Gaffer

Every single one of us that watched these Osijek games will be delighted with this signing. Flanagan has been great though, so I wonder what the plan is. I think playing four at the back is his preferred option, but this gives the opportunity to play with 5. Katic (left), Goldson (centre), and Flanagan (right) can be a tough back three and the width would then be provided by Barisic and Tav. Either way, this competition for places is excellent. What this acquisition also tells me is that Rangers are confident of securing a striker cheaply or on loan, otherwise there's no way they be spending money on another left back if they thought these funds were needed elsewhere. I appreciate the board is doing a great job of funding the transfers, but Allen (with a great deal of influence from SG no doubt) seems to be doing a great job. How we've got this guy at this price is incredible. It just shows what talent is available in that part of the world. There won't be many left backs better than him. Maybe he has a few pals that want to join us too. I hear Modric wants a new challenge. But seriously, we made Aberdeen look poor on Sunday, and that's with a new team. Can you imagine what we can do when they get up to speed with one another? Exciting times await us. The Celtic game is now an interesting one. I feel they really need to beat us to maintains the dominance. They need to dampen our spirits and aspirations, and quickly. If they don't, the confidence we will take from a point or more might just kickstart an unimaginable season.

Does anyone know why Arfield was booked today? He was grabbed by his shirt and the Aberdeen player had his head right up against him. Arfield doesn't do anything wrong that I could see and yet he gets booked. Clancy was a complete joke, except it's not funny. The standard of refereeing is a disgrace, and if the SFA doesn't accept that, the only other answer is that the game is corrupt beyond belief. I'm sick of games being ruined by poor (let's give them the benefit of the doubt) referees and linesmen.

I'm gutted after that today. After five minutes of the game I was wishing I had put 5 or 6 nil in the prediction. We were threatening to run riot against them. The Morelos incident (stupidity) cost us, although if that's any other league in the world, it's not a red card. In fact, if it's any other team in Scotland, it's not a red card. But Morelos needs to understand what we're up against and cut that out. Well, we wanted answers about how well we have improved and we got them. Despite being down to ten men, we absolutely dominated that match. Jack had their entire midfield in his pocket and looks like player of the year already. Goldson, Katic and Flanagan strolled it too. We will do well this season, and I'm so excited for the next games to come.

Osijek were better technically than every team we played last season. Celtic aren't quite as technical, but they are more physical than we faced last week. Aberdeen (and Hibs for that matter) however are all about the physical battle. The reason we performed well against Aberdeen last season was because we found it fairly straight forward to play around them. They chased us for much of those games, and although they caught us a few times, we were skilful enough and fluid enough to nullify their physical approach. Thats why tomorrow is such a big indicator for me. Are we still able to challenge physically if required? That's a big yes, and I'm sure many of us will agree on that point. However, are we able to quickly move the ball around them and play the killer balls? I would still say yes, but we've also seen enough to realise that our play in the final third is a big problem and inconsistent to say the least. If Aberdeen sit in, we will really need to move the ball quickly to carve out any chances. If we can maintain the same discipline at the back while opening up half a dozen good chances tomorrow, I think we'll have found a good balance for the SPL. That's what I'll be looking for more than the final score. We've struggled with that balance and it kills us when we play against Celtic. They are physical and technically decent as we know. I'm just hoping we see enough tomorrow (regardless of the score) to have confidence in our ability to enjoy this season. A clean sheet would do wonders for everyone's confidence. I can't wait!

I never know if SBS really thinks that way, or is trolling, or is one of 'them'. Either way, there's no point in arguing or trying to convince him. Best ignored, or just laugh.

I was out of the country on business and cursing the timing of my trip. Facing the prospect of listening to snippets on radio, or refreshing my browser to get Gersnet updates (which is great by the way), I decided to subscribe to Rangers TV and watch the game that way. Brilliant! Within about 3 minutes I had registered and subscribed. It's such a simple process, and the quality through my iPad was first class. I'm not sure how many of you have to travel and therefore miss a few games, but I'd strongly recommend you sign up to this, even if it's just to buy the individual games. Had I not done this, I would have missed what I thought was an excellent game of football. And what a difference it is not having to listen to the utterly biased drivel from ex Celts chosen to commentate on our games on other channels. There's nothing like being at the game, but this was an excellent second best. Well done Rangers TV. I wish I had known how good this option was before now.

0-4, Morelos Im trying to contain my optimism, but just can't help it. I'm going with what I think should happen.

I said at half time that we were comfortable, and that continued throughout the game. In recent years, I'd have been watching that through gaps in my fingers but I just feel confident in the defence and midfield. Morelos looks dangerous again, although Ejaria and Kent should be feeding him better balls. Hopefully that will come. Katic and Goldson look solid again, and of course the goalie behind them must also give them confidence. But for me, Jack and Coulibaly just controlled that game. I really really hope we've got an option to buy Coulibaly because he is pure class. At times it seems like there's are three of him on the field. He seems to be everywhere. Jack was clear,y missed last season and he's going to be a big player for us this season. I bet we are all now looking forward to the game on Sunday. The pressure of extinguishing the past Europa league nightmares has lifted so I hope the team can press on from here. The future is bright ...

