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Still a bit annoyed from last night but too many positives to be downhearted. - Defence (largely) solid. - Midfield excellent (Jack and McCrorie in particular). - Coulibaly found some much needed form. - Barisic is a real find. - Morelos again unplayable. - We dominated game for 70mins against a team that did the same to us last season for long periods. Now we must carry this form into our last three games. A win on Sunday and at Ibrox on Boxing Day are essential to stand us in good stead for the visit of Celtic. How much do we want this?

Perhaps it’s not cover they are looking for?....

Think he got hooked because the game got stretched and was getting done for pace?

It's a win-win for both. They get to play in a better standard of league and earn much higher wages and, for us, if they sign for an EPL team it means they will have performed well for us AND more than likely see us realise decent profit. It is what our new recruitment policy effectively needs to be.

I agree with this. However, would our European run not have been money that was never expected - sure, we don't have the cashflow right now for it but we can bank on it - so if we made even 7 million profit we should be able to buy a player or two at 1-2 million and still come out even, even after wages. Obviously it depends on what the financial projections are/were and to what extent they were planning on funding from their own pockets this season and whether they are still prepared to do so and have the European money as "bonus money" to the manager to strengthen the squad. I don't think we are that far away in all honesty. It is a tough one because if we were to spend a bit in January and then go on to win the league it has a double whammy in that we have such a massive uplift at the club but, just as importantly, it could see the financial wheels fall off Celtic because they have a massive salary structure which requires CL money to be self-sustaining - if we denied them an attempt at the CL they could head into freefall.

It won't be for money, at least not right away. The attraction of Rangers is as a platform from which to reach for the EPL, which should suitRangers recruitment policy to a tee.

I'll believe it when I see he's not in the team. You can guarantee that attempts will be made to persuade the AFF otherwise.

Interesting... wouldn't surprise me if clubs were in for Tav given previous rumours. Is there more substance this time round?

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Completely agree. On another night we could have had 3 or 4. Morelos was amazing last night. Just left his scoring touch on the bus

You're right, but the problem we've had in recent games was that we didn't create many chances. In the game last night, we created a ton of chances, which was very encouraging. If we keep doing that, we'll score enough to challenge in the league. Anyone notice the big difference last night? We discussed in another thread the need to have players making those inside runs, rather than just crossing from wide positions. It was so pleasing to see us getting back to that again. Coulibaly and Grezda terrorised them in that regard, and of course Morelos was running riot in the spaces created. That's the best we've played for a couple of months. More please!!!!

Barisic is quality. We’ve got a gem there. Good both defensively and offensively. And cool, calm and composed to go with it...

Also when you see Joe Worrel is coming on for Gareth McAuley

Still early days but the way that Gerrard handles himself off the pitch with the media has me very confident we are in safe hands. Add to that the issues we see in the team are the same issues he sees himself. Since he came in you could probably count on the fingers of one hand where you find yourself disagreeing with his assessment of a game. Compare and contrast to McCoist, Murty & Caixinha - all of whom had you scratching your head post-game wondering if you'd literally been to a different game from them.

On top of his reputation as a player, Gerrard was instant successful in Europe and has been so professional and classy in his press conferences and I think as a result he is well respected in this country. Caixinha didn’t come with a reputation and made himself a laughing stock on and off the pitch and a really easy target so it was no surprise manager’s picked fights with him.

Correction. ?

Could be respect and it could be that he knows Gerrard wont think twice about shooting him down. Trying to play mind games with Murty and Caixinha is a very, very different proposition to doing it with someone like Gerrard who has achieved more than most in the game, as a player. Lennon knows that. He may be a dick, but he isn't stupid.

Exactly. I don’t think they’re checking if he’s good enough to be a backup, I think they’re checking if he’s good enough to replace Tav. It looks like West Brom have lived to regret not upping their bid so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them come back in for him. And Polster has been a mainstay at Chicago Fire. Why would he come to play a bit part role in a foreign country.

I think it’s also that he respects Gerrard. You get that impression from the honesty in his comments pre and post match rather than stirring the pot and trying to play mind games.

expecting A "too good to turn down" bid ?

He was actually very fair in his pre match comments too. The interviewer tee'd him up to criticise Morelos by reiterating "Morelos is back, and we seem to say that a lot given the number of times he get s sent off and suspended". However Lennon said "You can talk about the negatives if you want but I look at a really great player, and if Rangers ever didn't want him, we'd love to have him". Having said that, he did suggest that he's told his team to wind Morelos up, but that makes sense so it's no surprise really.

Has Levein been charged about his comments. We might get this clown for the next old firm game .

