Gaffer

Barisic and Jordan Campbell have turned out to be great signings for their respective employers. I'm really impressed by his analysis and writing. He really puts the other rag writers to shame. As for Barisic, we've got a real international class player and he can be a big part of our success this season.

They had a great youth setup under Tommy Burns and their best youths were produced under his watch. Since he left his role (when he became ill), they've produced no one of any real quality. We have never had a decent youth setup and I don't know if anything has really changed to improve our record. It's still left to the usual provincial clubs to really help develop the kids. I hope we do turn our setup around, but if we can't achieve better results under this current management there's probably a good argument for just wrapping up our youth academy.

It would be great if we could have talent make it from our youth programme into the first team, but that doesn't need to happen to make our youth setup profitable. Many successful teams use their youth setup as a means of making money, rather than bringing youths into the first team. Occasionally we will find one that's good enough and wants to stay, but if we take the best of other clubs' talent, we just have to accept it will happen to us. There's always a bigger fish.

But all the other referees who watched the match will now feel great that no matter how bad a performance they give, at least there are referees in Scotland who are much worse. If I was Clancy I'd be embarrassed but I bet he's not.

I think this is a brilliant partnership. If others can't successfully punish that other lot, we now have a partner who can. We will see your Hollicom and raise you a provider of missiles and tanks. GIRUY.

That's was an excellent report and a very interesting read. There's no doubt that these competitions, with varying formats and rules, will help develop our young players. Thank you @elfideldo.

In my opinion we need to stop using the term "only 21" as if that's young enough to still develop the necessary skills. If players haven't developed the technical skills at that age, it is unlikely they will at all. By 16, players are expected to have strong technical skills (usually on both feet these days), good spacial awareness, and good decision making. These will continue to be developed of course, but there needs to already be a player there. I'd argue that McCrorie doesn't have a lot of that so never will now. Barker is another who I don't think will make it because his first few steps are made without looking up. Docherty is another who doesn't look up quickly enough when he's on the ball. These are traits that they must learn early. In our team especially, the next pass is decided before the player even receives the ball. If they're not capable of playing that way, we might as well offload them. That's brutal but necessary. These guys now have to compare themselves with other 'young' players around the world. Being 21 is not an excuse. Having said that, I don't know how a talent such as Doc or McCrorie makes it through our academy without achieving some basic levels like these. That's disappointing but no doubt something that is being fixed by Wilson, because he knows these points better than any of us.

We've shown that we can be shrewd in buying great players for very little, and now if Ross Wilson can get rid of the few that didn't work, we will be in a great position. Can anyone remember a time when: - we bought as well as we have done in the past 2 seasons; or - played as well in terms of a style of football; or - improved so many players after buying them? I can't! Why has it taken nearly 50 years of me supporting Rangers to experience this? Why have we never been able to see an improvement in players with our coaching before? Why have we never really had a style of football we could be proud of before? Was there something of an endemic at our club that somehow either prevented this, or at least failed to recognise the importance of it? I think it's important to try to understand so that we keep this going even when this current management team eventually leaves. All three of these aspects of our club will be so important moving forward and yet we have had none of them in our successful history. Strange!

I doubt very much that our current management team or board will allow any transfer stories to leak, and especially about what we will accept for Morelos. File all of this under 'No idea so we make crap up'. I noticed a comment by @Stevie - 4lads Blog in his twitter feed. It said something like "The way we manage our transfer business these days is very professional, and now that Mark Allen has gone it'll be even more so now". I'm paraphrasing and may have misintpreted it but thought that was an interesting way to represent Mark Allen.

I'd do a deal with the devil if it wins us this league.

Wouldn't it just be better all round if we stopped giving these idiots at the BBC, Record, Sun, etc the oxygen? Why don't we just start ignoring them? They thrive on attention so why are we giving it to them? It'll be so much better when these organisations die off.

This decision is the correct one and should be the same for every other club outside the old firm. However, I will never give them a single penny again. They all played to the same tune in a conspiracy against us. I'll never forgive them for that. They were so sure they didn't need us so screw the lot of them. I always had a soft spot for them before all of that, but no more. Shove your extra seats, because many of us don't want them.

This is a transfer window worth celebrating. We've never had so many players capable of attracting interest. I would much rather we had great players that leave than crap players that stay. However, I really don't get the impression that this management team or board will weaken the team. Even if someone goes I have complete confidence that we will have identified a replacement. So, relax bears and enjoy the media circus. Things are great for us right now, and by the end of this window I'm sure you'll all agree that we are in even better shape for the rest of the season.

I'm fairly sure that Morelos and Jack are well ahead of the rest but unsure who out of these two will have secured the most votes.

