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is the story in papers true ,sunderland looking at ally? or is it just headlines? if it did happen and it worked out how would you feel?

Sir Alex Ferguson was interviewed on Clyde SSB last night and was only too happy to talk about Rangers, whom he says, along with Scotland, are the teams he is enjoying watching in his retirement (strangely he didn't mention Man U). I typed a transcript of the interview while I was listening as I thought it would be of interest for the forum to read the opinion and viewpoint of such a legend of the game (who also happens to be a fellow fan and ex-player): ------------------------------------------------------------- How do you think the current Rangers team are performing under new management? "I don't know Mark Warburton but he came with a great resumé with the job he did at Brentford.He has the experience of having David Weir alongside him at Ibrox and I think it's a good combination and they've had a fantastic start... But y'know, there's a lot of criticism pointed towards Ally McCoist for his time at Rangers. Do y'know something? I thought Ally McCoist did a fantastic job under undue pressure and NO-ONE, unless they have been in that position, knows exactly how hard it was. So I wouldn't have any criticism about Ally McCoist. But I am pleased that Rangers are now looking to step forward from the bad experiences of the last few years." Do you think the current Rangers team can challenge for the top division? "I wouldn't have thought so. There will be a team to get out of that division. There will be a team to challenge for the Premier League. It's a stepping stone. Obviously, what they've achieving at the moment can only get them into the Premier division. Being in the Premier division is an entirely different aspect altogether and I am sure the Rangers board will recognise the need to invest and make sure they are a team who CAN challenge Celtic and possibly even WIN the division." -------------------------------------------------------------- He finished off by saying, "there's your dinner, RangersMedia."

"McCoist must be the biggest mistake of Walter Smith's managerial career and doubly so by recommending him to follow as manager, what did Smith see in McCoist that we have failed to have shown to us." I read the above comment is another thread. Well I imagine Walter probably saw what the rest of us saw at the time, a new and inexperienced manager being given the chance to take on the top job after years of mentoring from Walter himself. Similar to the opportunity that Lennon was given with Celtic the year before. And so we all though over these past few years we would have been watching the two young managers go head to head for the title. It all started extremely well for McCoist, with Rangers taking (if I recall correctly) a 15 point lead (albeit Celtic having two games in hand) over a Celtic being managed by an ever increasingly erratic Neil Lennon. Now imagine if the entire financial meltdown hadn't actually happened. If Whyte hadn't been a crook, if there had been no Administration, etc. etc. Would we have won the league that year? I would imagine so, and possibly by quite a considerable margin. What would have been the opinion of Ally then? Rather high I imagine. How would Ranger then have performed under Ally the two following seasons? We'll never know, but could Ally have taken three in a row instead of Lennon? I'm sure there's every chance. And I doubt Lennon would have stayed in the job as long as he did, instead he got to coast through on easy street, cutting his management teeth, knowing that Celtic were guaranteed the title each year. The meltdown of course did happen, and along with the 10 point deduction, it had to affect Rangers top to bottom, down through the management and the playing staff and on to the park. Since Whyte announced Administration on the steps of Ibrox that day, the circus has continued on and on and on, and not stopped. It has been one farcical and unbelievable thing after another. This is not the situation that Ally or any other Rangers manager should ever have been working under. And the situation appears to be getting worse and worse on an almost daily basis, again this has to have had a knock on effect filtering down onto the performance on the pitch. There is simply no way it couldn't have done. Ally has done the job through the most unthinkable circumstances, circumstances which has probably made the job beyond the realms of difficult, but probably out right impossible. So with this unprecedented and incomprehensible situation that McCoist has been placed in, can we really judge how he has performed? I'm finding it difficult. Ally McCoist - was, is, and always will be a Rangers Legend.

I haven't seen this spoken about yet, but what did you think of Ally talking on Eklipse Sports Radio's Football Show. It's a very funny interview, and well worth a listen.

