Dalgety Bay TA

Gerrard may or may not turn out to be a good manager. Its a gamble but the other options they have tried so far haven't worked. However, whether its Gerrard or Pep Guardiola, you would need a massive increase in performance to change the current squad into a good, challenging, team. A mate at work who is friends with the family has said Scott Arfield is signing, I am sure its already been rumoured, not like thats an exclusive. From his understanding, Arfield is taking a pay cut but he is also going to be one of the top paid players at Rangers. He also may or may not be a good signing. However they are going to need a lot more than Scott Arfield to close the gap. All of the above comes back to money. I would imagine Gerrard is going to be earning a decent amount, Arfield will too, players like Pena are supposedly on very decent contracts and will be hard to ship out yet there doesn't seem to be a much of an outlay from King and the board. The January transfer window shambles with players signed, loaned, loaned but have to sign later.....all sounds like money isn't readily available at Rangers....and it will be needed to close the gap with Celtic.

On the basis Dave King was at Anfield last night? He was 2 seats along from Dalglish but nearly a whole stadium apart from Gerrard, maybe it’s King Kenny? Or he was next to Dalglish’s wife, maybe it’s her?

They do. They appreciate that a manager who while maybe not in the top level of managers nowadays, but certainly probably in the level below that, stuck with a team who is most certainly not anywhere near the top level or even a few levels below that. When you have managed Liverpool, Real Madrid and Napoli prior to Newcastle, and you are willing to stick with them even when they go into the Championship, then you get a lot of gratitude from the fans. Benitez has performed a minor miracle this season. The team was built with mainly Championship level players with the intention of getting them back out of the Championship at the first go. He did that. He then had to stick with the mainly the same squad of players this season. He got to spend £12m on another Championship player, £8m on a centre back from Eibar, £4m on an Atletico Madrid reserve and £5m on Stoke's 5th choice centre forward, behind even Peter Crouch. The clubs he would be competing with probably spent more and bought better quality. In January, when it looked like it was a certainty they were heading back to the Championship again, he got to sign, on loan, a Chelsea squad player, Leicesters 4th choice centre forward, who was injured until 2 weeks ago, and a goalie from Sparta Prague. The fact he has cobbled that lot together into a team who are currently sitting 10th is probably the reason Parkie made the MOTY comment.

There are other radio stations.

I agree with all your comments. However part of the issue was they had McCoist in charge who wouldn’t know a philosophy and play style if they came up and patted him on the held. He only knew the old Rangers way of signing the biggest names you can for as much money as you can afford. Or not afford but still spend anyway.

Much more pace and movement compared to Friday. The completely different midfield 3 saw to that as well as having pace in the wide areas with Fraser and Forrest. On Friday Robertson was the only one who really had pace wide and it showed. Definite positives with 2 young centre backs doing well. You can argue Hungary didn't show much up front but what they did show, the back 3 dealt with. I also don't see Mulgrew being dropped any time soon. Like it or not, pretty sure Eck will go with an experienced person in there, even if he was the poorest of the 3 tonight. No way I can see him playing a back 3 who are about 20/21 years old each. Still need Griffiths fit as we are lacking options there. Phillips isn't the answer long term but he was better than McBurnie on Friday and glad to see him get a goal. Then again the performance was night and day as a team from Fridays effort. McGregor in goals also showed why he is still a good squad option.

Just be grateful it wasn't the age of mobile phones otherwise he would have been sending you dick pics. Its cute how you think he was thinking about football though.

Indeed. Good set up at Kelty, been to a fair few games this season. They have the pitch in use during the week for 7's etc so income there, have now got permission for a 500 seater stand to be built in the summer, do hospitality most games which more often than not is very well taken up (£30 - 5 pints, food pre, HT and post). are selling "seats for life" and the likes. They are obviously paying a fair bit for the players they have there but they seem, at the moment, to be able to afford it.

If they are going to start awarding points for homes there should be a bigger differential between homes and aways. The average costs of an away, on mainland Europe, will be between £200-400 depending on your ability to get cheap flights and stay in shitholes. The average cost for two home games for a central belter, including say £10 for a bus/train, would be approx £70. If you are rewarding "loyalty" ie those who spend the most on following the team then it should be correlated in some way to the cost involved in attending these games. I would have said 3 points away to 1 home a fairer reflection. I also think if they are rewarding loyalty, as they keep on saying they are, then current away points tallies should be doubled at the start of this process. Loyalty didn't start in 2018.

