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

Do Rangers have a new gem in John Fleck? It is too early to say, but in an age scarce for precocious Scottish talent, the 17-year-old certainly looks something to savour. On Saturday, Ibrox once more rose and paid tribute to the young midfield player, perhaps with gratitude as much as pride, given the way Walter Smithââ?¬â?¢s team toiled to overcome Dundee United. While Rangersââ?¬â?¢ teething problems continue, over on their left flank there remains a rare ray of light. Fleck, blessed with a robust physical presence, has a wonderful poise over the ball, enabling him to skip past opponents, and can also see a pass. He also has bags of confidence, as evident in the way he hungrily grabbed the ball for himself, after Mihael Kovacevic had pulled him down, to shoot home the 76th-minute penalty that set Rangers on course for this win. For Rangers fans there was an obvious downside. Part of the reason for the adulation of Fleck was born of relief, given the sheer poverty of Rangersââ?¬â?¢ approach up until then. Facing a five-man midfield is nothing new these days but Smithââ?¬â?¢s men got into quite a stew trying to find a way past United. Rangers created precious few chances and, as has been the case so often before, an increasingly irate Ibrox crowd let them know about it. Related Links * No worry over lack of Ibrox transfers * Chairman defends Rangers housekeeping * Novo fires Rangers into the final The young man on their left-midfield, however, remained unfazed by it all, and there is going to be excitement around Ibrox at seeing how well Fleck can progress. It wouldnââ?¬â?¢t surprise anyone if Walter Smith chose to rest him for Wednesday eveningââ?¬â?¢s glamour friendly against AC Milan, but his Rangers future looks full of promise. ââ?¬Å?It is scary how good he is,ââ?¬Â Steven Whittaker said of Fleck. ââ?¬Å?Heââ?¬â?¢s got talent in abundance and has shown that he is more than capable of playing on this stage. Heââ?¬â?¢s got a great future ahead of him. John has got that special type of talent ââ?¬â?? he sees pictures in his head. His touch and his contribution are very good.ââ?¬Â An irate Ibrox crowd? How often have we seen this before? Kris Boyd, in particular, became the object of scorn from a section of the Govan faithful. This was one of those classic occasions the striker would sooner forget, when all he does is replenish the ammunition of those who, bizarrely, want him removed from Ibrox. Boyd fluffed at this and fluffed at that as the play bobbled around him and became a desolate figure in the second half as United began to press. And the crowd let him know of it. ââ?¬Å?Four million pounds-worth of mince!ââ?¬Â a voice boomed from the main stand as Boyd ââ?¬â?? the subject of such a bid from Birmingham City ââ?¬â?? was relieved of duty by his manager after 73 minutes to make way for Kyle Lafferty. And as the poor Rangers striker trudged to the touchline, another voice rang out: ââ?¬Å?Aye, Boyd, just you keep walking... right out the front door.ââ?¬Â His manager gave him a heartfelt handshake as the striker sank into the dugout. Smith knows how unforgiving Ibrox can be. Fleckââ?¬â?¢s penalty with 14 minutes remaining, and Laffertyââ?¬â?¢s goal right on the 90th minute, spared Rangers any more angst. United, however, were once more a credit under Craig Levein, and are well and truly the third force again in Scottish football. With Willo Flood having gone, the battle goes on for Levein to keep his squad keen and vigorous with players that have remained under the radar. In such as Flood, Craig Conway, Scott Robertson and Morgaro Gomis, Levein has revealed his perceptive eye for a player, and over these remaining 24 hours of the transfer window he wants to try to acquire a new midfield player for Tannadice. The situation is all the more acute given Robertsonââ?¬â?¢s absence through injury for up to two months. ââ?¬Å?If your team is doing well you have to accept that the vultures will start to arrive,ââ?¬Â Levein said when asked about the loss of Flood to Celtic. ââ?¬Å?You just have to get on with it. My job is to find new players, but there is no doubt these have been a tough three or four days for us.ââ?¬Â Just three days earlier, United had lost to Celtic after 120 pulsating minutes and 24 penalties in the Cooperative Insurance Cup semi-final, but you wouldnââ?¬â?¢t have known they felt drained at Ibrox. While Leveinââ?¬â?¢s side have played better football than this, they remain a force to be reckoned with, on good days or bad. ââ?¬Å?I have some fantastic players and it was a testament to us that we came here expecting to win,ââ?¬Â Levein said. ââ?¬Å?We didnââ?¬â?¢t play particularly well but we worked our backsides off and the game was on a knife-edge for 75 minutes... basically, until their penalty. We were well in it up until then.ââ?¬Â Levein complained that the award against United was ââ?¬Å?softââ?¬Â, yet all the danger was caused by Fleck, who squirrelled into Unitedââ?¬â?¢s box from the inside-left channel and immediately got the better of Kovacevic. The United defender was forced to hastily try to stop the Rangers youngster, and Fleck hit the deck. Soft or not, plenty have been given in such circumstances, and Rangers were grateful to suddenly have their lead. Strangely, United wilted when both Jon Daly and David Goodwillie arrived to make up a three-man attack for the final 15 minutes, and Rangers eased to victory. With seconds remaining, Lafferty was left to prod a shot home from 18 yards after Lukasz Zaluska had saved from Barry Ferguson. Rangers, though, were under no illusions. ââ?¬Å?We were off the pace for an hour, and we struggled,ââ?¬Â Smith said. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article5636186.ece

