March 2006 - (RM Archives)
Cloggers - March 31/2006
And its the end of another week and the sart of a new weekend of football action and apart from the Rangers game on Sunday its an exciting weekend in the Scottish Cup as well with the Edinburgh derby and the Gretna Dundee game.
Jan Wouters has come out today criticising the "Cloggers" in the Scottish game and to an extent he is right. The amount of fouling that goes on in the Scottish game is terrible and does not make for nice football which any true football fan will want to see. Dado Prso is one player who gets fouled a lot and what bugs me is that when he commits a foul he gets booked so there are double standards there.
Right sorry folks thats yer lot until tomorrow when i will do a preview of Sundays game have a good Friday.
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Ferguson To Have Surgery - March 30/2006
And a very happy Thursday to one and all, and why is it a happy Thursday? I hear you cry, well its payday for me the once a fortnight event is here gain today so thats good news anyway.
Other news of note today is that Barry Ferguson is likely to be going under the knife in the next couple of weeks to have as he put it "ankle reconstruction" about time too but it has to be said he was immense in the 2nd leg of the Villareal game but then was poor on Saturday against Dunfermline. I have said several times in the past month or two that it is better for him to have the surgery sooner rather than later rather than harm his future and the clubs on field prospects and if this is the right time so be it. We have extra cover in central midfield too with Ricksen, the two Raes and Boab so I'm sure we could manage without him, but as for the captaincy role well I would give it to Chris Burke. He to me seems like the type of player who would revel in that role and I believe that it would further enhance his performances and as he has arguably been our best player this season he would have the immediate respect of the rest of the team and the fans.
Dado Prso today has come out and said that he wants to get 2nd place for McLeish as he was the one who brought him to Ibrox and was saddened by the criticism he endured this season. Dado is one player who cannot be faulted too much for his displays this season apart from his volleyball practising against Villareal and what we need is a concerted effort by the players to get 2nd place which is well achievable but there can be no slip ups and we cannot take for granted that Hearts will be in so much turmoil that they will collapse nor can we take 3rd place for granted with the 5 point cushion we have over Killie. Nothing less than victory is what the players attitudes should be and if they don't have that attitude they will be found out and hopefully shipped out of Ibrox too.
Ok folks thats all for now.
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Arsenal Wins - March 29/2006
A few things today, first of all well done to Arsenal for last nights result and performance. And looking at tonights champions league games one of which in we could have been involved but hey theres always next season.
One thing thats caught my eye and made me laugh was Jean-Claude Darcheville trying to talk his way to Rangers despite turning us down not so long ago.
"Does the arrival of Paul Le Guen at Rangers make me change my mind? To be honest, yes, Why not Rangers? When you go abroad it is better to know the coach is French and he knows how to use you in the best way."
Now why would we want to sign a player who has scored 4 goals in Ligue 1 this season? He is 30 as well, not the age of player we want to be signing. We are being linked with so many French and French based players I wonder how many are on the priority list and how many are on the back up plan list. Ettiene Didot, a defensive midfielder who plays for Rennes is another who has been linked with us. One thing though, we have Hemdani who plays that role and if we got him who would he replace and if Hemdani then we are entitled to a transfer fee for him or better still a cash plus player deal. Hemdani would be no great loss, bearing in mind his injuries, his indifferent approach and the fact that he really isn't that great a player. I mean who gets excited when he gets the ball? I know i don't.
Grégory Tafforeau the Lille left back has been linked as well and it would be sad to see Stevie Smith bombed out when he has done quite well since breaking into the first team. The French connections are fine but we cannot ignore the young guys coming through. 14 million went into building Murray Park and that kind of investment cannot -and should not- be allowed to go to waste. Tafforeau though i am not too sure of how good he is another reason to watch French football to see potential targets, its just a shame that some French League games are excruciatingly dull and watching paint dry at times is a good alternative.
Other talk the past few days is about the Stadium and the plans for it. I am all for the capacity being increased but I think the club has to make it cheaper for Students and families to go to the games. If they did that and maybe made last minute seats available cheaper then i think the club could easily justify a capacity increase in atmospheric as well as economic terms.
Right thats me have a good day.
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A New Week - March 27/2006
And its the start of a new week and Rangers and their fans are beginning to recover from Saturdays excuse of a match. It will be interesting to see how many teams adopt this damage limitation tactic and while it is frustrating to watch sometimes it has to be done. McLeish himself said on Saturday "Well we played like that against Porto didn't we?" and it goes to show that he is man enough not to be hypocritical about this issue. Like most things there is a time and a place for that kind of play and it was used on us on Saturday the same way we used it against Porto back in November. Either way if this trend continues with other teams then it is up to McLeish to adopt his tactics to break down packed defences.
Brahim Hemdani has come out today and said that Le Guen coming to Ibrox is being kept at the back of the players minds while we keep focused on the chase for 2nd place. I am certain that we can hold on to 3rd after Hibs losing to the Caley Jags on Saturday and Kilmarnock will not put any pressure on us. Hibs though have fallen away and I wonder if they have the mentality to get back up there challenging for 3rd at least. Losing O'Connor is a big blow for them and they're also losing Gary Caldwell this summer and no doubt Riordan too sooner rather than later. But to get back to Hemdani yes he is right that must be the focus, Le Guen coming is great news but we know that that is a done deal unlike 2nd place in the league and until 2nd place is secured we cannot rest on our laurels.
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A Turgid Game - March 26/2006
Yesterdays game has been described as a turgid game by several sections of the media and that is down to Dunfermline's tactics yesterday. I cannot fault them for playing that way as they like any team do not want to come to Ibrox or any ground and get a thrashing, which would have been on the cards had Rangers had a bit more cutting edge. Plenty of chances were created but it was made hard by a packed penalty box and a fine performance by Bryn Halliwell. Some of the saves he made were sensational and he was Dunfermlines best player by a country mile.
Some of the Rangers players were not on form either yesterday and the culprit in chief for me once again is Barry Ferguson I'm afraid. Where was the snarl we've seen in recent weeks? Not only that but his passing was poor on several occasions and I'm not only talking about his longer passes but some of his short passing was poor even simple 10 yard passes and that to me is unacceptable. If it is down to the injury he is carrying then he should get his ass into surgery and get it over with before he does himself serious long term harm. Burke as well wasn't on form but then he was getting closely marked and perhaps there is too much expectation being placed on him. Boyd was the wrong choice top start with up front based on hindsight, which as we all know is a great thing, when Lovenkrands came on he gave us an added edge and his cross that set up big Soti for his goal-well done big man. When he went over to McLeish during the celebrations I wonder what was said. One guy at the Calgary RSC said "Yeah McLeish was saying instead of getting a cash goal bonus you will be getting a set of plates to smash!" Prso as always worked his socks off and one long range shot that came of the post was unlucky not to go in. Other than those the rest of the team did a quiet, unspectacular but efficient job.
Stefan Klos upon his return to the line up proved that he is still a great goalie and still has it, ok he only had 2 or 3 saves of note to make but then , that is a sign of a great keeper that he can keep his concentration when there are long spells of inactivity and pull off the spectacular when a great shot like the one from Andy Tod at the death. Surely his performance yesterday will mean that he is in the starting 11 until the end of the season and hopefully will stay on in the event of the Nantes goalkeeper Landreau not joining us although word has it that he will be moving to Rangers this summer.
One thing was noticable too was the lack of singing of certain songs from the fans. I'm not sure if this is down to the threat we face from UEFA or the fact that it wasn't the greatest of games which was epitomised by the ammount of empty seats with 5 minutes to go. Either way if there are bigoted lyrics being sung that may lead to sanctions against the club, then they need to stop. I understand that some will see it as their heritage and part of the clubs traditions and see it as their right to vocally express bigoted views but theres a time and a place and the football is not the place to do it, especially when it can cause the club to lose money and respect.
Ok so thats the weeknd almost done hope you had a good one and have a good week.
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Gers v. Pars - March 25/2006
So folks apologies for no blog yesterday, unfortunately I wasn't feeling too well but I'm ok now and writing before I go to bed so here goes.
The atmosphere round Ibrox seems to be one of optimism and determination to reach 2nd place and with good reason too as we have been handed a massive opportunity to do it with the shenanigans at Tynecastle these past few days. Hearts can only throw it away now and there is more of a chance of that happening with the upheavel that they are going through now and the sense of insecurity that is surrounding them just now. I think as well that the fact that the caretaker managers lack of English will hinder matters too and I can see them falling away and maybe it will Hibs who sneak 3rd place. Although we have to win all games to guarantee 2nd and maybe get within a semi respactable points gap but it is still a tall order and one that should not be treated as a done deal until it is a done deal mathematically after that it is time that the manager gave more kids their chance get guys like Carcary, N'Guessan, Ashikodi and others their chance . Last Sundays game was a game in which Rangers overcame and stared down a very physical approach from Hearts and that is a sign that is a team in good shape and not willing to hide when things get a bit heavy on the park. Added to that the football being played by Rangers has been good of late and it will be good to see them taking on a team who are on bad form and at the wrong end of the table and I can see Rangers winning this 3 or 4 nil, or even more who knows?
So here is my predicted line up for todays game:
Mullet
Hutton Soti J Rod Smith
Burke Ferguson Hemdani
Buffel
Boyd Prso
Subs:Klos, Andrews, Murray, Ricksen, N'Guessan, Novo, Lovenkrands.
N'Guessan is in the squad and if we are a few goals up I can see him getting his chance and it would be nice if it wasn't just for 2 minutes at the end. I cannot see Dunfermline causing Rangers any major problems and after last weekends CIS cup final defeat they will be hurting and perhaps that will mean that they have an up and at 'em approach and there may be a bit more determination from them but it will count for nothing when Burkey and co get going and for the Gers watching the game at Ibrox and around the world on Setanta and those listening to the radio or on the net it will be an enjoyable game.
Enjoy...........................