The first half has been quite comfortable. We are making a few bad decisions in the final third, otherwise we could be a couple of goals up. Happy with that though. Again, it's clear to see that this Osijek team is very technically gifted.

Brilliant again. Really enjoyed that. Pete, do you have to rehearse those crap jokes about Croatian names, or does that just come naturally? Great topics, and a range of opinions in there. Already looking forward to the next one. Hopefully the team gives us the right results so we can enjoy the pod even more.

I'm sure that all of us will have been impressed with the manager's interview there. He's just a simple, no nonsense, straight talker. Brilliant! As I'm reflecting on our games so far, I have noticed a few things. 1. The manager has them confident. They look like winners. I can't explain it, but there's something in the way the players are carrying themselves that looks different. 2. We are tough now, and don't look like being bullied. At last! 3. If the game isn't going according to plan, the manager seems willing and able to change it, either by changing the players, or by giving them a roasting and getting a reaction. 4. The team (from Morelos back to the goalie) looks like it wants to defend our goal as if their lives depend on it. These are obviously positive improvements, but we just don't know how improved we are yet. I strongly suspected after that Osijek game that we were in good shape, given that we beat such a strong technically gifted team away from home. And then after the game yesterday I was convinced that we can manage games even when we are not playing so well (as we saw in the first half). It's all positive but we have no real comparison until we play Aberdeen. When I found out we were playing Aberdeen first I wasn't sure if that was good or bad in terms of timing, but now I just can't wait. We need that game. SG needs that game, because only then can he/we have any real idea of how much the team has improved. If it goes well, the manager and players (and us of course) will take confidence and press on. If it doesn't, he will have some time to make the necessary changes or improvements. Im sure you'll all have noticed this, but there's a quiet sense of confidence about Rangers (the club and the supporters) at the start of this season. There's no big talk of winning titles, or beating any specific teams. We've all been guilty of that before (with me leading it in many cases), but this time things seem different. For once, I feel like we are all just allowing the football on the pitch to do the talking for us. Afterall, it's saying all the right things at the moment.

Excuse my ignorance on this, but I don't understand what it is we are proposing. Are we proposing to change that area into a permanent fan zone, meaning we remove the pitch? If that's the case, I too would object to it if I was on the community council. I'd be asking for Rangers to provide an alternative and improved facility somewhere nearby. Or are we asking to use it on matchdays, but retain the pitch so that it can be used the other days? If this is the case, I just don't get the objection. Having a fan zone there will do much more to encourage kids to take an interest in football. I honestly don't know what our proposal is. Can anyone tell me? What makes me laugh though is the notion that kids can get access to these facilities in this country anyway. Most facilities like this are locked up and the only way you get access is if you pay the expensive hiring rates. The only people able to do this are the older adults, and the very same ones who are more than likely to be attending our match at Ibrox. I'd be more inclined to support the community council's position if they lobbied the council to make these pitches affordable for kids. For most kids, the only time they'll get a chance to stand on that area is if Rangers' proposal is accepted.

Agree 100% We should do that with all of the teams that are out to harm us, which is quite a few. They need us much more than we need them.

I'm sure very few bears will care about this. I will no longer give any money to these other teams, especially them.

This tie is far from over. As Gerrard himself said, we can't win it in the first leg, but we could have lost it. We've put ourselves in a great position and this is how the more experienced teams navigate through European competitions. As we've discussed, they are a very technically gifted side and can damage most teams (as their European history shows), but for the first time in a long time we are showing signs that we can manage these games out. One thing is for sure ..... Ibrox will be rocking for the return leg. We can do our part to help the team through to the next round. And let's be honest, we would all have been delighted at that before the Shkupi game. Even if we then go out to Maribor (which the rankings would suggest is the likely outcome), it'll show a huge improvement on last season. I'm buzzing for this next Osijek game though. It can't come quickly enough for me.

I agree that there are now some simple decisions for the manager to make in his selection. Previously, the team has picked itself because we've lacked quality players and just didn't have a choice, but now (especially in midfield) some of the team is picking itself because of the performances. Jack and Coulibaly will be difficult to remove and that surely has to be good for McCrorie and Rossiter to see and learn from. Goldson has also cemented his place in the team. He is looking like the signing of the year for me. And thankfully Morelos is looking sharp again. So out of the 10 outfield positions (obviously MacGregor is the goalie), 4 are locked out for these guys. The other positions are up for grabs at the moment.

