Bakbear

If leading by example, are the qualities needed to be a leader,then young Davis is the man. If ever there was a sure way to increase the asking price of a player you have on loan it is to hand him the captaincy... If Boyd is playing then Boyd, if not then Kevin Thomson, for me Kevin thomson will be the Captain of Rangers after Fergie anyway

You know, it is very tempting to get all indignant about this and throw toys out the pram and say "don't they know that we are the famous Glasgow Rangers" ... However reality is a bitch The reality is that we are a selling club, our niche in this crazy football world is now to find or develop nuggets of players, get as many good years out of them as we can before the EPL notice them and then sell them on for larger sums... thats our future... thats what we can aspire to in the shadow of the EPL.. its horrible but its true, we are an Ajax, we are a PSV, we are a Porto. We are just part of the big sausage machine that feeds the Premiership mega bucks. the Hutton deal demonstrated this beyond doubt, a die hard blue-nose that did not want to leave but we gave him a million quid sweetner to send him packing... Now, here we have a die hard blue nose between the sticks, maturing into a fine keeper, developing his game to such a point where he can start to be considered as a potential legend for our club, and which one among you think that if a 10 million offer came in we wouldn't snap the buyers arm off?... Ok not 10 million what about 12.... what about 15? because frankly if an EPL team want a player they think is good enough they will offer whatever it takes and I for one do not believe our Chairman shares my definition of "whatever it takes".. furthermore the issue of whether the player wants to go or not seems irrelevant to SDM... Same goes for Cueller only probably even more so, the management team will feel they can uncover another Cueller if they are given 12 million to play with and Cueller (without questioning his commitment) may have less deep rooted ties to the club than Greegs I apologise for the rant, and by God, I hope beyond hope that I am completely mistaken, I hope that the powers at Ibrox take out a big "Not for Sale" sign and firmly plant it at the gates of Ibrox however the evidence of the Hutton sale suggest otherwise.

Form is temporary, class is permanent fergie is a class act and has been shite recently, don't see why the two cannot go hand in hand. He needs a rest and we finally have the players to let him have one. Unlike back when he was rested against hearts we don't have to drop Amdy Faye into the shit. We have Hemdani (also not at his best though) Dailly, Davis, and Thomson who could all cope without fergie for a couple of games, especially against the likes of Partick Thistle. Fergie needs to be well rested for the Old Firm games and the European Games, time to use this squad of ours... BTW where the feck is Mr Buffel???

I was just looking at the quotes, here is another two: Broadfoot said: "Kris' record speaks for itself. Put the ball in the box and he will score. "He keeps his head down, works hard in training and comes on and scores goals. He does it all the time." Weir Said: "I am happy for Kris because he is a nice lad who works hard on his game." emphasis on working hard... how unusual

I guess the critical word in that statement is NEARLY As I opined to my mate while crowded round the tranny last night, I hate the tactics Wattie uses but they have yet to let us down so, as long as they continue to deliver can we really be too critical? I was once again perhaps too eager to slaughter the tactics but guess what, we won again, and we have the first trophy of the season safely in the Blue Room I wrote on here some time ago that we were not going to see Rangers play attacking football this season as I feel that success is the first priority. i still believe this to be the case, as much as we all hate to see us play such a defensively minded team against Dundee Utd, Wattie doesn't give a damn, all he cares about is putting trophies in the cabinet and every time he wins a match he also adds a few quid to the coffers... Our run in the CL and our now extended run in the Uefa cup is all putting money into the war chest. Winning the league will likewise guarantee CL football next year and further swell our transfer fund. Yes maybe wattie got the tactics wrong to start yesterday, but he fixed it and we won, as long as we continue winning then its all good by me... Come the summer with the league in the bag, Wattie can start spending his war chest on players with the ability to compliment the grit and determination we have now and deliver the kind of football we all want to see, the kind of football played under wattie during 9 in a row, the kind of football that marries gritty performance with flair and finesse and delivers attractive football that wins matches

We have cover for him now, let him sit one out at least, Davis, thomson and Hemdani can take care of business for a game or two

Ferguson Should be rested for the game against Partick Thistle

Any highlights or goals available yet???

is this going to be the turning point? Are his detractors finally going to recognize what he brings to the club? Polar Bear?