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Kim Kallstrom - March 23/2006
So the word today is that the Danish international midfielder Kim Kallstrom may be joining Rangers this summer having not seem him play, this is another guy I'll have to keep an eye out for. As he is out of contract too he will not command a fee so thats good news too as now there'll be more money for the club to put towards buying Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.(We can hope anyway!)
On to the Hearts situation now and if there any fans out there who are not happy with David Murray then what I suggest is looking at Hearts and what has happened since Romanov took over. OK there has been major investment in the team and they are staying at Tynecastle for the time being but would the fans like to have the soul of the club sold to the detriment of the clubs reputation. Murray at least has never interfered with team selection and has behaved with dignity throughout his tenure and has consistently kept his promises to the club. The Advocaat reign was a bit crazy but then he wasn't the only club owner in Europe who went a bit far but at least the club is still in existence and still in a position to get into Europe and while the past 4 years have been tough financially a new chapter is being opened with the arrival of Le Guen and it could just be one of the clubs most fruitful periods in its history.
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Ok - So its Tuesday. - March 21/2006
Ok so its Tuesday the summer still hasn't arrived unless your somewhere in the world where it is summer, Martha Stewart is on TV doing some cookery show and to cap it all last night I fell asleep on the settee after a wee afternoon sesh in the pub taking advantage of $2.50 pints of kokanee. Fun times indeed eh? But on the Rangers front the only news of note is that Bordeaux and Morocco striker Marouane Chamack and Lyons Sidney Govou are coming to Ibrox this summer as Le Guen begins to draw up his blue(nose)print for success admittedly I don't know anything about Chamack but will be keeping an eye on Bordeaux games on FoxSports World to check him outbut I have faith in Le Guens ability to spot a good player and harness the talent properly. Govou as well has been doing a good job at Lyyon but is being kept out of the starting 11 by Fred and John Carew so a move to Ibrox would be mutually advantageous to both parties. Tell you what though this close season is going to be the most interesting for the right reasons in a number of years and while some departures and arrivals may prove to be controversial the fact remains that Rangers are heading in the right direction-onwards and upwards.
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Robert Pires? - March 20/2006
Well I've been a lazy so today as its day off for me and I didn't sleep all that well at the weekend like Saturday night I only got 4 hours sleep if I'm lucky so I could watch the game so this is me just up at 1pm but anyhoo, enough about me and on to more pressing matters like what to write about today. Hmmm it is a tough one, but what stands out for me today is the speculation about Robert Pires coming to the club as he wants a longer contract than Arsene Wenger is going to offer as the Arsenal policy is to give its over 30's a one year contract and if he was to come he would get at least a 2 year contract. If that notion had been put to me, say, 2 years ago I would have been all for it but this season 'Le Bob' has not been on form even if he did score at the weekend and fact of the matter is that he's 33 almost 34 and not one for the future and he would probably be earning 25-30 grand a week and while the financial difficulties have been eased somewhat it is sadly I fear going to lead to throwing good money after bad especially when there are better options out there from a football and financial perspective. So who today do I have in mind? I hear you cry and the name is none other than Andy Van der Mayde of Everton who, at the weekend was on the bench at Everton and with his skill, pace and ability to whip in a good cross he could just be the man to solve our left midfield problem as lets face it Ian Murray sure as hell ain't the answer and neither is Olivier Bernard ,in fact Olivier Bernard is the answer to the question "Who is the worst player to wear the famous blue of Rangers this season?" AVDM would not cost too much and is only 26 so therefore the right age to look at as he is just reaching the peak of his powers and as the ultimate cream of Europe are out of our reach, he is the right calibre of player for the club and lets face it we could do a lot worse than him.
Ok so other than this not a whole is happening today so I'll sign off here.
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Hearts 1 Rangers 1 - March 19/2006
As I expected it to be, todays game was a tight niggly affair but although I felt that a draw was a fair result even if Buffel should have sealed it in the last 10 minutes. He also should have scored when Burke put a great ball across the face of goal but at least he got us a goal because there was no one else who looked like scoring today but that can also be due to a good defensive performance from Hearts whose spoiling tactics were spot on especially in the first half and give credit to them as they tested Rangers significantly even if the goal they scored once again highlighted the anomaly of the offside rule which FIFA really need to repeal but will they? No as it would make them look stupid as they would have to hold their hands up and say "Sorry we were wrong." and hell will freeze over before the powers that be admit mistakes.
The players though did not function effectively for the majority of the first half and the midfielders had a tendency to drift in and out of the game for example it was 10 minutes into the game before I saw Ferguson get on the ball I missed the first 3 minutes so I didn't see the team line up and assumed he wasn't playing because of injury, Burke as well was another one who did this in the first half but he more than made up for it in the 2nd half. Lovenkrands as well showed why he is probably going to be out at the end of the season. He offered little and while his persistence in the penalty area led to his shot and susequent corner I can't think of any other note worthy contributions from him..possibly as I got less than 4 hours sleep due to the early kick off.
Why as well do we play Ian Murray? He was rubbish as usual and his error led to Hearts goal and he is one guy we could shot of and not a single tear would be shed and it is shocking that Stevie Smith was not in the team either but perhaps it is best not to give guys like him too many games and then things going to pot for the lad if he hits a bad run of form. but while we're on this topic I must add that Novo did nothing to enhance his prospects of a run in the team and it is surely a matter of time before he too is bidding adios to Ibrox I feel for the guy as he can be a smashing player and he seems like good guy as well and it is funny to hear him say "aye" instead of yes when interviewed on tv.
Right I'm away to get some more sleep.
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Tomorrow's Team - March 18/2006
So after Hibs slip up today at Motherwell(as predicted here yesterday) Rangers now have a wee bit of breathing space heading into tomorrows game. Unfortunatly we will have to do without Fanfan as he is injured and that will be a major absence so goodness knows how we will manage without him.
The game itself I predict to be a tight affair but I am confident that Rangers will just about edge it and then the pressure is well and truly on Hearts and I can see their bottle crashing in the coming weeks should we get a positive result but before we get carried away the league splits in a few weeks and all the gameswe have when that happens will be tough ones but I feel that the way Rangers are playing just now and finding a wee bit of form at the right time we should do enough to get 2nd place which in November I had given up on.
So here's the team I would pick tomorrow if I was Alex McLeish(Yes thats right I'm not him masquerading as an ex-pat)
Mullet
Hutton Soti J-Rod Smith
Burke Ferguson Ricksen
Buffel
Boyd Prso
subs:Klos,Andrews,Malcolm,Murray,Hemdani,Lovenkrands,Novo
The addition of Ricksen in place of Hemdani is because we need steel in the centre of midfield which is something that Hemdani doesn't offer a lot of but the rest of the team picks itself and we will have enough firepower on the bench should things go awry.
So with the 12.30 kick off which is 5.30am here I will no doubt have to stay up all night so I can watch it at the RSC here but heres hoping it goes the right way.
Enjoy your saturday night and the game tomorrow.
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A Big Weekend - March 17/2006
And its the end of another week and its a big weekend for us as we travel to Tynecastle on Sunday, more about that tomorrow but the most intriguing fixture tomorrow has to be Hibs taking on Motherwell at Fir Park and I am tipping Butchers boys to send the Hibees home to think again. Fir Park is a tough venue to go to and I can see (or I am hoping for)a Motherwell victory to give us a wee bit of breathing space in 3rd place and setting us up nicely for Sundays encounter at Tynecastle. So another McDonalds double at Fir Park and we'll be loving it.
Enjoy your weekend.
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Back to Business - March 16/2006
So after the Le Guen news its back to business this weekend as the Gers travel to Tynecastle amidst a backdrop of ticket protest climbdowns and Anderlecht declaring an interest in Thomas Buffel.
So the ticket issue is a sore one for the Gers fans who always fill the Gorgie Stand at Tynecastle and with their exorbitant ticket prices for away fans, especially when the old firm come to town the Rangers fans have every right to feel aggrieved by the slashing of the away allocation by around 40%. However the flip side of the coin is that it is Hearts ground and they have the right to slash away fans allocation of tickets whether we like it or not. The fact that Tynecastle is a sell out every week(Just like they sold out when they agreed to sell to Romanov)and there is maybe a wee bit of justification for their decision however galling it is for the fans. The decision not to hold a protest out of respect for the death of Jimmy Johnstone is the right one though and it just goes to show that Rangers fans do have some decorum about them and can act in a respectful manner when other teams legends die as opposed to the likes of Aberdeen and Celtic fans who jeered and disrupted minutes silences for the likes of George "Corky" Young and Jim Baxter to name but two. Sorry if that sounds like cheap point scoring but I am only pointing out facts there and I am sure the Rangers fans will behave in an impeccably dignified and respectful manner on Sunday.
As for Buffel being top of Anderlechts wish list, well we should take it as a compliment that a club with the stature of Anderlecht are looking at our players OK their Belgian and so is Buffel but the words their chairman is using.
"He has 18 months left on his contract and earns 1 million pounds a year"
Sounds like he is trying to get Buffel on the cheap really doesn't it?And my message to Herman Van Holsbeeck is "Don't touch what you can't afford!" I know at times he has been a bit pish but he is a good player especially on the European stage but he is a player we should either be offering a deal to stay on or selling him in the summer and hopefully recouping the fee we paid or bettter still making a profit to add to the transfer kitty for Le Guen this summer. After the Turkish giants Galatasary put in a 4 million pound bid for him last year and his displayes in the champions league we should be looking for that kind of fee for him or maybe even a bigger one.
So on that note I'll leave it there so take it easy and keep keeping it real folks.
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Le Guen in Scotland - March 15/2006
Paul Le Guens visit to Scotland yesterday will have no doubt have confirmed to him that he has made the right choice in agreeing to be Rangers next manager. The facilities at Murray Park will have impressed him and it goes without saying that the stadium will have as well. I mean who could not be impressed with those two assets the club has, the fact remains that in European terms Rangers are a sleeping giant, this season has seen a respectable campaign in Europe indeed a damn sight better one than when we had the likes of Laudrup and Gascoigne and getting humiliated by the likes of Strasbourg Ajax and Steau Bucharest. Once Le Guen gets going it will be like a wind up toy being wound up and once it is let off well just sit back and enjoy the ride!
