ian1964

I don't think you get an easy group these days,quite right,however we have shown we can at least compete with the best so if we can keep our level of recent performances thenwe should fear no-one

Aye,it's a bad decision IMO,another job that Eck will get linked with

Wouldn't mind waiting for Manure to bring my coupon home:cheers:

Watford 2-2 now :cheers:

OH dear !!,Watford 2-0 down

Manure 1-0 down,Anelka

Scotland At The World Cup Draw Stars Get Zilch For Euro Campaign SCOTLAND players did not take a penny for their failed bid to reach Euro 2008. SFA chief executive Gordon Smith has praised Barry Ferguson and Co for not attempting to cash in - now he hopes to broker a similar deal for the World Cup in 2010. Hampden bosses were denied a cash windfall of around �£5million when Alex McLeish's side narrowly missed out on a place in Austria and Switzerland next summer. The players struck a deal with the SFA that saw them waive win bonuses and appearance fees in favour of a squad pot of around �£1.25m, payable only on qualification. Italy's 2-1 win at Hampden put paid to that but Smith, speaking here in South Africa ahead of tomorrow's World Cup draw, insists the SFA will happily fork out for success in future. He said: "The Scotland players took no money whatsoever from the SFA in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. "They were on a qualifying only bonus and I must commend them for that. The current squad made it pretty clear to me they are content to play for Scotland for nothing. "They amassed 24 points in a very tough group but received no reward for that in terms of individual bonuses. "If Scotland qualify for a major tournament the SFA benefit from millions of pounds in extra revenue and it's only fair the players share in that. "I hope a similar arrangement will be in place come the start of World Cup qualifying. Obviously we'll have to speak to the players first but their commitment to the squad is already very obvious." Smith will try to finalise a deal for a new-look home international tournament while in South Africa. Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Republic of Ireland want a Celtic Cup competition on the international dates in February, March and May and still hope to tempt England into joining them. Nor thern Ireland FA President Jim Boyce said: "There is a possibility of Scotland playing Northern Ireland in February. The Republic of Ireland can't play then because I understand they have a friendly with Brazil. "I want to see a British Championship reformed but England have to make up their minds. For many years I have been campaigning to bring back the championships but it always appeared that England did not want to participate. "If they say no I want a Celtic Cup with Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland." England already have a friendly against Switzerland pencilled in for February 6 - the proposed date for the new tournament to begin

Stuttgart have definately picked up since we played them,so it's far from over,I can see a Scotland v Italy scenario winner takes all against Lyon,however if we win in Germany and Barca hump Lyon we're through

There's more chance of Rangers signing Kaka than that Happening

IMO Stevie Naysmith is a better player and he can't get a game,so although he's a good player I would rather see Naysmith get a chance before him,not to mention the likes of Gow,Burke and even the younger players like Lennon and Fleck

I never said he was Rangers class,I was merely commenting on your posts regarding players :cheers:

Victor Meldrew hasn't got a look in :cheers:

IMO it would be a good thing for Scotland as it will help continue the momentum and get us prepared for the WC qualifiers,i'd leave England out though

I must admit I was not celebrating England not qualifying,although it did make me smile a tad,I liked Hoddles comment '' Scotland were unlucky not to qualify,England were just rubbish all through the qualifiers ''

The thing with young players is you just never know what they're going to turn out like,Hutton is the perfect example of how a player can change his ways knuckle down and learn how to become a good player,and IMO that also applies to Broadfoot,Gow,Naysmith and Whittaker,they need to get a decent run in the first team to see what they are like

As long as it's in the wage structure then give him the best we can,but it's only a matter of time before he moves,as long as he stays at Ibrox for another couple of seasons at least then good luck to the guy

Novo misses vital European run-in Nacho Novo has been in good form for Rangers this season Rangers forward Nacho Novo expects to be out of action for up to six weeks. The Spaniard dislocated his shoulder during a friendly with Middlesbrough and is expected to miss the remaining Champions League group fixtures. Meanwhile, Stevie Smith has targeted a return to training in a month's time after a hernia operation. The 22-year-old left-back has not played for the Ibrox club since December and has undergone three operations in a year. Manager Walter Smith told the club website he hoped it was the end of the defender's injury problems. "Stevie had another operation last week in Germany for a slight hernia problem. It will be another month before he returns to training," said Smith. Smith said the full-back had visited a number of European countries in the past 11 months seeking specialist advice to tackle his injury problems.

