Deep Blue Something

Currently, there are only 7 teams in the SPFL that have averages of over 5K a home game this season. And of these 7 clubs, 3 are in the Championship. In the Premiership only the Filth and the Sheep average over 10K for home games. This is the state of Scottish football under the SFA/SPFL. Attendances are down in general. Rangers' average home attendance this season is just over 60% of capacity and this average will continue to drop under McCoist's brand of football. In contrast, Hearts are selling out Tynecastle. They are playing football under Neilson that their supporters want to watch - of course being unbeaten does help fill seats. I do not want to pay to watch balls being hoofed up to fatarse Boyd (or Daly) for it to roll out for a bye kick. McCoist had it easy in the bottom 2 tiers. Complacency has set in and the players cannot seem to get out of that rut now they are having to play against teams of full-time professionals.

The ST money for the season is long gone. Retail money has been fobbed off to MA. What does the club have in the way off regular income? Only ticket sales from the pay-at-the-gate walk ups. When the money men do their accounting of funds required, what are they assuming as income from gate receipts? I cannot see Ashley's handout going far based on yesterday's crowd. It appears to be a hand to mouth existence for the club. Ashley seems quite happy to give his loose change to tide the club over for another month against security of another fixed asset. At this rate of drip feeding how long until he owns the club by default. Ally has so far dropped 13 pts in the league. The club is only 12 pts above 5th place. If Hearts sow up the league title with games to spare and Rangers are more than 20 pts above 5th place, then would it be of financial benefit to go into admin, take the 20 pts deduction and still be in the play-offs? I hope it does not come to that, but if the only solution is admin, then better this season than next.

If there is a indicerment of McCoist's brand of soulless football it is the attendance figures. Take away the ST numbers and what are we left with - not a lot.

Fat Welsh Bastard. Oh! I forgot, it is racist to call him Welsh. Apologies, Fat Bastard, then.

Because the Fenian minded media (led by Champagne Charlie) are on an anti-Hearts offensive to smokescreen the vandalism from the east side. Ann Budge was open in her disgust of their actions but our national media appear to not want to report on the actions of the filth but instead dwell on the so-called bigots in the Hearts support who were singing Hullo Hullo. "It was them, you honour, they made us vandalise the seats with their singing". It would also appear that Lawless likes to sweep these things under rugs. Instead of condemning the hooligans in their support he does feck all. The media in Scotland has no baws. They know the truth but refuse to print it in case it offends and they lose their jollies. You can read Ann Budge's statement here on the vandalism... http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/4010

When Templeton joined from Hearts he was a 22yrs old whippet who beat players with his speed. His tricks sometimes did not work but when they did the usually ended in a goal. He scored 15 goals from 24 starts in his first season but then like everything else under McCoist, the magic has tarnished. Last season it was 3 goals from 20 appearances. He has only had 5 starts so far this season. The problem looks simple to me: he's put on weight probably due to lack of training. He is now 25 and his speed dropped a notch. He does not beat players as often as he used too. Playing in the lower echelons of Scottish football has done him no favours. His style obviously does not fit in with Ally's tactics. Maybe a change of club might suit him. Especially if Ally no longer rates him.

I am glad that it was not just me. Reading posts on here where many are clutching to Ashley being our white knight. Seeing him in a very jovial mood at St James' had me thinking: why the feck does he want to get involved with the mess at Rangers (on and off the field). Protect his retail investment, yes, but pour good money after bad to get the club competitive again. I just do not see it. I hope I am wrong in my thinking.

I watched MOTD last night and the Newcastle v Chelsea game. Newcastle deserved there win but what got me thinking was their turnaround under Alan Pardew. Pardew was under immense pressure from the fans at the beginning of the season to resign due to poor results and being at the bottom of the league yet now they are 7th equal alongside Arsenal. Only 2pts behind 4th place. Ashley was at the game smiling, laughing, joking. He clearly is not one for knee jerk sacking of managers to appease fans, so let's say that Newcastle make a European place at the end of the season, will Ashley lose interest in Rangers and just walk away. £3M+ is just small change to Ashley. With Newcastle doing well will he decide to invest in players in January to push for a Top 4 finish? At the present, if Rangers didn't have bad luck, they'd have no luck at all.

