JohnMc

I enjoyed last night's game, thought we pretty much controlled it from start to finish. I also think we need to remember we again played with a makeshift defence, who I thought did well. The much maligned Propper once again had a solid match, so much so that his injury is now a concern when a few weeks ago some might have thought it a relief. Nsiala looked very composed with the ball at his feet, he's clearly a ball playing defender. Time will tell if he's up to the more rigorous aspects of defending but he's certainly not a dud as had been suggested. Ridvan has done his best at right back, but the lack of a right footed player there was evident at times last night. Having to come inside every time and his inability to play a pass down the line was a real weakness. That said he's out of position and has done a job for us, so criticism of him is unfair. Raskin, Igamane and Cerny are our most important players currently. Cerny always provides an out ball, Raskin is bossing midfield, short passes, winning 50/50s and breaking up opposition attacks sounds is made to look simple, when it's not. Cerny's movement is underrated, watch him when we're out of possession and then again when we win it, he's always available, he finds space and stretches their defence creating space for others. His final ball isn't always right, but he's become very dangerous player. Big Hamza is fun to watch. I don't think i've seen a Rangers player strike a ball as sweetly and has powerfully since Albertz, he had a shot in the first half that is still stinging the Aberdeen keeper's hands this morning. I also think he's got an interesting temperament. You have to assume by now he's getting noised up by defenders, that prick Shinnie will certainly have tried. I've yet to see him look even mildly annoyed far less angry. There are comparisons to made with Morelos in terms of his strength, presence and growing affection from our support, but he looks to have a very different mindset. Time will tell if that's a good thing or not, I think it is but I might be wrong. Our lack of squad depth is still a problem, a glance at our bench last night really underlined that. For all Rangers deserve criticism for some of our away performances they deserve praise for our home ones too. Six goals scored in two matches at home, one conceded, with a defence that probably gave many of us nightmares when we first saw it picked. Credit where credit is due.

C'mon Cammy, we get you're really unhappy just now but the club can't win with you. Do you really expect the CEO to announce he'd welcome bids for Raskin and Igamane in the coming days? Would that lift team morale, get the Union Bears back onside, increase a player's value? You know that if the right bid comes in for any of our players we'll sell. Stewart knows that, Clement knows that, the players know that and their agents know that. What the right amount might be is open to speculation. You're now taking up a contrary position on every subject, whatever the club say or do you oppose it. It's a shame and it makes this forum harder to read.

The players we have aren't good enough, is that up for debate? They can beat any Scottish side on their day, but they lack consistency and experience, on top of that the squad isn't deep enough. Whoever we bring in, and we need to be realistic about who that will be as our budget will be decreased further by paying off Clement and his backroom team, but whoever that is might get a bounce, might change our tactics a bit, make us harder to score against, but they're not taking this squad and going on a 20 match winning streak. When Paul Le Guen was sacked and Walter returned he signed Andy Webster, Davie Weir, Ugo Ehiogu and Kevin Thomson in the January window. The equivalent isn't happening in this window unless someone gives us £15 million for Igamane. We went 11 games unbeaten after Walter was reappointed, won the Scottish Cup, but we didn't win the league the following season either, despite us signing an almost entirely new side. We're not able to attract anyone of the calibre of Walter Smith currently. So while I understand the concept of a coach/DoF relationship, in reality a new manager will want some new players, I mean I imagine our current manager wants some new players.

The longest serving manager in the Scottish top flight is Derek McInness, he's been in his post for 3 years and 4 days. He's currently the only manager who has served more than 3 years in their job. Indeed only 2 managers, McInness and Robinson at St Mirren, have been in their jobs for more than 2 years, every other manager has spent less than 2 years in their job. The desire for instant success isn't just reserved for Rangers supporters. Willie Waddell never won a league title as Rangers manager, his successor, Jock Wallace, took 3 seasons to win his first. We live in different times now, Rangers managers were given time back then, a chance to build something, to fail, but learn and come back stronger. We gave Gerrard time, he made progress, but came up short twice, but we stuck by him and it paid off. As frustrating as last night, and many times this season, have been, I'm not convinced the answer is to rip it up and start again. At times we've been brilliant this season, at times we've been dire. Our domestic away form is very poor, unacceptably poor, we should be much closer to Celtic than we are. The manager deserves criticism for that. Personally, I'm giving him this season, despite results. I do think he's building something, I do think the basis of a good side is there. The thought of firing Clement, and all his backroom team, and then appointing someone else to manage players he didn't sign and with a very limited budget to change that depresses me. We've tried that already.