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A Slow Day - March 14/2006
Nothing much going on today then and the only thing going on other than the furore over Le Guen's imminent arrival and the tributes to Jimmy Johnstone is David Murray coming out and warning players that there will be most likely a clear out of players this summer. No surprise there then and lets face it the are some in the first team pool we could easily do without, we know who they are and Paul Le Guen will no doubt be aware of who they are too.
Well as I said not a lot going on and the only other thing thats caught my eye has been the response of Rangers fans to the death of Jimmy Johnstone as it goes to show that not all fans are bigots who are unable to give any praise or respect to rival players and this goes to show that the old firm can be united sometimes like they were when Jim Baxter, Davie Cooper and Jock Stein died.
Ok enough from me til tomorrow then.
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A New Era Begins - March 13/2006
So it was a truly monumental weekend in the long proud history of Rangers football club as the club announced the capture of Paul Le Guen on a 3 year contract. and you know what? I'm so excited about this and cannot wait for the season to end so he can get to work and hopefully preparing for another shot at getting into next seasons Champions League. I think the players as well based on the past few performances are beginning to realise that this is a very talented coach who is coming and someone who will make them better players as he has done at every club that he has been coach at and no doubt as well this season on his sabbatical he will have learned some good lessons from Arsene Wenger when he has gone to watch and learn from what he does with the players in terms of coaching styles and man management.
What his first challenge is going to be is deciding who stays and who goes and also who to bring in. There is talk of some of his former players at Lyon coming to Rangers, Patrick Muller for one and Greory Coupe "le goalie" as he will no doubt be known as should he come. These players have a decent pedigree and are players that would enhance most clubs but for the goalkeeping situation we should be looking at a younger guy for the medium to long term or bringing Stefan Klos back into the starting 11 while keeping an eye out for younger talent bearing in mind Klos's age and Wattereus leaving at the end of the season.
As for the rest of the team there are the usual suspects we would like to see leave and some that are out of contract will be allowed to leave but the players in that situation should realise that at times their performances have been unacceptable and if they have any sense of morality should not be looking at holding the club to ransom with big wage increases.
David Murray is to be applauded as well for pulling this off, his persuasive powers have again been triumphant and surely now that will shut up the Murray out brigade and put an end to all doubt about his intentions towards Rangers. Sure it is a gamble but no way will we go down the same road we did with Advocaat but remember that Le Guen was not a major net spender in the transfer market and operated in a shrewd manner so it is safe to say we won't be scraping away at the bargain basement end of the Bosman market again for over the hill b rate players like Vanoli and Ostendsat again but neither will we paying crazy prices for players who were not worth anywhere near what we paid like we did with Kanchelskis, Konterman and Hendry to name but three.
The next few years I predict are going to be a very enjoyable time to be a Rangers fan with the time we will have with Le Guen in charge and then enjoying the fruits of what he will put in place check this link out and you will get my meaning.
http://www.sundayherald.com/54587
On a final note I would like to pay tribute to Jimmy Johnstone who sadly died today. He is a player I wished I had been around to see and looking back at footage of him on BBC world today what he was doing then Ronaldinho todays greatest player is doing now. Jimmy Johnstone-the wee man who became a footballing giant.RIP.
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A Fine Win - March 11/2006
A fine win today which I missed due to work but its just the tonic after Tuesdays disappointment and after Hearts slip up at Inverness today it brings us to within 6 points of the Jambo's and on course for the Champions League qualifying berth for next season. It is encouraging too that the team had the resolve, the character and the quality to bounce back in emphatic style and we can only hope that this result is a springboard to go on a good run between now and the end of the season. There is only 9 games left and 27 points up for grabs and with all the teams at the top seemingly able to take points off each other it could just get extremely interesting come the end of the season.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks.
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Killie Tomorrow. - March 10/2006
Friday then and its back to reality with a bump for the Gers. Not only is there another must win game against Kilmarnock but there is a UEFA charge hanging over Rangers as well due to alleged bigoted chanting at Ibrox in the first leg of the Villareal tie as well as the coach window incident.
So the weekend's SPL football has the potential to be a very interesting weekend with us taking on 5th placed Killie, Celtic playing Hibs on Sunday and the Jambo's taking on the Caley Jags in Inverness. We have a great chance to peg Hearts back to a 5 point lead as Inverness is a very tough place to go and get a positive result and I can see Inverness winning that one or at least getting a draw out of it. So the impetus is on the Gers to put in a barnstorming performance on Saturday and get back into the swing of things in the SPL or we can kiss goodbye to Champions League football next season let alone the UEFA cup. Hopefully Hibs and Celtic will draw giving us slightly more breathing space in 2rd should we win tomorrow although I'd be happy with a Hibs win for obvious reasons.
With Prso coming back after suspension in Europe and Stevie Smith returning after illness it is a full strength squad that is available to Eck and this is the team I feel he should pick bearing in mind the midweek exertions.
Wattereus
Hutton Rodriguez Kyrgiakos Smith
Burke Ferguson Hemdani
Buffel
Prso Boyd
Subs:Klos, Andrews, Murray, Malcolm,G Rae, Lovenkrands, Novo
The team must get their focus and their priorities straight. Bad results and bad performances will mean that Le Guen is unlikely to want to keep these players on and I can imagine that quite a few are eagerly anticipating one of Europes best coaches coming to Rangers and working with them, if I was a Rangers player I know I would be.
As for the UEFA charge, and I am not surprised by it as UEFA are threatening to clamp down on racist and bigoted behaviour at football matches and several clubs have received-quite rightly-fines for this. I am surprised it has taken UEFA this long to potentially punish Rangers for this as the chanting and behaviour at Ibrox at times is simply deplorable and has no place in the 21st century and these knuckle draggers who besmirch the clubs reputation need to take a long look at themselves especially if we get banned from Europe or have to play matches behind closed doors. Of course I have heard the argument "We pay good money to come to Ibrox, we should be allowed to do what we want."Well, no actually, when your behaviour has the potential for the club to lose money or respect then you have no right to behave like that at Ibrox and if you want to sing bigoted songs then fuck off and do it elsewhere . There is a major problem with this but it should be remembered that the vast majority of Rangers fans are decent, tolerant people who are there for the football and hold no truck with bigotry, sectarianism and all that nonsense. Having said all that it is also time UEFA dealt with the racism problem in Italy and Spain with the monkey chants and Nazi salutes but will they? Will they hell there is too much TV generated in those countries and UEFA don't want to lose out on that and they will always have one rule for the continental clubs and another for British clubs and you only have to look at refereeing decisions and disciplinary action to see what goes on in the corridors of power.
Ok so rant over enjoy your Friday night and the football this weekend. Heres hoping for a major case of bouncebackability.
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JJB and PLG - March 9/2006
So its been an interesting 24 hours for the Gers with the announcement about JJB taking over the clubs merchandising portfolio, the fall out from the ticket fiasco and this morning with Le Guen seemingly on the verge of joining Rangers its almost enough to make you forget about events on the pitch on Tuesday night.
I am not sure if I am overly happy about the JJB deal as I feel that this is a short term fix as we will lose out on revenue from the Rangers shops and as well as that there will be job losses as well and it will be harsh on those especially at the Rangers shops that have been open form many years mind you I suppose the club will be generous with any redundancy packages and it has not been confirmed how many Rangers shops will close. The deal though that gives the club a one off payment of 18 million punds plus 3 million a year over the next 10 years is quite a good one and the funds from that plus money from our heroic Champions League campaign will go towards buying some new players of genuine quality instead of scrabbling around for the cast-offs as we have done in recent seasons. With Le Guen taking charge we will have more of a chance of signing a better quality of player as has been stated by at least two of Le Guens former proteges.
Moving swiftly on then and the ticket fiasco the other night was totally avoidable. The Villareal policy of selling discounted tickets was always going to end in a touting fiasco and to me Villareal knew that was going to happen and still they went ahead and sold the tickets dirt cheap. In my view they should be thrown out of the Champions League(to be replaced by the team that they knocked out...whoever that was!) and banned for next season. A bit harsh that may sound especially as I was saying how good it was that Rangers fans went out there in force and in all areas of the ground with no trouble , but what would have happened if we had another Hillsborough style tragedy? Is that what is going to have to happen before UEFA sort this type of thing out? By taking this harsh measure UEFA will be sending out a tough message and maybe it will force the Spanish football authorities to take their heads out of the sand and do something about this and also the racism problem that is endemnic in Spain just now. Thankfully no Rangers player was subjected to that kind of abuse but the time has come for UEFA to clamp down on the ugly side of Spanish football. You can bet your bottom dollar if it was a British club carrying on like that there would be hell to pay.
So on to Le Guen then and he is apparantly going to announce on French TV on Sunday that he will be the next Rangers manager and it is unclear if he will take over at the end of the season or sooner. Who knows? lets just savour the fact that we have pulled off the managerial coup of the year and concentrate on the chase for 2nd spot.
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The Time has Gone - March 8/2006
So it started so well yesterday, wangling the afternoon off work so I could go watch the game and the mood at the RSC here was one of cautious optimism. After the first few minutes it was clear that Rangers were there to put up a show and lie down and die as a team as we have seen far too many times in Europe over the years. The first couple of shots that whistled past the post signalled Rangers intent and when Lovenkrands pounced on a loose following a neat interchange of passes between Lovenkrands and Buffel and Ferguson getting in on the goalkeeper putting him off it was bedlam as the ball hit the back of the net and Rangers fans across the globe celebrated a well conceived goal. All through the first half Rangers played the type of football we know they can play. Pride, passion, skill, good use of the ball and most importantly team work were all on display and Barry Ferguson as he has been in European ties over the years, was the best player on the park by a country mile he showed great awareness and vision and was back to his snarling best and watching him play you would never have guessed that he was not fully fit.Wattereus kept us in it when we got caught on the break and a great through ball put Forlan one on one with the Wattereus and the Mullet stood tall and deflected the shot wide. But still, we outplayed and outthought Villareal in that first half and they couldn't wait to get off the park at half time and my thoughts then was that the game was ours and I was anticipating potential opponents in the quarter finals.
