andy steel

I have to admit, I love seeing 1-11 and 12/14 coming off the bench. We can even resurrect the line ups in the programme the way they were in the 80s and 90s, with 1-11 across the top and whoever filled the shirt beneath. Retro!

Not so, not so at all. I don't disagree with technical criticisms of Ally all that much, but some go too far. Look at the way he was talking about McKay yesterday, it shows you how the kid is being coached and how he is responding. But mostly it is just support for a man trying to keep our club alive; you wouldn't march into a critically ill loved one's hospital room and start complaining about the curtains. Maybe Gersnet is not elite, but it's certainly polite, and I value that highly.

Black hit the bar with a 25 yarder and the post, later, with an Ian Ferguson like effort from the edge of the box. There were three disallowed goals for offiside, while Sandaza missed one glorious chance, one good chance and one half chance. Little also missed two good chances, while Goian headed over a decent chance from a corner first half. Perfect finishing and you'd have been looking at 13-1 plus three offsides, and that's just the ones I can recall. Having said which, it was good to see ES try to pass out of defence before their legs went and they, understandably, resorted to punting it away.

That language is awful. You are a blot on this site, Daniel. I wish you'd go somewhere else.

I don't think I nodded of yesterday, and at no point did ES outplay Rangers. For periods, especially early, we struggled to link up between midfield and attack, and some of the distribution was mince, but we were never outplayed. That's ludicrous to say. It's not a question of being offensive or incorrect. There's a level of debate on Gersnet which is the reason most of us are here; articulate and interesting. I don't see why it should be dragged down into the same old 'aye it is! naw it isny!' rubbish you can get anywhere. There's no way to skate around the point without sounding elitist, coz that's what it is. But I can't see anything wrong with wanting Gersnet to be the elite Rangers site.

Andy Steel: I don't give a fuck what Steven Thomson thinks or does, ever.

This just isn't the kind of site for this sort of thing. It just isn't.

I don't wish to give anyone nightmares, but when Cribani came on, Goian went to right back and Broadfoot went to left back. Sleep tight.

It's getting like 9/11 again, when anything that happened was either blamed on or linked to that atrocity.

Hopefully he just gets in there without going for the attention seeking stroll along the pitchside. I do like the guy, so far, but I'm (understandably) very very cautious of anyone who runs us. Can't see that changing soon!

I had a pair of Diadora trainers in the 90s, black with screaming yellow stripe...they were awesome. Harsh words on Diadora, earlier.

This is as clear as clear can be - either change the offending portion, ideally by dropping any reference to them altogether, or have the song banned. I wish we could take matters into our own hands for once but as usual, no doubt we'll keep singing the forbidden version in order to battle Liewell/the SNP/handwringers until a fine and club statement sees the song banned entirely.

Aussie stand up, usually in beige. Quite funny, but only the first time you saw him.

Haven't a clue...all I know is, it cost £4 and it'll soon have 'Laudrup' on the back.

This handsome chap is modelling the Denmark top, available last week in TK Maxx for £4. Not bad for an Adidas top!

Aye right enough, Salmond couldn't run a piss up etc. Only managed to destroy the Lhabour stranglehold on this country and run consecutive administrations. You may hate him, plenty do, but that's no reason to insult the voters who put him in power. The other two are placemen of He Who Must Not Be Named, and can only dream of Salmond's democratic mandate! I liked those articles. It seems straightforward, but mad: regardless of who the SPL feel owe Dundee Utd that 31k, they took the Rangers prize money: it seems they haven't used a portion to pay DUFC, so what have they done with it? Craig Whyte must be green with envy at this one.

