JFK-1

I earlier mentioned my ideal draw if we go through would be Man Utd. Doesn't get much better than a battle of Britain and in this instance it has even more spice to it with Stevie G coming up against an old adversary. Beat them we can beat anybody in it.

The ideal scenario is we win at Feyenoord and YB beat Porto which would seal qualification. I think we're capable of winning at Feyenoord but fancy Porto to find some form and beat YB. As has been mentioned there's a history of doing it the hard way or falling at the final hurdle but surely just once it can go the easy way. Man Utd and Arsenal are joint 6/1 favourites to win the tournament.

On oddschecker Rangers are currently favourites to win group G.

From their forums. You and I know it's unrealistic for them to truly compete but on their forums they don't know it or pretend not to know it. It's all the more ludicrous because they think that their relatively marginal financial advantage over the provincials should mean they utterly dominate them but that same logic isn't applied when approaching the gigantic financial advantage of the OF. This from just yesterday as an example and this isn't a rarity. I didn't have to look far to find it. So, 3 points minimum at home maybe lose away plus dominate the provincials. Hey presto, competing for the league.

Probably not so easy to accommodate when there are more senior players also desperate for some game time. For example doesn't Polster deserve some time? As it stands these development players would have to be outstanding to get a chance. If they were that good i'm confident they would be put in. Wayne Rooney was in the Everton first team at at 16 simply because he was outstanding.

I'm hoping Barry is wrong on this one on both counts. I'm hoping Morelos will still be with us beyond next Summer and hoping his £30 million estimate is inaccurate in the sense of being an under estimate. Goal scorers draw premium prices and Morelos is scoring prolifically at every level thrown at him. Which is why i'm hoping he stays beyond next Summer to do it in the CL and boost his price tag up into the stratosphere. Contingent on winning the league of course. I see little chance of him staying beyond next Summer if we don't. If get a go at the CL that could be the draw to persuade him to stay just one more year. Anybody getting the feeling that on this form he's destined to score against the yahoos at Hampden?

I expect we all do or at the very least a lot of us do. it goes against the grain for me to want them to win but currently we find ourselves in a situation where either us or them losing is detrimental to not just the Scottish game overall but to Rangers as well. If I were English and a Liverpool fan I expect I wouldn't give the proverbial flying if Man Utd were beaten in Europe and may even be cheering a defeat. But if Man Utd say never won a single game in Europe this season it's going to have little to no bearing on the English placing in the co-efficient table and certainly wouldn't affect England's automatic entries to the CL groups. As we all know that's not the case for Scotland and further if we and the yahoos can continue the form of the past two seasons into next season we could actually rise to 10th which not only would give the country 2 CL places it would give the Scottish champions automatic entry to the group stages while the runner up enters at QR2. That has to be desirable. Just win the league and you automatically earn maybe up to £50 million.

Set to start just before Alfies goal. Not one of his best but his first international goal is a big moment for him.

He's already contracted till 2023 and realistically that will be his last contract with us. He has never hidden what his ambition is and he will be going to the EPL come what may. The best we might get now is hopefully winning the league then persuading him to stay one more year till 2021 to prove himself in the CL which could improve his chances of going to a top 6 side in the EPL. We're now in a better position to sign more young talent like him than we were when he first arrived. We're qualifying for and competing in Europe which has to be an attraction for the next youngster like him looking for an ultimate move to the top end in the EPL. Finding it is the problem. JJ deserves a plaque on the wall at Ibrox for the Morelos tip.

Actually and this surprises me Hibs fans have of late become a shade more rational than their opposite number at Hearts. All season both have been wishing nothing but defeat on Rangers in Europe but now with the co-efficient rising rapidly and an extra Euro spot within reach hibs fans are starting to see the light. But not their opposite number who might be viewed at times as a classic example of Scottish football hating itself to death.

