Fiogh

Seeing as winning on Saturday is looking unlikely, what have your favourite wins at Tynecastle been over the years? Mine (footage on 1 and 3 isn't great):

At the very least beating them will ensure they don't win the thing themselves. That, coupled with winning an Old Firm, is much better than losing and watching them lift the cup. What you are saying smacks of entitlement. How is the 2008 analogy 'totally different'? We lost the final, so in retrospect would you prefer we lost the semis seeing as we weren't going to win it anyway?

That was the old Napoli mate, this video is the new Napoli Better get the tims on the line to Diego to break the bad news (don't worry that all sporting and legal bodies recognise them as the same club, never bothered them before)

As a Rangers fan you should always want your team to beat Celtic - it's like saying you'd rather we lost that night in Florence because of what happened in the final.

only in Englands eyes

I know, I'd rather beat them AND win the cup rather than just beat them - but surely both are preferable to losing to them and not winning it?

So you'd rather we lost to them if we aren't going to win the cup? Beating them with this mediocre team, a division below, in the first Old Firm since all the vitriol will definietly not "count for nothing".

Like a parody of themselves at the moment.

I discounted Ibra's, not because the skill wasn't incredible but if that sad excuse for a centre half actually tries to head the ball then there is no way Ibra is doing it. The Irish girls one is outstanding, just a shame the footage is so shite.

What's everyone's favourite this year? http://www.fifa.com/ballon-dor/puskas-award/

The Rooney Rule isn't about giving people jobs though, just interviews.

Joleon Lescott's head is Mascot sized.

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/663EC3FBEE1143288226505732096_34db82ca943.0.1.3894706299360858031.mp4?versionId=cbywNlxw4bIqGECF1wair34VkuUNeFn6

Crazy to think that was 10 years ago. By todays standards that Prso incident was a stonewall penalty! We never utilised Arveladze properly, magnificent player.

I had the exact same thought. Standard level of competency from big Liam McLeod.

Great point

Perhaps, I'm talking about a sustained period of 4/5 years of fringe teams being fielded in both cup competitions and early exits every time - all under Pardew and Ashley's watch, due to a complete lack of ambition to win anything because premier league survival is all that is needed for his business model to work.

I wouldn't have thought you'd have the cognitive ability to understand the actual issues being discussed - and so it has proved.

Well depends what style you enjoy, I know that last season they played the most long balls in the league (can't find the stats just now but will keep looking) and were generally pilloried as being very direct and without much flair. True, but owners can set the type of football they want thier club to play - you wouldn't get Swansea or Southampton (sorry to keep using the same examples but they illustrate a point) playing that kind of long ball direct football because the owner wouldn't hire a manager that played like that. We can wait and see anyway, as I've said he'll bring alot of good in terms of the business side, my main concern is whether he can marry that up with the football side of things. EDIT: not exactly what I was looking for but the F365 links show they played the most long balls per game in 2012/2013 https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=football365+newcastle+most+long+balls

Obviously, but they have been knocked out by lower league teams/in the very first rounds of both cups for the last 4/5 seasons. Look at Swansea's League cup win, or Wigans FA cup win - success married with sustainable finances and those clubs are much smaller than Newcastle.

Can't argue with most of that, I am very much in favour of the sustainable financial model and running at a profit - any Rangers fan who has lived through the last 5 years would be foolish to want a return to the old spend spend spend days under Murray. IMO outside of the very top clubs, the only way to operate is the buy cheap/produce your own players who you then sell on for a profit and repeat the cycle. My main point is really that this can be done in a progressive way, such as with Swansea and Southampton, where sound financial practice is married with a progressive footballing philosophy and greater ambition. If you have spent any time watching an Alan Pardew team (or even look up the stats on long balls etc.) you'll see that the football is turgid - something we complain about all the time on here.

You could be more ambitious than being happy to finish 17th every year - see their atrocious cup record under his ownership (makes Ally's look magnificent)

No doubts he's run the club well financially, something that would be more than welcome with us given the current situation. I don't think most Newcastle fans are unrealistically ambitious; you'd struggle to find many saying they should be in the top 4/5 every season. I don't think he would be a disaster here, but after what has happened with Charles Green surely there needs to be an air of scepticism and scrutiny for any new owners? Too many folk think he'll be nothing but good, all I'm saying is we have to consider the down sides of the way he operates too. FWIW, some of the criticisms that could be levelled at him - Effectively turned St James park into a giant advertising board for Sports Direct with no regard for the tradition or history of the club (something that is obviously important to us as well), horrendous managerial appointments of Joe Kinnear and Alan Shearer, the disgraceful way he handled the Keegan situation, Oversaw them being relegated from the top flight, Selling of top players with inferior replacements (nobody is saying spend millions, but alot of the signings have not worked out), poor % of transfer profits re-invested into the club. On top of that, having Newcastle just maintain there place in league so he can keep reaping the financial rewards will be totally different to what is expected at Rangers - would you be happy to finish 2nd every year if it meant we made a profit?

Anyone who has watched what's been happening at Newcastle over the last few years should surely have concerns? I know we are all looking for financial stability and long term planning, but Ashley seems to have absolutely no footballing ambition.

There is such a backwards mentality in this country when it comes to loads of aspects of football management and development; It's the reason our national team have been poor for decades, our clubs flounce in Europe and we haven't developed a technically gifted all round player since Kenny Dalglish. Anyone who thinks Rangers are being run well, heading in the right direction with a forward thinking management team and coaches who improve players year on year is either ignorant or deluded IMO. Relentless positivity for something that is failing is not helping the club, despite what some may believe.