CammyF

We played well in the first 45 minutes - then for some reason didn't turn up for the 2nd half. The failings last night were - Weir had has worst game in an Rangers jersey. Couldn't handle Duechar - never won a ball in the air, looked suspect all night and his distribution was shocking. Alan McGregor looked very clumsy in goal and was lucky on a few occassions where he punched rather than collected the ball. Our midfield once again lacked any real pace. Hendami and Adam struggled on the heavy pitch. Ferguson, Naismith and Burke were for long periods too detatched from Cousin. Cousin won 99% of balls in the air - flicked them on but no one was supporting. Cousin takes a lot of unfair criticsism IMO - guy can win balls in the air, he leads the line well, can create chances (first goal and the chance he created for JCD with the pass of the night) and he can finish when presented with opportunities. In fact, two guys sitting in front of me last night (South Stand) refused to celebrate the winning goal as it was scored by (and I Quote) 'that lazy french barsteward...' - what can you say? MAjor failings last night - the officials - how they contrived to not give us 2 stone-wall penalties and send off the Gretna keeper for handling outside his area is beyond me. They must have been the only 3 people in the entire stadium to miss those incidents. As for MOTM - Fergie by a country mile. Cammy F

January ââ?¬â?? A Hugely Important Month Firstly, as this is my first rant of the new year, Iââ?¬â?¢d like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers and everyone connected with the extended Rangers family and wonderful and prosperous New Year. January is turning into a hugely important month for Rangers and I am not just talking about performances and results. As we all know, the weather has taken its toll and we face a fixture pile up that may ease up next November. January is also the time when the transfer widow opens and the rumours go into overdrive. I for one believe that our activity (or lack off) in this transfer window could go a long way in determining how successful we will be this season. With Roy Carroll be sold, we need a new goalkeeper, a left back, a couple of midfield players and a striker. Gone are the days of Rangers plundering the top echelons of the transfer marketing and paying substantial fees for players like Amato, Negri, Mols, Albertz, Gazza, Laudrup (who was actually very inexpensive), Gio etc. Lets be honest with ourselves, we would all love the anticipation and excitement of looking forward to Rangers unearthing a ââ?¬Ë?blue chipââ?¬â?¢ Ã?© Alan Davidson Evening Tims and witnessing them terrorizing defences all over the land. Jeez, we would even settle for a ââ?¬Ë?surprisingly successfulââ?¬â?¢ signing ala Wee Rod Wallace. A player who slid into Ibrox almost unnoticed but became a wonderful player and ambassador for the club. Given this, who are the likely targets for Rangers this transfer window? We wonââ?¬â?¢t ââ?¬Ë?break the bankââ?¬â?¢ but will have to replace players like Buffel, Ugo, Roy Carroll etc if they are sold. Walter Smith will pick up a ââ?¬Ë?run of the millââ?¬â?¢ SPL keeper as back up for McGregor and that is hard to argue with. McGregor is a decent keeper and has cemented himself as our No1. Left back is more of a challenge. We have supposedly looked at George McCartney the West Ham left back and Paul Robinson from West Brom. Both decent enough players and I would wouldnââ?¬â?¢t be adverse to signing one of those players. However, Iââ?¬â?¢d like to see Walter Smith use a piece of initiative and enquire if we could take Traore from Arsenal on a 6-12 month loan. He is 3rd choice left back at Arsenal but looks a prospect and Wenger isnââ?¬â?¢t adverse to allowing players to go out on loan. One midfield player Iââ?¬â?¢d like to see us pursue is Zoltan Gera at West Brom. He is out of contract in the summer and could be secured this month for a fee of Ã?£500,000. Striker is a difficult one but why not try for Benni McCarthy or Matt Derbyshire at Blackburn? Derbyshire is fast and knows where the goal is ââ?¬â?? he would be a fantastic signing. We are also believed to monitoring the situation with Rob Jones at Hibs. IMO, this would be a great signing, he is straight out of the Marvin Andrews school of defending! No matter what, we MUST strengthen in January as me MUST maintain our advantage over Celtc. They have and will continue to add players to their squad and so must we. We are currently in a decent position and must do everything in our power to remain there. Not adding to the squad isnââ?¬â?¢t an option. Silence Or Applause The minutes applause as a mark of respect to the tragic passing of Phil Oââ?¬â?¢Donnell raised the question and debate as to whether these respects should be marked by a minutes silence or a minutes applause. Lets not forget that minutes applause were introduced due to the fact that one set of supporters couldnââ?¬â?¢t stay silent for 1 minute during silences for football players, disasters, terrorist atrocities and members of the Royal Family. I for one do not feel comfortable remembering the dead by ââ?¬Ë?clappingââ?¬â?¢ for a minute and, this is just my opinion, think that a minutes silence is more poignant and is the perfect way to respect the dead. During the minutes applauding for Phil Oââ?¬â?¢Donnell, I stood in silent reflection. This was in now way meant as a slight to the man or his family (in fact, my thoughts and prayers are with them at this tragic time) it is that I feel that silence is more respectful. RIP Phil Oââ?¬â?¢Donnell. Regeneration Of Ibrox Well, what can we take from the press release that Rangers are considering regenerating Ibrox and the surrounding area to the tune of Ã?£700M odd? Call me old fashioned but as my old granddad would always say ââ?¬Ë?no smoke without fire sonââ?¬â?¢. In my humble opinion, this was SDM ââ?¬Ë?testing the waterââ?¬â?¢, throwing out a line to see if anyone would bite. SDM is a lot of things and this includes him being an undoubted successful business man. If there is some Ã?£ââ?¬â?¢s to be made by buying up and regenerating Ibrox and the surrounding area, you can bet your last Ã?£ that SDM will be slap bang in the middle of it. The only worrying this is, who will be the other investors. Given the magnitude of the announcement, he must have some one waiting in the wings (Tom Hunter? Mystery Russian investor?) to plough money into this project. It is also interesting to note that no mention if any of this Ã?£700M odd will be used to improve the squad (and for most fans, thatââ?¬â?¢s the bottom line). For what itââ?¬â?¢s worth and with most things that involve SDM and his moonbeams of success et al, I am quietly pessimistic and wary of the whole shebang!!!! G14 So the G14 is to be disbanded (is there any truth in the rumour that the G14 would rather disband than allow Celtc at their table ââ?¬â?? heehee) and is to be replaced by a new ââ?¬Ë?European Club Associationââ?¬â?¢, with Rangers where they should be, right at the forefront of this organisation. Letââ?¬â?¢s remember that Rangers have been the driving force (mostly via the forward thinking of Campbell Ogilvie) of many European schemes (the CL format as an example) and as always, we tend to lead whilst others tend to follow. It will be interesting to see how this is portrayed in the media, given how they went into overdrive when Celtc were ââ?¬Ë?acceptedââ?¬â?¢ into the G14 organisation minutes before it was dissolved (and replaced!!!). You Can Only Be Envious Saw a fantastic banner at a recent Linfield game that was transmitted live on SKY. It was a Union Flag which bore the legend ââ?¬Ë?You Can Only Be Enviousââ?¬â?¢. I think that this is a legend that we could borrow from our ââ?¬Ë?Blues Cousinsââ?¬â?¢ from Belfast and display with pomp at the next OF game. Imagine the faces (yeah I know, itââ?¬â?¢ll give the kids nightmares) of the ensemble Tims foaming at the mouth whilst reading a legend that they know sums up their whole existence? Letââ?¬â?¢s face it, from our conceptions, we have been the forerunners of Scottish Football. We optimise football, especially Scottish Football. We were founded purely out of the love of sport and football in particular. We only ever played the game for sporting purposes. Added to that, we are the quintessential British team (or even establishment) with the history of Struth as the driving force of everything that we stand for. We are the most successful footballing team in the world ââ?¬â?? as the legend states ââ?¬â?? you can only be envious Cammy F ââ?¬â?? We Are The Peopleââ?¬Â¦.

