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I'm a creature of habit and usually wait until team lines are published before submitting prediction. I've suddenly realised that's futile when the manager stubbornly plays the same XI every game! So nice and early:~ Rangers 1 Aberdeen 0 FGS: Morelos

I wonder if at any time during the negotiations our board asked their board that whilst on their way to Australia, they could stop off in Japan and complete their 2008 make-believe tour which ultimately cost us UEFA Cup and the league? Forgive and forget? NEVER

It was a hard watch, not that we were under much threat but you always feared that the defence would do something daft and let them in. I'm sure Gio will feel vindicated in his team selection and lack of substitutes. There was no need to chase the game, so why disrupt what they had. Luckily we got an early goal and then our plan seemed to be - contain their play and if we get another goal, all well and good. If not, stopping them score will be enough. I thought Morelos was the only one who had some spark. Often he was isolated but when he had others team mates around him, he was laying the ball off well. The pitch was dreadful. Never seen so many headed balls in midfield.

This really is quite simple; in light of the court action today where CFC long history of child abuse is now subject to a class action case in the highest courts in our country, we will have absolutely nothing to do with them, we cancel our Oz games and call for the SPFL & SFA to suspend that rancid club until court action has completed. By the way our Castore range for cancelled tours is now available.

This!!!

Even if we get the same amount of money from it as Celtic, it doesn't help us gain an advantage as they get the same as us.. its pointless.

Celtc leaked this to cover up the court case and we are right there in bed with them. unacceptable no matter the financial gain. This will cost us more then we receive by disenfranchising fans.

I'd be surprised if there's any disparity in the finances - our board seem to be all over that aspect of things these last couple of years - so I'd treat it as shit stirring just now. In principle, its not a bad idea given the large ex-pat community out there who will never get a chance to see either club in action. But.... Celtic utterly hate us. There used to be a mutual respect amongst the clubs and players, even those brought up in the traditions of both clubs, those die-hard players that would be figures of hate on the pitch for the opposing fans, but that disappeared a long time ago. Their current board pander to their fans about the use of the Old Firm, sevco and won't even use our name, so why on earth we would want to do anything with them like this? Its really a bad look for the board and with the way things are going on the pitch, it could make for some really toxic home games depending on the next few results. The whole thing was badly handled yesterday too - we let Celtic set the narrative and didn't respond to this story when leaked.

I will have and will always use the term Old Firm, even more so now that it gets it right up the dark side. The club really need to come out and reply to the fans or i can see a mass demonstration being organised for outside the front door about this outrages decision. I'm sure there are a few decision makers keeping their heads down hoping this will blow over and go away but it's never going to until our participation in Ange's homecoming barbie is reversed. As for the songbook last night, i know you are Gonzo but rather disappointing that there were more songs about shagging the pope than there were about the Rangers, don't you think?

3 points but a turgid uninspiring performance. Looked shaky at the back, created a few good chances we didn't take and the midfield never got a grip of the game. Its like we have regressed to the team that dropped points at Pittodrie in January, it was that type of performance. Only saving grace for us tonight was that St Johnstone are abysmal. Players looked tired after the first half and no subs. Why. We have now run the 11 who will start against the sheep on Saturday into the ground. They will come at us with everything as its their last game of the season effectively. Out of the cups and in the bottom 6 and wont play us again. Our manager is starting to look as bemused and disconnected as our board. We have 3 of our best players down to 1 year left on contracts in the summer and the likes of Goldson will leave on a free, Davis & McGregor will retire. This is really turning into a complete shambles in every area possible.

So he feels he can't trust Steven Davis (I know he's out just now, but he's hardly played under Gio has he)? He continues to play Alan McGregor regardless of what individual errors he makes which cost us goals, points or add to the nervousness in the back line? He's playing Arfield who seems dead on his feet, but could he not have played Lowry last night given we had Kamara starting? Gio made a great tactical switch against Dortmund, reacting to what he saw in front of him, but at times in the league he seems to be out of ideas or just happy to hold on if we're winning by even a goal. I'm really starting to doubt he's the man for the job, but its difficult to judge him given he's not had a pre-season and summer transfer window. Not to mention the fact that we're still seeing some of the same recurring issues, from the same player, that Gerrard also had to deal with. My worry is that if he's not going to be able to resolve these issues, that we go in to next season and its the same all over again.

