ian1964

No Brainer................ITV4 for unbiased,positive commentery and analysis

I've already said in previous posts,i'm happy the way we are heading.WS is building a team and is way ahead of schedule,he will continue to add players and it will be easier to attract better quality players when you are successfull,i've no doubt we will keep improving.We need to have stability to succeed and in WS we have that.WATP

I for one hope WS stays on,the man has just started to build a team

Sporting 1 Rangers 1 { Novo }

RANGERS security chief Kenny Scott has urged fans to continue to uphold their reputation in Europe with another display of good behaviour in Lisbon. Jose Alvalade StadiumThe club will be backed by around 2500 supporters in the Portuguese capital, with fans enjoying free tickets for the match after the club picked up the tab for the full allocation for the second leg tie. And as Rangers make their eighth European trip of the season for a UEFA Cup quarter final tie with Sporting, Scott is keen to stress that while the record of travelling fans has been good this season, there is a need for supporters to ensure they are on their best behaviour with the eyes of the world on them. He said: "The club are absolutely delighted with the way the fans have conducted themselves in different countries in this unprecedented season in terms of the number of fixtures in Europe. "So it's thanks again to our fans as we look forward to continued support as we march on in European competition. "For the match in Lisbon the club have received an official allocation of 2500 tickets. Clearly as usual in European competitions there will be a number of supporters who will travel unofficially and without tickets. "It is my understanding that a number of people have purchased tickets for other areas of the ground from internet sources in Portugal so we can anticipate there being more than the official allocation in the stadium on Thursday. Kenny Scott, Security Chief"Those who have their tickets from official club sources will be situated in the North West corner of the stadium in sections A7, A9 and A11 and B7, B9, B11 and B13. "These areas are all accessed by Gate 1 and negotiations have taken place with the Portuguese authorities to ensure that supporters are dropped as close to the entrance as possible." Scott is hopeful that behaviour in the ground will come up to scratch with some incidents noted by UEFA in the previous round against Werder Bremen. He added: "For the last match in Bremen we had a good travelling support again, but as we have seen in other European matches this season there was the sporadic use of fireworks by supporters. "The hand held Bengal lights which UEFA are fond of penalising were in evidence and what we would say to supporters who are using such fireworks is that you are damaging the club. "Every time one of these fireworks is let off in a stadium in our section, the club have been fined by UEFA and those fines are incremental. "Similarly, although I have been on record as praising supporters for their behaviour at European matches this season, those who have been at all the games would agree that there has been an increase in the level of sectarian singing. "That's not gone unnoticed by UEFA and there were times in Bremen when some of the songs that were being sung were of the type which UEFA have penalised in the past. Rangers fans"We want the supporters to enjoy the event and to sing and get behind the club and celebrate the success we are having. "But a number of supporters have raised the issue with me about songs which have been deemed unacceptable so we would ask supporters to be responsible and not resort to singing these songs. "I would stress however that this is one negative aspect amongst a large number of positives in a season where we are now embarking on our eighth sortie into Europe. "We've had next to no arrests amongst the thousands and thousands of people who have followed the club."

RANGERS Reserves have suffered a 2-1 defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the Tulloch Stadium this afternoon. Rory LoyThe home side opened the scoring after only 12 minutes when Iain Vigurs cut the ball back to Steven Watt and the defender's excellent finish gave Graeme Smith no chance. On 37 minutes Rangers had their first real opportunity in front of goal when Rory Loy found space at the edge of the box but Zibi Malkowski parried the ball to safety. Ian Durrant's young side again came close minutes after the half-time interval when Dean Furman curled a delightful free-kick inches wide of target. The Light Blues were given a timely boost when Thistle's first-team star Ian Black picked up a second yellow card prior to the hour mark and was sent for an early bath. And Rangers were to get back on level terms on 71 minutes when Loy got on the end of a Steven Smith cross and his looping header beat Malkowski before settling in the net. A draw looked to be on the cards but with only nine minutes remaining Caley bagged a late winner. Vigurs picked up a loose ball at the edge of the Rangers box and created space before producing a fine shot which curled beyond Smith. It was a cruel blow at the end of a hard-fought 90 minutes but Rangers' young stars will be kicking themselves for not making the most of their extra-man advantage in the latter stages of the game.

Aye,i'm glad we went :cheers:

He tried a couple of times Bluedell,but his legs weren't working properly :cheers:

Aye,but he ws also at Ibrox for the Bremen game ?

Rangers winger DaMarcus Beasley has set his target to return to full fitness in time for the semi-finals of the Uefa Cup. The Gers face a tough tie against Portuguese outfit Sporting on Thursdsay and if they progress to the semis they could be drawn against Beasley’s former side PSV Eindhoven. The player spent three seasons playing in the Eredivisie and scored 10 goals in 56 appearances for PSV. Beasley would relish the opportunity to return to Holland to play at the Philips Stadion with his new team. He said: “I’d definitely love to go back to PSV and play against them in a game such as that. "I had a lot of great times there. We won championships and cups and it was great.” Beasley has been out of action since sustaining a serious knee injury during November’s Champions League clash at Stuttgart. The American midfielder has been back home in the States recovering from his injury through rehab with US Soccer Federation physio James Hashimoto. Beasley said: “At the moment, I’m not sure if I would be back in action for the semi-finals. “But if I am and we get that far, it would be something to look forward to. I’ve only just started running outside again as most of the work I’ve done so far has been in the gym.” Sporting have played Scottish opposition ten times in Europe, winning five at home and losing five away games.