Sadly thought the goal that killed our dreams came not long after half time and it was sloppy defending that allowed Arruaberrana to tap in at the back post, the has been some debate over who should have been marking him and while Hutton had the job of shackling Riquelme in which he did an ok job it should have been Chris Burke tracking back but hindsight is a wonderful thing and it is unfair to start dishing blame out when you consider how well the team played. The only player to not have an outstanding game was Alan Hutton and to be fair he had a mammoth task trying to contain Riquelme and he did an ok job of it once he settled into the game and got over the yellow card he received and when you consider how continental refs are in European competition he was lucky not to be sent off.
Kris Boyds miss will surely haunt him and all Rangers followers for years to come and it was so agonisingly close to putting us through to the quarter finals but then thats another example of the good old glorious failure story that Scotland seems to excell at.
So that is that and Alex McLeish deserves a hell of a lot of praise for taking us this far and getting his tactics spot on last night and if Sunderland think they can lure him to the Championship next season then they'd better think again. McLeish's reputation has been restored now and when he goes at the end of the season he can walk away with his head held high.
So thats yer lot folks another dream gone.
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The Time has Come - March 7/2006
So this is it then, the biggest night for Rangers in 13 years and I for one am so nervous about it and my biggest fear is that we collapse and don't do ourselves justice hopefully whatever team Eck puts out can go and do the biz. I believe we can but at the same time the task in hand is a big one to put it mildly. This is the team I would put out if I was Mcleish:
Mullet
Hutton Rodrigues Kyrgiakos Smith
Hemdani
Burke Ricksen Ferguson Murray
Buffel
Lovenkrands
This is going to be very tough but as long as the team and the fans keep believing then anything is possible.
Enjoy the game.
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Tomorrow...but today it is silence. - March 4/2006
So its a deafening silence coming out of Ibrox this morning regarding the arrival of Paul Le guen and the club are quite right to be keeping shtum about this as anything which diverts attention away from tomorrows game is an unwelcome distraction for everyone involved. If he is coming which according to the french paper l' Equipe he is then we can look forward to a radical 2 years as that is all he will sign for at the moment but who knows at the end of that 2 years he may decide to stay on and carry on "le revolucion."
So as the club has now jetted out to Spain it is a great sign that the whole squad has travelled in McLeish's words to support the team. This shows that there is camaraderie in the squad but it is quite obvious that it is not the same level as it was during the 9 in a row years but still its good to see everyone there and it looks too that the ground will be mostly be filled with bears and with that kind of support and the pressure more on Villareal than on the rangers then this might just turn into the most satisfying European night in many a long year. The news that Namouchi may miss the game is the only downside so far but remember the fact that he contributed next to nothing in the first leg so it is no great loss and at least Chris Burke seems to be back from the flu so its not all bad news. Whatever happens tomorrow night though at least this has been a season when we have done something in Europe to remember for the right reasons, ok the domestic season hasn't been a great one but after years of watching us dominate in Scotland and achieving the square root of zero in Europe, this has been satisfying in that regard and lets face it we've won more than enough in Scotland and we will win the league and the two cups many more times in the future, who knows how our future European adventures will pan out in the future but for now lets savour what the team has achieved in Europe this season and hope that it ain't over yet.
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Two days until Villareal - March 4/2006
Sunday then and due to technicall difficulties with my pc this is first chance I've had to get online. So now we have the Falkirk game out of the way the players can now focus solely on Tuesday and with any luck the flu bug thats been going around has stopped and means we won't be missing any players especially Chris Burke. Yesterday by all accounts Bernard was miles off the pace and one who shouldn't be considered for Tuesday unless the worst happens but lets hope thats not the case and lets also hope that we get shot of Bernard as soon as possible as he was crap at newcastle and he has been crap at rangers too and with Stevie Smith going good guns we have a perfectly adequate replacement for him as well as having Ian Murray.
Last night Villareal won against the second bottom side in Spain, Alaves, 3-2 and that surely must give us hope of not only getting a goal at least but also winning the tie as well. If we do get through then the team I would most like the Gers to face is either Barcelona or AC Milan, to play against one of those at a packed Ibrox would be an amazing experience for everyone and also would earn the club another couple of million as the TV rights for that would be worth an absoloute fortune and thats on top of the kudos of being in the quarter finals and the respect we will have earned just for getting there when bigger clubs than us have failed this season. So heres hoping for that then.
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2-1! We Win - March 4/2006
so a hard fought victory today and thanks to STV and Setanta it wasn't broadcast here so I don't know too much about it. One thing that caught my eye was the omission of Buffel from the squad and also Ashikodi was on the bench, hopefully the youngster has got real quality and if so is given the chance to get a regular game. So it sets things up nicely for Tuesday and if we get a lucky break then as we did today with the og then that will be one more step to the final. Ok I can dream but surely thats one of the great things about being a football fan.
Enjoy your Saturday night.
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Falkirk Tomorrow - March 3/2006
Ok so its Friday and the Falkirk game is tomorrow at the Falkirk stadium-by the way I wonder how long it took them to come up with that name-anyone down to business and again I am calling for Ferguson not to be in the starting 11 due to his injury and the faqct remains that we have other options and in carrying the injury Fergie is not as much use to us as he should be. So here is my starting 11.
Mullet
Hutton Rodriguez Kyrgiakos Smith
Burke Hemdani Ricksen
Buffel
Boyd Prso
Subs:Klos, Andrews, Murray, G Rae, Lovenkrands, Malcolm, Novo
This is a must win game and a chance to put some daylight between ourselves and Hibs who welcome Dundee Utd tomorrow there is no excuse for a piss poor performance and the team will know that they are playing for a place in some game thats happening on Tuesday but I forget who we're playing and what the significance is......
Heres hoping for a good weekend
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Scotland Woes - March 2/2006
Last nights Scotland result must surely have convinced Walter Smith that there are players in the team who shouldn't be there and those that shouldn't. Players like David Weir for example, he was never that great anyway and at 35 he is way over the hill and in a friendly you should be looking to the future, ok Steven Caldwell replaced him after 56 minutes but theres another one who shouldn't be anywhere near the squad as he is a poor player playing at a poor club who have won only 2 league games this season and I realise that Sunderland have no money to spend but come on he is at best a decent player in the Championship but a very poor premiership player. One guy who was in the squad but didn't get on was Russell Cadger, oops, sorry, Anderson who is a pretty good defender and to me has always looked solid and assured when he has played for Scotland and there was defenitely a missed opportunity there.
Christian Dailly's time as well must surely be up too and while I applaud him on being a great servant for Scotland over the years he doesn't get many games for West Ham and when he is on the ball he looks as uncomfortable as a bed made out of broken glass and he has almost no pace and his distribution ain't up to much though and neither is his tackling. Graham Alexander at left wing back? Do me a favour! He is a right back and by all accounts he was looking uncomfortable out there and in any case Ian Murray should have played there and is younger as well and another one we need to see a bit more of at international level to see if he is up to it, which in my opinion he isn't. Sorry if that sounds disloyal as he is a Rangers player but I don't think he's good enough to play for Rangers we should be looking at better players than him and while he is a good squad player to have due to his versatility he is certainly not first team pick material. But having said all that with the circumstances Scotland are in he should have been at left wing back last night.
So who else is there that could come in then? The first name that springs to mind is Chris Burke and if he keeps up the form that he is in then it is surely going to lead to a Scotland call up with caps aplenty to follow, guys like Alan Hutton, Scott Brown, Kris Boyd, Kevin Thomson, Stephen McManus and Gavin Rae once he gets into his stride again are also worth giving a chance to and again this has been a missed opportunity for Scotland. Here is my Scotland squad anyway.
Gordon
McNamara Webster Pressley Naysmith
Burke Ferguson Fletcher Quashie
Mcfadden
Miller
Subs. Combe, Anderson, Murray, Hartley, Riordan, O'Connor, Boyd
I realise it wasn't the strongest Scotland squad as there were one or two call offs but even still its still a scandal to lose that heavily especially at Hampden but maybe thats a game that should have been played elsewhere like Aberdeen for example as it was never going to be a particularly well attended game the crowd would have filled Pittodrie. But all things said it is better to get losses out of the way in Friendly matches than losing competitive matches which is something that sadly Scotland may just do in the Euro 2008 qualifying considering the opposition.
Oh well what do you do?
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A Couple Pieces of News - March 1/2006
A couple of pieces of news to talk about today and the news that Barry Ferguson is going to delay an operation he needs is not good news for him or the club. As I have said a few times it is detrimental to him and the club playing through injury and his performances have been sub standard on a consistent basis this season and by playing through this injury he is doing no one any favours. He should have the operation after the Villareal game whether we get knocked out or not. Gavin Rae is one replacement as is his namesake Alex and don't forget Namouchi's best position is centre midfield, Ricksen can play there too so we are not short on options and we will manage without him.
Patrick Muller has come out and said that he would like to join Rangers, if Le Guen does come and Muller joins him then we will have one of Europes best young midfielders I watch a lot of French football and while I think that it is quite dull to watch at times he is one of Lyons stand out players and exactly the type of player we should be looking at signing. He has pace his distribution is excellent and he is a good tackler too and has a good footballing brain on him too. He also said that others who have worked under Le Guen would come to Rangers too as he is so well respected and has a fine track record as a coach and a person so here's hoping that amongst the big announcements next week one of them will be "Le Guen is on his way.
til tomorrow then.....