Its interesting that the SFA rules refer to acting in the utmost good faith. Fair enough, but how does that explain Collum's obvious attempt to explain his errors? I'm afraid it just doesn't wash.

It would make sense in terms of bringing in money, if we are thinking of a relatively substantial outlay in January.

We need a better consistency of result before we want to seriously challenge for the title. We have improved and we haven't. In terms of points, probably not but the fact it's generally more difficult to pick up points in the top flight this season IMO makes our haul worth more than recent previous seasons. ie. we are currently in Second place and despite inconsistency, find ourselves still very much in touch with Celtic. There are no easy answers or viable quick solutions regards achieving a better consistency of result. I'd caution anyone from thinking we'll be able to just nip out and bring in a creative Number 10 who'll slot right in and be a gamechanger or that we'll bring in a centre forward of the necessary quality to make a big difference. Yes, strengthen as much as we can but we also need to get more out of some the players we already have. The fact is that we go into the window at a financial disadvantage and what it actually presents is an opportunity for Celtic to open their biscuit tin and widen the gap between sqauds in terms of wage bills. It would remain to be seen how much of a difference that would bring to the park. Bottomline, we are still a Work in Progress that is steadily improving and on course (within reasonable timescales). The frustration is that Celtic are relatively struggling and it would be a goodtime to suddenly click, not for the odd decent performance or result but consistent wins. IMO we are still a fair bit away from that. More specifically, there is a game on the 29th, an opportunity to lay down a marker and create belief going forward. They will be up for it but we need to start winning at least some of those games, regardless.

Lennon surprisingly accurate in his post match comments. Probably feart that he might get barged by Stevie again.

Why did BBC Scotland pick that particular clip of BT Sports coverage? There is the cross pollination of Rob McLean, works for both channels. Rob is Dingwall born and bred, Ross County or Aberdeen supporter? The main thing he hates Rangers. Laughing and calling an assault, "old school". BBC Scotland is the broadcasting wing of Pie and Bovril.

Flanagan is a RB though and a very solid one (he has been capped by England in that position)

Yes ... and No. Yes, we could and should have taken three points there. And against Dundee and Aberdeen. Those are the games that hurt more and may come back to hurt us. We are defo too light up front, both in terms of numbers of quality strikers as well as having more than one of them on the field of play. We are asking a lot of Morelos and oftentimes he answers. But we could do with another lethal finisher or at least 2nd striker. It is all fine to have Candeias or Grezda having shots, but after them only Arfield likes to have a pop and Tavernier's attempts are not worth mentioning. And we may have Kent and Murphy as well, but both are injured and not recognized goals-scorers either. So I hope SG pulls one or tow out of the hat in January and plays 2 strikers every now and then. No, because the Scum have lost all three points there only a few days back. While we should not exactly compare our to others' failures, we can at least draw some comparisons to league form and against certain teams. A few weeks back someone "screamed" that losing 17 points at that stage ain't title winning form. A couple of weeks later the Scum managed exactly that. And I doubt either team will stop there. Meanwhile, Thomson and his linesman on the far side were appaling again. Coulibaly got wrecked time and again without much of a second look. Then Morelos was manhandled in the box (hand in face, on the neck and lastly on the shoulder, only that El Buffalo did not go down screaming like certain others would), before his shot came of the arm ( = hand = penalty) of a Hibs defender. A couple of penalties not given. https://twitter.com/WATP_com/status/1075503934087802882?s=19 Looking at the next few fixtures, we may sure face some difficult times. Scum's at home to poor Dundee, then away at Aberdeen. We have an away trip to St. Johnstone (never an easy game), then face the Leith Tramps again (freak series of fixtures this) at Ibrox, before the Hooped Horrors pay a visit there. Going by that, there might be some serious gnashing of teeth come the end of the year ... not least when we look back at the missed opportunities thus far.

Agree with all those points and would add............ - Proactive tactical set-up was spot-on However, wanting it,......... isn't enough. You have to do it.

Last night was very much one of those games you have to win if you want to maintain a challenge. It turned into a condensed illustration of where we currently are. We have improved markedly but are still an important step away #Hope&Frustration

All we can do is keep fighting, tis what it is

We can look like Brazil 1970. Unless we beat the scum, it's all just nonsense. It's a results business.

I thought Borna Barasic looked a real class act tonight. Little wonder there’s rumoured interest in him already

How many members of The Celtic Paedophile Ring was there……. https://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/article.php?i=233&a=how-many-members-of-the-celtic-paedophile-ring-was-there

Yet another superb piece @26th of foot, of a quality and style that could only be dreamed of by those actually getting paid by BBC (or the Rhebel/Sun tabloids) to do so. Cap doffed again!

