage. The oft debated question on internet forums such as Gersnet was whether or not our fans had the patience to accept a couple of years of obscurity and a lack of trophies whilst the Frenchman modernised the club; changing attitude and habits and attempting to develop a conveyor belt of youth talent to supplement the squad. Clearly with the global economic crisis affecting the banks generosity putting greater strain on our finances allied to the fact that our income is dwarfed by that of Europeâ��s other top leagues (even the Championship has a far more lucrative t.v. deal than that of the SPL) a change of tact and direction was required. David Murray and many fans believed this bright young manager was the man to facilitate this change. Where this plan falls down, and this is something that confuses me, is how short term failure leads to long term success. We have seen over the last two years how badly we depend upon the Champions League bounty to break even or turn a small profit. Without the short term success, we do not have the financial clout to put in place the long-term vision for the club. An effective and efficient scouting system and a productive youth and modern youth academy requires considerable start up and running costs. Part of PLGâ��s master plan, and that too of Mowbray it seems, was to dismantle the current squad. Weed out the bad influences and those who would hinder the endeavour to completely rebuild and reinvent their respective clubs. Recent media reports suggest Celtic wasted somewhere in the region of �£20 million on Mowbrayâ��s vision including payments to West Brom for his and his assistantsâ�� services, financing his transfer dealings and his subsequent pay-off. PLGâ��s net spend was minimal and he graciously turned down his right to a substantial pay-off. However, he also did not spend all available cash when the problems with the team were easily identified and rectified immediately by Smith. So to successfully revolutionise a team and a club as a whole requires an enormous amount of finance currently not available to the Rangers management team. If our ultimate aim is to build a club and a team capable of sustaining itself and punching above its weight in Europe as the likes of Ajax and Porto have done previously, how then do we achieve that. It seems blindingly obvious that if this reconstruction requires serious financial muscle and Rangers rely heavily on the Champions League fortunes to prop up our balance sheet that our long term target must be made up of series of short term successes. Winning the SPL title year-on-year (as much as that is possible) and securing passage to the CL group stages must be the cornerstones, the pillars of this strategy. Walter Smith may operate with a tried and trusted strategy, a pragmatic approach that many view as safety first. A potential 6 trophies in 3 full seasonâ��s in charge including likely back to back titles will allow us to firstly stabilise, and if success is built upon, strengthen our financial position and build towards a more exciting and profitable future. This idea that we must take several steps backwards to take a large step forward has never added up when analysed rationally. It makes far more sense to build from a position of sense. It is doubtful it is even possible to prepare for long term and greater success without these short term victories. Walter Smith may not be the man to lead the club towards this future vision, but when he hangs up his managerâ��s clipboard he will leave the club in a far stronger position for a forward thinking bright young manager, like a PLG, to realise the clubâ��s lofty ambitions.

Interesting quotes.... http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/10/03/10/SOCCER_Rangers_Webster.html&TEAMHD=soccer

Walter Smith hopes Rangers will soon be in a position to resolve the contract situations of their players. More...