1977 World Cup qualifiers. Until he walked out on us mid-campaign.

I remember the last time we were in a 3 team group....

Never saw that coming. Price on Stoke to be relegated will be odds on now.

You have to remember that even 2 seasons ago is almost a lifetime in terms of transfer fees. I thought at the time £12/13m was a very decent sum for a defender signed for £2m or thereabouts 2 seasons before. Plus he was wanting out after the CL qualifying rounds loss.

Rearranged Shed Seven gig at Liquid Rooms at end of January. Young Fathers at Barras in April. Going to do the Killers/CHVURCHES/FF day at Transmit. Hacienda Classical at Ingliston in August. Was considering the Nile Rodgers thing at Kelvingrove Park same day at Liam at Transmit but its came out at £87 a day ticket so feck that.

Scotsman back page headline has "Rangers sweat on McInnes" today. Doesn't paint a pretty picture.

Agreed. Last seasons was probably a harder group (BMG better than Anderlecht IMO) but the draw in Germany and the home draw with Man City, ignoring the away dead rubber draw, were at least signs of progress (always like that word!) in terms of trying to compete against the better teams. This season seems to have gone backwards. I am not holding out much hope of EL progress either.

The aim was always to be in Europe after Xmas, however its been achieved in pretty poor fashion.

Or maybe Klopp has had a look at him in training day in day out and thinks Moreno and Milner are better options? Maybe he is not "making some kind of point", maybe he is just using his managerial judgement on the 3 options he has for left back?

John Watson. Flying heider from about edge of the box (in my mind now!). EDIT - well just inside the 6 yard box!

Spot on. Fantastic results for Shamrock Rovers in 2 legs including winning in Belgrade. Not only did he get NI to the Euro's, he also got them out of the groups and into the knockout rounds. And again got them to the play offs in the WC, far better outcomes in both cases than we had in those campaigns. And arguably with a poorer set of players. Bar the centre backs not many would get in our team.

I don't think you are really all there. You go on about Judas and hypocrisy and we shouldn't be poaching NI's manager and then at the same time are suggesting Lagerback, Norways CURRENT manager, as an option. FFS. Olsen is 75. Klinsmann and Hiddink are about as far our of league financially as any managers could be. Bilic has just had an absolute shambles of a stint at West Ham.

Have Shed Seven at Liquid Rooms a week today then Tom Clarke on the Friday at ABC, Kasabian at the Hydro on the Saturday and Shed Seven/Cast at O2 the following Friday.

As I was saying before the board cut me off! I am mates with most of the lads from the North of Italy Tartan Army, Italian lads who follow Scotland and who have done so for a number of years, 10+ in many cases. Firstly, not many of them feel particularly "Italian". Its still quite a new and fragmented country, they come from the North and North East, some are active supporters for the independence for Veneto campaign and they don't actively support the Italian national team. Why Scotland then? Well in many cases they actually like, or possibly that should be liked, the Scottish/Tartan Army level of support and atmosphere, it appeals to them and they felt it actually represented a bit of what you see at Italian club level supports. It possibly wouldn't be the same case now as as our support only seems to rouse itself on the odd occasion but when the lads across there started we actually had cracking away supports and pretty good home levels of support. As said, many see supporting their national team as a natural extension of where they were born but I am sure there are decent numbers who don't make that same link, both in Scotland and overseas.

Not everyone is as nationalistic (I mean that in the good way) as some Scottish fans are and that includes some of our own countrymen. I have a fair few mates who have no interest in the national team. I am mates with most of the lads from the North of Italy Tartan Army, Italian lads who follow Scotland and who have done so for a number of years, 10+ in many cases. Firstly, not many of them feel particularly "Italian". Its still quite a new and fragmented country, they come from the North and North E

Tierney would undoubtedly bring most value to the team as a left back. Your following sentence explains exactly why he should be there as he does what Robertson doesn't further up the park. Overall I am not a fan of Robertson. He's decent, but nothing more than that IMO, he's a bit suss defensively and is usually described as "good going forward", usually the death knell for full backs. And to be honest he isn't actually that good going forward as he doesn't give the same attacking threat/delivery as Tierney does. Last night should have seen either or both of Cooper and Hanlon getting some game time. Its our weakest position and we need options there, options which then don't weaken the team by playing one of our biggest assets there because no one else is better.