Fletcher scored 12 goals last year in a bloody awful Wolves side, despite being lumbered with a strike partner who spent most of the season doing an impersonation of a sycamore tree. It's obviously a ludicrous fee but it wouldn't even make the top ten of laughable Premier League transfers from the last year or two.

If you really want a good laugh, Real Madrid made a semi-serious offer for Fletcher a few years ago when he was scoring freely for Hibs. This was around the same time they pounced for Julien Faubert.

Sunderland’s revival under O’Neill, as remarkable as it was, may have not lost so much momentum if they had a decent finisher. Fletcher may not be the quickest or strongest but he is pretty clinical in front of goal.

In any case, £12/£14 million, depending which site you read, is still a modest sum for a striker with recent PL experience. Whether a good run of form will get him back in Levein's good books is another matter, however.

So that is just what you need to pay for someone who can score a dozen or so goals at EPL level then? I don't follow English football closely enough to realise the price of players down there. Everton got Naismith and Jelavic for about a third of Steven Fletcher, bloody hell.

So how much do you get for finishing say 6th in the EPL next season?

I didn't say it was what should be paid. All I said was that, in recent Prem history, as transfer blunders go, this one is nothing to write home about.

If Wolves had done the same things as Rangers then Fletcher would be going for a lot cheaper, though maybe not as cheaply as Naismith.

Jelavic and Naismith were very good buys by Everton. Naismith's value is probably low because of his injury history but in a normal situation they would have cost a lot more.

If I was doing a fantasy football team I'd put Fletcher in as my "cheap" striker, and certainly before Andy Carroll.

I will be interested to read commentary on the referee's denial of what would have been the winner for Berwick Rangers against Rangers just now.

It certainly looked anodyne to me.

My reaction in real-time was obstruction on the 'keeper, hence I was totally unsuprised when it got chalked off. It looked less clearly a foul on the replays, but I can understand why the ref thought that way.

Is this what people meant when they said it was only a matter of time before Rangers would be playing league football in England?

AMMS wrote:


£1million/goal sounds about the rule of thumb, to be honest. For example, Stoke paid Birmingham £~4million for Cameron Jerome last summer, following a season where he had scored 3 Premiership goals in 34 apperances.

I've defended Rangers and Rangers route back through the leagues to the hilt.

Nice to see them rewarding me with a bit of a laugh over the last few weeks but then that's the fitba. No idea why that goal was chalked off but I was too busy laughing at auld Dougie the Berr berating the Rangers team across the boozer at the time.

There are limits I'd place on my ability to enjoy schadenfreude but now that there's something recognisably Rangers on the go I'll get my jollies watching it squirm. Sorry AMMS.

Another nil nil draw at home for the Dons - this time against Hearts. Sounds like we were the better side but pfffftttt.

After two games, Clydebank remain top of the WOS Super League Premier Division (I know, I know just let me enjoy it..). Looking at the results and the table it already looks like this season is going to be exceptionally competitive and to be honest I still hope for survival than challenging for the title.

If we do as well or even exceed last season's position the champagne bottles will be popped.

I was fully expecting Russell, Daly and co to run riot on Saturday, didn't see that result coming at all. We'll probably get pumped by Stenny tomorrow night now.

Only caught the highlights but Watt and Twardzik's performances were most encouraging. Watt looks as if he has purpose to go with his pace, awareness and eye for goal and should get a few more starts in the league, Europe or not. Bangura (Fortune Mk II), Murphy (Vennegoor without the fear factor) and Stokes (up his own arse) should be surplus to requirements.

No Schadenfreude from me re Berwick although Black ought to have realised what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a tackle that nearly snapped him in half, given his propensity for doing likewise. There was little contact on Alexander (who barged the player marking him rather than the other way round) but refs will blow up for those all day long.

I believe the Fletcher fee is £12m plus add ons for League positions. £14m will be top whack: ie finishing top six. £10m plus add ons is the max I expected to pay.
Ive rated him since watching him in his Burnley days. Hes never had a bad game that Ive seen. Its not often Ive any expectations of our signings but Fletcher and Johnson are the only ones since Bent Ive rated.
We need Fletcher as the forwards we have otherwise wont get twenty goals between them all season. Campbell, Ji, Whickham, Saha and Sessegnon guarantee a serious relegation fight. Sess may be off soon (Spurs?) and Campbells been mentioned as a Dempsey makeweight.
Ive gone off topic, Sorry.

It looks like the authorities are gonna have their work cut out getting Rangers back to back promotions arent they?
Kevin Kyle! He had a great three months spell under micmac for us when he'd finally became first choice and given a decent run of games then a mysterious injury stopped his development in its tracks. Reid & Wilko & Quinn had defended him saying big lads need time to grow into their bodies etc. Kyle had started to prove em right then it all turned to shite for him.
Ive always liked the lad, its good to see him getting his chance at a "big" club.

Kyle was fantastic for the Hearts, I only hope he can squeeze something out of what time ha has left as a player.

Petershill's derby is really St Rochs, Perthshire's derby is Ashfield, but a short trip I agree and some local spice too.

i taught a music workshop at st rochs secondary school. I can't remember whether I thought It was more likely that i would see Taggart or Judge Dredd through a window.

RobM wrote:


Yup, he pretty much single-handedly kept us up a couple of seasons back, was streets ahead of most of the others on the pitch whenever he played. Maybe that says more about the SPL, mind.

On Fletcher I think he's a good player I was just surprised at the fee, but I accept that's just seems to be the going rate down south these days. I'm a bit out of touch with that market clearly.

We're Kevin Kyle's pension I've no doubts about that. If he can stay fit, and I hear differing views on how possible that is, he'll be an asset for us. He's started all the games from the bench so far and he certainly offers something different when he comes on. He's no ones idea of a modern footballer but he's experienced, effective, available and cheap, beggars can't be choosers.

Berwick played well yesterday, as did Peterhead a fortnight before, away games in particular are going to be like this for a while to come, the team better get used to it pretty soon.

Berbaslug, St Roch's was Mo Johnson's alma mater, the Junior team play a wee bit further up Royston Road but same neck of the woods. You might have seen Judge Dredd, he is Scottish after all.

Draw for the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup:

Cove Rangers v Golspie Sutherland
Fraserburgh v East Stirlingshire
Forres Mech v Rangers
Clachnacuddin v Formartine Utd
Civil Service Strollers v Turriff Utd
Montrose v Shotts BA/Edinburgh City
Buckie Th/Rothes v Annan Ath
Berwick Rangers v Wick Academy
Selkirk v Vale of Leithen
Inverurie Loco Works v Huntly/Wigtown and Bladnoch
Deveronvale v Peterhead
Elgin City v St Cuthbert Wanderers
Dalbeattie Star v Stirling Albion
Queen's Park v Irvine Meadow
Stirling Uni v Bonnyrigg Rose
Clyde v Nairn County.