26th of foot

I was young, it was Springtime, my mind was not my own, I was in love.

No sky too high, no sea too rough, no muff too tough.

The epitome of mid seventies German porn'; all groaning saxophones and flashing neon lights. Sellik TV - Tom Boyd and Gerry McCulloch trail trail as, 'Jota Does the Castro'.

Rangers 3 ra Sellik 2 FGS : Morelos.

Rangers 2 Motherwell 0 FGS : Kent.

Given the most inclement weather here in the west, I am hoping the Stool Men will be flushed away.

Our front three are largely playing with their backs to goal, thus caught in possession most of the time. Why doesn't Sakala lengthen the game, drop the shoulder, spin and run in behind? This gives the midfield more space and time to get their heads up and play. Speaking of which, Lowry and his ability to play an incisive ball might be needed to sustain this half time lead. If we continue to give Ross County cheap free kicks, throw ins and, corners, we will suffer. The vast majority of their goals come from such set pieces.

Ross County 1 Rangers 2 FGS : Arfield.

In the interest of continuity, can one of our Moderators transfer this wonderful BBC Radio Scotland clip found by Forlanssister into the Pacific Quay Musings thread? It deserves it's place.

Jum Spence has a very typical Twitter feed this evening. He fail fails to mention this evening's opening scorer in the Aberdeen - Rangers fixture. Then, he posts a picture of John Wayne(the Duke) and eulogises the free kick struck by Duk. Encouraged, he then lionises the volley by Clarkson and ends his comments by approving the Pittodrie attendance of 18,025 with a photo of the Dons banner, 'Stand Free'. Jum's next and final Tweet of the night is a prompt for his column in tomorrow's Dundee Courier on gender discrimination. I know, we are all wondering how the Dandies versus the Bears finished? Can I just say, 'Merry Crumbo Jumbo'.

Tis the season to be cheerful. Normally, I say festive felicitations to all. Tonight, I say to Jim Goodwin, 'Merry Crimbo Jimbo'.

Aberdeen 1 Rangers 2 FGS : Morelos.

I listened to a radio show this morning urging the Scottish Government to get involved in the issue. The female contributor was certain the First Minister would have strong views on the matter? It got me thinking; why don't we ask the First Minister's sister, Gillian to intervene and arbitrate? Gillian is an on-line Clairvoyant, her preferred means of engaging her sixth sense is with mystic crystals and Tarot Cards. Gillian will save everyone loads of angst and, while she is at it, she can see ahead to next summer and advise Cal-Mac on printing their summer Ferries sailing schedule. Nicola and Gillian - sisters doing it for themselves.

Admit it? It's Vera's light blue half ton Landrover that gets your juices flowing?

Rangers 2 Hibs 0 FGS : Colak.

Tony Woodcock and Ray Wilkins.

At last, our guarding of old Delhi's walls has been recognised. We should celebrate on Thursday against Hibs by singing, 'On the Green Grassy slopes of the Ganges'.

The Cup final finished Rangers 2 Hibs 0. Wonder strikes from Lizzie Arnot and Kirsty Howat in either half secured the trophy for Rangers Ladies. Well done to the Broomloan Collective, a hundred or so young Bears kept the drums going and sang Rangers songs, brought a bit of atmosphere to a cold Tynecastle.

Half time : Rangers 1 Hibs 0. We should be further ahead, continually getting into good areas but final ball is a constant let down' Hibs not really threatening other than the odd ball over the top. Rangers high press ensures lots of space in behind for Hibs to run into.

Today, Rangers Ladies are playing at Tynecastle in the League Cup final against Hibs. The game is currently being shown live on Sky Sports. Rangers are leading 1-0, courtesy of a Lizzy Arnot 25 yard screamer.

