CammyF

Bill Struth, or our founding fathers.... Cammy F

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/display.var.1334311.0.0.php Cammy F

Was our last cup final appearance the 'Davie Cooper Cup FInal' in 2005? IIRC it was, and if it was, its about bloody time we got to another final Cammy F

A Big River Crossing the Clyde I see herââ?¬Â¦..from a distanceââ?¬Â¦.this hugely impressive and imposing feature on the landscapeââ?¬Â¦and despite the many many times I have stood inside herââ?¬Â¦.she never fails to amaze me. She is, and always will be, more than just bricks and mortar. For within in her are tales of heroismââ?¬Â¦.of dreams fulfilledââ?¬Â¦of overwhelming joy and unbearable sadness. While around her the traditions of a people, such as shipbuilding, have flounderedââ?¬Â¦she has flourished. Flourished because of her importanceââ?¬Â¦her significance to a people who saw themselves, their dreams, their culture reflected in a football club. The honest endeavour of the welderââ?¬Â¦the stevedoreââ?¬Â¦the toolmaker were reflected in the 11 blue jerseys which emerged from the tunnel at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. For playing for the Rangers was the ultimate achievement of the working manââ?¬Â¦epitomised by the late great Alex Willoughby whose impressive performances had attracted the attention of the famous Manchester United. Logic ruled that Alex would make the journey south of the border to weave his magic at Old Trafford for higher wages. Some time later he told an astonished press who had pointed out to him everything he was sacrificing after his rejection of the move, that Manchester United could not give him the one thing he desired most in the worldââ?¬Â¦..to pull on the blue shirt of the Rangers every Saturday afternoon. And such sentiment is not unique. When it was pointed out to one of greatest talents ever to have graced the game of football, the late great Davie Cooper, ( a rare talent which caused the former Scottish manager Ally McLeod to commentââ?¬Â¦."Davie Cooper is so skilful he could beat three men in a telephone box with a beach ball.") that with his unique skill and talent he could have plied his trade anywhere in the world his answer was both simple and honestââ?¬Â¦Ã¢â?¬ÂI played for the club I loved what more could I ask for ?ââ?¬Â Iââ?¬â?¢m willing to bet that like meââ?¬Â¦.many of you reading that last paragraphââ?¬Â¦now have a tear in the eye. This ladies and gentlemen isââ?¬Â¦Ã¢â?¬Â¦. Rangers Football Club. She is awesomeââ?¬Â¦she is uniqueââ?¬Â¦she is beyond comparison. She is not to be taken for grantedââ?¬Â¦nor is she the plaything of rich businessmen. Not only is she a football clubââ?¬Â¦she is far more than thatââ?¬Â¦she is a reflection of a peopleââ?¬Â¦ their strugglesââ?¬Â¦their dreams and aspirations. Her success reflects their determination to succeed against all the oddsââ?¬Â¦to keep the faithââ?¬Â¦quite literallyââ?¬Â¦ to keep believing. Therefore let us never fail to defend herââ?¬Â¦or the people who built herââ?¬Â¦or the people who every day make a sacrifice to ensure she is well supported. The things that are not boughtââ?¬Â¦the family which is left behindââ?¬Â¦because we have a foreign trip next week and the sense of duty to follow follow is so very very strong.Itââ?¬â?¢s the same mentality which caused Alex Willoughby to sacrifice much to pull on a blue jersey every Saturday afternoon. We carry her in our hearts and we will never let her go until our last breath passes. And I for one would not have it any other way. In a post which sought its source from the honest endeavour and professionalism of the British shipbuilderââ?¬Â¦.perhaps I will leave the summing up to Mr Jimmy Nailââ?¬Â¦his words seem to reflect much of what I am trying to sayââ?¬Â¦. ââ?¬Å?The neptune was the last to go, I heard it on my radio And then they played the latest number one But what do they do all day? And what are they supposed to say? What does a father tell his son? If you believed that theres a bond between our future And our past Then try to hold on to what we had, We build them strong, we built to last cause this is a mighty town, Its built upon solid ground And everything they tried so hard to kill, We will rebuild This was a big river I want you all to know that I was proud This was a big river, but that was long ago, Thats not now This is a big river, And in my heart I know it will rise again The river will rise againââ?¬Â RANGERS FOREVER