The move that surprised me was Robbie Fraser going to Livingston. Not because I think he has a long term future at Rangers, but because we've got 3 fit defenders, two of who are full backs, you'd have thought having another full back available just in case, even if just for the next few weeks, would have been sensible. I was surprised when we gave Fraser a new contract in summer, so I assumed he was here for cover. We need cover now and he leaves. Now, he has a career to consider and half a season in the Championship will probably be helpful both in terms of experience and a shop window, but the timing was still a surprise to me. If Ridvan or Jefte pick up a knock or a suspension tonight who plays full back at the weekend?

Yeah, 4 centre halves would be better, but I guess that's all part of building a squad. I suppose with King, Sterling and Kasanwirjo all capable of playing in that position and, I assume, they hoped Nsiala might develop into an option, maybe they felt they had cover. They were wrong.

This. The sport's science team will be urging more regular rotation and longer rest periods between matches for players. The manager will be looking at that and agreeing but then saying 'if I give that player a rest because of the amount of games he's played our side is weakened and we might lose, so I'm playing him'. At any specific time a good number of our players will be carrying knocks and strains, which they can play through, but which can lead to other injuries. It's rare a player is ever 100% fit. The older a player gets the higher the likelihood of them succumbing to injury. The challenge we currently have is shallowness of our squad. When every single player is fit we're still lacking adequate alternatives in central midfield and centre forward. On Thursday we'll be playing a makeshift defence and weakened midfield against Dundee, we've no alternative. Sterling seems to be a player who struggles to play 2 games a week, I imagine the sport's science people know this, I suspect Clement knows this, but he took a chance as we we're significantly weakened if he didn't play. It's a dilemma. In a perfect world we could rotate and bring in players of equal ability, but we're far from a perfect world just now.

How much do you think naming rights for Ibrox would bring in? It's reported Scottish Gas pay slightly over £2 million a year for Murrayfield. I don't think we'd get as much as that, for various reasons. I'd be surprised if this hasn't been looked at already. I don't think I'd be happy knowing the ground was now known as the BetFred Stadium or similar, because that's the type of company who'd be interested. Criticism of the board is fair enough, mistakes have been made. Stepping back and trying to be dispassionate, if that's possible, then I think we have a good manager in charge, as good as our budget will allow. I'm comfortable with the Chairman appointment and we've brought in a CEO with extensive football experience and an understanding of the peculiarities of Scotland. I'm also relatively happy with our most recent recruitment, it's been better than previous seasons. So I'm willing to see how this plays out now. We're not going to challenge for the league this season, we don't have the players, that's clear to anyone who has watched us. We can give them a bloody nose though, so the Scottish Cup and Europe remain for us. Similar recruitment next summer and things might look very different next season. I'm willing to wait and see on that, accepting the frustrations this season is bringing. Lastly, Celtic have spent big recently, yet are still relying on 3 Japanese players their old manager knew of and Callum McGregor who has been at the club forever. There recent signiongs have been expensive and average. This talk of Tierney signing for them doesn't worry me. He's a good player but his injury record makes Tom Lawrence look like the Incredible Hulk, he'll command a very big salary and he'll have zero value when his contract is up. Perhaps they can afford that type of player, time will tell.

