ian1964

If we get him for the price being banded about I'd be happy,he does have talent and I'm sure coming to Rangers will give him a new lease of life

Exclusive by Matthew Lindsay Share 25 Jan 2011 Ted McMinn today told Rangers boss Walter Smith he won’t need to sign a new striker if he succeeds in landing his close friend Kris Commons from Derby County. For he reckons Scotland star Commons is capable of scoring 15 goals for the Gers from midfield in the second half of the season – and helping them retain the Scottish title. Rangers cult hero McMinn was delighted to hear that his old club was preparing to make Derby a Ã?£450,000 offer for the unsettled 27-year-old. The Glasgow club had been tracking the player, who is out of contract in the summer, for some time and had intended to snap him on a Bosman free transfer in the summer. But the departure of top scorer Kenny Miller to Bursaspor for Ã?£400,000 last week means they need to strengthen immediately and also have the funds to do so. McMinn, who was affectionately known as the Tin Man at Ibrox due to his unusual running style, feels Rangers fans will quickly forget about Miller if they get Commons. He said: “Kris isn’t really a striker as such, but he pitches in with a lot of goals. “He hasn’t been used regularly in recent weeks, and has been substituted in games and his tally for the season still stands at 14. “The Rangers fans would love him. He is very similar to Steven Naismith, who has had a superb season, in many respects. “He is a tireless worker, he is fast, he reads the game brilliantly and has an eye for goal. “He has a wonderful left foot. He is not quite in the same bracket as Davie Cooper, who I was lucky enough to play with at Rangers, but nobody is. Having said that, he is not far off it. He is a magician with his left foot. “I think he would be a great signing for Rangers. I think he would love it up there as well. He has the chance to win three trophies – the SPL, the League Cup and the Scottish Cup – and to play in Europe. “What can he hope to do at Derby? Possibly win the league one year? Maybe win promotion one season? Lift the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy perhaps? “If he moved to Scotland he could play in the Champions League. “He has played in derby matches for Nottingham Forest against Derby County and for Derby County against Nottingham Forest. He has also moved from one club to the other and has taken a lot of abuse for it. “He won’t have experienced anything quite like the Old Firm match or a rivalry as intense as the one between Celtic and Rangers but I am sure he would cope with it with the experience he has gained in his career.” McMinn believes former Stoke City and Nottingham Forest player Commons, who has also been attracting the interest of Celtic in recent weeks, must get away from Derby to revitalise his career. The seven-times capped player, handed a call-up for his adopted homeland by former national boss George Burley two years ago, has suffered an alarming form slump in recent weeks. He has been publicly criticised on several occasions by his manager Nigel Clough after refusing to agree an extension to his current deal and has even been involved in on-field bust-ups with team-mates. McMinn said: “Kris has come in for a lot of stick from the manager. I have found that quite strange. To my mind, you wrap your prize asset in cotton wool. Nigel has publicly criticised him on several occasions. “If I was Kris and I switched on the radio to hear my manager having a go at me I would be saying: ‘That’s my boss slagging me off there! Do I really want to be here?’ “He hasn’t played well, but, in the circumstances, I’m not surprised. “The reason he hasn’t signed a new contract is, purely and simply, about money. Kris is the top goalscorer at the club this season and he believes he is not being offered what he is worth. “His spell of poor form this season started when the speculation about his future started and when his manager started to criticise. That sort of uncertainty can be unsettling. “He has a manager in one ear saying to him: ‘Sign on the dottted line’. Then he has an agent in his other ear saying: ‘I can get you this elsewhere’. It can be very confusing.” McMinn added: “He has got involved in a few altercations with his own team-mates as well. “He is their designated free-kick taker, but in one game this season Alberto Bueno, who is on loan from a club in Spain, tried to take one and they got involved in a disagreement. Afterwards, the manager came out and backed Bueno. “Personally, with all that going on, I think it is time for a fresh start for Kris. He is still young, just 27, and has a good few years ahead of him at a high level. He would love it at Rangers as well. “He has had injury problems in the past which curtailed his involvement in the first team, but he has fully recovered from them this season and was playing brilliantly. “If he went to Rangers he would pitch in with 15 goals easy.” Evening Times

