Gribz

If Langfield signed for us which meant our keepers being him and McGregor we would be aswell watching Cowdenbeath every week. Cant nobody see signings like this is why we havent won a trophy for 2 seasons now. If you buy average SPL players then you become an average SPL team - simple statement. We should be looking at bringing in a top keeper and McGregor should be the back up.

I know, what is it with people thinking Owen is goody 2 shoes (or is it goody tissues - i cant remember ) He is boring and is a robot during interviews as he tries to be Grandpa all the time. You need characters on that program like the late Emlyn Hughes - he was good.

I should get that at 10:30am in the morning then and im off this week

Thats a good shout with Saha going the other way, but Spurs have said Berbatov is staying. Spurs also stated they were going to sign 3 other big players and Defoe was on his way out, but cant remember the 3 We'll see over the summer

Nonsense, its still the SPL. Does it become SPL top half and SPL bottom half. For the last 5 weeks of the season Scotland has 5 divisions??

...On a second consecutive season without a trophy. This season hasn't exactly panned out to be the way that many a Bear would have expected back in August once the first ball was kicked at Fir Park. Soap writers wouldnt have managed to write what was coming. After coming off the back off the previous season where we had our worst run in 20 years and finished out of the top 2 for the first time in 2 decades we all expected things to take a turn for the better. Instead we hit rock bottom by continuing a dreadful SPL run, early exits in both clubs including a home defeat to a lower division side and mass behind the scenes problems that led to the return of Walter Smith. We have talked about the problems that took place on many occassion so now its time to look forward. The first thing to be positive about is we improved our league position this season and since the turn of the year we topped the form table. These things arent quite what we want to shout about but its the first steady step in the right direction. This summer is going to be huge! Although that statement has a familiar ring to it. The man at the top - Sir David Murray - will be feeling a little bit of pressure to dip his hand into his pocket and provide Smith with some funds. Lets not pretend here, the average realist knows the squad needs major surgery but we are in no position to buy a new team, so Smith has to be shrewd and fill the key positions with the right players at the right price. If we can off load a few at the same time then that always helps free up some needed wages. But another job Smith and McCoist have is to get the players fit and in better shape. They also need to install harmoney in the dressing room again. They need to get complacency out the door as a few recent results have shown us. Off the park, we will be looking for Murray to improve the running of the club - but is that too much to ask and where do you start!! I'll leave that one to someone else! The team is now off for an all expenses paid trip to the USA for an end of season advertising match, while the fans are left to ponder whether to fork out the best part of 500 GBP to re-new their season tickets. Some might say Smith should leave a few of the first team squad in Glasgow and give them an early holiday as they seemed to finish early anyway - just after the last Old Firm Derby - and in place of them take the sucessful U19 squad to the States but that wont happen. So when the SPL kicks off in about 9 long summer weeks time, I will be extremely interested to see the look of our line up and whether it will be up for a challenge for domestic success again. We HAVE to be challenging for the title and we really HAVE to get the Scottish Cup back as 5 years without an appreance at Hampden for that cup is not good enough for Rangers.

I was reading the spar of words that Rino and Gerrard had a few weeks back. I like Gerrard as a player but I really hope Rino gets stuck into them and Milan get revenge for 3 years ago. Didnt Rino go off early in that final?? I'll be cheering on Milan on Wed.

Yeah agree with this good point. I also look at both OF squads and we just seem to rake up all the better players from the other SPL teams. We are feeding them money with transfer fee's and also keep them affloat by playing them 3 or 4 times a season - yet we get slaughtered by them and the press at every individual thing. The Scottish game has went backwards in the last 15 years and I dont rate a high percentage of youngsters when comparing them to players in recent generations, so im against buying players from the SPL altogether especially when we have the facilities at Murray park but cant seem to produce much.

Thats what i was thinking Gav, and the price tag is supposed to be 10 million. Id say he could be worth 5 million. I thought Arsenal might come on for him but Lehmann got a years contract and Wenger seems to like Almunia (sp). Roy Keane wants Jaaskeleinen at Sunderland so Bolton maybe an option.

I think he will be a good addition to there squad as he brings bite and can win tackles along with good passing. Its the extra depth they needed this season as O'Shea is ok in there but only as a stop gap. I think if they got Hargreaves earlier and Larsson had stayed there until the summer they may have got to the CL final and won the FA cup. 35 million for Carrick and Hargreaves is quite a lot though. Dont know if they will add Owen, he is a risk and id think he was a cock if he left Newcastle. They have paid him 110k a week to sit on the sidelines for 2 years. But they need a big strikers. Sir Awex just keeps on producing the squads. This is his 3rd or 4th team he has built, and the likes of Van Nistelrooy and Keane havent been missed so far. Id say only Butt and Beckham were missed the year after he left as Djemba Djemba and Kleberson didnt work out but since then nobody else.

