JohnMc

Maybe, but it's semantics and I doubt UEFA will see it that way. I also doubt the club will make a defence based around whatever the banner meant, I suspect they'll point to the fact the club aims to be as inclusive as possible and the banner wasn't sanctioned and has been criticised and hope for leniency.

"Further, the club has also been charged by UEFA for the throwing of objects at the home match with Fenerbahce. This is becoming a regular occurrence, not just at Rangers matches, but across stadia in Scotland. Indeed, our players and staff were targeted with missiles at Parkhead on Sunday." Literally in that statement.

I've no idea what 'defend Europe' means either, but it's open to interpretation. Keep - retain, maintain, resist Woke - fuck knows what they mean, dog whistle term for something that wasn't around in the 1950s. Foreign - something not of this country, not of this culture, different from 'us'. This is the problematic word for me. If it had said 'keep woke ideologies out' it's political, the use of the word foreign changes the meaning for me. Ideology - a concept or system of ideas. Out - away, not near us. As I said only those who wrote it know what they meant, but its ambiguity is a problem, it can be read a number of ways and one of those ways is as racism.

Did you actually read the club's statement?

Hey, it's bad enough Dell is bringing women to the fitba, just how woke is he?

In that case you should ask the club. I don't think that's what the banners was about but who knows, maybe it was.

Knock yourself out, Dell. I mean it's got very little to do with the banner and the charge, but if it's important to you raise it.

Sorry, is 'over the Atlantic' not 'foreign' then? I mean you read it how you want, but the word 'foreign' is used and its meaning is fairly clear and agreed upon.

That's as strong a sentence as I can recall the club ever making publicly. I personally wish they'd made it right after the match instead of waiting for a charge from UEFA, but better late than never. Whether UEFA should be sanctioning clubs for banners is moot, it's their competition, they make the rules, so if we want to play in the Europa League we need to adhere to them. As for what the banner meant, only the people who created it know what they actually meant. Of course what someone means and how it's taken are not always the same thing. We've been over this countless times before on forums and I suspect we probably will again. That's the danger with language, it can be misunderstood, or indeed understood all too well depending on who is hearing it. The term 'defend Europe' when playing against a Turkish club from the Asian side of Istanbul could be taken all sorts of ways. Likewise while playing against a club from a predominantly muslim country a message like that could be read in various ways. As for 'keep foreign ideologies out' how anyone can read that as anything other than racist is beyond me. Whether someone was trying to make a bigger social or political point or was upset at the LGBT flag on the Govan stand and the planned Iftar only they know. But I suspect any gay supporters or Muslim ones might have felt the banner was aimed at them, whether that was meant or not. I imagine personal politics will come into play on this. Often objections to 'political' messages depend a lot on whether you're in agreement with the message or not. Either way it's such a shame that we find ourselves talking about stuff like this again.

A hotel, a school, a shopping complex and a car park? Are we moving to somewhere else then? I'll settle for a fit centre half and a left winger.

I'm not quietly confident, but then I rarely am. I don't think Mourinho is the manager he once was, since he left Man Utd I've never felt his heart was in it, it's been more performative than productive. Even his attempt at mind games yesterday felt like an after thought. That said if we lose an early goal, or two, and if the crowd get nervy and restless it could be a difficult evening for us. If the crowd stay behind the side, even if there are setbacks, we should be ok. This is a Rangers side that's mentally fragile, and a little physically fragile too, but with a rocking Ibrox behind them they are capable of achieving a great result. It's always worth remembering we're still in Europe in March, that's not something I'll ever take for granted.

When clubs sell players the transfer fee is rarely paid in one go, it's paid in instalments over a period of time agreed by both clubs. That's the 'future transfer fees' this refers too. McQuarie aren't some kind of back street payday loan shop, they're not lending this money without satisfying themselves it's getting paid back. Many, many businesses need finance at different times. There's a seasonality to football, with income coming in the summer and then long periods where there's little income. It would be much better if we didn't need to borrow during periods of low cashflow, but it's also not a sign of impending disaster. I'm certainly not seeing it as a positive, I'm just pointing out that maybe it's not hugely negative either. I certainly think describing the board as shysters is over the top.

I'm all for caution but I think your concern is over the top. The shares issue is clearly turning existing loans into shares ahead of the 'sale', I really don't think it's anymore than that. The loan is for cashflow, we've relied on directors providing money at this time of the season in the past, we can't now, so we've borrowed. It's not ideal, but it's not criminal. I really think describing our current board as 'crooks's is really unfair. They've made mistakes, no doubt, but there is no comparison to Whyte, none at all.

This level of pre-match analysis and understanding of the professional game is further evidence of why everyone should ignore anything I post on football. What a result.

I assumed a 4-5-1 with Ridvan wide left and Cerny wide right. I don't think it suits Dessers playing up front on his own though, even though he's in good form. If the tie is still in the balance at the end of the match i'll be happy.