Gisabear, why should we blame DA? It isn't him who signs the cheques. SDM has shown since DA that he can say 'no' to players identified by the manager. The blame of overspending rests with one person and one person only and that is Sir David Murray. SDM is the 'boss' so is held accountable for the finances of the club and is responsible for the vast majority of the ills we face at this time (selling of the assets, his refusal to properly fund YD, his 'dignified' silence approach etc, etc). Cammy F

But to qualify for Europe, and the CL you have to win the league. So, in theory, we have to win the league consistantly to qualify for Europe. Kind of a catch 22 situation. Is it acceptable to Rangers fans to finish 2nd and 3rd in the SPL as long as we are reaching the last 16 of the CL or UEFA Cup on a consistant basis? Cammy F

Off course AM carried a lot of luck, but if you cast your mind back to our best (recent) European campaign in 92/93, that team also carried a lot of luck (CSKA 'away', Nissy goal v Brugge at Ibrox etc). To get to the later stages of any campaign, you need luck. Conversly, last season we were unlucky not to beat Brateslava home and away (especially at Ibrox when we missed a hatful of chances) and as I said previously, can count oureslves very unlucky to have been knocked out by Villarreal. Would PLG have improved us with an improved transfer budget, most likely, but IMO so would have AM. Both, and any future managers would also be helped if we had a decent Youth Set Up in place and delivering over the last 5 years. IMO, this is SDM biggest act of folly. Rangers missed an opportunity to have the best youth academy/facility when 'Murray Park' was built. If SDM had ploughed money into the Youth Development instead of funding the signings of TAF (as an example) we would be reaping the benifits now. By getting the basics right, you become hard to beat (witness our fortunes under WS and Ally). IMO that is where PLG got it horribely wrong. A blind man could have seen where we were weak last season and all good teams are built from the back and have a solid spine. PLG refused to do this, or didn't see where we were weak. All water under the bridge and a sorry affair in the history of Rangers Football club but indicative of SDM's reign. Cammy F

Would be an ideal conclusion to the season in England. Man U and Chelsea fighting out the EPL right to the wire, the likelyhood that we'll have an all English CL final (poss Man U v Chelsea) and then Man U v Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. English football is certainly on a crest of a wave at the moment. Cammy F

