CammyF

This picture is borrowed from another forum - can any of the posters remember the days when the MOPES were housed in the West Enclosure, West of Main Stand, Broomie and a section of the Govan? Or when we were housed in the jungle, Rangers End and part of the main stand at Parkhead? Back in the day, the grounds were basically split 50-50 for Old Firm games. I can remember being in the Main Stand at Parkhead (Davie Cooper scored with a HEADER) and can remember the days of them getting half of Ibrox. Can't remember getting part of the jungle, but my old can. PS - another example of how our scarves SHOULD be displayed Cammy F - Old Skool Loyal RSC

IIRC, it was Theo Snelders who replaced Goram when he was dropped. IMO, Alexander was and is an able deputy for McGregor - in fact, don't thing Alexander deserved to be dropped at the start of the season, or when he replaced the below-par McGregor this season. Cammy F

No matter the reasons, he should be dropped before costing us more vital points. Cammy F

Boyd And Miller – A Partnership To Win Us The League? Whilst the 7-1 romp on Saturday against 10-man Hamilton was a marked improvement on recent results, and given the fact that the team appeared to be more balanced than in recent times, it was the reappearance of the Boyd/Miller partnership that rightly captured the headlines and was the topic of conversation and debate post-match. There is no doubting that the reintroduction of Davis, Papac and Beasley ensured that the team was balanced and that we had an outlet out-wide. Consensus on how effective Beasley is to the team is divided, but it can’t be denied that an outlet wide helps develop the play, negates the need to thump long and aimless balls forward and gains us possession and set-pieces at the business end of the pitch. However as stated above, it was the strike partnership of Boyd & Miller who stole the show and the subsequent headlines. Boyd looks a better player whilst partnered with Miller, and some say the same is true about Miller. I would argue that point. Miller looked a better player when paired with Cousin (and vice-versa) but that ship has sailed and there can be little argument that the Miller / Boyd partnership is the most effective we have at our disposal. Our second goal (Boyd’s first) on Saturday encapsulated this partnership to a ‘T’. Miller made an intelligent run, received the ball (on the deck!) from the midfield, played a sublime pass into Boyd’s path and Boyd dispatched the ball into the back of the net. Neither Boyd nor Miller would be placed into anyone’s ‘top strikers’ compilations, but they do have their strengths and they do appear to complement each other. This partnership will only continue to flourish if both keep fit, they are continually given quality service and if BOTH are kept in the starting 11. To ensure that we continue to get the best out of Boyd / Miller, we must continue to play with at least 1 wide player in the team be it, Burke, Beasley or Aaron. We must also look at the effectiveness of the midfield as Ferguson and Mendes don’t appear to complement each other. Could the introduction of Edu be more beneficial until Ferguson regains full fitness? Or at least until the partnership develops into a workable solution? There were times even on Saturday that Mendes and Ferguson were out-muscled, out-played and out-manoeuvred by struggling Hamilton Accies. Getting back to the question posed above, whilst Boyd and Miller will never come close to partnerships like Brand & Miller or Hateley & McCoist, if we continue to play to their strengths and they continue to develop this growing and fruitful partnership, they may just have enough ammunition to fire us to the SPL title. I will say one thing, the next 3 games are critical if we are to have any chance of dethroning the MOPES. Victories against DUFC, Hibs and then the MOPES are critical and to ensure we get these victories, both Boyd and Miller