ian1964

I'd have Ferguson every time before Hemdani, Hemdani should have stepped up to the mark as soon as BF was out injured if he is that good,but he hasn't and isn't. One good season then he has offered nothing to merit a starting place. Thanks Brahim, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Correct, he HAS to produce now,and I would be surprised if he hasn't realised this,if not TA ! TA !

I thought Morrison was out ?, no?

Surprised no thread has been started,unless i've missed it,and if I have missed it........apologies. So what's all the thoughts on this tricky wee game ?. Can't say I've seen too much of them,so can't really comment,however it is Scotland so as per usual i'm not very optimistic,but if we can come away with a draw I suppose that will be a good start to the campaign. By the way,can someone tell me if the top two qualify from this group ?,or does the second place get you a play off ?.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1640053.ece

You have to give the guy a lot of credit,he certainly has character as he showed in the OF game,fair play to him considering the amount of stick he constantly receives,well done Kirk.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THEY'RE supposed to stick together. The fabled goalkeeping fraternity is meant to forge ties as thick as any blood ones. But Andy Goram won't be making any effort to put a metaphorical arm around the shoulder of Artur Boruc this week. The Celtic stopper had an excruciating afternoon on Sunday when two mammoth mistakes helped Rangers to their most comprehensive win at Parkhead for 14 years. And Goram loved every minute of it. "I have no sympathy for him," he said. "None at all. If it was Allan McGregor who was in this position, I'm quite sure Artur Boruc wouldn't be feeling anything for him. "It's about what you do for your team. That's it. I enjoyed myself on Sunday. I enjoyed the result and I enjoyed the manner of the victory. It's exactly what Rangers needed and it proved a few points to everyone. "Artur Boruc won't have a good week - but that's of no concern to Rangers." Boruc ought to have stopped the opener on Sunday when Daniel Cousin beat him at his near post, but the biggest howler of the game came when he spilled a Kirk Broadfoot cross at the feet of former team-mate Kenny Miller. Miller, of course, stroked the ball in to the net much to the glee of the visiting support and Boruc's day of misery was complete. He will be sidelined this week as Poland begin their World Cup qualifying campaign as punishment for flouting a curfew when he was last on international duty with Leo Beenhakker's side. Headlines in his homeland of a drunken night out were quickly followed up by revelations that he was fined by Celtic this summer during the Feyenoord tournament for a similar incident and Goram, no stranger to either boozy nights or the wrong kind of headlines, has watched with interest. And the fact that Boruc has become something of a nemesis for the Ibrox support sweetened Sunday's win. "When you want to go down that route of going out and enjoying yourself then you still have to be able to do it on the pitch," said the former Rangers keeper. "When I was at Rangers we all loved a good time. But we could back it up. We knew we had the talent on the pitch to afford to go for a night out and still do the business. "Artur has discovered that he can't. My worst time as a goalkeeper was when I just arrived at Rangers. "I had a hard few months, but the advice I got was that it was all about how I dealt with adversity. "That's what the Celtic people will be telling Artur. It is all about how he reacts to this. He is a decent keeper - but I think he has believed a lot of his own publicity. "If he wants to talk the talk then he has to be able to back it up. He has enjoyed winding the Rangers fans up in the three years he has been at Parkhead, and he has to take it on the chin now that they're enjoying him squirming a bit." The emphatic nature of the win at the weekend will be the biggest disappointment for Celtic to come to terms with, and Goram believes that the result is huge in terms of its psychological significance. When Martin O'Neill's side humbled Rangers 6-2 in the opening Old Firm game of the season back in 2000, it set down a precedent for the season to come. The Ibrox side never really recovered from that defeat, despite hitting back in the next Old Firm game with a 5-1 win. It gave Celtic the belief that they were championship contenders and a shell-shocked Rangers side under Dick Advocaat started to crumble. It's something that Goram can now envisage happening the other way. He said: "There has been all this talk that Celtic are invincible at Parkhead and that is nonsense. "But many Rangers teams recently have been obviously intimidated about playing there. Too many sides in recent seasons have gone into their shells when the time has come to go to Parkhead. That wasn't there on Sunday. "They took the game by the scruff of the neck and could have scored even more. It puts to bed this theory that Celtic are brilliant on their own ground because they're not. "I actually don't think the current team could hold their own against our Rangers team of the 90s - we'd annihilate them. And so would the Celtic team of that time, too. "Tommy Burns' Celtic side were a great footballing team and they'd play the current Celtic side off the park. "But I fancy big things to come from this result. I fancied Rangers at the start of the season for the title and on Sunday they put down a marker to that effect." And Kenny Miller's goals at the weekend were the perfect way to endear himself to a section of the Ibrox support unsure of his credentials. "I was pleased for Kenny because he works his socks off," said Goram. "If Mo Johnston could play for Celtic and then go to Rangers and score plenty goals, why can't Kenny? It's all about what he does for Rangers now. "But the biggest thing for me at the weekend wasn't Kenny, but Walter. He came in for so much criticism last season that was unwarranted. "He knows what he is doing and people have to trust him. I'm sure he'll take the championship back to Ibrox this season and he deserves all the plaudits this week because I'm sure it was a long summer for him."

