Idisi

Frohes Fest to you all. Hope everyone has a few peaceful days with family and/or friends! An impression from yesterday's (annual) Christmas singing at our ground

I saw last season's cup final, and some highlights from the league games against Celtic. The way luck and some refereeing work in Celtic's way is ridiculous. Today's German highlights showed this again. A deflection for their first goal, a bad mistake from Raskin for their second. Then a penalty not given (was there VAR?). All in one game again. From the look, these games are somewhat like European games. Celtic has far more money to spend, they play more open. Your team can handle this, as we have seen. If the opposition plays out all its strength, Rangers will struggle. It is what it is. But the last games have shown changes to the better. Der Berliner said that you need to play with two strikers. Most teams you play against in Scotland are not tested enough in their penalty area. You see that from the scorelines. And Celtic's defence too. Why Clement changed this today? Only he will know. But everyone expected a clear win for Celtic and it did not happen. They only won by a shootout, just. And some freak goals, you were denied a penalty too. I think their bubble will burst like it always does. Your side showed good steps in the right direction in the last three weeks. Much of 2024 might not have been like you would have wanted (just ask Union fans), but I hope that you have turned this corner now.

Good luck today

Last weekend, Der Berliner showed me his cure for the current poor football diet. Quote: A football fan's "Lord of the Rings extended version"

From the games I have seen, most Scottish teams defend deep and with a lot of players. Playing so few attackers again and again makes no sense. Why your line-up has not been used is really a mystery. Rangers' attackers are easily crowded out and there are always defenders blocking shots from the outside. Very strange not to try an alternative.

Dortmund? Who is Dortmund https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/live/c2lnx2dx8ynt

Rangers were very good in the Europa League during the last few years. Sometimes because teams did not know you and the players, sometimes because of luck, sometimes both. Yesterday, you played the same players like in every other game, and very open. It was clear at the Hibernian game which I saw with Der Berliner that this only works if all players are up for it. There was little change for yesterday, and quality like Lyon will punish you like no Edinburgh team will ever do. I would have "plugged their teeth" with more physical players and pressing, and waited for opportunities like in Malmö. It is a bit strange that you constantly play the same system.

Having a day off, I'll watch the game today. The German Rangers forum has a thread called Hospital of the Rangers and the admin wrote yesterday: Stand: 10.08.2024 Zak Lovelace (Trainingsrückstand - Anfang September) -> lack of training, return early September Nicolas Raskin (Knöchelverletzung - Ende September)) -> ankle injury, late September Óscar Cortés (Knieverletzung - Ende September) -> knee injury, late September

You read some of the concerns above and wonder how people have survived until now. Your recent history saw you overcome far greater problems, the people in place, PR failures or not, will surely do their best to keep the club on the right track. What will happen is very much out of your hands, so perhaps you will want to wait and see what will actually happen? The ground-work thing is unfortunate and will probably cost additional money, bit shit happens. With a bit of luck, Diomande will keep his form and some English or German team knocks in your door with 10 or 15 million in January. It will - sadly - not be Union Berlin.

He only spoke for himself and his fellow politician elite. Would not be missed over here. @Gonzo79, you need to clear your ears. Union in German starts with a U and is spoken with the correct pre Great Vowel Shift pronunciation.

Well, it is not the Germans' fault that you cannot speak your Germanic language properly these days Just look at Underground, Ulster, union, united etc. Rule Britannia and 10 German bombers will most likely not have caused any bother with the locals or the police. There was a very limited number of police there yesterday. Probably only a third of a usual Bundesliga match. The guys around me liked the song sung during the second half. Thanks to @der Berliner for providing the words of "Ibroxonia".

And the locals let you escape with your scalp from the Alter Försterei and East German territory?

Game is sold out now.

Visiting Bears will be greeted by rain all day, but from 4 o'clock local time it should be fine, 21° says the forecast. Enjoy your journey and stay. PS: it is Christopher Street Day in Berlin today, that's why it is raining

He's coming home, he's coming home! In only saw a bit of the second half and it was not too bad. The first line-up looked very young and uncommon even to my eyes. I think the manager needs to see who is fit and who is not. If anything, he knows it today. But as you have heard, the players know what is required.

It is "pay-at-the-gate" 90 mins before Kick Off. Gate in this case means Ticket Office at the stadium, of course. No idea were it is up there at the Sportforum, but certainly somewhere close. "BFC DYNAMO - Regionalliga - TICKETS REGIONALLIGA" https://www.bfc.com/tickets_rl.php

Okay. You will find all the usual bash-the-GDR tours and trips in each Berlin Tourist guide. They will lead you to any stereotyped trash the modern day Westerner "needs" to see. Not that you need this, since you know it all anyway 😝 On your way to the Alte Försterei, you will drive through a large part of former East Berlin. 90 % of the houses and buildings you will spot there are from those days, some feature a new facade. A large chunk of the East and South East is made up of one-family houses, indeed this part north of Köpenick has the largest area of one-family houses in all of Germany. And that was the case before the re-unification. On the map in the link, the area to the east of No. 6, stretching beyond the city limits. Not that interesting for a short-term visit, though. I will give you a few of links below, one from the local city service (the English version does not feature the sight-seeing). It features a number of places that might be of interest. https://sbahn.berlin/was-hast-du-vor/neues-entdecken/artikel/ddr-in-berlin-7-orte-an-denen-die-mauer-nie-gefallen-scheint/ If you want to get the hardcore DDR treatment, try the Ostel (i.e. Ost + Hotel = East + Hotel) to stay in a sort of GDR hotel. It is No. 1 https://www.ostel.eu/en/rooms Much of the rest there is standard fare, but No. 4 would give you an impression of the first (and last) big GDR parade street, i.e. the Stalin Allee (in the mid 1950s), nowadays the Frankfurter Allee. Have a walk from the Strausberger Platz to the Frankfurter Tor. The U5 subway goes right beneath it, leading back to the city centre and to the government's HQ. The cinema Kosmos is nearby too. (all on the map) Last, or first, would be the Alexanderplatz, where many buildings are still old GDR ones (new facade), aside from a few easily recognizable shopping centres. Top of the list is the TV tower, GDR build. If you go up there, you'd get a fine view over much of former East Berlin and a few bits and pieces of the western "island of freedom". Do pre-order tickets, or you end up in a pretty long queue with these irritating tourists! https://tv-turm.de/en/tickets-and-bundles/ I hope this helps.

So it is more a problem of the reconstruction company, rather than Rangers. Yet, as in Germany, people rather blame someone "at home" than the real source. I'd blame the Houthis and by extension Israel

Very well. Just keep any comments on Putin to yourself for a few hours

Exactly: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb0VAc-oRmE

I have just received the information that "for the time being, there will be no public sale for the Rangers game". It is possible to buy tickets for the Real Sociedad game, there the public sale starts in June 17th. I assume they expect a few thousand Rangers Fans on top of what Rangers get and don't want them flooding the Union stands. "For the time being ... "

After a disappointing season, people may want to see the new side and manager. Yet, it is rather early for German football fans. One will really only know once they open the ticket lines.

I know two people who will be in attendance!

Looks brutal. But the cause is good.

Fashionable in those days. Today, so many superstars wear these pink boots, no matter the colour of their jerseys and socks. That really hurts the eyes, and you wonder what makes them wear this abominations. Money is my guess. Over here, the Eisbären ice hockey team wears pink jerseys in November (Der Berliner?), raising money for breast cancer treatment. That is something I could agree with.