Watching the Champions League

Watching the Champions league is going to be quite frustrating seeing as how we are not in it this season while Celtic are and that Hearts pipped us to 2nd when I am sure this Rangers team would have got past AEK but hey the UEFA cup is better than nothing and hopefully we will get off to a winning start tomorrow. On that note as there is bugger all else to talk about, I will give the club praise for the decision to show the anti bigotry DVD on the flights going over. It is something that must be drummed into the fans that unaccpetable chanting cannot be tolerated and the club are doing everything to combat this and the fact UEFA are praising us for the efforts does not mean that the foot can be taken off the gas in this regard. I do not care what is sung outside the ground but it would be nice if there was no 'discrminatory chanting in the bars in Norway or wherever as that does show the fans up in a bad light. Freedom of speech is one thing but with freedom of speech there is a degree of responsibility that comes with that too.

As for the team tomorrow, well I would stick with the team that played in 2nd half against Falkirk changing at half tiome to the team that played in the first half. Ferguson needs a few games to get into his stride and it will be good if Lee Martin can come on too. It sure is a tricky one for Le Boss to deal with. The blog may be on tomorrow, but due to work finishing time and other stuff it may not, watch this space.

Le Guen Wants More

Paul Le Guen is asking for more from the pl;ayers and that is understandable when looking back on Saturdays performance. Too often play was sluggish and they were at times looking a bit slow and off the pace when it came to distribution and running with the ball. He is spot on there as there always will be room for improvement no matter who you are and what club you play for and any player particularly for Rangers who feels they cannot improve is wrong. Big time. Le Guen is a perfectionist who will not settle for anything less and the legendary quote "Let the others come after us, we welcome the chase" is relevant in this case.

We should always be looking to improve and other teams improvem,ents should mean that we strive harder to be number one. Currently we are second in the table and have a lot to do to keep pace with the champions Celtic and it is more difficult when you look at the players they have signed. Make no mistake, we will be lucky to be in the chase come the business end of the season but I am sure that under the stewardship of Le Guen we will be up there and hopefully up there at the top with a gap between us and everyone else. The foundations are there, so that is part of the battle won already.
Looking ahead to Thursdays game and it looks like we will have Lee Martin back in the team and we could have done with him playing on Saturday, but we won convincingly so it is no big deal but his pace will be vital against Molde.

Another thing that bugged me on Saturday and all season is fact is the roughouse tactics used against the likes of Burke and Martin by opposing players. The dirty tackles have made me wince several times and it is no wonder we struggle to produce good players when they get fouled sand subsequently injured. The time has come for the dirty stuff to calm down and for players to learn how to play the game properly and to truly make Scottish football part of the beautiful game. I await that day with baited breath though sadly.
til tomorrow then.

Falkirk brushed aside.

Thank you for the endorsements there gentleman and well what can I say? We gave Falkirk a real humping without playing all that well which is quite a welcome contrast from playing brilliantly and only ending up with one point, and praise is due to several players but as a team unit we at times looked lethargic and that our minds were elsewhere. The build up was great too with the tribute video to Mr Struth being shown before the game as well as half time. More on that later in todays words of wisdom.

So the players then, and it was undoubtedly an amazing free kick from Phil Bardsley that had me on my feet before the ball was in the net! From my vantage point in the club deck I could tell that the falkirk keeper was never going to get to it such was the curl and power on it and Bardsley could yet turn out to be quite a potent weapon for us. Added to that a willingness to run up and down the line all afternoon and he can feel proud of his performance. On the other side though Stevie Smith had a mixed game. He defended well but at times was too eager to pass and was guilty on more than one occasion of playing passes down the line to Burke when he wasn't there. But in fairness he played a few sublime cross field passes. In the centre it was an improvement from Svennson but it has to be said he was not really tested and the jury is still out on him, whereas J-Rod seemed to slip up on one or two occasions particularly with one "hospital ball" that nearly led to a goal for the bairns.
My man of the match though was Clement, what a player! yesterday he covered every inch of grass on the park and was immense strong in the tackle eager to defend, attack start things from midfield, he for me is a steal at 1.1 mil and will be a legend if we can keep a hold of him for a few years. His partner in crime Hemdani displeyed the coolness we expect from him in the heat of the engine room. Burke though played ok but at times looked off the pace which is understandable given his recent injury and the lack of games whilst Prso again ran his heart out and deserved his goal while Sionko did ok but was not outstanding and it was no surprise to see him come off for Ferguson, who had a quiet but welcome return to the top team. Boyd should have had a hat trick but he was a constant threat and that bodes well for this season. A mention must go to Buffel who showed his usual dribbling skills and finally got the goal he has been waiting for and what a strike it was to while the other sub Sebo chased the ball well but again didn't score when he should have. I just hope the hassle wqe went through to get him was worth it.

On to the tributes to Mr Struth and it truly was a day that makes you proud to be a Ger, the recognition the great man deserves was done with dignity class and in a respectful manner and that I am sure is the way he would have wanted. One player reffered to him still being at Ibrox. I am sure he is and proud of the way the club maintains the traditions he set in stone.