CammyF

OK, so where will we be in six months time? If we win the SPL we will have to sell lose 8 players, that isn't a matter of opinion, our esteemed Chairman has stated this publically. If we lose the SPL title, that will be 4 seasons without a title and only 2 SPL titles in almost a DECADE. This will mean that we have no automatic route into the CL so we'll be required to sell more players to compensate for the potential loss of CL money. We have struggled to win the SPL title with what could be described as a decent squad (although it isn't being utilised to it's full potential). So how are we going to mount a serious challange minus at least 8 players? That is my summation of where Rangers will be in 6 months time, do you honestly see it differently? If so, I'd gladly hear your thoughts as of yet, you haven't offered any insight as to how this is all going to magically turn itself around to our advantage. Cammy F

You can't trounce them all the time, that is not what I said. But to stand a chance of winning the game you have to play to your strengths, capitalise on their weaknesses, have your players coached properally and have the prepared for the game. Just because Celtc are sh1t, and they are, doesn't excuse us for being sh1t (and we are). If SDM had invested properly when we were lightyears ahead of them over a decade ago, we would have been uncatchable. As it was, SDM was and still is guilty of gross missmanagement. Lets not forget that they were minutes away from being closed down. For a Chairman to have allowed them to overtake us is unforgiveable. I'm not asking for us to spend �£Millions on players and wages, I am asking that Rangers are the standard setters on and off the pitch. We are the model that clubs follow and look on with envy. There are many ways to sign and develop great players. Look at clubs like AZ Alkmar, Ajax, FC Copenhagen et al who, through financial prudity (sp) and having a successful youth programme have managed stable domestic triumph whilst also doing reasonabley well in Europe. This all comes down to leadership, to having a direction, to having goals and being held accountable to those goals. We have nothing, I repeat nothing and are heading for oblivion. Cammy F

I wouldn't like to have been the copper or judge that arrested or tried him tho :box: Cammy F

Not in my eyes. Rangers FC shouldn't be content with merely matching a sh1t Celtc team and then scoring a goal to win 1-0 playing a very defensive formation. That is three games, plus 30 minutes of injury time that we've failed to score against a rank rotten Celtc team. Totally unacceptable. Rangers should be attacking Celtc from start to finish, harrying them all over the pitch, biting into tackles, imposing themselves from the 1st minute. We are better, or should be better than playing 4-5-1 in domestic games, especially cup finals. As someone said on another thread, Mr Struth, Mr Waddell and Mr Wallace will be spinning in their graves. Before an OF game, when the teams were lined up in the tunnel, Jock Wallace used to make a point of walking past the teams before they entered the pitch. As he reached the mouth of the tunnel, he'd turn and shout 'What was the cry Doddie'. Alex McDonald would reply 'NO SURRENDER Jock'. Well, it appears that we have surrendered and surrendered weakly. Cammy F

Is it? Where's the leadership on or off the pitch? Where's the ambition on or off the pitch? Where's the fight on or off the pitch? What's the future given that we have already been informed that we'll have to sell / lose at least 8 players in the summer even if we win the SPL title? Leadership? We have a chairman and manager who aren't leading us on or off the pitch. We are rudderless, drifting to oblivion. Ambition? Is our ambition to be the 2nd best in Scotland whilst missing out on the CL? Certainly seems like it as we are in major debt, having to cut jobs on and off the pitch and have no long-term plans or goals. Fight? We are continually attacked in the press whilst supporters of other clubs can sing what ever they want without reproach. We are gutless on the pitch and our coaches can't install fight into our players. We are run by surrender monkey's. Welcome to RFC 2009 Cammy F

Especially when a growing number of those who are paying their wages have lost their jobs, or have the threat of losing their jobs hanging over their heads. Cammy F

