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News and comment on Rangers FC.

1. jungle jim 12.14.03 / 4pm

   both celtic and you boys from castle grey scull are in for a desperate few years once the big money signings contracts are up…..its back to basics grass roots talent, what happens in the european context to both of us then? I fear for the future
2. Fat Eck - your saddam-esque Editor 12.14.03 / 6pm

   Jim - I’m too busy worrying aboutthe next few weeks to worry about the next few years, mate! :-(
3. delbhoy 12.14.03 / 7pm

   Rangers have been awful for weeks. Fortunate at Easter Road, fortunate against Dundee Utd and now finally beaten with little more than a squeek at Dunfermline. McLeish doesn’t know what to change during games and has nobody to take the bull by the horns on the park.
   If four or five injuries result in performances like this, Rangers are done for. Could Celtic handle such an injury list? Mjallby, Valgaren, Lambert, Laursen, Crainey, plus Hartson for the first six weeks of the season, Sutton suspended for the first five league games and now Agathe and McNamara. Not forgetting that Larsson was out with a broken jaw for five weeks last season, including missing an Old Firm match and Stuttgart matches, and still Celtic marched on. Add Balde and losing Thompson after 20 minutes at Ibrox this season and you have your answer.

   Celtic got slaughtered for not buying in the summer, but there isn’t a single signing made by Rangers who would get a start at Celtic (even with the injury list we currently have), and quite frankly more money flushed down the toilet with Emerson (thanks for offering more money than he was worth and stopping us from taking an expensive squad player).
   Those of us who have been in either Old Firm camp for decades know that success tends to be cyclical, and Rangers fans are beginning to realise that the next couple of years won’t be too enjoyable for them. The cycle of success is undoubtedly coming Celtic’s way for the foreseeable future.
   Look on the bright side - think how bad it would be if Arteta had missed his penalty and Thompson had scored his - you would be staring down the barrel of 4 in a row before Santa had finished the night shift, with not much prospect of stopping five or six.

   And by the way, if any proof were needed that Rangers would not have won the league if they had been involved in a similar number of European games as Celtic last season should have a look at what six additional European matches has done to Rangers already this season. Celtic dropped four points after European ties last season, and lost at Inverness with half a team and half boys three days after winning at Anfield. Rangers have already dropped EIGHT points after European nights (Celtic, Livingston & Dunfermline), with a “got out of jail card” deployed at Rugby Park and Easter Road to prevent more points slipping down the pan. Celtic have dropped …eh…NONE. I know I’m biased, but think about it - would Rangers really have made it through a long European campaign without dropping a single point last season? Or without the UEFA run, would Celtic really have failed to pick up a single point (or 2 additional goals for that matter) in all those other games? I don’t think so, and most Rangers fans when they think about it will probably come to the same conclusion. However, that’s history and the treble’s in the bag - let’s look forward.
   McLeish appears to be McNee’s puppy who can do no wrong, and the longer the media continue to apportion blame to Murray and Advocaat (while STILL wanting Murray to throw more money at players a la Emerson and Boumsong)the better, as it means McLeish will remain in charge for another couple of years yet. Nice guy, but his record at Motherwell and Hibs as having relative success followed by awful decline when his own players were brought in should be a real worry for Rangers fans. Don’t believe me? Check out his record in detail and see at what point things started to go wrong and how another job offer bailed him out of a situation he didn’t know how to rectify.
   I hate gloating Rangers fans, and I don’t much like gloating Celtic fans either. Gloaters tend to be ones who really can’t take it when the shoe’s on the other foot. I enjoy having a laugh with my Gers mates, but I always remember that the cycle comes around and what ye give out ye shall receive back.

   I just think that Rangers fans have been kidding themselves on a wee bit about the enormity of the situation they are in, and the trophies from last season have papered over some pretty huge cracks. It won’t be as bad as the decade of grief we suffered in the nineties, but I think the coming seasons will not be for the faint hearted down at Ibrox.
4. Derek 12.15.03 / 10am

   Delbhoy, if that is not a gloat, I don’t know what is. I think most Rangers fans know the enormity of the situation they are in. It’s just the board who refuse to admit it (to the public).