There is so much wrong with the scottish game. This split should be scrapped along with the League cup. And Dunfermline shouldnt get in the UEFA cup if they lose the cup final next week, that should go to the team in 4th place. Unless we get a uefa cup place back for the league cup then its a pointless trophy. Even then the winner would likely be a top 4 club. The league cup should be either divded into a regional competition with the 4 regional winners making up the semi finals. Or better still merge to make a UK cup. I also say extend the SPL to at least 14 teams and have a winter break in January but instead of no football that month bring back the tennents sixes or play the whole league cup that month,

He'll be puking if West Ham do end up being docked points and Sheff U get reinstated.

What Bolton were you watching?? They are one of the worst in the EPL, they are famous for just out muscling opponents and long balls. But Sam turned them from a lower league side to a top 6 EPL team and signed some big players like Jay-Jay Okocha, Djorkaeff, Campo... I can see Anelka and Nolan making the move to Newcastle with him.

The cable channel here is showing the Mhanks Reserves v Mhanks game. Anyone got a link to watch the game?

6th place Hibs cant catch 7th placed Falkirk. The SPL must scrap this joke of a split.

Far too many rumours flying around! Cuellar, Andy Todd etc etc how many centre halfs!! Smith is shrewd and denies almost everything, probably coz he has identified his targets but isnt sure if Bain can negociate with half of them.

I'll repeat Scott Brown is no world beater and has been transfered for a silly amount. What has he done to merit the same price tag as William Gallas? He would have fitted nicely into our midfield because we need a creative type player who can fill in on the right. But its no serious loss IMO. There are SURELY better out there for that kinda money. I can see the chant "What a waste of money" being chanted a few times next season.

Yeah agree Stewarty, but you have to wonder WHY all these players in the past 3-4 years have came to Rangers and just purely flopped. Most of them came with pretty decent backgrounds and did fairly good jobs at previous clubs and even at International level. Are they just not getting a chance of a run of games? Is the Scottish game that bad and difficult to adapt to? Do they see Rangers as an easy target to make money? Rather than dwell on the flops of the McLeish era, il look at at the ones we currently have and put Buffel in - Svensson, Sebo, Sionko and Buffel! These are 4 international players who came to the club with promise but turned sour overnight. Something isnt right - so many players just cant go off the boil for no reason. I look at Hemdani who everyone thought was going to be another name in the flop scrapbook but he has come good in his 2nd year and ended up being out POTY.

I think Calscot is correct, Rino and Ferguson both came in under Smith. Ferguson definatly got his debut under Smith against DUFC IIRC in 97/98 season. I like Juffreys idea of having some set up with another league to loan players to. You always hear of clubs making ties with other clubs but nothing ever seems to surface - ie what happened to our chinese cousins who played in orange?? Its a marketing stategy at times. If Lennon is good enough then he is old enough and he should play for the first team. But if not and Smith feels he needs a bit of experience then he should go on loan for a month or 2 down south then a month or 2 at a club like Morton then it should be review after that.

Adam shows signs that he could be useful but after the summer transfers he should be a squad player unless he totally improves in the way Hutton has. Hutton should be a prime example to Adam, Boyd, Burke and a few others.

When did we get linked to Carlos Cuellar? Another Centre half?? BTW Gav, I dont think the average age is high. We had a really young squad at the start of this season which needed a few older heads.

Good read Frankie, I actually wonder which direction we would have taken had Murray not come in, and would we have got 9IAR? We had the bases of a good side back then although we did have a few ageing players. But he is making a balls up of things at the moment by not defending the fans and selling off Club assets to his own companies. But one thing he should be applauded on is getting the debt from 83 mill to 10. Yes he was neglegent in getting us in debt in the first place but we could have went like Leeds (who had the same amount of debt) or even worse, but we still managed 2 titles. We are still feeling the after effects of this but we may manage a title charge next season. But this summer will be key!!

Bramble and Bernard have to be 2 of the biggest imposters in football - they are super shit. Moore was good for us but it all ended up pair shaped. Newcastle have ruined his career as they can be poison with that dressing room. Hopefully he gets a decent club somewhere. No doubt West Ham will sign all 3 as 12 defenders doesnt seem to be enough for Curbishley at the moment

Well Im not bothered at all, I never really wanted either player from Hibs for there price. I just hope Thomson comes good for us. But this price for Brown (who sounds a right mink BTW) is laughable. He is not worth half that. And i read on the BBC they are supposed to be following it up with a 4 million bid for some polish dude - throwing money away!!

Id say toasted cheese. Anyway Warnock is a wank-bag of the highest order and Sheff Utd are back where they belong. Who in the EPL is going to employ him? Wigan may have done or they might when there new boy gets the sack but he is in the same league as Ian Dowie - Championship standard!