Swiftian Times. I attended Sunday School as a child, we all did then. I endured endless hours of parables followed by Bible study. Sometimes, it was in the form of a quiz; the Minister asked for an new testament character beginning with 'N', I would answer, "Nicodemus" and be rewarded with a sweetie. I suspect Sunday School was sponsored by Dentists? Nicodemus, now there's a name that would benefit all at PQ, he told the Sanhedrin that a man should be heard before being judged. Every week, they tell us they want to hear from Rangers supporters, which seems a pointless exercise, since we are already judged. Attending Sunday School was rewarding, well constant or 'good attendance' meant an improving book was handed over; in my case, 'Gulliver's Travels' by Jonathon Swift. I read it first as an eight year old and have reread the tome on a dozen occasions since. The genius of the book is that it works on a number of levels, from a pacey narrative to the biting satire of the human condition. Society trumps the individual, differences between religions are petty, are men corrupt or are they corrupted, .......................... etc. It's all there and the hook is that it means differing things to different people. Three hundred years past, Swift was taking on the persona of modern, liberal society and examining the cost on such a society which embraces and celebrates policies pursuing scientific progress. I wonder if the then recent case of Galileo's excommunication at the hands of the inquisition was uppermost in Swift's mind? Galileo's crime was to claim the earth orbited the sun as opposed to vice-versa. The RC church lifted that excommunication only twenty-five years ago. We accept travel broadens the mind. Gulliver is large is shipwrecked, then abandoned, attacked by both strangers and crew. He reaches Lilliput and encounters small folks who are constantly politicking, unscrupulous, and vicious. These last several years, you can see an easy analogy there between Rangers and BBC Scotland. Our very existence antagonises PQ, as a grouping we are perceived to be bad, but individuals may be good. Their constant cry to hear from us, will never succeed(they don't want it to) and because of the constant marginalisation and demonisation, they have in part created a support that don't want to talk to them. Those individuals perceived to be good are Billy Dodds and Steven Thomson, both paying penance for toting EBTs. Our excommunication will supersede poor Galileo's? Last Thursday, we played a final Europa Cup game in Vienna, ra Sellik played a Champions League fixture in a Champions League grouping of the Europa Cup. The Irish and Australians championing the Champions cause, told us so, repeatedly. Liam McLeod and Billy Dodds were in Vienna, because they did NOT have to travel on the team charter. Other, cheaper air travel options were available. It was a relief to PQ that after fourteen Euro games, Rangers exited the competition. Of course, ra Sellik qualified for the last 32, and the show ran on for a further forty-five minutes to celebrate. It was a usual Hippo and Oxpecker production. The ever annoying Jonathon Sutherland doing pitch side and interviews fitted right-in, he can tongue arse and chew shit with the best of them. Sunday was quite different. Before events at Easter Road, Killie's rise to the top of the pile again, was being eulogised. Sellik were expected to replace Killie as Premiership leaders. Paul Hartley and Kenny Miller(in dispute with Rangers) told Big Dick the green'n'grey would establish themselves and kick-on, creating a cushion before the winter break. After ninety minutes, everyone agreed, a deserved Hibs victory. Neil Lennon came to Brian McLaughlin's microphone post match. The first time the Depressed One has participated in three weeks, his Deputy had been doing the gig. Big Dick celebrated Lenny's return, enthusiastically wondering what became of the Lennycopter? Paul Hartley expressed a hope of seeing it again, "this coming Wednesday"! At 14.45 hours, Big Dick gave the Rangers team, then announced he was handing over to fellow Dandy Don, Jeff Webster who was presenting live coverage and commentary of Newcastle against Edinburgh. Euro rugby union had displaced, 'being right across events at Ibrox'. Again, a relief, allowing Billy and Steven to get off the naughty step and conduct some Christmas shopping. License fee paying Rangers supporters can fcuk right-off, although to be fair, they still want to hear from us. Of course, we will hear them hearing from us, on the day they tell all about Leigh Griffith's 'illness' and suggest three former Chairs of Sellik's boys' club being convicted of child rape and molestation in six weeks, might constitute a paedophile ring? Are Rangers top of the league? Gulliver's travels conclude when he is rescued by Captain Pedro de Mendez. Bad news for license fee paying Bears, at PQ he sounds a lot like that h-u-n and typical orange wanker that used to play for Rangers, no need to look any further.

I wonder how an approach for Josh Windass would be received? ? I miss him so much ??