ascender

We've done well since WS took over, but its pretty obvious that we don't have the strength of squad to replicate those results over the course of a season, let alone the quality of player needed in key positions to win titles convincingly.

What's the message behind the banner supposed to be Cammy? Is it a dig at the recent moves to cut out the sectarian singing - i.e. we should be proud of our club's heritage and the like?

Why are we now over-hyping this player?

Because he can take a mean free kick but also has that ability to do something special and turn a game. I don't think we're over-hyping him, but we certainly don't have anyone like him in our squad at the moment.

We all knew it was coming, so its no surprise but doesn't make it any easier to take. I guess we can just be a bit more optimistic now that next season we'll actually put up a decent fight for the SPL under Walter.

Juffrey is right though, we could do with signing one or two "special" players who can turn a game with individual skill or a moment of brilliance. I think that's what we've been lacking ever since we started to downsize.

Add in some more players with grit, determination and fight, and we won't be far off winning it next season.

Right back, but still.

D'oh! I knew it was one of the full back positions. Come to think of it, maybe that was the problem.... Rae at right back, never. Rae at left back, it might just work. I'm a genius.

Was that Fraser that voted G Rae for MOM:devil:

Only if he was playing at left back....

Chelsea seem to be coming on to a game at just the right time while Man Yoo seem to be struggling and their defence is in tatters thanks to injuries. But then they've had a few wobbles this season already and the next week they'll come out and destroy someone. Exciting stuff though.

Nice one. That's a relief actually.

thats maybe why you cannae see it!

Good point!

Thanks, I'll drop Frankie a PM.

Re the letters, that's what I thought but I couldn't see it on the latest one. Besides, I've just ripped it up!

Where can I find my membership number?

Just filling in my renewal and sharesave forms.....

Maybe I'm being over-dramatic, but this just seems symptomatic of the way our club is being run, no-one seems to care any more about the standards we used to set. Its just one big atmosphere of indifference from the top down. No wonder we're in the state we are.

Or maybe I'm just getting old and the recent kits have been big hits with the "yoof". I can't remember the last time I bought any Gers gear for training, but its been a very, very long time.

This guy definitely seems to be worth spending the money on so I really hope we don't miss out on him.

Centre defence is now looking to be in good hands with lots of cover, so I guess that's something to be please about. I could see WS buying a couple of full backs in the summer though unless he's been happy with Ian Murray at LB with Smith out.

Very, very poor.

Yeah, he's definitely getting on, I think he's 36.

Another one who should never have been sold and never really seemed to be rated by DA.

Could he do a job for a season or two in the SPL? Probably.

lol. That's hilarious!

Its a tricky position though because we need goalkeeper cover, but with Am being so young, the likely choice is an older, more experienced keeper. Probably someone who will want to be number one, unless we get someone who is near the end of their career and is looking to come, work with young keepers and get the odd run out.

Is Carroll better than McGregor? I honestly don't know. I've not been watching him week in, week out, so I'm not sure. Maybe someone else has been so can shed some light? All I do know is that the standard of keepers is very high in the Premiership, so we could do worse?

I don't think he'd be happy as number two though.

Still more stories coming out about Roy Carroll. Apparently he's a Gers fan and as such has turned down Celtic in the past. Apparently there's a relegation release clause in his contract which means he can leave for nothing.

Was it down to our cost cutting that made him leave in the end? I'm assuming he's on a nice wedge of dosh out there.

Who do you have in mind that we can afford and who would want to come to Rangers?

Me? No-one springs to mind. When it came to our defensive problems, it was pretty obvious who I wanted signed - Pressley or Weir were two names mentioned and I think a lot of us thought that was a no-brainer.

Now, I have no idea. It depends how much money is available and what our scouting network turns up I guess. It also depends greatly on what WS thinks of our current squad.

Also, the last part of your question is very telling at the moment. I just don't know where we go from here really.

I don't think we've got a natural leader at the moment. Davie Weir would be a shoe-in if he was a bit more vocal on the pitch, but at the moment I'd like to see us sign someone experienced who will really play with his heart on his sleeve and give him the armband. Its a cliche, but I think its true at the moment.

I hope they are fake as they look piss poor and the blue colour seems way off.

