JohnMc

We're winning while not playing particularly well, that's a big positive. That's why Tav is our number 1 right back, he'll deliver a goal scoring opportunity or even a goal in almost every match he plays. Stunning technique for that goal. St Johnstone are horrible to watch, remind me of Motherwell under Tommy McLean.

Attending football matches, gigs or clubs is not compulsory, no one is making you attend or give over private medical information if you don't want too. Likewise you don't have to get the vaccine, that's still personal choice. Scotland has a baseline of 184 ICU beds, this can be escalated up to 738 in times of crisis. The number of people 18 years old or over is around 4,313,400, so 9% of that is 388,206. I'll let you work out whether there's a danger of the NHS being overwhelmed as the poorer weather comes in. Vaccine passports are already being used in a number of countries in various formats, Scottish government didn't come up with this idea in a vacuum. We're almost certainly following what was introduced in France earlier in the summer. It was unpopular with many people there too, but it has been successful in encouraging people to get vaccinated. You are still entitled to vote for whoever you want at the next election, as is everyone else in Scotland and the UK.

Maybe. I think it's about increasing the number of people who are vaccinated, not reducing overall infection rates, only a lockdown of some kind will do that. There's little doubt in my mind we're running a herd immunity policy just now. Gambling that enough people who are vaccinated come into contact with the virus, have mild symptoms and so build up a natural immunity to it while the weather is good and the vaccine remains potent in their system. Problem is un-vaccinated people are catching it and some are being hospitalised, for me this is all about 'encouraging' those people to get vaccinated.

I know it can be hard to remove the politics from this, but surely this is a public health message rather than a political one? I know opposition MSPs largely voted against it but covid passports have already been legislated in England and will almost certainly be required for similar events as in Scotland. COP26 is a UN event, being hosted the UK government, not the Scottish government. The cynic in me suspects they chose Glasgow in November to host it so the inevitable climate change and various anarchist type groups who protest these events might be put off by the almost perpetual darkness and shit weather. I suspect every politician will attempt to make capital from it, Sturgeon included. I'm not sure you can conflate it with the Covid passport.

Yeah, I can see that. To be fair the state isn't saying you have to get vaccinated, it's saying someone is perfectly entitled not to get vaccinated, but they can't attend large social or sporting events then. I suspect you'll see limits on foreign travel for un-vaccinated and various other restrictions in an attempt to 'force' vaccination without actual legislation. Insurance companies and risk managers are already advising big employers on 'no-vaccine no-job' policies, viewing the risk of a civil liberties law suit being less costly than law suit from someone who has caught covid at work.

Why is everyone so against this? If it's a choice between this and another lockdown then I choose this every time. Scotland currently has infection numbers of over 6,000, this time last year that number was a couple of hundred. Thankfully most people are vaccinated so the chance of serious illness and death are greatly reduced, but let's not pretend the danger has gone away completely. Glasgow has enjoyed a surprisingly warm start to the autumn, but that won't last and as the colder weather arrives those infection numbers will increase again. 84% of Scots are double jagged, 91% have had one, so in reality this isn't going to affect that many of us. there's a month until this comes into force so time for the rest to start getting their vaccines, which is surely what the purpose of this is. I understand the nervousness many of us have regarding Rangers ticket office's ability to deal with this, but that's surely preferable to not seeing Rangers at all, despite what politicians are currently saying, that must be a real possibility if these infection numbers continue to rise.

This is fairly niche and perhaps not of interest to everyone. It's also fairly long. I stumbled across it online and found aspects of it quite interesting. I'd always wondered about Callander FC, our first recorded opponents, I'd no idea the strong connection between the town and football. I know a couple of Airdrie fans who might be surprised at the origins of their club! https://scottishfootballorigins.org/2021/08/26/glasgow-before-the-explosion-the-role-of-migration-and-immigration-in-the-development-of-football-cultures-in-the-city-prior-to-1873/comment-page-1/?unapproved=129&moderation-hash=2b5d585235928cae397edb2cf6fe4e96#comment-129

I don't think anyone is disputing this is being used for political and mischief reasons, I certainly wasn't.

