pete

Shit I am travelling to Scotland on the 23rd. I didn't realise we were playing on that day when I booked.

It didn't look like McGregor had a good day at the office.

It looks like club 1872 are tying that option up with people needing to get 15 nominations to get on the board. we used to call that a closed shop in the unions.

Celtic v Hibernian - Don Robertson Heart of Midlothian v Aberdeen - Kevin Clancy Livingston v Dundee - Nick Walsh Motherwell v St Johnstone - Bobby Madden St Mirren v Kilmarnock - Willie Collum Ladbrokes Premiership - Sunday Hamilton Academical v Rangers - Andrew Dallas (Sky Sports, 1.30pm)

Unfortunately they are giving up the voice of all that block with trying to get one meaningless seat on the board. Dave King must be killing himself laughing if it is not him that is orchestrating it. Yes they are doing good things in sticking up for Rangers but that is what a supporters group should be doing and not pandering to other board members

After the furore that the Livingston artificial surface threw up (litrerally with all the black balls) I decided to try and bring these artificial surfaces into an article for the Gersnet readers to understand them a little bit better In Scotland in the premier division there are three teams that make use of the artificial surfaces. Kilmarnock Livingston and our opponents on Saturday Hamilton.In the last few weeks I heard the question why Rangers had less problem against Kilmarnock as against Livingston. The answer is it is a totally different surface and technology has improved in the making of Artificial turfs. Are they as good as real grass I will try and answer later. Due to this problem being a hot topic in Holland, where I lived for thirty three years, I have always been interested in the development of the artificial playing fields. Artificial grass was first brought out in the sixties in America for honk ball teams who have virtually no problem with the bounce or run of the ball. Then the second generation turf was brought in which was artificial grass filled up with sand to hold the grass fibres up. All of a sudden all Hockey fields moved to Artificial surfaces as real grass was quickly worn away by the speed of the sport. At this point QPR applied for and were granted permission from the FA to lay an artificial pitch but after a series of burned body parts due to the plastic that permission was later reversed at the end of the season and artificial surfaces were banned from football in England. The makers had to find a solution to make it fit for football. This is where the third generation pitches came in. The Fibres were made of polythene which is much softer and doesn't burn the legs in slide tackles. Instead of sand rubber crumbs were added in their trillions to hold up the grass fibres and also to dampen the shock on the legs to reduce injuries and get a better bounce of the ball. These rubber crumbs are made up of recycled car tyres and have been a topic of health safety ever since they were produced. In fact they come with a health warning of not to inhale the fumes or get them on your skin. There have been tests done in America and they came to the conclusion that there was a significant risk in getting cancer from the rubber crumbs. The strange thing, or maybe not so strange, is that a large number of the sufferers claiming to have got cancer from the pitches are goalkeepers.maybe not surprising when you think of a keeper regularly diving into the corrals head first inhaling fumes and probably also swallowing some of the flying corrals. As I worked with Dunlop in Inchinnan in the late seventies making tyres I don't need to go on to any website to know what a lot of unhealthy crap goes in and comes out of tyres. I just have to think back to what we called, the black mill, and see the black dust thick on the walls. Normal Scottish milk bottle coloured workers looking like they had just arrived out of the slave ships from Africa. I was offered promotion into there which would have probably doubled my wages but said thanks but no thanks. Another thing with tyres is they are built up firstly of layers of thin rubber and metal sheets for strength and then at the end a thick rubber outer which gives you the tread. In the Dutch research which included taking a urine sample from players after a game they found that the players had a high level of Zink in their blood but still managed to come to the conclusion that the pitches form no health issues. I am not learned enough to pass judgement on any medical issues but if you look at Livingston who have won three games at home and only one away then it does seem to me that they do carry an advantage of training and playing on that pitch. Kilmarnock use a Field Turf pitch which is the only pitch supported by FIFA. These pitches are also qualified for the Champions league. We all know though with Fifa that they have in the past given their support to a back hander rather than a better product. Field Turf certainly seem to have most of the big teams with their advert being: ** Training surface of prestigious European football clubs including Manchester City, Arsenal, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, Juventus Turin, Inter Milan, Ajax Amsterdam and Paris Saint-Germain: That is quite a list. Funnily enough the last I can find on Rangers training pitches is: “The 60 x 40 metre indoor synthetic pitch allows players to train whatever the weather and is laid on a bed of sand and tiny rubber crumbs designed to cushion the surface and prevent injuries. This revolutionary new surface closely mimics real grass and is used by other top clubs such as Ajax.” As we have just read that Ajax now have Field turf training pitches, hopefully Rangers have also moved on and upgraded . After our performance against Livingston it would be horrible to think we could train under the same circumstances as Livy and get gubbed by a country mile. Most top teams today do not have a total grass park. They have Hybred pitches and that is including Rangers. A hybred park is where an artificial mat is laid 20 centimetres below the surface. Then earth is added to cover and real grass is sown. The real grass grows into the artificial grass making it stronger and vastly improving the drainage. Hamilton on Saturday also have an artificial surface and it is made by a firm callled Tiger Turf. Thankfully it is from the new technoligy woven artificial grasses and not a rubber crumb effort. I can understand small clubs wanting to hang on to plastic pitches as it saves a lot of money as you can train on it everyday whch takes away the need for a training facility. There is also no longer need for under soil heating as the artificial surface does not freeze.. I honestly believe that one day every team will have an artificial pitch but to answer my question if they are as good as grass pitches at this moment then I revert back to Holland. Would Ajax (Who have four state of the art, Field turf training pitches okayed for the Champions league) PSV and Feynoord be willing to give up European money to make the Ere divisie all real grass pitches. Nothing beats real (Hybred)grass at this minute and that is the pitch every SPF team should have. Nowadays in Hockey they play on a blue artificial pitch as they can see the ball better. Now that is an improvement I could get warm on that.