Whilst we were dominating Scottish Football in the early 90ââ?¬â?¢s, Rangers were ââ?¬Ë?richerââ?¬â?¢ than clubs like Manchester United and after our fantastic European adventure in 93, we were better placed to win the European Cup than teams like Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea etc. It can be argued that those ââ?¬Ë?bigââ?¬â?¢ English clubs were still adjusting to life in the ââ?¬Ë?newââ?¬â?¢ English Premiership and life back on the European stage after years of exile. However, we defeated the English Champions home and away on the way to the inaugural Champions League group stages and were only denied a place in the final by the corrupt French Champions. So what happened to this fantastic opportunity? Well SKY TV arrived and financed the EPL, UEFA changed the goal-post regarding the CL and the 3 foreigner rule, and IMO David Murray allowed Walter Smith to stay on as Rangers manager for too long and the team that drank together, stagnated together. After securing 9-in-a-row Walter Smith decided that he would leave Rangers the following season and if we are honest, it was torture watching that aging team limp towards what would have been a historic 10-in-a-row, Now the nostalgic and romantics amongst us would argue that that team/squad deserved the chance to etch themselves into history. However, after a season that started fantastically (who can forget the moody Italian Marco Negri scoring with almost every touch he had ââ?¬â?? well, it seemed that way, then weââ?¬â?¢d watch him sulk back to the half-way line!). I know that hindsight is a wonderful thing, but you have to ask why SDM allowed Walter Smith to continue even after he had handed in his notice. Looking back to Graeme Souness, as soon as Souness indicated that he would be leaving for Liverpool, SDM showed him the door and booked him a taxi to the airport. So, why did Walter Smith not get the same treatment? Would a change of manager after securing 9-in-a-row ensured that we would have continued our domestic dominance and recharge our European challenge as this had faded since the halcyon days on 92/93? Weââ?¬â?¢ll never know, but Iââ?¬â?¢m sure a change of manager would have seen a change in fortunes as the season draw to a close. Walter Smith, rightly or wrongly chose to stick with the mainstay of the 9-in-a-row team who were clearly running on empty. We actually had 2 chances to win the league that year and blew them both (losing at home to Motherwell and away to Aberdeen) after defeating Craptic twice in a week in the Scottish Cup and League. We were famously to lose the league and both domestic cups that season but perversely, that season was to give me the possibly the proudest moment in my Rangers supporting life. As we stood at Tannidice, the deposed Champions and the 10-in-a-row dream in tatters, knowing that the manager and majority of players would be leaving, we reacted ââ?¬Ë?the Rangers wayââ?¬â?¢. The fans stood to a man (woman and child) and sang of their love for Rangers and applauded the players/manager from the pitch. Rangers, dignified in victory and defeat. Now it is worth reminding ourselves that at this stage in our history, we were still financially sound ââ?¬â?? and that our bitterest (sic) of rivals were still recovering from being on the brink or extinction. We were, in all honesty, going into the 10-in-a-row season, 10-15 years ahead of them off and on the pitch - all that was about to change. IMO, this is SDMââ?¬â?¢s greatest crime, allowing such a change in such a short space of time. SDM must have known that our debt was about to spiral out of control and should have put measures in place to ensure that we stayed ahead of the game. To his eternal shame, he didnââ?¬â?¢t and all our current ills can be traced back to this point in our history. SDM appeared to have pulled of a mater-stroke by appointing Dick Advocaat as our new manager. DA signed a whole host of exciting players like Amato, Gio, Numan and erm, Bert Konterman! After a shacky start and a thumping at the hands of Craptic, DAââ?¬â?¢s team gelled and played some wonderful football that saw his reclaim OUR title and win a glorious treble. Plenty other domestic success came or way along with some very credible performances and results on the European stage. Everything in the garden appeared rosy, oh how we were mistaken. DA started to lose the plot and Craptic under a new regime (on and off the pitch) stole our thunder and DA had to fall on his sword. He was replaced by Alex McLeish, an appointment that had a lot or Rangers fans shaking their heads in disappointment. To AMââ?¬â?¢s credit, he managed to match Crapticââ?¬â?¢s 2nd most successful manager on the trophy count (including a treble) whilst having to sell our better players, reduce the wage bill and replace them with inferior quality. Any money we made was put to servicing the debt whilst our financially sound neighbours had money to invest in their team. However, we were offered a ââ?¬Ë?chink of lightââ?¬â?¢. Martin Oââ?¬â?¢Neill was leaving Craptic and leaving them in a min-crisis. We had snatched the league title from under their noses for a 2nd time and their aging squad was to be dissembled. This was an opportunity for us to strengthen from a position of being the champions, but again SDM refused to back his manager with the funds required to forge ahead to domestic dominance. Once again, we were left in our rivals shadows and AM was sacked and replaced by PLG. Again, we have hope but alas, it was to be false hope and SDM didnââ?¬â?¢t back his new charge with money either. So after 2 disastrous domestic campaigns, can our leader take a possible opportunity to put us back where we belong? Or will he once again, miss a golden opportunity? If the (strong) rumours are to be believed, Gordon Strachan will leave Craptic in the summer and return to a role in the EPL ââ?¬â?? most likely at Manchester City. Crapticââ?¬â?¢s form over the closing half of the season hasnââ?¬â?¢t been particularly good and only our woeful results under PLG have stopped us from mounting a serious challenge in the league and cups. So what will our esteemed leader do this summer? I think heââ?¬â?¢ll do what he has done in the last 5 summers, give his charge a minimum transfer budget to sign players who are expected to replace the ââ?¬Ë?betterââ?¬â?¢ players in our squad. The early indications donââ?¬â?¢t look promising, but surely a brilliant business man like SDM can smell an opportunity and would do what ever it took to put his ââ?¬Ë?businessââ?¬â?¢ back on top? I wouldnââ?¬â?¢t bet on it, this summer will be another missed opportunity for SDM and for Rangers. Cammy F

