ian1964

RANGERS have made a dramatic last-gasp bid to keep Madjid Bougherra for the Old Firm derby. SunSport can reveal Gers have sent an urgent message to the Algerian FA asking for Bougy to be allowed to play against Celtic on Sunday. Stopper Bougherra, who won his country's Player of the Year crown last week, has been told he must report for African Nations Cup duty on Friday. WALTER SMITH PLEA ... Walter Smith Gers boss Walter Smith has still to receive an official reply to their correspondence and the door remains open for a reprieve. The saga over Bougherra's involvement with Algeria has rumbled on since their play-off win over Egypt. Coach Rabah Saadane initially ordered Bougy to attend a training camp and miss the clashes with Hibs and Dundee United. Under pressure from several of his UK-based players for a stay of execution, Saadane relented and allowed Bougy to stay on. He was involved in two of Gers' goals in the 4-1 weekend win at Easter Road and will face United at Ibrox tonight. He is currently due to fly out tomorrow and could be absent for a month as Algeria chase glory. Bougherra has made heartfelt pleas to his coach and Algerian FA to be allowed to face rivals Celts on Sunday. He wants to fly out to the training camp in France on Monday - seven days before Algeria kick off their campaign in Angola. Bougy's personal appeals have fallen on deaf ears so far. It is understood Gers contacted the Algerians last Friday and are still awaiting an official response. Bougherra's appearance would be a boost for boss Smith.

TA message board: http://taboard.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=109634&st=0

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has blamed Kilmarnock for their Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash at Rugby Park being postponed. An SPL statement said Wednesday's match was called off due to "approach roads to the stadium being declared unsafe by the police". Similar circumstances also put paid to the Aberdeen v Falkirk game and Wednesday's St Johnstone v Hibernian and Hamilton v St Mirren matches. However, Celtic believe the Ayrshire club neglected their responsibility to "ensure the stadium locality is safe". Lawwell told Celtic's official website: "Clearly, we are extremely disappointed that the match has been postponed. "We have been told that the pitch is perfectly playable, but we have also been informed that the match cannot proceed due to the stadium footprint (area surrounding the stadium) not being cleared. "Naturally this is very frustrating for the club and its supporters. "As is always the case, it is the responsibility of home clubs to ensure that their own footprint or locality is safe and obviously in this case, this has not been achieved." If Rangers beat Dundee United at Ibrox they will go seven points clear of Celtic at the top of the SPL ahead of the Old Firm derby at Parkhead on January 3.

Wonder what excuse the MOPES will come up with to postpone Sundays game should we go and beat DUTD ?.

This is a good thing if we keep our side of the bargain and beat DUTD

One of WS best signings,he's like Boyd in the box always in the right place at the right time

There is a good chance the Killie will be off

Bump bump, midweek games, starting tonight

Correct mate, this has been the case for a long time now,boozgate just gave them the ammunition they were looking for to attack the Rangers players. I've said it before and will stick by it,personally I would be happy if no Rangers players played for Scotland,it's done Boyd,BF & Greegs no harm.

IIRC Burley stated Boyd should concentrate on getting a regular game for Rangers,despite his scoring record both for Rangers & Scotland, before he could play regularly for Scotland,or words to that effect.So Boyd made the decision to concentrate on Rangers, which he did and has upped his game. As for the Boozegate scenario the Rangers players were made the scape goats by the mhedia,TA,SFA as we all know the other players involved got off without so much as a warning, the whole thing was a shambles and exposed the SFA & Burley are all about. Let's be very clear on the fact that the majority of the moronic TA don't want any Rangers players in the Scotland team so good on Levein for saying he wants every player available for selection. IMO Boyd did the right thing in stepping out of the Scotland squad and is quite right to make himself available for the new manager.

