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Well, Beale said he would take us to another level: let's hope it's not the Championship.

I will miss wee Fashion. If he is gone, best of British to him.

Well, yes, and that, it seems clear, would align us with the manager, who seems to have made that a strategy. We, as supporters, of course, must also prepare ourselves for the worst, and, to that end, the pre-season serial clusterfucks have been helpful - I mean was anybody really taken aback by the events at Rugby Park, yesterday? I am told -was told- and sometimes quite forcefully, that pre-season matches don't matter, to which one might reasonably enquire: if so, what is their point? I think if a team plays well in these games, and wins , then it is reasonable to view them as tuning up, and not put too much reliance on the performances and results. However, when a side performs badly, incoherently, lacking teamwork, with no discernible game plan, and looks confused, with the ball seeming to be an object with which the players were acquainted only very recently, and when from game to game there is little, or even no, improvement, whatsoever.....I should submit that that is worrying, and that it matters. (I might digress, slightly, and suggest that the 'we played badly but won, and that's all that matters' mantra is similarly flawed. Sure, three points is the aim, but when poor performances become the rule, over a series of games, then it's a racing certainty that the team will come unstuck, as soon as it encounters decent opposition, or a side on form. We have seen this. Often.) Most of us would have noticed that, yesterday, there was a perceptible change from the, em, amorphous pre season performances: unfortunately this was retrograde. The team reverted to type, which is disappointing to say the least. The first -what?- 20 minutes, or so, were lively, but when we failed to take the lead, we, as we always do, took the the foot off the gas. Thereafter, we had the familiar comfort of seeing our team defaulting to trundleball, slow, horizontal, football, allowing the opposition all the time it needed to set its defensive field. There were even periods of horsehoe ball. Pllus ca change, alors....... I have no idea where we go from here, but it does seem imperative to change the default position which is timorous, unimaginative, and unsuccessful. Michael Beale has to do this in a couple of days. I wish him well, but won't be troubling the bookies by backing his side, any time soon.

Graham Potter is still available. Just sayin'...

Going to be very interesting how Lowry does on loan at Hearts. If he does well then questions need to be asked. He’s a type of MF player whom we don’t seem to have in the current squad i.e. gets forward to support the attack & goes beyond the strikers at times. A sort of Ian Durrant type of MF player

Nailed it, to use modern patois. My only dissent is the suggestion that bookies would be troubled if you bet on Rangers. I think they would be delighted.

Your grasping at straws there sir

I liked wee Fashion. Criminally underrated because we rarely used him properly, IMO. We have to take the money, though. Watch now as he becomes the answer to all our problems, even from those same people that couldn't wait to stick the knife in when he got caught offside or fluffed a shot. We're weird fans.

How does he turn it around? What are people thinking, what have they seen which makes them think he will. Or are we again in a place of just get behind them and hope for the best. That hasn’t worked for us much lately.

8 months in some 15 million spent on new player all his choice a disastrous preseason and we’re not one iota better off and a European match this Wednesday then 4 matches before we meat the hooped horrors on September the 3rd my wife’s birthday we could be in shite street by the next day if someone doesn’t point our manager in the right direction .

I agree: It's mostly the same sh*te from MB. I was hoping the boring football of last season was just because he had inherited a squad and he had to make do. He's had 8 months with those (inherited) players, a full pre-season with new players - on which he's spent £15M - and it's still the same.

Did you watch the game? Did you see pre-season? That's what we were doing. The issue, for me, is midfield: We're not finding the attackers at all; there's no movement.

I was reading through threads on the long running Hearts 'zine forum, 'Jambos Kickback' last evening and, apparently Rangers did have a player yesterday who achieved more than pass marks. Alex Lowry's heads up, driving forward style was a revelation to the Boys in Maroon. Indeed, he could be the next talk o' the toon.

I am top and demand automatic qualification into the Champions League group stages.

Just back from watching Toulouse beat Roma 2-1 in a friendly. I just wish we could show even 50% of their speed and desire. And that the women who attended our matches looked 50% as good as the burds in the Toulouse end...ooh la la!

Took stock, watched it back and it really was just turgid. The caveat I can give though; and I know we talk about the surface but seriously, watching the game back that pitch wouldn't be good enough for a youth centre in the 90's yet alone for a top division. The run and bounce of the ball is comical. Saying that, it just shouldn't be this hard year after year against low block teams and I honestly think it's a mentality issue. Both teams were flooded with new signings and it pretty much came down to graft and concentration and we shat it and slept. Let's not write off the season just yet though eh.

Maybe it's a psychosis brought on by what we've been through in the last 12 years but there's something deeply insecure about wanting to sack our manager in August.

I believe his right hand man , Billy Reid is a Bear !

Kent never played wide. He was played as a #10, as part of the christmas tree formation. (Actually, he did truly play wide under GvB, but was worse - many said he was 'wasted' out wide.) This 'lack of width' issue is a red herring. We've got width from our FBs and one of our forwards (as one of them has to play the channels, like Sakala: Sakala was playing as part of a front two). The issue is we don't know how to build through the thirds. Our defence can't find our midfielders, and both midfield can't find our attackers.

We have to play 2 up front. We cannot spend the best part of 10 million on 2 players to have one on the bench.

We have to remember playing for Hearts is immeasurably different from playing for Rangers. I fully expect Lowry to excell at Hearts and only confirm what we know. He's an excellent player. The true measure of his future at Rangers will not come down to his playing ability but more his strength of character IMO.

So he might be returning to Ibrox in the Champions league play offs.

It doesn't help when equal points are ranked alphabetically. Thankfully @yuddie is taking part.

On the bright side we're not in the relegation zone.