It would be very Rangers if we allowed an Aberdeen side this poor to stop us from winning the league. As things stand, that’s where we are with 4 points dropped against them.

Kris Boyd made the point after the game that the manager doesn’t have great confidence in his squad. I’d tend to agree with him.

Well that was dismal. The only thing positive about that was the 3 points. No subs? Is GVB seriously now saying we have only 11/12 players and the rest he can’t trust? When games are coming thick and fast you simply must use your bench. We have a massive squad of highly paid players, can bench 9 and play 5 each game, and in last week we have used 10% of sub opportunities. We won’t win the title with players dead on their feet.

https://www.ayradvertiser.com/news/19962878.plaque-unveiled-prestwick-honour-penalty-king-johnny/?fbclid=IwAR0MmpXYRCI6GuJfmIk0ZlLpH9haIdaNOqM78fKmLdWanQasMNokmhm0P9o 12 hrs ago Plaque unveiled in Prestwick in honour of ‘Penalty King’ Johnny By Calam PengillyReporter Johnny Hubbard Court 0 comment A NEW housing development in Prestwick has been completed – and named in honour of a football legend who played for Ayr United. The amenity housing on Main Street, right in the centre of the town, was delivered by Ashleigh Housing and has been officially named Johnny Hubbard Court. The building contains 11 new homes designed for the elderly or infirm. It was named in honour of South African, Johnny Hubbard, who was known in his playing days as “The Penalty King”. Johnny’s playing career encompassed 10 years at Rangers where he took 68 penalties for Rangers, and scored 65, earning him his nickname. He also spent three years at Bury, and two years with Ayr United, a move which saw him settle in the South Ayrshire area after his playing career came to an end. Johnny died in 2018 at the age of 87. He was involved in local community sport, working for the council. He captained Prestwick Cricket Club and managed and coached at Prestwick Tennis Court, as well as coaching football at schools across the Ayrshire. A plaque featuring a likeness of Johnny is displayed at the front of the building. A group of around 30 people gathered outside the development on Friday, February 25 to hear from those involved in the project. Councillor Phillip Saxton, speaking at the opening of the Johnny Hubbard Court, said: “Construction has been built to a very high standard and fits in with the town centre, with the exterior matching the surrounding buildings. I would like to say a personal thank you to the fundraising group for the plaque.” Speaking on behalf of the fundraising group that raised £4,500 for the plaque to be made, Bill Baillie said: “The plaque was the endpoint of what we started just after Johnny passed. “Tam Cairns, is actually the one who initiated it and we got a small team together. We were actually going to go for a statue at one point, but because of Covid, it all fell down and we had to downsize it a bit. I’d like to thank Tam (Cairns), Allan (Hago), and Gordon (McKenzie) for all their help and sticking with me to get this done, I’d like to thank Linda, Linda Burridge, for coming along and being part of the group for the plaque as well. “And Ruth Davis, Ruth is the Sculptor, who did the plaque. “I want to say one small thing about this, it’s composite material, it’s not worth stealing. The plaque cost £4,000 and with money left over from donations, the group is to install a memorial bench at Prestwick Cricket Club. Bill added: “Thanks to everyone from the whole community for investing in it.” Bill also relayed a message from Sir Alex Ferguson, who praised Johnny’s sporting impact. “As a young fan growing up in Govan supporting my team Rangers, the emergence of Johnny Hubbard was starting to catch supporters attention, was his intelligence he’d arrived from South Africa in 1951 and was not your normal well-built players Rangers were accustomed to, he was a small diminutive left-winger but bit by bit he became an important player in the mid-50s. “This culminated on New Year’s Day in 1955 for the Old Firm match where he scored a goal that would equal the Ryan Giggs’ goal of the 1999 FA Cup semifinal against Arsenal. “I was also at Broomfield Park in Airdrie when Hubby missed his first penalty, cutting his shot to the right-hand side of the Airdrie goal keeper, however his record of converting 65 penalties out of 68 22 of them consecutively, takes some beating. It was my pleasure to meet Johnny in later years, he was an absolute gentleman.” Johnny Hubbard’s daughter, Linda Burridge, said: “It’s a great honour for the family that he’ll always be remembered in Prestwick, his adopted home, it’s a massive honour.” “He loved sport that was his passion he loved nurturing young people regardless of their ability. to take part and enjoy it as well he could be quite a disciplinarian sometimes, but that was his upbringing with sport and everything. “He’s sorely missed, it’s three and a half years now since we lost him and then we lost my mum in April, so she’s not here to witness this, so it’s a bit bittersweet, but yes, it’s a huge honour for the family.”

