weeyin

So us being level and one of our rivals losing doesn't sound good? It's might not be ideal yet, but it's much better than us being a goal down and our rivals winning.

If we hang on to Erwin, we need to find him a partner. Skippy has been the ideal foil for him, but I'd be surprised if we hold on to him even if we stay up. When Sutton plays, Big Lee has to play out wide which isn't his best position. In the U20s, he had a great partnership with Moore, so maybe that's a possibility, but even then I think we'd still need someone more experienced to guide them. Clarkson might fit that bill, but maybe we need someone a bit more vocal to replace Skippy as the moaning git up front.

We need to do to St Mirren in the first half what Southampton are doing to Villa in their first half. 5 goals up already. If we give them any encouragement, it will be a tough game, but if we score one early, they might just fold. I have a feeling things are going to work out for us today across all the games.

Of course he said as much himself, he's hardly going to say "I'm shit at my job". The Barry Hearn interview where he tore Doncaster a new one was spot on. Hearn is a master promoter who has expertise in making wads of cash from average sporting spectacles. The SPFL might not be the best league in the country, but when you have a CEO who spends more time talking about its lack of quality than marketing it as an exciting product to sponsor, then you have the wrong CEO.

Aye, but that's not what he is claiming.

Or he could have signed his deal sooner (like Dom Thomas and Pearson) and worked his arse off to keep us in the league he wants to play in.

The clubs didn't make a pigs ear of finding a sponsor. That is 100% Doncaster.

The clubs voted for this themselves. There is no illusion - they could have changed it if they wanted to. Remember, they didn't even want old Rangers to drop out of the top flight and were upset when the fans demanded otherwise.

The only question to be asked if we lose him is "Lee, why did you turn down the chance to develop playing first team football and choose to sit for a long spell on the bench elsewhere?" The contract has been offered, and given our new club strategy and finances, I imagine it is a generous one for where he is in his career. What we can't do is force him to sign it or stop his agent from shopping him around. I'm not usually too upset when someone leave us - it's the nature of the game. In Erwin's case, I would be more upset only because we stuck by him through 2 serious injuries and then bumped him up to the first team.

Agree with that. The gaffer is obviously keen on giving him first team football and helping him develop. A move to a team like Celtic will see him back in the U20s and the odd appearance in the League Cup.

Well, we will develop the boy for the next couple of years and Celtic can hand over a million or two when they want him for their first team squad.

Must be the only league sponsorship where the details are kept secret. The cynic in me says that's because there is a clause in there that says "The top flight gets the most money... unless Hibs win promotion, in which case the Rangers Plan B kicks in to make sure they get their unequal share"

Also, they presumably deducted points from the teams we were projected to have beaten. Anyway, it was a good interview, and nice to hear the new owner being so positive.

Given the parachute payments in place now, if you bounce back in a season, there probably isn't much financial loss for a relegated team. The figure I saw quoted was 500,000 - which is a pretty decent % of our annual turnover.

But, but - according to reports (no doubt leaked by Doncaster) this was a major victory with the bookies battling it out because they were so desperate to sponsor us. It was only through the great dedication and business acumen of Doncaster we were able to secure such a fantastic deal and we should be falling to our knees in thanks he has finally, and underwhelmingly, done his job. I still have no idea why the clubs kept him there and never heard our Board respond as to why they did.

I think he was just answering a direct question. The "nightmare scenario" seems to have been picked up by journos in the last 24 hrs. There is a story in the Evening Times today too.

That would make most sense and, given our new owner's approach to running the club, sounds like the path we will take.

People who commandeer other people's seats should be targeted with drone strikes. Discuss.

Do they still allow that? "Gonna gie's a lift, mister?"

Would be interesting last day if we knock 4 or 5 past St. Mirren and one of our rivals loses by a couple of goals.

That is certainly a level we should be exploring. It's been a long time since we picked up a prospect from the Scottish lower divisions - something that should be part of our overall strategy.

Exactly. Forget about nightmare scenarios until they are a done deal. We might as well focus on banging in as many goals as possible and hope County or Killie lose by a few.

St. Mirren just showed what lack of pressure can do for a team with today's result. Need to go in there with all guns blazing and make them want to start their summer holidays early.

Hammell's tackle and pass for Erwin's goal was reminiscent of Joe Wark in his prime. Perfectly timed crunching challenge then curled a great ball up the touchline. Watched Joe do that many times from my close up vantage point on terraces.

If we win 2 and they lose 2 we'll be above them on points.