buster.

What gets me is how easily we throw money around and waste a lot of it at the higher end of the wage scale on players where there will often be no re-sale value, yet we seem to want to drive a hard bargain at the lower end to the extent of losing a promising youngster for nothing. Contract management is very important when your revenue streams are limited.

'A game of two halves' They made an excellent start and up to the Cup semi-final two years ago were flying. Post semi-final, we didn't win another game all season (2 draws and 3 defeats) and nothing was quite the same again wrt MW.

I reckon we may have a better idea a little further down the line, if/when other jigsaw pieces are announced/come to light.

How many times do you shell out in the region of 20K p/wk for experience/better players only to be burnt by it .......instead of paying a promising youngster say 5K. Alves, Kranjcar, Barton, Pena, Rossiter, etc.

That was supposedly the son of Douglas Park, Graeme.

Wasn't it Jim Traynor that had McLaughlin literally shown the Ibrox door one Saturday afternoon ? I ask because I'm not sure if my memory is strictly accurate on this.

Imagine if it was getting a man sent off against a direct rival in the battle for second place, eg. Jack, Hibs. Funnily enough, speaking about the Hamilton player sent off against Celtic, Lennon was on the radio this week saying you can't raise your hands against an opponent because it gives the referee a decision to make. Must have forgot all about his ex-player, Stokes and his own thoughts of how important decisions are with European football at stake.

Naw it's no. The reality is that Sevco can overturn yellow cards at will. They only have to drop of a letter to the nearest Lodge within 4 days of the game. #sevcossiss

We haven't the money to appoint an experienced quality manager and allow him a budget to be able to takeover topspot next Autumn. We could get lucky and bring someone in who is especially good/lucky regards recruitment, everything clicks, celtic stutter and we win the title...but that is long odds. I think our most plausible route to success is a manager who will stick around and build something over 2 or 3 seasons in conjunction with an efficient football operation. However, a degree of patience would be required and there lys the weakpoint of that idea. A fantastic appointment isn't a sexy name who would most probably be off at the drop off a hat. The other issue with a name is how does that impact the DoF/football operation/ strategy ? IMO the realistic 'names' that may come to Rangers are too much of a gamble themselves to be a better option than a more pragmatic appointment. For me, Clarke is the man but only if he really wanted the job and going by what has been said, that's doubtful.

He repeated it with Inverness in 2011 when they unexpectedly beat Lennon's Celtic, 3-2.

What is it with Scottish Football and the need of 'Statements'. I can hardly remember any prior to 2010.

According to Wikipedia facts, he'd be far too risky given what we need. Olympiakos: Won League with a team that had won the previous five leagues and quit after a season for personal reasons. Hull: 6 months, relegated and resigned Watford: sacked after 8 months -------------- Not one to stick around. Not what we need

Given what has already been said by Clarke himself, he may be a non-starter BUT for me he is clearly the best candidate out there. - Excellent experience at top level - Knowledge of Scottish game and league - English speaker and commands respect - 'Media accepeted' and commands respect - SPFL record / Has beaten Celtic and if you extrapolate his record to the rest of season he wasn't there, a limited Killie squad would be a very comfortable second / only team in league to win 5 gamesIAR this season. - Didn't need time to settle at Kilmarnock

Cheers Pete ! Frank seems to be restricting himself to a very narrow type of job that he obviously expects to be offered. I get the feeling he needs a squad made up of mostly Dutch players under the age of 24 to have a chance of being successful.

Why didn't Ajax have him back when they changed managers in January ?

Hearts at Ibrox gives us a decent opportunity to start with 3 points but the next game at Parkhead has the potential of producing negative momentum, press openly disregarding Murty, some players throwing in the towel as they think of the summer and different clubs, etc., etc. When you look at it, the more important it becomes to get a result this weekend in the semi-final. I think that is what we really need to keep everybody concentrated and positive.

Fair enough but it's a subjective thing. For me, I like a bit of the unexpected and some real drama. With this format, we generally have to wait until the Springtime for ties that produce this. I find the groupstage tedious unless Rangers are in it. Standard is one thing and I get that one can appreciate the technical ability but after a while, that alone isn't enough. Nor for me, is the tactical jousting unless it actually sparks a decent contest with 'real drama'.

The fact that this seasons quarters have been outstanding doesn't negate the general tendency over many seasons. Glad to see Liverpool get through as their semi-final promises fireworks, whoever they get. No-one will want Real Madrid in the semi-final. To win CL (bet365 odds) Real Madrid 13/8 Bayern Munich 15/8 Liverpool 3/1 Roma 10/1 A fiver on Liverpool will provide value, one way or another.

That sound's like entertainment !

We'd better hit one of our decent patches for what on the face of it, is five challenging games. We could still end up being a relatively comfortable second or end up in 4th place. At least last weekend saw us back in pole position for second spot.

It's not really Miller for Candeias, it's a different formation. Anyway, this thread asked for "your team", not instruction that was to be passed on to the manager

Having someone like Candeias on the bench wouldn't be such a bad thing in that even if he doesn't start, he can still play an important part in the game. I think we have to prioritise giving protection to the centre-backs and being solid in midfield. With that you look to keep a clean sheet and build a base from which to work from.

Holt has played in the two draws at Parkhead and the SC semi-final in 2016, so he has it in him to do a job and he is one of the few in our squad who know what it is to put Celtic out of the Cup. I think mentality and belief will be important, we need players who genuinely believe we'll go out and win, Miller is one of those types,...and another with experience of beating them many times. Take off your rose tinted glasses wrt to Docherty. He is a work-in-progress and has a lot of improving to do and experience to gain. When he develops into a better decision-maker, he'll become more (net) effective.

It's a team for a specific game. I think Holt has shown he can do a job in these type of games and whilst Docherty has more of a future, he has a tendency to lose the ball far too often, often undoing the good work of winning it in the first place. Miller is a player who can hurt Celtic. His mentality for these types of games tends to be spot-on and he has a game and a goal under his belt from last weekend. It's tough on Candeias but it's a formation thing and Tav is a very good outlet to have on the right.

WesTav Martin Alves John McCrorie Holt Dorrans Miller Murphy Morelos