UCF2008

So you're saying that performances have got worse because our coaching staff have ruined the players within the space of 6 months? If training was as inept as is being made out, why do we have former players coming back to train with us so frequently during off season or when they're between clubs? I suppose lazy Boyd was back for a scrounge while investing in shares eh? What was Kenny Miller's excuse? Or Stevie Smith who was still training with us last time I checked?

That one's quite deceptive though. A youngster usually gives a false impression in their first few games due to the excitement of breaking into the team, adrenaline levels through the roof and the fans cheering them on. They think faster, move faster. They're in 'the zone'. This can give the impression of a player with a much higher level of ability, but it doesn't last. A level of normality will always set in and it's how the youngster deals with this to give a sustained level if performance that will determine how they progress. The same can apply to more experienced players making their debut. The difference being that those players have been through it before and have a level of consistency. Some of the youngsters that have broke into the first team this season might not make it in the long run, but we shouldn't be too quick to write them off.

I think the term tends to be applied more to the manager than the team, but you're right. It's nonsense. Using your example it's not as if Moyes became a bad manager overnight. No manager does though and that's where the term does apply to Rangers more than most. Every single time the team has a bad result the fans and media alike over-analyze and over-criticise and the buck always stops with the manager. It's not a new phenomena either. I've witnessed it for every Rangers manager in my lifetime. Digital Media has intensified the furor though. The sway of public opinion is a powerful thing. It can have a brainwashing effect and it's easy to get caught up in it. Especially when your in a similar state of mind to those venting their frustration. A bad result always hits us Rangers fans hard and the manager usually gets the brunt of it. That's how we can go from reaching a European Final to calling for the manager to be sacked before the next season's even kicked off in earnest. If you're thinking 'No, but that's different. This is more than one bad result' go and have a look at some of the gersnet posts from the beginning of August 2008.

Again that's looking at the short-term picture though. They say you're only as good as your last result in football. That's always been more so the case for Rangers. Poor performances from a good team over a sustained period would be a worry but we're not looking at either here. Are we seriously going to look back on this seasons exit from the Ramsdens Cup with regret? It was a distraction from our main objective as were all the cup tournaments this season. Sure, we were capable of winning the Ramsdens but we shouldn't be throwing the dummy out because we didn't.

Maybe you'd care to elaborate on what you think constitutes a snyde remark then?

I stand corrected. Stupid mistake. Especially since I had his Wiki page open while I took the stats from Soccerway According to Wiki he's made 73 appearances in total for Motagua over the past 3 seasons with 25 appearances being in the league this season. 1 goal in total.

Aside from balancing the positives against the negatives, of which there are plenty when you go looking for them, overall this season has been a success. McCoist aimed to put together a team from scratch in 4 weeks with next to no transfer budget and no pre-season. He aimed to start us back on our journey to where we should be by winning the 3rd Division. It's not quite in the trophy cabinet yet, but I don't think there's any doubt it's won. Green aimed to keep the club playing football while bringing in the initial £10m investment to enable it to do so while restructuring. He aimed to then bring in a further £20m via the flotation to take us forward. Both McCoist and Green will have achieved the targets they presented us with at the start of the season, so yes, it's been a success.

I agree. I want it to happen of course, but our best opportunity to take that path was missed and we're back to square one with 'pie in the sky' soundbytes which do little more than stir up some debate and sell some rags. It is difficult for the club to convey planning to the fans, as plans announced are plans for our enemies to scupper. So again it comes back to what we see in front of us. Like I was saying, we're not going to see the results in the short term. We're all passing judgement here based on what we can see. It's NOT the full picture.

I'm not saying eveything's as it should be. Even with the positives, negatives can always be added. For instance, this season we've given youth more of a chance than I've ever witnessed, BUT we haven't taken the bull by the horns on that front. Our youth setup has taken more criticism from those in the know than I've seen previously. We were hit with an illegal transfer embargo which left us only able to sign under 18's across 2 transfer windows. I looked at that and straight away saw an oppotunity to invest more in our youth. We should have been scouting the best young talent across the globe, brought in several players with enormous potential between those 2 windows and shown the SFA the finger instead of moaning about the transfer embargo at every opportunity. Instead we hear comments about our youth setup, like the one from elfideldo the other week that we don't scout pro youths. WTF? Do we expect the best talent to just show up on our doorstep saying 'When are you holding trials mr?'. This issue isn't the fault of McCoist or Green of course because our youth setup is treated like a seperate entity, but in our current set of circumstances the pair of them should have been looking at that situation and saying 'That's something we can and should change'.