Celtic Trust in IRA war of words The Celtic Trust was opposed to John Reid's appointment A Celtic supporters' trust chief who defended the singing of pro-IRA songs by fans has been described as unrepresentative by the football club. Dr Jeanette Findlay, chair of the Celtic Trust, said chants about the IRA were "songs from a war of independence going back over a hundred years". She was speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's breakfast programme. But a club spokeswoman said: "These comments are totally unrepresentative of the Celtic support." Findlay's comments came a day after her organisation opposed the appointment of John Reid as Celtic chairman because of the former Cabinet Minister's role during the war in Iraq. And it came on the day when Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, joined the 12 Scottish Premier League clubs in launching a month of action in the Kick-Out Bigotry campaign. What history tells us is that it is facile to say that politics and sport will ever be separated Dr Jeanette Findlay "There are around 27,500 Celtic shareholders," said Celtic's statement. "We believe that Ms Findlay claims to speak for only around 200 of these - a very, very small minority - as yesterday's 99.1% vote in favour of Dr Reid's appointment as chairman clearly underlines. "We are delighted with the way in which our fans currently support the team." Dr Findlay is a research fellow and economics lecturer at Glasgow University and co-director of Glasgow University Football Research Centre, where she has been involved in setting up a post-graduate course in sport and public policy. Findlay told BBC presenter Nicky Campbell that the trust's opposition to Reid's appointment was because of his "leading role in relation to what many believe is an illegal and immoral war". Campbell said that people who had relatives murdered by the IRA might find songs about the organisation equally as offensive. Findlay claimed that Celtic "was founded to help the poor Irish immigrants to Scotland" and that many of their descendants still supported the club. MY SPORT: DEBATE It's amazing how so few people can cause such a stir vortexbhoy "They may take a particular view of the history of what happened in Ireland which is different from many other people, so I don't call those pro-terrorist songs," said the chair of the organisation pressing for fan representation on Celtic's board. "What history tells us is that it is facile to say that politics and sport will ever be separated. "Throughout history, sporting events are used as means of expressing political views or political identities." Celtic Supporters Association spokesman Jim Divers said his organisation opposed any offensive add-ons to chants. "We will continue to support the club's many on-going anti-sectarianism initiatives, which are backed by the vast majority of supporters," he told the Evening Times. A Scottish government spokeswoman said of Dr Findlay's comments: "Her repugnant views have no place in a modern, forward-thinking Scotland. "The people of Scotland have had enough of bigotry."

Thomas Buffel was the inspiration for the reserves today as Rangers beat Inverness 4-2. Buffel was involved in three of the goals and scored one as the reserves cruised to a comfortable win. The Belgian was involved in 21 min when he and strike partner Stevie Lennon combined to set up Chris Burke who drove the ball home. Then in 42 min Buffel raced virtually the length of the field before squaring for Lennon who couldn't miss from close range' A minute later the young striker returned the compliment when he rolled the ball in for Buffel to fire Rangers three in front. Substitute Jeroen van den Broeck,who replaced John Fleck,made the game safe when he latched onto Buffels pass to shoot home. Team ; Reidford,McMillan,Ehiogu,Chris Smith,,Kinniburgh,Chris Burke,Furman{Kind Bendiksen 12} Fleck[van den Broeck 80},Efrem{ Little 83},Buffel,Lennon

IMO he's too young to move,he should stay for a few seasons yet,get more experience playing in the CL and for Scotland,unless of course he goes to Manure or some other top team as first choice

Who would you like to see signing for us in January ?

Gary Mcallister was in for the job after Walter Smith quit,I wonder if he will be back in for the job ?

Stevie Smith underwent another operation in Germany last week and Walter Smith says it was a success and could be back to full training in a month. Nacho Novo has a shoulder injury,picked up in the closed door friendly against Middlesborough,and could be out for for a couple of weeks. Andy Webster went through a simple clean up operation on his knee and should be back training next month.

I thought we had a wage strycture at Ibbrox ?,would Kenny Miller not break that ?

If Big Eck leaves,which would please some folk !!!!!,who do you think would be the best man to take over ?