Yip, we played the CL and UEFA Cup run last season like a European team. The Scottish and to a certain extent British attitude is to attack at home and defend away. Liverpool have shown that this doesn't need to be the way and we copied that last season. In the UEFA Cup, not losing an away goal in the first leg is crucial, so 0-0 is better than 2-1 and probably 3-1. If you don't lose a goal at home and can score first on the return leg, you are in the driving seat. This next part is controversial as the difference last season was that we had two centre forwards who were ideal for away European games. Cousin and JCD had pace, strength and could score at the crucial time. They were experienced and knew how to draw fouls and retain posession. We currently don't have that - Miller, Boyd, lafferty and Novo all have their positives, but none of them can say that they had the ability to play the lone striker like JCD and Cousin could and both those players were ideally suited to that type of formation and tactics. Cammy F

If we win the SPL this season, it that is a HUGE IF, it will be despite Walter Smith, nit because of him. We have had three opportunities to open up a gap on Celtc recently and he's bottled every chance we've had. We had a chance to win the first domestic cup of the season on Sunday and he bottled it. The only way I want Smith to stay is if it stops Ally McCoist becoming the manager. We need a change, but we require a proven coach who can demonstrate both signing prudent players whilst also bleeding youngsters through from the youtrh teams. A club like Rangers should have an eye on up-and-coming coaches from all over Europe. They should have a short-list of candidates who could become the next Rangers manager. The only short list SDM has is a fag packet with Ally McCoist sribbled on the side of it. No leadership, no ambition, no fight, no future - Rangers FC 2009 Cammy F

In these financial climates, why not give the palyers new contracts that state they'll be paid 'x' for a victory and nowt for a draw or defeat. Wonder if that would see a change in our fortunes..... As for bonuses, totally sickening. Cammy F

Like many I haven't rewatched the game, and what I can remember from the night itself is being proud or finally witnessing MY club playing in a European Final. The game itself was a blur, I can remember that we held our own in the first half without creating anything. We then had a 10 minute spell in the 2nd half where we had two or three half chances and a penalty claim turned down. After that, Zenit capitalised on our weaknesses and scored a wonderfull opening goal. Like Sunday, as soon as that goal was conceeded I knew we had lost the game. In saying that, we threw on Boyd and Novo and Nacho had a great chance to level just before they broke away and scored the killer goal. TBH, I fully expected Rangers to play they way we did in Manchester and being a fickle fan, I would have taken a 1-0 victory playing that way and celebrated like there were no tomorrow In hindsight, we could have been more attack-minded, but we could have lost by far more goals - just look what Zenit did to Munich in the semi-final. If I have any regert is that we didn't attack Zenit a little bit more. I did say in the build up, and I'll say it again, we were unlucky to come up against our old friend Dick Advocaat's team in the final as he would ensure that his players didn't take us too lightly given the huge support we would have. Against any other team in the final, we would have had the 'surprise element' that DA took away from us! However, you can't compare the final of the UEFA Cup against Zenit to the CO-OP Cup Final against Celtc, completely different scenarios. Cammy F

Sunday was a cup final, a one off game, so playing 4-1-4-1 of 4-5-1 was totally unacceptable. A cup final is supposed to be a show-piece, a game that is played to a finish with a trophy at the end of it. Walter appears to believe that the only way to win a trophy is to hope that we score in the first 90 minutes and hold on to win, or to hold out for extra-time and penalties. Given Sunday's opponents, a team that have a very shakey defence, we should have gone 4-4-2. Walter is a manager who doesn't know his best 11, doesn't know his best formation and worst off all, doesn't trust or rate players he signed in the summer. We are all discussing the symptoms instead of focusing on the problem. The problem is Walter Smith and his coaching staff. The problem is that our players aren't coached properly and aren't trusted to play in their natural positions. We have no natural width in the full back positions (SW apart) and none at wide right either. We show-horn players into a team / formation rather than creating a formation round the palyers we have. I don't think anyone will argue that we have a splattering of talent in the squad; Mendes, Ferguson, Davis, Fleck, Novo, Boogie, Aaron et al are all decent players but are played out of position or have some how, lost their form. The prime example of this is Charlie Adam. A player who burst onto the scene scored ~15 goals from midfield (no penalties) domestically and in the CL. He looked a player but has gone backwards since Smith, McCoist and McDowell have arrived (he isn't the only player that has gone backwards). To move forward we MUST replace the current coaching staff with coaches who'll get the best out of these players. Cammy F

