JohnMc

Well I don't know about the rest of you but I've attended literally hundreds of matches where coins were thrown at players or officials. It would be ridiculous to pretend it doesn't happen. It happens at lots of matches, not just matches involving Rangers or Neil Lennon. There is probably a correlation between the intensity of the match, controversial decisions and on-field behaviour and the quantity/regularity of things thrown from the crowd, but I doubt anyone has studied it fully. 

Some people in the crowd throw stuff. They shouldn't, they could really injure someone, not always the person they intended too either. But it's happened for decades and it's surprising to see people suddenly up in arms over it, did these people not attend matches before this season?? 

I think retired players tend to be more candid, the 'omerta' of the dressing room can be broken then, so they make for more interesting interviews. I was really surprised to hear Durrant say he didn't like Graham Roberts for example, it always looked like that side had no cliques. I guess every dressing room has cliques and groups that get on better, it's managing them that's the skill. 

As for Kenny Miller I find him fascinating. He's a hugely important player in Rangers modern history, one of a very select group to have been signed on 3 separate occasions, to have played under some of greatest managers and some of our worst, to have enjoyed great success and terrible failure and to have polarised our support like few others. It wouldn't surprise me if he makes it back to the marble staircase again some day. I can't wait for his book. 

I'm going to go 'full luvvie' now.

This Gerrard documentary is a serious piece of film-making, this isn't some 'Cameron Communications' in-house production type thing. The team behind it have literally won Oscars for their previous work. The film 'Senna' is fantastic, it won at Sundance, arguably the highest accolade an independent film can win. I believe this is going to be shown on Amazon, despite not being about Rangers I expect it'll be well worth seeking out. 

I think we forget sometimes just how big a star our manager is. 

Moscow looks bleak! Who was Rangers number 9, is that Dallas? Only saw the last 35 mins or so but wasn't impressed by him. Like you say it felt like watching the 1st team.  

I find it hard to believe there's not a costed, agreed three year plan. We're in the unusual business of signing employees on fixed length contracts so someone, somewhere, must have budgeted for them you'd hope. Our directors aren't idiots, a number of them are involved in successful businesses, as such they'll be used to working with projections and budgets. I suspect Mr Gerrard was given assurances around budgets for players when he signed, I suspect these budgets were for the next few years, not just until May. 

In many ways Rangers are in the enviable position of knowing exactly what they can expect to earn. TV deals, league position and cup position already have agreed amounts, so we already know what we'll earn based on finishing top of the league or bottom of the league, winning a cup or going out in the 1st round. We must also know what it costs to host a match at Ibrox and what our breakeven point is on attendance, so again a fair degree of accuracy can be used when projecting income from there. Sponsorships are also negotiated in advance, so we must know what's expected from that, I assume based on how we do in the league/cups.  Lastly season tickets, an educated guess can easily be made on numbers from this source based on success on the park, or lack thereof. Only retail income and player sale income is unknown currently. 

I've been away a lot recently and missed the publishing of these figures. I'm a little surprised we're all as calm about them as we seem to be. They're not only awful but clearly they're unsustainable. While they can be explained in terms of the 'Pedro experiment' going wrong they should lead to some serious questions being asked of our directors. What would become of the club if, God forbid, something was to happen to King or one of the three Bear's health? Any business plan that requires Champion's League group stage involvement sounds like a foolhardy and ruinous one to me. I know we face issues around Ashley and the deals with him as well as the farcical TV revenue we receive, but that's the world we currently inhabit and we need to live accordingly. King is a gambler, I'm nervous of the odds he's playing. 

That's an interesting photo. Read an interview with Vincent Kompany recently and he talked about something I'd not thought of before. He was being asked about heading and how to do it well and in his opinion the secret is 'owning the space' where the ball is going to land. Sounds simple, of course what he meant by that was making sure no other player can get in that space and meet the ball before you. So using your strength, timing your jump, blocking someone else, holding them off or simply out-muscling them. That photograph brought him to mind. Lewis Ferguson is 5'9" and under 12 stone, Goldson shouldn't be getting bested for a high ball from someone like that, foul or not. 

