CammyF

Can't agree, I wouldn't bat an eyelid if Boyd never plays another minute for Rangers - his attitude stinks. Totally immobile, caught offside too often, has no pace and his saving grace, his scoring record, doesn't look too great since he refused to leave Rangers in January (comfort zone anyone????????). Mendes and Davis were woeful, totally inaffective and over ran by the Celtc midfield. They aren't 'ball winners' and don't have the appitite for a 'battle'. We urgently require a Stuart McCall or Ian Ferguson in our midfield. Worst player on the pitch? well, there were a few contenders..... Cammy F

McGregor - Little to do, distribution again terrible, could have done better at the opening goal - 4/10 SW - gaining in confidence, offers more going forward than Broadfoot but Broadfoot is the better defensive option - 5/10 Weir - getting worse every game he plays - 4/10 Broadfoot - Steady game 5/10 Papac - One of our better players -7/10 Lee McCulloch - did what he was asked to do but offers nothing positive to Rangers 3/10 Barry Ferguson - another of the few who had a decent game 7/10 Pedro Mendes - worst game in a Rangers jersey, major dissappoitment 3/10 Steven Davis - total wasted wide right and totally useless yesterday 3/10 Kyle Lafferty - another of the few who had a decent game - why was he subbed? 7/10 Kenny Miller - terrible but to be fair was played in three positions during the game -4/10 SUBS : Novo - does what it says on the tin - now deserves an extended run in the team - put more into the game in his brief appereance than most did in the entire 120 minutes - 7/10 Dailly - why? Boyd - the return of the traffic cone - lost any momentum we had with his introduction 3/10 Cammy F

It was just after 11 o’clock on Sunday morning when I received a text informing me that Majid Bougherra was going to miss the League Cup Final and as expected, Kirk Broadfoot would deputise for Boogie. Given that Lee McCulloch had become the sole Rangers media representative in the week leading up to the Hampden showdown, it didn’t take a brain surgeon to determine that he would be starting the game. As news filtered through that our starting 11 was as we’d all predicted with us going 4-1-4-1 the mood in the public house where we were indulging in a few pre-match libations suddenly changed for optimism to pessimism. Sorry, that isn’t really correct, it was more of a ‘here we go again’ mood. Everyone decried the lack of ambition within the starting 11 and this didn’t abate when the substitutions were revealed. Here we were going into a final with only one forward, no recognised wide midfield player (and none in reserve) and playing one man upfront against one of the shakiest Celtc defences that we have encountered. The stench of negativity had finally spread to the foot soldiers, as the vast majority of the fans I spoke to pre-match were all of the same opinion; our chance to win the treble, the first domestic trophy of the season and score a major physiological victory had just evaporated with the announcement of the team and squad. The game itself was as predictable as our starting 11. Two teams devoid of talent, skill, aggression, guile and ideas played out a terrible 90 minutes and the first goal in extra-time was always going to be the winner. The opening goal we lost was a direct result of school-boy defending. A ball that travelled the entire width of the penalty box and was then headed back over our keepers head into the net. The referee would have been entitled to have blown the full-time whistle there and then. We were never going to score one goal, never mind two. In fact, we could still be playing at this moment and we still wouldn’t have scored. In fact, I received 4 texts the minute the ball hit our net, all four said exactly the same thing ; ‘That’ll be that then’. There were few players who could hold their head up high after yesterday’s debacle. Only Papac, Ferguson, Lafferty and Novo gained pass marks with Whittakar put in an acceptable performance, the rest were terrible. Gutless, clueless, heartless and skillless about sums up our entire club at the moment (from top to bottom), we are run by a board of surrender monkey’s, our management team are cowards and our squad of players just aren’t good enough (as well as not being coached properly). No Rangers team should enter a cup final with one forward, with a centre-forward at left