   We haven’t played well all season, apart from a couple of SPL games and the first half in Greece. We were lucky to qualify for the Champion League and had a bit of luck against Stuttgart. It’s only now that non-Rangers fans realise it and are coming out of the wood work to gloat.

   In respect of the 5 injuries that you have listed, most of them are now fit and not in the team, so they are hardly critical to your team in the same way as Rangers’ injuries.

   However we are where we are, and the signing of Boumsong is a good place to start. Everything should now be looking towards next season. Most important thing is to get a goalscorer.

   I still have the utmost confidence in McLeish. The Emerson purchase was a last minute one due to Ferguson landing us in the s**t. Where else was he going to get a midfielder at the last minute without spending any cash? He did wonders last year in winning the treble with the second poorest Rangers team in the last 17 years. I think you would be better looking at your own manager who seems unable to buy a goalkeeper.

   Oh, and I’m sure Celtic would have won the treble last year had they not been in Europe or had the Pars not lay down to us. Feel better now?
5. Charles 12.15.03 / 10am

   Re: Fat Eck. I know Jim Farry was sacked, I was answering Stuart who had asked the question
6. delbhoy 12.15.03 / 12pm

   Derek,

   No gloating intended, honestly. Don’t get me wrong, I like to see Rangers lose just as much as you like to see Celtic lose, but the intention was not to gloat.

   I’ve always doubted McLeish as a manager and was quitely pleased to see him get the Rangers job, so you can imagine my angst at him securing a treble last season. I think he was fortunate, as I’ve said, and decided to float my view on a Rangers web page to seek sane Rangers fans’ opinion. My mates think he’s OK, but are questioning his signings this season, so the first chink in the armour is visible to them now.

   My “I told you so’s” will be restricted to the folks who know I’ve always questioned why he gets such a favourable press, even when he couldn’t buy Hibs a win he was still the media’s favourite Scottish manager.

   As for O’Neill, two goalkeepers purchased, two duds. He signed Hedman just after the Wworld Cup where he came for two cross balls - one against England when Sol Campbell scored, and one against Nigeria with the same outcome. Not too impressed. I’d swap you both for Klos, but that’s one injury you really couldn’t cope with. McLeish hasn’t had to buy a goalkeeper yet, but he hasn’t impressed with the outfield signings made so far.

   I think Rangers are a poor side, but I couldn’t imagine seeing a Rangers team squeek to defeat the way they did twice this week. I’ve seen Celtic do it many times in the nineties, but O’Neill’s team would never give in the way Rangers appeared to this week. I really think he doesn’t know how to get out of this situation, and he’s been there before - twice - once at Motherwell and once at Hibs.

   I may be wrong, and I’m sure you hope I am, but under McLeish Rangers will struggle. There may be a cup available if O’Neill continues to play Russian Roulette with the CIS, but not much more.

   I’m more interested in watching the media game unfold than I am about rubbing it in - as I said before, I’ve been there for a decade and will no doubt return some time in the future, but not for while.
7. Rusty 12.15.03 / 1pm

   DelBhoy,

   I’m not sure your questioning of McLeish’s staying power in his previous jobs is relevant to anything he does at Rangers.

   Surely being our manager is almost an entirely different game? What manager in the world would be able to run Hibs or Motherwell and never struggle, never mind enjoy consistent success? I can’t think of anyone.

   He may well never enjoy the successes of last season again in his time at Ibrox, but in my opinion, that would be because he was never given the opportunity.

   I’m not blind to his faults, especially in recent weeks where he has to take the blame for relying on a certain formation with players who aren’t capable of playing it, but for all the circumstances surrounding the club, he can stay for a long time for me.
8. delbhoy 12.15.03 / 3pm

   Rusty,

   The point is simple - he ain’t as good as he’s cracked up to be and will be shown up in time. He may not have the money Rangers managers have been used to, but he had half a dozen internationalists in his team on Sunday. I’m glad you’re happy to see him stay - so do I.

   Time will tell.
9. Rusty 12.17.03 / 4pm

   delbhoy,

   like you say time will tell. In your opinion, he’s not very good and will be found out, in mine, he’ll do just fine.

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