ian1964

Walter,Walter,Walter....................waken up ya auld eejit

By Andrew Dickson WALTER SMITH insists Hearts beat Rangers at their own game as they won 2-1 against the Light Blues at Tynecastle. Strikes by Marius Zaliukas and Laryea Kingston in quick succession gave the Jambos a commanding lead midway through the first half. Charlie AdamAnd although a Christos Karipidis own goal gave Gers a lifeline, the hosts packed their back line and held on to the three points despite having Lee Wallace sent off. A defensive approach helped Smith's men so often last season and he was frustrated at seeing his side stopped by the same tactic. He said: "Hearts did well but we made it easy for them and we didn't create an awful lot up front. "That was surprising because we've made a lot of opportunities in previous matches but never came up with any of note many here. "Hearts deserve credit. They had their players back in position and played very much in the manner we played in a number of games last season. They did very well. "We spent the last hour of the game almost entirely in Hearts' half of the pitch but never really created any opportunities to score." Smith was annoyed at the manner in which Rangers lost their goals, both of which came from poorly-defended set pieces. And he refused to hide behind the excuse that having key players such as Kenny Miller and Kevin Thomson out was a reason for a second away defeat of the league campaign.Steven Whittaker The manager added: "You're going to miss players of that quality but you're going to go through the season without some people and there are no excuses there. "We're still good enough without them. I felt in the first 20 minutes or so that we struggled in a defensive sense by giving away too many fouls. "That gave Hearts the opportunity to get the ball into our area and we ended up losing two goals from such situations. "With the consistency Celtic have shown, any points that we drop are a blow to us and it certainly means the three Old Firm games left are ones where the pressure is on us. "We deserve that because we didn't deal with set plays well today. Normally we defend well but against Dundee United we gave away two bad goals. "Those little bits of inconsistency have plagued us in games and that has been costly for us."

Correct

Ok, I take your point, however I know for a certainty that the MOPES will be celebrating this Rangers defeat more than than Jambos as it is only a win for them,where as the MOPES see it more of a step closer to 4IR

Can't argue with that assumption,although I still think good players can play anywhere,and that is the problem............we don't have any real good players

I agree with you Johnny, but I am a great believer in the players HAVE to take most of the blame for poor passing,poor control,lack of movement and lack of effort

Agreed gain

Maybe the title thread should be changed to Rangers who

Correct Gribz,that is why I get annoyed when players get singled out,but then saying that these players can still put in a decent shift at least

My point is the thread title

There is only one person to blame for this shit............WS he signs them,then he plays them,Walter you really need to get a grip here and question your own ability.........or GTF.

I don't get your point mate,what is it about the truth that is not neutral ?

That is exactly my point Barry,I agree BF has been poor for a while now and needs to play better,but nobody can argue the fact that Mendes has been terrible,I mean I really am struggling to remember the last good game he played, the piggery aside

Aye I watched the game, did you ?,to try and use todays performance to get at BF is wrong IMO,when was the last time you seen Mendes have a good game?,and yet he has been an ever present in the team

I agree with you here mate,however the whole team should be ashamed just now,there are players in that team who have been under performing for a while now

True though !!!

Gribz,what a terrible post that is,I suppose it was all Fergusons fault,if the rumours are true about Mendes I would take the money for him, or is it Fergusons fault that Mendes is not playing well, the same accusation was thrown at BF for Hemdanis' poor play

Anybody will have looked good today against Rangers

I will check my diary mate

Oh well................I will have to drink all the beer my self then :cheers:

by Neil Smith NACHO NOVO is hoping to rekindle great memories when Rangers travel to Tynecastle on Saturday. Rangers romped to a 4-0 win with a double from Novo and two from Jean-Claude Darcheville and Novo would love something similar this weekend. He said: "I remember that game well as we were very good and never really gave Hearts a chance. Nacho Novo celebrates"Darche scored two good goals and then I got two more in the second so we were all very pleased after the final whistle. "Tynecastle is never an easy place to go to so to win 4-0 shows how well we played. But that was last season, a long time ago, and circumstances are different now. "They are doing very well and have a new manager who seems to have a brought a bit of confidence back to their team. "I have read a lot about him and he seems to be a bit of a character so I am sure he will have them fired up for Saturday. "But as always the most important thing is that we focus on our game and if we can do this I am sure we will get all the points." Nacho admits that when he is on the pitch he feeds off the atmosphere within a stadium and that Tynecastle is one of his favourite venues in the SPL. He said: "I always enjoy going there to play because of the noise and how tight the stands are to the pitch.novo,aberdeen_160 "You always feel as though the fans are on top of you and you can hear everything they say which I like. "You get a bit of stick but that is all part of the fun and if you can score it is a great feeling. "Because Hearts are doing well this season I am sure their supporters will be very vocal again from the start but our fans are always great at Tynecastle. "It should be another great occasion and all the players are looking forward to it."