Walters would be shite now

KRIS BOYD will never understand Bevvygate. But it's not Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor's late night drinking session which leaves him baffled. Or their schoolyard V-sign antics which leaves him stunned. It's the SFA's handling of the controversy which has him utterly SICKENED. Boyd quit George Burley's set-up long before that Lock-in on the Loch scandal hit the headlines. But he watched as his two close pals were hung out to dry. Banned from international football, the pair's behaviour saw them cast into the football wilderness. But Boyd insists the fact other players were allowed to survive following the behind-the-scenes misdemeanours is the biggest shame of all. Boyd said: "Craig Levein said when he got the Scotland job he wants all his best players available. "Without a shadow of a doubt Barry and Allan come into that category. "When you look at what happened, they got punished when everyone knows there were other people involved. I can't understand why it was just those two who got punished. "Was it a case that the manager just didn't want them in the squad, I don't know. But it's common knowledge they weren't the only ones involved that night. "Listen, Barry and Allan know they were stupid with what they did sitting in the dug-out. But that came after they were the only two players told to go home. "They've both said they let their families down with their actions but what else do people want? They haven't killed anybody. I think they should be allowed back in, without question." Ferguson and McGregor were told by the SFA their international futures were over. Boyd told the SFA. His decision was his own with the striker seeing no reason to continue turning up to sit on the bench. There was no fall-out. No raised voices or bust-up between two men who didn't see eye-to-eye. Instead Boyd calmly took the decision to concentrate on his club career at Ibrox. Advertisement Quantcast Now, 14 months on his game has improved beyond recognition. He's still scoring on a regular basis but his all-round game is better than ever before. That's why he now believes he's ready and able to do himself justice in a Scotland jersey. It's not because of a change of manager. In fact, Boyd insists he'd still be ready to return even if Burley was still in charge. He added: "People ask if I was glad when he got sacked but I wasn't, no way. "I wanted to get back into the Scotland set-up but I didn't sit watching the games hoping we were going to lose so he'd get sacked. "That's just not me. The fact is if George Burley was still the manager I could have sat down with him now and spoke to him about sorting things out. "I felt when the World Cup campaign ended it was maybe time to look at things again. "It was hurting me not being involved and there was something inside me saying I wanted to get back playing for my country. "I might not have been picked, or maybe the same thing would have happened again, but I just think I'm a better player now. "I certainly didn't want him to be sacked. I'm sure he'll return to football soon and do well." There will be some who insist there should be no way back for Ferguson, McGregor or Boyd. The striker is ready to deal with that but hopes to win over his doubters the only way he knows how - by scoring goals. He added: "I know there will be people who don't want me back. That's life. I just hope I can go back and get the chance to give it my best shot. I don't think anyone can say I didn't give my all whenever I played for Scotland. "At the end of the day I was fifth-choice striker in a team which only played with one man up front. The people who don't think I made the right decision don't know what that's like. "They weren't the ones leaving their families for ten days for nothing. They weren't the ones sitting on the bench know they weren't going to get on no matter what. They weren't the ones hurting inside. "People are going to have a go at me - it's something I deal with all the time. But at that time I did what I felt was right. "At the end of the day the Scotland fans give tremendous support to the team and they're entitled to their views. "But they've been good to me in the past and I hope that they are again in the future."

