stewarty

I'd be happy with the XI, but I wonder if the pitch will see the manager be careful with one or two players, particularly Barisic if he's not quite right. I'd also be tempted to use Kamberi to give us a more physical option.

Just to go into the realms of pure speculation, it seems Souness has resigned as director and person with significant control of Vincent Gasnier Wine Consultant Ltd on 22nd January. He had been involved with the business for almost 16 years since its incorporation. We have no way of knowing whether he was purely an investor or whether he had any day-to-day involvement. But could he be freeing up his time for some other interest?

Arfield for me too.

Thinking some more on this, I think the danger with an appointment like Souness to the Board is that its used, like Walter was by Charles Greeen, as a smokescreen of respectability. However when I compare the Easdales to the Parks, its not an equivalent situation so I'm not overly concerned. Where I think Souness would come into his own would be in having a clear grounding in football and success, being able to influence and inform our footballing strategy and to be potential figurehead for the club, with gravitas, that would be something a professionally operated PR operation could use to good effect. A good boardroom brings together a range of skills and experiences. Someone like Souness would seem to add to what we have currently.

I would agree if we were appointing him 10-15 years ago. Yes he is strong willed and has a tendency towards pig-headedness, but having some sort of ambassadorial role or even a role on the Board in a non-executive capacity would be something I think he is more than capable of doing effectively. Its one thing berating footballers and pundits, but you just wouldn't be able to do that sitting at a boardroom table. Given his history with the club, how he is viewed by the support and his influence in the media, I would argue he is potentially ideally placed to take on such a role.

Agreed. I'm very much of the same view. I've been so sickened by the one-eyed approach to all things Rangers that we have had for so long that I can't even remember a time when I'd even think about tuning into Radio Scotland... a service that was a staple of my daily news digest and meant that I at least had some passing interest in the game generally. Sadly that has all but gone and I don't ever see that trend reversing.

We are starting to see the various elements that have been in play in the background. It is interesting to see two themes emerging going forward: 1) the restriction of access to content from media outlets who continually abuse their position; and 2) opening up access to fan-led content. Both of these are have pros and cons, but through expanding RTV and supporting fan voices, I can see a positive way through the current malaise that is much more palatable. I understand the call for further bans but a blanket approach wont work, in my view. We should send out some targeted messages that show we wont be pushed around. As has been said many times already, actions will speak louder than words here.

Its another dig because they can't bring themselves to use the name and now refer to the "Glasgow Derby".

I think this taps into the difficulty with regards to complaining about refereeing. Every team has issues with the officials on a level never experienced before. Fast tracking young refs to the top level clearly has not worked as they seem to have much less experience and gravitas in terms of being able to handle controversial moments. They also clearly influenced by the media hype that surrounds Rangers and the likes of Morelos. How Stevenson wasn't sent off on Wednesday is anyone's guess, and there are a number of similar examples which confirm the same issues.

I played at the Rangers golf day in October and it was an excellent day out with lots of legends and bears turning out. The Ailsa course is one if not the top golf course in the UK, so from a purely golf perspective, should there be some commercial advantages to both parties in terms of this partnership then why would we not? We can take issue with Trump's politics, but from a golfing perspective, its a prestigious venue and course to be associated with. Having never previously played there, it is clear that a significant amount of time and money has gone into upgrading the course and facilities. That is money in the local economy, and importantly, jobs. That said, I have no issue with anyone who objects on a moral or political basis. I just choose to look at the wider picture and would jump at the chance to play there again.

Hagi for me. He got lumps kicked out of him from the kick off but rose above it, constantly showed for the ball and took his finish well. Excited to see how the lad develops

Its unfortunate that its taken some poor performances to spark a little experimentation by the management team. We are now in the midst of a bad run and desperately seeking that missing spark, whilst having no (or next to no) previous game time using different formations, and with many of the fringe players in the squad lacking competitive minutes. All of which means that when we lose some of our key players, we lose momentum and look vulnerable to the physicality and time-wasting tactics seen notably in our last two fixtures. Some lessons there for Gerrard to reflect on. He's shown that his management group are reflective and learn from their experiences. Lets hope they address this slump quickly. For me the way to do that is to transcend some of the issues we have from a player/technical standpoint by engendering a siege mentality in the dressing room. No-one likes us, we don't care. The refs are against us, the press wont do us any favours, and forget expecting fairness from the SFA/SPFL. Put newspaper clippings up in the dressing room. Make sure all the players know exactly what all the no-marks in the game are saying about us/them. Then its time for the sleeves to be rolled up and for some blood and thunder, high energy tilts from the first whistle. Put games to bed, then make full use of subs as early as possible to protect our best players and challenge the squad to give the manager selection headaches.

its a rule that governs all loans these days. Neither will play.

A periodic reminder that the compliance process is deeply flawed and not for purpose.

I am assuming the club has complained and is in ongoing discussions regarding the issues raised because the alternative is not acceptable. Either way they should have given an update - they are their own worst enemy at times.

There was also no follow up statement after that weekend. Suggesting that there was dialogue with the SFA which we have agreed to keep private.

The notice of complaint was received on the Friday night of the Stranraer game. Quite what took the Compliant Officer 19 days to react following the Old Firm game, is anyone's guess.

Physicality and breaking up the rhythm of play are both tactics I think we will experience more and more as the season progresses unless we match up and start putting teams to the sword. My worry is that Hearts and now Aberdeen have set the template that others will follow. And when you have a compliant officer and meek officials who seem to be influenced by their own shadow, I fear the worst unless we seriously buck up our ideas and develop a siege mentality as a club, on all fronts.

The club seem to have got into the habit of letting Club1872 fill the vacuum created by their lack of public commentary.

I've been reading this guy on twitter who broke this story... but i'm still less clear about what is going on. Any legal eagles able to go through the judgement and give us a definitive answer?

All in all, shaping up to be a very decent transfer window. Good start by our Sporting Director.

Excited about Hagi signing. Something different and an added bit of quality if we can get him settled and focused.

Unbelievable. I would echo @craig's sentiments in that case.

I do very much hope this is an unfounded rumour.

Agreed. Lets hope its a false alarm.