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

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

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

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

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

DAVID WEIR believes his good friend and former teammate John Hughes deserves great credit for the job he has done at Falkirk over the years and is confident his hometown club can pull clear of the SPL relegation zone in the next couple of months. David WeirRangers' League Cup semi-final opponents are currently languishing in eleventh place in the league table after a disappointing first-half to the season and four wins from 23 games has sent their confidence crashing. Weir, however, believes the form book will go out the window tonight at Hampden and that both sets of players will give their all to make it through to a showcase final against either Celtic or Dundee United on March 15. It will be a special evening for the 38-year-old defender who still has fond memories of his three year spell at Falkirk and being in a squad with Yogi Hughes. Davie joined the then First Division side in 1992 and went on to play over 100 games in a Dark Blue jersey. At that time survival football was served up on the old Brockville menu with the club skipping back and forth between divisions. And Weir insists that the current crop of players at the Falkirk Stadium have more than enough quality to avoid the drop and start climbing the league before May. He said: "I don't think staying in the SPL will be a problem for Falkirk. I know it's easy for me to say that but they have a lot of good players in their squad. "The first-half of the season might not have gone how they would have liked but there is no doubt they can pull away from that and I hope they can. David Weir "Over the years I think John has done a great job at Falkirk and he has firmly established them as an SPL club. "They were in the semi-final of the League Cup in 2007 and they have done the same this season so they will be looking to go one step further and that's something we need to be wary of when we face them. "But John's definitely raised the bar and brought a bit of stability and credibility to the club along the way." Davie is relishing the prospect of returning to the national stadium and still looks back at last season's epic League Cup final against Dundee United as one of the highlights of his career. David WeirKris Boyd's winning penalty in a dramatic shoot-out handed the defender his first winners medal in a Light Blue jersey and for that reason alone he would love to retain the trophy. He said: "All the players here want to beat Falkirk and reach the final, that goes without saying, but it will be a tough game. "We lifted the League and Scottish Cup last season so, of course, we want to do the same. "Winning trophies is a good habit to get in to but first and foremost we need to reach the final this year which will be tough. "Reputations count for nothing and it's the best team on the night that will go through. "It will be a great occasion and the fact that Falkirk is one of my former clubs will make it a wee bit more special."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boyd,s gone, Ferguson is on the brink. Who,s next for the market place? How can selling Scotlands' top scorer be sold on midway through a season for such a paltry sum. So it IS true, we are a selling club with no ambition other than to trade in the marketplace. If you open your window right now you'll hear every sellick fan laughing. They've been saying it for a few years now and now it is official. Even all the extra cash made from last year's European run, Cuellar's sale,and Hutton's sale has failed to fill Murray's pockets. Someone does not seem to be "managing the debt" very well. As a club, I have always followed Rangers Football Club as I believed it to be honest and well run. I believed it always tried to be the best football club here in Scotland whatever it took, I believed in Murray when he said he would always outspend our rivals if thats what it took to beat them. If we are now being run solely as a (selling) business and not a football club then the people who are running the financial side of things should step down with immediate effect. Not too many years ago, a decent financial "expert", Fergus McCann, took a financially faltering football club in Glasgow and turned it right around within a few years. Now, that club can buy players at 4/5 million and can hold on to these players even in these "financially difficult" times and offer the players much better wages than we have at our club. They are also on course for a fourth league title and many more are likely as they will have little competition with everyone else being "selling clubs" What now? Something has to changs to break this cycle of financial mis-management. Does anyone have any ideas ?