Rangers are expected to lodge a bid in the region of Ã?£500,000 today for Kris Commons, having made contact with Derby County last night to establish what fee would be required to sign the Scotland internationalist Commons is believed to be keen to leave Pride Park this month, but Herald Sport understands that Celtic are also trying to persuade the attacking midfielder to sign a pre-contract agreement with the Parkhead side and wait until the summer. Derby would prefer to sell the player now and reinvest the fee, and are prepared to accept a bid of around Ã?£500,000. Although no formal offer was made last night, it is believed that Rangers are weighing up how best to spend the money made available by Kenny Miller’s move to Bursaspor, and the likelihood is that it will be spent on Commons. Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, has spoken of his desire to sign a wide attacking player – Commons fits this description – and a defender. While a move for the Derby player would use up his available funds, more money will become available if Charlie Adam seals a move away from Blackpool this month. Rangers are due 10% of any fee above Ã?£500,000 for the midfielder, who handed in a written transfer request yesterday. Blackpool rejected Adam’s request, but Liverpool are expected to return with a higher bid than the Ã?£4m that was turned down last Friday. It is thought that Blackpool will accept around Ã?£6m for the player, which would earn Rangers a Ã?£600,000 windfall. “We’ve lost one player and part of the situation now is balancing how much it’s going to cost to get us one or maybe two players,” said Smith. “We’ll just wait and see who we can get. I don’t know if or when we will be able to get somebody in or not. The January window is never an easy one in which to bring in any player.” Rangers have also been linked with loan deals for Kris Boyd and Nacho Novo, with the latter thought to be a fall-back option if other targets cannot be brought in. Celtic are also expected to finalise at least one signing this week, after a scan confirmed that Daniel Majstorovic will miss three weeks with a hamstring injury. With Glenn Loovens having only just returned to training, Thomas Rogne is the only fit centre-back available to manager Neil Lennon, but as of last night Nottingham Forest had not received a bid for Kelvin Wilson, who has already signed a pre-contract agreement with the club. The Championship side are not keen to sell the player, though, since it will leave Billy Davies short of defensive options. “I’ve got no doubt what the situation is – he’s a very important player for us and we’re not here to do anyone any favours except ourselves,” the Forest manager said. Celtic are also thought to be interested in Noel Hunt, the former Dundee United striker who now plays for Reading. Hunt is out of contract in the summer and is attracting the attention of Wolves, where his brother, Stephen, plays. But Lennon is believed to be interested in the player, who could be prised away from Reading for Ã?£350,000 in this window. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/commons-top-of-ibrox-agenda-as-rangers-weigh-up-signing-options-1.1081588

CELTIC are eyeing a stunning bid to snap up former Rangers kid Danny Wilson on loan. Record Sport has learned Parkhead boss Neil Lennon made what is being described as a "tentative" Inquiry about a possible deal to bring Wilson back to Glasgow from Liverpool for the rest of the season. This coincided with the youngster - who left Ibrox in August for an initial fee of �£2million - having a heart-to-heart with Reds boss Kenny Dalglish yesterday. It's understood Dalglish told the Scotland new boy he is part of his plans for the rest of the season and the club would be reluctant to let him go. The 19-year-old has made only three top-team appearances since moving and has been struggling just to hold down a place on the bench since Dalglish took over from Roy Hodgson. This prompted Wilson to ask to be allowed to leave on loan - and Lennon has made it clear he would be at the front of the queue if the answer is yes. A Celtic source said: "Neil has made a tentative enquiry about getting Danny because he is desperately trying to find some quality defensive cover before the transfer window shuts. "We suspect at this stage Kenny will want to keep him for the club's Europa League campaign but Neil has not given up hope of bringing him in." Lennon is desperately searching for central defensive options following Saturday's hamstring injury to Swedish stopper Daniel Majstorovic. After a scan yesterday Celtic confirmed the Swede will miss the next three weeks. The Parkhead boss had hoped to fast track Kelvin Wilson's arrival from Nottingham Forest but has been told it will cost as much as �£600,000 to secure him now rather than land him on a free transfer in the summer. And Forest boss Billy Davies has hit out at Lennon for revealing he wanted the City Ground ace on board this month. Davies said: "I think Celtic have done a lot of talking in the press. Losing Wilson and having to then replace him, with all the disruption that would entail? For me, it is a no-brainer."

