JohnMc

Among the many changes that Phillipe Clement has quietly affected at Rangers one has gone almost unmentioned. We finished the match last night with three 20 year olds and a 21 year old upfront, plus Yilmaz who is only 22. I'm not sure I recall Rangers ever having a younger side than the one that finished last night. Getting the best out of young players is not something every manager can do. We started this season with a side built around experience and height, somehow we now have a young, slim, quick side. Far from the finished article, but with a clear purpose and all knowing what they are meant to be doing. Huge credit to the big Belgian. Last night we saw a Rangers side show character. I think we all know we wouldn't have won that match 4 months ago. Not every player had their best game, but every player fought, showed intensity and worked very, very hard. We're not top, but this side is growing every week and they'll get another chance to take that top spot.

Does the signing of Cortes basically confirm that's there's no chance we're signing Sima on a permanent deal? It was always a long shot, but his contract will be down to his last year soon, Brighton might want to try and recoup some of the transfer fee they paid, but it's unlikely they'll get anything like the £7 million they're reported to have paid for him.

This match will tell us a lot about our team and the character and desire in it. As everyone now knows a 3-0 win puts us top of the league, with the same games played. If our players can overcome an Aberdeen side who always lift themselves for us, who have a new manager to impress, one that isn't inept for a change, and deliver the victory required, that might be indicative of what's going on behind the scenes. It also puts pressure on the side from across the city, and for a long time many of us have suspected they won't react well to pressure. I didn't expect to be in this position so soon into Clement's reign. If we stumble tomorrow that will tell us something about the players we currently have, if we don't that might suggest something else. Looking forward to finding out which it is.

22 years, jeez. In some ways it feels every second of it, in others it feels like just a few moments ago. That goal must have felt cathartic for him.

Are we stronger now the transfer window has closed? The players we've lost are Lammers and Devine. Assuming Tav stays fit Devine leaving doesn't really affect us. Should Tav get injured we're looking at Sterling to fill in. Neither he nor Devine can give us what Tav does, so Devine leaving for the second half of the season isn't much of an issue I don't think. Lammers played a lot of games for us, but failed to impress and his move away takes away some competition for places and options but doesn't really weaken us. Incoming we've Oscar Cortes, he's just turned 20 and has played 24 first team games. He's a punt, he might prove to be very good, he might thrive in Scotland, but it'll take him a while to adapt you have to assume. I'm not sure how good his English is and there's a big cultural adjustment required for him to settle. He might prove to be an inspired signing, but it would be unfair to expect too much from him right away. Mohamed Diomande is the same age but has nearly 100 first team games under his belt already. Although he's Ivorian he's been living in Denmark for over 3 years so culturally he's got experience of northern Europe, a move to Glasgow shouldn't be a huge shock for him. Like all players he'll need some time but I'd expect him to be challenging for a first team place from pretty much day 1. How good he is, or can become, I've no idea, but surely he can be more effective than Lammers. Silva, a young player carrying a huge weight of expectation on his shoulders, and, frankly, failing to deliver on it. It's not his fault he's one of the most expensive teenage signings of all time, however, he is and the fact he's ended up in Scottish football tells us his career hasn't gone as hoped. That said he's undoubtedly talented, and like the other January signings has potential. If he can stay fit he'll play a lot, mainly because of our lack of options up front. A run of games and some confidence might be the making of him. So, on paper our squad is stronger today than in December, however that's not the whole story. The loss of Danilo and Sima change the complexion of the squad. Sima is our most potent forward, and his goals don't look like they've been replaced. Danilo's injury being much worse than first thought suggests we might not see him again this season. We're threadbare upfront. Certainly the loss of Sima in January is a big blow, and one I'm not sure we've dealt with. The return of Lowry might yet make a difference. He's injured and looks like being out until April, but it's a long season with more than a few twists and turns left in it. Fit and focused, and depending on injuries or form elsewhere, he might still have a roll to play.