And its the end of another week and the sart of a new weekend of football action and apart from the Rangers game on Sunday its an exciting weekend in the Scottish Cup as well with the Edinburgh derby and the Gretna Dundee game.
Jan Wouters has come out today criticising the "Cloggers" in the Scottish game and to an extent he is right. The amount of fouling that goes on in the Scottish game is terrible and does not make for nice football which any true football fan will want to see. Dado Prso is one player who gets fouled a lot and what bugs me is that when he commits a foul he gets booked so there are double standards there.
Right sorry folks thats yer lot until tomorrow when i will do a preview of Sundays game have a good Friday.
Ferguson To Have Surgery - March 30/2006
And a very happy Thursday to one and all, and why is it a happy Thursday? I hear you cry, well its payday for me the once a fortnight event is here gain today so thats good news anyway.
Other news of note today is that Barry Ferguson is likely to be going under the knife in the next couple of weeks to have as he put it "ankle reconstruction" about time too but it has to be said he was immense in the 2nd leg of the Villareal game but then was poor on Saturday against Dunfermline. I have said several times in the past month or two that it is better for him to have the surgery sooner rather than later rather than harm his future and the clubs on field prospects and if this is the right time so be it. We have extra cover in central midfield too with Ricksen, the two Raes and Boab so I'm sure we could manage without him, but as for the captaincy role well I would give it to Chris Burke. He to me seems like the type of player who would revel in that role and I believe that it would further enhance his performances and as he has arguably been our best player this season he would have the immediate respect of the rest of the team and the fans.
Dado Prso today has come out and said that he wants to get 2nd place for McLeish as he was the one who brought him to Ibrox and was saddened by the criticism he endured this season. Dado is one player who cannot be faulted too much for his displays this season apart from his volleyball practising against Villareal and what we need is a concerted effort by the players to get 2nd place which is well achievable but there can be no slip ups and we cannot take for granted that Hearts will be in so much turmoil that they will collapse nor can we take 3rd place for granted with the 5 point cushion we have over Killie. Nothing less than victory is what the players attitudes should be and if they don't have that attitude they will be found out and hopefully shipped out of Ibrox too.
Ok folks thats all for now.
Arsenal Wins - March 29/2006
A few things today, first of all well done to Arsenal for last nights result and performance. And looking at tonights champions league games one of which in we could have been involved but hey theres always next season.
One thing thats caught my eye and made me laugh was Jean-Claude Darcheville trying to talk his way to Rangers despite turning us down not so long ago.
"Does the arrival of Paul Le Guen at Rangers make me change my mind? To be honest, yes, Why not Rangers? When you go abroad it is better to know the coach is French and he knows how to use you in the best way."
Now why would we want to sign a player who has scored 4 goals in Ligue 1 this season? He is 30 as well, not the age of player we want to be signing. We are being linked with so many French and French based players I wonder how many are on the priority list and how many are on the back up plan list. Ettiene Didot, a defensive midfielder who plays for Rennes is another who has been linked with us. One thing though, we have Hemdani who plays that role and if we got him who would he replace and if Hemdani then we are entitled to a transfer fee for him or better still a cash plus player deal. Hemdani would be no great loss, bearing in mind his injuries, his indifferent approach and the fact that he really isn't that great a player. I mean who gets excited when he gets the ball? I know i don't.
Grégory Tafforeau the Lille left back has been linked as well and it would be sad to see Stevie Smith bombed out when he has done quite well since breaking into the first team. The French connections are fine but we cannot ignore the young guys coming through. 14 million went into building Murray Park and that kind of investment cannot -and should not- be allowed to go to waste. Tafforeau though i am not too sure of how good he is another reason to watch French football to see potential targets, its just a shame that some French League games are excruciatingly dull and watching paint dry at times is a good alternative.
Other talk the past few days is about the Stadium and the plans for it. I am all for the capacity being increased but I think the club has to make it cheaper for Students and families to go to the games. If they did that and maybe made last minute seats available cheaper then i think the club could easily justify a capacity increase in atmospheric as well as economic terms.
Right thats me have a good day.
A New Week - March 27/2006
And its the start of a new week and Rangers and their fans are beginning to recover from Saturdays excuse of a match. It will be interesting to see how many teams adopt this damage limitation tactic and while it is frustrating to watch sometimes it has to be done. McLeish himself said on Saturday "Well we played like that against Porto didn't we?" and it goes to show that he is man enough not to be hypocritical about this issue. Like most things there is a time and a place for that kind of play and it was used on us on Saturday the same way we used it against Porto back in November. Either way if this trend continues with other teams then it is up to McLeish to adopt his tactics to break down packed defences.
Brahim Hemdani has come out today and said that Le Guen coming to Ibrox is being kept at the back of the players minds while we keep focused on the chase for 2nd place. I am certain that we can hold on to 3rd after Hibs losing to the Caley Jags on Saturday and Kilmarnock will not put any pressure on us. Hibs though have fallen away and I wonder if they have the mentality to get back up there challenging for 3rd at least. Losing O'Connor is a big blow for them and they're also losing Gary Caldwell this summer and no doubt Riordan too sooner rather than later. But to get back to Hemdani yes he is right that must be the focus, Le Guen coming is great news but we know that that is a done deal unlike 2nd place in the league and until 2nd place is secured we cannot rest on our laurels.
A Turgid Game - March 26/2006
Yesterdays game has been described as a turgid game by several sections of the media and that is down to Dunfermline's tactics yesterday. I cannot fault them for playing that way as they like any team do not want to come to Ibrox or any ground and get a thrashing, which would have been on the cards had Rangers had a bit more cutting edge. Plenty of chances were created but it was made hard by a packed penalty box and a fine performance by Bryn Halliwell. Some of the saves he made were sensational and he was Dunfermlines best player by a country mile.
Some of the Rangers players were not on form either yesterday and the culprit in chief for me once again is Barry Ferguson I'm afraid. Where was the snarl we've seen in recent weeks? Not only that but his passing was poor on several occasions and I'm not only talking about his longer passes but some of his short passing was poor even simple 10 yard passes and that to me is unacceptable. If it is down to the injury he is carrying then he should get his ass into surgery and get it over with before he does himself serious long term harm. Burke as well wasn't on form but then he was getting closely marked and perhaps there is too much expectation being placed on him. Boyd was the wrong choice top start with up front based on hindsight, which as we all know is a great thing, when Lovenkrands came on he gave us an added edge and his cross that set up big Soti for his goal-well done big man. When he went over to McLeish during the celebrations I wonder what was said. One guy at the Calgary RSC said "Yeah McLeish was saying instead of getting a cash goal bonus you will be getting a set of plates to smash!" Prso as always worked his socks off and one long range shot that came of the post was unlucky not to go in. Other than those the rest of the team did a quiet, unspectacular but efficient job.
Stefan Klos upon his return to the line up proved that he is still a great goalie and still has it, ok he only had 2 or 3 saves of note to make but then , that is a sign of a great keeper that he can keep his concentration when there are long spells of inactivity and pull off the spectacular when a great shot like the one from Andy Tod at the death. Surely his performance yesterday will mean that he is in the starting 11 until the end of the season and hopefully will stay on in the event of the Nantes goalkeeper Landreau not joining us although word has it that he will be moving to Rangers this summer.
One thing was noticable too was the lack of singing of certain songs from the fans. I'm not sure if this is down to the threat we face from UEFA or the fact that it wasn't the greatest of games which was epitomised by the ammount of empty seats with 5 minutes to go. Either way if there are bigoted lyrics being sung that may lead to sanctions against the club, then they need to stop. I understand that some will see it as their heritage and part of the clubs traditions and see it as their right to vocally express bigoted views but theres a time and a place and the football is not the place to do it, especially when it can cause the club to lose money and respect.
Ok so thats the weeknd almost done hope you had a good one and have a good week.
Gers v. Pars - March 25/2006
So folks apologies for no blog yesterday, unfortunately I wasn't feeling too well but I'm ok now and writing before I go to bed so here goes.
The atmosphere round Ibrox seems to be one of optimism and determination to reach 2nd place and with good reason too as we have been handed a massive opportunity to do it with the shenanigans at Tynecastle these past few days. Hearts can only throw it away now and there is more of a chance of that happening with the upheavel that they are going through now and the sense of insecurity that is surrounding them just now. I think as well that the fact that the caretaker managers lack of English will hinder matters too and I can see them falling away and maybe it will Hibs who sneak 3rd place. Although we have to win all games to guarantee 2nd and maybe get within a semi respactable points gap but it is still a tall order and one that should not be treated as a done deal until it is a done deal mathematically after that it is time that the manager gave more kids their chance get guys like Carcary, N'Guessan, Ashikodi and others their chance . Last Sundays game was a game in which Rangers overcame and stared down a very physical approach from Hearts and that is a sign that is a team in good shape and not willing to hide when things get a bit heavy on the park. Added to that the football being played by Rangers has been good of late and it will be good to see them taking on a team who are on bad form and at the wrong end of the table and I can see Rangers winning this 3 or 4 nil, or even more who knows?
So here is my predicted line up for todays game:
Mullet
Hutton Soti J Rod Smith
Burke Ferguson Hemdani
Buffel
Boyd Prso
Subs:Klos, Andrews, Murray, Ricksen, N'Guessan, Novo, Lovenkrands.
N'Guessan is in the squad and if we are a few goals up I can see him getting his chance and it would be nice if it wasn't just for 2 minutes at the end. I cannot see Dunfermline causing Rangers any major problems and after last weekends CIS cup final defeat they will be hurting and perhaps that will mean that they have an up and at 'em approach and there may be a bit more determination from them but it will count for nothing when Burkey and co get going and for the Gers watching the game at Ibrox and around the world on Setanta and those listening to the radio or on the net it will be an enjoyable game.
Enjoy...........................