ALEX McLEISH is preparing a �£3million bid to lure Kris Boyd away from Rangers. Former Gers gaffer Eck wants the 20-goal hitman to fire Birmingham City into the Premiership. SunSport can reveal McLeish will launch an official move for the 25-year-old within days. He brought Boyd to Ibrox three years ago in a �£400,000 deal from Kilmarnock. McLeish also handed the free-scoring star the majority of his 15 Scotland caps. Now he wants to work with him for the THIRD time as he seeks to lift City back among the big boys. It is understood McLeish stepped up his interest after Boydâ��s double in the 3-0 win over Caley Thistle on Sunday. The brace in Inverness lifted his Gers goal haul to 91 in just three years. Big Eck has already taken Scotland strike stars James McFadden and Garry Oâ��Connor to St Andrewâ��s. But Birmingham have scored fewer goals than any of the other top eight sides in the Championship. They are outside the lucrative automatic promotion positions on goal difference alone. On-loan striker Quincy Owusu Abeyie was sent back to Russiaâ��s Spartak Moscow yesterday after failing to sparkle. And McLeishâ��s priority for this monthâ��s transfer window is to add much-needed firepower. He has never hidden his admiration for Boydâ��s predatory talents and is now ready to test Gersâ�� resolve. Light Blues boss Walter Smith has repeated his desire to hang on to his key first-team regulars as Gers chase the SPL title. Newcastle United are keen on captain Barry Ferguson while Marseille have been linked with stopper Madjid Bougherra. Smith only wants to get rid of fringe players like Christian Dailly, Brahim Hemdani and Andy Webster. Frozen-out frontman Alan Gow headed south for talks with Birminghamâ��s league rivals Wolves yesterday after they agreed a �£450,000 fee with Gers. But Big Eck â�� the last Ibrox manager to capture the SPL title â�� will still make a move for Boyd. However, the hierarchy at Rangers know it would be a hugely unpopular decision to sell the fansâ�� favourite. http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article2097653.ece

We had around �£4.5m in the bank at 30th June and an unused �£15m credit facility (overdraft), but what do we have now? The �£15m credit facility is reviewed each November. I can't see HBOS having agreed to increase it given their current problems, and if they had decreased it thenm we would be in real trouble so I have to assume that it remained at the same level. If we look at the 2007 accounts as a base (being more representative of this year than 2008) it can be seen that we have outgoings of around �£40m for the year. The wages of the squad appear to have increased so let's say it's now �£44m. We get our season ticket cash in largely in May and June so let's say we get in around another �£20m of income during the year. We got cash in for Cuellar but probably spent more in terms of cashflow on Mendes, Davis and Edu, but to offset that we have some Hutton cash to come in and �£1m of a loan repayment to make, so for simplicity let's assume that they all net off to zero. It therefore appears that we an average of �£2m cash per month going out of the club (44m - 20m = �£24m for the year or �£2m per month). We have therefore �£12m of cash going out of the club up to the end of December which means that we have used �£7.5m of the credit facility and have a remaining �£7.5m, or around 4 months of facility left until we run out of cash. Our season ticket money will start coming in during May and should keep us going then, but this shows that we have absolutely no cash available to spend on transfers in the transfer window, and we are down to our bare bones in respect of cashflow. Non-qualification for next season's CL could have severe consequences.

