buster.

His performance at Aberdeen won't have done his value any harm at all. You can see that he is steadily getting better and if he keeps improving then he's going to be one hell of a player. I said elsewhere that I can see him working with Diego Simeone one day. Alfredo is the type of player the Argentinian loves.

More noise. Only thing that matters is winning the game on Saturday.

Many are Aberdeen fans, not just Celtic. The common theme is basically anti-Rangers and it runs parrallel to a Rest of Scottish Football v Rangers political scene to have emerged post 2011. Part of the Celtic-Minded political goal has been to develop this divide, eg. The so-called Scottish Football Monitor which if named on what they do, would be re-named Everything to do with Rangers Monitor.

D. Anti-Rangers

What they should be and what we know them to be both before and after Morleos signing for Rangers are two different things. Generally the media take the easy, lazy, controversial, click-bait route. The national broadcaster is another matter and I'll leave that to 26th's thread. It's nothing to do with "white". If Neil Lennon was called Paul Elliot it would be the same. If Alfredo Morelos was called Fernando Ricksen it would be the same. If Neil Lennon had played for St.Mirren it wouldn't be the same. If Alfredo Morelos played for Motherwell it wouldn't be the same. Wrt Lennon, yes, the coverage has something to do with the Irish angle because of the politics. But wrt Morelos, yes the coverage is way OTT but we shouldn't forget that he does have a significant problem wrt discipline.

Quick word on last night's Sportsound. Out and about edition up in the Highlands with guests from ICT and Ross County, presumably focusing on the up and coming Cup-tie. Format is questions from the audience that have already been submitted, collected by the programme, selected and put in order by the programme and guess what the first one is.......... "What's the panels thoughts on Scottish refereeing as a whole seeing as today the lovely Glasgow Rangers (dripping with sarcasm) have decided to appeal Mr.Morelos' red card which for all and sundry looked, certainly to me looked a red card but I don't know how the rest of them feel (panel). Does doing something like that when it is clearly a stick-on make a mockery of Scottish refereeing as a whole "

The tiring aspect of this is that the same advice/questions/answers of not to listen, why listen comes up every week or so. This thread has answered the questions. No need for the same people to continually make the same points.

Expectation management is an important aspect of football. Any manager who wants to encourage or talk-up what is unreasonable expectation given resources up is a fool or perhaps, a brilliant manager.

Scottish Fitbaw hacks in lazy, low-quality, parochial, cliche abounding and repetitive attacks on someone is par for the course. Duncan Ferguson is from Stirling and got it as well. Play for Rangers and you are much more liable to come under the media spotlight because for one thing, it sells newspapers. Is it easier for them to centre on an individual who is probably not going to spend his whole career in Scotland, yes. Neil Lennon get's a MUCH easier ride because the media know they have to tread wearily given the LOCAL politics (linked to the commercial aspect), because Lennon is media savvy and made a point of getting them onside, because Lennon became an almost self appointed patron saint of the sectarian issue which effectively gave him untouchable status and the national broadcaster are on his side of the political/sporting debate. I'd put it this way................I don't like Neil Lennon, was glad to hear he had left Hibs last week and I think his presence in Scottish football is toxic but the grounds for my thinking is not because of his religion all, not at all sectarian, it's simply because of how he conducts himself and the ensuing reaction/fall-out. I'd loosely compare those trying to call the Morelos coverage racist to those who call the negative reaction to Lennon, sectarian. The main reasons for such coverage and reaction are the football teams they are related to, the poor quality of the media, the tribal nature of polarised perspective and that in both cases, the individuals consistently provide material.

A white European, let's say a Dane, doing the same things in a Rangers shirt would get the same treatment. I'd draw a parallel with Diego Costa who in some respects was a similar case at Chelsea. It's more about a footballing culture, a style of going about your business and how it stands out when put into a different environment, more especially when at a big club that is forever in the spotlight. Both Costa and Morelos are forward focal points that are prepared to engage in what is a battle with the opposition. One that they are both very good at because they know how to battle and often take the initiative so as to dominate an opponent. They are both prone to leaving one on their opponent and they sometimes get caught. They are the players the opposition fans love to hate and they come under greater scrutiney than their teammates for various reasons. In Scotish football, this co-incides with a general climate that is posionous towards Rangers interests.....and again Morelos has the focal point. It's not all one-way, Morelos seems to enjoy rubbing their noses in it which would be fine but sometimes he kicks the baws out of it #Jekyll&Hyde Morelos is a player that Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid will appreciate, perhaps one day they'll work together.

If colour is an issue, it's the blue that is relevant rather than black/white.

A broken clock is right twice a day

I salute your intransigent positivity and choice of adjective

When Morelos hits the next threshold for a suspension for yellow cards, how many games will it be ?

196 league minutes 3 goals 1 every 66 minutes 90 Cup minutes 1 goal -------- If he could get his Cup ratio down to 66 minutes this weekend we'd be ok

Wee detail......Defoe scored the 55th goal of our league campaign last night.

If McGregor's is a red, so is that.

Agreed, I think it'd be easier for Kilmarnock to isolate him. Morelos is vital to the way we play and his suspensions have a habit of hurting us. If Arfield doesn't make it then a thus far significantly less than 100% Davis might be asked to do something that his game isn't yet up to. I'd be tempted to put Halliday into the midfield and push Jack slightly further forward. The lead-up to the second goal between Jack and Kent was sublime but isn't talked about because of how good Alfredo's finish was.

We are in the same place as post OF win but within a different timescale....ie. have to back up big win at Rugby Park. We went into the Rugby Park League game with IMO the wrong set-up and now it's going to be difficult to play the way we should have because we'll almost certainly be missing Morelos.

I think the mediatic climate around the award of penalty-kicks in Rangers games after the St.Mirren game made it more likely that a referee would take an opportunity to level things up and help prevent a media slaughtering. Given the referee's position and the isolation of Tav & Ferguson, I'd say fair enough.

One thing we have to do after what is a big win, is to back it up and not fall over at the next hurdle, as is our habit. Kilmarnock on plastic without Morelos is a real challenge that we need to deal with. Arfield might also be a doubt. Defoe and Davis ?

Equally, there was no reason to let the business side of things to leak at this moment in time.

More comfortable with expectation levels at Aberdeen. Anyone taking the Rangers job in these times has to effectively back themselves to win an outside bet.

Wed 06/02/19 PRE Aberdeen 2 - 4 Rangers View events More info Sat 09/02/19 FAC Kilmarnock 18 : 15 Rangers More info Sat 16/02/19 PRE Rangers 16 : 00 St. Johnstone European Mainland times

Fine margins Memories of the Motherwell 3-3 game kept flashing through my head during a long last 42 minutes of the second half. Aberdeen are a better team than Motherwell and now have some decent attacking options compared to the opening day of the season. It looked increasingly like the sheep would equalise and as so often happens, perhaps it was going to happen right at the death....but we also have more attacking options and Defoe provided the clinical finish to yet another assist from our most important creative outlet, Tav. The referee had a decent game all things considered. I don't think Morelos will have any joy appealing the red but it's worth a go. McGregor was protecting himself, a goalies prerogative in the unwritten laws of the game but one that in time VAR might reduce at the top level. Any argument that says McGregor should have saw red could be leveled with Ferguson's kick at McGregor also a red. Bottomline,....we won the battle up in sheepland. Vital 3 points and an important psychological win.