FEW FOOTBALL clubs embrace their own mythology quite like Celtic. They hang on to the folklore like a drowning man would a raft, speaking of the Celtic Way while telling themselves they are somehow different to the other lot, the vulgar team in blue with their anti-football and their negativity and their grinding performances that rarely allow for free spirit and flights of fancy. Celtic, goes the fable, are about beautiful football, about "success with flair" as John Reid, their chairman puts it. It's their way of things, their duty to the deities in their past. On the day they unveiled Tony Mowbray as the successor to Gor ADVERTISEMENTdon Strachan there was a feeling in the room, emanating from Reid and his chief executive, Peter Lawwell, and also held dear by the few fans allowed through the door, that Celtic were going back to their traditions. Mowbray, they said, had strong emotional connections with the club. He was, they stressed and re-stressed, a proud member of the Celtic family whose philosophy on how the game should be played chimed perfectly with the history of the place. Nobody said that Strachan hadn't possessed these qualities, but nobody needed to. Everybody knew that he wasn't Celtic minded. Talking later to some journalists, Reid acknowledged Strachan's great success in winning three consecutive SPL titles as well as two separate visits to the last 16 of the Champions League, but the chairman also allowed the impression to be formed that the brand of football Strachan had deployed wasn't in keeping with the story of the club. Mowbray promised to bring artistry to Parkhead, as their roots supposedly demanded. "The great enemy of the truth," said John F Kennedy, "is myth ââ?¬â?? persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." Lawwell and Reid bought the myth. They endorsed Mowbray's hair-brained notion of spending a season or two rebuilding his team even if it meant the likely loss of trophies. Even when the folly of his vision became abundantly obvious to anybody with eyes in their head, Mowbray received Lawwell's and Reid's public support. Reid said the club owed the manager its "moral backing" as he continued the redevelopment of the team. This creation of his would be carefully sculpted and reborn as a great footballing machine sometime in the future, a team full of elegance and craft, some kind of throwback to the way things were at Parkhead, circa the Tommy Burns years, which produced a whole load of lovely football but just one piece of silverware. The truth is that most of Celtic's greatest days in recent times were delivered on the back of the self-same qualities Walter Smith has brought to Rangers, qualities that Mowbray, in his befuddlement, seemed to demean in the wake of his epoch-making loss at St Mirren ââ?¬â?? namely, pragmatism and organisation and desire. A dogged refusal to get beaten was the raison d'etre of Martin O'Neill's Celtic. Sure, he had fabulous footballers at his disposal. And there was majesty in the ranks, no doubt about it. But above all other things ââ?¬â?? guile and goals ââ?¬â?? it was their manly acceptance of the pressure of Old Firm life that made them a success. They were fine players, but more than that, they were stand-up guys. Same with Wim Jansen's team. They didn't play particularly cosmic football, as Strachan would call it. But they played winning football. Strachan was cut from a similar cloth. When they appointed Mowbray and gave him the go-ahead to rip asunder a side that had won three titles and that had taken a fourth to the last day of the season, Lawwell and Reid forget their history. Celtic's prime duty to their fans and their traditions is not pretty football, but successful football. That is it. Full stop. End of story. Glorious failure (Burns) is in their DNA, and it is celebrated, but the thing they crave the most is victory. If the play is attractive into the bargain, then great. But every legend who ever walked in the door of the place would tell you that their primary responsibility was to win. That was lost under Mowbray. But it wasn't the only thing that was lost. Celtic's thinking has become distracted. Their famous paranoia was in danger of spiralling out of control had Mowbray stayed. Somebody needed to start banging heads together, but there was nobody. As sure as their board of directors bought the myth of the Celtic Way when opting for Mowbray they also bought the fantasy that everybody is out to get them; referees, journalists, the Scottish Football Association. They wallowed in the face of bad luck and awful refereeing decisions. A few weeks ago we stated in this space that their woe-is-us mentality, their apparent search for people to blame for their failing plight was a form of sporting cowardice. They had a bad situation on their hands and the way they opted to deal with it was to whinge incessantly instead of knuckling down like good professionals and trying to do something to arrest the decline. One of the problems is that they are so wrapped up in their own myth as victims nobody seemed to stand up. Certainly nobody stood up at St Mirren when things were going horrendously wrong the other night. What was that if not a shameful capitulation? That's partly because Mowbray cleared out a lot of the men who might have said or done something in these circumstances. Paul Hartley might have tried to snap them out of their self-pity. Or Stephen McManus. Or Gary Caldwell. Or Barry Robson. Or Scott McDonald. But those guys aren't around anymore. Some Celtic fans will tell you that most of that lot needed to go, that they weren't good enough for Celtic. Not good enough for the fantasy Celtic of Mowbray's imagination, perhaps. But plenty good enough to go to St Mirren and get a result, no? Finally, on Friday, we heard the things that needed to be said. We heard straight-talking and none of the fanciful guff of Mowbray's misguided months. The brutal honesty and the sharp focus came, of course, from Neil Lennon, a strangely peripheral figure in the Mowbray regime. Maybe he was too grounded in reality to be welcomed into the inner-circle, but he's the man now in any event. Maybe his inexperience is going to catch him out in the short term, but there was power in his words on Friday, there was a defiance and a straightforwardness about what he said that smacked of his great mentor, O'Neill. "I have told them that Wednesday night was totally unacceptable," said Lennon. "I never want to see that again. I made it pretty clear what is expected of them between now and the end of the season. I want them to play from the gut. They have their professional pride to play for with ten games left. They need to restore the club's reputation and their own. I think there is a softness about us. I'd like to eradicate that. I think mentally we're not as strong as we should be. Rangers have shown over the course of the season that they are quite able to grind out results and we've not been able to do that, we've only done it sporadically. I think there should be more of a tempo to our play as well, more concerted pressure, which I don't think we have enough of." Lennon spoke of wanting his team to have the same mentality as O'Neill's, wanting them to play hard, professional football and not accepting defeat. He didn't talk about the Celtic Way or his duty to entertain or his intention to win matches down the line at some stage. He knows how things are in Glasgow. The first step to being true to Celtic's traditions is to win. It's not rocket science, though his predecessor made it so at times. The board will be hoping against hope that Lennon can make a fist of this. Whether he has the coaching nous remains to be seen, but he's got a lot of other things in his locker, things like hunger and passion and commonsense, commodities that are far more relevant than the things that Lawwell and Reid saw in Mowbray on the day they presented him as the returning Messiah. Now that they've got their head out of the clouds again, maybe they can move forward.

