ian1964

Sounds about right

Ah,the memories

Anybody know how many tickets have been sold for this game?

No idea what our team will be, the game at the Peadodome on Sunday may influence WS team selection, we know Jelavic is cup tied so he will be rested for Sunday,however we are not in a position to make too many changes on Thursday. Rangers 2 Naismith,Healy Sporting 1

Former Fifa referee Iain Brines will take charge of his first-ever Old Firm showdown at Parkhead on Sunday. His assistants for this Clydesdale Bank SPL showdown between Celtic and Rangers will be James Bee and Graham Chambers, with Mike Tumilty the fourth official.

Rangers director Dave King has been hit with a �£250million bill after he lost a 10-year battle with the taxman. A company run by the Scot have dropped their appeal against a South African court which branded King, a "shameless liar" and ruled the firm were liable for the huge unpaid sum. Now proceedings are under way to collect the vast debt - and the 55-year-old tycoon is still at risk of being jailed for fraud. Lifelong Gers fan King, from Castlemilk, Glasgow, arrived in South Africa in 1976 with only �£10 in his pocket. He turned the pittance into a �£200million fortune as a high-powered financial consultant. King bought three houses in Johannesburg's plushest suburb - then bulldozed them to build a mansion. He also had a seaside holiday home, a �£165,000 Ferrari, �£64,000 Mercedes-Benz and two private jets worth �£14 million. King also bought up vineyards and, along with golf legend pal Gary Player, ploughed �£1 million into a stud farm. But the South African Revenue Service were puzzled when the tycoon claimed to be earning only �£5000 a year. In 2002, following a two-year probe, they hit him with a bill for �£200million in back taxes - insisting he was in fact the richest man in the country. The total has now grown with interest and penalties added on. King's defence was that nearly everything he had was owned by an offshore company called Ben Nevis, who are registered in the Channel Islands. He even told SARS officials his watch and golf clubs were the property of the investment house and maintained the firm were run by a group of trustees. But investigators uncovered a tortuous paper trail which led to the Caribbean, the island of Guernsey and then Scotland. In 2006, South African prosecutors won court orders freezing assets including three million shares in Murray Sports - who owned a third of Rangers - and a house where King's mother lives. An appeal against the bulk of the tax debt was dismissed last October. In a devastating judgment, the court said King "has no respect for the truth and does not hesitate to lie ... if he thinks it will be to his advantage. "He is a mendacious witness whose evidence should not be accepted on any issue unless it is supported by objective evidence. "In our assessment he is a glib and shameless liar." On Friday, a hearing in Pretoria was told a further legal challenge by Ben Nevis had now been dropped. A SARS spokesman said: "This development means that certain facts are now uncontested and it entitles us to move on to the next stage, which is to claim the amount which is outstanding." King also faces more than 300 criminal charges including fraud, money-laundering and racketeering - all of which he strenuously denies. He is awaiting a judgment in May as to whether they should be dropped because of the time it has taken to pursue the case. King is also fighting a personal tax claim of around �£80 million. He was unavailable for comment last night. King joined the Ibrox board in 2004 and owns around five per cent of the club. Rangers have debt s of �£27 million but that figure could more than double if they lose their own battle with the taxman. over payments to players. A bid by tycoon Craig Whyte to buy out Sir David Murray's majority shareholding had faltered but is said to be back on track. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2011/02/15/rangers-director-dave-king-hit-by-250m-tax-bill-after-losing-tax-battle-86908-22924641/