I really don't have a problem with anyone calling us Glasgow Rangers. We sing it ourselves at every game afterall. To me we've always been simply 'Rangers'. Not 'Glasgow....' or 'The....' but I do see those as part of our identity unlike 'The New...', 'Newco...' or worst of all 'Sevco...'

Any vision for taking the club forward both on and off the park isn't going to be realized overnight. Even under normal circumstances it would take time. I'm not having a go at fellow Rangers fans, but generally speaking we don't have the patience to give the time required for real change to come to fruition.

Like I said, I don't get it. Just like I don't get why of all the forum topics you could choose to go on the defensive about, you pick this one. Since your interested though - a little more info on the 3 players mentioned: - Bryan Figueroa. 20 yr old defender. 9 appearances for Montagua. - Junior Padilla. 20 yr old midfielder. 9 appearances for Montagua. - Omar Elvir. 23 yr old defender / defensive Left-Mid. 21 appearances for Montagua. Didn't take me long to spot this lad while I was browsing. I wonder if our scouts will have had a peek at him yet. Apart from seeming to be a real talent, he's only 17 so we could at least in theory sign him in the summer.

It's not that simple. Every game's a banana skin. The expectation levels aren't as high as they always were. They're higher because we're playing against part timers. Our opposition know their level and their limitations and are driven more than most to lift their game for the occassion. It's been said since the start of the season, but I'll say it again anyway - every game against us is like a cup final for teams at this level.

I don't get the Honduras connection. We've been continually linked with this or that Honduran in the mhedia ever since Izaguirre put them on the Scottish football atlas. Now we hear McDowall is out there on our 'fourth of fifth visit'. Has somebody at the club got a timeshare or something?

...as fringe players in a small limited squad

Yes, we do have to be sensible and balanced and we can't just keep him because he was a great player. We also shouldn't be continually using it as a stick to beat him with. There's a lot to take into account here. The circumstances are what they are and the players, despite their limitations both individually and as a team should be producing better performances, but I think too many fans are taking the convenient route by blaming it all on Ally.

Crawford, Aird, Faure and Hemmings have not been regular at all this season. A regular presence on the bench maybe. An irregular sub appearance here and there, yes.

He seems to be trying to stir debate on the issue and build public support. It's a lot different from claiming we're close to signing a deal before it's done - something we're both in agreement that he shouldn't be doing. Whether he's serious about moving to England or is just using the issue for posturing and promoting is another story.

The defence kept another clean sheet. That's a positive. He hasn't hid from the fact that the defence has been poor throughout the season. He's criticised them plenty of times and rightly so. He's taken steps to rectify it and so far it's working. It's not a permanent solution, but if the defence can maintain some sort of level of stability till the end of the season then a more long term solution can be looked at. Like I said before I don't read his comments as criticising the youngsters. In this one instance, all the players to blame for us being completely ineffective going forward happened to be youngsters. He's ponting out that he was left with little option on that one. He says they need to continue to progress and that they need to produce more than they did yesterday. What's wrong with that?

Where did he specifically say that the young players let the side down? Your picking bones here if your highlighting a winger doing his defensive job at the back post for a set-piece is somehow an indication that the defence didn't do well.

I don't see this as putting them down. Yesterday, all of the experience was in the rear guard. Hutton, Faure, Crawford, Aird, McKay and Hemmings gave us on average an U21 offensive lineup and most of the reason for the team being booed off the park was because those youngsters didn't even look like scoring. They'll know that and Ally will have had a job to do trying to get their chins up after the game while explaining to them that the standards required weren't met. I don't think Ally will have been too hard on them and I don't see his comments here as being over-critical either. If there's something we can possibly all agree on, it's that Ally's made it pretty clear he doesn't believe we can rely too heavily on the youngsters. Yesterday he had no choice but to do just that. They failed to deliver and were booed off the park. When he's asked for reasons do you expect him just to sidestep the issue?

It wouldn't be the first time our website showed inaccurate or out-of-date info. The player himself said he doesn't have an agent, but that his move to Rangers was done through an agency. Which one do we believe - the club website or Sandaza? Tough call.

We'd have had a far better team if we'd been put in the first division. I suspect even the players we've got would have performed better in the first division so you can't really say.

The fans weren't to blame for what happened to the club under Whyte, so unless you're suggesting Green's another Whyte I don't see your point.

Yes. I can guarantee it. The support might vote with their feet and attendances may dwindle, but the fans won't let it get to the point of endangering the club and I highly doubt if Green would either.