Kim Kallstrom - March 23/2006
So the word today is that the Danish international midfielder Kim Kallstrom may be joining Rangers this summer having not seem him play, this is another guy I'll have to keep an eye out for. As he is out of contract too he will not command a fee so thats good news too as now there'll be more money for the club to put towards buying Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.(We can hope anyway!)
On to the Hearts situation now and if there any fans out there who are not happy with David Murray then what I suggest is looking at Hearts and what has happened since Romanov took over. OK there has been major investment in the team and they are staying at Tynecastle for the time being but would the fans like to have the soul of the club sold to the detriment of the clubs reputation. Murray at least has never interfered with team selection and has behaved with dignity throughout his tenure and has consistently kept his promises to the club. The Advocaat reign was a bit crazy but then he wasn't the only club owner in Europe who went a bit far but at least the club is still in existence and still in a position to get into Europe and while the past 4 years have been tough financially a new chapter is being opened with the arrival of Le Guen and it could just be one of the clubs most fruitful periods in its history.
Ok - So its Tuesday. - March 21/2006
Ok so its Tuesday the summer still hasn't arrived unless your somewhere in the world where it is summer, Martha Stewart is on TV doing some cookery show and to cap it all last night I fell asleep on the settee after a wee afternoon sesh in the pub taking advantage of $2.50 pints of kokanee. Fun times indeed eh? But on the Rangers front the only news of note is that Bordeaux and Morocco striker Marouane Chamack and Lyons Sidney Govou are coming to Ibrox this summer as Le Guen begins to draw up his blue(nose)print for success admittedly I don't know anything about Chamack but will be keeping an eye on Bordeaux games on FoxSports World to check him outbut I have faith in Le Guens ability to spot a good player and harness the talent properly. Govou as well has been doing a good job at Lyyon but is being kept out of the starting 11 by Fred and John Carew so a move to Ibrox would be mutually advantageous to both parties. Tell you what though this close season is going to be the most interesting for the right reasons in a number of years and while some departures and arrivals may prove to be controversial the fact remains that Rangers are heading in the right direction-onwards and upwards.
Robert Pires? - March 20/2006
Well I've been a lazy so today as its day off for me and I didn't sleep all that well at the weekend like Saturday night I only got 4 hours sleep if I'm lucky so I could watch the game so this is me just up at 1pm but anyhoo, enough about me and on to more pressing matters like what to write about today. Hmmm it is a tough one, but what stands out for me today is the speculation about Robert Pires coming to the club as he wants a longer contract than Arsene Wenger is going to offer as the Arsenal policy is to give its over 30's a one year contract and if he was to come he would get at least a 2 year contract. If that notion had been put to me, say, 2 years ago I would have been all for it but this season 'Le Bob' has not been on form even if he did score at the weekend and fact of the matter is that he's 33 almost 34 and not one for the future and he would probably be earning 25-30 grand a week and while the financial difficulties have been eased somewhat it is sadly I fear going to lead to throwing good money after bad especially when there are better options out there from a football and financial perspective. So who today do I have in mind? I hear you cry and the name is none other than Andy Van der Mayde of Everton who, at the weekend was on the bench at Everton and with his skill, pace and ability to whip in a good cross he could just be the man to solve our left midfield problem as lets face it Ian Murray sure as hell ain't the answer and neither is Olivier Bernard ,in fact Olivier Bernard is the answer to the question "Who is the worst player to wear the famous blue of Rangers this season?" AVDM would not cost too much and is only 26 so therefore the right age to look at as he is just reaching the peak of his powers and as the ultimate cream of Europe are out of our reach, he is the right calibre of player for the club and lets face it we could do a lot worse than him.
Ok so other than this not a whole is happening today so I'll sign off here.
Hearts 1 Rangers 1 - March 19/2006
As I expected it to be, todays game was a tight niggly affair but although I felt that a draw was a fair result even if Buffel should have sealed it in the last 10 minutes. He also should have scored when Burke put a great ball across the face of goal but at least he got us a goal because there was no one else who looked like scoring today but that can also be due to a good defensive performance from Hearts whose spoiling tactics were spot on especially in the first half and give credit to them as they tested Rangers significantly even if the goal they scored once again highlighted the anomaly of the offside rule which FIFA really need to repeal but will they? No as it would make them look stupid as they would have to hold their hands up and say "Sorry we were wrong." and hell will freeze over before the powers that be admit mistakes.
The players though did not function effectively for the majority of the first half and the midfielders had a tendency to drift in and out of the game for example it was 10 minutes into the game before I saw Ferguson get on the ball I missed the first 3 minutes so I didn't see the team line up and assumed he wasn't playing because of injury, Burke as well was another one who did this in the first half but he more than made up for it in the 2nd half. Lovenkrands as well showed why he is probably going to be out at the end of the season. He offered little and while his persistence in the penalty area led to his shot and susequent corner I can't think of any other note worthy contributions from him..possibly as I got less than 4 hours sleep due to the early kick off.
Why as well do we play Ian Murray? He was rubbish as usual and his error led to Hearts goal and he is one guy we could shot of and not a single tear would be shed and it is shocking that Stevie Smith was not in the team either but perhaps it is best not to give guys like him too many games and then things going to pot for the lad if he hits a bad run of form. but while we're on this topic I must add that Novo did nothing to enhance his prospects of a run in the team and it is surely a matter of time before he too is bidding adios to Ibrox I feel for the guy as he can be a smashing player and he seems like good guy as well and it is funny to hear him say "aye" instead of yes when interviewed on tv.
Right I'm away to get some more sleep.
Tomorrow's Team - March 18/2006
So after Hibs slip up today at Motherwell(as predicted here yesterday) Rangers now have a wee bit of breathing space heading into tomorrows game. Unfortunatly we will have to do without Fanfan as he is injured and that will be a major absence so goodness knows how we will manage without him.
The game itself I predict to be a tight affair but I am confident that Rangers will just about edge it and then the pressure is well and truly on Hearts and I can see their bottle crashing in the coming weeks should we get a positive result but before we get carried away the league splits in a few weeks and all the gameswe have when that happens will be tough ones but I feel that the way Rangers are playing just now and finding a wee bit of form at the right time we should do enough to get 2nd place which in November I had given up on.
So here's the team I would pick tomorrow if I was Alex McLeish(Yes thats right I'm not him masquerading as an ex-pat)
Mullet
Hutton Soti J-Rod Smith
Burke Ferguson Ricksen
Buffel
Boyd Prso
subs:Klos,Andrews,Malcolm,Murray,Hemdani,Lovenkrands,Novo
The addition of Ricksen in place of Hemdani is because we need steel in the centre of midfield which is something that Hemdani doesn't offer a lot of but the rest of the team picks itself and we will have enough firepower on the bench should things go awry.
So with the 12.30 kick off which is 5.30am here I will no doubt have to stay up all night so I can watch it at the RSC here but heres hoping it goes the right way.
Enjoy your saturday night and the game tomorrow.
A Big Weekend - March 17/2006
And its the end of another week and its a big weekend for us as we travel to Tynecastle on Sunday, more about that tomorrow but the most intriguing fixture tomorrow has to be Hibs taking on Motherwell at Fir Park and I am tipping Butchers boys to send the Hibees home to think again. Fir Park is a tough venue to go to and I can see (or I am hoping for)a Motherwell victory to give us a wee bit of breathing space in 3rd place and setting us up nicely for Sundays encounter at Tynecastle. So another McDonalds double at Fir Park and we'll be loving it.
Enjoy your weekend.
Back to Business - March 16/2006
So after the Le Guen news its back to business this weekend as the Gers travel to Tynecastle amidst a backdrop of ticket protest climbdowns and Anderlecht declaring an interest in Thomas Buffel.
So the ticket issue is a sore one for the Gers fans who always fill the Gorgie Stand at Tynecastle and with their exorbitant ticket prices for away fans, especially when the old firm come to town the Rangers fans have every right to feel aggrieved by the slashing of the away allocation by around 40%. However the flip side of the coin is that it is Hearts ground and they have the right to slash away fans allocation of tickets whether we like it or not. The fact that Tynecastle is a sell out every week(Just like they sold out when they agreed to sell to Romanov)and there is maybe a wee bit of justification for their decision however galling it is for the fans. The decision not to hold a protest out of respect for the death of Jimmy Johnstone is the right one though and it just goes to show that Rangers fans do have some decorum about them and can act in a respectful manner when other teams legends die as opposed to the likes of Aberdeen and Celtic fans who jeered and disrupted minutes silences for the likes of George "Corky" Young and Jim Baxter to name but two. Sorry if that sounds like cheap point scoring but I am only pointing out facts there and I am sure the Rangers fans will behave in an impeccably dignified and respectful manner on Sunday.
As for Buffel being top of Anderlechts wish list, well we should take it as a compliment that a club with the stature of Anderlecht are looking at our players OK their Belgian and so is Buffel but the words their chairman is using.
"He has 18 months left on his contract and earns 1 million pounds a year"
Sounds like he is trying to get Buffel on the cheap really doesn't it?And my message to Herman Van Holsbeeck is "Don't touch what you can't afford!" I know at times he has been a bit pish but he is a good player especially on the European stage but he is a player we should either be offering a deal to stay on or selling him in the summer and hopefully recouping the fee we paid or bettter still making a profit to add to the transfer kitty for Le Guen this summer. After the Turkish giants Galatasary put in a 4 million pound bid for him last year and his displayes in the champions league we should be looking for that kind of fee for him or maybe even a bigger one.
So on that note I'll leave it there so take it easy and keep keeping it real folks.
Le Guen in Scotland - March 15/2006
Paul Le Guens visit to Scotland yesterday will have no doubt have confirmed to him that he has made the right choice in agreeing to be Rangers next manager. The facilities at Murray Park will have impressed him and it goes without saying that the stadium will have as well. I mean who could not be impressed with those two assets the club has, the fact remains that in European terms Rangers are a sleeping giant, this season has seen a respectable campaign in Europe indeed a damn sight better one than when we had the likes of Laudrup and Gascoigne and getting humiliated by the likes of Strasbourg Ajax and Steau Bucharest. Once Le Guen gets going it will be like a wind up toy being wound up and once it is let off well just sit back and enjoy the ride!