Jaffa, we all know that no manager or player gets time to settle at Ibrox. Can be argued that some of DA and AM's duds might have come good if give time and a decent run, but Rangers being Rangers and Rangers fans being Rangers fans, that isn't always possible. You know that and I know that. As for Europe, AM's feat the previous year was far better than PLG's. Getting qualification from a group that contained Porto and Inter Milan, than narrowly losing to the eventual CL semi-finalists IMO is better than the 3-2 in Italy. As for players he signed, why did PLG initially sign players who weren't suited to the Scottish game? PLG had videos (or DVDS) of all our games from the previous season so had no excuses for signing players unsuited to Scottish Football. I have seen nothing from Sebo, Sionko and Svensson to suggest that they would ever be suited to Scottish football. DA signed players initially who were suited to our game, I'm thinking of players like Rod Wallace, Gio and Numan - admittedly he had others who weren't - Amato and Konterman. As for PLG not getting the players he wanted, that isn't his fault, but it also isn't BF or the supposed 'cliques' fault. We all know who's fault that is, SDM and Sun-Tan Kid. Rangers are rotten from the top down at the moment, I certainly wouldn't deny that, I have been saying this for over 5 years now. The whole PLG saga is systomatic of Rangers at the moment, and if there were 'factions', it wouldn't have mattered who had 'won'. I would go as far as to say that PLG was the right manger at the wrong time, but still can't see where the 'faith' in him turning us around comes from. For every victory in Italy there was a 'St Johnstone' domestically. Rangers will never improve until SDM is removed from his post. Cammy F PS - Welcome to the forums

I remember standing in the 'jungle' that day watching Rangers play St Johnstone in a Scottish Cup Semi-final. There were whispers that something terrible had happened at the Liverpool game, but it wasn't until we got back to our bus that we learnt just what a disaster had occured. Tragic and terrible and thoughts to everyone who was affected by events that day. Cammy F

A fantastic trip, prob the best trip I've ever been on - some great videos Cammy F

A wee thought for those who lost their lives at Hillsborough - RIP Cammy F

Your having a laugh aren't you? What about players like Papac, Svensson, Sionko et al who look utter dross. So if that is true, why did PLG continue to play those players? Why did it take PLG 6 months to realise that BF wasn't playing as PLG instructed? Maybe the poor results were down to poor players, poor tactics, poor instructions for a man who couldn't speak basic English? Was it BF and his 'cliques' fault for players having the inability to score for 2 yards out with a gaping goal? What signs were there that PLG was going to turn this around? What one positive can we as fans take from PLG's tenure at Ibrox? I am scratching my head here thinking of any signs that Rangers were improving under PLG. So its BF fault that PLG didn't get more money to spend? That arguement could be made as a defence for AM, who didn't have a shit load to spend on players either but managed to match the 2nd most successful Craptic manager in the trophy count and managed to take us to the last 16 of the CL. Still haven't answered why PLG was sacked and why SDM chose (if the rumours are true) to back an underling over a manager? Also interesting to hear the reasons you believe that the first thing WS did was reinstate BF as club captain?????? Now, surely if you were a new manager coming into a club in turmoil and you knew that the turmoil was partly due to the club captain and a 'clique', you would sack the captain? However, WS decided the opposite, maybe that gives a clearer picture of the situation than any of the other rumours? Cammy F

I do think Ferguson can be as good as Gazza was for Rangers. IMO, in the first to 50 season, BF was as good as Gazza was at any point in his Rangers career. I would also argue that BF has out performed Gazza on the European stage for Rangers. Gazza never really did it in Europe (sending offs, bad performances during an era where we were thrashed on many occassion on the European stage). I would also argue that if BF was playing in a Rangers team packed full of international and world class players, he would be more influencial than even Gazza was for Rangers. All speculation as it is hugely unlikely that BF will ever have the class of player beside him as players like Gazza, Laudrup and Albertz enjoyed playing with. Cammy F

