Tannochsidebear

Hibs 0 Rangers 3 (Boyd 2, Mendes) Rangers finally hit top gear and put out a message to their repugnant rivals with a scintilating display in the capital that seen them go top after Sheepy's surprise 5-1 victory at the glitterdome yesterday. The scum are now apopleptic after the SPL decided that to even things up for last season, Rangers would have all 5 games post-split at home, and that Brines, Conroy, Thomson and Smith would all not be considered to referee their remaining fixtures. Aye OK then, another scrappy 1-0 win to keep us 1 point behind the filth.

Interesting stuff. I think Motherwell will pip Hibs to 6th, and that they will send the ****s to Fir Park rather than Tynecastle. As a direct result, our third home game will come against Motherwell and not Hearts. Today's outburst by Timmy makes absolutely no sense on its own merits, and has been done only to put pressure in the mhedia on the SPL when they have to announce the fixtures on Sunday/Monday. Timmy always gets his way with a little imtimidation thrown in for good measure, and this time will be no different. We should be coming out with a clear statement before this weekend stating that it was only due to timmy's bad behaviour 10 years ago that meant we could no longer have the final OF game either a title decider or on a bank holiday weekend. And that we expect a much fairer and even-handed post-split scenario than last season. Will we release this said statement, not a chance. We wont even moan about it officially when it is announced and the scum's odds for the title have been cut again without a further ball being kicked. That would tell you how fair the fixtures have been carved up again.

So you mean to say that having Coisty, Durranty, McDowall around the place is making the players have attitudes to training and diet that generally let themselves down? Instead of offering coaching roles to any player that hangs around long enough at the end of their careers, I would prefer we bring in quality coaches, dieticians, and fitness experts to ensure the players are given every chance to be the best possible professionals they can be. If the players dont wish to implement these attitudes, they should be sold. Although I am not sure we would have enough players left to make up a team!

Given that he has only been out two weeks, if he is back in full training, it can only mean he is ready for selection. If he is taking full part in the fitness and training games, I doubt he will need any length of time to get back into the team. It is not as if he has been out for months and will have lost sharpness.

It looked to me as if he was already going down before the contact, but if McLean was stupid enough to make contact with a player already going down, then tough luck sunshine. I have not seen it again on tv though, but everyone around me thought it was worthy of at least 9.5

I had a sneaky feeling Velicka would come into the side against Motherwell and it has nothing to do with the upcoming scum game. I just thought that he was getting his turn to partner Boyd. In the last 3 games Naismith and Novo had had their chance and both have failed to look impressive at all. With Miller and Lafferty both out injured, and Fleck not being given the chance at Striker, I thought Velicka would be given his chance to grab a place. I thought Velicka did quite well, better than Novo or Naismith had recently, and he should retain his place for Sunday unless Lafferty can have a good week in training and look fully fit. He wont want to risk him if not fully fit and lose him for the rest of the season.

If that is your honest opinion Cammy, then fair enough. It's wrong, but at least it's honest :devil: I thought SW had a decent game, but he cannot play left sided as when he gets to the bye line he has to cut back as he has no left foot worthy of note. He also misplaced several simple passes. I like him as a player but I want him to get a consistent run of games at right back to get him some form and consistency, and show us that he can be Hutton's replacement after all. He has all the game going forward, but needs to improve defensively, but we were still saying that about Hutton when we sold him! For an all round proper strikers performance and goals, the MOTM was one of the easiest this season IMO to award. I am sure Boyd would have got it in most papers today, ( i dont buy them!) and he was singled out by both managers as the difference between the sides. 4 goals in the last 3 games is a timely return to form for Boyd after a barren run and some really lazy and poor performances and I believe the transfer stuff in Jan really affected him. I hope he has set himself yesterday's performance as the benchmark for future performances, as on that form he can lead us to the title. Wasn't having a pop at you directly Cammy, I generally agree with most of your stuff, and no offence meant. You're still wrong about MOTM though

It had been widely predicted that the first post split game would be the OF game, but I was concerned that that date would coincide with both the 10th anniversary of the day timmy completely lost it against us, and a holiday weekend, which the police have stated they would prefer to avoid. It makes sense therefore that the OF game be the 2nd game post split. Still not going to be a title decider and will be Sunday 1230pm.

I was beginning to think I was at a different game, after some strange comments on Smith and Whittaker's performances. Smith had a solid performance, giving balance to the midfield and worked hard in both directions. Whittaker had one absolutely fantastic run and was unlucky not to score with it, but that aside looked out of position (because he was!!) and not quite sure of himself. And for anyone not giving Boyd MOTM when he was clearly miles ahead of anyone else is just stubborn refusal to give credit where it is due, because they dont like him. I wish he would play like that more often, of course, but on yesterday's form he could win us the title, if Walter has the bottle to play him.