I think you're probably correct in saying that a player has rarely (if ever) been shown the card twice like that, but I believe it really is the case here. I think it's pretty clear that the ref does show it twice to Katic, as he claimed. The ref was a joke though (in a sinister way), and the reason most refs don't show the card twice is because they don't have to. The reason they don't have to is because they are calm and wait for the situation to die down a little before issuing cards. In Clancy's case, he had the cards out so quickly for our players that only VAR would be able to confirm that the offence took place before the cards were out. He was so quick with this card to Katic that Katic didn't see it, mainly because he was still disputing it with the Celtic player. I suggest that anyone who still thinks otherwise should go and look at the incident again. But although you will see that what I'm saying is correct, please also take the time to compare and contrast the speed at which cards are issued to certain players. The card for Morelos in particular was freakish. I swear he's going for his cards before Morelos goes down. That's the issue we should be focussed on, which is why I was delighted with the Club 1872 statement.

Happy new year to you all. I'm sure, like me, you're all sensing that this could be a great year and decade for that matter.

Brilliant from Club 1872. Every now and again they remind me why I'm happy to keep paying my money each month. They've not only hit the nail on the head here, but they've driven it home with a single powerful smash. Great job by whoever wrote this. As we all know, the hysteria is always at its highest when Rangers are threatening. Can any of us truly even imagine the implosion when we win 55!?!?! I'm excited but don't know if we are bringing about Armageddon when we lift that title. Will the SFA, Holyrood, and the BBC declare a state of emergency and cancel the remaining fixtures just before its mathematically our title? Anything is possible in this crazy little nation of ours.

I hope we are looking at a backup (future talent) for the left wingback position. Barisic and Tav have been great, and I don't think it's a coincidence that we've played all our best football since Barisic truly 'arrived'. I'd be really concerned if we lost either now. We don't have a replacement because as I understand it, Pollster has been told to find a new club. If that's the case, only JF can fill in and he doesn't fit with our system. He could do a job on the right but is totally ineffective on the left because he always cuts inside. So, I really hope Ross can pull a rabbit out the hat by finding us someone to play that left wingback role. An injury to Barisic in particular could have a major impact on the title this season. The other two players we need to have cover for are Kent and Morelos. These will be the two toughest I know. Defoe could get us to the end of the season, but there's no one who can take Kent's shirt without seriously impacting the team. That creative flair is expensive but hopefully the gaffer can use his contacts to find us another Kent. At one stage I thought Ojo might be the answer, but at the moment it doesn't look that way.

This mob are consistent in their ability to surprise me with how much of a red neck they have. Maybe if someone explained what 'dignified' and 'professional' meant, they'd consider changing it. Deflection tactics have worked with all other instances so they will continue to use a well trodden path to come out of this unscathed. No doubt the usual MSP suspects will be quick to lump us all together too just to make sure it hurts big bad Rangers as much as it does them. That's their modus operandi.

When you consider all the other things that have gone on at games against us, this seems a little bit strange. For the CO to have done this makes me worried rather than pleased. We all know she wouldn't voluntarily do this without some other motive. Some may call that cynical, but most of you know it's true. Is this her way of reintroducing herself back into the game as a 'neutral' just when Celtic need her? If she cites Christie for that, why not the barge off the ball on Morelos by Julian (or whatever his name is)? Has she chosen Christie because he's injured anyway? Do his injured games count towards his suspension? One thing is for sure, Celtic now realise that they need more than eleven men on the pitch and a dodgy ref to help them, and she's an excellent weapon to use against us.

Bloody hell is that real? Why has more not been made of that? That's assault. The difference is that Alfie just gets on with it.

You've already mentioned many of my highs so I agree with you. I have to say that progressing into the group stages of the Europa league was also a big moment for me. It really felt like we were back. As for the lows, I really don't want to think about it too much. The fact that so many diddy players got to wear our shirt over the past few years is just painful. I'm treating it like that shower scene in Dallas where it turns out Bobby's death and subsequent series were just a nightmare. Apologies to the younger bears (and to those who have a life and didnt watch Dallas) who won't understand this reference.

At the time I thought he had booked two players (one possibly being Brown), but when I watched it again it looks like he shows the yellow card to Katic but then shows it again to Katic to make sure he acknowledged it.

Thanks for posting that @JFK-1. In that game I counted: 14 x 50/50 challenges. 13 of them resulted in a Celtic free kick, with just 1 awarded to us. 6 x clear free kicks to Rangers but not awarded. 7 x bookable offences for Celtic players not given. 1 x clear red card for a last man foul on Morelos not given. 2 x second yellow card offences for Bolingoli, Christie and Frimpong not given. Is that just honest mistakes? No chance.

I think that's a fair and balanced opinion, however it assumes the referees are trying to be fair and balanced. It's clear that when it comes to Rangers they are not. VAR may not be the answer, but until we get honest referees what's the alternative? I just watched back those clips from @ian1964 and it's actually either a clear demonstration of why our referees are so bad (and hence VAR can't be any worse), or that they're so biased. Either way, the club is right to use the 'VAR' statement to point out the absurdity of what we face week in and week out.