psychobudgie

We will use whatever method gets us a win. We have the players to allow us to play a passing game or a more direct long ball game or on the counter attack if so required. Smith has bought very wisely and gave us not only strength in depth but the flexibility we have been missing for the last couple of seasons. Thought McCulloch and Ceuller were excellent yesterday and are showing that rather than them being overpriced they are in reality bargains at the price we paid for them. Credit to Walter Smith for sticking to his guns with regards to the players he wanted to get in. It's becoming pretty clear now just why he concentrated on getting McCulloch in.

Couldn't agree more. It's the first game of the season, and a nerve jangling Champ League Qualifier at that. We played quite poorly and still won 2-0 while down to 10 men. It doesn't matter in these situations how you win, just that you do. With that game out the way I fully expect the performances to pick up over the next few weeks once the team realise they can grind out results. That's something we didn't do very well for the first six months last season.

Rangers 5 v Zeta 0 Boyd, McCulloch x 2, JCD, Weir

You are quite correct, apart from playing online for free, Motorstorm, Resistance, Tekken 5 online, Tekken 6, Grand Turismo HD, Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy XIII, Little Big World and Play (Does that count for online structure or do all the testers and commentators lie?), it will never catch on. I'm delighted with mine so I must be an idiot. I'm just off to phone the loony bin for one of my friends as he sold his XBox 360 to buy one.

Hartley - passed his best Pressley - passed his best Miller - did he ever have a best? Brown - not reached his best and never worth 4.5 million and 25k a week Naysmith - Never worth what Kilmarnock are asking. If Celtic are happy to sign all the scottish based players we get linked to and waste a huge chunk of their transfer budget in the process then good luck to them. Give it a few years of them doing it and they will truly become like we used to be. Up to their eyes in debt and a load of players with no sell on value.

What utter nonsense. If Naismith is happy to go to Celtic and sit in the reserves for a season then I wouldn't want him. It doesn't exactly show ambition. I still can't see where Brown is going to play, never mind Naismith. Unless of course Celtic are about to sell Nakamura or switch to playing 6 up front.

He'll be rotting in the reserves next year when his place on the bench gets taken up by Brown. On the subject of Brown, you would think someone who just fought to get out of a long term contract wouldn't be stupid enough to sign another one.

Adam hasn't been given the credit he deserves imho, for some of his goals this season. The near post free kicks against hibs were put down to bad goalkeeping when in reality the majority of players in the SPL wouldn't have had the balls to attempt it or the skill to succeed. He not only attempted it, he did it twice against different goalkeepers. I still think the standout is the 40 yarder in the Dundee Utd game. Most players would have punted it into row Z.

Low ----- The season pre January. Some good European performances do not make up for some embarrassing League ones. Paul Le Guen, promised so much and delivered so little. The St Johnstone Cup Game. Reminded me of going to games in the early 80's. Yes it was that bad. Negative tactics pre January against the wee teams. I actually would have settled for Eck coming back, yes it was that bad. Leitzi! The whole sad affair in December with Le Guen and half the team obviously dissagreeing with his tactics. Le Guen dropping Boyd at the start of the season when we were obviously missing someone who could score. Everyone could see it except Le Guen. Le Guen dropping Ferguson once he saw an opportunity to punch his ticket to PSG. Sebo? Almost 2 million spent on a Novo doppelganger without the goal threat. Sionko? Doesn't seem interested and should be the first one shown the door. Prso leaving. He will be sadly missed. High ------ Paul Le Guen getting le heave ho Smith and McCoist's return Emergence of Hutton, Adam, McGregor and Smith and the entire Under 19 squad Brahim Hemdani. He's been immense. Kris Boyd, without his goals we would have been in real trouble. The return of the never say die spirit that was eroded by Le Guen. David Weir's signing, a master stroke by Smith. Beating Celtic twice and reducing the gap from 20 points to single figures. Being unbeaten in the League since Smith's return with basically the same squad of players. Ehiogu's overhead kick! Charlie Adam's near post free kicks against Hibs. If Nakamura had done it, he would be lauded, Adam gets called lucky. The boy is a star in the making if he sorts his fitness out. I think there are a lot of plus points, primarily from January onwards. We have a good core of Scottish talent in the side, some potentially exceptional youngsters on their way through and a manager who can turn a mediocre player into a good one. I don't think for a second we are, by any stretch, the finished article, but I also don't think we are that far from a team that is capable of winning the league.

PM please (beer2)

wHY, so that the settling for lower standards and domestic challenge becomes the norm. a major part of the problem with PLG was the undermining of the system by 666. We will nevber win another league title under his captaincy. It is amazing that PLG's new support are more united behind him and happier with him than the Rangers support are with WS. It wasn't just Ferguson that allegedly undermined him, it was close to half the dressing room and that only started to manifest after it became clear that the PLG system wasn't working. I don't care what your track record is, but playing 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 against the bottom teams is unnacceptable and undoubtedly led to the situation that led to him leaving. PLG was not suited to the British game, end of story. He's certainly not the first foreign manager with a good record to come to the UK and fall flat on his face, and he certainly won't be the last. WS is not the same manager he was when he last was at the helm. He has far more knowledge and experience. Any manager that can get Scotland into the FIFA top 20 from 86th is a great manager imho. How anyone can doubt the guys ability is beyond me. As for BF, people should get off his back and let him do his job, he scored a cracking goal on Saturday and has been putting in some fantastic performances since WS's return.