Take a look around their forums and you will find the view I attributed to them is common. That's where i'm getting it from it's not just an opinion I formed. They may not be so vociferous face to face I don't know but online they are. Kilmarnock took 9 points from Rangers last season, Why shouldn't they? It's obviously easy. And the have a go rant isn't just the cry in circumstances where they're already losing. Apparently sitting in is what gets them losing because Rangers are 'bang average' is a common one. The common strategy of just sitting in isn't working so 'just have ago' from the first seconds in every game. From a Hearts forum prior to the cup semi. A side negotiating it's way through 4 Euro qualifying ties in two successive seasons which no other club in the world has managed is just ordinary. Then when reaching the groups not simply making up the numbers but competing, 'ordinary' They lost the cup semi not because Rangers have far superior players but because Levein didn't 'have a go' so even with him gone the team don't know how to. Fantasy stuff. They think because they have something of a financial advantage over much of the league that means they should be brushing them aside with ease. But that doesn't seem to translate in the opposite direction. The financial advantage we have over them is cavernous in comparison to the edge they have over a St Johnstone but there is no appreciation of that. They should be competing with us. Same in sheep land where I have seen it stated that if there is no chance of winning the league as 'that hun' McInnes more or less concedes what's the point? May as well just fold and give up. Which is obviously beyond stupid given that the vast majority of teams in all leagues the world over have little to no chance of ever winning their domestic league. There would be no game if not for those making up the numbers. In Scotland everyone outside the top two is making up the numbers and have been for decades. That's a reality you would imagine to have been realised by now.

Possibly another reason we should be holding on to him. An established internationalist with experience of playing at a major international tournament and hopefully CL level can only tack a chunk on to the price tag while we benefit before and after the eventual sale a couple of years or so down the line.

He's going to find it a difficult task because the fans of both Edinburgh sides have unrealistic expectations. They expect they should be competing with the OF and that's unrealistic at a time when the rest of the league are probably as far behind as they have ever been. They're operating in a freebie transfer market typically landing league 1 or even 2 freebies at best. They're not going to be competing with Rangers on any real level with that standard of squad. Huge numbers of their fans and probably the majority have a frankly simple minded view of the game. For example when Hearts were pinned back by us at Hampden that means to the fans they're not 'having a go' and all they have to do to have a chance is 'have a go' This 'have a go' mantra is truly stupid at such a high level of the game. What's it even supposed to mean? Go at it which means opening up against far superior quality who can rip you to shreds with ease? Then what will they say if they take a humiliating thrashing? An educated guess would be Ross out is what they will say then simply continue sacking managers likely as good as they can get perpetually? Being pinned back against superior opposition doesn't mean they're not 'having a go' it simply means they just can't work a way out of there against such class without being quickly carved open and taking a hiding. The sheep fans are equally as unrealistic.

If such an offer came in for Kamara given we got him for almost nothing it would have to be tempting. But then again if they really were willing to offer that much it's an indication of how good he really is which is something laymen such as ourselves can't always fully appreciate. And if he is that good then presumably we could cash in by just as much in the Summer. Ross Wilson has just recently stated that no 'key' players will be leaving and if Kamara is that good he has to be classed as a key player we couldn't directly replace with equivalent quality. Right from the start and by the start I mean when King took over the stated ambition has always been Champions league. But to do that we first have to win the league against a yahoo side that is also sprinkled with quality then negotiate 4 qualifying rounds against ever tougher opposition as it progresses. I don't see how e can do that by selling off such key players we would potentially be unable to replace with equivalent quality. If the last word comes down to Gerrard I doubt Kamara will be leaving. Champions league is his target and he wont take kindly to anyone getting in his way as he strives to build a reputation suitable for his ultimate ambition and we all know what that is.

Just as an aside I listened to a podcast with Barry Ferguson and Keith Jackson they call Fergie time. Jackson tried to push him into commenting on the story linking his nephew to Rangers. Asking things like do you think he would want to go to Ibrox which Barry didn't want to comment on and got him to back off by saying "I don't want to get the boy into trouble" Ridiculous question anyway. Which young boy in his position with his family history wouldn't want to join Rangers to earn more money and play at a higher level. And if Barry had basically stated the obvious and said it then the boy would have been a hate target for the sheep lot who think anybody playing for them should have no ambition at all. It would be like us hating Alfie for wanting a move to the EPL. We don't and we wont when it eventually happens.

So now HMRC have made a comment on twitter no less. Apparently it's almost unknown for them to comment on specific cases but in this instance they have.

I don't see Alfie leaving in January given that Gerrard has made clear how he feels about it and he has to have massive influence. Then we have Ross Wilson saying no key players will be leaving and Alfie is probably as key as it gets. And throw in the fact the fans would be more than pissed if they let this player go at this crucial time it just doesn't seem likely. Unless somebody offered really funny money and i'm talking 50 million upwards funny which would turn even my head I don't see him leaving in January.

