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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/12/18 in all areas

  1. Just when you think it is time to stop for a breath you realise the next game is tomorrow already. Villarreal have come and gone with a 0-0 draw and poor Daniel Candeias undeservedly getting sent off for the second time in a few weeks. Again a referee invented a story to cover up the cock-up he himself conjoured up. Funnily enough Rangers have ended up with a one game knockout fight with Rapid Vienna and our mission is clear. We must win or the Europaleague will be in cold storage until next season. Anyway that is for another day the Europaleague has to take second place as we have to fly into preperation mode for our big game against Hearts at Tynecastle. What a massive match this game has turned into for us. Due to Celtic playing Aberdeen in the League cup final Rangers have a fantastic chance to go top of the league. Yes, Celtic will have a game in hand but it is points they have to win and it puts just a little bit more pressure on them to do so. It will be great to see all the grudging headlines on Monday pronouncing us league leaders, We will of course have to flick through three pages of Aberdeen v Celtic and use a magnifying glass to see the headline. Their game in hand will also be well highlighted you can put your bottom dollar on that. Before we are that far though we have the difficult task of getting a winning result at Tynecastle. Hearts have been in poor form of late only taking just one point from their last four matches, losing 2-0 in their last game against relegation fighters St Mirren 2-0. When Rangers stride into town though all the form books go out the window. Teams seem to find a bit of extra fight that they had lost in the games running up to our game. In Hearts favour, they have had some reasonable games against Celtic of late beating them 4-0 last season and 1-0 this season at Tynecastle. They have since lost their two main forwards in Kyle Lafferty, who was transferred to us, and also Steven Naismith to in jury. The ex-ger was the leagues top scorer before he was injured and was also first pick striker for the Scotland team. The Hearts manager Craig Levein, is a manager who builds his teams on being hard to beat rather than a full out attacking machine. I don't think anyone will forget his 4-6-0 formation when he was the Scotland manager in a must win game. I doubt he will play that on Sunday but he will certainly have his team organised and well drilled. That does not mean they will park the bus in a ten man eighteen yard block, just that they will play out from a solid defence. With the Rangers players having had that difficult game on Thursday in their legs, Steven Gerrard may look to freshen things up a little. In his press conference he emphasised the point that Daniel Candeias would at least have fresh legs for Sunday, so I would imagine that makes him a starter. I think he may bring back Eros Grezda and give young Glenn Middleton a rest on the bench. Grezda looked to be starting to show some good form and scored two goals in the 7-1 thrashing of Motherwell before being dropped back to the bench for the last two games. Strangely he has not even appeared as a substitute as he was starting to show some good form. I doubt Gerrard will drop the fantastic in form Alan McGregor and I will guess that Tavernier and Goldson will keep their places. I expect McAuley to return to the team in place of Worrel and with Borna Barisic fit again after a two month lay-off he will come in at left-back. Left-back has been a problem position for us of late with Halliday and Flanagan being pretty shaky to say the least. Flanagan almost gifting Villarreal a goal on Thursday if it was not for McGregor making a wonder save. The other position worth discussing is the central midfield role. With Rossiter,Jack, Ejaria, Arfield, Coulibaly and McCrorie all with their hat in the ring. I would be surprised if Gerrard dropped Ryan Jack or scott Arefield for this one so that leaves a choice between Coulibally or Ejaria for me as I don't think the others will start. Ejaria missed out on Wednesday while Coulibaly excelled against Villarreal so that is a really difficult choice to make. I think Gerrard may go with the slightly more attacking Ejaria to try and play in the Hearts half but my own choice would be Coulibaly as I feel Ejaria flatters to deceive and slows the game down by his twisting and turning on the ball. We saw how Villarreal can slice through the midfield with quick one touch passing and that is what I miss with Ejaria. I think Gerrard will go with Ejaria though. The team I think Gerrard will play is: McGregor Tavernier McAuley Goldson Barisic Jack Ejaria Candeias Arefield Grezda Morelos. I personally would go with Coulibaly. We have not been top of the league since 2011. It has been a long wait so hopefully that wait comes to an end on Sunday and we return to where we belong. Onwards and upwards. C'mon the Gers!!!