have a huge responsibility in continuing scoring and playing well. However, I have an awful feeling that WS will throw us all a curve ball and will rethink his tactics and personnel for these games. Watch out for the reintroduction of the likes of Adam, McCulloch, Daily et al. In my opinion, WS will approach these games with a degree of caution and may even revert back to his 4-5-1 formation from last season. Last Minute Winners Whilst watching the excellent Everton v Aston Villa game yesterday, my thoughts were drawn not only to the ex-Gers on show (Arteta and Cuellar – Arteta had a decent game as did CC playing an unfamiliar right-back role – did MON graduate from the WS school of coaching!) but to the fact that, if my memory serves me correctly, we’ve not won a game for a while with a last minute winner. The last game I can remember us winning in a dramatic, last minute fashion was when PLG was manager and Sebo slotted home to defeat Aberdeen at Ibrox. Now, off the top of my head, I can name various games prior to this when we’ve won with (what appeared to be) the last kick of the ball : Lovenkrands in the Scottish Cup Final Rod Wallace against DUFC at Tannidice Jorg Albertz with a deflected shot to defeat Hearts 1-0 at Ibrox Jorg Albertz with a rasper to defeat Hibs (eventually!) 4-3 at Easter Road (wonderful game that was) In fact, it was considered that Rangers were the masters of winning from both unwinable positions - who can forget going 3-0 to Shelbourne in DA’s fist game and storming back to win 5-3, or trailing DAFC 2-0 on a cold, wet and dull evening (is there any other kind in Fife?) then winning 4-2 during AM’s reign - and the masters of late strikes. It is always better to have a game won long before the last kick of the ball, but there is just something really satisfying wining a game (and a League Title) at the death. However, this skill may not have been as apparent as my memory suggest, it just appears that we used to win many games in this manner and appear not to be doing so recently. Atmosphere Last weeks rant was entitled ‘Groundhog Day’ and whilst we appear to be discussing the same failings month on moth, season on season etc, we’ve not had a discussion regarding the (lack of) atmosphere for a while, so here goes. Anyone who is a regular visitor to Ibrox will know that there is little atmosphere generated out-with the dedicated ‘singing sections’. It is hard to deny that TBO, East Enclosure, Club Deck Loyal et al are welcome additions to Ibrox (for their banners, displays and wit as well as their singing) but they are hardly helped by the rest of the stadium. It appears that supporting Rangers today entails turning up to Ibrox, shouting abuse at Rangers players then buggering off after 70 minutes. Now, before going on, everyone is entitled to leave when they want and to sing if they want, but surely it would be more beneficial to actually SUPPORT the team in song and by staying the course, rather than abusing them and leaving early. Another thing I have noticed recently is that if the rest of the stadium are going to join in, they’ll only really join in when songs like ‘Big Jock Knew’, ‘The Famine Song’, ‘The Sash’ and ‘Derrys Walls’ are sung. When Rangers songs are sung, it appears to be reserved for TBO. I find this infuriating and can’t understand why others don’t join in with the many wonderful Rangers songs. There is nothing better when we are in full voice singing the likes of ‘The Blue Sea Of Ibrox’, ‘Every Other Saturday’ and ‘Follow Follow’. Also, I can’t be the only one who thinks and would love to hear 50,000 Bears singing ‘Wolverhampton Town’. So come on Bears, we are entering a crucial part of the season and the team need (and deserve) our support, so lets get behind them, lets get those vocal chords stretched and lets get Ibrox rocking. I’m sure opposition teams love a morgue-like Ibrox but wouldn’t be as assured in a cauldron-like Ibrox. Cammy F –