Club AGM Report. I attended my first Rangers AGM in 1967. I was a Primary 7 schoolboy accompanying both my Father and Grandfather. The location was the Kenilworth Hotel(now demolished) at the bottom of Queen Street. The Chairman was John Lawrence and the Manager, Scot Symon suffered some strong advice. I remember the big talking points were the Dividend and Wembley tickets. My Gran's Co-op Divi' number was 10422, I could not work out how it impacted on Rangers? I suspect there were no more than a couple of hundred folks in the room. Yesterday, the Clyde Auditorium was struggling to seat the numbers trapping; the attendance was in excess of two thousand. Certainly, the most I have seen. The Club Chairman, Douglas Park opened the meeting and welcomed Michael Beale back to Rangers as our newly appointed Manager. Proceedings were then handed over to the Anderson Strathern Chair, Bruce Farquhar. He introduced the top table as : Kenny Barclay, Graham Park, Alastair Johnston, Ross Wilson, Michael Beale, Douglas Park, John Bennet, Stewart Robertson, James Bisgrove, Andrew Dickson and, Greig McKnight(Auditor). Farquhar then explained the voting card and it's use, he emphasised Resolution eight noting the special status and as such required 75% of the vote to be accepted. The resolution provided the necessary flexibility to the Board in terms of raising and spending the capital required to implement the Club's plans for Disabled supporters going forwards. a short video was shown and Andrew Dickson was asked to present Rangers prescribed plans for Disability? Dickson stood with an impressive sequence of visual aides, explaining : 1. the historical demand. 2. the desire to create the best provision in the Uk, an exemplar for the Disabled supporter. 3. the development deemed necessary for the wheelchair bound supporter. 4. a project team consisting of architects, engineers and, Disabled supporters grouping has been assembled to oversee the development. 5. some existing season ticket holders will be moved to accommodate the newly created wheelchair spaces. 6. over 1,000 seats will be cleared to create 162 wheelchair spaces(and attendants). 7. 1,800 new seats will be realised by extending the lips of both the upper tiers of both the Sandy Jardine(900) and Main Stands(900). 8. the Ibrox capacity will increase by 727. 9. the necessary disabled friendly kiosks, toilets and, lifts will also be installed. 10. resolution 8 is required to raise the capital to fund the project. At the conclusion of the presentation the audience applauded enthusiastically. The next presentation was the Financial Results, relevant until 300622. 1. There was considerable growth in every revenue stream. 2. The biggest growth was in the Commercial stream. 3. There has been a 82% increase in revenue - club generated £87 million. 4. Club made an operating profit of £5.8 million. 5. Flexibility of capital is most important if progress is to continue(another resolution 8 hint). 6. Auditors now most comfortable with the club going forward - sustainability and stability has been shown. 7. A visual aide of Cashflow Summary was utilised to highlight the considerable investment in the playing squad - in the last five years, £61 million has gone on transfers in whereas £13 million has come in. 8. As the Accounts culminate on 300622, the figures do NOT include the transfer fees accrued for Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey. Further, Champions League qualification and CL Group takings NOT included either. 9. There is £13.1 million in the bank. Next up was James Beale, he sat at a coffee table with a Rangers TV Journo for a tete-a-tete. Beale admitted to a comfortable familiarity at being back at Rangers. He had conducted six training sessions and his feeling was fantastic! He intends to continue to work daily with both players and recruitment. He has added four additions to the managerial staff? He is determined to establish a strong club identity, based on our style of play. Rangers will play attacking football, will not take a backward step, others will have to worry about us. He credited GVB for the Europa Cup final, winning the Scottish Cup and, CL qualification. He acknowledged Gio as a man of class, behaved impeccably in every situation. Stewart Robertson then Chaired the Q and A session that concludes the AGM. There were 16 questions taken from the floor in the just over 30 minutes allocated. It was the usual mix of expected and inane : 1. Why didn't we sign any Dutch players? Apparently, we did agree to sign a Dutch player(no name) during close season. The player then signed for another club(no name). 2. A Club 1872 Rep' asked Douglas Park to explain his intention? The Club Chairman answered - to provide the best team playing the best football, winning all they compete for ........ etc. He ended by stating, "Club 1872 is always welcome but must always be mindful of the NDA". 3. Ten first team players are currently injured, why are we suffering so many long term injuries? Robertson talked of our players playing continual Euro football, then playing international football too, a recipe for injuries in constant intense competitive situations. Interestingly, Michael Beal interrupted to state, "between leaving and returning, the players changed the way they trained and perhaps were not fully prepared". I would have liked more detail on that interruption. 4. Another Club 1872 rep' wanted to know how many loans had been repaid particularly, to John Bennet? John Bennet stated he was committed to the club to the tune of £23 million. He explained he had received £5 million back on last year's £13 million owed. Currently, the club owed him £8 million and last month he established a further £10 million facility for the club to draw on, if needed throughout this season. 5. Question on player trading - new players not playing enough games. Take Colak and Tillman out of the equation and the rest of the close season signings were averaging six games each out of a total of 27 played. Are we receiving value for money? Ross Wilson did not accept the equation. 6. MyGers - explain the allocation of tickets? Stewart Robertson got into an explanation of Gold, Silver and, Bronze. Resolved to meet questioner to resolve matter. 7. Is the Rangers store a Rangers store or a Carstore store? James Bisgrove was anxious supporters should look ahead to the opening of the multi tiered super store within the newly constructed Edmiston House. Apparently, it is due to open in January. The supplementary question made decent points, customer relations remain poor, there's nothing in the store for under a tenner, there are no Christmas stocking fillers and, who sanctioned a poster commemorating a record home defeat to Liverpool? 8. Can we establish a sustained player trading mode? Apparently, we have done so. 9. CL Group match pricing, why were we at the highest end? The Board decided to maximise the revenue stream, they were correct because Rangers sold every ticket available? 10. Is Ross Wilson the right man to develop the playing squad? 11. A political polemic against, "the Scottish Nasty Party"? 12. My Gers should be abolished? 13. Albion car park parking policy? These four questions were in turn given short shift, urged to withdraw the mike, ignored and, decided private consultation would be more beneficial. 14. Why have Kent and Morelos been allowed to run their contracts down? Douglas Park explained the Board had intervened in negotiations with both players but no progress had been achieved. Not hopeful of either signing extensions. 15. Is there opportunity for external investment? Yes. 16. When does the work start for the new state of the art Disabled facility begin? Summer of 2023. End of AGM. In conclusion, we have demanded our fellow Disabled supporters receive equitable treatment? I believe this proposal goes a long way to fulfil our demands. However, it is up to our fellow Bears to look at and decide it is what they want? Can nearby parking be achieved, will Disabled fans be able to view the games from elevated positions and remain warm and dry and, will the accompanying kiosks, lifts and, toilets be deemed acceptable to those provided? It is their decision and we should support it.

