Gaffer

It's always a learning day here on Gersnet. ??

We had a few players who just didn't believe they could win today. That's the disappointing thing for me, not so much the result. Arfield, Ejaria and Barisic looked overawed by the occasion. That's something I hope the manager has spotted because it's games like these when a player's character is truly tested. Maybe I'm being unfair because none of them have tasted an atmosphere like that, but Goldson and Katic seemed to have the hunger to win the game and it was their first too. I can't help but feel that Coulibaly would have relished that today and would have welcomed the opportunity to compete. Hopefully we will see the difference he makes the next time. I thought Jack and Morelos also competed well today. Lafferty worked so hard but the quality just isn't there to use him as anything other than a target man. Maybe Gerrard can see something there that I can't though. Kent worked hard defensively but again seemed to think he had more time available on the ball than he will ever get in those fixtures. As for Celtic, we didn't really test them today but their defence just looks so fragile. They will drop plenty of points this season, but we need to regroup and start performing again ourselves. This is the first test of our manager's ability to rebuild momentum so let's see how we respond. If we return to form after the break it'll be a pleasant improvement from the last couple of seasons where a disappointment was followed by more disappointments. I just feel Gerrard won't let that happen.

Ejaria and Arfield have been poor here. Neither has managed to develop any play at all.

Very happy to agree with that one! And with that, I am going to now go off and hopefully enjoy what we are all here for .... the start of 55. I've got an acute case of the battle fever. I'm sure you guys do too.

I'll try this one again, in hope that I can get an answer. For those opining that the SNP is anti Rangers, who should we vote for instead? As you probably already knew, I'm waiting to have some fun with your answers because I am almost certain I can show you examples for every party. Politics may be interesting to many people, and it seems to stir a lot of emotions, but although many individual politicians are definitely anti Rangers, there isn't a party that would even think about football, never mind have an anti Rangers agenda. Having said that, I'm more than happy to support anyone who takes action to remove corrupt politicians from their posts. And with regards to this thread, I am hopeful that the offenders in this situation at GCC are dealt with appropriately. It would then send a clear message to others that we will not accept this treatment. Support who you want as politicians, and by all means hold onto your strongly held beliefs, but do your job, which is to represent all of your constituents. The clue is in the name afterall ..... public servants!

They've got to sell their tickets cheaper because their fans need to pay for tickets to their games, AND ours. This season has already cost some of their fans a fortune, having had to travel to watch us in 8 games already. Poor souls.

Such as? I'm asking because it's too easy to say that political parties are anti Rangers. I believe some politicians are, just as some lawyers are, just as some police officers are, just as some bankers are. That's life. But I don't see any political party being anti Rangers. Quite frankly, I don't think that most of them are bothered enough about football to even care. It frustrates me when I see sweeping statements made about politics and Rangers. Some Rangers fans vote SNP. Some vote for independence. Some vote for BrExit. Some vote for the Green Party. How do I know this? .... because our support is broad and is made up of people with all sorts of backgrounds, priorities and beliefs. I know that's difficult for some people to accept, but that's a fact. As soon as we put conditions on who is a real supporter (I.e. you can't support Rangers if you vote SNP), we become divided. There's no need for it, especially not now. Vote for who you want, but don't tell people who they should and shouldn't be voting for.

So, who should Rangers fans vote for? Or are you suggesting any party other than the SNP? I've already said that I vote for "none of the parties", but I'm genuinely interested in who you think is better, or less worse. I can never tell on these threads if people have serious beliefs about a particular party, or if they are just using these incidents to play party politics. I know of plenty of MSPs (and MPs for that matter) who would equally like to see Rangers continue to suffer. Does that mean we don't vote for any? Anyway, the point of my post was about a small number of individuals who are under the microscope and who should be on their way out soon. The fact that they are SNP is irrelevant to me.

Aitken is now claiming that there are death threats. If that's the case, I'm sure she will hand over any evidence of these to the police. She could have cleared this up immediately had she just answered the questions asked. The problem is that she can't answer them because the facts will confirm an inconvenient truth. Rather than just shut up shop, she's on twitter going on about how Rangers' employees are stoking up sectarian trouble. She really doesn't care about facts at all does she?!? If she manages to hold on to her job after this, I'll be amazed. I appreciate her colleagues will rally to support her for a little while, but they will now be fearing for their own jobs longer term and cannot continue to support this nonsense. Her days are numbered and quite rightly. I don't care about her preferences, religion, or favourite football teams (if she has one). However, what she has demonstrated is extremely poor judgement and an attempt to cover up an intervention. That is why she has to go. As usual, it's not the original deed that is her downfall, it's the alleged lies and apparent deliberate misleading that will get her and others in the end. I would also expect some more senior members of the SNP to intervene soon. Contrary to what many believe on here, I think that we will have a representative proportion of our own fans supporting their party. They cannot afford to lose those votes just because a few of their members are going rogue, so I imagine this will become a point of interest they need to deal with soon. This is something I don't really care about. That's their problem, but the intervention may help bring a conclusion to this pantomime. What I do care about is holding our elected officials to account, especially when their actions are questionable at best.

Her statement is excellent. She has managed to write pages in a response without answering the key points we've raised. I can see why she is in politics, because that's what they're great at. I hope we insist on her actually answering the questions around due process being followed and interventions. The fact that her letter fails to address those issues just makes me even more suspicious now.

I'm delighted with our business this transfer window and if that's all our business done .... great! Having said that, despite being so tired I'm going to stay awake for another couple of hours just in case. Anyone else doing the same?

I liked our shape against Motherwell and I fully expect the 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 to be used in most of our premier league games. I think that's why Worrall could be guaranteed so much football with us.