wing, a centre-midfield player at right wing and with a mish-mash of a back four. The introduction of Christian Dailly is the single most baffling substitution I have ever witnessed in over 25 years of following Rangers. In the spirit of parity, if we had been winning 2-0 or even by a single goal, I might, just might, have been able to understand this substitution. But to bring Dailly on at 0-0 when we needed to score is indefensible. The introduction of the enigma that is Kris Boyd destroyed any momentum that we had managed to create. The lad may be able to score goals, but he takes away from any positive that brings with his terrible attitude, suspect fitness and all round lazy persona. A lot of fans have questioned those why decry Boyd and wonder how losing or replacing your top scorer can help the team? Well. Just look at Sir Alex Ferguson and his decision to sell his top scorer, Ruud Van Nistelroy. Manchester United only won one EPL title with RVN in their ranks even though he was continually theirs and the EPL’s top scorer. SAF decided that the team would be better without him and he was in the minority when he made that decision with so called experts calling his sanity into question. The result? Man U’s total domination of English football and progression to the highest level in European and World football…… However, this decision actually gives an insight into Walter Smiths current mentality and thinking. It shows that he doesn’t trust nor believe that his latest crop of signings are good enough and can’t be trusted. The non-inclusion in the squad of genuine wide players like Beasley and Aaron shows that Walter either doesn’t rate them, or doesn’t trust them. This being the case, why did he sign them? We all know that left wing has been a problem area for us and yesterday, Walter came up with a novel way of trying to eradicate this issue. In the 2nd period of extra time, he decided to play not one player out of position wide left, but two and both at the same time. For some inexplicable reason Walter deployed both Steven Davis and Dailly wide left at the same time. This meant we left gaping holes down our right which Celtc fully exposed at the second goal. The above added to the continual overlooking of players like Edu and Velicka and with other recent signings like Davis and Lafferty continued to be played out of position shows that our manager doesn’t know what he is doing. All of the valid points raised above are a sacking offences in my opinion and show that Walter Smith MUST be replaced (and not by McCoist – he and Kenny Mac are guilty by association) NOW. We are still in with an opportunity of winning the SPL title, and now there is no ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ or ‘maybes’ about it, we must win the SPL title. If we are to win this title, then we must replace the manager. There is no way, under his stewardship and coaching that we are going to win all our remaining SPL games, something we have to achieve to win the title. So the question is who could guide us to the title? Well, lets be brutally honest here, all it would take is a manager who had a tried and tested formation, how played players in their correct positions and who could coach them the basics. Now, I am no expert, but there are bound to be numerous coaches out there who are currently looking for a role that fit the above criteria. Another positive is that in reality, we probably won’t have to win all our games, as Celtc are as bad as we are. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that if we don’t change manager (and we won’t), we won’t win the SPL. The current regime is engulfed in negativity that cascades from the top and as said above, is now even starting to effect the foot-soldiers. We are a club in series decline and there is no sign of this abating. This isn’t the result of the woeful performance yesterday, this is an opinion that has been structured witnessing one of the most gutless Rangers teams that I have supported. I came away from Hampden yesterday gutted. I was bursting with frustration at the tactics, the team selection, the performance and the realisation that whilst they are absolutely garbage, we are worse. The halcyon days are gone and there is no sign of them returning. The moonbeams have been extinguished. All that is currently on the horizon is dark clouds and long periods of total darkness. Cammy F