Emotions are running high and after yet another rangers performance devoid of even the basic standards of football then I think its seriously time we start evaluating not just McCoist but Durrant & McDowall. Just what are they bringing to the table? Watching the hearts match they are just stood there and didnt seem to realise it was down to them to switch things about. Are they happy with how McCoist is setting things up? Are they seeing things in training that we arent? In fact what do they do at training? Certainly not practicing set pieces thats for sure. The standard of play is horrendous but the fact we cant even profit from set plays because our delivery is so poor is just unforgiveable. Ultimately if we are saying we cant afford to pay off McCoist why not sack his 'buddies' and install someone like Billy Davies to either force McCoist to change his ways or move on himself. Either way something has to give.

Made a little android app called 'Flying Football' I would really appreciate it if you can download it and rate it. Thanks. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.football.flyingfootball

Not sure if there's somewhere specific they should be, so thought I'd start a thread... feel free to add more pictures from todays game. Admin, if it needs moved, just move it.

ALLY McCOIST, the Rangers manager, will meet with the club's chief executive, Graham Wallace, next week to discuss his summer transfer strategy after once again electing to stay out of the latest round of off-field problems to engulf the SPFL League 1 leaders. It has been another turbulent week at Ibrox as former director Dave King launched an attack on the board and was subsequently summoned to a meeting by chairman David Somers to discuss the club's future in the face of supporter unrest. King will arrive in Scotland in the coming days and has announced his intention to speak with investors and fans before holding talks with the Rangers board. McCoist refused to be drawn on the prospects of the South Africa-based businessman returning to the club when he met the media last week and, speaking ahead of Rangers' William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final against Albion Rovers this weekend, he confirmed he will maintain his silence as he prepares for his own talks with Wallace. "Absolutely," McCoist said when asked if he was still maintaining his stance. "Even more so after reading Mr King being quoted as saying he thinks the manager should concentrate on football matters. I know Graham and the board are also happy for me to concentrate on football matters. So if all parties involved want me to do that then I am thrilled to concentrate on football matters. Those gentleman can discuss what they have to discuss and I will concentrate on getting a result on Sunday. "I had a meeting with the chief executive on Wednesday, which was fine, and we are meeting a couple of times next week. The discussions will enlighten us in terms of strengthening the squad. These things have to be looked at for next season." King will arrive seeking clarity over the true financial state of affairs at the club after two major shareholders in Rangers International Football Club plc - Laxey Partners Ltd and Sandy Easdale - agreed a combined £1.5m loan last week. McCoist and his players could do their bit to ease the club's money worries by winning the William Hill Scottish Cup and securing the prize money on offer, but the Rangers manager insists he is only focused on the on-field benefits of success. "I haven't personally [thought of the financial implications of a cup run], but I have been told it would be very beneficial to the club, particularly at this time," he said. "I haven't thought about it myself. I don't know whether that is right or wrong but I'm just trying to concentrate on getting the team to the semi-final. "I don't want to reach the cup semi-final for the financial benefits, that would be an added bonus. I'd imagine [it wasn't part of the budget], but you'd need to ask those who did the budget at the start of the season."