That was brilliant. It was like reliving parts of it all over again. Some great. Some terrible. But all memorable. Let's never forget these banter years because in many ways I think it's going to be the making of us as a club, and as fans. We have developed a resilience that won't be matched anywhere else. I expect that some day they'll be making a movie about it. The journey to 55 could be the best story ever told.

That's how I feel too Bill. We've done brilliantly to make it and of course the team will be trying to win each game, but there really is no pressure on us in these games. We are not expected to progress, but that doesn't mean we can't have a party each time our Europa games come around. The home games are going to be something special, and the trips to Villarreal (a particular highlight for me) and Vienna will be enjoyable for an extended break. I don't plan on going to Moscow, but two out of the three isn't bad. The younger bears deserve to experience these European nights. Most of us remember these nights from previous years and they are just so special. The day of the games is just about enduring what seems like the longest days ever. The journey to the match is always fun for me as we discuss the big names we will be facing that evening. But then the real magic begins when you walk up towards and then enter the stadium and the fans are are in full voice. It's these nights that get you hooked and it's these nights that will encourage the next generation of bears to follow follow. Excited? Damn right I am! I saw a few bears tweet about the impact this may have on the league prospects. I understand that, and of course reaching 55 is more important than anything else for us, but back in June on this year we'd have chewed our own hands off to get to the Europa group stages so let's just enjoy it.

I would rather they just invest in the infrastructure and resilience so it doesn't happen again. I don't think many (if any) bears will want their money back this time.

Villareal Rapid Wien Spartak Moscow That'll do nicely

Anyone else noticed a change in tone in their BBC Sport app articles? They appear to be much more positive. Having said that, they are not smart enough to present our performances as anything other than impressive.

And that's a problem for any team, whether it's a football team or any other. If he can't prove they can trust him between now and Christmas, he has to be sold no matter how good he is. A lack of trust, or perceived favouritism will eventually cause cracks in the dressing room and we can't afford that. Obviously I hope he can turn it around, but the odds are stacked heavily against him.

You say group of death, but I say YES PLEASE!

That was funny, especially the bit about Katic, Goldson and Sam Fox.

Most people already knew that Spiers is a bitter, twisted, useless, clown. Now EVERYONE knows it! ?

Yes it was. It was non existent at points during that first 15 minutes, but they did react quickly to get it sorted out. It's a brilliant service and maybe they've been overwhelmed by the demand, but they need to sort out reliability issues quickly, or they'll lose the support. I'll be furious if that happens again on Sunday. And of course now we've got plenty of Euro ties to look forward to so they should expect the demand to grow even more. Sort it out RTV, please.

It's never too early to start planning holidays. Some of these prospective opponents are mouth watering. Imagine we got Chelsea, Arsenal, Milan, Lazio, Villarreal, or Fenerbahce. Those would be ties to look forward to. I know some will be looking for the kindest draw, but not me. I want the glamour ties back and I'd take as many giants as they want to give us in our group. Anyone else buzzing for this draw tomorrow? It's great to be a bear. And on that point, already I've had so many messages from the younger bears in my family and friends circle. It's fantastic to see them so excited again.

When and where is the draw? The draw begins at 13:00CET on Friday 31 August at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Who is involved in the draw? Arsenal (ENG) coefficient 93.000 Chelsea (ENG) 82.000 Bayer Leverkusen (GER) 66.000 Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 62.000** Salzburg 55.500** Villarreal (ESP) 52.000 Anderlecht (BEL) 48.000 Lazio (ITA) 41.000 Sporting CP (POR) 40.000 Marseille (FRA) 32.000 PAOK 29.500** AC Milan (ITA) 28.000 Fenerbahçe (TUR) 23.500*** Krasnodar (RUS) 23.500 Real Betis (ESP) 21.399 BATE Borisov 20.500** Dinamo Zagreb 17.500** Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 14.285 Spartak Moskva (RUS) 13.500*** Standard Liège (BEL) 12.500*** Zürich (SUI) 12.000 Rennes (FRA) 11.283 Vorskla Poltava (UKR) 8.226 Slavia Praha (CZE) 7.500*** Akhisar Belediyespor (TUR) 7.160 Jablonec (CZE) 6.035 Vidi 4.250** Rangers (SCO) 3.725* 17 teams qualified automatically * 21 teams advanced from the play-off round ** 6 teams defeated in UEFA Champions League play-off round *** 4 teams defeated in UEFA Champions League third qualifying round league path How will the draw work? The 48 entrants are split into four seeding pots based on their club coefficients, with each of the eventual 12 groups to contain one team from each seeding tier. Under a new system, club coefficients are determined either by the sum of all points won in the previous five years or by the association coefficient over the same period – whichever is higher. No team can play a club from their own association, with the exact draw procedure confirmed before the ceremony. UEFA Europa League Player of the Season The 2017/18 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award will also be presented during the ceremony. Diego Godín, Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet are in the running. When are the group stage games? 20 September: Group stage, matchday one 4 October: Group stage, matchday two 25 October: Group stage, matchday three 8 November: Group stage, matchday four 29 November: Group stage, matchday five 13 December: Group stage, matchday six What comes after that? 17 December: Round of 32 draw 14 February: Round of 32 first leg 21 February: Round of 32, second leg 22 February: Round of 16 draw 7 March: Round of 16, first leg 14 March: Round of 16, second leg 15 March: Quarter-final & semi-final draw 11 April: Quarter-finals, first leg 18 April: Quarter-finals, second leg 2 May: Semi-finals, first leg 9 May: Semi-finals, second leg Wednesday 29 May: Final – Olympic Stadium, Baku

That's the guts, determination, and resilience we've been waiting for in a Rangers team. I couldn't be more proud of a team than I am with those players. Take a bow lads, you've been amazing!!!!