This all day long. I'm sickened by this decision and plan to write to the club over the weekend. I fear it'll make no difference but the (or any) response I get from the club will determine if I renew next season. Money should irrelevant in this no matter our financial state.

I think I read somewhere that Greegs has conceded a goal to 75% of the shots he faced (on target). I wonder how many goals we'd have scored this season (and how many extra points we'd have) if we scored from 75% of shots we had on target (Hope that's worded correctly).... Looking back at the game last night we were dreadful for 85mins of the game. We were slow and sluggish, we looked uncomfortable with the system and tactics deployed, Balogun and Bassey looked like they played on with injuries, Aribo and Arfield were running on empty after half an hour and our front 2 were so far apart we had no link up play. The most baffling part was the lack of subs used. I think GVB only used 1 sub in the Motherwell draw and 'zero last night. Does the manager not trust the players on the bench? We can't play the same system / style / pace on Saturday as Aberdeen will as usual play the game like it's their World Cup Final.

I'm not a fan of this idea, but going by the reactions of others, I'm in one of the low percentiles of pissed-offness. I hate being in the same stadium as their fans. I'm glad we stopped giving them a whole stand at Ibrox, and any excuse to shut them out completely suits me. But I've no intention of going to Sydney, so in that regard this exhibition match makes no difference to me. If others are happy to pay their money for it that's their business. Also, to play devil's advocate, it was a certainty we'd have organised warm weather training during the world cup break, and probably have arranged attendance at an invitational mini-tournament too. That's an expensive business. By agreeing to play them not only is the cost covered, but we'll also get enough money for a signing or two. None of that changes my opinion of Septic or the groin brigade.

I guess I disagree, for me Jack is our most important midfielder and considering we scraped a 1-0 win then I'd say is needed.

Lowest xG since Parkhead Pass % lowest since Pittodrie So it was as bad as it felt.

There is no way celtc are getting more for this than us. However this is where we have led ourselves. Biscgrove won't care he will be getting a cut of the fee in his bonus. Indeed he may well have a duty to the business to take this in theory. the other directors have let us down here. January was a shambles too btw

We gave sunk to a new low both on the park with dismal team performances, and now we are prostituting ourselves by getting into bed with a club that tried to grind us into the dust ,shameful or shameless take your pick .

Our defence is shaky and our attack isn't sufficiently clinical. We can all see that but I continue to believe our problems all stem from a midfield that only rarely seems to function and depends far too much on having Jack in harness, which is strange when you consider what we achieved without him last season but undeniable from what we've seen in recent weeks. Too often we offer inadequate protection to our defence, denying them time and forcing them to abandon formation to do what defensive midfielders should be doing. But more importantly, the inability to combine secure possession with fast transition is effectively putting our forward players in the pockets of very ordinary defenders. The slightest pressure on the ball and our midfield is neutralised. Kamara hasn't had a decent game in months and will never make a sitting midfielder if he lives to be a hundred - last night only highlighted by comparison how Jack allows Lundstram to be effective and why that combination has been an essential part of our best recent performances. At times you would have thought we were playing head tennis in midfield or playing with a hand grenade - no one wanted possession of the ball and when they got it there was absolute panic to get rid of it. Our defence is denied secure passes forward and our forwards are having to receive passes when so tightly marked that the only option is to be barged in the back or a speculative flick round the defender. I don't think I've ever seen a game when we gave away possession so easily or so frequently. With these team selections I'm afraid the league is already lost and all eyes are on a manager who may well be crushed by the pressure that's coming towards him. His intransigence will be his downfall.

Like it or not, that died when they tried to kill us! and for the last 10 years have continued to not recognise us as Rangers! refuse to use our name or refer to the old firm, their directors included!. But the worst part of it all is that disgusting club are now going through the courts for decades of child abuse! I have no idea what the victims of that child abuse are thinking when they read about this money making stunt? I can only assume horrified!!, we should play no part in this cash grab! if we are really that short of cash then I am very worried about the financial state of our club!!.