I've signed up (I think)... Cammy F - Ludite Loyal RSC

A day that will life long in my memory not only due to this being my first ever Old Firm Cup Final but due to the dramatic nature of our eventual victory. I had been lucky enough to have seen Rangers win this trophy previously (against DUFC in 1982) and was due to go to the final in 1983 which would have been my first OF final. Thankfully (sic) I was taken unwell and was in hospital with a bout of appendicitis and missed our 2-1 defeat at the hands of our bitter rivals. The League Cup has been a very successful competition for Rangers over the years and last season penalty shoot-out success against Dundee United marked our 25th victory in the League Cup. Another amazing statistic is that over the years, we have only ever lost 6 League Cup Finals (out of 31) a truly staggering statistic. We also suffered an embarrassing final defeat but weââ?¬â?¢ll gloss over that at this juncture and itââ?¬â?¢s worth remembering that this result wasnââ?¬â?¢t the greatest OF victory, we defeated Celtc 8-1 ââ?¬â?? before anyone tells you that this game doesnââ?¬â?¢t ââ?¬Ë?countââ?¬â?¢, Celtc count their solitary goal from that game in their official club history. I believe weââ?¬â?¢ll all remember the titanic finals against Aberdeen in 1988 and 1989 (3-3 and 3-2 respectively) of the fantastic 4-3 victory over Hearts at Tynecastle. The victory over Ayr United in 2002 will also be well remembered for an outlandish piece of showboating from Andre Kanchelskis : [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQJtZF_6Fyc]YouTube - Kanchelskis stands on the ball[/ame] And if like me, you attended that 1995 final at Hampden then you are entitled to claim this as a victory, well it was a moral victory in my eyes! Anyway, I digress, back to the League Cup Final in 1984 a season that ranks as one of the most traumatic in our history. John Greig eventually bowed in increasing pressure and resigned as Rangers manager and was replaced by Jock Wallace. Due to our disastrous start in the league, the cup competitions were (once again) our only true hope for any silverware. The road to Hampden started with a convincing 8-1 aggregate win over Queen of The South and this was followed by impressive victories over Hearts (3-0 at Tynecastle) and St Mirren (5-0 at Ibrox). These results, coupled with return fixtures ensure that Rangers qualified for a two legged Semi-Final against Dundee United. A credible 1-1 draw at Tannidice saw Rangers entertain the tangerines at Ibrox with a place in the final in the balance. From what I remember of the home leg, Rangers played extremely well and won the game 2-0 with Ian Redford scoring the decisive goal with a beautiful chip over the onrushing Hamish McAlpine. Davie Mitchell scored in both legs of the semi-final but wouldnââ?¬â?¢t feature in the cup final itself. In the run up to the final, Jock Wallace had made an immediate impact and Rangers would embark on a 16 game unbeaten run that would eventually come to an end when Dundee won a Scottish Cup replay 3-2 at Ibrox and ended our chances of a domestic cup double. As this was my first OF Cup Final, I didnââ?¬â?¢t really know what to expect. Would it be just like the league encounters? I was soon to find out. I wouldnââ?¬â?¢t sleep the Saturday evening (evening forgoing the Boys Club Disco to ensure that I was match fit for the Sunday). The supporters bus was a buzz of excitement and the journey to Hampden seemed to fly past and before I knew it, I was climbing the stairs on the way to section J. It is impossible to describe the build of noise that this climb generate, or on how louder this gets, reaching a crescendo as you took your place on the terracing. What would stick in my mind that day was the huge gaps in the Celtc end (see you tube links below) and just how louder and mope passionate the Rangers fans were. I know itââ?¬â?¢s romantic to think this way, but in some perverse memory, it felt that we did contribute to our eventual victory as the Rangers fans were ferocious in their backing of the team that day as I had ever seen them. Just like the journey to the game, the game itself flew by and if Iââ?¬â?¢m honest, all I can really remember of the game is the goals, well our goals anyway. Referee for the day was our old friend Bob Valentine and he award three penalties in the game, two to Rangers and one to Celtc and all three were converted. Our first goal was scored from a penalty just before half-time nicely tucked away by Ally McCoist. Rangers scored their 2nd goal on the hour mark after Sandy Clark won a long ball from Peter McCloy and headed the ball into the path of McCoist who slipped home past the despairing Bonner. Celtc equalised and sent then game into extra time, but not before a show of petulance from the Celtc team as they protested a booking to Roy Aitken in an overtly provocative fashion. In fact, a senior Policeman had to intervene. Unsurprisingly, this incident wasnââ?¬â?¢t included in the referees report and the players went unpunished (some things never change). Anyway, into extra-time we went and Rangers were awarded another penalty when Roy Aitken fouled Ally McCoist in the penalty area and the referee correctly pointed to the spot. Another booking for Aitken leading to a red card? You would have thought so, but no, Aitken escaped further punishment and after the dust had settled, Ally McCoist stepped up to face Pat Bonner. The keeper guessed correctly and parried McCoistââ?¬â?¢s kick back out onto the six yard line where Super Ally was awaiting to, at the 2nd attempt, deposit the ball into the net. This is where your mind starts playing tricks with you especially over the ravages of time. From my vantage point, it appeared that the Celtc fans had been celebrating for numerous seconds before Ally put their ââ?¬Ë?gas at a peepââ?¬â?¢. In reality, they had barely the time to jump for joy before Ally reduced them to tears. Well, that was it, bedlam, delirium, ecstasy et al ensued in the Rangers end and I remember being shunted about 10 stairs down and about 20 foot to my right in the celebrations. In fact, one of my friends that I was at the game with lost a trainer in the celebrations but decided that it was a price worth paying! The final whistle sparked further celebrations on and off the pitch and John McClelland led his troops up the famous Hampden stairs to receive the trophy. A huge cheer greeted him as he showed the glittering prize to the rank and file supporters. We had won the cup and my first OF final couldnââ?¬â?¢t have gone better. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih0JoTykCqY&feature=related]YouTube - Rangers vrs Celtic Hampden 83/84 part 1[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG1KwL7P1U0&feature=related]YouTube - Rangers vrs Celtic Hampden 83/84 part2[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGXIeCC0O0k&feature=related]YouTube - Rangers vrs Celtic Hampden 83/84 part3[/ame] http://www.napit.co.uk/viewus/infobank/football/scottishleaguecup.php http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/old-firm/classicmatchreports/2009/02/10/league-cup-final-rangers-3-celtic-2-march-25-1984-86908-21112643/ Cammy F -