It's worth pointing out that only 2 players who started the 3-3 draw last season, Clement's only other match against them at Ibrox, started yesterday (Sterling and Diomande). While it's likely Butland, Tav and Soutter would have started if fit, even that underlines the amount of change our squad has gone through in 12 months. Change does take time, whether we like it or not. Also worth remembering that Celtic brought on Engles and Idah yesterday, who they purchased for a combined fee of £20 million in the summer. That's more than our entire starting 11 cost. Lastly Jefte, Bajrami, Kelly, Cerny, Igamane and the much maligned Propper all started yesterday, all summer signings, plus Diomande. We criticise our recruitment, but it looked good yesterday. One swallow and all that, I accept there's little point in beating Celtic if we lose to St Mirren. Our away form isn't good and we're really struggling to breakdown very defensive sides, something we need to to do if we're to compete over a season. But i've seen enough to believe that Clement knows what he's doing and given time, and a bit of luck, he can create a squad that will put in a serious challenge, not just lift themselves for the glamorous matches.

You could make a credible case for 7 or 8 of yesterday's side. Hagi had his best match for us I thought, fair play to him as i'm not his biggest fan, but he was excellent. I thought both centre halves were immaculate, Sterling playing another unfamiliar position looked like he could make that berth his own. Both full backs were pivotal to our game plan and both were very good, our keeper had a strong match, his distribution was eye-catching and saving what needed saved. Bajrami and Igamane did the secret work, ensuring both McGregor and the Japanese midfielder weren't options for Celtic when they had possession, ensuring it was their centre backs who had to try and start their moves. Cerny worked hard all match, he could have had 2 goals with a bit more luck, I was celebrating the one that hit the post for a while before I realised it hadn't gone in. But for me the game was won in midfield. Diomande was elegant in possession, spinning and turning away from danger, supporting the attack and protecting the defence, always available for a pass. Raskin though was my man of the match. Controlled energy, aggression when needed, wonderful anticipation, tenacity and his run and back heel for our first was sublime. A captain's performance.

I was in the Govan that day. I've still never seen my Dad more angry at a football match and it remains the only time I've ever booed a Rangers player. Fraser had been getting stick from the crowd, deservedly so as he wasn't playing well in a side that wasn't playing well. I don't know if there was a particular shout he heard or if it was a general frustration on his part that he was getting stick. We scored and he ran to the Govan and gesticulated and then all hell broke loose. That the Copland decided to back Fraser we put down to them not being able to see what he'd done. In those days the Govan was a bit more respectable, it was where the older guys went, or Dads took their sons if they wanted to shield them from aspects of football fandom. The Copland was the noisy end, younger support congregated there, along with the East Enclosure it was where the singing came from, it was a bit more energy and was exactly where 'sons' wanted to be. So to get the entire Govan stand booing a Rangers player took some doing, Fraser should have been substituted and banned by the club, he crossed a line and should have been punished. As Cammy mentions I saw scuffles outside after the game, no more than pushing and shoving, as some of our less intelligent support thought chanting 'there's only Tims in the Govan' as they walked past exiting Govanites was a good idea. There's a debate over whether it's ever fair for players to give it back to fans. In the end they're being paid, the fans aren't. Professionalism should trump a perhaps natural annoyance and frustration that a player might feel. I couldn't have told you this was the anniversary of it. It feels every second of 40 years ago though.

It's 1pm on Friday and I'm still buzzing from last night. We'd no one who didn't contribute last night but a special mention for Tav. He's been criticised a lot recently, he was even booed by some, and a significant number wanted him sold. His form was poor, along with almost everyone else in the squad, but last night he was immense. His cross for the goal was inch perfect, he defended well all night and showed energy, drive and leadership all game. I mean obviously I want him dropped for Sunday now...

When you look at the resources given to Spurs and then to us maybe there's something to be said for communism...

There's a story, perhaps true, who knows. The season Goram joined us (replacing the very popular Chris Woods for nationality reasons) we were put out of the League Cup by Hibs, the club we'd signed Goram from. At training Goram joked that he 'joined Rangers to play win trophies but if he was still at Hibs he'd be in the cup final', to which Ian Durrant quipped 'if you were still at Hibs we'd all be in the cup final'. Goram definitely took a few months to settle and come to terms with the demands of being the Rangers keeper, but he more than made up for his slow start.