A Slow Day - March 14/2006
Nothing much going on today then and the only thing going on other than the furore over Le Guen's imminent arrival and the tributes to Jimmy Johnstone is David Murray coming out and warning players that there will be most likely a clear out of players this summer. No surprise there then and lets face it the are some in the first team pool we could easily do without, we know who they are and Paul Le Guen will no doubt be aware of who they are too.
Well as I said not a lot going on and the only other thing thats caught my eye has been the response of Rangers fans to the death of Jimmy Johnstone as it goes to show that not all fans are bigots who are unable to give any praise or respect to rival players and this goes to show that the old firm can be united sometimes like they were when Jim Baxter, Davie Cooper and Jock Stein died.
Ok enough from me til tomorrow then.
A New Era Begins - March 13/2006
So it was a truly monumental weekend in the long proud history of Rangers football club as the club announced the capture of Paul Le Guen on a 3 year contract. and you know what? I'm so excited about this and cannot wait for the season to end so he can get to work and hopefully preparing for another shot at getting into next seasons Champions League. I think the players as well based on the past few performances are beginning to realise that this is a very talented coach who is coming and someone who will make them better players as he has done at every club that he has been coach at and no doubt as well this season on his sabbatical he will have learned some good lessons from Arsene Wenger when he has gone to watch and learn from what he does with the players in terms of coaching styles and man management.
What his first challenge is going to be is deciding who stays and who goes and also who to bring in. There is talk of some of his former players at Lyon coming to Rangers, Patrick Muller for one and Greory Coupe "le goalie" as he will no doubt be known as should he come. These players have a decent pedigree and are players that would enhance most clubs but for the goalkeeping situation we should be looking at a younger guy for the medium to long term or bringing Stefan Klos back into the starting 11 while keeping an eye out for younger talent bearing in mind Klos's age and Wattereus leaving at the end of the season.
As for the rest of the team there are the usual suspects we would like to see leave and some that are out of contract will be allowed to leave but the players in that situation should realise that at times their performances have been unacceptable and if they have any sense of morality should not be looking at holding the club to ransom with big wage increases.
David Murray is to be applauded as well for pulling this off, his persuasive powers have again been triumphant and surely now that will shut up the Murray out brigade and put an end to all doubt about his intentions towards Rangers. Sure it is a gamble but no way will we go down the same road we did with Advocaat but remember that Le Guen was not a major net spender in the transfer market and operated in a shrewd manner so it is safe to say we won't be scraping away at the bargain basement end of the Bosman market again for over the hill b rate players like Vanoli and Ostendsat again but neither will we paying crazy prices for players who were not worth anywhere near what we paid like we did with Kanchelskis, Konterman and Hendry to name but three.
The next few years I predict are going to be a very enjoyable time to be a Rangers fan with the time we will have with Le Guen in charge and then enjoying the fruits of what he will put in place check this link out and you will get my meaning.
http://www.sundayherald.com/54587
On a final note I would like to pay tribute to Jimmy Johnstone who sadly died today. He is a player I wished I had been around to see and looking back at footage of him on BBC world today what he was doing then Ronaldinho todays greatest player is doing now. Jimmy Johnstone-the wee man who became a footballing giant.RIP.
A Fine Win - March 11/2006
A fine win today which I missed due to work but its just the tonic after Tuesdays disappointment and after Hearts slip up at Inverness today it brings us to within 6 points of the Jambo's and on course for the Champions League qualifying berth for next season. It is encouraging too that the team had the resolve, the character and the quality to bounce back in emphatic style and we can only hope that this result is a springboard to go on a good run between now and the end of the season. There is only 9 games left and 27 points up for grabs and with all the teams at the top seemingly able to take points off each other it could just get extremely interesting come the end of the season.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks.
Killie Tomorrow. - March 10/2006
Friday then and its back to reality with a bump for the Gers. Not only is there another must win game against Kilmarnock but there is a UEFA charge hanging over Rangers as well due to alleged bigoted chanting at Ibrox in the first leg of the Villareal tie as well as the coach window incident.
So the weekend's SPL football has the potential to be a very interesting weekend with us taking on 5th placed Killie, Celtic playing Hibs on Sunday and the Jambo's taking on the Caley Jags in Inverness. We have a great chance to peg Hearts back to a 5 point lead as Inverness is a very tough place to go and get a positive result and I can see Inverness winning that one or at least getting a draw out of it. So the impetus is on the Gers to put in a barnstorming performance on Saturday and get back into the swing of things in the SPL or we can kiss goodbye to Champions League football next season let alone the UEFA cup. Hopefully Hibs and Celtic will draw giving us slightly more breathing space in 2rd should we win tomorrow although I'd be happy with a Hibs win for obvious reasons.
With Prso coming back after suspension in Europe and Stevie Smith returning after illness it is a full strength squad that is available to Eck and this is the team I feel he should pick bearing in mind the midweek exertions.
Wattereus
Hutton Rodriguez Kyrgiakos Smith
Burke Ferguson Hemdani
Buffel
Prso Boyd
Subs:Klos, Andrews, Murray, Malcolm,G Rae, Lovenkrands, Novo
The team must get their focus and their priorities straight. Bad results and bad performances will mean that Le Guen is unlikely to want to keep these players on and I can imagine that quite a few are eagerly anticipating one of Europes best coaches coming to Rangers and working with them, if I was a Rangers player I know I would be.
As for the UEFA charge, and I am not surprised by it as UEFA are threatening to clamp down on racist and bigoted behaviour at football matches and several clubs have received-quite rightly-fines for this. I am surprised it has taken UEFA this long to potentially punish Rangers for this as the chanting and behaviour at Ibrox at times is simply deplorable and has no place in the 21st century and these knuckle draggers who besmirch the clubs reputation need to take a long look at themselves especially if we get banned from Europe or have to play matches behind closed doors. Of course I have heard the argument "We pay good money to come to Ibrox, we should be allowed to do what we want."Well, no actually, when your behaviour has the potential for the club to lose money or respect then you have no right to behave like that at Ibrox and if you want to sing bigoted songs then fuck off and do it elsewhere . There is a major problem with this but it should be remembered that the vast majority of Rangers fans are decent, tolerant people who are there for the football and hold no truck with bigotry, sectarianism and all that nonsense. Having said all that it is also time UEFA dealt with the racism problem in Italy and Spain with the monkey chants and Nazi salutes but will they? Will they hell there is too much TV generated in those countries and UEFA don't want to lose out on that and they will always have one rule for the continental clubs and another for British clubs and you only have to look at refereeing decisions and disciplinary action to see what goes on in the corridors of power.
Ok so rant over enjoy your Friday night and the football this weekend. Heres hoping for a major case of bouncebackability.
JJB and PLG - March 9/2006
So its been an interesting 24 hours for the Gers with the announcement about JJB taking over the clubs merchandising portfolio, the fall out from the ticket fiasco and this morning with Le Guen seemingly on the verge of joining Rangers its almost enough to make you forget about events on the pitch on Tuesday night.
I am not sure if I am overly happy about the JJB deal as I feel that this is a short term fix as we will lose out on revenue from the Rangers shops and as well as that there will be job losses as well and it will be harsh on those especially at the Rangers shops that have been open form many years mind you I suppose the club will be generous with any redundancy packages and it has not been confirmed how many Rangers shops will close. The deal though that gives the club a one off payment of 18 million punds plus 3 million a year over the next 10 years is quite a good one and the funds from that plus money from our heroic Champions League campaign will go towards buying some new players of genuine quality instead of scrabbling around for the cast-offs as we have done in recent seasons. With Le Guen taking charge we will have more of a chance of signing a better quality of player as has been stated by at least two of Le Guens former proteges.
Moving swiftly on then and the ticket fiasco the other night was totally avoidable. The Villareal policy of selling discounted tickets was always going to end in a touting fiasco and to me Villareal knew that was going to happen and still they went ahead and sold the tickets dirt cheap. In my view they should be thrown out of the Champions League(to be replaced by the team that they knocked out...whoever that was!) and banned for next season. A bit harsh that may sound especially as I was saying how good it was that Rangers fans went out there in force and in all areas of the ground with no trouble , but what would have happened if we had another Hillsborough style tragedy? Is that what is going to have to happen before UEFA sort this type of thing out? By taking this harsh measure UEFA will be sending out a tough message and maybe it will force the Spanish football authorities to take their heads out of the sand and do something about this and also the racism problem that is endemnic in Spain just now. Thankfully no Rangers player was subjected to that kind of abuse but the time has come for UEFA to clamp down on the ugly side of Spanish football. You can bet your bottom dollar if it was a British club carrying on like that there would be hell to pay.
So on to Le Guen then and he is apparantly going to announce on French TV on Sunday that he will be the next Rangers manager and it is unclear if he will take over at the end of the season or sooner. Who knows? lets just savour the fact that we have pulled off the managerial coup of the year and concentrate on the chase for 2nd spot.
The Time has Gone - March 8/2006
So it started so well yesterday, wangling the afternoon off work so I could go watch the game and the mood at the RSC here was one of cautious optimism. After the first few minutes it was clear that Rangers were there to put up a show and lie down and die as a team as we have seen far too many times in Europe over the years. The first couple of shots that whistled past the post signalled Rangers intent and when Lovenkrands pounced on a loose following a neat interchange of passes between Lovenkrands and Buffel and Ferguson getting in on the goalkeeper putting him off it was bedlam as the ball hit the back of the net and Rangers fans across the globe celebrated a well conceived goal. All through the first half Rangers played the type of football we know they can play. Pride, passion, skill, good use of the ball and most importantly team work were all on display and Barry Ferguson as he has been in European ties over the years, was the best player on the park by a country mile he showed great awareness and vision and was back to his snarling best and watching him play you would never have guessed that he was not fully fit.Wattereus kept us in it when we got caught on the break and a great through ball put Forlan one on one with the Wattereus and the Mullet stood tall and deflected the shot wide. But still, we outplayed and outthought Villareal in that first half and they couldn't wait to get off the park at half time and my thoughts then was that the game was ours and I was anticipating potential opponents in the quarter finals.