Anyone remember him shitting himself from Ian Ferguson after a Rangers victory at the Scumdome? Threatening to 'snap' Fergie, offering him 'outside', getting 'held back' schoolbhoy style by his team-mates? That episode summed up the cowardly nazi scumbag - no wonder he is still loved so much in the East End. Cammy F

I have heard that one of the main topics for discussion was international teams paying domestic teams for use of their players for international duty. There is also talk of UEFA and FIFA abandoning the ruling that states players must be released for international games or miss 2 domestic games if they don't. Like Calscot says, it'll be interesting to read the reaction of the TWATS over the fact that G14 is to be absolved just as Celtc were about to become members Cammy F

Anyone remember the last game at Ibrox to be posponed due to weather? SPL game against Abergreen in 1992 - game was posponed about 15 minutes prior to kick off - we won the rearranged game 2-0 (Ian Fergie and Ally McCoist scoring IIRC). Anyway, this adds further problems to an already congested fixture list. Also talk that the Gretna game on Wednesday could be in doubt - Lanarkshire facing 3-4 days of torential rain this week. Cammy F

Linlithgow thrashed in the Scottish - thank the lord - maybe that'll put their gas at a peep for a wee while :moon: :box: :box: Cammy F - Bo'ness Till I Die Loyal RSC