Published Date: 24 January 2011 RANGERS have been urged by anti-racism chiefs to carry out a full investigation after their fans sang a racist song at Hearts star Rudi Skacel - calling him a refugee. Czech Republic international Skacel, 31, was the target of the taunt from Gers fans as he was substituted towards the end of Hearts' 1-0 Scottish Premier League victory at Tynecastle on Saturday. The chant -which Hibs frontman Derek Riordan was once caught singing on the camera of a mobile phone - repeats the phrase "Rudi Skacel is a f****** refugee" to the tune of The Beatles' song "Yellow Submarine". The tune could be heard loudly as the attacking midfielder left the pitch during the televised encounter and the tasteless taunts are understood to be a reference to Skacel's Eastern European origin. Ged Grebby, Chief Executive at Show Racism the Red Card, called for a full investigation to be carried out by both clubs and the SFA as he warned racist abuse against Eastern European players is on the rise throughout the UK. He said: "On Thursday we had a big meeting at Hibernian's Easter Road, to push the Show Racism the Red Card message, so to hear of songs like this being sung just two days after is very disappointing. "It's not a song I'm aware of hearing before but I'm aware of songs of that nature being sung at players from that sort of region, and abuse against Eastern European players is becoming an increasing problem. "Even though he's not a refugee, to sing a song like this is awful and certainly racist. "We've got a meeting with the SFA coming up and I'll be asking them to investigate this case, and also ask Rangers and Hearts to do the same. "Hopefully we can find the ringleaders involved in this horrible chant, and get them through the courts and given a long banning order from attending games." A Hearts spokesman said: "As a club we abhor any form of racism or sectarianism, and work closely with Show Racism the Red Card, but we have nothing to say in regards to this particular case." An SPL spokeswoman said they will look into the behaviour of the fans involved, and decide what action to take, if it is reported in their match delegate's match report. The song has also been a big talking point on internet football forums, with it being condemned on football site pieanbovril as "nothing short of racist." One Dundee fan posted: "I would have thought it certain that Rangers get at the very least a warning for that singing. This is blatant racism." While one Motherwell fan added: "Some of the filth I heard being directed towards Rudi Skacel was nothing short of racist. Will anything be done about it? No." The race row comes just a few years after bad boy striker Riordan was forced to apologise to Skacel after being caught singing the song with Hibernian fans. Skacel said late last year it was "silly" for Riordan to sing it, and that the song has no place in football. He said: "I think this is something silly because probably he's never been in school. He doesn't seem to know where is Czech Republic and where is Prague. "My parents are teachers. To help his education, maybe they can make some lessons for him. They're geography teachers, by the way. "Other people were more upset than me; they thought it was a form of racism. But it's not correct what he did and it should not be involved in football, which is a great game. "Hibs sent me a letter saying sorry, but he never said anything to me afterwards, nor in last derby when you saw what he did. Maybe some people like to think that was Refugees vs Scots, but who won?" http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Rangers-urged-to-carry-out.6700713.jp?