I wrote this yesterday morning but didn't have time to post/discuss it here until today. Have fun! http://www.gersnet.c...o-rangers-first It’s not been a good few days for Rangers fans. After a reasonable pre-season and a confident first win against Albion Rovers last weekend, the fragile state of the club was in evidence again as, on August 1st a requisition was submitted to try and force through further board changes then, the next day, Charles Green was announced as an external consultant; before on the pitch, the team was defeated away to Forfar Athletic in the League Cup First Round. Let’s deal with the actual football first. I’ve not seen the game but, from bears that were there, clearly they were disappointed with much of the performance and find it hard to excuse another defeat against supposed lower quality opposition. Yes, it was very windy and, yes, the manager was missing all his new signings but in a team that contained several internationalists, can we really excuse such a poor result? I’d strongly say no so for the manager to then go into quite an incredible rant against a club employee was as ugly as his team’s display. Were Charles Green’s (and Craig Mather’s for that matter) pre-match words helpful? Of course not but let’s not pretend the players or manager were all that worried about them. And if they were, they should have stuffed them up Green’s jumper with another victory like we seen as Livingston last week. To suggest otherwise only shows a well-paid manager and team struggling with the pressure of working for Rangers. Hiding from the weaknesses of our manager/squad is not putting Rangers First. Of course, all the above is related to what’s happening off the park. The share price has been tumbling lower and lower so those who control the club – supposedly led by Imran Ahmad and Charles Green – are trying to protect their investment by re-appointing former CEO Green as an external consultant. Of course, if it is indeed the case these people control over 50% of the shares then they could give him a job anywhere they like. Indeed, it’s debatable that the Greenco influence has ever left the club in any case. After all Green retains the largest single shareholding while Ahmad also has a significant portion of stock. Add in the institutions they brought on board when they bought the club (and via the IPO) then it’s without doubt their leverage remains high when it comes to decision-making. As such, attempts by them to deflect blame elsewhere for club strategy are weak and disingenuous. Rangers First or self-interest? Moving onto Friday’s shock EGM requisition from a variety of concerned shareholders then we’re starting to reach the crux of the situation. It transpires another significant group of shareholders want to force changes: much in the same way Blue Pitch Holdings lobbied to remove key personnel such as former chair Malcolm Murray; it seems a group containing successful businessman Jim McColl want other directors removed whilst installing their own favoured people – including former director Paul Murray. As of Sunday morning, we’ve yet to hear from this group but the involvement of Murray has once again only served to divide fan opinion given his previous failed connections with Rangers. The extent of Murray’s part in the club’s key decisions of the MIH/LBG regime is difficult to quantify but when we juxtapose that with his failed attempt(s) to buy the club last year, for many he’s simply too toxic to be credible. As such, if McColl et al are looking to stage some sort of coup (hardly a new exclusive given we’ve discussed this months ago here) then suggesting Paul Murray as a replacement director perhaps wasn’t their best strategic decision. Once more, can these actions be described as selfish rather than putting Rangers First? Generally speaking much of the above can only be interpreted as unacceptable by fans. Going back a month or so, we were told stability was all everyone wanted yet it can’t be a coincidence just as the huge bulk of season ticket holders have renewed (almost 35,000 at last count) we have two distinct shareholding groups going to war. Now, as much as us online commentators like to think we’re representative of the majority support, in actual fact most bears won’t care much about the boardroom politics but are only interested in how the team perform. Thus, Saturday’s defeat means they’ll also be equally worried about the direction of the club. However, it’s increasingly challenging for fans to have their voice heard. After all, it’s been around six months since the last time the club even held an ‘open’ meeting with fan representatives? That is nothing short of disgraceful. Within this information vacuum, there are few people at Rangers right now who the fans can look to for guidance. Obviously one such person – perhaps now the only one – is our non-executive chairman Walter Smith. Although his role (to his own concession) is mainly a symbolic one, he may be in the unique position of knowing what is happening both in the boardroom and with regard to any de facto takeover attempts. In that respect, the fans will be eager to hear his thoughts to help make sense of recent political matters. However, as Smith says himself, is he the right person to judge the situation given he concedes his business knowledge isn’t that of others? In actual fact, that probably doesn’t matter now. Smith was brought on board to provide stability and recognised leadership for Rangers fans. It can be argued that stability has gone so Smith must be as frustrated as the rest of us with ongoing events. With that in mind, he can no longer be silent on the implosion that is directly affecting the club’s ability to compete on and off the park. In conclusion, Walter Smith is arguably the only credible person left to explain what exactly is happening in the battleground that is the Ibrox boardroom. Like others Smith may understandably be reluctant to put his own spin on the current situation but given he’s the one focal point the fans trust he must speak out. And when he does comment, it’s absolutely vital that, unlike others, he puts Rangers First.