I think we've got a leadership issue on the field. I don't feel Tav is the right player to be captain. I like him as a player however I've not sensed a 'win at all costs' mentality from him or see his as some sort of leader. He's certainly no Barry Ferguson far less a Davie Weir, Richard Gough or John Grieg. I appreciate that captaincy is about more than the 90 minutes on the park, but that's still a vital aspect of it. 

When things aren't going well I don't yet know who I look too for leadership or to lift that side. I wondered if Goldson might be that player and I think McGregor does offer some of that but his position doesn't lend itself to sorting out players on the park. Maybe Jack will become that person, but he's been so unlucky with injuries and suspensions I still don't know. 

Gerrard was the ultimate captain, providing inspiration through his play but also through his desire to never lose. You'd hope he could spot someone with similar potential. Maybe it came naturally to him and so he can't understand why everyone doesn't have it. 

Whatever it is we're missing it and have been for a few seasons now. Finding it would go some way to helping us win the big one-off games again. 

Losing a match we should have won is always going to create a lot of anger. When that match is a cup semi against an average Aberdeen side it's even more galling. We dominated yet Aberdeen created the best two chances, that's the most damning thing. Our inability to carve out a proper clear cut chance has been shown before this season, if sides can defend in numbers against us we're largely incapable of breaking them down currently. 

That said, Morelos or Lafferty would have made a difference, a fit Barasic would have opened up the left flank, Flanagan simply doesn't offer an attacking threat. I also questioned the timing of the subs. It was clear to me 10 minutes into the 2nd half that we weren't going to break them down, something needed to change. No Rangers player ever made a front post run, our crossing was diabolical and there was a lack of speed throughout, although that was Aberdeen's tactics, stifling space and bogging us down. 

It could have been different, had Jack played in Candeias instead of shooting he'd have been in on goal with just the keeper to beat. Also, ironically, the bad injury their player took helped them. Candeias was skinning him every time they came together, but he was less effective against the sub they brought on. 

I don't think it's fair to single out Sadiq, he's barely played at all this season and, it seems, he's not at the standard required anyway. The goal we lost was poor, a simple cross into the box needs to be defended better than that. Our whole team played poorly, our tactics were wrong and our changes, when they finally came, were strange. This will sound primitive but I was surprised we didn't send Katic on for the last five plus injury time and play him up front, we were winning nothing in the air as it stood and something needed to change. 

It's a sore one, and not entirely unexpected either, we've struggled to create chances in recent matches. In the end Aberdeen played the match to a game plan that worked, we were culpable in letting them. 

Come January, we need a creative midfielder and another striker, without them we'll continue to stutter when it matters most. 

Superb 26th, possibly your best yet. 

I put a poppy on my coat on Wednesday. It's the first time I've worn a metal poppy, it's a commemorative one.

I don't think I'd wear the Rangers one though, I'm not altogether comfortable with mixing football and poppies. Perhaps an exception can be made for Hearts. 

3 hours ago, compo said:

I think folk like to see what they are spending their money on , online try the Rangers shop online it's the worst of any teams sites I have seen merchandise is of short supply , in other words it's crap .

I can't comment on the quality of merchandise or someone's expectations of it. From my perspective working in partnership with established retailers like JD Sports and Greaves solves the problem of having a high street presence. The simple truth is if Rangers merchandise is popular enough it'll be given more space in-store. 

We're not yet living in 'normal' times with regards merchandise. The Sport's Direct issues haven't been resolved and as such we're clearly still very limited in where our merchandise can be sold. I don't think we can be properly judged on this yet. 

Why do you think owning shops is a way of making money? The one at the stadium aside I can't think of one good reason we should be moving into high street retail again. I'd be astonished if Celtic make any money from their shops these days. 

I'm surprised at the Brian Laudrup revisionism, I'm also not sure I agree with it. I think it's fair to say Laudrup struggled in Italy, but that was due to a number of factors, the three foreigner rule in particular. He did well in his first season in Florence. Remember that AC Milan side he was in won the league and the European Cup that season. The fact his appearances were largely kept for the European arena rather than the domestic one isn't much of a criticism. 

His Chelsea move was a mistake, one he realised before he joined and tried to get out of whilst still playing for us, you can't judge anyone on 3 months, most of which was spent trying to leave.

