Points Dropped
The first big test of Walter Smith’s second spell in charge at Ibrox was the visit of Hearts to Govan.
Fellow challengers for second place, the Gorgie men have fallen away a little from the runner’s up spot thanks to constant reshuffles of their squad and general strain in their dressing room as a result of Romanov’s alleged meddling.
Nevertheless, their trip to Glasgow was a chance to close the gap to two points behind Rangers, even if upheaval is par for the course at Tynecastle these days. True to form as well was the pre-match news that their two best players, Gordon and Hartley, were not going to feature in this game. Naturally this inspired rampant speculation that they were heading out of Edinburgh, and manager Ivanauskas did little to quell the rumours, asserting that Hartley had been left out for football reasons and Gordon had an injury.
Observers pointed out that he still featured in the previous day’s press conference, and it is fairly unusual for an injured player who will not play to face the press.
Of course, this all fuelled yet more stories, particularly in Hartley’s case, that he was heading for Ibrox, and that Gordon might be looking at a move to Fulham.
Rangers had team news of their own, with the information that Svensson and Burke would have to make do with a place on the bench, to make way for Sionko and new signing Ehiogu.
The match itself was pretty mediocre in the first half, and came to life in the second, with Rangers taking the game to their opponents but being crucially unable to break them down. 0-0 it finished, and Rangers cursed their inability to take a massive step towards securing that CL spot.
On the positive side was the improvement of Burke when he arrived as a substitute for the ineffective Sionko; looked like a vastly improved player compared to the rotten displays recently.
On further transfer speculation though is a link with Australian midfielder Culina. Apparently he would be available for as little as £1M, but there is interest from Premiership sides too. Along with Hartley (and Gow) he would be a marvellous acquisition, however, and no derogatory bids should be made for him – they just insult the selling club. The reported bid of a £15,000 increase for Gow at the second attempt was really not the way a modern football club of Rangers’ stature should do business.
Three days till the transfer window shuts, and the fans hope a few major signings transpire.
Fellow challengers for second place, the Gorgie men have fallen away a little from the runner’s up spot thanks to constant reshuffles of their squad and general strain in their dressing room as a result of Romanov’s alleged meddling.
Nevertheless, their trip to Glasgow was a chance to close the gap to two points behind Rangers, even if upheaval is par for the course at Tynecastle these days. True to form as well was the pre-match news that their two best players, Gordon and Hartley, were not going to feature in this game. Naturally this inspired rampant speculation that they were heading out of Edinburgh, and manager Ivanauskas did little to quell the rumours, asserting that Hartley had been left out for football reasons and Gordon had an injury.
Observers pointed out that he still featured in the previous day’s press conference, and it is fairly unusual for an injured player who will not play to face the press.
Of course, this all fuelled yet more stories, particularly in Hartley’s case, that he was heading for Ibrox, and that Gordon might be looking at a move to Fulham.
Rangers had team news of their own, with the information that Svensson and Burke would have to make do with a place on the bench, to make way for Sionko and new signing Ehiogu.
The match itself was pretty mediocre in the first half, and came to life in the second, with Rangers taking the game to their opponents but being crucially unable to break them down. 0-0 it finished, and Rangers cursed their inability to take a massive step towards securing that CL spot.
On the positive side was the improvement of Burke when he arrived as a substitute for the ineffective Sionko; looked like a vastly improved player compared to the rotten displays recently.
On further transfer speculation though is a link with Australian midfielder Culina. Apparently he would be available for as little as £1M, but there is interest from Premiership sides too. Along with Hartley (and Gow) he would be a marvellous acquisition, however, and no derogatory bids should be made for him – they just insult the selling club. The reported bid of a £15,000 increase for Gow at the second attempt was really not the way a modern football club of Rangers’ stature should do business.
Three days till the transfer window shuts, and the fans hope a few major signings transpire.
posted by RangersMedia @ 12:58 AM
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