I'd be surprised if Danilo doesn't start on Sunday. He can't play on Thursday so he'll be the freshest of the 3 strikers, assuming both feature at some point against Spurs. If both are fit then I'd be surprised if Igamane also doesn't start against Celtic. He's shown enough in the last few weeks to demonstrate the potential that first attracted us to him, and that frankly I couldn't see in the games prior to Nice. He can hold the ball up, he's a nuisance for defenders to play against, he's got a trick and isn't scared to have a dig. He's still raw and inexperienced, but on current form he's our first pick I think. Dessers has scored goals, some important ones too, but I wouldn't start him on Sunday. I think he does offer something coming off the bench though. If everyone is fit then I expect Danilo and Igamane to start, probably with Cerny, the only surprise might be Sterling starting too, along with Tav, to offer better cover and energy. Of course Thursday's match might change everything if we pick up knocks.

Hah! I voted for Diomande because I can't tell my Hamzas from my Mohameds! I meant to vote for Igamane, his work rate, moments of skill and general attitude endeared me to him. So ignore the vote for Diomande, that was a mistake.

I suspect most of us feel like that, Cammy. We still give the ball away far to cheaply and both Spurs and Celtic will punish us when we do it. We did it yesterday but Ross County weren't good enough to capitalise. I won't pretend I'm confident.

We beat them by taking our chances. We simply haven't done that in the last couple of matches against them. We've created chances but failed to convert them. Celtic will create chances, they are strong going forward and have goals throughout their side, but they also let their opponents create chances. In Scotland that's not been such a problem as the opponents are generally fairly average. Hibs could have scored 3 against them during the week for example. If, and it's a big if, but if we can start taking our chances against them then you never know. Goals change games, it's a cliche but it's true. Scoring goals has been a problem for us this season, then suddenly we score 14 goals in our last 4 games. If we can take our chances when they come, and I believe they will come, then Sunday will be a closer match than most are predicting.

Not to excuse it but it's worth remembering we're not the only football club struggling financially. Dundee Utd posted a loss of nearly £3 million earlier this year, Hibs nearly £4 million, Hearts lost £1.2 million and Aberdeen, despite some remarkable spin in the media, lost nearly £900k. St Johnstone lost well over £1 million, Dundee lost nearly £3 million, Motherwell are late to publish this year but lost over £1.5 million last year and Ross County lost half a million. Only St Mirren, more or less, broke even. In Belgium the Champions, Antwerp, lost around £40 million, indeed only 6 clubs in total out of their top two divisions didn't make a loss. Ajax lost 13 million Euros last year, PSV and Feyenoord also posted multi million Euro losses. In the Republic Of Ireland, where their domestic league is enjoying a renaissance with record attendances and clubs reaching European group stages, every single club in their top league made a financial loss last year. You don't have to look far in England to find clubs haemorrhaging money, despite access to TV and sponsorship revenues we can only dream about. Spanish football is a basket case with some of its biggest clubs carrying debt that would frighten a small country. Professional football in Europe, despite never being better funded, is in a perilous state financially. Clubs (and many of their supporters) take pride in finding loop holes in regulations designed to protect them rather than accept financial downsizing far less simply living within their means. As difficult as this is to type, Celtic are not only consistently well run, they are also very much the exception. We could be profitable. Everyone knows that means we need to find, develop and sell players every season and that is easier said than done. For every Nathan Paterson there's an Adam Devine, for every Joe Aribo there's a Todd Cantwell. Why some players succeed and some don't is one of life's mysteries. There is no excusing our form currently. We're not playing well, we don't score goals, we don't even entertain. We should be better than we are with the money we do have. I remain in the camp that's not convinced changing our manager, again, is the answer. We keep trying that and it doesn't seem to work. Perhaps some stability will pay better dividends long term. A new CEO and Chairman should provide that, although who knows, clearly firing Clement will make a lot of supporters happy and take the heat off the board and buy everyone a few months grace. We're addicted to short term returns, so nothing would surprise me.

In Glasgow it's yella, so that's how you all need to learn to say it.

Was he not already doing this role, just without the title? Is this simply confirming a title for a job he's been doing for a few months? Others will know better but I got the impression Koppen has been quite important inside the club in recent months.