One of many problems the club has at the moment is how to keep young players from leaving for better offers down south. Players like Black, Templeton, Shiels, etc. signed for the club knowing that they would be playing in the 4th tier of Scottish football and accepted the money to do so. McLeod is the best saleable player we have and under our current off field situation Rangers has become a selling club. The club needs to sell assets to pay the ferryman. For me the question is only "how much". The club has lived well beyond its means for years, the January sales will give an indication of just how desperate the financial situation is. I very much doubt that Ally will see much of whatever fee Rangers get for Lewis as it will end up in the big empty coffers to pay bills. I fear the worse come 2015.

Just no confidence. All a bunch of feardies. This is Cowdenbeath, FFS.

I had to laugh at the reporting of the Hearts game when (I think it was Roddy Forsyth) wrote that the cries of "Ally must go" were soon drowned out by the "Super Ally" supporters. The fact that the pro-Ally songs were coming from the HOME support seemed to get ignored. Supporters of all other teams want Ally to stay. Sums it up, really.

It can be still won but starting today the team needs to stop dropping silly points against teams they should be putting to bed easily. I have a feeling that when Hearts lose their first game of the season their confidence will drop and they will lose a few on the bounce. QOTS today could be lost points and they also may drop points in the new year derby. By the time they play us again the gap could be under 6 points. BUT this is dependent on Rangers winning all their league games. One thing is for sure, I would hate having to go to Tynecastle for the last game of the season needing a win with goals to secure promotion. My blood pressure is high enough due to current form.

Deep down we all want Ally to succeed. A successful manager means a successful team. Turning that around, an unsuccessful team means an unsuccessful manager. This season tactics have been poor. Lumping the ball upfield. Why have a squad of highly paid experienced international players if the tactic against part-time Alloa was to lump the ball from back to anywhere in the Alloa half. Ally was a great player and a likeable individual but at some point he needs to say enough is enough. Still, it is Cowdenbeath today so 3-0 easy.

Watty may share the blame in the overspending on players that eventually forced Minty to sell but Ally is a self made man. Green used Ally (and Ally was happy to let himself be used) as a figurehead to maintain ST sales. His ability never came into the equation. For me the current situation can be traced all the way back to Minty's lust for glory. Tor Andre Flo!

Napoleon used to ask when appointing a new general "I know he is a good general but is he lucky?" I watched a rerun of the Alloa game and if Rangers did not have bad luck they would have no luck at all. Sometimes you need to make a change at the top to mix things up a bit. Whether it is the fault of the players or the manager, the reality is that this squad of players do not perform for McCoist. Something has to be done.

Worrying whether or not we will beat Cowdenbeath. COWDENBEATH! This is where we have come. This is where Ally has taken us. An unconvincing 3-0. But a win nevertheless.

Butcher is currently tendering his cabbage patch in deepest Suffolk after being put on gardening leave by Hibs. Of course we could just sack the gang of three with only a month's termination money and tell them to sue for the rest.

It annoys me that while we should win this game easily but more than likely we will play the wrong tactics and try and use a sledgehammer to crack nut. An early goal is a must to make Alloa open up. Wingers to the bye-line and ball into the box. 3-0 to us.

From Coatbrig. Went to RC school. Currently an RE teacher at an RC secondary. Biased, I would say so. But questions need to be asked of his assistants regarding sending of and penalty.

Rangers win all the competitions they are in and McCoist becomes Scottish Manager of the year. Do things change? For me, it would be a great achievement for Ally and for him to depart on a high. But for the good of the club as a whole he needs to move on and let someone else take the reins for the next era.

Nothing is won so far. We could be runners-up in all competitions. Hearts, by design or by default, are out of all cup competitions and therefore can concentrate their efforts on winning the league - no more mid-week games for them.. As we are still in all competitions, it just means a build up of fixtures come the new year. Bollox to the cups, I would rather we were 9 pts in front in the league.

Managers rise and fall solely on results. As it stands McCoist has to go. Even when promotion is won automatically, he has to go. However, Hearts have been showing signs of cracking due to injuries and suspensions. Gomis's ban will be a big miss for them. So they may well start to drop points over the coming games. Still will need Rangers NOT to fuck up.

Won't play our own youth, but will play somebody else's. Strange! Very strange.

If he has had his passport withheld then he cannot leave the country. So he can't stay in Monaco. I wonder where he will be staying - not at his ex's anyway. Castle Grant has been taken off him. A year of sleeping on a mate's (if he has any) sofa or rack up hotel bills.

I don't know why I'm happy So happy So happy I don't know why I'm happy I only know it's not this news Bile by name...