I should add that Rangers groups, the Rangers Supporters Association and the Rangers Assembly have each bought a four figure sum worth of tickets for this draw, with any winnings going back into youth development.

The total od rising stars tickets sold for the draw tomorrow is now expected to reach around the 40,000 mark. This is down almost entirely to the work of a select few individuals who have gotten the RSC's involved for this respectful campaign. From what is normally a �£2,000 first prize on matchday sales of around the 5,000 mark, tomorrow's draw will be a world record for a half-time draw prize, as prizes are in direct relation to the amount raised and has to be 40% of the total. We are looking at a first prize tomorrow of around �£16,000, with the winner receiving their cheque at half time during the upcoming old firm game. For any bears who have not already bought a ticket, this would be the very draw to do so.

Edu for me, a fantastic first half, topped off with a goal, and good defensive work in the second half. Whittaker also did well on his wrong side, and Boyd got another goal and generally worked a lot harder than of late, certainly outworking his two forward companions last night in Novo and Naismith.

The scale of change required at National level is almost on a par with the scale of change required at our club. Both institutions have gotten stale, corrupt, and lost the focus of what it was they were there for in the first place. As far as Peat is concerned, I refer back to my post earlier in this thread. Nothing has changed in this regard, and he is well out of his depth. Remind me again which club he ran into the ground and how they are doing now? As for the SFA, SPL and SFL, we are too small to have 3 gravy trains in our country. They have to merge, become one streamlined organisation with a proper CEO in charge of it who does not answer to any committees of part-time, self-interest seeking blazers who cannot even run their own clubs successfully. Kick out Queens Park from Hampden. They clearly cannot afford a market value rent for a 52,000 stadium when their crowds rarely exceed 1,000. So it is unfair to every other club in the SFL that they get such an advantage. This might even help the much-criticised pitch. I would not have spent the money on upgrading Hampden either. Murrayfield is a fantastic stadium and it is only the thought of 52,000 old firm fans on the M8 that worries people. However these events are quite rare so should pose no problem, as alternatives include alternating between Ibrox and the piggery if the OF meet in cup semis or finals, or make them two-legged affairs, with the proceeds from the extra game going to charity. But it is done now, so we have to make the most of it, and we clearly do not. We are also making a laughing stock of the game by insisting that the cup semi between Dunfermline and Falkirk is played at Hampden. Surely a full Easter Road would make for a better spetacle than a quarter full Hampden?

I have my problems with Ferguson's form and fitness since his return from Blackburn, and especially the last 2 seasons where he has looked well past his best. But I will not accept PLG's slaughtering of him at face value, when it has been thought and finally confirmed by Murray in his 20th anniversary interview on Radio Scotland last November, that PLG was a sly bassa that was working his ticked out and had been tapped by PSG as early as October, coinciding with negative stories starting to come out about unity. PLG made an almighty dogs dinner of the job at Ibrox, completely underestimating the importance of bringing in a Scottish coaching assistant to guide him through our system and style, not doing his homework on us or our opponents despite knowing he was starting the job for 6 months and being only a pundit for this time, he could easily have done a far better job. The reality of the PLG situation is he was a typical Froggy coward who, at the first sign of trouble, bottled it completely and walked out. The fact he took Ferguson down with him was only because Ferguson, as his captain, was trying to be helpful, and PLG's arrogance refused it. I will be happy to have Ferguson sold in the summer, but only because his form does not justify the salary.

Couple of pointers, Davis was suspended and you forgot to mention a third Rangers player playing for Scotland. Someone who when put clean in on goal failed to even get a shot away!! Perhaps it was intentional and if so, even better!

I only mentioned the league cup as it was an OF final, and the momentum would/should have taken us on towards the title!!

I try to take an interest in the National team, and under Smith and then Eck I was starting to even watch the games again. But Burley's appointment over Souness was the single most ridiculous appointment in Scottish football since Dr Jo. His attacks since on Boyd, Broadfoot, and generally picking and playing donkeys like Iwoogiewoogie or whatever the big lump is called, has yet again turned me away. I would add that the Scumtanta contract now means I wont even watch most Scotland games, and instead of going to the pub to watch them as I did for the France and Italy matches during the last campaign, I am going to see Jimmy Carr at the SECC and I think I have the better deal. Anyway, back to the original question, I would expect the poll results to be heavily slanted on this forum, given it is a Rangers forum, but to add it a bit further I would prefer we won the league cup recently against the scum than Scotland won the world cup. It is that big a gap.