    6 points
  2. This is a huge match for Rangers, bigger than the Villarreal match, a chance to go top is a massive incentive and our players should take advantage of this opportunity. If Kille beat Hibs today at home they will jump above us in the league so this is a must win match, if we are serious about challenging for the title then it starts here.
    4 points
  3. I don’t mind anyone standing at a football match. So long as they don’t do it in front of me.
    4 points
  4. I agree with the sentiments that this is a huge opportunity that we simply MUST grasp. It is in our recent DNA to royally balls up any good opportunity like this (see the LCSF as the latest evidence) and we really must show some testicular fortitude in these big games or we will continue to be hailed as big game bottlers. Hearts form has gone since losing the big centre forward whose name escapes me (not Lafferty, the other big guy!) and who was very impressive any time I seen him, as well as Naismith and Berra has shown that their depth is not as good as others and they have struggled. I am not sure if any of those 3 are back (Berra is I think) for tomorrow but the other 2 will be a big miss. No matter how they line up, it is well within our capabilities to go there and win given what is at stake. To go top will force the media and the bheasts to wake up and realise there could very well be a title race for this first time in 8 years, not to mention give us some confidence that this could be possible. Tynecastle is always a good atmosphere and a tough challenge, but good Rangers sides have usually done well there. Heres hoping we are all searching for copies of the league table come full time and then I will gladly take a Dolly victory at Hampden to stop all talk of another treble and put more pressure on Brendan who I believe will crack if we can put sustained pressure on him. Its up to us, lets get it done!
    3 points
  5. There is no doubt that poor coaching is one of the single biggest factors in whether kids progress in football, the other ones being attitude and discipline. For years we relied upon methods that were often referred to affectionately as "proper old school". Most of these coaches were good (or even great) players who failed to notice that the world had moved on around them. Equally, there are many coaches who either don't have a clear vision, or fail to communicate it clearly enough in a manner that can be understood by the younger players. The coaching for coaches in Scotland is now excellent, and it attracts many of the world's top coaches and managerial prospects. It has been highly regarded for around 15 years now. A big problem we still face however is that many coaches go on the courses, just to collect the badge. They then revert to their old ways because they've "played the game and know best". To coach a player from youth to elite level takes time, persistence and consistency. Too many coaches in our country (and yes, at our club) have been fine footballers, but poor coaches. If they use the tools and techniques they've been taught, coaches can be effective. Mulholland and his crew know this thankfully, and if we have some stability at the club for a decade there is no doubt at all we will develop some players good enough for our first team. As for Middleton, he's clearly developed the right attributes for his age. You can tell when they've been properly coached because there are some elements to their game that shine through. He is technically good on both feet, he is aware of his surroundings because he runs with his head up, and he demonstrates he can make good decisions most of the time. When players get to 16/17, these are key. There are exceptions to this rule of course, but those are some of the qualities and performance measures that coaches track.
    3 points
  6. Boxing totally underwhelms me nowadays with all the false hype and publicity and too many bodies claiming world championships. Maybe if we had true class performers like Ken Buchanan,Jim Watt,Barry McGuigan and of course Cassius Clay(Mohammed Ali) it might interest me again.
    2 points
  7. If the person in front of you is always on his feet take a large safety pin and jag him up the arse .
    2 points
  8. It seems Dave King's "man of the year" has another fan! That is a lovely touch by Murty and will have made that young boy's day. Usually these things are just done without publicity or looking for praise, just because they have the profile and time to be able to do it and make a difference. (by those at our club anyway - watch out for the wall to wall coverage later this month when some celtic players drop in at a hospital)
    2 points
  9. Many of them are a pain in the rear Pete. Idiots in front of my niece and I drinking bottles of MD2020 at the game. The ones that come out the cracks at Euro matches seem to mostly pissed and a nuisance. Especially in the family stand.
    2 points
  10. Shame really for the loyal DUTD fans that they are suffering like that!.
    2 points
  11. I'd always prefer to stand at games. I don't think it has an effect on how vocal I am (but haven't thought about it too much) but somehow I enjoy it more while standing. The only downside to standing is that I can't as easily (as sitting) manage my pie, bovril and clapping at the same time. Having said that, I do think sitting sections are important, especially for younger bears. You just don't see as much as a young fan when grown men are standing in your way, and if I thought I had paid for my youngsters to watch a game in a seating area, I wouldn't be happy at their view being obstructed. I hope one day we can get to a point where large standing areas are normal again, and perhaps even seating areas become the minority. I suspect that won't happen unfortunately.