The team is the most important, of that there is no doubt. However, can you honestly say that PLG's team, with or without BF was 'going places'? Ask yourself this, if in any of SDM businesses, an 'underling' was casuing friction, who would SDM sack? The (rumoured) disruptive 'underling' or the manager? I can be argued that the PLG 'faction' were blinded by the likes of Graeme Speirs' of this world who portrayed Fergie as the bad boy and PLG as the innocent 'foriegner' who was being under-mind by big bad Fergie. PLG lost his job at Rangers due to piss poor results, piss poor performances, piss poor signings and a piss poor understanding of English and the Scottish game. BF had NO influence on any of the above and to blame him for PLG's sacking is rediculous. For me, the worst moment in 34 years of supporting Rangers was losing at home to St Johnstone, the first time in our history that we have ever lost to a lower league team at home in a cup tie. I suppose the 'barry haters' will find away to blame BF for this defeat as well as global warming, 3rd world debt and the Iraq conflict. Cammy F

Ah, but the difference is, the players mentioned had VERY good players alongside them. Look at Fergie's performances when he had players like Mols, RDB, Lovenkrands, Arteta et al besides him (Firsts To 50 Video). As for a goal scoring midfield player, IIRC, only Albertz outscores Fergie on that count. All about opinions. Cammy F

Christ, this is SCOTLAND where it can snow in July - anyway Fraser, at your age, you should be able to go to the footie in just your top in any weather that is above -25oC Cammy F

Anyone who wears 'ra hoops' ..... Cammy F

So the dressing room would vote him out? Didn't you see the celebrations at the Motherwell game? Boyd and his '6 finger salute'? Haven't you read that even seasoned pro's like Prso backed Fergie as even he knew that PLG had lost the dressing room? As a Rangers fan, it is clearly fashionable to 'dislike' Barry Ferguson as he is an easy target for those who think PLG was going to 'turn us around' as PLG aand his allies in the media painted BF as public ememy No1. As for us being a better team WITHOUT Fergie, I just can't agree with that. Now, for the record, I don't 'like' Fergie, but would have him in my team before Hendami, Thompson, Adam, Burke, Gow, Brown et al. He is, IMO the only player in the current squad that can / could be classed alongside the great players who have graced Ibrox recently - Gazza, laudrup, Albertz, Gio, RDB etc. In fact, Gazza still reckons that BF is one the the best players he has played with. Cammy F

3 managers have made him captain of Rangers - am I the only one that thinks all 3 can't be wrong? We will never know the real reasons for Fergie leaving for Blackburn. The cynic in me says that Fergie was sold to keep the banks away from our doors, and I'll believe that until Mr Murray can prove otherwise. So as captian, Fergie should ignore the pleas from the dressing room and be a yes man to a manager who had clearly lost the dressing room and some would argue, the plot? We were DIRE under PLG, the players couldn't understand his team-talks and our form was horrendous. The Captain is the lynch-pin from dressing room to manager. To think/state/believe that Fergie was the demise of PLG is unbelievable. PLG last his job due to piss poor signings and piss poor form - a man working his ticket and happy to leave Rangers. So we transfer Fergie and who do we replace him with? Name ONE player who has the skill, drive and determination of BF that is in our 'transfer bracket'? Name ONE player who would put his health and career on the line, take pain killing injections that made them ILL for 3 days after matches to pull on the blue jersey? Barry Ferguson isn't anyones cup of tea, but by fook he is the best player we have by a country mile. Back to the topic in hand, and WS record. Yes it is decent and yes we are now 'hard to beat', but over a season, is that going to be good enough to win the league? I'd argue, with us losing players like Buffel, Prso, Novo and possibley Hendami, we aren't good enough to win the league. Players like Gow and Broadfoot aren't better replacements, its as simple as that. We are short in too many key areas and IMO have only one good player (see above) surrounded by run-of-the-mill SPL players. Remove BF and we have 11 run-of-the-mill SPL players. Is that good enough to win the title, very, very, very unlikely. Cammy F