If Cousin was aloud to wear a boxing glove on his head.........he'd be a world champion by now !!!!

MOTHERWELL fans are in mourning today following the death of former midfield star Jamie Dolan, who has died aged just 39. It's another blow for the Fir Park fans, coming less than a year after skipper Phil O'Donnell died from a cardiac arrest while playing against Dundee United. The midfielder was given his first team debut by then 'Well boss Tommy McLean after playing in the Youth Cup final against Celtic during the 1986/87 season, and quickly established himself as part of Mothewell's midfield, forming a famous trip alongside Paul Lambert and Billie Davies during the mid 1990s. In January 1997, he moved to Dundee United as part of a swap deal for Owen Coyle, before joining Dunfermline for two years. Spells with Livingston and Forfar followed before his top-flight career came to an end during a final season with Partick Thistle in 2002. After retiring, Dolan retained close links with Motherwell, and was involved with the club's former players' group and charity events, and also managed junior side Broxburn Athletic. A statement on the club's official website said: "Everyone at Motherwell Football Club would like to pass on our sincerest condolences to Jamie's family and friends at this sad time." R.I.P.

IMO,Barry will raise his game,he'll have to,but with good football players around him i'm sure we will see him back playing to the standard we all know he can produce..............if he can get back in the team ???

Still a top of the table clash all the same mate

It's the 13th Sept. isn't it ?,after the internationals

Still in tact then !!!!!

Following Mo's Lead Exclusive by Lindsay Herron ALLY McCOIST believes Kenny Miller's fantastic double at Parkhead will unite the Rangers fans behind him - just like Mo Johnston back in 1989. McCoist was in on the Johnston transfer to Rangers from an early stage and was prepared when the amazing deal was announced in July 19 years ago. He was close to Johnston as he endured stick from both sides of the Old Firm and he will never forget the moment when he completely won over the Rangers fans with a dramatic winner at Ibrox on November 4 that year. Miller's situation has been remarkably similar and now that he has scored twice against the old rivals, the assistant manager is sure he will be weclomed by everyone. Speaking to Rangers World Ally said: "It was brilliant for Kenny. It was a tough afternoon for him. For Kenny to go to Parkhead and score two goals must be beyond his wildest dreams. "He even had a wee chance to make it a hat-trick in the last minute! Well, maybe I'm getting greedy. "It brings back memories of Mo Johnston nearly 20 years ago. I can remember him scoring against Celtic at Ibrox as if it was yesterday. "If I close my eyes I can see wee Mo hitting it down low to the keeper's right side on 88 minutes down at the Rangers end, the Copland Road end. "The thing about Mo and Kenny is that they are both terrific players and good team players. "And when you work as hard as they do then you are always going to win the fans over."

Agreed

If that tackle was made by Kirk on McGreedy,then I am certain Kirk would have been booked

Hutton grew into a good right back,I also think Papac has done the same,can Kirk follow ?, there is a chance he could do just that IMO

Hope McGreedy got booked for that challenge on Kirkdino,some pass to him from Mendes !!!