RANGERS midfielder Glen Kamara has emerged as a January transfer target for three Premier League clubs and Championship title challengers Leeds United. The 24-year-old has turned in a series of impressive performances for Steven Gerrard’s side this term and the Ibrox boss admitted last week that there was interest from south of the border. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Brighton have all been tracking Kamara in recent months and the former Dundee midfielder could have a decision to make over his future just a year after completing a £50,000 move to Ibrox. Rangers are under no financial pressure to sell Kamara but could cash in around the £8 million mark if the Finnish international moves on during the January window. The Light Blues will look to offload a handful of fringe players early next year to reduce the size of the first team squad that Gerrard has at his disposal and that will be one of the first remits for Sporting Director Ross Wilson following his arrival from Southampton. Kamara still has three-and-a-half years left on his Ibrox deal and has been an integral part of Gerrard’s side this term as the Gers have made a positive start to the campaign domestically and in the Europa League. And Rangers’ resolve in the market now looks set to be tested as a host of English sides monitor Kamara and consider their options for the second half of the campaign. https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/18033995.rangers-midfielder-glen-kamara-8million-january-target-english-sides/

While the amended tax bill is oldco Rangers are still currently suffering the massive consequences of this apparent blunder. Just as one example we wouldn't have the ongoing situation of Ashley robbing us blind if not for this incompetence and he's the least of it. We will never know how many trophies it has cost the club and the financial losses are likely even more incalculable.

Alfredo Morelos: Rangers striker will not be sold in January - Ross Wilson New sporting director Ross Wilson says Rangers do not have to sell prize assets such as striker Alfredo Morelos in January. The Scottish Premiership club this month announced losses of £11.3m and admitted they need to raise £10m before the end of the season. Asked if he could state that the club did not have to cash in on its biggest assets, Wilson replied: "Categorically. We want our best players to stay here as long as they possibly can." Colombian Morelos, who joined Rangers for a reported £1m from HJK Helsinki in 2017, has scored 22 goals in 26 games this season. An interview given in his homeland has been interpreted as him hinting he could be open to a January move, but manager Steven Gerrard has already said he is "100% sure" the striker will be going nowhere. "We understand that, like every other club in world football, there comes a point when players have to move on to something else for a variety of reasons," 36-year-old Wilson said. "We'll be no different to that, but it's certainly not on the horizon in January. "The first team has a number of players who could be really interesting for a number of clubs because the club is in a significantly better position than it was before and a lot of that is down to the recruitment and the work Steven and the coaching staff have done with the players." Wilson will lead a number of departments at the club's Hummel Training Centre, including the scouting system and youth academy, as part of his new role. Although the former Falkirk, Huddersfield Town, Watford and Southampton employee will not be personally involved in the search for fresh talent, he stressed that the hunt for players is well underway. "I'm not the chief scout or head of recruitment," he said. "We've got a strong recruitment department headed by Andy Scoulding, who I've spent a lot of time with since I came here. "We're all going to pull our heads and our contacts together and make sure in every position we have a strong plan. It doesn't matter what position we're talking about, we have to be ready all the time and have a strong scouting plan that can take us across the next three or four transfer windows." Having previously turned down the role at Ibrox as he felt a loyalty to Southampton, Wilson feels that he has now joined a club "in a really strong position". https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50409392

You realise how many hearts this is breaking? And not the ones you may first think. I'm wondering if a government body such as HMRC can be sued for the devastating damage their incompetence caused to not just a business but a Scottish institution. Damage that's still wreaking havoc.

Not seeing anything there to suggest that we want to be moving on anything but peripherals in January. I suspect we may see Greg Docherty sold.

You have to expect Porto to come on to a game sometime. They're currently second in the Portugese league just 2 points behind leaders Benfica.

Everything i have previously read on it would indicate that Gerrard himself was the one who recognised that this is a player we can get him for almost nothing and I would like him in my team. I would simply rather we don't sell any first picks until the Summer. The players in question are young and unlikely to turn into duds in that time so surely we can expect equivalent offers later. We have the assets to balance out the losses later. Why do it now when a title and a chance at £50 million in the CL is on the line.