Part One of the Treble has been completed and with a healthy lead in the SPL, Rangers travel to Dundee to retain their interest in the Scottish Cup. With injuries and suspensions again starting to build up, tomorrow evening's task won't be an easy one at a ground we regularly struggle at. First change to the team will be in defence with Allan McGregor a certainty to be recalled after his usual CIS holiday at the weekend. Despite his red card at Hampden, Danny Wilson should keep his place alongside captain Davie Weir, with Bougherra still out with a hamstring tear. Whittaker and Papac should complete our usual back five of late in the full-back roles although the former has been linked with a move into midfield. With Kirk Broadfoot also injured and Andy Little unimpressive at right back, that is unlikely. Injuries and suspension will also ensure a new look midfield for this vital cup tie. An injury time booking at Ibrox in the first game means he's suspended for the replay. Kevin Thomson is also suspended but if rumoured Rangers appeal his red card, he may be available while that process takes its course. Meanwhile, Steven Davis didn't train today but the manager and fans alike will be hoping he can make the starting line-up tomorrow. However, with difficult matches in the league coming up, he may be given a few more days to fully recover from the viral infection which seen him substituted at half-time at the Cup Final. Fortunately, despite our rapidly thinning squad, we still have a range of options for deputies. Maurice Edu has looked good in recent weeks so will assume a central midfield role irrespective of Davis' fitness. Other players in the frame will be Novo, Beasley, Naismith, Lafferty and Fleck who all have experience of a variety of midfield roles. Youngsters Jamie Ness and Thomas Kind Bendiksen are unlikely to be utilised although both have been training with the first team squad. Moving into attack and most bears will be expecting the fruitful partnership of Miller and Boyd to again be our front two. However, don't rule out a return to 4-5-1 tomorrow given Boyd's recent form has been below par while the likes of Naismith and Fleck play better in deeper roles. Kyle Lafferty will also be desperate for a return to a striking role if required. All in all, Walter Smith may decide to freshen up his squad and tactics after signs of stagnation in the last couple of months. However, with several first team players unavailable it is doubtful he'll make any more changes than already required even if the Scottish Cup may not hold the same significance as the League. The same character, commitment and industry seen on Sunday after going to 9 men will be required again tomorrow night if we're to keep our Treble hopes alive. Possible team (4-4-2): :sw: :wilson: :sp: :sn: :sd: :me: :nn: :kb: Prediction: Dundee Utd 1 : 2 Rangers

Kris Boyd insists he is the man for the big occasion despite years of missing out on crucial matches. More...

Took almost 2 years for the fans to chant his name - I don't Johnstone ever had his name chanted iirc. When Kenny Miller was on our radar far back as Spring 2008, well, we were all gutted weren't we? We all filled our heads with despair, that Walter and Ally had 'lost the plot', yours truly writing at the time that this was one of the biggest gambles of Smith's career. The day I saw Miller on our club's website in a Rangers jersey was a day which will stay with me. I was filled with horror, that this turncoat sub-par player was going to adorn our light blue. His club career had been littered with fairly average returns, with no period really standing out as good - Wolves, Derby, ourselves, and of course that lot over there had seen mediocrity with only the most sparing purple patch. I had a builder up, a fellow bear, and I mentioned to him my disgust at this signing - his reply was 'when's he been at his best?'. Answer? Scotland. Under the management of Walter Smith and Ally McCoist. I really didn't have a strong argument in protest - my feelings remained the same but he had a point and my mind was minorly open to Miller now. On Sunday he showed yet again why he's been one of the best signings Walter's ever made. He might not do it in every game, he might at times lose form (ok, *does* at times lose form) and occasionally his first touch is worse than Weir's punting. But he has never ever hidden, always works hard, has the stamina of a horse, and is 100% committed to the club he plays for. And when it really counted, and counts, he's produced the big moments on the big stage. Naismith's cross was fantastic, as was his run, but from that distance, getting a header as perfect as that took skill, guts, and sheer quality - and that's what Miller can be. Walter Smith and Ally McCoist get the best out of him, and truly now, having heard the fans chant his name, I hope he finally feels accepted. I got over myself by about October 2008 - looks like many of the rest of us are now finally following suit. There really is only one Kenny Miller and I am very, very glad I was so wrong about him.

Since he came back, some of Walter's signings, match tactics and team selections have been nothing short of awful. Who will forget Kaunas? At times he's thoroughly deserved the criticism he's been given. And yet the old bugger seems to have confounded his critics, myself included, by welding together something we haven't seen at Ibrox for many a long day - a team, a genuine Rangers team. He's turned dorks like Lee McCulloch and Steven Whittaker into players who regularly contribute to winning game after game. Fukk me, he's nearly turned Kenny Miller into a footballer. But more than anything else, he's done what every good Rangers manager has to do, he has totally dominated celtic. He's got them in total disarray, destroyed their self-belief, reduced them to howling in the wind like the dogs they are. I don't know how he does it but he's done it twice now and that requires recognition and credit. I think it's something to do with him being truly committed to the cause, just like the rest of us. In times to come, I think I'll look back on this time and remember that Walter Smith gave us back our pride. If this is to be his last season then his is starting to look like an important chapter in the story of Rangers.

Rangers boss Walter Smith admits his future will depend on club ownership rather than success. More...