WS dropped Goram when his off-field problems led to a drop in his on-field performances. Goram only required to be dropped once before learning - it appears McGregor has learned his lesson - his form is aweful at the moment. Cammy F

Banner for the 27th - Saving A Squiggler Is Not A Crime.... Caution - Squigglers May Cause Offence.... Cammy F

Aye, never thought that it would end up 7-1 after that howler. Was going to take Boyd for a hatrick but decided to go for the 'stupid bet'.... Cammy F

He cost me �£205 pounds on Saturday - took 7-0 to RFC at 40/1 Cammy F

Didn't we wear hoops before the MOPES? Poor Edu just got the colours wrong Cammy F

Arteta was the outstanding player in the first leg at Ibrox (even outshone the then promising youngster Ronaldinho), which in truth was a stalemate type of game. IIRC Ricksen was red carded near the end of the 1rst leg - even outshone the then promising youngster Ronaldinho. Cammy F

The away leg, Lovenkrands missed a good chance, as did Flo, then RDB missed a penalty as well - did our best to throw away the game! IIRC, Arteta scored his penalty and Ronaldinho missed his! I'm sure that Anelka was brought on late in the game but claimed he was injured and didn't take a penalty. Cammy F

Whilst watching PLG's PSG against Man City last night, my mind went back to our two legged enounter with PSG in 2001 UEFA Cup. We eventually won on penalties after two goal-less draws : Have a quick look at BOTH team line-ups for those games : First leg at Ibrox : Rangers: Klos, Amoruso, Konterman, Ball, Ricksen, Reyna, Ferguson, Numan, Caniggia, De Boer, Flo. Subs: Christiansen, Mols, Dodds, Wilson, Latapy, Ross, Lovenkrands. Paris SG: Letizi, Cristobal, Pochettino, Heinze, Potillon, Arteta, Dehu, Leal, Ronaldinho, Ogbeche, Leroy. Subs: Aloisio, El Karkouri, Llacer, Domi, Cisse, Dias, Alonzo. Second Leg : Paris Saint-Germain Lionel Letizi, Gabriel Heinze, Mauricio Pochettino, Talal El Karkouri, Parralo Aguilera Cristobal, Edouard Cisse, Mikel Arteta, Ronaldinho, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Jose Da Silva Aloisio, Laurent Leroy SUBS - Jerome Alonzo, Lionel Potillon, Francis Llacer, Bernard Mendy, Jay-Jay Okocha, Nicolas Anelka, Alex Dias Rangers Stefan Klos, Lorenzo Amoruso, Bert Konterman, Craig Moore, Maurice Ross, Arthur Numan, Claudio Reyna, Barry Ferguson, Ronald de Boer, Tore Andre Flo, Peter Lovenkrands (ST) SUBS Jesper Christiansen, Scott Wilson, Tony Vidmar, Russell Latapy, Billy Dodds, Claudio Caniggia, Michael Mols There used to be a Youtube clip of the game / penalties, but I can't locate this - anyway, it was a fantastic shoot-out, with the French missing their penalty to the stains for Derrys Walls - sounded like a HOME game for The Rangers! Cammy F

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dP5rEffhXfo&eurl=http://www.vi.nl/web/show/id=309929/langid=43/contentid=143195 Cammy F

They might not be happy, but they would accept McCoist as he is a legend - a typical SDM tactic, bring in a man who the fans will 'tolerate' then ruin his reputation whislt SDM sits in his ivory tower as untouchable as ever. I wouldn't be happy with AMcCoist as manager, but I would support him like I've supported all our managers, maybe a bit more just because he's who he is. However, I've I'm honest, I hope for all our sakes, including Ally, that he gets nowhere near the managerial seat (until he has served his time and proven himself as a manager). Cammy F

But the sad fact is, the vast majority of the Rangers support are 'happy-clappy customers'. This may be a controversial statement, but I believe its due to the fact that the vast majority of Rangers fans at this time, can't or chose not to, remember the days pre-souness / holmes. Those who do remember, and who still support the current regime, probably didn't attend matches at Ibrox at the time and therefore view that period through 'David Murray' tinted spectacles - believing the much aired myth that SDM was Rangers' saviour. I honestly believe (and I could be wrong) that SDM did have a passion for Rangers in his initial years at Rangers. This was possibly driven by his self-ego, but that can be said for most 'successful' people. Cammy F

Agreed, but Murray and Souness' freindship MAY be enough to rekindle SDm's passion for making Rangers a success again - all hypithetical at the moment tho and can't see SDM replacing Smith with anyone except Ally McCoist at the moment. Cammy F

That won't change no matter who our manager is / was. PLG proved that, the onely real target he managed to sign was Clement, and we all thought that a man of his calibre and standing in French football would attract better players. In typing the above, I have actually had a rethink - maybe it was Bain / Murray who are / were to blame for PLG not getting his desired targets, I suppose we'll never know. I just feel that with the likes of Souness as a figurehead, we'd have a better chance of attracting a better quality of player. It's not going to be the 'upper echelons' but it may be better quality that players from Hibs, Kilmarnock and St Mirren. Cammy F

Not for me (not at Rangers and I think he'll struggle to get an EPL job). Straight swap for Strachan? GS to Sunderland and Keane to Celtc Cammy F