In another thread, Max Rebo has been talking about his disillusionment with the national team in the light of the Ian Black fiasco, especially coming after the heights of the Olympics. This feeling had hit me, too, as I point out in this rather self-pitying post. The end of the Olympics brought to a close a sensational summer of sport, following on from the highly enjoyable Euros, a good if not classic Open golf, a fascinating (and continuing) Test battle for cricket's No.1 status between England and South Africa, fantastic cycling from around the world and the ongoing tale of Andy Murray's struggle to wrestle a major away from The Tennis Triumvirate. Add to that an unbeaten tour of the southern hemisphere by Scotland's rugby team and it truly has been a summer to remember. For the Bluenose, of course, it's been a summer to remember for less happy reasons. There's been dozens of posts about our summer of agony and I don't want to repeat those. I want to examine how these others sports have replaced football for me as my No.1 sport. I never thought I'd see the day when any other sport could replace fitba in my affections, but the sense of gloom that settled on me as SSN this morning reported the early rounds of the English League Cup was unmistakable. I had a feeling of resentment that soon, we would be discussing which idiot had pushed which idiot, and which idiot had pretended to be hurt more. Behaviour which brings about an immediate expulsion at The Olympics will be airily waved away as 'handbags' or 'all in the game' by incoherent pundits on shows like MoTD, and mediocrity will be embraced as success. This mood has not been helped by footballers regularly claiming to have a lot in common with Olympians. Even allowing for the complete lack of self-awareness of the average pro, most of whom are distinctly average, comparing a light kick about three or four mornings a week to the dedication of Olympic athletes is not on. Ah, they say, but we have to peak twice a week. Any fan who can see a team in which players peak more than six or seven times a season please PM me as I'd like to give them a look. It's not just the attitude. The standard of the game in Scotland has long turned me off, but I never turned away. Rangers need to take as much of the blame for this as anyone else, but the fact remains the level is low. The prospect of 3rd division football and all the romantic excitement that comes with it means I, along with my son, still go to Ibrox, but in the bigger football picture it's all been spoiled. Why would anyone want their kid to be involved in what has become an exercise in boasting about how stupid you are? Intellectual dimwits like the current manager of Celtc are held up as intelligent and articulate, despite all evidence to the contrary. The owner of Hearts issues statements which would only fail to raise an eyebrow inside a secure unit. Rangers collapse under a wall of debt and hatred to make even a banker green with envy. Dundee Utd are absolutely hammered in Europe, with every chance Motherwell will follow. Every fan attempts to claim moral superiority over another, as though football were somehow a weather vane of righteousness. And all this miasma of cretinism is embraced by media outlets desperate to secure a piece of the ever dwindling revenue available from football. All of which is topped off by the mad men of Park Gardens. The game in Scotland, ruled over by incompetents for decades (some of them ours), is witnessing a level of administrative lunacy from Hampden notable even in the SFA's long and inglorious history. Radio5 live, which carries vast amounts of live English football, has been soul searching about whether to cover other, minority sports instead. But they won't, since if they make available another 50 live games, stations such as Talksport will take them; the drop in listening figures for the BBC will give the government the excuse they need to cut the licence fee. It's a complete rejection of what the Olympics is all about, but it's all too symptomatic of how football, especially, operates nowadays: £££. The Olympics came around at the right moment for me. Yesterday, I find that archery, a hit in my house during the competition, is available in the Southside of Glasgow. Well, that's the right area at least! We'll definitely be giving it a go. I still go to games, but I doubt my son will when he grows up. He, and probably I, will be lost to the game. Postscript: Previous Gersnet posts seem to gather a lot of responses from non-Bears, and they are no doubt delighted at the thought of two less Rangers fans in the game. 'Nothing but scum' is about the nicest charge that has been levelled at us over the years and especially recently. Maybe. I can't see myself as others see me, none of us can, but I do know that I have to take time out from online Rangers forums due to the levels of trumpetude on display; I'm no fan of bigots of any stripe. If football is losing fans like me, chances are all you'll be left with are the ones you hate so much. I shall be enjoying my archery, or whatever. I hope you non-Bears enjoy the company of those you hate so much: you deserve each other.

Uncanny. Word for word, that's exactly what I thought when I read that. Nevertheless, that apart, good to read.

That's a thought actually, I have held onto Archie's 'Action Replays' because it is the funniest, best written book on Scottish sport I've ever read. And it covers us fairly majorly, as you'd expect. Review ahoy!

There is definitely a generational aspect to this; anyone over the age of 30 grew up with the Scotland-England being on every year, and it certainly was a rivalry felt on both sides, helped by the number of Jocks in the English leagues. There's no way to simply say 'ah well, that's all over now' just because the English see France, or Germany, or whoever, as more of a rival.

Going up tomorrow morn. Looks like I'll be lucky to get a ticket!

http://gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest/book-reviews I'd like to draw attention to this new feature, which you can also access on the main site (link at the top of the page...it says 'Main Site' so even us old techo-twats can do it). There are two reviews on it already, one of Big Terry's second autobiography, and one of a book called 'Pack Men' which is far more interesting. If you've got a minute have a read and see what you think. And if you've any Rangers books lying around the house, fire up a post telling us what they're like. Most sports books are awful - if they are, say so, and if you have actually found one worth reading, even more better. Wish I'd held on to my 'Playing for Rangers' annuals now.

That's terribly, terribly disappointing.

If you ever fancy going along and need help with a lift or whatever, give me a shout.

Shame our cultural architect was Bazza, then.