Sadly thought the goal that killed our dreams came not long after half time and it was sloppy defending that allowed Arruaberrana to tap in at the back post, the has been some debate over who should have been marking him and while Hutton had the job of shackling Riquelme in which he did an ok job it should have been Chris Burke tracking back but hindsight is a wonderful thing and it is unfair to start dishing blame out when you consider how well the team played. The only player to not have an outstanding game was Alan Hutton and to be fair he had a mammoth task trying to contain Riquelme and he did an ok job of it once he settled into the game and got over the yellow card he received and when you consider how continental refs are in European competition he was lucky not to be sent off.
Kris Boyds miss will surely haunt him and all Rangers followers for years to come and it was so agonisingly close to putting us through to the quarter finals but then thats another example of the good old glorious failure story that Scotland seems to excell at.
So that is that and Alex McLeish deserves a hell of a lot of praise for taking us this far and getting his tactics spot on last night and if Sunderland think they can lure him to the Championship next season then they'd better think again. McLeish's reputation has been restored now and when he goes at the end of the season he can walk away with his head held high.
So thats yer lot folks another dream gone.
The Time has Come - March 7/2006
So this is it then, the biggest night for Rangers in 13 years and I for one am so nervous about it and my biggest fear is that we collapse and don't do ourselves justice hopefully whatever team Eck puts out can go and do the biz. I believe we can but at the same time the task in hand is a big one to put it mildly. This is the team I would put out if I was Mcleish:
Mullet
Hutton Rodrigues Kyrgiakos Smith
Hemdani
Burke Ricksen Ferguson Murray
Buffel
Lovenkrands
This is going to be very tough but as long as the team and the fans keep believing then anything is possible.
Enjoy the game.
Tomorrow...but today it is silence. - March 4/2006
So its a deafening silence coming out of Ibrox this morning regarding the arrival of Paul Le guen and the club are quite right to be keeping shtum about this as anything which diverts attention away from tomorrows game is an unwelcome distraction for everyone involved. If he is coming which according to the french paper l' Equipe he is then we can look forward to a radical 2 years as that is all he will sign for at the moment but who knows at the end of that 2 years he may decide to stay on and carry on "le revolucion."
So as the club has now jetted out to Spain it is a great sign that the whole squad has travelled in McLeish's words to support the team. This shows that there is camaraderie in the squad but it is quite obvious that it is not the same level as it was during the 9 in a row years but still its good to see everyone there and it looks too that the ground will be mostly be filled with bears and with that kind of support and the pressure more on Villareal than on the rangers then this might just turn into the most satisfying European night in many a long year. The news that Namouchi may miss the game is the only downside so far but remember the fact that he contributed next to nothing in the first leg so it is no great loss and at least Chris Burke seems to be back from the flu so its not all bad news. Whatever happens tomorrow night though at least this has been a season when we have done something in Europe to remember for the right reasons, ok the domestic season hasn't been a great one but after years of watching us dominate in Scotland and achieving the square root of zero in Europe, this has been satisfying in that regard and lets face it we've won more than enough in Scotland and we will win the league and the two cups many more times in the future, who knows how our future European adventures will pan out in the future but for now lets savour what the team has achieved in Europe this season and hope that it ain't over yet.
Two days until Villareal - March 4/2006
Sunday then and due to technicall difficulties with my pc this is first chance I've had to get online. So now we have the Falkirk game out of the way the players can now focus solely on Tuesday and with any luck the flu bug thats been going around has stopped and means we won't be missing any players especially Chris Burke. Yesterday by all accounts Bernard was miles off the pace and one who shouldn't be considered for Tuesday unless the worst happens but lets hope thats not the case and lets also hope that we get shot of Bernard as soon as possible as he was crap at newcastle and he has been crap at rangers too and with Stevie Smith going good guns we have a perfectly adequate replacement for him as well as having Ian Murray.
Last night Villareal won against the second bottom side in Spain, Alaves, 3-2 and that surely must give us hope of not only getting a goal at least but also winning the tie as well. If we do get through then the team I would most like the Gers to face is either Barcelona or AC Milan, to play against one of those at a packed Ibrox would be an amazing experience for everyone and also would earn the club another couple of million as the TV rights for that would be worth an absoloute fortune and thats on top of the kudos of being in the quarter finals and the respect we will have earned just for getting there when bigger clubs than us have failed this season. So heres hoping for that then.
2-1! We Win - March 4/2006
so a hard fought victory today and thanks to STV and Setanta it wasn't broadcast here so I don't know too much about it. One thing that caught my eye was the omission of Buffel from the squad and also Ashikodi was on the bench, hopefully the youngster has got real quality and if so is given the chance to get a regular game. So it sets things up nicely for Tuesday and if we get a lucky break then as we did today with the og then that will be one more step to the final. Ok I can dream but surely thats one of the great things about being a football fan.
Enjoy your Saturday night.
Falkirk Tomorrow - March 3/2006
Ok so its Friday and the Falkirk game is tomorrow at the Falkirk stadium-by the way I wonder how long it took them to come up with that name-anyone down to business and again I am calling for Ferguson not to be in the starting 11 due to his injury and the faqct remains that we have other options and in carrying the injury Fergie is not as much use to us as he should be. So here is my starting 11.
Mullet
Hutton Rodriguez Kyrgiakos Smith
Burke Hemdani Ricksen
Buffel
Boyd Prso
Subs:Klos, Andrews, Murray, G Rae, Lovenkrands, Malcolm, Novo
This is a must win game and a chance to put some daylight between ourselves and Hibs who welcome Dundee Utd tomorrow there is no excuse for a piss poor performance and the team will know that they are playing for a place in some game thats happening on Tuesday but I forget who we're playing and what the significance is......
Heres hoping for a good weekend
Scotland Woes - March 2/2006
Last nights Scotland result must surely have convinced Walter Smith that there are players in the team who shouldn't be there and those that shouldn't. Players like David Weir for example, he was never that great anyway and at 35 he is way over the hill and in a friendly you should be looking to the future, ok Steven Caldwell replaced him after 56 minutes but theres another one who shouldn't be anywhere near the squad as he is a poor player playing at a poor club who have won only 2 league games this season and I realise that Sunderland have no money to spend but come on he is at best a decent player in the Championship but a very poor premiership player. One guy who was in the squad but didn't get on was Russell Cadger, oops, sorry, Anderson who is a pretty good defender and to me has always looked solid and assured when he has played for Scotland and there was defenitely a missed opportunity there.
Christian Dailly's time as well must surely be up too and while I applaud him on being a great servant for Scotland over the years he doesn't get many games for West Ham and when he is on the ball he looks as uncomfortable as a bed made out of broken glass and he has almost no pace and his distribution ain't up to much though and neither is his tackling. Graham Alexander at left wing back? Do me a favour! He is a right back and by all accounts he was looking uncomfortable out there and in any case Ian Murray should have played there and is younger as well and another one we need to see a bit more of at international level to see if he is up to it, which in my opinion he isn't. Sorry if that sounds disloyal as he is a Rangers player but I don't think he's good enough to play for Rangers we should be looking at better players than him and while he is a good squad player to have due to his versatility he is certainly not first team pick material. But having said all that with the circumstances Scotland are in he should have been at left wing back last night.
So who else is there that could come in then? The first name that springs to mind is Chris Burke and if he keeps up the form that he is in then it is surely going to lead to a Scotland call up with caps aplenty to follow, guys like Alan Hutton, Scott Brown, Kris Boyd, Kevin Thomson, Stephen McManus and Gavin Rae once he gets into his stride again are also worth giving a chance to and again this has been a missed opportunity for Scotland. Here is my Scotland squad anyway.
Gordon
McNamara Webster Pressley Naysmith
Burke Ferguson Fletcher Quashie
Mcfadden
Miller
Subs. Combe, Anderson, Murray, Hartley, Riordan, O'Connor, Boyd
I realise it wasn't the strongest Scotland squad as there were one or two call offs but even still its still a scandal to lose that heavily especially at Hampden but maybe thats a game that should have been played elsewhere like Aberdeen for example as it was never going to be a particularly well attended game the crowd would have filled Pittodrie. But all things said it is better to get losses out of the way in Friendly matches than losing competitive matches which is something that sadly Scotland may just do in the Euro 2008 qualifying considering the opposition.
Oh well what do you do?
A Couple Pieces of News - March 1/2006
A couple of pieces of news to talk about today and the news that Barry Ferguson is going to delay an operation he needs is not good news for him or the club. As I have said a few times it is detrimental to him and the club playing through injury and his performances have been sub standard on a consistent basis this season and by playing through this injury he is doing no one any favours. He should have the operation after the Villareal game whether we get knocked out or not. Gavin Rae is one replacement as is his namesake Alex and don't forget Namouchi's best position is centre midfield, Ricksen can play there too so we are not short on options and we will manage without him.
Patrick Muller has come out and said that he would like to join Rangers, if Le Guen does come and Muller joins him then we will have one of Europes best young midfielders I watch a lot of French football and while I think that it is quite dull to watch at times he is one of Lyons stand out players and exactly the type of player we should be looking at signing. He has pace his distribution is excellent and he is a good tackler too and has a good footballing brain on him too. He also said that others who have worked under Le Guen would come to Rangers too as he is so well respected and has a fine track record as a coach and a person so here's hoping that amongst the big announcements next week one of them will be "Le Guen is on his way.
til tomorrow then.....
posted by RangersMedia @ 3:02 AM
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