Well let me be the first to admit I thought Dessers looked like a dumpling from almost day 1. A poor touch, a lack of mobility and a surprising lack of strength and power when grappling with defenders combined with a complete lack of composure in front of goal. I'll also admit that despite his recent run of scoring form, a couple of which have been really nice finishes, I'm still not convinced by him. However, should he go on and have a great second half of the season and, once again, underline my lack of football knowledge, no one will be happier than me.

The season we last won the league, we had 4 proper forwards, all contributing important goals. Morelos with 17 goals, Roofe with 18, Itten with 6 and Defoe with 7, supported by Kent, Aribo, Hagi and Arfield who all contributed a decent number of goals, and of course Tav whose contribution so many of us simply take for granted. This season really only Dessers and Tav could be expected to reach 18 goals. Sima could have but his injury makes that unlikely now, perhaps Danilo too if he'd been fit. Our midfield goal contribution is pitiful. The attraction of Shankland for so many is he's a goal scorer, something our squad badly needs. I like the look of Silva, but nothing in his past suggests he's a 20 goals as season forward.

One of the great mysteries of life. I can only think of one 'Brian' who played for us yet we all call him 'Laudrup', yet there's been a few Alastairs over the years but only one we'd know as 'Ally'. Very few players earn only first name status. The few that do usually fall into two camps; club legends like Super Ally as already mentioned, Slim Jim or Sandy or those with 'unusual' Christian names like Lorenzo, Fashion, Torry or Moses. But even then very few of them were just called by their first name. We went through a period in the 80s when we had a spate of Fergusons; Eric, Iain, Ian and Derek all played for us over a 5 or 6 year period yet were all known as 'Fergie'. Then our next two 'Fergusons' become better known by their first names; big Dunc and Barry. Go figure. If there's a rhyme or reason to it I've not sussed it out yet.

So has he got to remain in Tobermorey until then?

You'd think the club, or his agent, would have checked this out before, so maybe it's fine. From what I can see some nationalities can get a work permit easier than others. Considering Brazil's standing in world football there are surprisingly few in UK football.

That's a fair point. Copenhagen are in the knockout stages of the Champion's League this season so possibly not currently. Traditionally it's been a weak league, but maybe times are changing.

This is a player who has made 18 first team appearances in his entire life, none in Brazil I'd add. I'm not entirely sure how he'll get a work permit, but that aside we're buying very much untried potential, he's unlikely to be ready for our first team. Both Diomande and Jefre are young players, playing in weaker leagues than ours looking to make a step up in standard. It's an interesting signing strategy, but it's risky. Whether either are currently ready to improve our first team remains to be seen. I mean we've bought players from better leagues than ours and they've been disasters, so I'm not knocking this new strategy, just pointing out both these players might need time to adjust.

My favourite player of the 21st century. Did all his talking on the pitch, a really effective midfielder and someone who comes across as a decent sort too. His retirement is an end of an era in some ways. He was the last player still at the club who was signed by Walter Smith, also the last player who played before our 2012 crash. One of a small group of Rangers players to have played in 2 European finals. Everyone knew this was almost certainly going to be the outcome, an ACL injury at any age is a big injury for a player, but at his vintage a comeback seemed unlikely. His last act at the club was to introduce young Northern Irishman Ross McCausland to the first team while caretaker for a couple of matches before Clement took over. McCausland hasn't lost his place since. There's something fitting about that.

England has a pyramid system, so going straight into the Championship is not going to happen. Other clubs and their supporters would, rightly, be against that. So if, and it's a big if, we were able to join the English league system it would be the Cumbrian Sunday League or similar, and we'd need to work our way up from there. The time to do that was 2012, I can't see it happening now. I think it's inevitable Rangers will eventually leave the Scottish league, but I doubt England will be our destination.

