mediocrity, luck & good fortune

[gisabeer 409]

Yet again the great debate rages on wether its better to play badly and win rather that play well and lose.

 

But why is it always one or the other? Why cant we expect our team to play well consistently through the whole season? Is it too much to ask to see a decent standard of football when you go to Ibrox?

 

And why do so many accept the level of mediority that we a treated to?

 

Last season saw Rangers almost complete a quardruple though playing a brand of football that had the fans cringing with embarrassment and our manager openly admitting that it wasnt very pleasing to the eye. it wasnt his job to entertain us apprently.

 

They say that fortune favours the brave but smiths tactics and team selections were anything but that and the large slices of luck that he enjoyed throughout the season suddenly dried up and our managers mediocre style was shown up for all its worth.

 

This season though lady luck rolled her dice in walters favour whilst our closest rivals blew a 7 point lead and fail to capitalise on our clubs financial implosion at chrismas. Good fortune indeed came our way in the shape of celtic lack of ambition, their over estimation of their own squad and the under estimation of ours.

 

And lady luck again saved the day against a very competent Falkirk who bothered and harried us for 90 minutes, in fact the only thing they never had was the one thing we have had in abundance this season, luck. Two off the post, one off the bar and a very marginal offside saw walters run of good fortune continue and have his hide saved by a very good opertunist goal from Nacho Novo.

 

I take little joy from victories like that. we got lucky. Which has been the story of walters smiths campaign this season.

 

Hope and luck will continue to play a big part in Walters campaign next season. His tactics and team selections will see to that. What we need though is a manager with real ambition, one who will raise the standard of football that will allow us to actually compete in the CL and show our superiority in SPL.

 

We cant depend on good fortune for ever. Were doomed if we do. So stop accepting the mediocrity that Smith delivers and demand more from him.

[Super_Ally 0]

So when we blew a lead it was bad management. Yet when we overturn a large deficit it is luck?

 

I also think you are over-selling Falkirk's goal threat in the Cup.

 

One-off the bar? A long range effort that dipped to clip the top of the bar at the last minute. Keeper would have comfortably tipped it over if it was lower. Can't remember the 2nd effort off the post at the minute, but the one late on was bad luck.

 

Again a negative bias though. When McCann hits a shot that is off target it is unlucky, when Novo scores an all-time classic Cup Final goal it is opportunistic?

 

For all that we were poor and Falkirk played out of their skins, goal mouth opportunities were even and we scored a belter of goal.

 

Of course you make many valid points there in questioning tactics, formation and line ups and also an often negative (defensive) approach to games).

 

However, it appears you are willing to criticise when necessary, but not credit Smith with anything and put any success down to luck.

[johnnyk 158]

I wish we did play good attractive football and still win but the players we have and can maybe afford now I doubt we can. I am not saying we could not try and play more attractive football to please some fans but what if we do and don't win trophies will you still slag the manager or the players after he/they have done what you asked of them?

 

I am also not saying we will never play good attacking football again but just now our manager who is in charge is winning trophies with a few good performances as well. If we continue to build on that maybe the football will get better on a more consistant level, I shall wait and see..........

[Wija 0]

We are at the present moment, the best that Scottish football has, and that in itself shows how bad Scotland is for talent, encouraging that talent, the drinking culture that adults so happily show there children, smoking, ned culture and last but not least the implosive perocial nature that breeds contempt for success, and only further ensures the spiral of failure is somehow something to be proud of.

 

Now that was a long sentence.....

 

Yes we were lucky, yes we are piss poor... but we have won and although I still want WS to leave and do not want AMcC in charge of Rangers, I must take a big slice of humble pie. He has done what all of us thought impossible at New Year and has had to endure the troubles of players and lack of any money.

 

 

We have won, that is all we should look at now and say well done WS. Mr Moonbeams has used the last of his 9 lives in my eyes and he MUST go very very soon. We need new talent and a new focus for this club and not just a focus on the SPL... It is to be fair, an extremely poor league with no real financial backbone.

 

 

CL next year will provide money, but that will go on the debt.

 

I am over the moon we won the SPL and SC, but I really do fear for next year with Timmy getting a new man in and all the furore that brings, they will have there tails up... we must have a team and financial means to ensure it is docked.

[Zappa 0]

Firstly, there isn't a single football team in the whole world that go out every week & play an amazing game, no matter what manager or what players they have - that's a fact.

 

Secondly, how often in the league this season did we 'deserve' to win, but unfortunately didn't? If you look back, I hope you agree that the answer is 'quite a few'!! The thing is, that it's commonplace for that to be the case, just as it's commonplace for teams to get the win against the run of play. Those are the ups & downs of the game, the results that swing in roundabouts so to speak.

 

Thirdly, it's the result that counts - always! So, barring some seriously bad officiating, it should never be the case that a losing side deserved anything, never mind deserved a win! The winner is the winner, end of story. Whether people enjoy watching the game or not is a different story.

 

FWIW, I think we were pretty bad against Falkirk yesterday, but at the end of the day, we had a player score a cracking goal & they didn't. Falkirk played exceptionally well, but they didn't score. Even the really close one they had across goal that trundled off our post was covered in the sense that boogie got there to cover that post in the event that a Falkirk striker got hold of the rebound. It was a close shave, but he had it covered imo, so tbh it's chalked off as nothing more than a chance they missed, just as we missed chances.

[Super_Ally 0]

I wonder if it just comes down to perspective?

 

You look at PLG and some people hark back to champagne football. Truth is, bar a few opening games we did not play great football that often. However, under PLG, the pressing concern was winning, and not the manner of the victory.

 

Smith has achieved part one. Winning football. We now expect victory more than hope for it. So the next step, the next increment in performance of the club is to play exciting football.

 

Whether people agree or not, I would say we have already come a long way under Smith. Interestingly, had he won the league last year, he may already be coming under a greater number of attacks as he would have delivered the winning football but this most recent season would have shown no improvement elsewhere. As I say, all about perspective.

 

The next step forward for Smith is either progress in the CL or winning football domestically with a cavalier attacking style. We should always be looking to improve and build on success and in some respects Walter has made a rod for his own back if you like by bringing us a long way in terms of results in a relatively short period of time (short time when measured against how far we have had to come).

Edited May 31, 2009 by Super_Ally

[Zappa 0]

It's the results that count & I can't see past that in football. If you look at World Cup competitions as the ultimate example, how often do the slickest passing teams with the most skillful & talented players go out before the final, only for the most boring, slugging, defense oriented teams to go to the final & even win? The answer is written in the stats & it's 'very often'. My point with that, is that it doesn't detract anything from the winners, because they're the winners & the fact that a technically superior (or is it 'more pleasing to watch') side went out in the quarters or the semis has absolutely nothing to do with it. If Brazil or whoever that play amazing football don't get to the World Cup final, nobody with any sense is saying 'what a joke of a tournament, Brazil deserved to win it even although they only got to the quarter finals'. Results, results results. That's it. In summary - I don't give a toss how we win games, as long as we win them without cheating or controversial officiating.