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCXHbCYvzjI&feature=related]YouTube - ''What a waste of council tax, we paid for your hats!''[/ame] Cammy F

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV_cUys6eaM]YouTube - Rangers FC - amatos goal against celtic[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJGtl-173Ws&feature=related]YouTube - Amato-Wallace[/ame] Cammy F

Section B6 row YY..... Cammy F

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XLcwfj95_o&feature=related]YouTube - 3 GREAT GOALS AGAINST THE TIMS[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj7q0560FMI&feature=related]YouTube - ally mccoist v celtic[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjObzvFvWvk&feature=related]YouTube - Ferguson goal against celtic[/ame] Cammy F

I'll post Saturdays lottery numbers later this evening :box: Cammy F

Grab your rosette and rattle and get yourself down to hampden ; [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih0JoTykCqY&feature=related]YouTube - Rangers vrs Celtic Hampden 83/84 part 1[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG1KwL7P1U0&feature=related]YouTube - Rangers vrs Celtic Hampden 83/84 part2[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGXIeCC0O0k&feature=related]YouTube - Rangers vrs Celtic Hampden 83/84 part3[/ame] Cammy F -

I was going to post this on Sunday but decided to post it early and forgot to edit it.... Cammy F - Lazy Ass Loyal RSC

And I can’t believe that I’m typing this, we are now the only team able to win the domestic treble. Even after the Inverness debacle, we are still in pole position to land a historic eighth treble and the quest for this treble begins in earnest today. The CO-OP Cup Final has come under various guises over the years, but it is a tournament that has been very kind to us and one that we have been very successful in over the years. On Sunday we will be aiming to win the league cup for a record breaking 26th time. The first official Scottish League Cup was contested in season 1946-47 and we defeated Aberdeen in the Hampden final. Whilst Sunday gives us the opportunity to win the first leg of the treble, it could also give us a psychological boost for the remainder of the league campaign where we have slipped to second favourites after the terrible league performance last Wednesday against ICT at Ibrox. Once again, a diabolical substitution cost us a vital three points in the race for the title. Instead of making a straight swap – Fleck off and Aaron on, Walter Smith decides to replace Edu (one of our better performers on the night) with Lafferty, a change that required four players moving positions and resulted in us losing all momentum that eventually cost us the three points. Sunday will also give an indication as to how the remainder of the season will pan out player / tactics wise. It is a cup final, a one off occasion so you would expect out management team to select a team to win the trophy, rather than a team not to lose the game. The same can be said for the remaining league games. We are now three points behind so the emphasis is on us to win all our remaining SPL games to ensure that the league title comes home to Ibrox. I for one am not confident of the above. I fully expect a 4-5-1 today and can imagine Walter resorting to this formation in the SPL, especially on our travels. The players and management have shown a lack of belief and courage when it was required most. We have been given ample opportunities to cement our place at the top of the SPL, but every-time these opportunities present themselves, we shoot ourselves in the foot. The only consolation is that today’s opposition are as bad as we are. Take out their 7-1 drubbing of St Mirren then their recent form is actually worse than ours. Our ability to win the SPL this season takes on extra significance given the perilous financial situation that we find ourselves in. Another season without Champions League money is unthinkable, so winning the SPL is a must (both financially and more importantly, to stop them from making it four in a row) and the warning shots have been fired. No matter what trophies we happen to win this season, we will be selling at least eight players in the summer. Fail to reach the Champions League, this number may rise. This again is unthinkable as this would further weaken our squad thus making it harder to mount a domestic challenge next season – it’s the classic snowball effect of downsizing. We are in pole position in the Scottish Cup given Celtc’s loss to St Mirren at the weekend, a result that should have lifted our collective spirits as once again, it showed how ordinary a team that they are. Faced with pace and physical presence they struggle (were you watching Mr Smith?). I would gladly give up the two domestic cups to ensure that we win the SPL. That would be hard to take admittedly, especially given Sunday’s opponents. It is always unbearable losing to them, but losing to them in a final hurts even more (see below). The league is the priority, but today, lets enjoy our day in the sun (hopefully) and lets get the Old Lady rocking. Cammy F -

Yip, it appears that the English clubs have learnt from the European's in that regard. Something that we are still niave to in Scotland - they are masters at gaining free-kicks, penalties, time wasting, getting oposition booked etc - we aren't! However, it looks like the EPL's total domination of the CL is going to continue this season. Liverpool and Chelsea already through to the quarters and Arsenal and Man UTD in good positions to join them this evening. Barcelona and Munich look like the only two teams who could prevent another all English CL final. Cammy F