While agreeing with everything else you've said I think you can be both Irish and Scottish, or indeed Indian and Scottish or Italian and Scottish or wherever and Scottish, I don't think it's a binary choice. Nationality and identity is a funny thing and differs from person to person. While legally someone might be 'British', been born here, live here, have a UK passport and identify with all the cultural aspects associated with that, they can still have an attachment, however emotional, to another country that a parent or grandparent is from. Personally, you have to go far back in my lineage to find an ancestor from another country, so my identity isn't a question for me. But my wife wasn't born in the UK, doesn't have a British passport and certainly doesn't see herself as British, or Scottish, no matter what affection and emotional attachment she now has for it. My children are being raised in Glasgow, they're Scottish, but they have an attachment to their mother's home, they have cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents there, I suspect they'll always have an affection for it. They might even pass this on to their children too, who knows. When I lived in Australia I found it interesting to speak with people who had literally fled persecution in their 'home country' before arriving in Australia. These people considered themselves Australian but retained an affection and cultural attachment to where they were born, despite the sometimes awful treatment they'd encountered there. That attachment was passed to their children. When I lived in Australia I didn't stop being Scottish either. As I said at the start I think you're correct about this being blown out of proportion and being taken a lot more seriously than it's intended, no one is seriously calling for 3rd generation Irish to be repatriated after all. But, someone born in Scotland, to parents born in Scotland, can still have an emotional tie and affection to another country and feel targeted, I think.

Why are you asking me? Maybe they think you're stupid.

This is known in political circles as 'nudge'. It's about trying to get people to do something you want them to do without legislation. This is an attempt to get those who haven't been vaccinated to either get the jags or face potentially missing out on social activities. It's mainly aimed at younger people who have been slower to take up the vaccines and who might be more likely to want to go to nightclubs and gigs. When faced with the possibility of missing out on social events they might decide to get vaccinated, which is what this is all about.

While I largely agree with you that the club can't be held responsible for what happens in the town an hour before a match when MSP's are publicly calling for a response from Rangers it's difficult for the club to remain silent. Even if the MSP in question is someone with questionable motives and undoubtedly doing it for political reasons, it's hard for the club to simply ignore him, unfortunately.

Didn't he leave under something of a cloud last season? We should get a development fee for him now. I remember when Dylan McGeoch left us for them, he was going to be the next big thing. We got £100,000 for him apparently, still the highest transfer fee anyone has ever paid for him. More recently Liam Burt joined them, also a player a lot was expected of at one time. I hear he's a regular in the League Of Ireland now, so that's pleasing. If he's willing to join them then I'm happy he's away.

There was a match against Partick Thistle at Firhill many moons ago where something similar happened. We gave them the ball back but Ian Ferguson then chased them down forcing them into playing it quickly instead of allowing them to retain possession. He was booed by the Thistle support and criticised by some in the media, but everyone at the game knew Thistle were time wasting and indulging in gamesmanship. I'm with Tannochside on this, no giving the ball back in those circumstances.

Kent's tracking back with McGregor and generally being around him and preventing him getting on the ball was hugely important for us yesterday. Tactically Callum McGregor is their link between defence and attack and Kent had a job to do today in helping prevent that, he did it well in my opinion. We really should step back for a moment and consider our side yesterday. I think it's now clear we've had Covid problems at the club for a while and it's affecting a number of players and senior staff in different ways. Barasic is not fit, I don't know why, but he's not and that's been clear every time he's played this season. He was rightly replaced by Bassey a few weeks ago. Yet he was called upon to perform yesterday and he did. Their young winger is a decent enough player and they were overlapping a lot on that side, Barasic had a lot to do yesterday. It also seems like Helander is a player who struggles to play two matches a week. There seem to be fitness issues with him, he may have historical injuries that need managed, he might simply not yet be over his summer exertions. Yesterday was his second game in 4 days, with nearly 7,000 miles flying too. Balogun is no right back. He might have played there before but compared to Tav or Paterson he's defensively sound but offers a lot less going forward. So much of our attacking play is dependent on our full backs linking with midfielders and forwards and delivering crosses. An unfit Barasic and a centre half at right back makes a big difference to our style of play. Add in a rookie keeper making his league debut for us rather than a commanding seasoned international and you have to say to go through that match without conceding a goal is remarkable. As has been said Kent and Roofe aren't fully fit. Both did important jobs yesterday. Kamara, Davis, Morelos and Aribo played in the heat of Thursday too. Morelos ability to draw a foul is a thing of beauty, he should have a wing dedicated to him in Kelvingrove Art Gallery where future generations can marvel at his dedication to getting his body between their centre halves and the ball before taking the inevitable dunt from behind. He helped break up the play, slow the game down at times and allow us to regroup. Plus we realised they were suspect from set-pieces as indeed it turned out. We'd no defenders on our bench yesterday. No manager in the dug out, no captain on the park. That was an important win yesterday, that was a show character above all else. Loved it.