IN some of El Hadji Diouf's darkest hours, Sam Allardyce was the boss who stuck by him. Now the former Blackburn gaffer believes the Senegalese star is the man to light up Rangers' Europa League campaign. Ibrox boss Walter Smith is likely to roll out his tried and tested cagey formation for Thursday's first leg clash with Sporting Lisbon. With Kenny Miller long gone, Smith needs someone prepared to run himself into the ground, hold the ball up and bring others into play. Allardyce believes Diouf would feed on the pressure of leading the line for Gers. He insists there's no chance that facing a Sporting Lisbon side in the midst of a crisis in front of a full house in Govan will faze the 30-year-old Diouf. He said: "There's no doubt El Hadji Diouf will thrive at Rangers. "His ability, when he gets settled, will allow him to play at any level. "Of course he has been playing in the Premier League, albeit in a wide position in a three rather than up front. "Once he comes to terms and gets to know the players he's playing with and their strengths and weaknesses he'll get better and better. "He actually started his career as a lone striker over in France. "It was the position he was used in when he was with Senegal at the World Cup in 2002 when they reached the quarter-finals. "That was the reason Liverpool paid so much for him. His capabilities of playing up there are very good. He obviously likes to drop off in the hole and make the play, keep the flow of attacking moves going. "He's capable of taking the physical contact that comes with playing in that position. "He enjoys the intensity of the larger crowd and Rangers are supported fantastically well. The bigger the atmosphere, then the better he plays. He just loves playing football." Allardyce signed Diouf for both Bolton and Blackburn. He knew how to get the best out of the wayward star and wasn't put off by the gobbing and goading that has dogged his career. Had Allardyce not been sacked by Rovers in December, chances are Diouf might never have signed for Gers. Instead new Ewood Park boss Steve Kean shipped him out and now Allardyce believes he has all the credentials to fill Miller's shoes - even down to the possibility he might struggle to score on the continent. Advertisement Miller went over 1,100 minutes without scoring a Champions League goal for Gers before finally hitting the net, ironically against Turkish side Bursaspor who he joined last month. Allardyce believes the only area missing in Diouf's game is his goal return. He said: "The one thing he has probably lacked in the last few years is scoring enough goals. "That's probably been a slight problem. He can make them, he can get in positions to help other people. "He hasn't scored as many as he'd have liked or he should do. "In terms of hold-up play, bringing other players into the game and creating chances he'll be very good. Whether he can do what Kenny Miller did depends on how much service he gets. "He can score goals but he's not a natural finisher. "Iin terms of everything else, he has what it takes to keep Rangers' attacking moves going. "He will bring other people into the game and he will get chances himself if the right service is given to him." Allardyce wasn't shocked in the slightest when news broke of Diouf's deadline day switch to Glasgow. He's yet to speak to his former player but watched on TV as Diouf kept his cool in the 2-2 Old Firm Scottish Cup clash. Diouf didn't react to the taunts from Celtic skipper Scott Brown that day - and Allardyce insists whatever abuse the ex-Liverpool man gets, it will be NOTHING compared to what's been thrown his way in England. Allardyce said: "So far I've only watched the Rangers-Celtic Cup game. That's the only time I've seen him. "I didn't see Saturday's game with Motherwell but I saw the Old Firm game live on the television. "He's had more taunts down here than he'll ever get up there. "He got booed every game away from home here each time he touched the ball so I'm sure he'll learn to live with that one! "I wasn't really surprised when he went to Scotland. "The size of that club and the history of that club makes Rangers so attractive. "I've not spoken to him since he joined Rangers but at some stage before the end of the season I'll probably pop up and watch him live when I get the chance." As Smith becomes the latest boss to try to get the best out of Diouf, Allardyce revealed the secrets to how he handled him. He added: "I would talk to him about how he should play and promote his game, how he should go about applying himself to always make sure he has the capabilities to prove to people the outstanding ability he's got. "Whatever happens on the fringes of football, he should ignore it. "I wanted him to always focus on himself and the team he's playing for. "Irrespective of what anyone else does or says outside of that, I wanted him to always focus and not get distracted from it. It seemed to work." Smith will hope it does too. Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3411462/Heaven-and-El.html#ixzz1E1JvY9op

http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/

Broon will to busy trying to get away from Big Bartley to try and wind Diouf up..........................HAW BROON,BIG BARTLEY IS GONNA MELT YOU ON SUNDAY:boogie:

I've never thought Arry rated Hutton,when Hutton came into the team he went on a great run of form and made it difficult for Arry to drop him,I could be wrong of course. One thing is for sure Hutton could easily play for Juve

I think that's a certain fact mate,we have a player all right

First half http://hotfile.com/dl/104059987/84c3432/Rangers_v_Motherwell_FirstHalf_February_12th_2011.wmv.html Second half http://hotfile.com/dl/104072350/7c09093/Rangers_v_Motherwell_SecondHalf_February_12th_2011.wmv.html

You could just about give the MOTM every week to SDOW

He's more of a goal scorer than Prso,but has the same work ethic:boogie:

http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/2011/02/celtics-luck-holds.html

I think enforcer he certainly is,the big guy loves a tackle and he is very intimidating,HUGE,looking guy

Ach away and boil yer heid,ye canny beat a bit of anger release now and again,it's good for you:smile::boogie:

Jelavic deserves this no doubt with that,but a special mention for Diouf who I thought was excellent before going off. Bartley was also a stand out and looked comfortable in midfield,and Healy took his goal well and looked lively. The whole team played well but I was happy with our new signings. Let's hope this is the start of a wee run that we are needing at this stage of the season. Good team performance all round.

Healy must be living the dream,a Rangers fan scoring on his debut at Ibrox.For a striker to score on his debut is fantastic,hopefully he goes on and scores a shit load of goals between now and the end of the season.

Spot on mate,there is no doubt he should've walked,I wonder if the BHEASTS will seek clarification for another dodgy decision up at Tannadice,or ask for the ref to resign??