Same old story for us, very good business wise but for the team and the fans it's getting beyond a joke RANGERS boss Walter Smith admits he might not be able to keep Madjid Bougherra beyond the transfer window. Newcastle United are preparing a �£5million bid for the Algerian defender, as revealed by Record Sport, and Marseille are also keen. Smith is anxious to retain his top-team regulars and hopes only fringe performers leave the club in the next four weeks. But he admitted the chance for Rangers to double their money on a player they brought from Charlton in the summer might prove too tempting. The manager said: "I've never said as a club we will transfer any player we'd like to keep. There are obviously players in our squad we wouldn't like to lose. "We were in a situation last year when Alan Hutton was sold to Tottenham. We didn't want to lose him but the bid was such that we had to take it from a purely financial sense. "You can never say that won't happen again. We'd want to try to keep the group who have been involved in playing on a regular basis together and add to that if we can. "First and foremost, we have to adjust the numbers we have and that's the group who haven't been taking part in a lot of the games." Alan Gow is set to follow Jean-Claude Darcheville out the door as Smith continues his cull of Ibrox misfits. Rangers owner Sir David Murray and chief executive Martin Bain were at Murray Park yesterday to rubberstamp Gow's move to Wolves. A �£500,000 fee has been a greed with the Championship pacesetters and personal terms should be hammered out over the weekend. Wolves' chief executive Jez Moxey said: "We're having discussions with Rangers." Other fringe players such as Chris Burke, Andy Webster, DaMarcus Beasley, Brahim Hemdani and Christian Dailly could go before Smith looks to bolster his squad with one or two additions. However, Andrius Velicka is not among the players Smith wants to move on, which will dash the hopes of Hearts boss Csaba Laszlo. Rangers have been boosted by the return to fitness after eight months of Steven Naismith who is in the squad for tomorrow's game at Inverness although he may not feature. Smith has set his side a New Year's resolution to go on a winning run that will take them closer to rivals Celtic after last week's Old Firm defeat left them trailing by seven points. He said: "We went on a run at this stage last season that eventually took us to the top of the league so we hope this campaign mirrors that one, although there are no certainties. "We have to make sure we're more steady and consistent - starting at Inverness." http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/2009/01/03/walter-smith-i-may-not-be-able-to-stop-madjid-bougherra-leaving-86908-21011887/

Rangers will ask �£7.5million for goalkeeper Allan McGregor if English Premier League clubs seek to lure him away from Scotland. The Ibrox No 1 is the most valuable remaining asset in Walter Smith's squad and is expected to attract offers during the January transfer window. Rangers will not want to part with McGregor cheaply but, with no European income following the Champions League calamity in Kaunas, a significant bid could prove tempting http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1104014/Golden-gloves--Rangers-7-5million-price-tag-keeper-McGregor.html?ITO=1490

Newcastle are trying to sign Rangers duo Barry Ferguson and Madjid Bougherra in a double deal, skysports.com understands. Magpies chief Joe Kinnear is looking to bring a number of new faces into the club during the winter transfer window. The Rangers duo are very high on Kinnear's wanted list and talks began earlier this week. Both midfielder Ferguson and defender Bougherra have Premier League experience with Blackburn and Charlton, respectively, and Kinnear sees the duo as ideal signings. Newcastle are looking to take advantage of Rangers' current financial situation and swoop for the duo. "I have enquired about Ferguson, but we will wait and see what the outcome of that is," said Kinnear. "We are finding it difficult to bring certain players from clubs. Our bids haven't been accepted so far. "The problem is two or three clubs are in for the same players. At the moment, there could be teams bidding more than us. "It would help if I could move some of the players here and get the finances in that way. But we have had no bids for them." Gow offer Rangers boss Walter Smith insists the only bid they have received is from Wolves for Alan Gow, who impressed during a six-month loan stint at Blackpool. "We are not looking for anything else at the moment. With it being the transfer window, there will be speculation," said Smith. "There is nothing we can do about that but we have had no other enquiries for anyone else other than Gow. "We have had one enquiry from Wolves for Alan Gow. Negotiations are ongoing and that is the only enquiry we have had for any player. "There are 28 players on the staff and we have to adjust that number a little bit and we have to wait and see what happens with that over the next few days but, so far, that is the only enquiry we have had for anyone." Smith, though, did concede the club would sell if a deal was too good to turn down. Numbers "There are obviously players in our squad that we wouldn't like to lose," he added. "We were in a situation last year when Alan Hutton was sold to Tottenham. "We didn't want to lose him but the bid was such that we had to take it from a purely financial sense. You can never say that won't happen again. "We would want to try to keep the group who have been involved in playing on a regular basis together and add to that if we can. "First and foremost, we have to adjust the numbers that we have and that's the group who haven't been taking part in a lot of the games." http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4738893,00.html The whole Ferguson thing is a bit of a bolt from the blue which hadn't really been spoken about that much but the Bougherra thing we obviously all know about.