This coming Tuesday at 10.30hrs, the Club AGM will be held(staged) at the Glasgow Auditorium. I am intent upon attending and like last year, will make annotations and provide a full report to the forum. There is a small interference running, immediately after the AGM I have a Christmas lunch booked at Pollok Juniors social club. I suspect it will be long and boozy. If I have managed to hold on to the necessary notes, I will get something up on Thursday? If you are attending, please support me on my two long running annual demands : 1. We treat our fellow Rangers supporters who happen to be disabled a lot better than we do so currently. 2. The Club do everything to send our magnificent support in to a state of frenzy, by setting a date for burning Graham Spiers at the stake. I suggest 15th December against Hibs at half time? It will keep everyone warm and the Club should sell cups of accelerant at £10 a pop to ensure Graham achieves extra crispy status and, the accrued funds should be donated to Erskine.

Seriously, we have been in court so often this last decade; I suspect the defensive side of the court is known as the Rangers end?

Current Scottish Cup holders have just been drawn away to St Johnstone in the fourth round. Tie to be played on the 21st January'23.

It is official, Michael Beale is the Rangers Gaffer. Michael has my every best wish, I hope he is the most successful Rangers Boss of my approaching 60 years follow following Rangers. Deliberately, I have stayed off the Forum this last month. I have been traveling, including 12 days in my Mallorcan pied a terre. Contemplation was needed because the last two away games against both the Perth and Paisley Saints highlighted a phenomenon that cannot be ignored. The GVB year was a very good year. He took us to our sixth Euro' final, won the Cup and, successfully guided us through four Champions League qualifiers. He made the club a shed load of money. He was hampered by significant injuries to key players. In saying all that, he was Toast after Liverpool thrashed us 1-7 on our own midden. The details of that game are worth remembering - we were drawing 1-1 with thirty minutes left to play. We succumbed to an eight minute hat trick from a substitute and only some outstanding goal keeping kept the scoreline below double figures. Elements of our team stopped soldiering. Our Board should have applied the maxim, always reinforce success. they did not, preferring to recoup their soft loan monies and, I do not think we can blame them for doing so? During both Saints games, most of the teams refused to soldier. I think Beale has an interesting problem. He has to find a way to install professionalism individually and collectively. Hard decisions must be made that will impact upon ambition. Leadership is required.