andy_steel examines more hypocrisy from managers who should know better... http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/2010/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=236:houston-we-have-a-problem&catid=1:articles&Itemid=67 Another game, another moan. This time, Dundee Utd's Peter Houston- you may or may not have heard of him - muses aloud (read: questions referee's impartiality) whether the two penalties Rangers were awarded against his mediocre Dundee Utd team by referee Dougie MacDonald would have been given to his side. That the first one would have been given in 99% of games eludes him. That the second was a hideous manifestation of modern striking - i.e., hitting the deck at the slightest contact - is also too complex a theory for Mr Houston to digest. As one who grew up in the 80s, watching Andy Gray and Graeme Sharp beast English defences in the old Division One, and who before that had seen the likes of John Wark, Paul Mariner, and closer to home our own Colin McAdam throw their weight around, it does grate on the nerves to see grown men collapse when threatened with the body odour of a nearby defender. However, if Peter Houston is trying to convince me that on the Tannadice training pitch, he daily enjoins his front men to stay on their feet unless absolutely hammered by an opponent, and that they alone amongst 21st century football clubs play up, play up and play the game, he's got a long way to go. In short: bullshit! There's not a player in the tangerine of United who would stay on his feet any more than Kris Boyd, the Rangers striker in question this week. I'm quite happy to admit that most modern strikers are as wobbly on their feet as a drunk man on Port au Prince High Street. I can't see how we get from that to 'refs are biased toward Rangers!', though. I can see how we get from that to 'I want to put pressure on refs before the replay!,' though. But that premise rests on some assumption that Rangers HAVE been getting the breaks, and that all the other, persecuted teams in Scotland must somehow break the cycle of back scratchery between the MeninBlack and their evil, Establishment-linked Masters, based in the Citadel of Doom in south Glasgow. And proving that becomes ever more difficlut when one looks at other decisions, perhaps less widely publicised ones, which have also happened this season. Keeping narrowly to the Scottish Cup, the tournament in which Mr Houston believes he was unfairly penalised, we can quickly find some grist to a quite opposite mill. Consider this quote from our forum's eminent poster, '26th of Foot': This says it all for me. Refs make mistakes, but all teams benefit from them at times. It might not be at the time you really, really want it to: but it will happen at some point. You would think that having benefitted in the previous round from what was blatant cheating and a ref regarded universally as pretty poor, Mr Houston might have had the sense to keep his yap shut, but apparently not. So the question has to be: is he just plain dense, or does he just not think? Being a football manager doesn't mean you HAVE to be stupid, although quite a lot of the evidence on view would lead you to an opposite conclusion. Our own Walter Smith, although perhaps not a devotee of Satre or Montesquieu, is quite patently a clever man, well able to judge when a blast is appropriate, and when a diplomatic bodyswerve is called for. Mark McGhee, though to judge by results not much of a manager, is clearly better equipped to write about football than the vast majority of football writers; Craig Brown seems to me to a most intelligent person. So I can't accept the prima facie case that as a boss, Mr Houston is excused having to think. I have to conclude that he's 'at it.' What a pitiful display from a grown man! What laughable hypocrisy, coming from a Dundee United employee! Certainly I can't speak for anyone else, but I try to leave a legacy my children won't be ashamed of, even if they should think me the biggest prize chump of all time. Don't these football types care that their immature drivel will be preserved online and in print for all eternity? I would love to see a new rule introduced into Scottish football, and beyond for that matter, which would be a maturity test for all managers. Anyone who falls into the maturity range of a toddler (most managers, I feel) would be barred from employment until they have sat in the hall and thought about what they've done. Any display of petulance would be met with a sound spanking, and for repeat offenders no River City for a fortnight. In short, for God's sake - will you please grow up?

DUNDEE UNITED goal hero Mihael Kovacevic accused Kris Boyd of diving to win a crucial penalty for Rangers as Dougie McDonald was caught up in yet another Ibrox refereeing storm. The Light Blues were awarded two first-half spot-kicks in a thrilling Scottish Cup quarter-final which will go to a replay after a 3-3 draw and Tangerines gaffer Peter Houston branded them both soft. And that has left whistler McDonald at the centre of yet more controversy just two weeks after he was criticised by the Celtic camp for red carding Hoops captain Scott Brown. This time the man in the middle awarded Walter Smith's men two penalties with Kris Boyd blasting them both home as the Scottish Cup holders came back from United substitute Andis Shala's early opener. Nacho Novo then looked to have booked a place in the semi-final with an early second-half goal but United staged a stunning comeback and Morgaro Gomis' deflected effort and Kovacevic's late goal forced a replay on Wednesday week. United were still seething afterwards, however, at the penalty awards for Dusan Pernis' challenge on Kenny Miller which earned him a booking and Sean Dillon's apparent push on Boyd. Kovacevic pointed the finger at Rangers' No. 9 and said: "He fell a bit easily and I'm disappointed in Kris Boyd. Maybe if I was a striker I'd do the same but I'm a defender and don't like people doing that. "Sean doesn't think it was a penalty either and he was very angry afterwards. I am sure the first one wasn't a penalty because the ball changed direction. I spoke to Dusan and he told me the same and I think the second one was soft. "I wasn't thinking about the keeper getting sent off because our first reaction was to go to the ref and he was under pressure. He wasn't really sure about it so we thought he might take it back. "I don't think it's easy for the referees either in a big stadium with a big crowd. We are a bit unlucky with the referees but maybe it's not only us. "I didn't think about the fact he was the referee in the Old Firm game, I only remembered when someone told me after the match but we're a bit sad about those two penalties." Houston added: "I was disappointed to lose what I thought were two soft penalties. I might be wrong but I thought Dusan got his foot to the ball. "And the second one there could have been a foul on Danny Swanson as we were attacking. He felt his heels were clipped." This is all getting a bit boring and it's time the SFA stepped in and start punishing this non stop onslaught of referees by players and managers.I could be wrong but I thought the managers had agreed at the beginning of the season not to slate the refs???, I'm not saying I agree with this but if it was agreed with all the managers then it's time to start fining them IMO.

Walter Smith fears Gers could take their eye off the ball as everyone is expecting them to secure the Treble. More...

