JFK-1

You get the feeling a third is on the cards before halftime.

Who cares if nobody likes us. Nobody in England likes Man U, ever wondered why that is? Could their success be a clue? If they ever start liking us it wont be down to us thrashing everybody which is the aim. And in fact if being the overall most obsessed about is a sort of mark of popularity we ARE in fact the most popular team in the country. Maybe we should stop arguing with the obsessed and start thanking them for their assistance in making us the most high profile most talked about team in the country.

This may prove to the most interesting of the 4 group matches. Granted Motherwell were the SPL opponent but it was basically the first outing of the season and featured nothing like the starting 11 for Hamilton which we are edging closer towards. And besides, even with nothing like the starting 11 defensive slip ups aside we played them off the park with what was basically our Championship team. I hope to see Barton start and get at least an hour as he must need it for fitness purposes alone. Crooks will be like another new signing when we get him fit. Couple of weeks away apparently and he may go a long way to negating the high ball set piece threat perhaps at both ends. We have all been raving about Windass while Crooks was actually rated the greatest loss by Accrington fans.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/andy-mclaren-rejects-idea-scottish-8481621#Z5sqRwW85OVu69t5.97

I'm confident if they can find anything better than we already have that's what they will go for.

The manager is working on it which may be a final piece in the jigsaw to satisfy you all. Plus we're going to get our first sight of Rossiter in action in a Rangers jersey tomorrow night. Mark Warburton targets two more Rangers signings with a defender and a striker in his sights http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mark-warburton-targets-two-more-8481146#TdBKfbvveoRhTY3v.97

Last seasons SPL was won with 4 losses and that was an SPL with no visits to Ibrox. And you have to guess that if a team which finished 4th in the league in Malta can win at Tynecastle it's not such a big ask.

I have no doubt we can win it. I think we have the best midfield in the league which is always going to create chances for the strikers and will themselves contribute a tidy amount of goals. In fact I predict right now that we will have more goals from the midfield than any other team in the SPL plus the attacking fullbacks will chip in too. As you say the defence will have to be somewhat more efficient and hopefully that will come. I expect the most impressive performance of the campaign so far at Ibrox against Stranraer. Fitness levels are increasing and the floodgates are due to open up on a goal fest.

Totally agree, it's ludicrous. Akin to us if we had been banished to stay in league 2 for 5 seasons and then crowed about winning it 5 times in a row. Those titles are meaningless in the sense of any achievement and everybody knows it but just doesn't want to say it. Nobody else but them or us have won it in decades. Then anybody should be impressed that they keep winning it when we're not in it? Comical.

Kranjcar is patently not fit yet but still hugely impressive. In his first 5 minutes on the pitch I saw him ping a pass from one wing to the other that landed right at the feet of McKay who was in acres of space because the opposition saw no threat with the ball on the opposite wing. Such passing looks virtually effortless to him and it's not just the incredible accuracy that caught my eye. It had power and pace on it which meant it arrived at the feet of McKay barely a second or two after leaving the boot of Kranjcar giving McKay more time in space before the opposition could react. When he gets up to full fitness he is going to be a stunning acquisition. I was going to say that 12 months ago I never dreamed that 12 months later we would have the best midfield in the league but I will just amend that to 12 weeks ago far less 12 months.

But still illogical isn't it. There is no fortune to be made from winning silverware or a high league position in Scotland. Only Europe can bring a significant amount of money but to get it you must be capable of progressing in Europe. They aren't capable so there was absolutely nothing of any consequence for them to gain in a financial sense.

You may be right but I can find nothing saying so. Seeding isn't mentioned beyond the group stage.

Seems the management team were in the stand watching at Hamilton. Rangers boss Mark Warburton checked out Accies who are the visitors to Ibrox for the Scottish Premiership opener on August 6 and he watched Crawford convert Grant Gillespie’s cross to give the home side a 13th minute lead.

It may or may not surprise you to learn that in their little bubble they don't obsess on Rangers, it's us who obsess on them and comically this claim is made while, you guessed it, obsessing on Rangers. Irony doesn't seem to be a recognisable feature in the bubble. One of the latest things to get them in a froth is nothing more than a discussion of playing styles and Scottish failure in Europe by a Rangers blogger which apparently passes as further evidence that all we do is obsess on them while they couldn't care less about Rangers. And just one more comment on that, on the very same forum where they are claiming we are the obsessed they have a "sevco" thread running to over 117,000 non obsessional posts. But anyway, their latest non obsessional raves are about this. Rangers Record FC: Why can't Scottish teams replicate Mark Warburton's entertaining and dominant football? http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-record-fc-cant-scottish-8472656#rlabs=3%20rt$category%20p$2#yLeYi7sIIVf0vE8w.97

I don't think it's seeded at the last 16 stage, I think it's a traditional straight draw because there is no mention of any seeding beyond the group stages.

My dream draw for the last 16 of the league cup is hibs at Ibrox. That would rapidly knock the wind out of their sails and incidentally apparently they are proud of their team after Brondy. You know what level you are when you're proud of going out in the first round of a Euro competition. Well actually maybe they don't know their level but everyone else does. Chances are they're lucky they didn't have to play through the group stage of the betfred cup far less Europe.

David Moyes has been appointed Sunderland manager on a four-year deal. The former Everton and Manchester United boss, 53, takes charge at the Stadium of Light after Sam Allardyce left to become England manager. "I have taken over a big British club, with a great support, and I'm looking forward to working in the Premier League again," said Moyes. The Scot has been out of work since being sacked by Spanish club Real Sociedad in November. Allardyce was confirmed as Roy Hodgson's successor with the national team on Friday. Sunderland chairman Ellis Short said Moyes was "first choice" to take control of the Black Cats. More to follow. http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36874200

Record opinion. I think we could add Crooks and Rossiter to those left out.

I still feel someone is due a hammering and that may now be Stranraer on the bigger pitch with increasing fitness levels and edging closer to the first 11 being deployed. All in all it's worked out pretty well as a pre-season since we will have had 4 competitive matches after Stranraer and 4 wins given that Monday will most certainly be another routine victory. The Burnley match is an ideal final run out before the real action since they will be better quality than anything we will face in the SPL and it will be interesting to see how the defence fares against that higher quality and how the attack looks against a team you would think unlikely to be playing 10 at the back.

Woohoo. Glad Dodoo gets off the mark in his first spell on the pitch. Well taken. He was in there fast.

On Rangers TV they said there are nearby hills interfering.

I think that was the first shot East Stirling have had? A bit of me wishes it was on target to see Gilks make a save.

Is the stream messing up on TV or just online?

I think they might be more penetrating on a bigger pitch. I suspect there may have been more goals already if this had been at Ibrox.

Should have hit the target but it happens.