I agree, but the thing is, who would have thought that the captain of England and a world class centre half would even consider signing for Rangers and that we'd get him for �£1M pounds? I bet many in football laughed when Graeme Souness claimed that he'd deliver Terry Butcher to Rangers (including those in England who coveted the England captain). If you watch Souness on SKY, even now, people listen and are captivated by him. He has a presence, people actually listen to what he says (and he talks a lot of sense, and still knows football inside out). Butcher says this in his book - as soon as he spoke to Souness, he knew that he'd end up at Ibrox. Not many people say 'no' to Souness. There are very few people in football who have what Souness has and thats why I am very suprised that he isn't currently involved with a club. Having Souness as a figurehead could make a club - he has an aura, and his love for Rangers still burns deep - I see no downside of asking Souness to contribute to Rangers in some capacity. For me it would be as a figurehead with the likes of Wilkins or The Laudrups as coaches. Cammy F

Fleck came through the youth ranks at Rangers. Decent player as well. Cammy F

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/7764671.stm Roy Keane has left his position as manager of Sunderland, BBC Sport understands. Sunderland have yet to confirm the exit of Keane, who was set to give a news conference at 1300 GMT ahead of Saturday's game at Manchester United. The Black Cats are 18th in the Premier League and have lost five of their last six games. The ex-Manchester United midfielder took over at Sunderland in 2006 and led them to the Premier League in 2006-07. Keane, 37, has said in recent weeks that his future may not be certain hinting that he could leave the club. Their latest defeat came against Bolton on Saturday with the Black Cats losing 4-1. "I ask myself every day if I'm the right man for Sunderland," he said following the weekend defeat. "I asked myself this morning, and I said I was. Sunday morning, if the answer's no, we'll have to look at it." Keane has spent nearly �£70m on 33 players since his arrival in August 2006 including the big money arrivals of striker Kenwyne Jones, midfielder Kieran Richardson, defender Anton Ferdinand and keeper Craig Gordon. ------------------------------------------------------- Cammy F

Can't agree regarding the money Craig - �£1M for Butcher wasn't an inflated price in those days - Ian Ferguson cost us �£900,000. Richard Gough was bought for just over �£2M. Hateley cost just over a million and RW was picked up for �£250,000 IIRC. Woods, Drinkell, Stevens all came with reasonable price tags as well. Their wages would have been higher than we were used to, but their original asking prices weren't over-inflated. Agree with what you say regarding players loving their time at Rangers. IMO Dick Advocaat had this as well, Gio, Numan, Mols etc all loved their time at Rangers and still love the club - this has been diluted since then and is something that we need to rediscover soon. Cammy F

Yes, along with Trevor Stephens (twice I think!) Cammy F

Souness also had the 'bottle' to take on the authorities, he backed his players publically, sorted out any dressing room unrest (ask Butcher and Roberts about this) and also had the man-management skills to get the best for players with limited ablility (and usually sold them on at a profit). His drawing power was awesome - look at the players he attracted - Terry Butcher (who had just captained England at the World Cup and was reported to be linkewd with the likes of Man U, Liverpool, Everton et al). Chris Woods, the promising England international keeper. Ray Wilkens, one of the best midfield players of his generation. Mark Hateley, a player who had played and scored at the top level in England, Italy and France (but was booed for his first 6 months in a Rangers jesrsey). And I haven't even mentioned players like Walters, Ferguson, Gough, Spackman and his couq de gras (sp), Mo Johnston! Wish we currently had a manager with the drawing power, man-management and bottle that Souness pocessed. As an aside, I still love listening to Souness and his signings (Butcher apart, turn coat barstward) on SKY TV as you can still tell that they love Rangers and enjoyed every minute that they played for The Rangers - something that Souness installed in them. A Rangers management team of Souness and Ray Wilkens is just a dream, but a dream that I still hope to come true at some point. Cammy F

Unfair to judge Lafferty at Burnley as he was used wide left in a front 3. Anyone know his international stats where he is played thro the middle as a partner to Healy? Isn't 6 in 16 or something similar? Cammy F