Like almost everyone else I thought Rangers were awful last night, a turgid game with only a few positives. Yet, some 12 hours later not only was ours Scotland's best result in Europe last night on reflection we were rarely troubled despite being away from home and playing in oppressive heat. We created some brilliant chances and on another night could have won 4 or 5 nil. Perception is everything in football. Most of us could see that Alashkert were as poor a side as we've faced at this stage in Europe and after our good runs in recent seasons there's an expectation we'll reach the group stages comfortably and with some style. The disappointment of losing to Malmo still hangs heavy in the air. It's worth noting that Scotland will have no representatives in the Europa Conference League this season, unlike Gibraltar, Cyprus and Kazakstan. Aberdeen and St Johnstone failing to qualify, following Hibs who were already out. The reality is we play in a poor league, that's getting poorer every season. We've probably over-achieved in Europe recently. I think the Europa League is one we can expect to compete in. The Champion's League, despite its riches and glamour, is a step beyond us currently. We'll see where we are in 12 months, but for now I'm looking forward to the draw and to some big European nights at Ibrox once again. It's great we're there.

Wahey, you used emojis. Bless.

You're right, I just made that up, it's a fair cop. This guy probably made this up too, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2021/aug/23/anti-vaxx-athletes-stance-show-myths-cut-across-boundaries-privilege-covid Steve Bruce is a shit manager, so this is probably a load of rubbish too, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/aug/20/steve-bruce-admits-a-lot-of-newcastle-players-have-not-been-vaccinated-covid

There's a bewilderingly high number of professional sports people who won't take the vaccine. It seems to be a mix of 'I'm young and supremely fit so it won't affect me' and exposure to 'positive mindset gurus' from who they've entirely bought into 'I can overcome everything by staying positive and focussed' which of course is great if you're trying to knock 0.5 of a second off your personal best or coming up against the best midfielder in the league but is dangerous if you're facing a highly infectious virus. Anyway, I've no idea who many, if any, Rangers players fall into those categories, but it wouldn't be a huge surprise if some of them did. Aside from the likely disruption to our team for two important matches this also has potential ramifications as the transfer window nears closing. I assume a player with Covid would fail a medical at another club if they were even allowed to travel for one. Likewise a Covid outbreak at Auchenhowie might make bringing in a player a challenge too.

I personally know of more cases in Glasgow now than at anytime over the last 18 months. It's inevitable players will come into contact with Covid now, as will all of us. This won't be the last time it happens to us or to other clubs. My kids have been back at school for a week and already we've had 4 letters home about confirmed Covid cases in their classes. Footballers have families and friends and lives outside of football, they're going to catch it like the rest of us will. Hopefully those who have tested positive are in good health, as are those close to them.

It's not Central Car Auctions, I'm fairly certain of that. I assumed it was Tomket as they're already a jersey sponsor and automotive related. Like you I hope the board know what they're doing here.

You're even more cynical than me it seems! Yes, I think that's part of his motive too, I'm a little surprised everyone doesn't.

Did I call him a liar? I don't think I did. Forgive my cynicism, it's from my personal experiences and if yours have been different then I'm envious of you. Politician saying things for political reasons is hardly the libel of the year, but if you feel Murdo Fraser was hoping to achieve something altruistic I'd be interested in knowing what that is? I remain open-minded, believe it or not. My final point, about the 'Ulsterfication' of Scottish politics, was simply my opinion on the descent of political discourse across the UK in recent years. Nationalism now dominates at every level of politics. Rangers supporters seem to be getting dragged into that, whether we want to or not. Fraser's article is, I assume, a riposte to some of the articles, comments and reactions to our supporters over the last few months. I understand why many might welcome that. I don't really because I feel it simply further entrenches this attempt top create 'sides', where I don't feel any should exist. We're a football club with a huge support that encompasses many conflicting views on every topic, I rile against anyone trying to pigeon-hole us. See, I can be cynical and naive at the same time!