Wylde is worth more game time

Ness for me as well,very impressed so far by this lad

Rangers could face another major bid for one of their key men as Arsenal are watching goalkeeper Allan McGregor. Arsene Wenger sent a scout to Tynecastle on Saturday to take in their defeat to Hearts, only days after confirming that his former first choice for the position, Manuel Almunia, may soon leave The Emirates. The Spaniard has not played since September and is now behind Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny as far as Arsenal are concerned. Wenger said Almunia was ââ?¬Å?on standbyââ?¬Â for a possible departure in the January transfer window. Wenger has been criticised for not addressing the lack of goalkeeping strength at Arsenal and knows that a bid of around Ã?£5m for McGregor would not be turned down by the Lloyds Banking Group, which is effectively running Rangers. The 28-year-old current Scotland No.1 is under contract until the summer of 2013 but the Ibrox club is vulnerable to losing any of its senior players. Wolves and Nottingham Forest were also represented at Tynecastle on Saturday as Hearts delivered a significant win in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League race. Rangersââ?¬â?¢ young midfielder Jamie Ness refused to view Saturdayââ?¬â?¢s defeat as a major blow to the championsââ?¬â?¢ defence of the title. ââ?¬Å?It is disappointing to lose but I donââ?¬â?¢t feel it is that big a dent in our title hopes,ââ?¬Â he said. ââ?¬Å?I donââ?¬â?¢t think one result is going to change much as I believe it will still go down to the wire. Hearts have been very consistent in the first half of the season and if they keep that up then they will definitely be up there. If they play like they did against us then they can get a result at Parkhead. ââ?¬Å?I think if we play like that again when we play them next [at Ibrox in only nine daysââ?¬â?¢ time] then we have to win. We had so many chances in the first half-hour and if you have that many opportunities in any game then you are bound to make the breakthrough.ââ?¬Â Losing and failing to score immediately after the sale of their top goalscorer could be concerning for Rangers ââ?¬â?? reports that Nacho Novo could return are understood to be without foundation ââ?¬â?? but Ness was confident the effect of Kenny Millerââ?¬â?¢s departure would be lessened by Nikica Jelavicââ?¬â?¢s return to the side after a three-month injury lay-off. ââ?¬Å?I think we can cope without Kenny,ââ?¬Â said Ness. ââ?¬Å?We have a lot of good players here who can put the ball in the net. Kyle Lafferty was unfortunate he didnââ?¬â?¢t hit the back of the net while Jelavic is still coming back to fitness. Iââ?¬â?¢m sure he will score goals in the second half of the season. In training he is a class act and you can see he is a Ã?£4m striker.ââ?¬Â Ness has muscled his way into the Rangers side in the past month and brought an impressive combination of quality tackling and elegant distribution. The 19-year-old has held on to his place in the team despite all of Walter Smithââ?¬â?¢s main central midfield players, Steven Davis, Lee McCulloch and Maurice Edu, also being on from the start on Saturday. ââ?¬Å?Thatââ?¬â?¢s five games in a row Iââ?¬â?¢ve played now and Iââ?¬â?¢m loving every minute of it,ââ?¬Â said Ness. ââ?¬Å?Hopefully I have done enough to cement a place in the team and I can kick on from here. I feel Iââ?¬â?¢ve settled in well although I have been training with these players for almost two years now. I know everyone really well and I know everyoneââ?¬â?¢s game.ââ?¬Â The bit in bold says it all really:ffs: http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/arsenal-lead-the-pack-as-english-clubs-chase-mcgregor-1.1081407