Not mine mate,taken from another site

Ya dancer http://www.rojadirecta.org/foros/viewtopic.php?t=46710

What A Feeling Andrew Dickson reports from Parkhead PEDRO MENDES heaped praise on Kenny Miller for the way he handled himself on his return to the Old Firm arena as his goals gave Rangers a 4-2 victory at Celtic. The Scotland striker responded in style to the flak he has received in recent weeks with a memorable double to win the derby for Walter Smith's side. Mendes was also a scorer and he has secured his place in the hearts of Gers fans for the stunning strike he sent soaring into the net to put the visitors 3-1 up But he was happy for Miller to take centre stage after his volley and clincher ensured he grabbed the headlines after the first meeting of Scotland's big two this season. Mendes said: "I knew about the pressure that was on Kenny but I think he showed what a professional he is. "He is a strong character. To score and play like he did was very good for him and it says a lot." Mendes is famed for the goal he scored for Portsmouth against Manchester City a two seasons ago - a strike that set Pompey on the road to Premiership survival. He knows his latest effort was every bit as important to the away fans who travelled to Parkhead and was delighted to open his Rangers account in front of them. Mendes added: "It is always good to get goals and when you move to a new club, you always want to score as quickly as possible. "That is the case for midfielders as well as strikers and if you have a chance, you want to net so that you have something to build on. "Scoring in this game in particular is very special and I can only think of good things from today. It was a fantastic win and a fantastic performance from the team. "It was a great environment to play in and it just confirmed what people had told me during the week. It was a very good game for us and the result was great too. "It was disappointing to concede the way we did as we led 1-0 because it was a scrappy goal but we were fantastic after the break. "We controlled the game, we scored good goals and we passed the ball around the park very well. Overall, it was a very good performance from us." In winning at Parkhead, Rangers have stormed to the top of the SPL in some style but with just four games gone, Mendes is keen not to get carried away. The small matter of three more Old Firm games and 31 other league fixtures lie between Gers and a 52nd title and the Portuguese midfielder has urged caution. He said: "It was a big win for us, especially after the tough start to the season we have had and three away games in our first four. "This win is massive for us as it gives us confidence, motivation and something to build on. "We want to keep getting better and we are gelling well at the moment. There is a lot of quality in the side but we still have a long way to go. "The main thing we take from this win is three points and it means we are top of the league going into our next match. "We didn't want to be second with seven points and looking up the table at Celtic. Now we've got that boost, we must do everything we can to hold our position."

Andrew Dickson reports from Parkhead WALTER SMITH has praised his squad for the way it has come back from European humiliation to experience Old Firm glory in less than four weeks. On August 5, the outlook was incredibly bleak for the Light Blues in the aftermath of their 2-1 humbling by FBK Kaunas in the second Champions League qualifying round. Now, after an emphatic 4-2 win over Celtic at Parkhead this afternoon, it seems so much brighter following three wins in four games that have taken Gers to the top of the SPL. Of course, they are still some way from being the finished article but this month has been one of constant improvement for the Ibrox outfit. It has undoubtedly peaked at its climax with the biggest win at Parkhead for almost 15 years and Smith has saluted the resilience his men have shown. Indeed, he is even shocked at how positive the response has been - and admits he didn't expect such a good win in Glasgow's east end. Smith said: "Anyone who comes here and scores four goals is doing very well and yes, I was surprised we scored four today. "But it was a good performance by us. That was the main thing and I thought we played well enough, especially in the period after half-time. "It was a surprise to score four but we are obviously delighted that we did so and went on to win. "It has been a very difficult start to the season for us, especially after losing out in the Champions League qualifiers. "Going by the way we have played in the last two or three weeks, those games with Kaunas perhaps came a little bit too early for us. "They happened though and now the players deserve a great deal of credit for the way they have come back. "It wasn't an easy few weeks for anyone at the club after what happened in Lithuania but we've played fairly well and in a different manner from last season. "Hopefully we continue to improve and build on the way we are trying to play at the present moment." Smith was aggrieved by referee Dougie McDonald's decision to issue a second yellow card to Daniel Cousin quarter of an hour from full-time. The sending-off could end up being the last act of the Gabon hitman's Ibrox career, with the manager refusing to rule out a move elsewhere before the transfer window shuts. Whether he stays or goes tomorrow, Cousin certainly played a big part in this afternoon's stunning triumph. And after a performance which ran Celtic's central-defensive pair Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus ragged at times, there was clear sympathy for the former Lens hitman. Smith added: "We used to have games where centre-forwards and centre-halves clashed regularly and it was a feature of play. "I don't think there was any animosity between the players. Gary had a few fouls, as did Daniel. "But nowadays, it seems that is not allowed overall and Daniel ended up getting sent off, something that was disappointing from our point of view. "We were just at the point of considering taking him off because of the situation he was in but it was a difficult one because he was doing so well. "I just feel at times that when these sort of things are always rather innocuous and it was unfortunate for him."

http://www.sendspace.com/file/rct3cs

Aye, all I could here the whole game was the Rangers fans,superb well done lads,the only time I heard the scum was when they were claiming free kicks/fouls

Disagree again Pete,are you seriously saying that we have not improved since he cane back ?.And before I get jumped on,I don't really think he is the man that will takes us much further,but to say we haven't improved is wrong IMO.