Rangers International Football Club - The Gift That Keeps On giving

MURTY no more – can you play that tune on a flute I wonder. But, fear not Peepul – youse his noo goat a REAL RANJURZZ MAN in the manager's office, in the person of Jimmy Nicholl. Just a pity Jimmy's appointment has probably come about 20-years too late for him.

But, he's only keeping the chair warm until Stevie G arrives to lead Ra Peepul back to the top, restoring the natural order in Scottish Fitba.

Brian Gilmour (right) with co-coach Malky Thomson - he's a double winner

Aye Right!! I liked the wee quip I saw this week: “Progress at Rangers – sack the Under-20s coach and appoint an Under-18 one. Going by that rationale, the man for the job is surely wee Brian Gilmour, who really is a proven winner. He was a key player in the Ayr United team which has just won the League One title, while, in his spare time, he coached the Rangers Under-17s to victory in the Glasgow Cup final. Give the wee guy from Cumnock the player-manager's job – it makes sense.

Meanwhile, what of the move for Gerrard? I can understand his desire to be the Honcho, the top banana, the guy running the show. After all, during most of his long and distinguished playing career with Liverpool and England, he was DA MAN. The way he picked-up his team by the scruff of the neck to win that Champions League final, back in Milan, is a textbook example of the influence a great captain can have on a team.

But, whereas once, great playing captains such as George Young at Third Lanark, or Dave Mackay at Swindon, or great players such as Bill Shankly at Carlisle United were happy to begin their managerial careers at a small club, today, the big stars, if they wish to become managers, appear to think themselves immediately worthy of a big club.

Wullie Shankly - he served his time before getting to manage a big club

Even worse, there are star-struck chairmen out there ready to indulge them. Gerrard, as a player worked under some good managers; hopefully he has learned from them and, hopefully, in time, he will become a great manager, perhaps even a great Liverpool manager, but, this job, under this “Glib and shameless liar” of a Chairman. Ah hae ma doots.

Rangers over-spent their way into liquidation, worse, they over-spent with other people's money. They didn't learn from this and today, six years on from Armageddon, they remain a cash-strapped club, without a credit line to a reputable bank, and an overdraft to a firm who are acknowledged, even in the shark-infested waters of the City of London as the Great White Shark in the lagoon of lenders of last-resort.

That is not a good place for any young, untried manager to be. If I was Stevie G, I'd be in no hurry to head up the M55, M6 and M74 to Ibrox.

SPEAKING of Liverpool, as you would expect, this distant cousin of Wullie Shankly will be backing them in Rome tonight. But, I think they will need every one of their three goals of an advantage, a really disciplined defensive display, and a good rub of the green, if they are to hold off a determined Roma. This one could go all the way to penalties.

I thought, for a wee while last night, we might be heading there, but, of course, Bayern's second goal ruled out that possibility. Maybe, as the BT Sport team all agreed, the Germans were the better team on the night, but, in football, you don't win individual games on points, only the knock-out blow of the greater number of goals count.

Zat What harf I done moment for Sven Ulreich

And, how unusual that the knock-out blow should come from that least-expected source, a mistake by a German goalkeeper? Who'd have thunked such a thing was possible. And, what about that sitter which Ronaldo missed – shooting over an open goal from six yards – who'd have thunked that as well.

To maintain the (tenuous) Liverpool connection – Football, it's a funny old game Saint.

I RETURN, somewhat reluctantly, to the institution situated on Edmiston Drive in Glasgow, and the house journal of a good number of its faithful followers – that “newspaper”, whose offices are located along Anderston Quay and which some refer to as: “the Daily Ranger.”

Keith Jackson - has had his radar sorted and can now spot charlatans around Ibrox

The paper is, of course, a shadow of its former self, but, one of the shining lights of its editorial floor, former Rangers BC player Keith Jackson, the guy whose radar could not identify Craig Whyte as a “wrong 'un” (if indeed the unfortunate Mr Whyte ever was such – he did win at leat one court case remember) – has clearly had his radar updated.

I say this, because today, in a brave case of sticking his head above the parapet, the bold Keith castigates the current Rangers board. To be fair to Keith, it is hard to argue with his piece, let's hope this is a sign that the Lap Top Loyal and the “stenographers” are starting, at long last, to figure-out, there is something rotten at the core of the “House of Orange.”

MEANWHILE, across the city, I fear the Family are being readied for the loss of one of their own. All these stories, all the opinion pieces, telling the punters how young Kieran Tierney would not look out of place in a Manchester United shirt, are Act One in the saga which will see him – sooner rather than later - off to Old Trafford for a shed load of cash.

 Kieran Tierny - seemingly about to follow in some illustrious stud marks

Celtic has always been a selling club, Tierney is arguably their most-valuable asset, his departure is only a matter of time. United has a history of getting great mileage out of players they buy from Celtic – Jimmy Delaney, Pat Crerand and Brian McClair for instance.

Young Kieran has the ability to match the great deeds of these iconic predecessors.