JFK-1

This time last year I would have been content to be promoted then get a top 6 finish this year and I suspect most would have settled for that. Now suddenly it's apparently not good enough unless we're throwing around mega millions we don't have and crafting a team capable of conquering Europe when we aren't even in European competition. I believe this team is capable of challenging for the title which is a lot better than the top 6 finish I would have settled for this time last year. We have nothing to complain about at this stage. Not a thing. The board and the management have delivered everything they promised and more.

It's financially irrelevant to us who we play at home providing we get half of our matches at home. The crowd will be more or less similar in size no matter who we play at Ibrox so the Partick et al complaints are not our concern. The greatest irritation to me is that these are the same people who bit off their own noses to spite their faces 4 years ago while declaring they didn't need us and are now crying that they don't get enough of us? Frankly, f*%# them all. I wish we could get out of this league and leave them to rot in their own squalor. We should have applied to start at the bottom in England 4 years ago.

Windass brands Accrington 'petty' over training ban The way I see it if it's true that this is being held up and they are being denied the right to train due to Accrinton failing to provide required details it goes beyond petty and into vindictive. They're not painting a very pretty picture of themselves for future young recruits and as for “They’ve got two great players for nothing" well that's the breaks when you operate on a system of one year contracts. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-new-boy-josh-windass-8227175#iQmhp9zP1z7iUr2x.97

It's what we have all been complaining about for a long time and if this latest bid comes off I think we have the makings of a very solid defence taking shape. Put that alongside the quality being sprinkled around the midfield and the fact that scoring goals hasn't been a big issue we're gearing up to have a side very little in the SPL could live with. I don't know if it's connected to recent signings but skybet are now offering 20/1 on Aberdeen for the title with Hearts 40/1 and Rangers at 3/1 If anyone wants a bet on them you should get it on now because that's going to tumble even further if we hit the ground running like we did last year by handing out a few thrashings. And given that Dundee were handed a thrashing by a Rangers team not so impressive as the one taking shape now that's a distinct possibility.

I don't get why he was carded for that tackle. It was a fantastic tackle in which he took the ball then the attacker performed some almost comical theatrics in an effort to get him carded.

Recently I find myself wondering if they're going to be bringing in much of anything given that a priority for them has to be offloading not piling more on.

Well i'm confident they weren't offering to pay him in fish and chips. The ££££££££££ have no greater value in an office than they do in a restaurant.

I see it as a relaxing environment to take him to in an effort to swing a deal. I hope it comes off because if McParland and in particular Weir think he is a better than anything we currently have I trust their judgment. The leaky defence is being plugged and given that we were already a potent attacking force last season I expect this new look side to be truly formidable in the SPL.

I would like it if we got both Mariappa and Nelson which would provide plenty of cover for the problem centre back position. Experience in the case of Mariappa and a potential sell on value in Nelson.

I posted the first pic to an Argyle forum and one of them thought it was Mariappa.

I'm puzzled, they all said this league doesn't need Rangers right?

I like the cut of his jib. That #55 is going to have the sevco crazies frothing at the mouth to inform him that this is a brand new team.

I will hazard a guess at the Hamilton formation on opening day. 9-0-1 or maybe an adventurous 8-1-1

And the Championship opening day. Hibs away at Falkirk. Laughing my socks off.

Couldn't have asked for a much better first day. The top two contenders from last season have tough away matches while we are at home to one of the relegation contenders.

I like it, I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that they could drop points in the first match away to Hearts while we could steamroller over Hamilton at Ibrox to top the league on the first day.

Home to Hamilton in the first game, that's it above your post. I'm baffled that Celtic are away in their first match but that's what's posted in the SPFL website.

It's still a side with a very young average and I would say it probably has just the right touch of over 30's for experience and in addition those over 30's are of a greater quality. Who is seen as the star man for the opposition? Brown no less and he will be 31 this month. The same age as Krancjar.

The opening matches for the 2016/17 season are: Ladbrokes Premiership Hearts v Celtic 06/08/16 Kilmarnock v Motherwell 06/08/16 Partick Thistle v Inverness 06/08/16 Rangers v Hamilton 06/08/16 Ross County v Dundee 06/08/16 St. Johnstone v Aberdeen 06/08/16 Saturday 10th September 2016 - Celtic v Rangers http://spfl.co.uk/fixture-day-released/

I'm intrugued by Crooks, I think he may turn out to be a valuable acquisition. He's a 6ft 4" tank of a guy who even if he is playing in the midfield I expect may be back there in the centre helping to defend against corners lofted high into the box which was exactly what lost us the first goal in the semi. That alone helps solve one problem from last season. I was cringing at every corner.

I have nothing against Newcastle, Ashley yes but not Newcastle fans who despise Ashley every bit as much as we do and perhaps even more since he has his posionous claws far deeper in their club than he ever has in ours. And if you take a look at their forums they have nothing but empathy for us and our troubles with him.

Krancjar is younger than Barton and Barton made 38 appearances for Burnley last season so I expect Krancjar can do the same in a less demanding league. Kenny Miller made 32 appearances last season playing in a much more demanding role than Hill will be so I think it may be speculative to question how much play we can get from Hill. And since we still don't know how the likes of Crooks will be deployed I would disagree that we have the same weaknesses we did last time out. And I suspect the remoulded midfield alone may make a huge difference to what gets through to the defence at all. To me it's shaping up to be a far more formidable oufit than last season and last season even "the best team in Scotland" struggled to cope with a team that was vastly weakened by injuries and cup tied status.

It's a good sign that the manager is getting so many of his targets on board so early. Gives him time to tinker and decide on the optimum line up long before a ball is kicked in earnest. We hit the ground running with almost no preparation last season so I hope for a similar start this time round. Many teams tend to stutter in the opening phases of a campaign while our exemplary first quarter in the Championship eventually proved to be what more or less won it for us when the inevitable bad results did come. If we can do the same again and maybe even top the league early on we may prove difficult to displace. Exciting times, if Mo Johnston thought the semi final team looked like Barcelona what can the manager squeeze out of this more experienced and talented group. If the rest of Scottish football had any semblance of sanity they would have been hoping for us to win the Scottish cup. Hibs will be kicked out before the postcards get home while I seriously believe we would have had a chance of making the group stage and getting the country some co-efficiency points.

Injury time winners are becoming a feature of this tournament.

He has always referred to it as a "project" and on his part it's a minimum 3 year project. The transfer window will be open for sometime yet and there will be another in January so there may yet be more spending for this season either in this window or the next. Might be wise to save a chunk to see how the land lies between the start of the season and January? Plus as you suggest if he thinks this team is already good enough to even just get a top 3 spot then he will be ahead of Dave Kings initial plan. King said Europa league was a minimum expectation but he also said that it wouldn't neccesarily be in the first season back so if the team secured a Europa league spot they're ahead of schedule. And the manager was promised "resources" to strengthen the team. I expect it's entirely up to him how he chooses to use those resources whether it be on transfer fees or wages.