The UK government decide work permits, not the SFA. There are some African countries where it's easier to get a UK work visa, and some where it's quite difficult. The real problem a club like Rangers has when it comes to academies, be they Scottish players or African ones, is the culture around the club. If Nordsjælland never win a trophy no one will be surprised, so they can blood young players, introduce them to their first team, allow them to make mistakes and learn their trade, safe in the knowledge they are only there to be developed and sold. Our support simply won't accept that. Young players will get a couple of games at most to prove they belong in the first team, then they'll be fair game for the crowd if they aren't pulling their weight. We can set up as many academies as we want, but good luck getting them first team football at Rangers.

We already have some sort of formal football connections with Orange County Soccer and Bengaluru in India and some other thing with Hamburg, although I don't think that's a football player based formal connection. So we're already part of a "multi-club network" of sorts. It also explains all the fantastic young American and Indian talent we've unearthed recently... Didn't we get a young goalkeeper from Orange County once? Personally I hate the idea of multi-club ownership. City Group, Red Bull and 777 Partners are anathema to me, they go against everything I think football should be about. I hope Rangers are never swallowed up by one of them.

Hardly, he's not signed it, yet at least. I suspect Shankland will want a move from Hearts, his star has never been higher, a move to us or the English Championship could set him up financially for life. This is probably his last big contract, I'd be amazed if he signed that, unless there's an attractive release clause.

That's, erm, different. I'd a mate worked for the Royal Bank and his work 'team' decided to do a corporate race thing along the West Highland Way. It was a miserable experience, the weather was shocking, the terrain challenging and their fitness a little suspect. There were 6 of his colleagues and him and they all fell out, a couple of them spectacularly, nearly coming to blows at one point. One went off on the sick right away, another 3 left completely within 3 months. He tells me now they just go to the pub after work like normal people.

He doesn't hang around anywhere for very long, does he, 5 clubs in 3 years is some going. Surely this can only be a loan, there's no way we're spending £10 million plus on a left back. I'd never heard of him before now but having played for Slavia and Benfica you'd expect him to be of a decent standard.

It's worth noting that Helander has played 10 competitive matches for Odense since the summer. Rangers have played 33 competitive matches in that same time period.