SOL CAMPBELL last night told Celtic boss Neil Lennon he's ready to solve their defensive crisis. Lennon fears stopper Daniel Majstorovic faces a lay-off after he suffered a hamstring strain in the tense 1-0 win over Aberdeen. SunSport understands the gaffer is considering a loan bid for ex-Arsenal and England ace Campbell, who chose Newcastle ahead of Celts last summer. The 36-year-old, below, isn't in new Toon boss Alan Pardew's plans and would consider a move north. Campbell admitted: "I'd look at the situation, I'd look at everything. But Celtic have to come to me and Newcastle have to come to me and say x, y, z. Newcastle would have to decide what they want to do. "I couldn't come to an agreement with Celtic last summer, that's the way it goes at times. I was still impressed by the club. "Sometimes six months down the road people can wake up and realise things better, look at the bigger picture. "We'll see what happens. Watch this space, eh?" Majstorovic is set to miss Wednesday's title crunch with Hearts and is doubtful for the Co-op Cup semi-final with Dons. That has Lenny in a sweat with Thomas Rogne his only other fit stopper after Jos Hooiveld's loan move to Copenhagen. He confirmed on Saturday that he could try and strike a permanent �£300,000 deal for Nottingham Forest's Kelvin Wilson who has agreed a pre-contract for next term. Lennon, also looking at Aston Villa's Curtis Davies, said: "Daniel felt a strain and he tried to play on. But we couldn't take a chance. "We will be looking to bring a player in for that area. "We'll have to speed things up a bit. It would be a blow to lose Daniel because he's been immense in the last couple of months. "We've been looking to strengthen in that area anyway with Jos Hooiveld leaving and Glenn Loovens out." On the prospect of returning for Wilson, he said: "I'd imagine that would be one of the options we'd look for again." Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3367335/Sol-Campbell-eyes-Celtic-move.html#ixzz1Bwu3ryWd

Aye, I know,Shagger should refuse:)

I wouldn't believe anything that cretin writes

2.5 years I think. I really wonder how much will be accepted for him!!!!!!

How much longer does he have left on his contract?. This must put us in a stronger bargaining position??, mind you it is Rangers we are talking about,two pints of lager and a paket of crisps will do!!

Maybe they should just sign Alexander then and leave Shagger with us:tongue:

Arsenal sent a scout to Hearts' meeting with Rangers yesterday, with the north London club understood to be monitoring the form of Allan McGregor. Aston Villa, Manchester United and Sevilla have all been linked with McGregor, the Rangers goalkeeper who is expected to generate a transfer fee of about �£5m if, as is likely, he departs Ibrox at the end of the season. Madjid Bougherra, the Rangers defender who has been linked with Arsenal in the past, also played in Hearts' 1-0 win at Tynecastle. McGregor, who turns 29 this month, was a virtual spectator despite his team's defeat. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal's scouts continue to study him as they look to solve what has proved a troublesome position for Ars�¨ne Wenger. McGregor's age may count against him, with Wenger generally in favour of signing younger players. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/23/allan-mcgregor-hearts-rangers?

Plymouth's Bradley Wright-Phillips could be travelling to Glasgow on Sunday for a medical at Rangers. (Sunday Mail) http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/9370994.stm

Has Novo not been getting any game time in Spain?.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgoknu_hearts-v-rangers-fulltime-show-january-22nd-2011_sport

I'm going for a 2-1 victory for the champions. Hetz 1 Champions 2 Jelavic,Naismith :spl:

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/rangers/222492-full-video-interview-rangers-maurice-edu-speaks-to-friday-night-football/

