BlackSocksRedTops

I have to be 100% honest. When SG came on board I had reservations about the appointment. Like all managerial appointments it was a gamble and given what had happened over the previous 2 seasons, it was a huge gamble. I had also made an "assessment" about the Stevie G the man. In my eyes I considered him a bit of a "wide boy" with talented playing CV and maybe not suited to management and especially not suited to Rangers. It's early days but I'm genuinely glad that I was wrong on so many levels. I find his press conferences and interviews (and the way he conducts himself in general) refreshingly honest, informative and forthright. Take a bow Stevie. I'm more than impressed

Agreed. Talking of winning titles...I tuned into SSB the other night as I was doing my domestics. There must have been 3/4 Celtic fans on whining about their favourite subject...Rangers. The tone aimed at the panellists (not sure who) was one of "how dare you suggest that Rangers have improved". Let's face it most Gers fans would admit, we haven't done anything yet but show progress from the mire that we had fallen into over the last few years. We have drawn one and won one in the SPL, we have shown good progress in the early stages of Europe, we overcame a tricky away tie in the cup. Ultimately we haven't won anything but have shown improvement in all areas. Surely the followers of the "ra Double Treble" champs are not remotely bothered by our steady start? Apparently not...It just made think, what the hell is the place going to be like when we eventually win the league? (it will happen). It will be a sight to behold

Hopefully 1-0 will give us a good platform for next week. Another plus would be that Ufa don't score too many goals. In 30 league games last season they only scored 34 goals. If we score over there we can kill the tie

I suppose it shows how far we have come. We weren't at our best and managed to beat a team that were one place below Zenit last season. The clean sheet could be the match winner IMO

Sorry Bill. Can't get any updates on Twitter so I'm getting updates from that shitty site.

F you BBC. Not one f**king update on the 2nd half yet. Shocking

BBC still going on about Celtic game online. 24 mins in and one update

Whats the best way to get updates. Rangers Twitter is about 10 mins behind and BBC has yet to report any action despite the game being on for 17 mins

Sorry to cross threads but for the last day of the season Killies pitch looks good in that vid.

For some reason I seem to recall a story about undersoil heating messing up their pitch? (don't quote me on that). Their grass pitch went from bowling green to sand pit over a decade

It's a loss but hopefully SG is building a squad mindset and playing ethos that won't be derailed by 1 or 2 injuries. Lets turn it into a positive...It's a chance for whoever is coming in to make a claim for a jersey.

I didn't consider the training aspect tbh. Good point Darther

Wasn't too fussed at first but I couldn't help think that Kyle would have been perfect in the Maribor away game last week. He plays that lone role for NI very well.

Fair enough. I just always rembember enjoying going to games at RP due to the great surface (as well as great pies...)

When did Rugby Park's original grass surface start going downhill? When I was growing up they always had the best pitch in Scotland. What happened?

Steven Gerard is impressing me more a daily basis.

Just listened to an English lad who work for Zenit St. Petersberg media team talking about Ufa on Talk Sport. By all accounts they are not the greatest team ever but quite dogged. They generally win or lose 1-0 and keep things tight. Their keeper is pretty decent to apparently

I agree. Better teams than Rangers have gone there over the last 2/3 years and didn't get better than a point. The best part about last night for me that was it continued our momentum. Momentum is key in football (especially with new teams) and the fact that the players were determined to get through the tie shows us a lot about what SG has managed to get through to the team this early. For example, you get the impression that the defenders would be gutted to give away a chance to the opposition never mind lose a goal. I like that attitude. I know it's early but it's giving me the same feeling I had back in the 86-87 season when Souness put his stamp on Rangers after 7/8 years of dross. That season we started slowly and surely (with a few initial hiccups) but the signs were good and we gained momentum thanks to our improving domestic form (2 OF wins including a League Cup win) and a confidence boosting unbeaten UEFA cup run (Boavista, Borussia Munchengladbach). After that there was no stopping us and the momentum carried us to the end of the season.

Personally speaking we are Rangers not Glasgow Rangers. Rangers is our official name and is quite unique in Scottish/English football tbh. Along with Arsenal, Celtic, St. Mirren and Albion Rovers we are one of the small bunch of teams in England and Scotland that don't have a geographical reference in our name. I kind of like that.

Rangers game just finished so first update/reaction is about Hibs getting humped. You couldn't make it up

No surprise but I see PQ couldn't help themselves tonight... "He came from crosses with authority all night and he was pretty adept at wasting time too..." They also kept repeating that Maribor "missed a penalty". No mention that AM actually saved it.

Big Sam Allerdyce appears on Brazil's breakfast show fron time to time and confessed to being a Gers man the other day. As does Neil Warnock. I also get the impression that many at Talk Sport want the Gers do well due to Stevie G.

Is that true? My god, that's quite staggering as he never let's up about their fans being amazing. He was talking about Seville the other day for example. It was vomit enducing stuff

You suggested they were not impartial tbh and IMO that would make them bad broadcasters. As I said, I think they are pretty even handed on all things Old Firm. Tom Miller from Rangers TV is a regular on the H&J show for example. With regards to Alan Brazil, his contacts have a box at Celtic Park not Talk Sport themselves. Even then I would say that Brazil was pretty even handed when everybody was queuing up to kick us a few years ago. He talks all the time about the need for Rangers to be back in a position of strength

Mmm..not too sure coop. Hawksby and Jacobs are great broadcasters in my opinion and are pretty even in their coverag. I would say the same about Danny Kelly. Despite his Irish ancestry I would say that he is pretty balanced and one of the best broadcasters on the radio (My Sporting Life, TransEurope Express etc.). We need to get away from this "the Irish name gives it away" culture. Let's remember that outwith their Donegal stronghold most people in Ireland have no time for Celtic and follow the big English teams.