Osijek just showed how much talent there is in these countries. I had never heard of most of their players and yet they were all more technically gifted than anything we will face in the SPL. Many people (including a couple of the usual suspects earlier in this thread) seem to think that these are weak teams just because they don't have the big names or a European football pedigree. Anyone with any knowledge of football watching Osijek tonight though must appreciate the quality in these leagues. Maybe Katic can help us identify a few of his fellow countrymen to come and join us.

I'm really pleased at that tonight. They were clearly a step up from Shkupi but we managed the game well. We've never been able to manage games when required and yet that's three games where we've shown that we know how to win. Already I think it's obvious that Gerrard is having a huge effect on the players' mentality. Most of the players are starting the game looking like they know they can win it. The body language is different. The midfield pairing of Coulibaly and Jack looks very promising if we can keep them both fit. Both looked really comfortable tonight and I can't see us being bullied in there now. Teams will know they've been in a game after they've played us. There's no midfield that will fancy their chances of winning many tackles against those two. I was delighted that Morelos scored too. He needs a few more to hopefully help him turn the corner. He showed last season what he's capable of and we really need him to get back to that again, if not improve. Kent looks like he's going to tear defences apart in the SPL. He's a nightmare for defenders, and our playmakers should have been trying to find him more often. That will come through playing together so it's something for us all to look forward to. He wasn't a player I was excited about, but after tonight I can't wait to see him run at Boyata in the Celtic defence. Once again we are looking solid at the back and what a difference Goldson and MacGregor have made. You can see them organising things at the back during transitions and at set pieces. Its difficult to compare standards against the SPL, but I've seen enough to be optimistic. We seem to know how to win a game of football and as we all know, that's an important habit to develop. I can't wait for the next game now.

Thoroughly enjoyed that again. It's a good sign when it feels like 20 minutes. Well done guys!

If he is better, I hope he does. Middleton then has to accept the standards he must reach if he's to get into the team. No-one is owed a place in the team, just because they've been here longer. The best 11 should start. That's the only way to motivate the others to reach the standard, because it's the only way they'll be picked. I do accept the point that we need to develop our own, but part of developing our own is to put them in the right space mentally, and that should mean realisation of the standards we expect. Nothing less should be tolerated, not even for a promising young talent like GM. Having said all this, I hope Middleton rises to the challenge and grabs one of those starting shirts. At least when he wears it he will know he deserves it because of his talent, rather than as a result of him being owed anything.

Has TC provided any rationale for this? I've not seen anything, but on what basis did we sign up to them if they are unable to get us to these fixtures? Maybe they thought it was just about running buses to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Kilmarnock. This is a farce and I'm hoping someone is hastily arranging a meeting with them to sort this out.

This doesn't surprise me, and in fact it reassures me. Most Rangers fans I know are capable of getting real jobs. ?

I wasn't sure about that, because the earlier point about "the TP has no interest in how he goes about it" seems to contradict that. If there's are still conditions, it's a nonsense. It now appears that the judge and the TP are as clear as mud.

Rangers chairman Dave King has been told to comply with a Takeover Panel order to make an offer to buy out the rest of the club's shareholders. Lord Bannatyne issued the warning at a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Friday. King has so far failed to make a £10.75m offer to Rangers shareholders. "The Takeover Panel has no interest in how he goes about it - it's just so long as he does it," said Lord Bannatyne. King could face possible contempt of court proceedings after failing to comply with the order, after he was ruled to have "acted in concert" with other investors when leading a boardroom takeover in March 2015. Legal disputes have no bearing on Rangers - King The South Africa-based businessman has said he needs time to set up a UK bank account so he can move funds from a family trust. "The only question is compliance, not how or where he gets the money from," added Lord Bannatyne. "Which trust provides the money or how that money is brought to the UK is of complete disinterest to both the court and the panel." This has made me laugh. The TP has gone out of it's way to add these conditions of offer and now the judge has said as long as he makes the offer, they don't care how it's done. I'm glad the common sense has prevailed, but who in the TP is going to get the kicking they deserve over this fiasco?!? What a lot of nonsense. DK has just nailed yet another one. He's playing a blinder at the moment. If he can get the right outcome with SDI and MacLennan resigns, I want him as prime minister. DK could sort out a BrExit deal for us.

I've explained why it's straight forward for King. He's got enough of an online profile for much of the due diligence to be completed through digital channels. If you are not as well known, it can take longer. I'd suggest if it's taking 3 weeks, you should have gone to a better bank, or maybe they just didn't want you as a customer. ? {Feel free to message me if you need help in future.} We are not talking about Nigeria here. We are talking about a well known businessman residing in South Africa. It's straight forward. However, that's just a tiny part of it as I said in my post, and an irrelevance to this case. I note that the judge has stated that the TP does not care how he does it now, but that he should make the offer. Good, because those unreasonable conditions just delayed this.