canadian_bear

Great read, really made my morning on this side of the Atlantic.

Just curious if anyone on the ground in the UK has heard whether there are plans to broadcast Rangers matches in the SFL, regardless of what league we end up in. Would assume that they would, given the sheer numbers of Rangers supporters and that that feed would be sold internationally over Rangers TV. Anyone heard any concrete details?

Simple sign the game in Scotland is in serious trouble: Despite the number of administrations and financial problems clubs in the leagues have had, there is no uniform rule or procedure for dealing with a liquidation. Instead, the SPL/SFL/SFA will allow interested rivals to vote on what should happen to a member club they both dislike and financially depend on. Cannot imagine this scenario happening in any other football league or professional sport, for that matter. Not troubled by D3, but will be boiling over if another club goes through a severe financial crisis and is treated differently by the authorities. It is not so much corruption, in my view, as short-sighted self-interest and organizational incompetence at all levels.

Only difficulty with hoping for an upsurge in North American sales should we switch from JJB is the degree to which North American fans are ALREADY ordering from the club shop online. Not sure of the situation in the USA, but here in Canada, my Rangers-supporting friends and I simply order from the online club shop. If there was not a substantial upsurge in sales, it would not be more profitable. Probably best to do a North American tour first to test the waters.

What I like best about Healy starting up front is that it forces the team to reduce the amount of direct, 'route one' football and bring more of the creative midfield into the game. Done well, it could give the side the creative burst to score more goals and be more generally positive, rather than simply relying on Jelavic to pull us through matches. Reminds me of when Arsenal lost Thierry Henry, which forced the club to get more out of all of their attacking players. That said, this is the SPL and with the possible exception of that lot at Parkhead, we still have a far better quality of player than anyone else in the league. Healy should be able to get at least 10 if played consistently AND we play to his strengths. If we don't play like that, we have to hope Lafferty gets back ASAP.

Only thing I mind on the forums is the lack of sources quoted or cited when all of our financial problems are brought up. Until the hard data comes forward, all anyone is saying is more or less reasonable speculation. All comes down to your nervous state or level of patience whether to read it or not.

Good for you: I wear mine regularly here in Winnipeg and have got plenty of abuse from Manchester United and Septic fans. Guess things are better your way! Always felt if I am going to spend enough to buy a kit, I am going to wear it about. Really could not care less if other fans are offended. Plus- it plugs the club over here, something the club has not done well, even with the SPL on cable...

Could be worse, we could have signed three players from Austria Vienna, again. (Apart from Papac...) Have only seen Bedoya before he came to Rangers and he looked a lot better than what we have seen of him. Perhaps it is injuries or maybe even that these players are not used to the kind of pressure that comes from playing for one of the Old Firm. On the other hand, Bocanegra looks like he has played here for years.

Thought Broadfoot did a good job today containing Forrest, although he contributed virtually nothing going forward. Very similar to his performance against Manchester United in the Champions League a while ago. Fear Whittaker just does not have the defensive sense to have contributed anything today. Would rather see Whittaker used as a wide player and Broadfoot play at right back. Do not believe he is a great right back, but defensively he is probably the most solid we have when he is fit.

What worries me is that McCoist seems either unwilling or unable to adjust tactics during a match, instead making like for like substitutions when things are not going well. It does not bode well for him as a Rangers manager, as in the present and forseeable future we will have to buy well and achieve results with the team we have, rather than spend our way out of problems. Maybe the best thing Rangers can do is to appoint a good tactical assistant for him to help him with it. Even the best managers are often not great tacticians. Alex Ferguson at United often credited Carlos Queiroz for his defensive organization during his time there, for example. Won't bash Ally as he is a club legend. That his performance as manager has not been good enough is neither here nor there. I would give him until the end of the season to achieve the only goal we ever have: to win the SPL. If he fails, then we should look for a replacement.

Really don't understand how a 14 team league would not work. Play every team three times without a split, totalling 39 fixtures for each team. Yes, the distribution of home and away matches would be unfair, but that is little different from how the split affects some teams each year. If Sky are worried about losing an Old Firm game, create a Scottish Supercup between the league and Scottish Cup winners. 9/10 it would end up being an OF match anyway. If a double is done, let the league winners play second place. OR just leave the league the way it is. I honestly enjoy SPL football and no amount of tinkering with the number of teams is really going to OF ITSELF improve the quality of SPL football.

Heard nothing yet myself, but was wondering if anyone on the other side of the pond had heard anything about where Rangers will be going for preseason. Really hoping they come back to North America for at least part of the preseason tour.

More than I would like to think about and I live on the other side of the ocean from Scotland! Watching games over Rangers TV or going to my local RSC, purchasing jerseys or training wear over the club site, saving to make it back over every couple of years OR if Gers make it to North America this year for preseason...the only thing that saves it from being more is the lack of regular travel expenses. Hats off to those of you on the other side of the pond for your commitment!

To be blunt, I really do not rate Neil Lennon as a manager. My theory is that he walked into Tony Mowbray's project of transforming Celtic into a possession/solid passing side and got very lucky that he was given enough time for their players to blood into the SPL. When subjected to real pressure, such as in European competition or when we targeted their back line, his side have failed repeatedly and abjectly. Once you contrast the technical skill and pace of their midfield as compared to ours, we were always going to be in for a struggle to compete at the centre of the park. Had Lennon began any of these changes, I would have to begrudgingly give him some credit, but that is simply not the case. The only real element he has added to Celtic is to increase the intensity of the rivalry with us and to increase the aggression level of his team. Already overrated without having won anything.

Did not really think we were that bad at all, apart from the lack of shots on target throughout the game. On a different day, we would have scored twice in the first half and conceded one in the second half. A scoreless draw was probably the correct result. Only thing that I was really bothered by was the degree to which Maurice Edu was a passenger for most of the second half until he was substituted. Really should have been pulled earlier, which may have shaped the midfield contest, but this is simply speculation.