ALAN GOW is hoping to clinch a move to Championship pace-setters Wolves in the next couple of days. Alan GowThe former Falkirk frontman, who has had a difficult time since joining Rangers in the summer of 2007, is wanted by Mick McCarthy whose side are looking good for Premiership football next season. Ibrox boss Walter Smith revealed today that Wolves have made contact about Gow and that negotiations are now underway over a fee. Gow, who has only appeared twice for Rangers, spent the first half of this season on loan at Blackpool where he caught the eye of the Molineux side. He was back at Murray Park this morning and took part in the first team training session. Now if a fee can be agreed it looks like he will move to the Black Country to join the side who are seven points clear at the top of the Championship. Tomorrow Wolves travel to face Alex McLeish's Birmingham, who sit second along with Reading, and if they can win that one they will take another huge step towards their Premiership dream. Clearly it would be a terrific move for Gow but it will all depend on Wolves and Rangers reaching an agreement. Smith said today: "We have had an inquiry from Wolves for Alan Gow and negotiatoions are on-going." Gow could be one of a number of fringe players to move on in the January transfer window.

By Andrew Dickson WALTER SMITH will wait until his loan Rangers return to the club before deciding whether they have a role to play in his Light Blues squad. A number of Ibrox players have been sent out to other clubs in the first half of the season and many of them are due to come back at various points this month. Andy WebsterThe most high-profile of those who have been away is Andy Webster, but he has not played as much as Smith would have liked him to at Bristol City. Defender Webster has made just six appearances for Gary Johnson's side, although the main reason for that has been a string of minor injuries. Alan Gow has arguably been the most successful player during this term's sabbaticals and he has scored five goals in 17 appearances for Championship side Blackpool. But given he had just two first-team outings last season at Rangers, he has been tipped to make a hasty exit when he moves back to Glasgow. The rest of those who have gone elsewhere are young reserve players and the likelihood is they'll go back to Gers' reserve and youth sides or go out on loan again. But Smith insists he'll only make decisions of each individual's future once they check back in at Murray Park in the next few weeks. He said: "In Andy's case, we put him out on loan to try to get him games so that he could get to a level of fitness that would lead to him returning to our squad.Alan Gow "It hasn't worked out like that and he has had a couple of injuries again and hasn't been playing on a regular basis. "Andy's problem is that we have to get him up to speed because he's had something like two years without regular first-team football. "He has been lucky to play half a dozen games in that time and it has not been an easy spell for him. "We will see what happens when he comes back and we'll review the situation then. Alan Gow is the same, as are the rest of the players we've had out. "With these players who are coming to us, as is part and parcel of the transfer window, we'll have to look at a larger group of players and cut it down."

I am afraid he won't have much option but to go. We need the money. As simple as that. Another player treated unfairly. I suppose we are better off with Charlie Adam in the team:brick:

RANGERS boss Walter Smith has added Lee Miller and Robbie Neilson to his January wish-list. SunSport understands Smith has been keen on the Aberdeen striker and the Hearts right-back for the last year. And the Ibrox gaffer could move for both this month ââ?¬â? IF he can raise funds from a major clear-out. On-form Miller signed a two-year deal at Pittodrie in the summer to dash Smithââ?¬â?¢s hopes then. But now he is back on the trail of the target man, who has hit seven goals so far this season. Miller offers strength and finishing power and is also forcing himself into Scotland manager George Burleyââ?¬â?¢s thinking for the World Cup qualifiers. The 25-year-old was snapped up by boss Jimmy Calderwood for a nominal fee in August 2006 from Dundee United and has proved to be one of the Donsââ?¬â?¢ best signings in recent years. Neilson, meanwhile, was handed his one and only Scots cap by Smith in the Ukraine in October 2006. His contract is up at the end of the season and he is weighing up his options after 12 years at Tynecastle. Neilson joined Jambos from Rangers Boys Club. He could now agree a pre-contract for the 2009-10 season or be captured during the transfer window for a nominal amount. Alternatively, Gers could also use flop striker Andrius Velicka as a makeweight for a possible loan return to Tynecastle. Neilson, 28, is close to his best form again after injury worries, although he was at the centre of an explosive weekend post-match bust-up at Pittodrie. SunSport revealed how he hooked both Chris Maguire and Lee Mair in the tunnel after Aberdeenââ?¬â?¢s 1-0 win. Rangers gaffer Smith is desperate to overhaul a squad now languishing seven points behind bitter rivals Celtic who, after the 1-0 win at Ibrox, are hot favourites for four-in-a-row. He is also keen on bringing in a commanding stopper and has trailed the likes of Sporting Lisbonââ?¬â?¢s Tonel and Hearts captain Christophe Berra. Advertisement Click here But first he has to hope that the likes of Brahim Hemdani, Charlie Adam, Andy Webster, Alan Gow, Christian Dailly, Stevie Smith and Chris Burke can attract clubs. Meanwhile, Smith has had a loan bid for Swedish international Mattias Bjarsmyr thrown out by IFK Gothenburg. Smith asked if he could bring the twice-capped centre-half, 21, to Glasgow for the rest of the season.But Gothenburg are thought to want an up-front payment in the region of Ã?£2.5million for their prize asset, whose contract expires at the end of 2009. And they have vowed not to budge over their demands for the Sweden Under-21s skipper. Sporting director Hakan Mild said: ââ?¬Å?We are not interested in a loan deal. Such a move has never been in the equation for us.ââ?¬Â It seems certain Bjarsmyr will be sold this month. The player and Gothenburg are at loggerheads after he rejected a new deal. He was left fuming when Gothenburg placed such a massive fee on his head. Earlier this week Bjarsmyr had admitted he would be keen on a move to Rangers. But Gothenburg donââ?¬â?¢t want to lose him for nothing so will look to flog him elsewhere. Reports in Sweden claim he will move to either AZ Alkmaar or FC Groningen in Holland. http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article2084353.ece