IT was the moment Rangers tabled their best offer. The very second Martin Bain outlined the deal. Kenny Miller shook his head and asked the Ibrox chief executive if he really thought the contract extension was good enough. The stark and honest reply came back... NO. Miller, at his peak as a player at the age of 31, has quit the SPL champions and signed a �£50,000-a-week deal with Turkish title winners Bursaspor. And with one swipe of a pen here yesterday, his two-and a-half-year, second-time-around Rangers career was officially OVER. This morning, as he ponders his new life in Turkey, the Scotland star has revealed to SunSport that he knew last summer his time at Ibrox was up. Miller said: "Leaving was difficult but I knew it was coming. "Whether it was now or at the end of the season, I was going to have to leave. "With the situation the club's in, they made it quite clear to me there was no way I'd be able to sign a contract. "As much as we tried, and we were back and forth a bit, it was pretty obvious it wasn't going to happen. "The gaffer was brand new with me from day one. "But at the start of the season, when we first talked about the possibility of a new deal, he let me know the situation. "He said then it was highly unlikely I would be offered a new contract even similar to the one I was on. "That was pre-season before we'd started back and I hoped things might change, that something would happen. "The gaffer said he wanted to at least make me an offer to stay and the club did that. "But when you're earning a level of money you live within your means. "It's not all about money, I loved my time at Rangers and it was great working for the gaffer. "But for me I just couldn't have afforded to take the deal they offered me. I didn't think I should be taking a pay cut anyway, but it was always going to be tough to sign on the terms offered. As time went on I realised there was no way it was going to happen. The club knew that but I think they felt they had to go through the motions of making an offer. "At one stage in the talks I had with Martin Bain I actually said to him: 'You can't expect me to sign that, can you?' and his reply was 'probably not'. "The economics just weren't there, there was no way. "I've moved about in my career and like a challenge, but when you're settled somewhere there's a lot to be said about making that last as long as possible. But it wasn't to be with Rangers." Miller could have sat tight and let his Rangers contract run down. But with the risk of being crocked, he decided he had to go NOW. That's why he pushed for an exit with his agent Dave Baldwin of leading firm Base Soccer working around the clock to find him a new club. Advertisement He added: "Now I'm a bit older I thought about what could happen if I did pick up an injury between now and the end of the season when I'd signed a pre-contract. "Would the club still take me, or would they take me on but on a lesser contract? "The risks were the same had I decided to sit my contract out and that's something I didn't want to do, which I told the manager and Martin. "I was straight with them and let them know that if there were opportunities for me to go then that's what I wanted to do. "To be honest I think it's probably better for the club as well. "They'll get money in, when they'd have got nothing in the summer, and save on my wages." Miller's exit, though, is a bitter pill to swallow for the suffering Rangers fans. He's long since won over the Ibrox supporters who didn't want him back at the club in the first place because he'd crossed the bitter Old Firm divide and played for Celtic. Miller was a brave boy returning, with manager Walter Smith no less courageous. The goal ace insists he'll forever be indebted to Smith for taking a chance on him - convinced he's the only boss in the business who would have had the nerve to do it. Miller's 22 goals for Gers this season have been the final instalment in paying back that debt and he stressed: "I feel I've always had a good relationship with the gaffer and I thank him for everything. "Had it been anyone else in charge of Rangers I don't think I'd have got the opportunity to go back. "Other managers might have thought about it but I don't think they'd have had the balls to go through with it. "There was so much opposition from many of the fans, but that didn't bother him and I'll always appreciate that. It means a lot to me that he wanted to take me back there as part of that team. "We might not have had the talents of a Gascoigne or a Laudrup, but I always felt we were a fantastic group when we were firing. "When I was at Derby and there was talk of me returning to Rangers, I had pals on the phone telling me what the supporters were singing. "That might have put other managers off and I remember speaking to him about it, but he told me straight that it didn't bother him one bit. "He told me he knew my game inside out and was convinced I'd win them over - and I like to think he was proved right. "We won everything when I went back including the league title, which was the target. I'm leaving now but the club isn't in too bad a position."

If Jelavic comes straight back into the team and stays injury free then I'm sure he is more than capable of making us forget all about Miller. When Boyd left I couldn't see Miller scoring as many goals,or any player for that matter. We moved on then and we'll move on again.

Aye I know,why did I click post button????:blush:

That's the problems with early kick offs, it forces us to start drinking early which is terrible:frown:..........................................:drink:

I've no idea what the tax figure is but it does look like this is the main reason we haven't been sold. I would have thought if you hire an accountancy firm to look after your books and you follow their advice then they would have some sort of responsibility and should be held liable?,obviously I'm wrong or this would have been discussed as part of any take over talks.