Fantstic player and gaining a very decent reputation as a coach - a future Rangers manager perhaps? Cammy F

Well, bang goes Watties transfer budget - well unless Sir Alex decides to put in an offer.... Cammy F

George Burley - heard from my Hibbe friends that he is in with a shout Cammy F

According to Radio Snyde, a deal has been done and Hutton is on his way to Spurs. Cammy F - It's Good To Be Back Loyal RSC

As the hours countdown to one of our biggest European games in recent years, it also heralds a hectic festive domestic schedule that will be critical on how well we do this season. If we fail (yeah, ever the pessimist) to gain the point we require, I still believe that having come so far in the CL this year, not getting to the last 16 will feel like a failure. This isnââ?¬â?¢t to say that we havenââ?¬â?¢t acquitted ourselves well in the CL, just that we had a fantastic start to the group and failing to cash in on this will somehow equate to failure. After the Lyon game, domestically, we face an action-packed festive period where we face the top SPL teams and the outcome of those games will give us an indication if we have what it takes to regain OUR title. The festive fixtures sees us entertain Hearts and travel to Sheepville, Easter Road and the festive fixtures concludes with a trip to The San Giro for the traditional New Year derby. This hectic schedule will test the squad to the limits and I predict a few nail-biting moments along the way. It is crucial that we emerge for this testing time (especially given our erratic away form) with CL qualification and with an edge of our rivals on the SPL. First up is (hopefully) another magical European night at Ibrox where the atmosphere will be electric. It is fantastic to read that Didier Drogba is the latest player to ââ?¬Ë?big upââ?¬â?¢ the Rangers support and the atmosphere generated at Ibrox. Drogbas kind words come hard on the heals of Henrys after the home leg against Barcelona. Lets not let Lyon down, lets make Ibrox a cauldron and get behind the players from the first minute to the last. I would appeal for Rangers to cease with the tannoyed music for this game, let the crowd generate the atmosphere and lets get Ibrox rocking. Walter Smiths team selection will be interesting given injuries to JCD and Run DMB. I had the feeling that Beasley was starting to settle into our style of play and like JCD offered us a fantastic option especially in Europe. Both these players had genuine pace and without them, I fear that we have no genuine pace in our team. I canââ?¬â?¢t see Walter Smith changing his formation for this crucial game, so itââ?¬â?¢ll be the tried and tested 4-5-1 but the choice of personnel will be interesting. The keeper and back four pick themselves. The midfield is where Walter Smith has options and heââ?¬â?¢ll be loathed to deviate from the tight 3 in the centre (Hendami, Fergie and Thomson) but with no Beasley, he has a decision as to who plays wide right. The candidates are SW, SN or moving LMcC to the right and playing Charlie Adam on the left. The last option is probably the one that WS will adopt and I can see why he might do this. Charlie Adam can deliver a set-piece and these could be our best chance of getting goals. The lone striker is a ââ?¬Ë?no-brainerââ?¬â?¢ ââ?¬â?? Cousin to play the lone role. It would appear that the Lyon game has come to soon for Buffel, and that is a shame as he is the type of player that you require on these huge European occasions. He has the experience, the skill, the guile to unlock defences and we could have benefited from a fit Buffel. In saying that, I believe that he will have a significant role to play for Rangers over the next few weeks. With the games coming thick and fast, Walter Smith will have to make changes for certain games so we have to hope that the fringe players can step up to the plate and drive us forward and ensure that our season kicks off rather than fizzles out before Santa retired to for another year. Cammy F ââ?¬â?? We Are The Peopleââ?¬Â¦.

Interesting to note that since Lyon were refused permission to cancel their game at the weekend, they chose to rest 5 key players and lost to Caen. Cammy F

