WOW! Who'd have believed it, a front-line Scottish sports writer has, this morning, had the temerity to suggest that, just maybe, Ally McCoist isn't up to managing Rangers.
Of course, Stuart Bathgate in The Scotsman, didn't actually suggest that: "Taxi for McCoist" was in imminent danger of being heard around Murray Park - but; there was a hint that maybe the Second-Greatest Living Ranger's jacket was on a shoogly peg.
Such is the turmoil around the club just now it's almost like watching the Arab Spring - without the bombs and bullets. There are so-many different factions vying for power and influence, so-many characters sticking their nebs in, it is difficult to make an accurate assessment of what is happening.
There is one certainty, Charles Green hasn't deviated from his belief that: "Rangers are worth £50 million any day" and, he will not budge until he gets a price for his shares which accurately reflects his valuation of the entire Rangers brand, notwithstanding the fact he is quite prepared to further tarnish it to get that price.
I actually believe that IF the club was properly funded, managed and operating in a properly-managed Scottish game, £50 million perhaps under-values that club. That said, I don't see it happening. Sure, the right, pig-headed-obsessive, with the money to make his wishes happen, COULD, make Rangers worth more than £50 million, but only if he could also bend the rest of Scottish football to his will. And, that aint gonna happen any time soon.
So, unless Charlie drops his price - I see continuing stalemate until, sooner or later, Rangers are back in administration or more-likely liquidation.
As for the quality of the would-be alternative Masters of Ibrox. Again, there is no saying what the Hampden "blazers" might do, but, I would suggest that, given his part in the self-destructive downfall of "Old" Rangers, Paul Murray has disqualified himself from any part in restoring the dignity and status of the Rangers brand.
Similarly, given his well-known travails with the South African justice system, Dave King isn't the red, white or blue knight who will put it all to rights. We are told that King has the money to sort things out - if so, why hasn't he before now?
ACROSS the city, there is a sense of relief this morning, with Celtic safely ensconsed in the play-off round, the last obstacle to be overcome before the guarantee of a lengthy European run this season, in the group stages and beyond in the Champions League, or, in the group stages, then as a back-up, the Europe League.
The play-off round is the real sweat box in Europe: win, you're in the money, lose, you're nothing.
Celtic came through a real test of nerve in getting past their Swedish opponents last night. They only had a one-goal cushion, they reeled and rocked at times, but, they came through and well done to them.
Wembley Wins Eight - England 0 Scotland 1: 1999
EIGHTH place in my list of Wembley Wins goes to our last success in the cathedral of English football, on 17 November, 1999, when we went there for the second leg of a European Championship play-off tie, seeking to overturn a two-goal deficit from the first leg, at Hampden, four days previously.
We badly missed Paul Lambert at Hampden and he was again absent for the Wembley match. Knowing he had to win, manager Craig Brown rang the changes, bringing-in Callum Davidson for the more-defensively-minded Paul Ritchie, Neil McCann for the injured Kevin Gallacher and pushing Don Hutchison further forward and asking him to "bully" Gareth Southgate, whom Kevin Keegan preferred to Martin Keown at the heart of the English defence.
Hutchison did as he was asked, brilliantly, even scoring Scotland's goal with a great header, from a McCann cross late in the first half. Brown also asked goalkeeper Neil Sullivan to lump the ball up Route One, for Hutchison to knock it down to the supporting Billy Dodds and Scotland certainly were on the front foot all game.
Sadly, however, the second goal which would at the very least have opened the door to extra time and possibly penalties, didn't come. In the second half, we flung everything but the twin towers at David Seaman in the England goal, but the man who owed his England place to the coaching of Scotland's own Bob Wilson, produced some great saves to deny us - none better than his late effort from a Christain Dailly header, which had the whole of Scotland on their feet already shouting: "Goal", when Seaman saved.
Like so-many Wembley wins, it amounted to nothing. It was too-little, too-late, we were out and England qualified for the European Championships finals in Belgium and Holland - where they produced a terrible performance which made even our effort in Argentine in 1978 look adequate.
Leading 1-0 at half-time and with all the momentum; we should have gone on and won by more, but, we didn't, which is why this win only ranks eighth in our list of Wembley wins.
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