Scott7

Disappointed but relieved. Disappointed because every Rangers defeat especially a cup final is a disappointment. Relieved because I feared a thrashing by 4-0 or worse. celtic managed to flood the midfield, have plenty back in defence yet get three or four up in attack. That speaks of better fitness and better coaching. Their manager is no mug and he’s had time to get his players to know and conform to his pattern. Their ability to defend in numbers was greatly aided by the length of time it took Rangers to get from the half line to the penalty box. Their players are better than ours. Raskin should be fine. Cantwell at least was willing to go forward quickly. Tillman was really poor. Auld McGregor did fine. The backs can’t defend. The centre backs were not bad apart from failing to prevent two classic centre forward’s goals. Morelos had no support. How about the rest of the attack? What attack? The Scottish Cup must be won. The League title is beyond this team. Time to relax, play a bit of football and perhaps develop a consistent style of play.

They can have the full points. The league is gone. I’ll settle for a Hearts victory in the SC. I’m open to a Mephistophelean pact to bring that about.

And Everton back in a rut.

The Main Forums page has an intriguing abbreviation for this topic.

No doubt about it, unfortunately.

Did you have to bring this up? I wasn’t there. I was watching my other team lose 0-5 at home to deadly rivals, strangely, the team Valentine played for before going to QP. The general consensus is that his replacement, a guy called Johnny Dutch, was a considerable improvement as a defender. I wish he’d been playing for Rangers instead of Valentine. The Hampden halftime score filtered round the ground about twenty minutes into the second half. The general consensus of friend and foe alike was that everything would come right in the end maybe with a replay. Wrong. A word for Partick Thistle and their stunning success a decade or so later. I saw the ‘58 LCF when Hearts beat Jags 5-0. Enough of these high scoring circuses. I’ll settle for 1-0 to the Righteous.

Remember it fine, compo. Nice sunny afternoon at Hampden in the Mount Florida end. Morton had a young forward, Morris Elliott who was supposed to be putting Rangers to the sword. As you say it didn’t happen. I think that was the season Morton put out the Hibs in the qf after a replay. Huge Morton following at Easter Road in the first match with the bugle guy blowing his head off.

Rightly so. I don’t know many of their players’ names, I’ve no idea how they play. I read that they’re not very good but they cruise past dross by four goals. Rangers struggle against the same dross. (Three against Livingston’s an improvement though)

Grudging praise, as usual Tsb.

Perhaps the measure should be what players were either respected, even grudgingly, or absolutely dreaded by the followers of other clubs. On reflection, the respect standard wouldn’t work in Scotland any more. There could be a HoF with two levels, all round excellence being the upper level and fans’ favourites the lower. In my time for the upper level Young, Waddell, Caldow, Baxter, Greig, Henderson, Gough, Cooper, Laudrup, Gascoigne, Goram, McCoist. For the lower level Shearer, John Brown and any amount of others - where do you stop?

True. Wardhaugh wide on the right, Steel wingback, Johnstone and Conn defensive mids.

A Scottish international inside forward in the days when that meant something so maybe not so far off a legend himself. The competition for an international place included Billy Steel, Jimmy Wardhaugh, Alfie Conn, Bobby Johnstone. Who do you leave out?

If I had an uncle on the same board as Matthews and Mortensen you’d hear about it all day every day. Stan Mortensen scores three in a cup final and it’s known as “Matthews’ Final”. Gordon Durie, you are not alone

Oh yes you,can. If you’re referring to Arsenal’s third the fourth has jam on it. Martinez has a nightmare five minutes.

Depends a bit on who’s getting the money. Arsenal, United - fine. City, Newcastle- tut, tut,

Have we got any tough guys, dB?

If a team puts the ball out of play, for whatever reason, that team loses possession and the other team can do what it likes with the ball. Resume play on that basis. You certainly can’t expect to get it back because your own chap was injured. If you put it out because the other fellow was hurt, return of the ball is within the gift of his teammates so don’t expect anything. If the opposing team decides to give the ball back, do it by means of a foul throw. Anything else leaves room for doubt. Was Beale right or wrong? In the Corinthian league he was right. In this league he was wrong. Any media hysteria would have died down in a fortnight. I get the impression that the media line is Tillmann is the villain with some grudged acknowledgement of Beale’s remedial measures. I don’t study media reports so it could be a wrong impression.

There were a few seasons when a cup-tie at Ibrox was a rarity. We are having some luck at a time when we most need it.

Harold Davis even less so but his mere presence would have been enough to deter the Jags from over-reacting to the goal.

No tie is easy for this Rangers side but on paper, I can’t recall an easier path towards the final. If Hearts can manage to torpedo celtic, I’d be minded to award them the trophy on the spot.

They are utter dross, aren’t they?

Did you not really mean method of delivery rather than results? In which case, I agree.

How would you improve the results? Convert the celtic draw to a win?

I wonder why two, maybe three Jags weren’t red carded for the assault on Tillman. Maybe in the interests of sportsmanship etc. McCall should have subbed one of them without actually putting the sub on.

People told me Cantwell and Raskin would sort out this sort of nonsense. Best wait the final whistle before judgement in case both get hat-tricks.