Not taking anything away from Liverpools performance and result, but they do seem to get the crucial decisions in Europe (added to a system that is suited to Europe). Never a penalty last night and IIRC they have had the benefit of this type of decision agianst both Chelsea and Arsenal in the CL recently. Cammy F

Nowt really! Just a collection of flags that I had lying around and we decided to get them sewen together (thanks to Jonc's ex and Del's relations!) and had GersNet.Net printed in the middle. The cost for the material and printing was gathered from users on the site for both flags. The flags IIRC are: top row from top left - Ulster Standard, Union Flag, Ontario Flag, Saltire and Ulster Scots Flag. Middle Row Left - Rangers union flag - Middle Row Right - Rangers all blue union flag Bottom Row from left to right - Berlin Flag, Lion Rampent, Rangers First To 50 flag, Rangers red and white away flag, European Flag Cammy F

Vignal.... (see below - cheers Noris) Cammy F

Photos of the banners : GersNet Mk1 GersNet MKII Cammy F

As Bluebell says, it's a shame regarding Victoria Road - used to be a 'Rangers area' and an area where all my Mum's family originated from. My Auld Great Unlce George and Great Antie Mary and my Auld Great Auntie Lizzie (God Rest Their Souls) stayed in that area all their lives and have vivid memories of staying there after cup finals and all the houses / tenements would all be decked out in Red, White & Blue. My Gran moved out this way when whe married my Grand-dad who was a miner and stayed out here due to the number of mines (coal and shale)! Also, if one of my uncles took the car to Hampden, the Police used to stop us from entering the area as it was 'parking for residents only' and we would inform them that we were just here to visit our family. Therefore, got a prime parking space minutes from Hampden and got to piss off the Polis as well!! As for the final in question - remember the game and the weather. We, as usual had a few pre-match drinks in Armstrongs at the back of the Rangers end and ended up back in a local pub for a wee sing-song. The best memory of the day was whilst coming home and driving past the Brazen Head pub and all the patrons being outside throwing abuse (plus anything else they had close to hand) at the passing buses. We had all the doors and windows opening and were loudly singing 'Happy Birthday St Patrick'.....! One of the patrons got loose from the Police and ran at our bus carrying a framed photo of Larsson and The Pope (I kid you not). The mhank then tripped over the pavement and fell all his length - much to the delight of the buses. The framed photo smashed all over the place and the tim lifted himself for the road and was covered in blood from his skinned head / nose / kness etc. Our RSC Secretary leaned out the window and offered the fallen tim some words of enouragement (hehe) and wished him a Happy St Patricks Day.... Cammy F

If you are in the first 20+ rows anywhere in Hampden then you have a restricted view as the sloop of the stand isn't steep enough (unlike say Tynecastle) and your view is impaired by advertising boards, security walls, stewards, Police and behind the goals, the actual goal posts. As for all-seater stadium dampening the atmosphere, look back to Rangers v Leeds, Rangers V Kiev, Rangers V Celtc (2-2 Gough equaliser) to witness evidence that suggests that new improved stadium actually increases atmosphere (as the roofs of the stands help trap the atmosphere). I can not remember feeling further removed from the pitch whilst standing at Hampden, you only get that feeling now, and again, it is due to the angle of the slope in the stands. This is very shallow. Cammy F

Some worrying quotes here from RDB regarding youth development at Rangers (and Celtc) http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/headlines/display.var.2494453.0.De_Boer_its_battle_of_minds.php Cammy F

Yip, in the good old days, even before my time croweds of up to and over 100,000 were common place at Hampden. Sure the capacity was around 75,000 when I started going regularly. Cammy F

Whilst the redeveloped Hampden could be argued as more pleasing on the eye it can�t and doesn�t touch the old Hampden for atmosphere. The sheer volume of noise generated from the old Section J (Rangers End) was unbeatable. The redevelopment has meant that many of the seats are too far removed from the playing surface and many give a restricted view, especially behind both goals. Cammy F

The redeveloped national staduim is a pale shadow of it's former self. Look at this video footage of the 'old lady' in her prime - and look at the gaping holes in the Celtc end..... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xrEIVKcwGc]YouTube - Rangers FC The Ultimate bouncy[/ame] Cammy F

I'll have the GersNet Banner (MK1) with me at Hampden on Sunday (section B6 Row YY). I'll text Del and ensure that if he's going, he takes along GersNet Banner (MKII) with him Cammy F