The type of football played today is different to the football played in the 1950s and the 1970s and even the 1990s. As such the type of player who thrives in it has changed and the type of fitness they possess, or build, is different. I'm surprised there's even a debate that today's players are fitter, I don't think there's any doubt about that, but I accept there's a debate around whether they are stronger or more robust. The English FA did research back in the early 2000s around elite player fitness. Dr Neil Phillips was a medical advisor to the FA during the 60s and 70s. He tells the story of Alf Ramsay wanting to introduce warming up before training to the England side and it being met with resistance by many players. Jimmy Greaves in particular was quite vocal in his resistance to this, seeing it as "namby pamby", despite Ramsay getting the idea from witnessing a training session by Brazil where they had done a warm up. It might be coincidental but Jimmy Greaves retired from first class football at only 31. Does anyone think Harry Kane will retire from first class football at 31, despite being financially secure for 10 lifetimes? The FA's research also compared data taken from the English top flight First Division in 1976, they found that the distance covered in a game was an average 8-11 kilometres, 25 per cent of which was walking and 11 per cent sprinting. By the early 2000s physiologists reckon that Premiership footballers now cover around 12-14 kilometres per match and that a greater percentage of that distance is run at top speed. There was further research published in 2019 around body shape of professional footballers. "The research team included sports scientists at Portsmouth and Cardiff Metropolitan universities and was led by University of Wolverhampton. They examined how body size, shape and age characteristics had changed for footballers since the 1970s. Findings showed footballers have steadily been getting taller, with an average height increase of a centimetre per decade, but in the most recent decade are now also lighter, nimbler and much more angular. Dr Webb, an expert in sports management in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science, said: “We were quite surprised at the findings, and in particular the changes in body shape of those players who are successful in the modern game, these changes appear to have occurred very quickly. "Obviously, the game is developing and evolving all the time but, even so, there does seem to be a very quick shift in the body type of some of the most successful players, at successful clubs. This has added consequence for the clubs and the recruitment of young players, as well as any player transfer strategy. “Clubs should be aware of these developments, and it could help to inform any talent identification and development strategy at an elite club. Clubs take into account physiological metrics, as well as other factors, in any talent identification strategy or approach, and as such these findings will be of interest." Perhaps more pertinent to this thread; "Lead researcher Professor Alan Nevill, a biostatistician and Professor of Sport at the University of Wolverhampton, said: “Footballers of today have adapted to the modern game, and as a result their body shape has altered. Modern players are ectomorphic, characterised by a lean, slender body, as opposed to the muscular, mesomorphic builds which were more common in the 1970s and 80s. “A lot of this can be attributed to the increased quality of playing surfaces where footballers train and compete. Modern pitches are immaculate and well-maintained and not the mud baths that they used to be. Pitches used to get very heavy and soggy, particularly in mid-winter, which accounted for players being bulkier and more muscular.” As recently as December last year, Belgium international and Manchester United star Romelu Lukaku admitted that his poor form at the start of this season was because he was too muscular. Professor Nevill concurs: “Today’s players are more like endurance athletes than power athletes. To compete at today’s high levels, they are also working harder and harder so are much leaner.” The findings, which examined more than 2,600 top-division players using football yearbook data, also showed a dramatic decrease in BMI, which Professor Nevill believes is more a measure of muscularity as in athletes it is an indication of lean body mass rather than fat mass. He said the research could have an impact on talent scouting for the future. “Body shape is clearly important and English professional clubs might be advised to attract young, less muscular, more angular players as part of their talent identification and development programmes to improve future chances of success,” said Professor Nevill. “In an industry that is so financially competitive, any advantage that can be gained has the potential to positively influence future performance.” Lastly, one hundred percent agree with the posters who stated that Murder Hill was psychological rather than physical. Wallace was far smarter than he gets portrayed. The whole 'jungle fighter' 'fire in their bellies' narrative does him a huge disservice. Wallace took over a Rangers side that was good enough to win a European trophy but couldn't beat Celtic for the league. He, correctly, realised that this was a mentality issue in the team, they didn't believe they were better than Celtic, who were managed by Stein and on the way to winning 9 titles in a row. Murder Hill was Wallace's way of changing that mentality. He told the players running the sand dunes would make the fitter. That running them until the were literally sick meant they were now the fittest team in the league, no one was fitter than them, they had an advantage. It was nonsense, but the players believed it, or at least enough of them did. Wallace went on to win the league and followed that up with 2 trebles. In reality you're no fitter running up sand dunes that running up the terrace steps at Ibrox, which is what the players did before this. Fitness is vital, but the right mentality even more so.

His nickname was 'Polaris' to be precise. Which not only dates me but also the UK's nuclear deterrent programme too.

I'm sure Sportsound are working hard on a documentary exposing the running of Dundee Utd and the simply unsustainable losses and level of debt they currently have. That level of financial doping in the Championship requires exposure to a bigger audience. I'm sure the public service broadcaster is making the final edits as I type.

We booked in advance, and it was busy on Saturday. I imagine there are days it's busier and days it's quieter, worth checking that before you head off though.

Went to the museum on Saturday, along with my Dad and my two sons. All of us thought it was excellent. I'd my doubts as to the viability of a museum but I now think I was wrong, it's a great addition to our club and well worth the time and relatively small expense required to visit. I booked it in advance and there weren't many spaces available for Saturday when I was booking, so be aware of that. There's a real mix of exhibits and information. My eldest, who is leaving to study architecture in the summer, was taken with the Archibald Leach made model of the Main Stand and the information around that. Strangely, something that really struck me was Colin Jackson's contract. A player I remember watching and a man I met in later life professionally. Highly recommend a visit.