KRIS BOYD walked. Others hid. Shattered by George Burley's sickening snubs Boyd had sunk to an all-time low. Deeply hurt, bitterly frustrated and seething with anger the Rangers No9 took the bombshell decision he knew could haunt him for the rest of his career. A player who grew up dreaming of being Scotland's striker turned his back on his country with a heavy heart. Now 14 months after entering his own personal international exile Boyd wants to come back into the fold. Today in an exclusive interview with SunSport the Ibrox goal machine has revealed the Scotland squad was riddled with players who wanted to follow him out the door. Truth is they didn't have the bottle. Boyd said: "I made my decision and that was my choice. "Yet there are players who pulled out of squads with injuries when the fact is they just didn't want to be there. "Why not be a man about it and give the real reasons? "I have taken the flak, but there are others who have hidden behind things and got away with it. "I took the blame and had to handle it. That was my choice to make. "But in that last campaign I wasn't the only player who wanted to do what I did. "There were a whole load in there who felt the same way. Guys unhappy with the way things were going - that's certainly how I took it. "That's every player's own problem. For me it was time to get out. "I just know there were another five or six players wanting to do the same thing as me. "I'm even talking about boys who were playing. "It wasn't a happy environment but I was the only one who took the decision." Boyd now wants back. And new boss Craig Levein looks destined to grant him his wish when he names his first squad for the friendly clash with the Czech Republic in March. His inclusion will bring an end to those long months of anguish for the prolific 26-year-old hitman who felt he had to quit Scotland to save his career. Boyd added: "At the time when I made the decision I felt I was going nowhere. "There was no fall-out with George Burley. Advertisement "I just reached the stage where I felt I needed to get back to basics because of the way things were going. "I wasn't playing at club level and I definitely wasn't playing at international level. "Something had to give. It was a tough decision to make. But from a selfish point of view it was one I had to make. I was going away with Scotland for 10 days at a time as the fifth choice striker. "For me there wasn't much point in that. A Scotland fan could have sat on the bench and been as much use as I was. "I was just making up the numbers in training or on the bench. "That was killing me inside, but also not helping me when I was returning to Rangers. "You don't do much training and virtually spend your time between games lying around the team hotel. "That's no use to me. I'm not the type of player who can miss training and just turn it on when the match comes. "I just can't do it. I was sitting on the bench for Scotland virtually rotting away. "I was going back to Rangers feeling sluggish and there is no doubt not playing for Scotland was affecting my club career." The final straw came when Boyd was left rooted to the bench for the crucial World Cup qualifier with Norway. Chris Iwelumo was the man Burley turned to when we were in desperate need of a goal - with THAT miss entering football folklore within minutes. Hours later Boyd quit Scotland in a late-night phone-call to SFA chief executive Gordon Smith. It cut Boyd to the quick to do that and he said: "It's a privilege to play for your country. An honour. "The times I've pulled on a Scotland shirt means the world to me. "Those close to me know that. "I know there will be people who will say I turned my back on the country by walking out. "But I made the decision and I stand by it. "It was doing no one any good me sitting on the bench. "I needed to go back to basics and try and establish myself in the Rangers side. "That's the only way I'd be able to move forward. "But it was always my hope if I did that I'd be able to return to international football. "I said that at the time when I quit. Now I feel better for it as a player and a person so there are no regrets. None. "Maybe I could have handled it better, I accept that. "There are people I should have maybe spoken to before contacting Gordon Smith and telling him I no longer wanted to be considered. "But if I'd been talked out of it I would only have been delaying the inevitable. "I could have said nothing and kept turning up but something had to give eventually. "I couldn't keep going on the way things were. "I reached the stage where I didn't think there was any point in turning up. "The two games - against Northern Ireland and Norway - nailed that for me. "We were in need of a goal in both games but he didn't turn to me. I was an unused sub twice and thought: 'If he doesn't pick me now he never will.' "Burley didn't rate me. My reaction was maybe a selfish one but I stand by the choice I made." http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/2786538/A-bunch-of-players-were-desperate-to-walk-out-on-Burley.html

http://www.premierleague.com/page/Top10Defenders/0,,12306,00.html

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_CSQUlpKVQ&feature=player_embedded]YouTube- I Gotta Feeling[/ame]

Rossi Today, 3:12 PM Post #450 Member Avatar Gilagol. [ * * * * * * * * * * * * ] Posts: 11,718 Group: Snr. Member Member #7,342 Joined: 11 March 2007 Favourite all-time player Herr Hinkel and ole' Dave Ki. I have to say this - they are gonna spank us like a bitch on the 3rd. We have two strikers that look like they've just been introduced. They have strikers who can't stop scoring and assisting one another. We have an ok midfield but, if we're honest, our best player (McGeady) had a habit of failing to live up to against them. There midfield is creating lots of chances and dominating games. Do I really even need to talk about defence? There are doubts over our managers capabilities in winning games like this. Walter knows how to win these games better than any other. I just hope Boyd doesn't break/equal Henke's record whilst they do it

jonathan1312 Today, 3:48 PM Post #498 Member Avatar First name on the team-sheet [ * * * * * * ] Posts: 1,624 Group: Members Member #18,969 Joined: 1 May 2008 the current huns outfit is one of the dirtiest i have ever seen. mcculloch in particular is on the pitch simply to attack opposition players and intimidate them -- witness his attempted decapitation of michael paton of aberdeen a few weeks back. the last derby was particularly stunning in terms of what they were allowed to get away with. whoever said upthread that they play good football is clearly on mind-altering psychedelic drugs.

