Gribz

Didnt realise this kicks off early February. The first match is played in Feb then the remaining 2 games in May. IMO all games would have been better within in the same week however that would mean having all 4 sets of supporters in 1 city for the week so from the point of view I can see sense in it being split for fans are only around for 3 days. Im quite looking forward to it and find it way better than needless friendlies. Having a competitive set of matches can only blend the national team better in time for WC and EC qualifiers. Fixtures all in Dublin: 8 Feb 2011 Rep Ireland v Wales 9 Feb 2011 Scotland v N Ireland 23 May 2011 Rep Ireland v N Ireland 24 May 2011 Scotland v Wales 26 May 2011 Wales v N Ireland 27 May Rep Ireland v Scotland

Yip. An example is Tottenham this season. The media keep harping on about them going after 4th in the league to get back in the CL next season. Seems the club want to win the pay cheque rather than the trophy. Ok they arent favourites but ask any Spurs fan if they would rather win the CL or finish 4th and I bet they would say CL. I bet Redknapp wants the CL more as well. Seems the achievement of clubs these days is to participate in the group stages every season and then be happy with that. Money is ruining the game. Its not just SPL which has went backwards due to the SKY money its even Euro comp's like the UEFA cup - nobody seems interested anymore. I hope Platini does go ahead and reduce the amount of clubs from the top leagues entering the CL, its creating gaps all over the place.

Im baffled as to why anyone would want us to get beat. Being in this comp doesnt mean we wont retain the SPL title at all. Playing CL in midweeks hasnt affected our season too badly this season! And throw in midweek league cup games. If there is any tournament you dont want to take part in its the league cup which has no reward anymore. Not to mention if we got through a few games and had draws against Dortmund, Man City or Liverpool the cash injection would be big. In the 80s and 90s the UEFA cup was massive, even the Cup Winners Cup was big, some people forget Rangers greatest night came in the latter tournament.....and just 2 and half years ago everyone was wetting themselves as we reached the UEFA final - first time in some Bears lifes we had been in a Euro final, yet now some want us knocked out. Whats the point in playng football if your thinking ahead to the next season purely for financial reasons? Id personally rather be picking up trophies and going after another UEFA cup final. Doesnt anyone think we have a realistic chance of winning this? Wouldnt anyone be delighted to see us pick up a Euro trophy or get to another final? Sorry but bring on the Man Citys, Liverpools, PSV, PSG, Sevilla....and even Zenit to get one back at them.

Englands finest serve up a bore fest. Im not sure if these 2 have ambitions of winning the CL but Barca would rip them both a new one. Man Utd played 9 behind the ball when arsenal had it yet get mass credit for a tactical spot on defensive display, even Wenger gave them credit. Rangers go there and get a CL point playing defensive and Scottish football is the worst league in the world! Sums the arrogance up! Both sides lacked creativity, Arsenals midfield just couldnt come up with any ideas. Arshavin is getting worse by the game. It wasnt until Walcott came on you thought a break might fall their way. Arsenal just dont have a plan B at all or they would turn these games into wins. The goal was an ugly one and lucky. Until Wenger gets a strong keeper and Vermalan back then these away games against the other big clubs will continue. The debut keeper did ok but I was nervy watching him, god knows what the defense was like. The other thing is Arsenal need a powerhouse. All their midfield players are average height and medium build. If they could get a new Vieria it would make a difference. Its not just Kenny Miller who misses important pens, thats Drogba and Rooney within 48 hours missing worse ones. Man U are in the driving seat now, if they beat Blackpool in their game in hand they open up a gap, yet they have chelsea away this weekend. I hope and think that will be a better match as Chelsea will compete with Man U.

Great chance for both sides to go top. Im sure Arsenal would take a draw now though. Can see it being 1-1

A few managers under pressure but I didnt see this one coming. They seem to be ok in mid table.

No arguments there.

Im getting fed up of greedy players using excuses to manufacture better wages. How can they not settle on 200k plus per week. If he was new to Manchester there might be truth in the rumour but he was at Man U before that and seemed happy plus was in London with West Ham. So he has been in England for about 5 years in total. I wouldnt be surprised to see him end up in Spain. The sooner clubs take a stand the better. The day FIFA bring in wage caps will hurt these guys.

2 leagues of 10. Not much difference from now except we play 2 teams less. 16 or 18 team league is still the way to go, just add in the likes of Dunfermline, Falkirk, Dundee, Partick to the league now and play teams twice. There is no difference in us playing Dunfermline compared to St Johnstone so its not weakening the league. Getting rid of the split is a good thing as that embarrassingly doesnt work and gives some advantages and others disadvantages. The fixtures of the split were always more attractive for us but it didnt work. Ive always been a fan of regionalising the lower leagues, whats the point in stranraer travelling up to Montrose on a Tuesday night in Novemeber.

I dont think it will be long before Hodgson is out of Anfield though.

