Gaffer

We need pressure on their fullbacks so I'd go with ... Fods Tav Hill Wilson Wallace Toral Holt O'Hal Hyndman McKay Waghorn

Who? The interview panel? Why? Because he was the most impressive candidate they spoke to? I don't think there's anything else in this. They just feel he's the best man for the job so they've gone with him. As for his cv, it looks as if he's well travelled and picked up a lot of experience along the way. I really cant think of many, if any, managers with "strong" cvs who we would attract, other than the usual candidates like McLeish, etc. You're implying that there is a sinister plot surrounding this appointment. You might be correct, but I just don't understand why you think this.

What do you mean by "fanatical pursuit"? He was one of a number of people the club interviewed and was clearly the favourite. As the favourite, is our club not correct to then do what it can to get the main target? If the interviewing panel select him, I'd be deeply annoyed if we didn't then get him. Wouldn't you? As for him achieving nothing so far, maybe that's the lure to bring him to the most successful team in the world. It's a brave decision by the board rather than a "fishy" one. I'm astonished at the level of criticism. Our history is full of players who achieved nothing before they came to us. We've had successful managers in the past who had achieved nothing before coming to us. This appointment may not work out, but I'm delighted that an under pressure board showed the bravery to bring in a relatively unknown guy with new ideas rather than the same old brigade. Good on them. And shame on many of our supporters who are writing us off before he's even arrived in Glasgow. Welcome Pedro!

Is your glass ever half full?

I can't believe he's doing these interviews for the money. Equally, I can't believe he's doing them just to annoy me and everyone else associated with the club, although that's how it's feeling at the moment. And I'm trying not to believe that he's in some way associated with Ashley. So, does anyone want to speculate as to what his motive is here? It seems to be overly negative and of all weeks it seems to be carefully orchestrated to coincide with the comments from Ashley last week and then Smith over the weekend. Is it in fact a master-stroke to have Celtic in a false sense of security? Is it to help keep the media attention away from Murty and the players? Is he actually just trying to do the right thing, albeit misguided? Any ideas? I'm confused and quite frankly hacked off at the guy, but I'm trying to hold onto any respect I can for someone who was a playing legend.

I must admit that I originally thought these comments were just a stupid mistake by McCoist, but I too am now thinking it's more sinister than that. I'd like to trust the motives of Smith and McCoist but it's terrible that I (and we) don't. I wish we could just have the good memories of WS and AM but for me their reputations are being damaged further because they appear to be playing politics and the fans can see right through it. Like you, I'd like to know who benefits from their comments and what their motives really are. I'm much more disappointed than angry in them both. Whatever their motives, it's clear that it's more important than any relationship or status they had with our club and its fans. If they have real and valid concerns about something I'd like them to say it. If not, I want both of them to shut up and leave the future of our club to its real fans.

I wish he'd just keep quiet. Instead he's making things worse for himself by using these silly excuses. I find it all very sad. He was a legend and a really nice guy, or at least I thought he was. I don't know what's happened but only he knows. If he's truly interested in recovering his reputation in any way, shape or form, he's got to keep a low profile for a while. Or at the very least he's got to stop saying things that he knows will wind us up. This appears to be idiotic, but perhaps it's more calculated. I just can't think what he hoped to achieve with this. Sad. Very sad!

I just checked (and should have done before I posted in the first place) and they're all in DoF roles at other major clubs. Nice idea, but just a few years too late

I agree that the theory is we get the DoF first and then the head coach afterwards, but does it really matter? If I had the choice of a head coach or a DoF right now, I'd prefer the head coach. Maybe I'm alone in that thinking. But then again, in theory there's no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is. If we can't get someone like Mitchell or Zorc, or Kluivert (who are all way out of our league) I wonder if we could get other ex Ajax players interested. Afterall, it was Ajax and Barcelona that championed this idea and many of their players are very familiar with the setup. As an interim step I wonder if we could get Overmars, Limanen, Blind, or even R de Boer? Not sure what they're up to but they'd know how it worked and might get us started. Probably dreaming again, but I've come to the right place for a bit of optimism haven't I?!?!?

In other words, making the most of the mistakes your opponent makes, and minimising the impact of mistakes you make. Easier said than done, but it does mean that the players will be working harder in games and in training.

A Rangers fan? Or just someone who wants to work for the world's most successful football club? Take your pick.

Check this out .... http://shoof.alkass.net/shoof/play.php?id=QVpsRnpXaHA5MHhOOD0q It's what Pedro does on his day off, but wait til you see the footage of him protecting his father from a bull. Not sure if you've seen it, but if you have you'll appreciate the bravery of the man. Amazing! I can just imagine him saying to the players, "I've taken a bull's horn in my back to protect my father so I expect you will take a ball in the face to protect our goal".

I'd rather have the "failure" after trying to land someone like Mitchell or Wilson, rather than the "success" of having someone like McLeish accept the role of DoF. But you're right that it'll be so disappointing if this was their man. Am I dreaming to think that their main target could be Mitchell though? He is the best candidate and I'm clinging on to the hope that we either attracted him with the history of our club, or blackmailed him. Either way, as long as we got him. Just to get Mitchell for a year would help set us up the way we need to be for scouting of players and staff. He's well known and respected for his ability to set this infrastructure up. The main appointment though is the head coach so I'm hoping that deal is announced soon.