REMEMBER when this Rangers team was ââ?¬Å?the worst in living memoryââ?¬Â? Remember when they were so poor that Celtic were being told Tony Mowbray had been handed the championship on a plate? Back when Champions League tourists were queueing up to stick four past them at Ibrox, the beating Rangers took off the park was equally merciless. A lot
of people mouthed off about how rank rotten they were. There wasnââ?¬â?¢t much Walter Smith could say about it all back then, after Sevilla and Unirea Urziceni had fired in goal after goal in Glasgow. He had to hold his tongue while some Rangers supporters, presumably just out of school, were letting off steam about it being the poorest team to wear the colours. Thatââ?¬â?¢ll be poorer than the side which finished fifth in the league in 1986, then? No-one seems to be coming out with that sort of guff any more. It would look pretty stupid if they did. Rangers have wobbled a few times, including yesterday, but they have lost one domestic match since last April. The starting point for any analysis is that they are demonstrably better than any other side in this country. They havenââ?¬â?¢t been able to buy anyone for ages but over the past three months they have recycled the way they are perceived. Today, there is a general recognition that this group of players have enviable qualities after all. Not losing football matches, for one. So how good is this team which is running away with the league and could end up winning a treble? Smith has laid his cards on the table. Heââ?¬â?¢s miffed that they donââ?¬â?¢t get enough appreciation or credit for a year of domestic consistency. Theyââ?¬â?¢re getting much warmer treatment these days than they did when they were being shown up in Europe, but Smith wants more. He reckons everyone took a mental snapshot of Rangers on the way to the Uefa Cup final two years ago ââ?¬â?? organised, disciplined, committed, defensive to the point of tedium ââ?¬â?? and havenââ?¬â?¢t bothered to update. Heââ?¬â?¢s fed up hearing about ââ?¬Å?resilientââ?¬Â Rangers ââ?¬Å?grinding outââ?¬Â a result. It is entirely natural for Smith to feel protective of, and grateful to, such a tight and close squad of players. But ââ?¬Å?resilientââ?¬Â isnââ?¬â?¢t such a bad description. Itââ?¬â?¢s not the worst thing to be able to recover readily from adversity (embarrassment in Europe, losing Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller and Madjid Bougherra for spells of the season, having to sell Pedro Mendes without hope of a replacement). And as for ââ?¬Å?grinding outââ?¬Â results, thatââ?¬â?¢s just a synonym for consistency. Grinding out a result simply means getting a win or a draw from a mediocre or patchy performance. They did it yesterday. They have won more, lost fewer, scored more, conceded fewer and gathered more points than the league leaders had at this stage last season. They parked the bus in Europe ââ?¬â?? for all the good it did them ââ?¬â?? but they arenââ?¬â?¢t defensive in Scotland. They play a straightforward 4-4-2 and have scored 11 goals more than anyone else in the league. There have been 15 games this season where they have scored three or more goals. Everyone knows about Boyd and Miller, but 29 of Rangersââ?¬â?¢ strikes in all competitions have come from their midfield or back four. The perception of Rangers has been entirely shaped by the financial handcuffs on Smith, the fact he has a shrinking squad and has not been able to buy anyone in the last three transfer windows. But they still have a reservoir of experienced international players. Results in January proved that when they have injuries or suspensions their results can go haywire but, for the most part, the same faces have been available week after week. Smith is never going to recruit the number of cheerleaders for his team that he might like. All their admirable qualities donââ?¬â?¢t add up to Rangers being an exciting or memorable side. They score plenty of goals but, above all, they really are resilient and solid and they graft and get in the oppositionââ?¬â?¢s faces. The maulings they received in Europe only three months ago showed their place in football every bit as much as their dominance of the Scottish scene does. If they were dropped back into Europe tomorrow they would be exposed, pulled around and beaten again. Itââ?¬â?¢s not Rangersââ?¬â?¢ fault that no-one in Scotland can get the better of them. If they do win everything this season, how will this Rangers team be remembered? For Boydââ?¬â?¢s goals? For the pragmatic, functional way they have swotted away dreamy Mowbray? Probably not. First and foremost itââ?¬â?¢ll become ââ?¬Å?the season when Walter Smith won it without any moneyââ?¬Â. The manager would think this unjust, but it could be a team which wins a treble but isnââ?¬â?¢t remembered for its football at all. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/treble-chance-but-just-how-will-this-rangers-team-be-remembered-1.1013285

