Gaffer

Germinal: be careful how you answer this one because Bluedell might just take her to the game himself. But if she's just a 'pal' I'm sure you won't mind.

I think he's Ian Gilmour's son, and if so I thought he was a Motherwell fan. I suppose it doesn't matter because many sensible fans will want to see us (or anyone else) put Celtic to the sword. And if money isn't as important as seeing Rangers win, maybe he'd be interested in a move?!?

I just checked my Twitter just now and saw a few tweets suggesting that Martin is out for Sunday. I've no idea if any of the sources are reliable, but I'm not sure it makes much difference because Alves can fit in anyway. The more worrying ones would have been Murphy and DJ.

Thanks for the update Frankie. It'll take a few pods before everyone settles into it, but I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we can't wait. No matter how many issues you have with it, I'll just be delighted to hear more people talking about Rangers. It's our favourite subject afterall. And if you're ever struggling for subject matter experts on any aspect of our club you've got plenty of smart people on here (myself excluded), and if that's not enough there are a few thousand Celtic fans that you can call on too. They know everything about us. Good luck to all those involved!

I find two other things interesting about this. 1. £100m is stated. Really?!? Given the amount of money down there, I'd expect that to be £100m per club, not in total. 2. Why is there absolutely nothing in the press about these investigations into English clubs now? Has HMRC continued to investigate, or has a deal been done?

This was the report from back in March I think last year. http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10794963/premier-league-and-championship-clubs-and-players-may-face-huge-tax-bills HM Revenue & Customs' demands are expected to reach around £100m Professional football clubs and their players - past and present - may face bankruptcy over the non-payment of taxes, which could total up to £100m. A legal test case, scheduled for the Supreme Court in March, will see Scottish Premiership club Rangers and HM Revenue and Customs lock horns on March 15. Victory for HMRC is expected to prompt a wave of aggressive tax demands to professional football clubs across the UK, while rugby union and rugby league clubs may also be affected. The case centres on the use of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs), which the Revenue suggests have allowed clubs and players to avoid paying tax on wages, dating as far back as 1999. If HMRC win the case they will demand income tax, PAYE and National Insurance payments, plus interest - and demands are expected to reach close to £100m. There is no upper limit on the sums sought by HMRC; clubs could be hit with Accelerated Payment Notices (APNs) immediately and would have 90 days to either contest the demands or pay up. The scale of the crisis is difficult to judge as the use of EBTs is often not made public. Andy Wood, a tax expert and director at Enterprise Tax Consultants has told Sky Sports News HQ that EBTs were widely used, with some players receiving as much as 50 per cent of their wages via the schemes. He said: "EBTs were a staple diet in professional football for more than a decade; in particular between 1999 and 2010. "The vast majority of Premier League clubs, plus more than half of clubs in the Championship, were using EBTs to help pay their players. Most of those loans are still outstanding." Some of football's leading clubs have already paid HMRC officials in order to avoid being hit with large income tax demands, and several clubs are understood to have reached private settlements with HMRC in recent months due to concerns about its investigations into EBTs. Wood has been involved in helping one club reach a six-figure agreement with HMRC in relation to the affairs of one senior official and was aware of "five or six" other such deals being struck. Other Premier League clubs are understood to have recently received hefty tax demands after disclosing their own use of EBTs between 1999 and the present day. If HMRC lose the Supreme Court battle in March, however, it is understood the clubs will escape further investigation, with attentions turning instead to the players themselves. This is likely to cause exaggerated problems for retired players who benefited from EBTs but are no longer able to generate funds needed to pay. Wood added that HMRC's pursuit of what it regarded as the abuse of EBTs could see some of football's biggest names facing bankruptcy as a result of big tax demands. He said: "Although most of the immediate financial burden rests with clubs which have put these schemes in place, players who have taken loans from the trusts may not be spared, as an imminent change in the law would require them to pay tax on monies not repaid by 2019. "Being asked to stump up large sums may come as a shock for players, especially those in retirement who do not have the earning capacity which they once might have had. Some might even be forced into bankruptcy if they can't meet those demands. "I have been in discussions with a number of football, rugby union and rugby league clubs regarding their remuneration schemes. They are now all too aware about how the process entails keeping both star players and the taxman happy." An HMRC spokesperson has told Sky Sports News HQ: "HMRC does not do deals and we don't settle for less tax from EBTs than we could get from going to court. "HMRC is committed to delivering a level playing field for all taxpayers, ensuring those who have used these schemes don't derive any long term advantage over those who play by the rules." Note the part about "HMRC does not do deals". Interesting!!! I expect that to be adhered to then when they go to the majority of the EPL's clubs and beyond.

I agree with you that the defence needs some work in the summer, but the balance of the midfield just wasn't there. I think the midfield is now able to cover much more than it did earlier in the season and that in itself should turn those losses into wins. We could have cruised to the title this season and we all know it. I wonder if 'they' realise that too. There are two positions we need sorted though. Definitely a quality centreback is needed as the number one priority, and someone who can challenge for the number 10 role would help us too. I don't know if Dorrans and Windass slug it out for that spot, but Murty seems to want pace there and GD isn't blessed with much of that.

I agree with pretty much everything he says there. This article doesn't put any pressure on us, but it does to them and he knows it. Nice work Clint!

I really respect the author of this article as he's positioned the questions very well, and suggested some areas for further focus. I also really appreciate the intent of those who take steps to get answers to what went on. Having said that, for me it's now a case of doing two things. The first is to take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again, and hence why I pay into Club 1872. The second is to put our energies into returning our club back to the top of Scottish football. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of energy these detractors had to put in to cause the problems for our club, and I personally don't want to waste any energy trying to unravel it all. The best way to return the favour is for us to win 55. I know we are all angry with what happened but I'm not sure what will be achieved by wasting our time tying to work out leaks, etc. I think the fact remains that an extremely well orchestrated group of people tried to kill us and failed, because we are the people.

