JohnMc

I wish we'd spent the money on another centre forward and a better left back, but I'm in the minority on that I think. Kent started last season erratically but finished strongly, let's hope he finds his form quickly. I'm one of those who felt he often flattered to deceive, and whilst exciting to watch he didn't provide a final product often enough. His signing is a gamble, but hopefully one that will pay off.

Aren't Ojo and King on loan?

Assuming it's true and the sums of money mentioned are accurate then I think it's fair to say the board are 'all in'. I don't care if it's not a lot of money in England or Spain or China it's a massive amount for Scotland and a hell of a gamble. Be interesting to see what length of contract he gets as I assume we're aiming to 'turn him round' for a profit in 12 to 24 months. I suppose if we win the league this season then it'll be viewed as astute. To be frank it makes me nervous to see us spending like this, the board have much bigger balls than me.

Symon's problem wasn't following Struth it was being up against Stein. It can be difficult to stomach but Stein built a side that were one of the greatest in the world, he was at the height of his managerial powers. Had Baxter not broken his leg in 64 who knows what might have happened, probably more importantly had we beaten Bayern in Germany in the Cup Winners Cup Final in 67 Symon would have been un-sackable. It's all small margins, Symon managed arguably our greatest ever side, a side that reached two European Finals, and yet is viewed today by many as someone who came up short.

For me our issue yesterday was creativity. Players like Aribo, Defoe and Arfield didn't impose themselves and weren't able to hurt Celtic where it matters. The starting line-up puzzled me as much as everyone else, why we chose this match not to play any recognised wide players I'm struggling to understand. Three 'central midfielders' simply didn't work, Aribo looked bewildered at times, Arfield was off the pace and for the first time Defoe looked his age. Would it have turned out any different if we'd started with Morelos, Jones and Ojo? Perhaps, although I'm still not convinced by Ojo, at least it would have stretched the Celtic defence and put pressure on their rookie full-backs. One day though we'll figure out how to use corners and set pieces. Has any side ever been so ineffectual from so many set-pieces. Hey ho, we didn't and when Celtic's chance came they took it. There are going to be set-backs throughout the season, how we react to them and if we learn from them, will be the genuine acid test. Thankfully we can largely ignore football for a couple of weeks now.

Portsmouth's keeper, born in Perth apparently. Seems to have spent all his career in lower leagues and non-league English football. I had to look him up!

For his sake I hope he takes after his mother.

I think I said Katic should be freed, or used as a makeweight when trying to sell Grezda. Maybe my memory is playing tricks with me... ?

Rangers supporters are not beyond criticism, especially from ourselves. It's far from sanctimonious to complain when 3,000 of our own supporters are prevented from attending our biggest match of the season so far. The memory of your great uncle was besmirched not by posters on this thread, or by Speirs, but by the gangsters, drug dealers and murderers who use their name today. Perhaps your ire would be better directed at them.

Nah, it was discussed by the media because he'd spent enough time here and hadn't been capped by Spain, but he was never called up. Funnily enough I'm more relaxed about residency rules coming in than the grandparent rule. If someone came to Scotland as an 18 year old and made their life here I'm comfortable with them becoming 'Scottish' in every sense. We're just as bad as the Irish now when it comes to capping players. We actively scout English youth sides looking for any links. There's a lad at Watford of whom great things are expected, with one Scottish Granny, he's now in the 'Scottish international system' despite never having set foot here and both his parents being English. There's a boy at Feyonord too, who we've similarly 'scouted'.

Why are our side called 'Colts'? Surely Rangers sides are 'Swifts', that was traditionally what we called the sides below the first team. Oh, and I'm with Compo, the Glasgow Cup is the finest looking trophy in football.

It's been amusing watching Tom English receive heat from irate Celtic supporters for his criticism of Tom Boyd's tin foil hat moment at the weekend. They've been truly angered that English doesn't agree with Boyd's ludicrous nonsense.

Oh Bill, how naive you are. The universe does care and it will punish you. There is a reason I touch the top of the exit door every time when I leave Ibrox, why my Dad always has Extra Strong Mints and must offer them to whoever is sitting beside him, why I'll only wear my white bar scarf to games, none of the others I own, why I won't listen to Radio Scotland for an Old Firm commentary but will listen to Five Live, why we have to park in the Science Centre car park for mid week games even though they changed the parking payment and it's a pain in the arse now. There's a reason why Rangers players who score on their debuts don't have good careers with us, why we should never bring an old player back and why we should always wear black socks with red tops. If someone can provide me with documented, tested, peer reviewed evidence that none of those things plays any part in the result and my ongoing peace of mind I'll ignore them and continue doing them anyway. Because they'd be wrong!!!! Football and superstition are intrinsically linked. There is nothing rational about football support, it's all emotion, it's all feelings and highs and lows and delirium and despair. So don't you bastards go jinxing it with your over confidence, because that's the worse jinx of all. The universe cares and it's watching all the time!

Why are we all so confident now? Celtic have had one bad result, their home match in Europe against the Romanian champions, having had a pretty decent result in the first leg. Other than that they've won their two league matches with ease and gone through in a sticky cup tie against a side in the league below them. I don't think Lennon is anything like as capable a manager as Rodgers, and he's managing Rodgers side so there will be more than a few players he doesn't fancy or who don't fancy him. But, he's still an experienced manager and they've still got some dangerous players. They'll still win against just about every other side in the league. I think this is our best chance to win the league in a decade but all this talk of being out of sight by Christmas and hoping Lennon is still in charge in January is giving me the fear.