He played in 3 separate World Cups, and, interestingly, in Argentina he missed the debacles with Peru and Iran, but played when we beat the second best side in the World, Holland. Just coincidence I'm sure. He captained the best club side in Europe, arguably the world, won 3 European Cups, 5 English League titles and 2 Scottish League titles and played helped Sampdoria win the first trophy in their entire history. For four years running he was named in the PFA Team Of The Year and also named in the PFA Team Of the Century 20 years after he retired. For 4 or 5 seasons Souness would have been a first choice for any club, and any country, in the world. I don't know what your definition of 'World class' is but if Souness doesn't qualify for it then I don't know who does.

A proper appraisal of Sir David Murray's tenure of Rangers is a thread in its own right, and probably one that stretches for a lot of pages. On Souness, whatever views people hold of his departure, and it was badly handled by all concerned with the exception of Murray, ironically, he must be seen as one of the most important figures in the club's history. The magnitude of his influence on Rangers, and all of Scottish football, is almost difficult to comprehend today. The ripples from some of the boulders he threw are still being felt today I'd argue. There remains much to admire about Souness, his charity work is exceptional, he's always positive about Rangers, when it's not always fashionable to be so, his punditry can be entertaining too. His insights into the appointment of Clement are interesting. His argument for Lampard isn't without merit and it's interesting to hear his views on how the current manager is doing. Souness has knowledge and experience that none of us possess, but that alone doesn't mean he's always right. I've always felt Gordon Smith is one of those ex-players who people constantly over-estimate his ability simply because he's half way articulate. A bit like Pat Nevin, broadcasters swoon over him because he's capable of throwing in a few big words, and assume this must equal intelligence and insight. In actual fact Smith (and Nevin) have consistently shown themselves to make poor decisions, lack insight and struggle when given real power. That said he can be entertaining and enjoyable to listen to some of his stories.

If I was a betting man, and I'm not, I might put a small sum on a new CEO being unveiled shortly before the agm. Something that removes some of the sting that might be coming the directors way feels like a smart move to me. It stretches credulity to think that we're not actively searching for a new CEO. We can, and should, criticise the board, but they're not idiots. I doubt when that person is announced it will satisfy all the support, but that's where we are just now. I'm really not sure I'd be recommending the board make some kind of holding statement though, it'll just push this back to the top of the agenda, and currently Clement is acting as a lightening rod for the board, can't see them looking to change that in a hurry.

If everyone was fit and available I don't think Matondo starts, I think Cortes and Cerny are wide and Bajrami goes to 10. Guessing Clement's ideal team is a bit difficult as he's prone to changes that don't always make sense to me. But I think you could guess at Butland, Tav, Souttar, Propper and Jefte, Raskin and Barron, Cortes, Bajrami, Danilo and Cerny as the most likely side. Currently Tav might find his place under threat, Balogun might start depending on who we're playing, Dessers might be number 9 and not Danilo. The point is though you're still looking at at least 5 'new' signings in the starting line up. I really don't think that's relying on the old guard, that's using the resources at your disposal. Dessers is far from good enough in my opinion, but he's currently the best forward at the club so what can we do. Danilo might turn out to be better, in flashes he's looked decent, but none of us know yet. I get the criticism of our domestic performances of late, we're not entertaining and we're not clinical. I don't think the answer is to change the manager though. I think Clement is a good manager, he's proved that elsewhere. Changing manager every autumn is not the answer to our issues, sure there might be a bounce, the last 3 managers have enjoyed that, but ultimately all ran into the same issues. Someone has to be given time to solve them. There are systemic problems behind the scenes at the club. Until we've key positions filled and everyone is pulling in the same direction it's impossible to judge to how good a job our manager is actually doing. Clement made a telling comment after a match a few weeks ago when he was asked about someone who had picked up a knock, I paraphrase but he said something like 'thankfully that's one of the few jobs I'm not being asked to do, our medical staff will will assess him...'. The inference was I was brought in to do a specific job but that's not how it's turned out. It might simply be excuses or frustrations, or I might be reading way to much into it, but judging anyone's ability while the club is so chaotic behind the scenes is unfair I feel.