No, but it's just a rumour. I could start a rumour that we're getting more money than them if that helps?

After a night`s sleep one might come to the conclusion that we`ve won ugly and had dire games before, during the 9NIAR years, before them and after. Yet, somehow I am still baffled that we kept the same players on and played some stuff that we hadn`t seen since the Championship and earlier days. You hope that Saturday will be different, yet my gut feeling says that we will see the same players in the same positions and the same tactic ...

Thing is, we looked capable of doing that last season, all game, every game. We've regressed this season and just aren't capable of doing this so it really gives me the fear. Need a big reaction from the players against Aberdeen who will be looking to win their final game of the season that seems to mean anything to them.

Text between me and my son him when goal scored "that will do nicely" me "87 minutes to hold out" after game him" that was poor" me " at least we held on for the 87 minutes" him "you called it right".😏 Another dreadful game to watch,awful pitch,poor play and maybe for once no criticism of referee.

I doubt any Aussies who aren't expats have even heard of the term 'Old Firm'. I prefer calling it a derby, although this business in Sydney is exactly why the OF term was coined in the first place. I hope there are big protests on Saturday. Enjoyed last night's songbook more than the match. 😉

I don't have a problem with Goldson leaving on a free - we've more than had our money's worth out of him and I firmly believe we shouldn't be breaking our wage structure as that's a very slippery slope. McGregor retiring? We have McLaughlin who can just step in with no bedding-in time and are clearly trying to sign another keeper. This summer is the same as the last few windows for me. We need to sign 2/3 real quality players who will improve the first XI.

Well worth a listen https://www.patreon.com/posts/t4o-episode-63289593

By my calculation, you are on 1.50 points-per-game, which would place you 8th. Our "current" leader is on 1.78 PPG. You've made a decent start.

@Rousseau Given my position in the league and how late I have entered the game, I feel like one of those sad Nigels who kicks up at the cashier in the petrol station when the pump stops at £10 but clicks to 10.01p when he holsters the nozzle. But it looks like I'm due pts for getting the correct number of rangers goals from the Motherwell game and tonight I got correct score and number of goals. I think I'm getting the hang of this but I believe with a little more luck I could possibly grab 25th. I'm aware the top 5 is where all the drama and sausage waving is but my personal race to 25 in the games I have left has me sleepless ( hence the timing of this post ). My back button hole is clenching like a piston such is the intensity of my quest. Edit, scrap that. I'm not paying attention I'm going back to bed. This predictor is giving me the fear.

Sorry lads but the manager looks like another dud . He might prove me wrong but I doubt it .

we've significantly increased our conversion rate

Disappointed in Gio’s reluctance to mix it up.

I hate loan deals. this reminds me why it is everything that is wrong with them.

i particularly dislike how they think money somehow makes this ok. Play a friendly at ibrox. i am sure we will happily replace the money if that's all they care about.

I don't like the idea of playing a non competitive match against Celtic. I don't like the way that they have conducted themselves since we have returned to the top league. I think that even if I was a neutral I would dislike their behaviour. I won't take the time to watch this match but I can live with it going ahead. I have taken a few minutes to listen to what Bisgrove had to say on the Heart and Hand podcast. The decision is not baffling. We're going to get a lot of money for participating. We spend a lot of money so we need a lot of money.

If the Rangers Board wanted to take the nuclear option they would say that in the light of the recent court decision and the wishes of the Celtic CSA victims/survivors, they were withdrawing from this friendly. Imagine the reaction!

Getting told to suck this up because its great financially after selling Patterson for a large upfront fee (approx. 12 million) plus the money we got from Villa for the management team(approx. 4 million) and spending 200k on a 20 year old polish guy and loaning a couple of nobodies and a Welsh crock is nothing short of a massive insult.

With "friends" like this who needs enemies? An unbelievable stupid decision. Maybe the board have forgiven Celtic for trying to destroy us 10 years ago, I certainly haven't. Also given the ongoing court cases we should be distancing ourselves from them.

No doubt about it. It's a massive own goal and I don't understand how Bisgrove and Graham - amongst others - believed this was a good idea.

It sounds a silly thing to be doing but at least the players not involved in the pointless Qatar monstrosity will get some sun on their backs and some games to keep up match fitness. As far as a "deflection" from the pedophile cases they should be well under way by then with a bit of luck.