Yes you are right. Apologies it was Gribz that said it I quoted the wrong post.

I used to wear my Rangers top everywhere when I was younger. I wouldn't do it now but i do have a RFC gold emblem around my neck that I have only had off a few weeks when the chain broke in the last 30+ years. maybe that makes me as bad but I wear it with pride.

Candeias looks nothing like a striker and it would be a crime to take his workrate away from the midfeild.

I just don't get that mate to be honest. it creates completely the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. Why do you think larger political parties would rather go in opposition than join a coalition where they have nothing to say. So the 1872 rep is out-voted in a decision. Club 1872 disagree with it and then get the answer , yes but your rep was present when it was decided. It takes totally any voice the supporters have away. I am not a member and don't aspire to become a member. I don't really see the point in paying per month to buy shares that gives me no totally no voice. It would be a follow the sheep voice. If I buy my own shares at least I can turn up at a shareholders meeting to put my point across. Just my opinion.

I have to fully agree with you on that looking from the outside in.

Not much trouble with us as he will deservedly play in most games.

So Dave King is dictating how 1872 has to be run and holding them to ransom for a board place. Club 1872 should not want a place on the board it is a supporters club. It should be working for it's members and not bending over to Dave King.

Thursday, 11 October 2018, 12:00 by Neil Smith AddThis Sharing Buttons Share to Facebook56Share to TwitterShare to WhatsAppShare to EmailShare to More2 RANGERS can today announce a three-year Soccer Schools agreement with Montreal Rangers in Canada. The partnership will see Rangers Soccer Schools coaches travel to host sessions in Montreal, while Academy players from there will travel to Glasgow for training sessions. Gary Gaul from Montreal Rangers FC said: “It’s a great feat to have come to this agreement with Rangers Soccer Schools. Academy players will have the opportunity to travel to Scotland for Rangers Academy training and exhibition games. https://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/soccer-schools-montreal-partnership/

I remember a good few choruses of We won the war.

From Mark Dingwall Follow Follow. Mike Mulraney Of Alloa and Neil Cameron of the Herlad led the campaign against Gazza lobbying in the background - both with committee members and stirring up the media to do anti Gazza stories. THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE NOMINATION WAS NOT PROPERLY CONSTITUTED NO meeting. NO discussion. NO vote. Members were simply informed of the decision by an SFA apparatcnik. Scandalously - Cameron wrote an article on WOELD MENTAL HEALTH DAY attacking Gazza - a man who clearly has mental health issues. Such has been the volume and sinister sectarian nature of threats directed towards him threat Gazza has had to close down his socks media today.

Nothing to do with his past but I don't really think he did enough for Scottish football to deserve getting into a hall of fame. Rangers hall of fame maybe but not the Scottish. My idea of a hall of fame obviously far higher than the SFA's. I never even made the Gersnet hall of fame.

Are they heated?

RANGERS are pleased that commonsense has prevailed and that our supporters will be able to purchase the lion’s share of tickets available for the Betfred Cup semi-final at Hampden Park on Sunday, October 28. We have received an allocation of just under 26,000 tickets with the possibility of more, subject to how other sales go. https://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/semi-final-ticket-update/

Well the careful lasted long.

Yes as somebody says it looks like a pals group is forming. A closed shop as they used to call it.

I wish I could but I will leave that to an expert. Everything looks easy when someone else is doing it.

Katic is a far better defender in my eyes. I think it is big Jaws that says"Worrel is 6'4ín but jumps to 5'10in" I totally agree for such a big guy he is crap in the air.

Bobby is another who has not been on for a while, I hope he is ok.

Yes was an excellent pod this week. I haven't listened to the cut version yet but thoroughly enjoyed the recording. I don't think Graeme had much to do as it went pretty smoothly apart from some dishes in the background. Ross getting unscathed to the last few words of the intro and then getting mixed up between Frankie and Frankly gave us a good laugh.