MelbourneBlue

Surely the prat is aware of the reaction to his disgraceful performance last time we had him and will make some kind of effort to actually behave as an independent and unbiased referee this time. Or am I expecting too much?

When I heard we'd brought him in from Raith Rovers, and the guy who reports on all the youth games (El something) saying he was no good, I acquired a preconception he would not be any good. I still think he is dodgy with his distribution - but the boy knows how to mark a man and put him under pressure. His defensive (not passing) work at times is superb - and you won't find that word used in any prior post of mine. Whether he goes on to be a Ranger will depend on how he develops his distribution of the ball, particularly under pressure. There is no doubt opposition teams are setting up to force our "out ball" through Bates at present. But there ares strong indications, IMO, that he is being coached and improving in this area. If he gets consistently better at playing out, he will be a great asset because he already defends better than any (Alves Included) of our other Centre Backs.

Murty recognizes Windass's inconsistency - okay - but not sure he's being effective in addressing it. Windass has no football brain. His successful "late runs" seem to happen because he just remembered in the nick of time where he was supposed to be. Windass is very capable of finishing from around the box as long as the keeper doesn't have time to come towards him and narrow the angle. His arrival in the right area at the right time is the product of mathematical probability because he runs around a lot and gets a lot of game time. If we had a more effective number 10 we would be right on the heels of the unwashed.

The right manager wouldn't be starting Holt and Windass.

The "ten seconds" guff is what is annoying me the most. It wasn't ten seconds, Graham, it was closer to 45 minutes where we allowed Hivs to outnumber us in midfield without any sort of reaction from the bench. Windass can barely defend but I would have thought more of Murty if he had even got Windass to drop deeper and help match up the numbers. Expecting a first half substitution (Docherty for Windass was the very obvious one) is probably a bridge too far for GM. I know we're all great at being armchair managers - but really - was that so impossible to see from the bench?

My thought when he picked up the yellow required to have him miss the next game was mostly relief that we hadn't lost anyone particularly important to the team. I have liked his attitude and effort from day one but he is easily brushed off the ball and his statistics don't lie when it comes to assists and goals. I look forward to the day when Rangers have a captain on the field that unites the support through his unquestionable right to the armband.

You West Australians are going to give those of us who live in the civilized parts of Australia a bad name, mate.

I thought there was clear improvement in his distribution of the ball against the sheep. It was obvious at the start of the game that McInnes's instruction was to mark the other defenders closer so we were likely to play out through Bates, exposing his weakness - but he did okay - almost as if he's been educated and given practice in training. I have a strong suspicion our coaching staff are doing a decent job with Bates. He remains a ginge, though.

I occasionally find myself wondering what would have become of us had McCall not been dispatched for Warburton to come in. Generally, I conclude we'd be better off today than we find ourselves. I think McCall would have got us promoted with a full season and a bit of funding equivalent to what Warburton received. I also suspect he would have proven the more flexible man in the long run, and certainly would never have misunderstood what it means to be manager of Rangers. Then I remember conceding 6 goals to Motherwell in the play offs and what that felt like... Ah, well.

Usually agree with your posts so assuming you are taking the p*ss.

Shite is green.

I watched the U21 Scotland v England game a few weeks ago. England clearly the better side and generally acknowledged as the best in the world at that age group. Lewis Morgan was an absolute stand-out on the left wing for Scotland and arguably MOM. I hear Warburton is keen on taking him to Nottingham. We definitely should be getting this lad signed up, IMO. He is already good enough to solve our left wing problem and could be worth a great deal in the not too distant future.

Not sure if anyone else has suggested this and don't have time (OK - can't be arsed) reading through 6 pages to check - but my recommendation would be to go for Guus Hiddink. Definitely worth an enquiry from the club, IMO. One of the best managers I've ever seen and the Australian national side rumoured to be chasing him as the current coach is looking as stable as the unfortunate Pedro over the last few weeks.

The television payments - and the conglomerates behind them - have stolen the game from the fans who follow their team because they were brought up to follow. The big money goes to fewer and fewer who are followed by more and more who have less and less reason to do so. All we can do is pass on our love for our team to our kids and hope one day the conglomerates will choke on their own greed and football will belong to the people again.

Sadly TV is clear - not offside.

In general I like Cardoso, but the first goal, he knocked the ball through McCrorie's legs with no time for McCrorie to react. The second goal Cardoso should have called out the thumb's run to McCrorie. You can see the young lad questioning Cardoso straight after. McCrorie was excellent today.

Just checked the latest news (I'm Australia based - so get to things at different times) and nearly punched a hole in the ceiling when I saw KM is being "rested" for the League Cup game. Yeehaa!! I've said this in various threads before: Kenny needs to be out of our team, particularly as a starter. I watched him giving "directions" to Morelos in the Thistle game at the weekend straight after he'd turned the ball over with yet another trampoline touch. Morelos must think he's a plonker. I watched him get under the feet of both Dorrans and Jack several times, because he's bumbling about in the wrong part of the park. Dorrans and Jack must think he's a plonker. I do. Why does Pedro keep playing him?? I know he has scored a few crucial goals for us over the last couple of seasons - but he's very often the reason why they're crucial! As I've previously said - I respect KM's professionalism in keeping his ageing body in good shape. But he is no longer good enough to be starting for us, and I doubt whether he has much future as a substitute. And no, I've never been a great fan of his. And yes, if you play for them, I don't believe you're truly one of us.

The key to us getting the result we want in this is to have one more player in the midfield. The most important thing about this concept is that player is not Kenny Miller. Despite all the negative stuff I've been reading on here - our defence is a lot better than last season and we have a genuine goal scorer in Morelos. The scum defence is very, very shaky under pressure. Break even in the midfield and we can win this.

You're daft.

I hope so much I'm wrong but Miller and Niko starting spells points dropped....

KM must have some compromising pics of Pedro.

Hardie on was great. But for Dorrans??? Miller surely had to be the one to depart. Unbelievable - and so costly.

Miller has been the key problem for a long time now. He scores the odd goal and people start raving about him as King Kenny - but we would be a different team with a decent forward who played forward in his place.

Standing beside the camera, waiting for his turn?

Surely at his advanced age KM would be able to work out that you don't give anyone in Scotland outside of our club any ammunition. Not sure how you know which sequence the interviews were conducted or that KM hadn't heard what PC said?