I'd think Wilson has leaked this because he's found out that he isn't being offered the role. It's a good way for him to save face with Southampton. I'm hoping they've offered it to Mitchell, who seems to be the best candidate. The only things you'd have to doubt is if he's willing to take a cut in salary and prestige (sorry to say that) in coming to the SPL.

Of course it makes sense! We have midfielders and forwards that lose concentration time and time again, but it's not so consequential because it normally doesn't result in a goal being conceded. Are you saying McKay, Hyndman, Waghorn, and Holt are not very good players? Defenders and keepers will always be scrutinised more than any other players because their mistakes are more costly. You seem to remember that mistake by RK more than you remember the dire performances by most of our other players that day. I think that proves the point.

By shrewd I assume you mean ....... Untrustworthy? Exploitative? Underhanded? Bullying? Sly? Manipulative? There is nothing about that man that I have any admiration for. He represents everything that is wrong in football and business and must never be allowed to darken our doorway again. I suspect this is more mischief making by the press on the buildup to an important weekend. I don't know if we're in the best hands, but we're certainly in good hands at the moment. I just hope they manage to find justice in the courts to remove him from all aspects of our club, if not find a way to put him behind bars for his damaging (putting it very mildly) commercial dealings which continue to blight our attempts to compete financially again. Even the mention of this clown raises the hairs on the back of my neck.

I hope it's possible for a coach to train the concentration into him. RK is a very good player and could be a great defender for us, but as you say he has 5 or 6 lapses in a game which will inevitably expose us. His control and distribution is also really good, despite what I've read on here. He will be missed when he serves his game ban, but in my opinion he did deserve the red card. It was a perfect example of one of these "moments".

I think we've played well. Toral is helping kept it tight but the diagonal balls aren't being cut out by RK. But that's the only danger so far. Some of the forward movement is better than we've seen since last season. We will score more goals here.

That's probably true re Senderos and Toral. You have to wonder what happened to Senderos when he left Arsenal!!!! He's a shell of the player that wore the Arsenal shirt, and that's not just down to his age.

That's true if you bring in a manager who doesn't fit with the style the club wants. I think that's the purpose of the DoF though. It's like Barcelona, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Dortmund, Ajax, etc. They have a style and any manager coming in will be right for that style. He can then apply his own brand, but the skills and attributes you need from players (and therefore train for throughout the youth setup) are largely the same. It's a false economy to do anything else and it's why most youth systems in most clubs fail. If you're training the kids in skills that they don't need or can't apply in the first team, there's no point in having them. Equally, if you're bringing in a manager who can't use the skills and attributes that these younger players are learning, there's no point in hiring him. The theory in what the board is attempting to do is right, but the execution of it is challenging. It requires skill to identify the right staff, persistence when things aren't going so well, but it also requires patience from the shareholders and fans. We are generally not a patient support but what choice do we have?

I wrote on a previous thread that we should try Kiernan in the holding midfielder role, but I agree we need to find someone with a defensive mindset and who reads the game well. Senderos could do that you'd like to think. As long as McKay and Hyndman get to play through the middle together we will be fine. And as much as I like Miller, he needs to take his place on the bench and allow Waghorn/Dodoo the chance to fill that central striker position. I'm sure we will see that change this weekend.

Every board member of any organisation has restrictions (delegated authorities) on what they can and can't decide on their own - even the MD. They are just one part of a board of directors afterall. That's just one of the many important controls a business has in place to ensure that due diligence and consideration is applied to all big decisions. Surely that makes sense. And surely after some of the previous decisions (by you know who) to our club we would want that security?!? As for him being weak, can't you at least wait to see who is appointed as manager and DoF? I'm not saying our directors are the best execs around. I've already said that the best execs will tend to go to big jobs in large companies. But being a director of a football club has all the downside of large multinationals (media exposure, intense scrutiny, etc) but without the finances and staff resources to address issues effectively. I can appreciate the job they are trying to do, and as long as I believe their motives are the same as mine (to get back to where we belong at the top of the game) I'll accept they're doing the best they can for the club.

Very true about JB. I think we all thought he'd be a disaster but I really hoped it would turn out differently. Maybe MW thought he could tame him. It's a real shame about NK and JR though. Rossiter in particular is someone I think we all have high hopes for still.

I get that, and you're stating the obvious - now. But at the time these did look like good signings. Of course the manager should be measured on results but it could have turned out differently, and the manager gambled on that. That's all I'm saying. There are such thin margins between winning and losing. Here's hoping the new manager can come in and demonstrate that by turning this squad into winners. Of course Ranieri knows all about that.

I'll admit though that I was quite pleased at the time with the signings we made. I really wanted a strong centre back too, but the others (including JB) seemed like the right signings. I think it's easy for us to use this benefit of hindsight to criticise FMcP and MW but with better man management and guidance (and a bit of luck with injuries) I think we could have had a decent season. If Rossiter, Kranjcar and JB had worked out we'd be in a decent position right now. They didn't for different reasons and that's football. I just think it's crazy to blame the manager (or board) when at the time many of us were delighted with these signings, and I think they were the best we could hope to acquire with our budget. But I accept I may have been alone in feeling that way.