Has Spiers just written a decent article?? Novo a chancer!!! Graham Spiers In the stampede to laud Celtic's heroic win at Ibrox last weekend, it appears that many have fallen over themselves in their rush to dismiss Rangers' title chances in Scotland come May. It may be a dangerous assumption, for no other reason than the evidence of last season, where Celtic were deemed to lag too far behind Walter Smith's men in early April before clinching the championship on the final, dramatic night. With five months and 18 games of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League still to go, is seven points really such a frightening gap between the Old Firm? Rangers next face Celtic at Parkhead on February 15, with one remaining Old Firm clash to follow, and anything can happen in these matches. Moreover, there appear to be wider pitfalls this season in the SPL for Rangers and Celtic which will determine their success or failure. Rangers have been to Motherwell and dropped points. Celtic recently lost to Hibernian at Easter Road. Rangers lost to St Mirren at Love Street in October. For both teams, visits to Tynecastle and Tannadice, in particular, are going to be fraught. In this haphazard excitement Celtic can certainly be caught. Walter Smith has repeatedly argued that his team is capable of going on one of their unbeaten runs, and the time appears to be ripe for such a venture. Moreover, if Kris Boyd, who looks on target to deliver 35 goals this season, can continue in his recent scoring vein, then Rangers have a weapon which cannot be dismissed. Boyd's form, in fact, will largely determine his team's fate. One thing Smith should certainly consider doing is playing Kyle Lafferty, a tall, strong, skilful player, as a partner for Boyd through the middle. Lafferty may not yet be worth the �£3.5m that Rangers paid for him, but he is a good footballer, and a far better player than many give him credit for. From Lafferty's earliest days at Ibrox, Smith has repeatedly said that his best position is "through the middle", yet too often the striker has been turned into a refugee on the left wing. It would be fascinating to see the effect it had on Rangers if a Boyd-Lafferty central partnership was struck up. The Northern Ireland striker's height would give added menace to Rangers in attack, quite apart from his poise in front of goal, which has been seen, for instance, at Tannadice on December 13 when Lafferty deftly scored against Dundee United in a 2-2 draw. It is time, surely, that Smith gave Lafferty a chance in his true position. The obvious deficiency for Rangers is in central defence, where Kirk Broadfoot can look lumbering and David Weir is in his final Ibrox season, though Smith is actively looking to address this in the coming January window. If Smith can pluck a good defender from somewhere, and finally put an end to Lafferty's on-field obscurity, Rangers will certainly still have a healthy chance of winning the 2008-09 title. Changing sides Nacho Novo pulled off a remarkable feat last Saturday. Having played for 15 minutes as a sub for Rangers in the Old Firm derby at lunchtime, he then played for his home region of Galicia on Saturday night back in Spain in a friendly againts Iran, scoring twice in Galicia's 3-2 win. That's not bad going for Novo, who is about to leave Rangers. While we're on the subject, does this wee chancer still want to play for Scotland? Or is he still hoping for a Spain call-up? in Columnists, Featured, Graham Spiers | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/297284/37620274 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Don't write off Rangers just yet: