alexscottislegend

I thought I heard some idea mooted recently that the OF - or Rangers at least - could play in some kind of reserve league with English sides? To my mind that would be a far better option. The standard of football would surely be higher and the youngsters better prepared for the first team. Other SPL sides are going to be promoting their best youth to the first teams, so diluting any league for reserves.Also - and I'm maybe fantasising here - it maybe could test the water for an eventual move to the EPL.

I don't have a sky dish but watched setanta via freeview Channel 34. Anyone know if I can continue to do this with ESPN?

No! No! No! I thought Boogie was supposed to be 'untouchable' acc. to WS. This would be disastrous. It would leave us needing 2 CB's. We may have been able to replace Cuellar but not this time.

Yes, as has been pointed out, the other clubs won't want the OF to have control. But they need to be told that the alternative could be extinction for them. The tail must not be allowed to wag the dog again. That is what happened when the original Sky deal was booted out.

The Nancy Bhoys? I like it.

There's a real danger that we could lose him for nothing next season because we're not extending his contract. I would prefer him to stay but if he goes we need a decent fee; to lose him for nothing would be the worst of all possible worlds. This mess has Martin Bain's fingerprints all over it.

Wish he'd played for us longer. Sadly he seems destined to be remembered for being nutmegged by Gazza at Euro 2000.

[ Meanwhile, we have lurched from finacial crisis to finacial crisis. This has resulted in us HAVING to sell players to keep the banker from our doors. Yip, all of the above is the fault of DA, AMc and WS. SDM is completely faultless in the above. Right, so if we compare ourselves to our East End foes: they have no debt yet are unable to attract a top-class manager (no chance of a MoN or WGS this time around). Why is that? Maybe because there is no dosh to splash? Don't think they wouldn't sell if there was the right offer. And look at some of the dross they're linked with. Not having CL has hit them hard, really hard, so that having no debt is almost immaterial. What I'm saying is would you rather be in their shoes? And these days any ambitious club will have huge debts. Look at the top EPL outfits - not one is debt-free. We've had the great SDM debate on this forum many times, and while I feel uneasy because he wants out, I fear the arrival of some unknown foreign consortium far worse; until we know who can replace him, I think we just have to make the best of things. Guess you'll say that I'm just a glass half-empty type.:devil:

Yeh, fair point but during the Advocaat years none of us complained about signing the likes of Gio v Bronchorst; I know some eyebrows - mine included - were raised at T.A Flo, but generally we all lapped up the lavish feasts before our eyes, believing we were buying our way into the CL for keeps. I don't think anyone could foresee how we would have been left high and dry by the creation of the EPL/Sky circus.

[QUOTE=CammyF;157306]In our most successful season recently (both on and off the field) where we got to the CL group stages, then went on to the UEFA Cup Final and sold players such as Hutton and Cuellar we still manged to add to our debt. That is not the fault of the global market or any other exuse you care to mention - that is the fault of the parsite that is running, sorry ruining our club. my club. It may of course also be the fault of team management who failed to get us into the lucrative CL stages season after season before that v. successful one you mention - so that the debt was cumulative. Quite simply we need CL football every season - was Kaunas the fault of SDM - or WS?

Long term this is the only hope we have of competing with the Hulls and Wigans of this world. (!!)

Oh come on! You cannot blame SDM for the market situation, loss of tv money, the fact we are not in the EPL. It was a whole different ball game in the Souness era prior to the Sky money artifically boosting the English clubs.

We'll regret this -especially at that giveaway price.

Did we not have a check something like that once before - during the McCoist golden years?

If you care about Rangers you should care. When teams like that lose they damage our co-efficient in europe. Then that makes it almost impossible for us to qualify for the CL. We need ALL Scottish teams to do well in Europe, otherwise we will lose an automatic CL place.

Peter McCloy all right. I well remember the big numpty chucking in a couple when we got dumped out the Texaco Cup by...Chesterfield!!

Think he's a full Welsh international.

Now, now, don't be cynical. This is what we all want to see, the club rearing its own. Would you rather we flogged them off and brought in 30-somethings and players looking to use us as a stepping stone?

Yeh, if that's the most we can expect, I'd rather keep him. We can fit him in a 4-2-3-1.

I'm probably the only person on here to mourn Setanta's passing. Why? Because I have a freeview box. Now I suppose I'll have to buy a dish!

Thanks, Frankie. Just needed to magnify it, doh! V. clever! Must have taken a lot of work.

Can't read it - can you give us the gist?

One of these days somebody with a sense of tradition will produce a Royal Blue shirt for Rangers, not these sky blue/pale blue versions.

But we shouldn't have to buy a 34 year old when we have Webster who recently played for Scotland B. He's at least worth a try.I'm beginning to wonder about the number of good players we have brought in and then failed to give a proper chance to. Think Webster,Gow, Naismith for a start.

Interesting. He looked good to me on YouTube but judging from your location you must have seen him plenty for NI?