If only we could play Real Madrid every week. It was inevitable we'd hit a patch of poor form after last season where we rarely put a foot wrong, every club goes through them eventually. There's a mindset change required in our team, we're no longer chasing, we're now being chased and that requires an adjustment mentally. I suspect there are other issues in the squad that we're not fully aware of too. There have been a few hints at Covid cases with players and it might be these have been more disruptive than we realise. I'm less concerned about 3 points being dropped in the league than I am about Tuesday's match. Our late goal in Malmo helped disguise an uninspired performance against a well organised but ordinary side, indeed the type of European side we've excelled in playing in recent seasons. An unfavourable result on Tuesday will see some pressure being applied to the players and management, as ridiculous as that sounds. Those of us who have been watching Rangers for a long time know our support, magnificent at times, will quickly forget about last season's heroics should this season start poorly. As Richard Gough once said at Rangers you're only as good as your last pass. I feel Kent is working hard but things don't seem to be coming off for him just now and our full backs aren't yet hitting their stride. That's such an important part of our style of play when it's not fully firing others need to step up. Hopefully we'll respond like Champions to this and start showing the side we know is there on Tuesday.

I've a Romanian friend who I've got to know fairly well over the years. We found ourselves talking about politics one day and I asked about her memories of living under Ceaușescu and his hated Communist regime prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain. I knew what had happened to him but I was curious what happened to the thousands of others who were party members, supporters and politicians after the revolution. She simply shrugged and said "they became democrats", the same people stayed in power they just did it under a different name. As a Glaswegian I can honestly say I've seen no discernible difference in my local politicians since the SNP replaced Labour as the dominant party in the city. They are basically the same, they just have a different colour rosette. When Labour ran the city and the country there weren't many of their politicians pinning Rangers colours to the mast, but there seemed to be plenty happy to sport green and white and a surprisingly high number of Thistle supporters. Now the SNP run the city and the country it's the same thing. I don't have a particular problem with Murdo Fraser's article other than he's a politician himself and, for me, is clearly hoping it might garner him, and his party, some support. Judging by this thread he might be right too. I'm fairly cynical of his motives though. I don't think he's hoping a couple of SNP MSPs will 'out themselves' as bluenoses, or that Bute House will arrange a civic reception for Gerrard. I worry this is simply another salvo in the ongoing 'culture wars' that make up modern politics these days. In the end there's probably no other subject Fraser could have written about that would have created as much response, that's a very sad inditement on our society currently. In my experience nobody is going to have their political mindset changed by posters on a Rangers message board and so I have no intention of trying to alter any of my fellow posters deeply held political views. I have very few deeply held political views as it happens. In the last 20 or so years that I've posted on various Rangers related message boards the lack of political support the club and fans seem to have is a fairly regular topic. I actually do think it's an important topic. We all know that there are Rangers supporters in the SNP, just as there were in Scottish Labour back in the day, however they largely hide it. For me that's what needs addressed, a proper understanding of why openly supporting Rangers seems to be politically toxic and has been for a long time now. For work and now family reasons I'm a regular visitor to Ireland. Although I lived in Northern Ireland when based there I visited the Republic a lot and was initially wary saying I supported Rangers when conversation turned to football. I'd quickly discovered that certain assumptions were made about me when my football allegiances were known. It was assumed I was an Orangeman, I was a Loyalist and I was a bigot. I realised that most people there had never actually met a Rangers supporter, they'd a stereotype in their head from footage of rioting in Loyalist Belfast or Portadown, a basic understanding of the Glasgow football/religion split and perhaps some overheard song lyrics during a live match on Sky. After a few months I realised I was as much to blame for this stereotype as the disaffected youth covering his face with a red, white and blue bar scarf as he stones the police during a contentious parade in north Belfast. I'm not an Orangeman, or a Loyalist and I try not to be a bigot and yet I'm a huge Rangers fan. So I stopped down playing my football support and let people make their own minds up about Rangers supporters based on their interactions with me instead. Like supporters of all clubs the Rangers support is broad and complicated. We all agree on very little, we hold different views on most subjects and, I believe, for the majority of our support who we want to win a football match has little bearing on who we vote for. I also understand that for some people supporting Rangers is an extension of their political belief system. For them it's an intrinsic part of their identity and belonging. That's fair enough and I don't get to tell them they're wrong to hold those views. At the same time they don't get to tell people they're wrong for holding different ones. I enjoyed my time living in Northern Ireland, it's a beautiful part of the world and I found the people there friendly and welcoming. I didn't care for their politics or politicians though. The politics of identity were dominant there then and remain so. I see shadows of that in the rest of the UK now. The rise of nationalism isn't just confined to Scotland. In my opinion Murdo Fraser's party are nationalist now, just a different type of nationalist. That's my political opinion and I don't expect anyone else to share it simply because we support the same football team.