The answer is pretty simple, WS is a better manager. He knows the British game inside out, he knows the right players to perform in it, he gets the best out of players. Since he arrived he's transformed Hutton into a quality fullback by letting him play to his strengths, he's moved to a 4-4-2, he's letting BF be the moaning Captain he should be, he recognised the importance of experience in the back 4 and he realised Boyd is nothing more than a poacher. Add to that his backroom staff and knowledge of Scottish talent and we are on to a winner imho. PLG for all his success in France couldn't hack it in the British game and WS can, pure and simple.

Brown and Thomson are joined at the hip, so my money is on him joining, I also suspect the deal is already done.

The Eck Foreign 11 (Players the great ginger one signed) Waterreus Zura Berg De Boer Vignal Capucho Emerson Namouchi Novo Ostenstadt Prso My Foreign 11 (playing at their peek of course) Klos Porrini Amoruso F.De'Boer Numan R.De'Boer Gattuso Albertz Laudrup Mols Cannigia Bench : Arveladze, Negri, Berg, Gio VB, Prso My Foreign 11 would trounce Ecks Me > Eck

I think I've said this before and I'll say it again. Burke is a far more dangerous player when he comes inside. As a winger he can't cross the ball which is a bit of an issue. Running through the middle from the right or left (old fashioned inside forward - yay) is more his thing and suits his style of play far better than being stuck out on the wing imho. A central defenders worst nightmare is a player running at them, at pace and more often or not will result in a free kick or a gaps appearing everywhere. just my tuppence worth.

Can remember watching the back of someones head from the main stand in 1975 as Alex McDonald scored (my dad assures me it was a good goal). First lasting memory though was the European Cup home game against PSV in 78 when some git pinched my tammy.

Mcgregor - 1m Klos - 100k Hutton - 600k Smith - 600k Weir - N/A Murray - 250k Ugo - 400k Svensson - 500k Papac - 500k Hemdani - 3m (agree, if he was playing in Spain or Italy that would be 3 times that) Thomson - 2m Ferguson - 8m Rae - 150k Adam - 1m Burke - 1.5m Sionko - 1m (still a Czech international) Buffel - 1.5m Novo - 1m Prso - 500k Boyd - 6m Sebo - 500k

Strikers (bar Boyd) can be notoriously slow starters when they move to a new club, so you never know.

it's From the official site the line up is Defence as Danny posted then Novo----Rae----Thompson----Burke -----------Ferguson -------------Boyd Ferguson supporting Boyd with Rae and Thompson holding.

working link http://tinyurl.com/2p42at The press release itself is hilarious never mind the accompanying photo.

They won't spend that much in the summer. If they do it will be like playing Russian Roulette with the finances. Scottish teams are always one bad season away from a financial loss as has been shown by both sides over the last couple of seasons.

Weir has made similar comments, as has McCoist and Smith. Why are you not attacking them also?

Out of the current squad I expect Klos, Buffel, Sionko, Sebo, Rae and Prso to leave in the summer. I would like to see Dado stay, but only if he's 100% fit. I expect everyone else to stay. I would expect us to bring in a couple of midfielders, couple of strikers and some more defensive cover on bosman's and a goalkeeper to either replace or cover McGregor.

Add to them Prso and remove Buffel who doesn't get into the list as he can't sustain that level for more than a few games a season. Also believe that Burke has the potential to play as an old fashioned inside forward rather than out wide. Everytime he comes inside he looks far more dangerous. Thought he was excellent last night. We also have a young lad called Fleck coming through who by all reports is shaping up to be an excellent attacking midfield player. If anything we need a long term replacement for Dado and a more direct midfield replacement for Hemdani, who although a very accomplished midfield player is not ideally suited to the Scottish game. I still think Svennson will develop into a top class defender and I also think McGregor needs to command the box better. All in all I don't think our team needs as much work as everyone is saying. Hutton for me would be better suited to playing as a wing back in a 3 5 2 as he undoubtedly enjoys venturing forward at the expense of exposing the central 2 but all in all he's not as bad as some seem to suggest. It's the final third that we need to address imo, and I wouldn't mind seeing us trying a 3 5 2 with Burke playing as the link man to the front. He won't score much but he commits defenders and would open up space for others to utilise.

I think I saw the same game as Danny. They scored with a freekick that never was and we were denied a stonewall penalty. I personally think a 2-1 defeat away in Israel is not a bad result considering the quality of the refereeing decisions. Keeping my fingers crossed that Prso and Thomson are fit for the return leg but I would be surprised if we didn't win the home tie by a couple of goals atleast.