You won't like him when he's angry By Mark Hateley on Mar 11, 10 09:45 AM in walter smith If Tony Mowbray has learned anything from his first catastrophic season in Celtic's hotseat then it is surely not to wind up Walter Smith. I've lost count of the amount of mistakes the Parkhead club have made - on and off the park - throughout this incredible campaign but the single biggest blunder of the lot has been the complete lack of respect they have shown to the man in charge of the club across the city. Walter has had steam coming out of his ears for some time now because of a stream of insults and excuses spewing out of Celtic Park and he has responded like a man possessed. First things first.No wonder my old boss is quietly furious with the furore his rivals have been kicking up. They've blamed the refs, they've blamed the SFA, they've blamed the state of the pitches. They've accused everyone but themselves for the fact their team has performed so hopelessly since Mowbray took charge. All this crap about the "establishment" conspiring against them left a bad taste in the mouth of anyone who cares about the Scottish game. That is the kind of paranoid pap only the most deranged of supporters would cling to. But it seems pretty clear to the watching world from the comments which have been made during the last few months that Mowbray and his paymasters are buying into it too. It's pathetic. It's laughable. But it hasn't half given Walter a fire in his belly during what must have been the most trying and difficult 12 months of his career as a manager. It would've been understandable - given the financial upheaval which has been going on behind the scenes at Ibrox - if Walter had begun to feel drained by it all some months ago. He's been fighting a losing battle at boardroom level and has been left to fend for himself without any kind of support from the people running his club. Two years without buying a player? Working without a contract since January? Just about every other manager I know would have told the money men where to ram it some time ago. Walter stayed because of his love of the club - but even that will have been tested to the full. And then, just when you begin to wonder how he can possibly continue to motivate himself and his players... along come Celtic and their big book of excuses. In short, they have been an inspiration for everyone at Rangers. Walter has always been an expert in man-management but I don't think he could have dreamed for better ammunition than he has been given by Mowbray and the men running his biggest rivals. At the start of this season Rangers were as low as low could be after a disastrous, humiliating Champions League campaign. Confidence had hit rock bottom and I suspect even the great man's appetite for the battle was beginning to wane. He had been rabbit punched. He knew his group had been together for too long without new faces to freshen it up. He knew he would have problems picking them back up. And he knew Celtic were in a position to throw money at their team in an all-out attempt to win a two-horse race. What he couldn't have possibly bargained for, however, was just how badly the other lot would mess it all up. From Mowbray's mishandling of players in the early days of the season to his mass clear-out in January, it's been one cock-up after the next. Clearing out proven winners such as Gary Caldwell, Stephen McManus, Barry Robson and Scott McDonald was almost beyond belief. And it looks even more stupid now Celtic are 13 points off the pace at the top of the table and McDonald is still their top scorer a month and half after moving to Middlesbrough! Because of this list of ludicrous decisions Celtic have mounted a sustained and sinister campaign to cast some kind of doubt over the integrity of this entire Scottish set-up. And that is simply unforgivable. They have thrown accusations around on a seemingly weekly basis. The excuses they have come up with for their own shortcomings get more and more ridiculous by the day. They have attempted to blacken the reputation of the entire Scottish game but have succeeded only in making a mockery of themselves. But they were right about one thing. There is indeed something rotten in the state of the SPL - and it's festering away in Glasgow's East End. No wonder my old boss has taken it badly. Because of Celtic's attempts to deflect attention away from the real reasons why they are in such an awful mess, they have shown utter contempt for the magnificent achievements of Smith and his players. But, in doing so, they have also handed their rivals all the incentive they need to make sure they finish off the job. Rangers have been phenomenal this season and the way they have been playing in recent weeks suggests to me they have taken Celtic's nefarious smear campaign very personally indeed. I expect them to ram the point home now in the coming weeks. If they can win a treble then it will be a miraculous feat and they will deserve all the credit that comes their way. They have performed as a unit and a team with a single-minded determination to prove they are the best side in the country. No excuses. In all my time I'm not sure I've ever seen Walter so fired up. He'll want to win every game left now to leave no one in any doubt as to the quality of his team to wrap up a domestic clean sweep. If Rangers can do that then it will arguably be the greatest season of Walter's career and thanks to Mowbray and Celtic,almost certainly the sweetest.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/solid-foundation-rangers-have-third-best-defensive-record-in-europe-1.1006765 Interesting and pleasing statistic!

Walter Smith will sit down with David Weir at the end of the season to discuss extending the veteran defenderââ?¬â?¢s love affair with Rangers. And the Gers skipper has not ruled out staying on for another campaign as he continues to defy the sands of time. Weir, who turns 40 in May, has been named Clydesdale Bank Premier League player of the month for February thanks to his solid displays at the back as Rangers continue their quest for the Treble. The centre-half was only expected to be at the club for a few months when he signed in January, 2007, but has proved to be the ââ?¬Å?perfect professionalââ?¬Â in Smithââ?¬â?¢s eyes. ââ?¬Å?As we have done for the last three years, we will speak at the end of the season,ââ?¬Â said the Rangers boss. ââ?¬Å?Thatââ?¬â?¢s the agreement that we have and thatââ?¬â?¢s what we will do again. ââ?¬Å?He has not only exceeded expectations, he has exceeded the length of time that he would be here. ââ?¬Å?I hoped he would come in for the remaining period of the first season for four or five months and, at a stretch, the following season. The two years extra he has had have been terrific. ââ?¬Å?Whatever awards he receives, he deserves. His form has been terrific for Rangers this season. ââ?¬Å?He brings a great deal to our club and is well-respected by everyone for his attitude and manner. ââ?¬Å?He is as close to a perfect professional as you will get. I know from my spell at Everton and with the national team that he is respected in every team that he plays.ââ?¬Â Weir will stick to the script that has served him well, evaluating things at the end of the season before making a decision. He said: ââ?¬Å?I have genuinely not thought about staying on for another season. Since I have been here I have played until the end of the season and then looked to see what options I have ââ?¬â?? if any ââ?¬â?? and take it from there. ââ?¬Å?This season will be the same. Hopefully there will be a successful outcome and then weââ?¬â?¢ll take it from there. ââ?¬Å?Itââ?¬â?¢s going to be over for me at some point, but my priority is to be successful, this week and next week and the end of the season will take care of itself. ââ?¬Å?I have enjoyed every minute of being here. As far as Iââ?¬â?¢m concerned itââ?¬â?¢s the best club in the world.ââ?¬Â Weir, meantime, insists there is no chance of Rangers underestimating Kilmarnock tonight ââ?¬â?? having watched Celtic suffer defeat in their last visit to Rugby Park. The Hoops had been on a high following the high-profile capture of Robbie Keane, but their bubble was burst just 24 hours later when they returned to the east end of Glasgow empty-handed. Rangers make the trip to Ayrshire hoping to increase their 10-point lead at the top of the table. But Weir believes that advantage will count for nothing if they are not on top form against Jimmy Calderwoodââ?¬â?¢s men. ââ?¬Å?All the games in the SPL are tough, but the away games are particularly hard,ââ?¬Â said the Ibrox skipper. ââ?¬Å?We know Kilmarnock always give us a game. Celtic went there recently and it was tough. We know it will be the same for us. We have to get ourselves right and be up for it or we wonââ?¬â?¢t win.ââ?¬Â http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/editor-s-picks-ignore/david-weir-s-fine-romance-is-an-affair-to-remember-for-walter-smith-1.1012187