IF ever a game summed up this season for Sporting Lisbon ââ?¬â?? Rangersââ?¬â?¢ Europa League opponents on Thursday ââ?¬â?? this amazing night in the Algarve was it. And the news can only be good for the Ibrox men. It would be hard for them to find an opponent in more turmoil on and off the pitch and, from the evidence of their match against Olhanense, Sporting ââ?¬â?? who are already out of the Portuguese title race, having fallen over 20 points behind Porto ââ?¬â?? will soon be out of Europe, too. They endured an evening of misery in Olhao, a small fishing town in the south of the country, against a team who only returned to the top flight last season after a 34-year absence and whose home games attract an average attendance of 2000. A crowd of around double that was there on Saturday to see Sporting throw away a two-goal lead. Their troubles started even before kick-off when Leandro Grimi, their Argentinian defender, was injured in the warm-up and had to be replaced by Evaldo, a Brazilian centre-back. They were hampered further when Jaime Valdes, the midfielder, limped off in the first half, with both men rated very doubtful for the visit to Ibrox. Nevertheless, Sporting seemed to be on their way to victory after Helder Postiga ââ?¬â?? the former Tottenham striker who is clearly the sideââ?¬â?¢s main threat and looks a class above his team-mates ââ?¬â?? scored in each half. They never looked comfortable, but to lose two goals in a catastrophic three-minute spell was taking farce to new levels, especially when one of them was the result of Daniel Carrico, the Sporting captain, putting the ball in his own net. It was all too much for Paulo Sergio, the under-pressure manager, and he raced on to the park to remonstrate with Olegario Benquerenca, the referee, who had little option but to send the enraged coach to the tiny stand. Sporting sacked Costinha, the former Portuguese internationalist, as director of football in midweek after he criticised the club in an interview. They also sold Liedson, their star striker, last week and havenââ?¬â?¢t replaced him. However, Pedro Mendes, the clubââ?¬â?¢s former Rangers mid-fielder, was looking forward to his return to Glasgow. ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢m very confident ahead of Thursday,ââ?¬Â he said. ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢m looking forward to it because it is a different competition instead of the Portuguese league. Itââ?¬â?¢s exactly what the team needs at the moment, to play in a different competition, so we are all very keen to go to Glasgow and play. ââ?¬Å?I thought we played really well [against Olhanense]. We were in complete control, then we seemed to lose concentration and lost a couple of goals in two minutes or something. To be fair, one of them was offside and the other was an own goal. But I repeat: we are very confident about Thursday. What happened there hasnââ?¬â?¢t changed that. ââ?¬Å?I saw the Rangers score on Saturday, but there is always a score like that in a season in the Scottish league. Every season there is always a game that finishes 5-0, 6-0 or 7-0 to Rangers so I am not worried about that. ââ?¬Å?On a personal level, I am looking forward to going back to Glasgow and of course to Ibrox. Itââ?¬â?¢s a very special place for me and it will be an absolute pleasure to play in front of that crowd again.ââ?¬Â Sergio ââ?¬â?? there have been suggestions he may not even be in charge by Thursday ââ?¬â?? said: ââ?¬Å?We showed moments of great immaturity with the mistakes we made. This is the second week in a row we have given stupid goals away. It was our own mistakes, but the referee had a huge influence on the outcome. We have to pick ourselves up, forget what has happened here and concentrate on our next match in Glasgow. Itââ?¬â?¢s a good chance to recover.ââ?¬Â http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/mendes-relishes-return-despite-team-s-troubles-1.1084954

Ben Nevis, an offshore entity owned by an offshore trust of Dave King, has withdrawn its intention to appeal against a Tax Court judgment and will have to cough up R2.3-billion in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties. Current Font Size: * * Share54 King, one of SA's most controversial and richest businessmen, and the SA Revenue Service (SARS) have had a marathon legal battle over unpaid taxes. The amount owed includes 200% penalties and springs from tax assessments for 1998, 1999 and 2000, according to papers in the North Gauteng High Court. According to the judgment, most of the profits were from the sale of King's shares in Specialised Outsourcing, a company founded by King. It saw phenomenal increases in its share price. But the price tanked when it came to light King had sold his shares. Directors were not obliged to disclose transactions then. If SARS manages to raise the money from King's entities, it would be significantly more than the R636-million the parties proposed to settle on in 2009. SARS would not comment on how or whether it would proceed to recover the amount owed by Ben Nevis. It is unclear if sufficient assets remain to cover the tax bill. King, who rejoined JSE-listed MicroMega, a company he founded and in which he holds a significant stake, as chairman in January, told Business Times at the time that he is "not involved at all" with Ben Nevis, which is managed by trustees. The Tax Court judgment, however, found otherwise. "Although he was not an officer of the appellant and he held no other formal position which would normally entitle him to act on its behalf, he clearly controlled the appellant as if he was its managing director and was acting with all the powers of the board," read the judgment which also states that King is "a glib and shameless liar". The judgment was filed as part of an application brought by SARS to attach cash of held by Metlika, another offshore King-related entity. http://www.timeslive.co.za/business/article909618.ece/King-firm-withdraws-appeal-faces-R2.3bn-tax

6-2 Rhys McCabe, full time

5-2 Kyle McAusland.

4-2, Andy Mitchell again