Aye.................to play CB

STEVIE WHITTAKER is hoping to hold onto his place in the side as Rangers get set for a lunchtime showdown with Hearts. Whittaker, of course, knows all about Tynecastle having played in many Edinburgh derbies in his Hibs days. He has played in the left back slot in the last two matches - a 2-1 win over St Mirren and a 2-0 victory against Aberdeen. Sasa Papac, RangersHowever, with Sasa Papac fit again for this weekend the versatile player may be seeking another position in the team. He said: "With the strength of the squad right now it is taking a player to be injured for others to get their chance so when you are called upon you have to do your best. "I have recovered from injury and I have kept my head down. I have now managed to play a couple of games in a row and hopefully I can go on a run now and manage to stay in the team. "Playing left back is a position I can fill in. It's not one of my favourite positions. I prefer to be on the other side of the pitch but I'm just happy to be in the starting 11. "Hearts are going well at the moment so we are expecting a tough game. It's always difficult there and we will need to take our best game with us and hopefully come away with three points. "Hearts gave us a tough game at Ibrox earlier this season and I'm sure it will be equally testing at Tynecastle. "We played well that last time we were there. Hearts couldn't handle the pace we played at that day and hopefully it's the same this weekend. "We are scoring goals at the moment. Boydy is playing well right now and when that is the case goals usually come so that's fantastic. "He and Jean-Claude both scored last weekend so that has us in good stead for this weekend."

SCOTTISH eyes will be drawn to Greece and Switzerland this season, with Olympiakos, Panathinaikos and Basel all threatening to help their countries overtake Scotland in Uefa's co- efficient tables. Scotland is currently in 12th place, with Greece just behind, and the Swiss breathing down their necks. IN NUMBERS 13 games played by Scottish teams in Europe this season; 10 lost and three draws. 18 failed attempts by Celtic to win away from home in Champions League group game. 32 Scotland's provisional ranking in co-efficient table. At the minute, the SPL title winners enjoy direct entry into the lucrative group stage of the Champions League, but should Scotland slip further down the table - even by one position - they would be in danger of losing that place. As such, the SPL clubs will be watching with interest what goes on elsewhere in Europe this season and hoping that none of the above teams enjoy a sustained run in either the Champions League or the Uefa Cup. And while Celtic's final group game against Villarreal is meaningless in terms of qualification, a win would actually stave off the threat of the immediate Champions League place being lost, something of enormous significance to the Old Firm. Last night Scotland were sitting in 32nd place in the provisional co- efficient rankings, an embarrassing position which is made all the more galling when compared to last season. A year ago Scotland amassed the fifth highest co-efficient with only England, Spain, Germany and Russia better off. It is just as well that the rankings are worked out on the basis of the past five years' performances, otherwise Scotland would be in a dreadful position. The blame lies not only at Celtic's door. Rangers, Motherwell and Queen of the South have contributed to the truly dire stat that there is no Scottish club this season who have registered a European win. Hibs also lost both Inter-Toto ties, but they do not count in the co-efficient stakes. As such, Celtic's game against Villarreal next month has a significance to it that might not be immediately obvious. It isn't just about restoring a sliver of pride to a dreadful group campaign, it is about ensuring Scotland get the crucial co-efficient points that would ensure the Champions League does not start to drift further out of reach. After all, with both halves of the Old Firm having come a cropper in the qualifying stages in recent years, no-one will need to be reminded of the dangers that lurk in the summer months when qualification is not assured. That this season has seen such a dreadful return from Scottish clubs has been underlined by the fact that little consolation can be drawn from the calibre of opposition that was faced. Few would expect Aalborg to go any further in the Uefa Cup than the next round, while Kaunas, who denied Rangers a passage into the competition, were thumped by Aalborg in the next qualifying round. As Kaunas dropped into the Uefa Cup, Sampdoria walloped them 7-1 on aggregate. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/display.var.2470897.0.0.php

It has recently been reported in the russian media in the St Petersburg Times (http://www.sptimes.ru) that Advocaat may be heading a consortium to buy his old club Rangers Fc as there chairman Sir David Murray Is looking to sell up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Advocaat