Why is his time at Ajax seen as a failure? He was a key player when he was fit, and I'm not sure a career ending injury can be used as a criticism of his time there. 

Brian Laudrup was a world class footballer, anyone with eyes could see that. He wasn't the best player in the world, that's different, and he arguably didn't achieve as much in his career as someone with his ability should have, however he played at a time when football was quite different to it is now, where defenders could tackle from behind with impunity, indeed stiffening the nippy winger was generally accepted as part of the game, full backs were 'allowed' a couple of heavy challenges before being spoken too. In today's more sanitised game Laudrup would be a sensation. Laudrup was unlucky with injuries. Not so much that he experienced more than his contemporaries, rather their timing. After a good first season at Bayern, and a career ending one at Ajax. 

At the same time a largely injury free period at Rangers, at the peak of his powers, allowed him to dominate the game here and provide us with a insight into just how entertaining a footballer can be. 

Ultimately though Laudrup's legacy is his international career. Among average to good Danish players he excelled. Two international tournament wins (for a country with only 5 million people), 82 caps and a final performance, against World Cup runners up Brazil, that showcased just how good a footballer Brian Laudrup was. Find that match on You Tube and watch it, Laudrup should have been in the Brazil side. 

Made my drive to Aberdeen much more bearable, well done all involved. As an aside it automatically downloads into my 'Podcasts' file on my iPhone now. 

I suspect there are reporting restrictions in place on this case. It's not just the BBC who are skirting around his most famous employer's name, all the media are. I suspect there's been a ruling on this until the case is finished. For what it's worth I doubt it's to protect Celtic, rather it's to ensure reporting of the case remains cautious and avoids sensationalism, as can happen in Scotland when a football team is involved. I'd be very surprised if it's not front page news, with multiple mentions of Celtic, when the case finishes. 

Away from that I caught 10 mins of the BBC Radio Scotland evening sport's programme last night. Michael Stewart and Tom English had a real on air barney, it was quite entertaining. Stewart nearly completely lost it a couple of times as English basically accused him of lying. Who knew anyone could get that worked up about this current Scotland side. 

Fascinating Moonlighter, thanks for sharing. 

I really hope this links okay...

I've heard Gullit speak about Cooper before. For those too young to remember Gullit as a player he was one of the best footballers in the world for a time, which is why his words carry some weight. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/45824290

23 hours ago, StuGers said:

Still improving with the pod, well done.

 

I did find the constant referral of Morelos as “Morales” really frustrating though! Probably just me though as I’m a bit daft about pronunciation.

I'm the guilty one there. You should hear my pronunciation of Tavernier, that'll really grind your gears! 

3 hours ago, Waltersgotstyle said:

Really enjoyed this weeks discussion, it really helps when we have a positive week.

 

It was good to hear @JohnMc and he sounds much happier in "pod-land" than he is on here 

 

??   

They caught me on a good night, lucky they didn't ask me to do the pod after Livi! 

23 hours ago, MacK1950 said:

My soft touch is the Bankies.Went many a time when I was younger with my cousins who stayed in Onslow Road.Also seen them a few times when they moved into the senior leagues,in fact at one time Andy Gray's brother Jim played for them before emigrating to Canada.

Saw some games they played as E.S. Clydebank and was dismayed by the way they were sold down the river by the Steedman's and Clydebank Council.

Interestingly following results see they are playing at a decent level in the Juniors.Won 6-1 yesterday.

Holm Park is being refurbished currently, the Clydebank Trust agreed to seek entry to the senior pyramid once the ground is up to scratch. In theory they could be in the South of Scotland or even the Lowland League this time next year. 

I don't have a favourite exactly although I've been to see Yoker a few times in recent years and keep an eye open for their scores. I've Ayrshire mining stock on one side of my family and recall being taken to see Cumnock in the Junior Cup final many moons ago. But growing up Petershill were my preferred side, the old Peasie Park was a great ground. Went to see Ashfield and Rob Roy too, even played at Adamslie Park as a boy. 

In some ways I'm sad that many of the Junior sides are joining the senior set up. At the same time Junior football is largely drawing from the same playing stock as lower league senior sides so I suppose it makes sense. Watching the grand old Junior grounds gradually disappear is sad though, but that's progress I suppose.