I don't think that's an issue per se - especially if we're employing the narrow formation, where we should be able to use intricate interplay or drag them to one side then switch it into open space - it's just that we failed to execute it properly. Our forward and midfield players were just standing about, often behind their man, marked. The best passer in the world couldn't find them.

Nae points.

Best video I've seen regarding yesterday. It's genuinely hard to argue with anything this lad has to say.

Stoke city won four nil yesterday with ten new players the thing was their manager had the ability to fit the square pegs into the square holes and they played delightful entertaining football unlike the shambles at Rugby park.

I would not have picked that team, but those players are good enough if they played like a disciplined team with a plan.

If only the players hurt as much as the fans.

Easily Raskin for me. Surprised at the nods for Sima, who to me looked like a poor man’s Matondo! I’m not judging just yet given it’s only one game but I certainly wasn’t impressed by any of the newbies, perhaps Butland aside.

I'm pretty calm about it. Absolutely nothing to be getting excited about that's for sure. Yes I keep it simple. You can call it a knee jerk reaction. I suppose it comes down to interpretation. I've had 8/9 months to watch plenty of games and come to a conclusion. It seems that is not enough time to judge in your opinion and that's fine. This is a forum for airing opinons.

Same with barging the goalie, causing him to spill; lots of goals came that way.

You're calling me a Tim because I have doubts about our manager? Harsh.

So you are allowed to start a conga in the box?

Thankfully, the Rangers game started late, so I caught 1/3 of the first half and the second. After the amount of games we played, we should have found a solution for the first game. As I said, Dowell doesn't look up for the game right now, we sure did not need him and Raskin and Lundstram, not least since most of the creative work from the midfield came from Raskin, while Lundstram provided cover for the defense. That sort of tactic didn't work well before "this season". Obviously, Lundstram made us a back three at times, but neither Tav nor Borna had any joy in their "wing-work", we might just as well put in true wingers there.

Rankin for me. Was the only one trying to drive forward continually, but lack of movement ahead of his left him frustrated. Butland had a decent game as well.

Wooton hooo. I'm fourth.

Am joint top...yesss

He could be gone by the end of the month. Possibly out of champions league during the week , Livi next Saturday who defeated us at at home at the end of the Gio era then Ross County away . After that today not sure where the wins come from.

Encore une Fois. It is the summer hols and the priority has been maintaining one's fluid levels with lashings of ginger beer. This thread has been in abeyance for three-four weeks; however, I have kept my ear close to the ground, the rumbles from the bowels of PQ have sent ripples the length of the Clyde. Here, in darkest, deepest Lanarkshire we are hearing the current dispute between BBC Scotland and their beloved Sellik is continuing. The broadcasting signs have been pretty obvious, the ever garrulous RAB Cosgrove has spent the last three weekends doubling down on the Rangers. When speculation began as to ra Sellik's managerial replacement for Ange, a name that began as a whisper, Brendan Rodgers emerged loud from the cacophony. BBC Scotland's Chief Sports Writer, Tom English penned an article pointing out the alacrity of Rodger's last departure from Paradise and highlighted the ensuing fractious relationship left between Rodgers and ra Sellik faithful. Peter took exception and when Sellik held their stage managed press conference to reveal Brendan, BBC Scotland were banned from attending. You can imagine the ensuing collective spluttering? Of course, PQ apologised profusely and assured listeners and viewers they were doing everything to resolve the situation. This last month, PQ has not sent a reporter to any of Sellik's pre-season friendlies because the club has made it clear they are not welcome. Yesterday, they were banned from Brendan's pre-match presser and, today who knows? Liam might not get to squeal his regular approval for his Father's team. Apparently, BBC Scotland has apologised again and again but to no avail. Peter demands Tom English retract, revise and apologise for his correct jottings. RAB Cosgrove took umbrage with PQ Gaffers sending Jane Lewis to Ibrox for our Saturday friendly against Hamburg. His favoured phrase of late has been, "in the interests of balance", if you provide a service for one half of the Old Firm, the other side must receive similar, "in the interests of balance". Funny that, in Steven Gerrard's three years plus tenure at Ibrox, BBC Scotland does NOT possess one single second of recorded video or audio tape of the Liverpudlian's time. Anyways, RAB has been shouting these last weeks about PQ's coverage. It began with St Johnstone had defeated Hamburg 3-0 when it mattered in the Fairs Cup(1971) and the Germans were in the top Division of the Bundesliga in those days, then he told of Saints under 18s defeating Rangers 3-zip at Auchenhowie in a pre-season opener and, finished with a fulminating, "is the ban over then"? A wee reminder Rangers withdrew the press credentials from Chris McLaughlin, he could continue to attend but not in the press box. BBC Scotland being banned by Rangers is an oft repeated lie by BBC Scotland, a truly manufactured grievance. BBC Scotland being banned by ra Sellik, not mentioned today by BBC Scotland. I will further remind you what the then BBC Scotland's Chief Football Writer said about Chris McLaughlin, "Chris is a shill for Celtic football club". Big Dick, Liam McLeod, Martin Dowden, RAB, ....... et al decided to back their colleague and were most comfortable providing no coverage for license fee paying Rangers supporters over a period of nearly five years. BBC Scotland are providing live radio commentary from ra Stade de Gadd today and, Liam is back squealing as the Championship flag is unfurled. He is accompanied by Pat Bonner(only covers Sellik games), Martin Dowden(revealed by Annie McGuire as, "a good Celtic man") and, Michael Stewart(former Sellik TV co-commentator). As you can see, a cowed PQ are more than happy to give ra Sellik what they demand. Tom English will be kept well away until he is prepared to get on his knees in front of Peter.

Good luck Alex. Hopefully it works out well for the lad and Rangers.

This should answer a lot of questions. Let’s hope that by Christmas he has performed so well we are clamouring for an early return to help the team retain leadership of the league for the remainder of the season.