Getting ready to leave for the big day / night out

We the fans could sing the title back home from now untill the end of the season

Agreed,but it is dissapointing all the same,Walter is only just starting to build a team,and some fans need to be more patient,the turnaround at Ibrox is incredible IMO in such a short period

WALTER SMITH last night warned the Rangers boo boys they could drive him out of the door at Ibrox. The boss has been left bewildered by the reaction of certain sections of the home support when the team have won the CIS Cup and are fighting for three other trophies. Derisive shouts could be heard during Thursday's 0-0 UEFA Cup draw with Sporting Lisbon and some fans booed the team at full-time Smith admits he struggles to understand why modern-day supporters are so quick to get on the backs of their players and managers. The gaffer said: "It's been happening since the first game of the season when we were booed off at half-time against Zeta. "That seems to be the way people want to support the club. It is a wee bit of a disappointing factor in the sense that when we go away from home we get terrific backing. "When we come to home games right from the very start there seems to be a dissatisfaction. If supporters are dissatisfied with the way we are playing they have to express it. "At the end of the day if they continue to be dissatisfied there is only one thing that happens, isn't there? "The manager normally leaves when you have a lot of dissatisfied supporters. "We seem to have a lot of dissatisfied supporters at the moment and that is maybe something we will have to put up with. "It seems a clear sign of the times and is just something we have to handle. It's been a regular thing for us since the start of the season, a recurring factor throughout it. "It's difficult. At a period of time when everything has gone well in a game and you are doing really well, that is not really the time when you need the support. You need the support when you are not doing well. "From a managerial point of view that is is a situation that happens. Whether you find it understandable or not is another thing. "Invariably, if a manager brings the subject up you get an outcry of, 'You should be doing better'. We have not to criticise anything at all. "Supporters pay their money and are entitled to react in the manner they do. At times, it can be difficult to understand and I don't think it helps the club overall. "That dissatisfaction is never stated among the away support but at home it seems to be more evident." Smith, of course, has seen it all before and can handle such situations but he admits they could affect some of his players. He added: "I appreciate the demands. I keep saying to the players if you can't meet the demands you are not going to be here. "That is from the chairman all the way down. But somewhere along the line there has to be a level of understanding and there does not seem to be at the present moment. "A lot of the boys who are new and just coming into the place must find it hard to understand. "For a club that has not had recent success, all of a sudden they have an opportunity to turn that around and they are still hearing that. "With the Zeta game our league season hadn't even started and they were booing us off at half-time. The boys found it hard to understand although maybe they are getting used to it." Smith won't have any worries tomorrow as the visiting fans will pack Tannadice to back the side in their quest to cement their position as SPL champions-elect with a win over Dundee United. The manager expects a tough game and said: "One of the things we have faced this season towards the latter stages is there is a battle on for the championship and for third place. "Third has normally been settled fairly early on but this season we have a tight one between Motherwell, Hibs and Dundee United and there will be a fight to the finish for the UEFA Cup place. "We lost at Tannadice previously and had a terrific CIS Cup Final with United. "That is an indicator for any side going to Tannadice and is credit to Craig Levein and his team." Click Here

RANGERS are awaiting the judgement of a specialist before deciding on whether to use Daniel Cousin in Sunday's crucial SPL clash at Tannadice. Cousin fractured his jaw against BremenCousin suffered a fractured jaw when he was struck by Per Mertesacker during Rangers' 2-0 win over Werder Bremen on March 6 in which he scored one and instigated the other. The big striker had targetted the Dundee United fixture on Sunday as his comeback game but Rangers will be guided by medical advice. Cousin is physically fit but it is a case of whether his jaw is ready to handle the rough and tumble again. Boss Walter Smith said: "Daniel will see the specialist tomorrow and we await the outcome of that. "He is certainly close to playing again. I would think that if he was not allowed to play on Sunday then it would be no more than another weekCharlie Adam came close in the first half before he is back. "The specialist could say that he is OK to play on Sunday or ask us to wait until Thursday. We will have to wait and see." Meanwhile, Smith confirmed our story from last night that midfielder Charlie Adam is facing a number of weeks on the sidelines with a knee problem. He said: "Charlie damaged his knee in training before the European game last night. "We are waiting for a specialist's assessment of that but on the face of things it should keep him out for a few weeks."

We're doing not to bad at competing in europe now,after selling Hutton

HUTTON......!!!!!!!

Agreed,if we can get �£9m for Hutton,then i'd be looking for �£11-12m for King Carlos

Oh NO !!!!!!!!!,we're fooked now,we'll never win anything again now the messiah has returned to the piggery

Anybody watch the game on ITV4 ?,what a difference listening to guys speaking about Rangers in a positive manner,ie without an agenda andd not Scottish,even though we were pish they guys were still speaking in a confident manner about Rangers progressing..............

After the Hutton saga,how can we be confident of holding onto anyone ?

Me thinks Cuellar is on his shopping list !!!!

Aye,it's been a hard season so far for our guys,praise to them though for continuing and winning,I really hope they don't run out of steam,but i'm sure we won't WATP

Agreed Frankie,and we were pish.More importantly I hope we get our finger out for Sunday,the second leg of this tie will take care of itself,keep the faith WATP