Tell you what, if I were the current Rangers captain, I wouldn't only be berating some of the players, I'd be kicking them up the arse as well. These imposters are playing for THE RANGERS for fooks sake. Cammy F

OK, but even if he was trying for a mere 15 minutes, that was 15 minutes more that the majority of our players. We can argue on the merits of BF and Mendes, but the one constant is the coaching and management of the team. If BF and PM can't play together then it is the managers job to either alter his formation or tactics to ensure that they can play together to drop one of them. As I have said a few times, clueless and gutless sums us up at the moment and the manager is at fault and to blame for this and must be removed if we are to win the SPL title. Cammy F

Have I missed a Tim? Pitty, like playing with them as well. Cammy F

That is three games plus injury time that we've failed to score against Celtc - resulting in losing five points and the first domestic trophy - criminal given how poor they are. Cammy F

So as captian, he shouldn't berate players? Gough berated players continually when Captain. Players of a better standard than we currently have. It just appears that Ferguson is blamed for all our faults. I know he is not the players he was, but he certainly aint solely to blame for our inept performers Cammy F

Tap in against ICT away :fish: Agree with what you are saying mate - said on another thread, been really dissappointed by him and Davis this season. Cammy F

Far less offensive than their Aye-Ran-Away ditties to be honest - I wouldn't get myslef wound up with this 'p1ss take'. In fact, should be the least of our worries at the moment. The best and only way to shut the fookers up is by beating them (winning the league). Cammy F

Maybe 'Doddsy' is more easily impressed than this Bear. Honestly, I have been hugely dissappointed with both Mendes and Davis - thought that both of them would improve our midfield, but they haven't. As I have continually stated, I can't remember leaving a game this season and waxing lyrically about either of them. These players cost us a lot of money and owe us big time IMO. Cammy F

But he wasn't that impressive in Barry's absence thats what I'm saying. When was he impressing exactly? The OF victory apart, I can't recall Mendes dominating a game for start to finish. Did having Barry Ferguson in the team make players like Gio, Arteta, Albertz, Reyna, Rino, Tugay et al 'fade'? Maybe you have to ask why players like Mendes have faded rather than just blame Barry Ferguson's presence in the team. Cammy F

We reep what we sow - for years, we 'HaHa'ed' along to 'It's A Grand Old Team' when we were the donimate force in Scottish Football. Just something else they have stolen for us. Seems so long ago that we were doing it tho.... Cammy F

Yip, its all Barry's fault ..... The only game that Mendes truly shown in when Ferguson was missing was the OF victory at Parkhead. The player that we are missing is Kevin Thomson - the only midfield battler we have in our ranks. As for Boyd, he does have defensive duties as well. It would interesting to hear from the coaching staff who was supposed to be marking Darran O Dea at set-pieces as he had the freedom of Hampden at the goal Cammy F

Agreed Cammy F

Name me a game where Mendes has been outstanding for the entire 90 minutes? I certainly can't remember leaving a game and thinking that he is anything other than a 'decent' player. He was anonymous yesterday. Cammy F

IMO Davis hasn't kicked a ball for us since he's signed. Now, I fully understand that he is being played out of position, but, again, only my opinion, he has been a major let down. The same goes for Mendes, I can't remember leaving a game this season thinking 'that Mendes is some player'..... Yesterday, Ferguson was carrying our entire midfield covering for the obvious failings of the others (as above). It is easy (far to easy) and far to prevelent in our ranks to decry Barry Ferguson. Everything is his fault, he is the new Rangers whipping boy. What I saw frm BF yesterday was the one of the few in blue who knew what losing to Celtc in a cup final meant. He was one of the few who actually did his best to win the game. If only the others had followed. Too many in our ranks are now imposters and don't know what it takes to be a 'Ranger'. Previously, we've had people like Gough, McCall, Brown et al who would ensure that everyone playing for Rangers knew what it meant, now we don't have that and it is obviously missing. Gutless and clueless and simply not good enough Cammy F