Id give McLeish a bit of the benefit of doubt that this season as its so difficult to call, there is nothing between the teams. Ok they are now 3 ahead of Wolves but only 3 behind Stoke who get applauded. There seems to be quite a number of teams who are boring to watch at the moment, Birmingham are one of them but even Sunderland who are 7th arent good to watch. I tipped Everton to be a top 6 team this season, but even they are only 3 clear of Wolves. Strange season. What a chance for Man Utd and Arsenal tonight though. A win for either puts them in a great position going into the busy Xmas period. Even if Man U lose they can still beat Blackpool in their game in hand and beat Chelsea next week and still in a great position so Im hoping the Goons win tonight.

Because WS has a reputation to go out and not lose matches rather than winning them until we go a goal behind. WS is in charge at the moment so makes the choices regardless if AM is on the coaching staff. Surely AM has to have his own ideas in place for when he takes over and isnt going to rely on solely what he has learned from WS. And just something that AM said in an interview yesterday that he wasnt happy with the approach to the game, so hopefully this is one thing he is going to take into his job to make the players go out with a higher tempo from the 1st minute.

I think if there is 1 thing McCoist will bring in and do differentially it will be to have the guys go out there with a better attitude before kick off. He will have them fired up.

I felt Craig Browns interview the other day is a bit distasteful to Motherwell saying he has to go for the "bigger and better" job. That sounded so unprofessional. For me Motherwell are a better ran club and I hope the Well go to Pittodrie next weekend and stuff them. Credit to Hertz for another good win, they are only 6 pts behind Celtic. Would be nice if they could catch up with them.

I would take an ugly win but if we have a go at them with the team on the preview thread then it could be: Inverness 0-3 Rangers - Miller 2, Edu.

And Broon has quit the Well. and it looks like Aberdeen will nick another Motherwell boss. Id be pissed off if I was a motherwell fan - both McGhee and Broon. Yet for me this is just showing that Motherwell are a better ran club than the so called 3rd team in Scotland.

And he would parter former Scunthorpe hot shot Hooper

Feck that. Im tempted to cancel my Xmas trip this year. But Im hoping the game is on this weekend. Finally the other TV broadcaster here brought back Goal TV so the Caley game will be the first league match i'll see on TV this season, Ive been making do with internet which can be frustrating.

Im not surprised that Chelsea are struggling at all. I said they had a good fixture list in the early parts of the season and once they were really tested they will get shown up - that happened at Man City then Villa. And now results against Birmingham, Liverpool, Sunderland, Newcastle and Everton are proving that. They sold off a few key players and have had Fat Frank (but 20 goals a season) out. Next games are Spurs, Man Utd and Arsenal so that could break their season. Abramovic thinks he can chop and change managers and get success, but he wants it in the style Arsenal play.

Liverpool would be nice.

There seems to be a bit of a trend starting with players and contracts (Novo, Boyd, perhaps Thomson?...now Miller) - thats obviously down to our financial situation and it wouldnt be nice to finally see a player take what is offered (affordable to the club) rather than attempt to better themselves but fail. Obviously each players situation has been different, like Novo wanted to stay but couldnt agree the right deal. However I can see the players point of few in Miller's case. He is looking for a last decent contract before his playing days are up yet he has been asked to take a pay CUT and not earning what "Beattie who hasnt kicked a ball" is on. Surely if there was a bit of honesty in this then the extra money could come in the effect of performance, appearance and goals bonuses that way he will be giving all during his contract. There is also a trend with players playing well when a contract is due - Ricksen, Lovenkrands, Boyd last Dec...but Miller has been playing well all season and last, so I dont think he is purely playing for a deal. We have to take into consideration that players these days done see it through the eyes of the average man on the street. They are living in a different league when it comes to pound signs and their lifestyles are based around this. On the same note everyone who posts on here is looked upon as super rich to people in 3rd world countries yet we dont bat an eyelid and just complain we could all be done with an extra 50, 100, 500 quid a month - which would feed a family of 10 in some countries yet maybe only pay a phone bill for some of us - this is just the world we live in. Im a fan of Miller. He risked a lot rejoining us and no matter what some fans think of him for once playing for Celtic (albeit thats the fans problem) he has gave it all and has been a very important member of the team in the last 2 season. I hope he signs up for the last 3 years of his playing career.

Seemed to be a regular to start with under MON and was playing very well at centre half and RB. Now he doesnt play, its a bizarre one.

That main stand has had its last days anyway.

A lot will depend on the line up for me. If its a more attacking look then we can win it by a goal. If its defensive then a 1-1 draw.

Im not a fan of managers making it public knowledge they are leaving at the end of the season nor knowing who is coming into replace them. That was 1 of the reasons we didnt get 10IAR. We've only seen McCoist briefly in cup matches but he has always had WS over his shoulder or up in the stands to get advice if needed. Hopefully thats the learning period over. But over a season the dury is out whether it will be a good appointment. As much as I love Ally as a legend, If a more experienced and more attractive name was linked then I wouldnt say no to someone else coming in next.