.... and there are plenty who do, check these pictures : Cammy F

Under Pressure As if we weren’t under enough pressure to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, Celtc getting through by default last night (look, I’m not knocking it, I’d take qualification under any circumstances) has heaped further pressure on our players and staff to ensure that we get the required result next week. We have been handed a break from the beaks and have been given extra time to prepare for this game and have no game to look forward to this weekend. Even given the fact that we have already secured 3rd place in the group, I know that a defeat at home to Lyon will taste like failure as we have come so far in this group, not qualifying is simply unthinkable. However, me being the eternal pessimist, I can see heartache ahead. At times like these my thoughts take me back to watching Rangers in the early / mid 80’s and standing in the East Enclosure at the first home game of the season, or on the few occasions we got to a final at Hampden, standing on the red-ash of the Rangers end, chanting the ‘Rangers Chorus’ of the time – ‘Don’t Let Us Down Again’. I don’t need to remind you that they did on more occasions than not….. People are saying that Ibrox will be rocking next week and I agree in some respects. However, as the game goes on and the score stays 0-0, more and more fans will get nervous and this will transmit onto the pitch. We really must score the first goal – the earlier the better to settle everyone down. The longer the game goes, the more nervous we will become. I hope that my pessimism is unfounded and that we turn in one of our best ever European displays and take our place in the last 16 with the minimum of fuss. Not wanting to get to far ahead of myself, but if we do qualify, then I would happily take AC Milan in the next round. I have watched them a lot on TV this season and they aren’t the team that they once were. Looking at the likely group winners, they would be my first choice as I think that we would have a very decent chance of defeating them over the 2 legs. But like I say, that discussion is for another day, lets just concentrate on getting the desired result against Lyon. I Was Wrong – So Very Wrong I admit that I was one of the Rangers fans who as well as backing the moves to rid our support of the unsavoury chants and add-ons, claimed that once we had eradicated these, we could expect a shift of focus and other fans to come under the microscope. I have to hold up my hand here and admit that I was wrong, oh so very wrong. We have undoubtedly cleaned up our act and have as a support, rid our wonderful songs of any reference to the wee man from Rome with the funny hat. For this, we should be applauded and used as an example to fanbases in this country who still have a very evident problem with sectarian, political and offensive songs. Instead of seeing a change of direction from the 3rd estate, we have continued to be the sole fanbase who’s songs and actions continue to come under scrutiny from the authorities and especially the media. Some Rangers fans have had enough and have taken it upon themselves to challenge the blatant one-sided reporting of this perceived sectarian problem. We also have the excellent RST who continue to release statements defending us whilst highlighting the imbalance of this whole topic. However, and worryingly, our club continues to believe that a wall of ‘dignified’ silence is the way to deal with this issue. It makes you wonder where this supposed money that our PR (no sniggering at the back) has spent on defending the club and fans has gone as their presence in this debate has been entirely missed by this Bear. Since the start of this season, one set of supporters has continually sang sectarian, political and offensive songs with impunity. These fans haven’t been brought to task by the media, politicians, NBM or the SPL / SFA. This set of fans are behaving like they know and realise that no matter what they do, they are ‘untouchable’. For some reason, nobody has the bottle or inclination to bring them to task. Previously, we were told that they had a small problem with a minority of their away fans, then we were told that they didn’t have a problem at all. Funny that, as their outgoing Chairman chaired meetings earlier this season with fan groups asking them to drown out these sectarian, political and offensive songs. We have had to listen to the Chairperson of their Supporters Trust justify the singing or IRA songs within their support. When vilified for this, we witness the usual suspects jump to her defence. The sectarian debate has also reached the front door of the ex-worst minister, Mr Joke McConnell. Joke was fond of informing us that sectarianism was Scotland’s Secret Shame and his sound-bites and actions portrayed a man who thought that this was a ‘one-way street’. Lets not forget that Joke shares a constituency office with the despicable Frank Roy. Last week Jokes Brother in law was guilty of a sectarian outburst at a televised and high-profile award ceremony. Now, as far as I am aware only one media outlet (News Of The World) ran with this story and I am assuming that that Police will be serving Mr McLuckie with a sectarian breach of the peace charge? The irony is that the girls that Mr McLuckie assumed were Proddy Bastards were in fact Catholic. So ladies and gentlemen, it appears that the media, NBM, politicians etc are only interested in sectarianism if we are the perpetrators. It appears that what we believed all along is true, they can do no wrong and they know it and are acting accordingly. Don’t hold your breath for them to be brought to task, it’ll never happen. English Premier League For some reason, I had lost interest in the EPL over the last couple of seasons and count on the one hand how many live games I had sat down and watched. I still watched MOTD on a Sunday morning, but only really with a passing interest. This season has been different, I have refound my passion for the EPL and have to admit that I am really enjoying watching the likes of Manchester United (and City) and Arsenal. I don’t really have an EPL team as such, but have a soft spot for Chelsea (have had for years) and have always loved watching Arsenal play. I don’t have the hatred for Manchester United (in fact, I can’t believe that so many Bears hate them – we have so much in common – but that’s for another day) that some Bears do and they are playing really well at the moment. Two players (apart from the obvious ones) who have really stood out for me so far this season are two ex-Rangers players: Arteta and Tugay. Both these players are exceptional talents and left Rangers for differing reasons (depending on who you believe). Tugay just sits in the midfield and makes everything look so easy and always appears to have oddles of time on the ball. Arteta is an exciting player going forward and his trickery and delivery would be an asset to any team in the country. Bottom line is, we are a poorer team / squad without them and could be doing with their talent at the moment (or players with similar ability). For what it is worth, I hope that Arsenal win the EPL but think that Man U will be too strong for them over the course of the season - but don't rule Chelsea out. Cammy F