    1 point
  12. I was referring to the Gary McKay Steven rumour. I'd take Davis back but would prefer to see us looking at other options.
    1 point
  13. I would stick with young Middleton, he is a strong lad and well capable of handling 1st team football. Tin hat on here but I am not convinced with Grezda! I know he hasn't had much game time but he doesn't do it for me,YET!!!.
    1 point
  14. What about our assistant manager? GM played there too and he's possibly the reason we've got a following from there.
    1 point
  15. What about Jimmy Hill?...…………………...?
    1 point
  16. Fury was out the ring for, what, 2 years or so. He did no training, no road work, no sparring, and let his weight balloon to 28 stones (now 18st 4lbs) He had significant health and lifestyle issues during this period. His two fights on the comeback trail were against, basically, cannon fodder. Therefore there are questions over his general fitness/conditioning, and his ring rustiness. Many are suggesting that if the fight goes to 10, 11, 12, the more likely a Fury victory, which seems to be based on the assumption that the Champion is little more than a slugger with a devastating if somewhat wild punch. I suspect that this does Wilder a disservice, and may overrate Fury's general fitness. If Fury lasts until the stretch, we will see what affect his sabbatical has really had. If we get the Fury who flummoxed, frustrated, ought thought and, in sum, out boxed Klitschko, it is game on, and he could win. Betting wise, however, it is difficult to oppose Wilder.
    1 point
  17. https://mobile.twitter.com/lesleyjc4/status/1068536609975558144?s=19 Massive thanks to @GraemeMurty who took time out of decorating the wards to play with Nathan. Haven’t heard Nathan laugh like this in a couple of weeks... totally made his day @GCH_Charity @RangersFC 0:33 107.4K views
    1 point
  18. I know it's the Championship, but I'd make a move for Shankland. He's scoring for fun.
    1 point
  19. he never asked to be manager.
    1 point
  20. I totally agree that there should be a safe standing area for people who prefer to stand but where people pay good money for a seat to sit and watch the match they should sit down it is as simple as that.
    1 point
  21. 2 Celtic wins against Rangers and the 3-3 draw from 1995. It seems they don't see any of the Rangers wins against Celtic as Classic. Funny I can remember a few. https://spfl.co.uk/videos?pl=PLAmNSUlUap5s9P9HtzxwdgLmjS6_yXOGI
    1 point
  22. Does that make them less of a supporter? Maybe they work most weekends or can't afford a season ticket.
    1 point
  23. I agree with you to an extent but if you take it to when we had 11 players McGregor had two good saves but Arefield and Goldson both missed a sitter so really the chance count was pretty even at that time and we were getting slowly stronger. i even think we had evened up the possession count at the end of the first half.
    1 point
  24. People standing in front of you can be very annoying and aggravating IMO. In the first Euro group tie there was a guy continually standing and blocking my view right from the start of the game and I made it clear to him that he had better sit down as I was there to see the game not his back.He turned round gave me a right mouthful and a menacing stare and eventually left the seat after, about twenty minutes, and never returned.He was obviously a game ticket buyer as he has not been back since. Therefore I agree with Budges's stance.
    1 point
  25. Brian Laudrup used to be accused of going down easily which wasn't the case at all. As we all know Laudrup was very fast and in full flight and pretty much up on the toes like a sprinter it doesn't take a great deal to knock anyone over. That's not what's happening with Neymar.
    1 point
  26. He's developing the defensive part of the game too. I seen him a few times last night running from one side of the pitch to the other side in an attempt to close them down high. Must be taking that from Morelos. Good stuff.
    1 point
  27. Why not both, simultaneously?
    1 point
  28. He certainly has been better than anything we currently have but coming up for 34, has he hit 'the wall' ? He's played 6 minutes of League football this season after at least 13 straight seasons of consistently playing. The obvious question is why can't he get a game for a struggling team this season ? Co-incidently, from what I've seen of Broon this season, I think after a couple of good seasons, he's now hit that wall and if Celtic want to move the ball quickly, he'll struggle to get a game. I'd be surprised if they offer him a new contract.
    1 point


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