There is an undoubted bias in the Scottish media against Rangers and everything we stand for. This can actually be traced further than the press and into the political spectrum. Far too many Bears are niave to this, continuing to purchase the gutter rags and voting for Scottish labour. Below is an example of the bias in the press - can you imagine The Scum or Retard printing this photo? Yet they have no problems printing photos, stories, half-truths and downright lies regarding Rangers players, staff and fans... As Frankie says, we can be extremly proud of our far we have come as a support recently, but no matter how well we do, there are some (in the media and in politics) that won't be happy until we there is no Rangers (yet we are the bigots).

.. again, about 4 weeks to late, but raises some very good points - http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/darrylboadfoot/display.var.1315619.0.0.php Cammy F

Due to lack of funds, most of the 'crap' will have to stay and it already looks like next season will be as bleak as this and last season.... McGregor isn't the greatest, but he is decent standard and as we need money for elsewhere, he stays as No1. Same applies to Hutton and Smith. Hutton has improved lately, but still doesn't fill me with confidence. Smith, on his game is a good player - we'll just need to hope that they continue to improve. Looks like Papac and Svensson are offski so that leaves Weir, UE and Webster and I'd say that means we have cover and wouldn't need another centre half until next season. Midfield is where we require strengthening. We have Burke, Adam, Hendami, Fergie, Rae and Thompson. IMO Hendami, Fergie and Thompson are too similar and can't play in the same team. All 3 are very good players so it is hard to see who drops out - my guess is Hendami will be sold to release extra cash/wages. It looks like we are after Brown and McCulloch. Up front we are losing Prso and possibley Novo so that leaves Buffel, Sebo (who are offski) and Boyd. We urgently require strikers with pace. Healy has been mentioned, but unless Leeds get relegated, we won't be able to afford him. I admit that Koevermans looks like a decent target and hopefully this transfer will happen. So given all that and given our limited transfer budget, he is my starting 11 for next season ; McGregor Hutton Weir Webster Smith Brown Fergie Thompson McCulloch Boyd (healy) Koevermans Again, as a first 11, that isn't great, but it'll be hard to beat. However, one or two injuries and it looks at lot more fragile. Cammy F

It is not like we can't purchase class players in the market we are shopping in. A prime example was Boumsong, if the right people are employed in the correct capacity, then there is no reason that we can't still unearth 'diamonds' in the Bosman and lower end of the transfer market. Another example is Blackburn snapping up Benni McCarthy for �£2.5M, an absolute steal and a player with a proven record domestically and in the Champions League. The problem we have is not having the right people employed at our club. At the very top of the tree, we have a man who simply doesn't have Rangers in his heart, or our best interests in his mind. The same can be said for his lackies like Her McIntyre and the San Tan Kid. Not only are they not looking after our interests, they are yes men who don't actually know there job. Our scouting system is non-existent, we are missing out in the all the major regions whilst clubs like Ajax have schools in Africa, Europe and America's, we are fishing in the small pond calles Scotland where football has been replaced by Playstations, drink and drugs. Our 'custodian' is intent on doing nothing to solve the crisis on and off the pitch, all he is interested in is his self image and his bank ballance. The RST have insigated 'Rangers First' and can we honestly say that that saying implies to our glorious leader and his gang of yes men? We have also allowed the 'neds' to take over our fantastic support, however this is going to change (and it has too). But, this is only one part of the problem and the cynic in me says that Murray has allowed this to fester as it takes the attention away for his missmanagement and the dire state that we currently find ourselves in. I can remember the dark and disstant days of the early to mid 80's and can remember finishing 4th in the SPL. The team back then had little in the way of skill, but you couldn't fault them for effort. This season is the closest Rangers have come to these dark days. Back then, out of nowhere came David Holmes to awake the sleeping giant and he changed Scottish football - what we would give for David Holmes now as David Murray isn't going to come to our rescue........ Cammy F