There are five Rangers players in the Scotland under 21 squad named earlier today.

I'm not sure that's fair. Linfield, Glentoran and Crusaders all have players from the ROI as do Coleraine, Portadown, Glenavon and Institute and all are considered clubs with largely Protestant/Unionist supports. He'd get far more abuse from other team's supports than from ours. As long as he's doing it on the park our support will stand behind him in my experience.

I've subscribed for tonight's match. I feel a tenner is actually good value, my two sons and I can watch it together (they'll be getting put off Fortnite and Minecraft so they don't mess with my connection). Certainly a few thousand others doing the same doesn't seem far fetched, like anything is making sure people know about it.

He was an unused sub.

I notice McCrorie didn't play for Portsmouth at weekend. He really needs to have a good season at that level to have any chance of making our first team. Barjonas didn't take his chances on loan last season, I don't know if he was injured or just not picked but he struggled first at Bury (a team in chaos to be fair) and then at Raith Rovers. Why he's been unable to push on from his early promise is the eternal question for so many young Rangers players. Barjonas is 20 now and he's only played about 20 first team matches. He needs regular first team football at some level to develop. That's why I'm relaxed about Middleton going to Hibs. If he can break into their first team and stay in it he comes back to us a much more rounded and experienced player. If he doesn't then we know he's not going to make it. Either way let him make his mistakes in Hibs first team. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that we should scrap our youth system and simply concentrate on our first team squad. Indeed I'd actually ban all professional football teams from having youth academies.

There's a great gift in our trophy room from, I think, Katowice. It's a statue carved from a solid block of coal, they must have had deep seams in Poland.

Is there a central midfielder coming through the ranks currently that could challenge for a place? Barjonas looked like he might be good enough but it seems clear Gerrard doesn't agree and he'll be away if someone comes in for him and McCrorie is already out on loan. The one I'm waiting to hear about is Zak Rudden. We're short upfront, I don't think we can rely on Defoe and Morelos alone all season, and I wonder if our management team view Rudden as a third choice striker. If we qualify for the Europa League and do well in the cups we'll play a lot of games, whoever our 3rd choice forward is they'll get game time, then it's up to them to hold the position.

There are no 'spare' copies of that esteemed publication, every single one is coveted. I knew a guy from Ballymoney, just a wee bit up the road, who attended revivals in Stornoway back in the day. This is the best Ballymena side in a long time, they should be too strong for our youngsters. I'd love to go, but it won't happen. I did see Rangers play Crusaders and Ballyclare back in the 90s.

Ballymena hi! We should receive a good welcome there and of course NI football is doing okay currently, champions Linfield went through to the next qualifying round of the Champions League last night. To be fair they were 3-2 up at home with 7 minutes to go, only a pub team would throwaway a lead from there.

Ah, c'mon, it was a lovely pass and a decent finish. At 6-1 even I can be magnanimous! It's comedic just how much focus it's got though, I mean had it won them the match or even earned them a point I could just about understand but when it was a consolation during a trouncing you'd think they might have found something else to highlight. But as 26th so ably demonstrates every week, they don't think like we do.

He's the manager of Rangers, that means constant scrutiny and analysis followed by over the top levels of criticism or praise. Thats the gig, that's always been the gig. Gerrard's reaction to the Kilmarnock goal didn't concern me, that's been his reaction to most goals we've conceded. He's a much more thoughtful character than I thought. I'd assumed (wrongly) he was a heart-on-the-sleeve bubbly Scouser, but he's not, he's far more composed and steady. That doesn't mean he's not passionate, he just shows it differently. One concern I have with Gerrard is how he manages people who don't work as hard as he did. Gerrard was a perfectionist as a player, he was the boss in the Liverpool dressing room, and someone who decided if you made it or didn't make it at Liverpool. He'd very high standards and not everyone was able to meet them. I read the Lafferty article this morning and wondered why Gerrard was unable to manage him correctly. Now, let me be clear, I think Lafferty is a clown, he's a brainless waste of talent and someone who constantly displays poor judgement. But he can play football, and when managed correctly can be a highly effective member of a team. Micheal O'Neill has shown that, Craig Levein has shown that, Walter Smith showed that. We knew what we were getting with Lafferty when we signed him. There are still people at the club who remember him first time around, someone must have pointed out that he's not a good trainer, he'll have some sort of domestic implosion during the season and he'll skive off every chance he gets. But, he could win you a match when you need it. My concern for Gerrard isn't that he doesn't display enough emotion on the touchline, it's that he can't relate to journeymen SPFL footballers standard. That he doesn't understand how to motivate and manage a Lafferty, a Grezda or a Barasic. Gerrard, I believe, has very high standards, he expects high intensity training, 100% focus, total concentration. I expect most supporters are agree and think 'about bloody time too'. However, he's not coaching elite EFL, Champion's League quality players. Sometimes, at our level, you need to be able to do something with the shirkers, the lazy and the troubled too. For the record, Gerrard has shown himself to be a much better manager than I thought he'd be, and I remain confident for the season ahead. But if we're doing assessing, that's my observation.