ascender

Sorry, but i just don't buy it. When you start blaming more than the odd game not going our way because of ref decisions, its a sign of desperation. FWIW I think that these things usually do even up over a season.

Ref's in every country are under immense pressure these days, mainly due to the fact that every single controversial decision will be analysed in slow motion repla, often from different angles. I think there are good and bad refs and that we do have a number of really poor ones in the SPL, but I class a poor ref as one who loses control of games and ends up dishing out loads of cards whlie stopping the flow of the match. Oh, and what about the divers and cheats, they can't make it easy for them either.

In a one-off big game I can totally understand the frustration, but at the moment we're our own worst enemy and should be killing off these games, the odd appealed decision shouldn't even be concerning us.

One of the rumours was that PLG did have more money to spend but chose not to. Personally, I'd be surprised if there was much left in the pot. Maybe a wee bit for wages if we could get a free signing, but certainly no big fees.

I think we could lose out on him if Celtic have cash to spend in the January window unfortunately. He's a player I'd like to see at Ibrox, but I think things are against us just now considering our extremely limited finances.

How bizarre. It just gets stranger and stranger. The funny thing is that living in Edinburgh I'm around a lot of Jambos and not one of them thinks that Romanov is bad for the club. I've been saying from the start it'll end in tears and I still stand by that.

Even funnier to see that some Jambos want to walk out at 3.15pm or so if the guys are dropped and you have some other fans saying that you can't just walk out because you don't agree with the team selection. i think its gone a bit beyond that now..

So, do you think there's anyone we should bid on in the January window if we had the cash?

What time did this kick off last night?

I was starting to think that Buffel was a luxury we can't afford in the SPL as he was so inconsistent, especially when he starts, but he certainly put a shift in yesterday for us. I wouldn't have thought he'd fancy a move to Derby over us though.

I don't think PLG has a problem with Boyd, he just expects more from him. And looking at Boyd's recent performances, it looks like he's working harder at his overall game. Why else would he extend his contract as one of the first things he did when he took charge?

4M? We'll never spend that money on a single player unless someone comes in to takeover who has massive funds available.

Couldn't believe the story saying they're going to sign Buffon. Surely even Mourinho isn't that stupid? There's no way he could keep Cech and Buffon happy at the club. Cudicini isn't out for that long anyway is he?

I do wonder where Craig Gordon will end up though. I wish it was Ibrox, but i think it'll be the Premiership, especially if Scotland's results continue to be good.

The thing is though, was he not doing this all of last season for St Mirren? Which I know isn't the SPL, but still, he obviously has it in him to get a great player for us, I guess he just needs some time to settle in and also to be played in his preferred position.

Was great to see him score last night.

Klos is one of those players who, over a season, will win you points with his individual performances. I think you need guys like him in the team if you're going to win titles.

I never knew about that stuff Frankie, that's pretty poor. Shame his attitude stinks then.

I think Steven Smith has shown that playing regularly has improved his game. OK so he's still short of the final article, but I think we need to stick with him and build for the future. So why don't we just stick with Hutton at RB? If PLG rates him, then play him. Otherwise, why bring in another young RB?

Yeah, I thought this one had been dismissed as a red herring quite a few times now?

Apparently klos had no chance with either goal. I really hope he gets back in the team, and gives us some consistency. Here's a question - if Letizi was brought in as our no questions asked number one, why wasn't he given the number one jersey?

I know Klos is on a nice little earner, but if PLG had no intention of playing him, then surely some sort of agreement would have been reached to release him?

He, like Soti, was a car crash waiting to happen on the pitch. Apart from when his contract was about to run out obviously and then the other Ricksen turned up. No way we need him back, there's no-one here just now with as bad an attitude problem as he has.

Nothing on the Beeb or the official site. Personally I think we need the cover in the squad and its a bit hard to judge these guys when the rest of our squad have been mediocre at best too.