I wish we'd get Nike back on board to design & make our stuff.

The PLG situation is a strange one. On one hand because of the pressure of the job and the fact that finishing second is seen as failure, the odds were stacked against him and who knows what his long term game plan for the club was.

On the other hand, he's going to be judged by his signings and the way things are going, all of them could be gone by the start of next season. WS obviously hasn't seen much in guys like Sebo, Svensson or Sionko as they've all been kept on the bench at best. Sebo's had a bit more involvement, but I'd have thought he'll be gone too.

Also, I'd have hoped that a top class coach would have sorted out our defensive problems, but PLG didn't seem to think there was anything wrong. WS seemed to make that his top priority, but when PLG could have done the same by signing Pressley, he wasn't interested. In the end its worked out better IMO as I think Weir is a better player than Pressley.

We all know that when you come here you are straight in to the spotlight and you just don't get time to settle. But usually with players who have tough starts here, you see something, a flash of potential or they do something special that makes you think they'll come good in the end. Unfortunately with many of PLG's signings that's just not happened and we've ended up giving them the benefit of the doubt time after time. Its worrying that a top class manager who is rated highly, can sign that many players who just aren't suited to the SPL. A couple of them have also said that they underestimated the Scottish game which is very worrying for professional athletes to admit to.

Our squad is probably at the weakest its been in my living memory to be honest. We're in dire straits and really need to rebuild this squad both in terms of quality and quantity as a matter of urgency. Unfortunately I don't think WS will get the money required to do it and that next season will be another really long one for us. Unless there's a significant amount of money available to WS, the rebuilding will take another year or so at least. There's just no way we can afford to sign the number of good players needed to even bolster our squad at the moment. When you add in the players who will leave in the summer, we're in an even bigger mess.

As for the BF thing, I think the thing is that no-one is blaming him for the mess we're in, but because of his profile as our best player, captain and one of our more experienced players, he's first in the firing line. I still think the way that PLG left was an absolute embarrassment and something we should be ashamed of. There's no doubt that he walked away after DM opened the door for him, but the players role in it left a bad taste in my mouth.

When PLG came and started to emphasise the importance of fitness, diet and overall lifestyle, there were grumblings almost immediately which came out through the usual sources from the players. This unhappiness seemed to remain throughout his tenure and we even had the foreign players admitting that the Scottish lads didn't really socialise with them or make them feel part of the group. Then we hear that there's still a drinking culture amongst the Scottish players and the foreign guys can't believe how they live.

I really had high hopes for PLG when he started, if only because I thought he'd get the players in to great physical shape. Which is really important in the SPL as its a long, hard season, especially over the winter months and when you're playing lots of games against opposition teams who are set up to defend. But what hope did he have if there was a number of the players who just didn't seem to want to change?

WS admits that times have changed since the team drinking days of 9IAR, but I really hope that he can get some sort of team spirit back in to our side, both on and off the pitch. That's what we've really missed over the last few years I think. We need a captain with fire in his belly who drives the team on and unites them, leads by example. I just get the impression that the squad is still very disjointed and when we're losing or finding it tough going, there's no-one really motivating the team on the park. Its the same sort of lacklustre atmosphere that we've become used to on occasion under AM and which has hung around now for 3 years or so. I just don't know what the answer is though.

The flip side to that though is that Fergie is one of a core of players who have underperformed and been posted missing in action when the chips are really down, under Alex McLeish, Paul le Guen and Walter Smith.

Maybe part of the problem is that Fergie looks like a shadow of his former self and as such he's having to work harder to win over sections of the support.

As a Rangers fan, it is clearly fashionable to 'dislike' Barry Ferguson as he is an easy target for those who think PLG was going to 'turn us around' as PLG aand his allies in the media painted BF as public ememy No1.

Not sure about that though. The amount of stories which seemed to come from or around BF far outnumbered the rumours which came from PLG's side of things. End of the day we just don't know what happened, but many of the rumours about his behaviour which came out during that embarrassing episode have been around for a good few years now and we'd all heard them before.

I do think he's a fantastic player, probably the best all rounder we have just now by a long distance, but I just don't understand a lot of his behaviour and how he plays on the pitch at times.