The scary thing about these Levein rumours is that they keep appearing. It is becoming scarily reminiscent of late 2001 when there were loads of rumours of DA being moved upstairs and McLeish being brought in. Of course I told everyone that was rubbish and there was no way a manager of McLeish's calibre would take over from someone like Advocaat. And of course I was wrong and the appointment was announced days later, and the major cost-cutting and player fire-sale began as our debt mountain started to decline. Oh so scarily similar to the position we find ourselves in today.

It is our big name, expensive, big salary players that continue to show only fleeting glimpses of form, and when we need them most to grab a game by the scruff and dominate it, they go hiding. Step forward our two panic, post-Kaunas buys Mendes and Davis. I am on record as saying that I thought Davis was far too inconsistent when on loan last season, and nothing has changed that opinion this season. I would have preferred not to buy him and spend what little money we had on a more consistent option. There is little doubt he has talent and is certainly good enough to be a good player for us, but when the going gets tough, the wee man does a hiding job time after time after time. Mendes loves to play lovely long range passes when we are a couple of goals up and cruising, but when we need to get stuck in and get back in a game or push on to win a game, he has failed us on many occassions this season. His few wonderful goals have papered over a quite inconsistent run of games through the winter. Around �£8M we didn't have spent on these two, in the gamble that they would bring the creativity to ensure the chances were created for our poacher, and they have failed to deliver far too often. The pair of them have 9 games left to raise their game and deliver, or they would not be missed in the coming fire sale.

"Try and run it off son" seems to be the only analysis our staff are able to suggest.

McGregor Whittaker Broadfoot Bougherra Papac Davis Ferguson Mendes Fleck Boyd Lafferty Subs: Alexander, Edu, Naismith, Novo, Aaron. Half Time Rangers 3 (Boyd, Lafferty, Fleck) Jambos 0 Subs used Naismith Novo and Aaron for Boyd Lafferty and Fleck Full Time Rangers 6 (Boyd, Lafferty, Fleck, Novo, Naismith, Aaron) Jambos 0 Rangers announce after the match that Dailly, McCulloch, Webster, Miller, and Hemdani have all agreed to cancel their contracts with immediate effect for no financial compensation as they all agreed to have ripped us off enough already. Rangers manager Walter Smith admitted post-match that he had had a change of heart in the last week and was no longer going to accept second best, and he was going all out to attack every team we play either at home or away, and would no longer sign 30+ duds or pay more than �£1M for any SPL player. He then issued life bans to Spiers, Keevins, Guidi, McNee, and a dozen other scumbag hacks telling them it was no longer open season on our club, and that they were no longer welcome. On hearing this news, the scum from the east end's bottle totally collapsed and Peter Liewell had a heart attack, (which Spiers reported as an attack by a Rangers fan) and Dundee United ran out comfortable 4-0 winners at Tannadice on the Sunday. Nurse!!!!

Just to get back to the original topic if you dont mind me interrupting the political debate for a moment, I was truly stunned to not see a thing about this on Scotland Today or Reporting Scotland last night. It must have been a really busy news day. I just thought that with the BBC always at the very forefront of the sectarian news agenda this would have been right up their street. A former Scottish political leader entering the debate that they are always so keen to talk up. I am sure they just missed it despite it being in the paper and being brought to their attention. Never mind, I am sure they will be back to their neutral best the next time a story appears about sectarianism, and that it will just be a sad coincidence that the story will reflect badly on a Rangers supporter. Some people just get paranoid you know.

Just had a right good look at the BBC website. Knowing how much they pride themselves on highlighting anything to do with the sectarian "debate", I just knew they had picked up on this article and would be giving it the same prominent position in their news and sport sections as previous similar articles where politicians have got involved. They must be really busy with something else as I couldn't find it anywhere. I will go back and check later, they surely wont miss out on this.

An excellant article. I cant believe the Herald published it!! I expect a full retraction of the article and a witch-hunt to commence straight away on McLetchie, exposing him of being worse than evil, or perhaps going further and insinuating he is a Rangers supporter. On the other hand, maybe this will lead to the ever-eager Reporting Scotland teatime programme doing a full report on this. Naw, the first looks more probable.

I think I have a copy at home I got for a birthday or christmas pressy. Haven't opened it, and have no inclination to do so to be honest. After reading the comments above re sectarianism and f*enians, I think it will go straight into the charity bag. If I wanted to read lies like that, I would buy the Daily Record, which I dont. I dont dispute there are probably some good stories about 9IAR, and while it might be a worthwhile read overall, (and lets be honest, a great prize for a free competition), but as with everything to do with Rangers these days, it looks like another opportunity missed to produce a book worthy of the subject matter.