Have I missed something? As a kid I followed Liverpool as my English team largely due to Dalglish and the other Scots. And for as long as I can remember, I associated You'll Never Walk Alone with the Kop and 'Pool, for obvious reasons.

So when did Celtic fans decide to start singing it and how come they get away with it?! Just seems a bit strange, that's all.

Barthez is a free agent and experienced, so I guess it makes sense. Well, for a club with more money than sense it probably does.

In truth though, as he's nothing better to do, they could probably pick him up on a short term contract that suits everyone. Will still be weird if it happens though.

To be honest though, like I said last season, I'd happily write a season off if we saw real progress in terms of the way we played and young players coming through. A decent run in the Uefa Cup and maybe winning the Scottish Cup would do for me. All those things (and the financial benefits attached) would mean we'd be in a great position for next season.

Unfortunately after a bright start, we seem to be going backwards. I still have faith in PLG, but I'd welcome a change of owner, I think the club needs a breath of fresh air through it from the top down.

At the moment though, whether its due to injury or form or whatever, a lot of the players in the midfield and front areas aren't getting a few games in a row to settle in to the team and the formation. Consistency is needed too, rotating some players is fine once the team has settled down, but at the moment I have no idea how PLG expects to get the best out of someone like Sebo who has hardly played yet.

Taken from the other thread on the subject I went for....

I'd agree on the back 4 and keeper, but I'm starting to really have no idea what our best midfield is - a problem I think I share with PLG. Big problem is that Hemdani has played well this season but he and Fergie can't play in the same team. Uunless Hemdani plays as a holding midfielder with Fergie in front of him and told not to drop so deep?

As its not two legged I think we should go for it, so a nice 4-4-2 would do me. How about the following? Abuot time N'Diaye got a chance and I don't think a lack of wingers would do us any harm if we encourage Smith and Bardsley to get forward.

Up front, I know I'm like a stuck record, but Boyd must play. We're still wasting lots of chances, so why he's stuck on the bench I'll never know. It was obvious from the amount of running Sebo did yesterday that PLG has been hammering home the point about wanting more from his forwards, so stick the pair of them on, let them have time to build up an understanding and see what happens.

FWIW I can see PLG going with Letizi to prove a point and I don't think he'll ever drop J-Rod.

_______________McGregor_______________

Bardsley___Svensson___Papac____Smith____

_______________Hemdani_________________

_____N'Diaye___Ferguson___Rae___________

___________Sebo_______Boyd____________

Its that common sense thing though which is strange and worrying as PLG seems to be making some of the same mistakes which AM did last year.

A basic 4-4-2 system that all the players understand.

When you've got an in form player, play him.

When a player is playing well don't drop him.

When you need goals, play your top scorer.

Exactly Calscot.

As for the leaadership, the closest we ever got to having a real effect on DM was last season after the worse run of results in our history. Then DM did sit up and take notice, only to turn round and do what he wanted anyway.

Frankie - do you think there are people with real money to invest in the playing staff who would buy Rangers just now? I'm assuming that the down-sizing has made it a more attractive prospect, but I've not seen much in the papers about prospective buyers.

What position was he playing in for St Mirren last season?

The Times has this interview today. He's apparently promised Murray he'll come back and they reckon that due to his loyalty, Milan won't stand in his way if he wants to go in a few years. He's also adamant that it won't be to get a pension (a la Roy Keane) and he'll still be able to do a job, so maybe when he's 30/31? Wages won't be an issue either.

Who knows, but he pointed out that this definitely isn't a PR thing and it will happen. We can only hope!

I always felt he was never given a fair crack of the whip up here - i.e. a run in the team in his preferred position.

I thought we played excellent football at the start of the season and both PLG & the players deserve our full support. But there have been worrying signs over the last few months similar to when AM was in charge where we just can't seem to understand some of the decisions being made. The way Kris Boyd seems to have been overlooked is particularly strange.