What can we expect with 6 center halfs and 4 midfielders Broadfoot, Dailly, Weir, Cueller, Papac, are all center halfs and Hemdani can play there too McCulloch, Fergie, Davis, Burke all midfielders with only 2 of them being attacking in any way

I am not often critical of any Rangers player and without getting into whether or not CA is good enough for us, I do take exception to the point you are making. What you went to great lengths to describe is the job a of a top flight footballer. It is their job to play in games like that... its their job to BE FIT FOR 90 Minutes..They should be able to make "lung bursting runs" all the time... They get paid abnormal amounts of money for their alleged ability to make a pass to a team mate.. If we cut players some slack because they feck up pass after pass because he was feeling the pressure then we might as well start giving a game to some of the fans on here... As I say,I don't want to get into the Charlie Adam thing HOWEVER... two things to consider, he has been playing in Ranger first team for the best part of two years, including some MASSIVE games.. pressure should no longer affect his performance, he should be rising to the occassions.... Secondly, just a few yards away from him, playing in the same jersey is a certain youngster on loan from the EPL... He is a similiar age and he has been playing only for a few short weeks... didn't see him struggling to cope with the occassion, compare his fitness levels? He is a professional footballer and does what he is paid to do

Sorry mate but I disagree. Check my post history if you want. I am one of Boyds biggest supporters. I believe he should be in the starting line up every game. I would say more than half of my fairly small post count have been singing Boyds praises. I think he is the McCoist of our generation. But I don't think thats the discussion I believe he is not as fit as he should be for a professional footballer. People will argue endlessly about whether he is good enough or not. This board has already proven that for nearly the last 2 years and the BBC forum before that. I believe he is good enough but IMO that wasn't the OP's point... he needs to lose some fat and get fitter. Cut out the beers and the monster munch (alledgedly) and concentrate on his fitness. It cannot possibly harm his game, it will keep him more sharp for the full 90 minuteas and it will prolong his football and therefore, Rangers Career, hopefully. As with so many threads before it, this one has been hijacked by the boyd supporters and detractors and turned it into the "is boyd good enough" eternal debate As for lack of commitment not being debatable, I think that is erroneous as well, would you say Cousin for example is 100% committed to the Rangers cause? I don't know if he is or not but it is debatable no?

I believe that todays squad would be in relegation trouble in the EPL. But thats not the point. just by being in the EPL we would have more money and more attraction than we could ever dream of having while in the SPL. The second we got put in to the EPL we would attract the standard of player we would need to survive... and we could afford them. Our gate receipts would improve, our TV income would improve, our global recognition would improve. Todays squad are good enough to win the SPL, unfortunately the Gap between winning the SPL and competing in the EPL is enormous

Fair Enuff.... I agree his lack of pace doesn't help but what disappoints me more is the spare tyre round his middle, the double chin and the sweat soaked shirt after 15 minutes on a cold day in Inverness (or any other cold place in Scotland)... he would have been in my starting 11 every time but I have always thought being fitter (not faster, just less fat) would improve his already phenomenal goal scoring record

I once agreed with this BUT, what if he just lost a stone of fat and muscled up? Would that detract from his style of play? Would that increase his goal tally? Will we ever know? Would you class Wayne Rooney as fat? overweight? unfit? Rooney is only half a stone lighter than Boyd and he is more than 2inches shorter. Its a scientific fact that muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue. I bet it would surprise some people on this forum to know that when playing for Rangers Brian Laudrup weighed in at 13 and a half stone !! Would anyone have said he was fat or overweight ? IMO Boyd its not Boyds lack of fitness that gets him the bad reputation, its his lack of pace that makes him look unfit and overweight to some people, an injection of pace was something Rooney and Laudrup did have in thier locker. No, I would class Wayne Rooney as Stocky and well built, an athlete with explosive strength combined with stamina .... would you class Kris Boyd as similair to Rooney? Would you class Kris Boyd as Fit and rippling with muscular tissue contributing to his overall Bodyweight? Please do not mis-interpret my point though. I am a fan of Boyd, i just wish he worked on his physical attributes as the very minimum expectation of a pro footballer

I once agreed with this BUT, what if he just lost a stone of fat and muscled up? Would that detract from his style of play? Would that increase his goal tally? Will we ever know?