Walter Smith has admitted he will hold contract talks with David Weir at the end of the season. More...

Walter Smith insists takeover talks for Rangers will not affect his squad's ability to finish the season in style. More...

Another OF triumph for the Rangers over the forces or darkness which results in another week of the media bleating about perceived injustices all against the MOPES. Lets get one thing straight here, we deserved our victory over the MOPES as we outplayed, outfought and outthought them and the all the refereeing decisions certainly didnââ?¬â?¢t favour us. Scott Brown (i.e lego eater) deserved his red card ââ?¬â?? it was for violent conduct and head-butting an opponent in the chest is certainly violent conduct. Only one option for the referee - a straight red card for Brown, as a result of this incident, the media have tried to shift the spotlight, and blame on Kyle Lafferty. His only crime in this incident was to be attacked by Brown. Next up, they complain that Boogie should have walked for ââ?¬Ë?persistent foulingââ?¬â?¢ of Robbie Keane. Perhaps they have a case, but no mention of the persistent fouling for Nââ?¬â?¢Guemo, including a ââ?¬Ë?nether regionsââ?¬â?¢ high assault on Kris Boyd. He certainly committed as many ââ?¬Ë?foulsââ?¬â?¢ as. Again, no mention that Kamera should have received a 2nd yellow card for diving in the first half, or of the stone-wall penalty that we should have received with Hinkle fouled Edu in the box. It could also be argued that our disallowed goal should have been allowed to stand as Kenny Miller inadvertently handled the ball whilst trying to avoid a Celtic boot taking his head off. However, none of this evidence suits their agenda. There has also been little said about the disruption of yet another minutes silence by the MOPES and their repugnant ââ?¬Ë?welcomeââ?¬â?¢ to a true hero, Simon Weston. The entire Celtic end chanting ââ?¬Ë? Argentinaââ?¬â?¢ as Simon was presented a Rangers jersey. These ââ?¬Ë?peopleââ?¬â?¢ never fail to outdo themselves when it comes to showing themselves up in front of the watching nation. However, they do this in the knowledge that all or most if it will go unreported and unpunished. Back to the game itself and once again Walter Smith for all his deficiencies managed to set up a Rangers team to defeat Celtic. We were all over them like a rash for the majority of the game and deserved our victory. It is hard to single players out in occasions like this but Thompson, Davis & Weir were outstanding and the rest of the team were not far behind. We had no real failures with everyone involved contributing to the performance. One of the most pleasing things to come from Sunday was the players and staff reaction to the goal. This just reemphasised the team spirit that we currently have with everyone galvanised behind the club. In these uncertain times, itââ?¬â?¢s something that we must endeavour to keep to the forefront. No doubt the agenda driven media will not give us the credit we are due for this season, but that makes it even sweeter, we can feel their pain. We might not be firing on all cylinders at the moment, but we are continuing with the momentum that should see us deliver our first back to back league triumph in a decade and we are also in pole position to land another historic treble. Lets keep focused Bears and lets ensure that this season ends with a glorious treble (almost unthinkable given the financial restraints we are currently operating under). Best moments from Sunday (in no particular order) : Kevin Thompsonââ?¬â?¢s rattling tackles in the opening minutes Kevin Thompsonââ?¬â?¢s rattling of the ball into a certain Mr Kameraââ?¬â?¢s nether regions Mo Eduââ?¬â?¢s 40-yard thunder-bolt of a finish with virtually the last kick of the ball to secure our well deserved victory! The jubilant scenes that followed that winning goal Meeting West Brom and Scotland midfield player Graham Dorrans on the way out of Ibrox Debating whether Robbie Keane & Adian McGeady were actually playing Watching Frankie doing 'cart-wheels' when Rangers scored (see other thread!) Listening to the drunken gibberish spouting from 'senior' Gersnet members through the entire game Cammy F - Better Late Than Never Loyal RSC

Rangers manager Walter Smith insists he is none the wiser on talk the SPL giants could be taken over. More...

Rangers manager Walter Smith insists poor refereeing decisions are not just reserved for rivals Celtic. More...