OptimusCheese Today, 3:41 PM Post #488 Member Avatar Sloth-In-A-Box [ * * * * * * * * * * * ] Posts: 7,813 Group: Snr. Member Member #7,158 Joined: 28 February 2007 Favourite all-time player The Wonderlust King Rossi 27 Dec 2009, 03:39 PM OptimusCheese 27 Dec 2009, 03:35 PM Rossi 27 Dec 2009, 03:33 PM Quoting limited to 3 levels deep Eff off Rossi. So you think they are just hammerthrowers? They play decent football. I'm not saying they aren't filth but they do play decent football - they don't just kick their way to victory. And come on man. We've broken McCulloch's toe, elbowed Dailly in the face and Hesselink tried to Karate chop someone in recent seasons. Aye but, call me biased, that was in response to them kicking us off the park since Smith came back. They are a far, far dirtier team than us, and then get away with it.

doyle07 Today, 3:57 PM Post #511 Member Avatar Getting noticed in the reserves [ * * ] Posts: 62 Group: Members Member #23,540 Joined: 24 May 2009 Favourite all-time player Danny McGrain This is so fecking annoying, we are up against a club facing financial meltdown who are unable to strengthen their squad they have defenders who are virtual OAP's they recorded the worst record of any British team in CL, their manager is an over rated bustartd, yet we are due to play them at home and we are bricking it, I've spoke to a few huns who are so looking forward to the game, when in the no so distant past they would have been dreading it. I'm confident we will win on the 3rd, however if we dont, then serious implications await

paulmck1888 Today, 3:55 PM Post #508 Member Avatar Celtic first, Celtic last, Celtic overall [ * * * * * * * * * ] Posts: 4,102 Group: Snr. Member Member #149 Joined: 3 September 2004 Everyone of the goals were due to chances after Hibs made errors. If and I mean IF we can cut out our silly mistakes at the back then I think we will be ok next week. We have

DigOutYourSoul 49 minutes ago Post #540 Member Avatar Theres more to life than they teach you at school [ * * * * ] Posts: 368 Group: Members Member #24,325 Joined: 23 August 2009 Favourite all-time player Aiden McGeady jazbhoy 27 Dec 2009, 04:55 PM The huns are not a good team by any means . But what they are doing is humping the pish thats in front of them with ease . Something we should be doing but we cant because our forwards are shot shy and our defence is not even worth talking about . We will defenatly get chances next week but taking them is another thing . If our defence is up to our usual standard then hate them or not Miller and Boyd could punish us . they are not a good team, just there defence and attack is better? what does that make us then?

Wee Red 9 minutes ago Post #554 Member Avatar Getting on a bit [ * * * * * * * * * * ] Posts: 4,473 Group: Snr. Member Member #439 Joined: 31 December 2004 We will pump the hun next week because we are better than them, and we have a young hungry team. We have not been firing on all cylinders lately, whilst they have been playing SPL well. If we had taken all chances in our last three games we would have at least another 15 goals to our goal difference and be 3 points better off. Rangers are poor by any general standard, Hibs were a shadow of their former teams today, terrible, chucked it at 2-1. Rangers defence is far better than ours without a doubt but we have the midfield and forwards to dominate and score more goals. Hibs goalie was awol. Oh ye of little faith. Unless they drop points to Dundee Utd they will come to CP very cocky and "aye ready" for a fall. Speed and skill, allied to strength and bravery will make the difference. We will win loads of free kicks, so I hope we are practicing them all week. Fortune and McGinn should start with McGeady and Samaras. If Yeung Ki is fit he should be on the bench, Zhi should also play a part as they are both big lads. Artur will play a blinder :spl:

I heard the commentators saying Bougherra will be available for the DUTD game and the OF game but are just waiting on confirmation,hope so

Agreed,I don't think WS should change the team as we are playing well,so there is no need to play Edu. I was meaning how well a player can come straight back into first team football,some players manage it easier than others.

Aye, but I suppose it all comes down to the individual really,both mentally & phyisically, Broadfoot seems to have stepped right back in no problem.