Interesting enough article but not sure i agree with what he is saying about the crossroads. I am a huge fan of Kris Boyd and what he brings to the team. I think if he sits this one out, his time at Ibrox is NOT OVER. Even most of Boyd's critics accept that he is a useful player to have around. if he wants to stay and fight for his place I think he will remain with the club for years However I AM starting to get a bit pissed off about his weight... as much as i support him and want him in the team every week, his lack of fitness is starting to change my mind about him. yes he scores goals and I don't argue that he does little else (which is also not a big problem for me), but at the very least, as a professional sportsman he should be as fit as fiddle. people may say that improving his link-up play and his out of the box effectiveness may detract from his predatory instinct but no-one can say that improving his fitness will have any detrimental affect. A Rangers supporter playing for his boyhood heroes should be working his arse off to be a honed athlete

Not being funny or anything but I am 31 years old and i can barely comment on the performance of previous Chairmen as I barely remember them? Your profile has you as 16 years old? David Murray has been in the Chair since long before you were even born so who are you comparing him to when you say he is the worst ever? Who was better?

Really don't think its essential and I am happy enough with the squad we have. I like the way Walter is talking about having enough money to spend but not being abloe to identify the right quality. We have a big enough squad, lets start identifying the right quality of player to take us to the next level. Thats unlikely to happen in this window

Without any doubt in my lifetime I never saw a better performance than Gazza against Aberdeen. Quite simply on a totally different level of footballing ability. I have seen many excellent team performances but Gazza that day was so far ahead of anyone else you could almost imagine some of his team mates taking a seat and admiring from the sidelines (or maybe not)... Laudrups was obviously fantastic as well and is probably second but Durie scored the hat-trick that day and credit to jukebox for getting on the end of the chances but it wasn't such a single dominant performance as Gazzas

Frankie is correct, my observation was that the Cousin situation and the Hutton Situation are, IMO, incomparable. The implication was that Hutton was no different from Cousin because he "considered" the Spurs offer. That can't be considered the case as Hutton did not invite the offer. Taking Hutton out of the discussion then, I believe many players look for the almighty dollar and therefore Cousin should not be judged on that alone. However, not so many publicly and repeatedly advertise their desire to move on to a better league after only 6 months in the job and at the first available opportunity. To be used as a stepping stone for the likes of Arteta or Van Bronckhurst after getting a couple of seasons of productive performances is one thing but for him to apparently not care one jot about giving his employers his full commitment is quite another. I don't like Cousin's apparent attitude and I have not been overly impressed with him as a player (two good performances aside), if we can recover our money on him then the sooner he is out the door the better, IMO.

Spurs made an offer that was accepted by Rangers, Hutton then considered the offer which would have trebled his income and decided to stay with the club he loves... for now.. Cousin has stated his desire to play in the premiership and put himself on the market by publicly inviting a "better offer" through the press on more than one occassion How these two scenarios can be compared is beyond me If that makes me the anit-Cousin parade so be it

McGregor Hutton Cuellar Weir Smith Ferguson Thomson Burke Naismith Boyd Darcheville

We havent abandoned the 451 - it just feels different now that we have two REALLY attacking quick widemen supporting. evens OK, its not that I necessarily disagree, but its more like a 4-3-3 than a 4-5-1 because of the players being used. I guess irrespective of the formation what I am saying is I am glad we have abandoned our approach that left a lone striker abandoned up front and struggling to link up and relying on him working his arse off to make chances for himself

Good read, but I am with Stein on this, I just can't figure out why Boyd can't get a game.. I mean obviously I understand that Smith wants to play the system he does and Boyd isn't best suited to those systems. And I also acknowledge that the 2 wide men has worked in recent weeks BUT, I just feel that 2 up top would work just as well with Boyd and Naismith, Boyd and JCD or even Boyd and McCulloch as the two frontmen. Perhaps I am wrong, maybe because I was reared on the McCoist Hateley partnership I see that system with tinted glasses... With my skewed view I would love to see a midfield to front of Burke -- Ferguson -- Hemdani/Thomson -- Naismith ------ Boyd ------ McCulloch/JCD------- I think there are goals in that line up and I don't think we sacrifice too much in the way of midfield workrate and creativity. I understand that the priority this year is to bring the league home but i don't think we need to be fearful all the time and I am glad we have (at least for now) abandoned the 4-5-1