Well, no Ranger ever claims to be bigger or better than another (IMO of course)..... :moon: Cammy F

Usual mixed bag from Boyd - did well to set up JDD for the opener then set-up SN with a great chance just after that. Scuffed a few chances himself and was unlucky to be flagged offside when he latched onto a rebound, rounded the keeper and 'scored'. Not his worst game in a Rangers jersey but was far from 'outstanding' (as could be said about a few others as well). Cammy F

http://imageevent.com/publicgallery/...=0&y=0&z=2&l=0 Cammy F

I would say it was - we did manage a few good runs in Europe pre-Souness and pre-Murray - notabely under JG when we defeated PSV and Juventus and went out in the 1/2 finals. As I said in the title, maybe I do ask for too much for my club, but IMO Rangers should be in the last 16 of the CL most, if not all seasons. Cammy F

Here is a video of Celtc fans singing a song by The Wolftones called Oh Ah Up The 'Ra from Tynecastle on Saturday : http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=6wpdump&s=1 oops, that link might not work as Timmy are trying to cover all the evidence of their shame as Bears have been bombarding the SPL - if that link doesn't work, try this one : http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...5C8D5769A83C89 Here is the 'official' Wolftones video of said song which Parkhead was used as a backdrop and The Wolftones were allowed access to parkhead to film this video : Yet, the SPL, SFA, NBM, SOS, etc do NOTHING to highlight these songs now sung on a weekly basis. Once again, the RST putting the club to shame in its defence of us, the fans Cammy F

The Grenta game is to be rescheduled and like Lyon, we will have a free weekend this weekend. Cammy F

Todays News Of The World carries a story regarding Joke McConnells brother-in-law who attened a very high profile (and televised) awarf ceremony last week. At said event, Mr Robert McLuckie shouted sectarian abuse at two girls who performed Into The Valley as the names of Scottish soldiers killed in Iraq were shown. As the girls left the stage, Mr McLuckie intercepted them and shouted 'Proddy Bastards' at them. Then irony, both girls in question were Catholic. Your right Mr McConnell, this is Scotlands Secret Shame right enough and its alive and kicking in you own family. Cammy F

Rumours heard at Ibrox yesterday : Boyd out in January as he has apparently been a naughty boy and 'could' end up in court sooner rather than later. Could be AM's first signing for Birmingham. The rumours that Kenny Misser is set for a return to Ibrox are unrelenting with me hearing this every where I go. Got told this again at a function last night from someone very close to Hibs players. The same guy told me that Michael Stewart was sold from Hibs for fighting with John Collins. Former Rangers hero or villian depending on your opinion, Peter Lovenkrands is building a �£2M pound house in Glasgow fuelling rumours of a return to Rangers. WS has had him watched recently and PL is very keen on a return to Rangers. Cousin is likely to leave in January but the main priority is a left back and left midfield player. Possible target could be Birminghams Garry McSheffry. Cammy F - Don't Shoot The Messinger Loyal RSC

But Rangers fans aren't singing about child abuse, they aren't condoning child abuse, they aren't even mentioning child abuse. Those who chose to sing it, are simply singing 'Big Jock Knew'. As far as I am aware, Jock Stein has never abused a kid.... 'Who shagged all the boys on the other hand'..... Cammy F

on the other hand, I am sure they are offended by the fact that Celtc failed them in their hour of need and certain Celtc employess lied (on TV) when interviewed about Torbett and his actions. In fact, one went as far as to say that a 'make believe' Boys Club tourny was in fact, fact - when in reality, it was a rouse by Torbett to gain access and time alone with those he abused. Maybe they people who were abused, let down, potrayed as the enemy and the wrong-doers would be offended by the fact that Celtc continued to give Torbett's business financail backing when he was in jail for abusing kids (by renewing contracts with The Trophy Centre). Maybe they find it offensive that this whole sordid affair has been swepted under the carpet when in fact, it is possibly Scotlands Real Seceret Shame? Cammy F

It already happens in some parts of Europe where games will be moved to midweek to give teams a full week to prepare for an upcoming important European game. In fact, I am sure Lyon have a free weekend next weekend. I also think (rightly or wrongly) that Club football is now far more important (in terms of money, tv deals etc) than international games and in 10 years time it may not be uncommon for Internationals to be rearranged to suit domestic games (just look at the luke-warm reception the 'Celtc Cup' got from managers). Cammy F