Very true. Sorry we got side-tracked there for a bit. In my opinion though, it's just a pity we can't have 50,000 of them there to witness live the turning of the tide, but I'm glad it's a home match for us and the team will have the backing of our fans. I'm absolutely buzzing for this game.

There are so many holes in this story, but once again you wouldn't expect our idiotic journos up here to sacrifice a negative story about Rangers for facts. Once again though it shows that they are all being raised to be obsessed by our team. It's all about Rangers. According to this story he paid to come and see us play. I can understand that because we are absolutely brilliant to watch at the moment. Maybe someone can direct him to YouTube to see the goals. Having said that, I wouldn't watch 'them' even if I was being paid to. I'm not interested in them. Im not interested in their players, their results, their stadium, their history, their finances, their manager or anything else. That's the difference, but it got me thinking. Maybe this poor kid was thinking of defecting. With a mother with those parenting attributes, and with a club with their history, perhaps he felt it was the safer option for him. Unfortunately, this demonstration of stupidity resulted in a failed defection attempt. No luck pal, but don't stop trying. If you can successfully make the leap across to us, your future is already brighter so it's worth the effort. In all seriousness though, his mother has completely embarrassed her son, made herself look like the worst mother, and all for what? Her face in the papers? Pathetic idiot! As for the newspapers that print this stuff, the sooner they die off the better.

I remember that one too. One of the saleable assets our league has is this rivalry and the atmosphere. I fear we would lose that attraction if they are not at Ibrox and making some noise too. But I'll be honest and say that I particularly enjoy it when we score and you turn round to see them sitting there absolutely foaming at the mouth. Right at that moment, I don't care about anything they've chanted or sung ..... it's all worth it.

I wonder if they'll take the chance of this against us. It is true of course that their possession is primarily across the back 5 or 6 (if we include Brown), but I think this plays into our hands and anyone watching us will know that. The problem they have is what to do about it. I wonder if they'll consider going heavy in the midfield and maybe moving the possession play to the middle third instead. Again though, I'd be quite happy with this because the pace we have maybe even more effective when winning the ball in that area of the pitch. So pleasing for once to be discussing their tactical problem, rather than ours. I just hope we cause them problems all over the pitch. I'm desperate to destroy them. It'll be interesting to see how they cope if we take 3 points from them, but especially if it's a dominant win.

Oh dear. The problem is, who would I prefer? We just don't have many decent refs at the moment.

This is now scraping the barrel and I don't know where to start with ripping this apart. There are so many holes in this story and it's so similar to the blind man story. There is surely no one that actually believes this nonsense.

Any idea what the atmosphere is like at those games now? My view earlier was that it would really affect the atmosphere so it would be interesting to see if this is the case or not. I just can't imagine it being as entertaining without a stand full of them to 'banter' with, but if the atmosphere was as good (albeit different), and we were happy to stop travelling to their ground too, it might be a good idea to stop away fans at these games. I just can't see that happening though.

If I remember correctly, he got his own back on their club on the field many times. I just wish we had held on to him for longer because he was class. I can remember their behaviour with bananas but it just seemed to motivate him and the rest of the team further because he went on to do well after that.

Spot on! We need to get right behind the team from 60 minutes before the game until they walk off the pitch at the end. We need to refrain from getting on their backs if they make mistakes because we can make a difference to their mood. Of course, the team needs to give us something to shout about too.

This guy is mentally ill and needs some help. He originally annoyed me, but I now feel sorry for him. Surely he has friends that can force some help on him.

I've got no doubts that we'd score a few goals with both of them in the team, but I'd be concerned defensively with both of them in there at the same time. It would be exciting though. Murty will make the right decision but I just don't think he will want to move away from our tried a trusted setup, which means one 'striker'.

We need DJ back in the team for this one, and if we have Murphy back too I'm sure we will all go into this one quite confidently.

I was very similar to the author of this. Walters was my type of player and I loved watching him. I remember him turning defenders inside out and being able to get a good cross in even when it looked impossible. But what I remember most was that he always seemed to play with a smile. There was one move he did a few times, but I remember it vividly in a game against Hearts. Our goalie kicked it out (can't remember who it was) and Walters took it in one touch facing our own goal, spun around while nut megging the Hearts player, and then ran in on goal. I don't think he scored but it was a terrific piece of skill and it's funny how things like that stick in your mind. Even when you watched him in slow motion, it was hard to tell what his feet were doing. Absolutely cracking player!!!

I just don't think we need to change anyone (notwithstanding injuries) or formation. We are the dominant team in this league right now and should fear no one. Let them worry about who and in what positions, but it would be a strong statement if we turn up with the same people in the same positions. It would effectively be saying "we are good enough to beat you. No surprises, no tactical changes necessary. GIRUY".

I don't know about the previous supporters' organisations other than what I pick up on here. I only decided to be part of Club 1872 because it was the only way I could do something. For me it's better to do something (even if it's not ideal) than do nothing, but that's easy for me to say because I've not had the issues you've experienced in the past.

If people cannot commit financially to it, I fully accept that. I don't know any of the Club 1872 directors and the only politics I know about are the points I learn on here, but I'm assuming they are all Rangers fans so I'd hope that even if I disagree with their methods, I expect us all to have the same objective. This is at least what I did believe, but as Pete says, I don't like us wasting money on a standing section. That's got to be a commercial decision for the club to make, not Club 1872. It annoys me that the objective of Club 1872 is diluted by using the money for anything other than buying shares. Having said that, my ideal option doesn't exist so this is the least worst option and hence why I pay the money.