THERE is consistent, and then there is Rangers this season. Even their Champions League campaign was impressively uniform ââ?¬â?? three comprehensive defeats at Ibrox, together with some closer-run things away from home. But in the domestic game, Walter Smith's side have been remorseless. Three 0-0 draws in their opening six league matches did not lead to wild excitement in the stands, but set the tone for a campaign which has been built so far on defensive solidity. ADVERTISEMENT They have now recorded six clean sheets in their last seven outings. Sunday's 1-0 victory over Celtic was a study in giving little away. They have conceded only eight goals in the league at home, and one fewer on their travels. How can Celtic even begin to contemplate eating away at a ten-point lead when the team at the top seem so resolute? The pursuers require a collapse on the part of Rangers. Sunday showed why this seems an even more fanciful notion than Celtic's claims of bias against their team this season. Though Rangers' season has been ignited by spells when they have excelled in front of goal, it is at the back where the champions have taken command of the league. Their strength in this department has told in clashes with Celtic ââ?¬â?? just as it did last season. Scott Brown's red card dominated the post-match discussions at Ibrox and obscured the central reason why Celtic were beaten. They did not do enough to win the match. Two shots on target ââ?¬â?? compared with 11 for Rangers ââ?¬â?? tells its own story, as does Celtic's tally of just two goals in three Old Firm fixtures this season. Madjid Bougherra was an influential performer on Sunday but was playing in his first Old Firm match of the campaign. His partner at centre-half, David Weir, has featured in all three and, on Sunday, in his 40th year, played his 36th club match of the season. There are not too many further places to look to understand where it has gone right for Rangers this season. On Sunday, against an admittedly far-from-fit Robbie Keane, Weir staged another masterclass in defending by employing one's wits. He was rarely extended and showed exactly why Smith was prompted to offer the defender another year's contract last year. Remarkably, whether or not he will be playing for Rangers next season seems to depend more on his own desire to continue travelling back and forth from his home in Cheshire. The Ibrox club, surely, will wish to retain his services. Weir, however, may wish to bow out on a high. It is not beyond the realms to imagine the player calling a halt to his career while captain of a treble-winning side, and reigning player of the year to boot. Intriguingly, the football writers' dinner in May, when their award is announced, takes place on the eve of Weir's 40th birthday. Even watching the centre-half warm-up on Sunday was instructive. Kenny McDowall, the first-team coach, tossed balls into the air for him, and the disgust with which Weir reacted following a less-than-firm connection signalled a man not content to simply trade on former glories. During the game itself Weir was involved in one comical moment in the Celtic box when, with the ball having surprisingly fallen at his feet, he swung one leg at it and missed. He then tripped over the ball with his other leg. But, although Celtic broke up-field from this moment of high farce, it was still Weir who somehow made it back to mop up. It was an inspirational performance from Weir, and while the likes of Allan McGregor, Keane and even referee Dougie McDonald stole the spotlight, it was the veteran defender who kept his head yet again. Even Smith showed he can get carried away after the winner from Maurice Edu with almost the last kick of the ball. Weir, at the end, took time to shake the hand of each Celtic opponent, despite the delirium of just a few moments earlier. Off the field as well as on it, Weir is influential. Steven Naismith has spoken of the skipper's banning of the word "treble" in and around the dressing room. Rangers are reaping the dividend of having this father figure on the pitch. It is in direct contrast with Celtic. A few weeks ago at St Johnstone, Celtic manager Tony Mowbray even wrapped a captain's band around Darren O'Dea's arm. The player had only just returned from a period in stir at Reading. Now Scott Brown is the leader of the gang. However harsh Brown's red card on Sunday, and in this observer's eyes it did appear a severe reaction from the referee, there is an upward movement of the Celtic midfielder's head into Kyle Lafferty's body as they tussle. It doesn't do for a skipper to be so lacking in judgment in a game that his side must win. It is fair to assume that Celtic's title challenge ended with his departure from the field. The cheering Rangers supporters sensed it too. The manner of their side's victory was an extra psychological blow for Celtic, who were edging ever closer to shutting out Rangers for the first time this season. It would have been a small "victory", particularly since a 0-0 draw would only have maintained the status quo. Mowbray conceded later that the title can only be lost now by Rangers. It is hard to credit that a team whose progress during this campaign has been pinned to resoluteness will begin throwing things away now. http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/Rangers39-strength-is-built-from.6114305.jp

Rangers manager Walter Smith is refusing to begin SPL title-winning celebrations. More...

Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor has been questioned by police over alleged "inconsistencies" in his claim to have been assaulted outside a nightclub. McGregor had alleged the attack happened in Bath Street, Glasgow, on Saturday night. It was reported that McGregor was treated in hospital for facial injuries after being violently assaulted. The 28-year-old keeper was not interviewed under caution and he was not charged by police. BBC Scotland understands he was taken from Rangers' Murray Park training ground to Stewart Street police station where he was questioned for about two hours. Detectives arrived at Rangers' training ground while the club's manager Walter Smith was giving a press conference. The goalkeeper, who was left out of the Scotland squad because of his injury from the incident, trained as normal. Smith had declared him fit and available for selection ahead of Sunday's crunch Old Firm match. Police inquiries into this incident are continuing, as well as into a previous allegation of sexual assault, made some months ago against the goalkeeper. Rangers have refused to comment on the situation. BBC