Where we are now!!

[Laudbertz 0]

Thats at least twice in the last day or two i've seen this sort of comment. How, in what is a perennial two horse race, can you not be interested in what your only rival is doing?

 

I think what he meant is he is only concerned with Rangers matters at the moment and we should be focussing on our own team more than looking at what they're up to.

 

I tend to agree with that but cant help notice seemingly 3 top class signings in the past few months/weeks with Jarosik, J VoH and Graveson coming into the equation.

[Super_Ally 0]

I think what he meant is he is only concerned with Rangers matters at the moment and we should be focussing on our own team more than looking at what they're up to.

 

I tend to agree with that but cant help notice seemingly 3 top class signings in the past few months/weeks with Jarosik, J VoH and Graveson coming into the equation.

 

I know what he meant and I still think its a ridiculous comment. What Celtic do is important to us because we are in direct competition with them so it isn't too clever to just dismiss them.

 

I'm not saying we should focus more on them but obviousl ywe need to take an interest. Top coaches don't say I'm not going to bother scouting our opposition because what they do doesn't matter do they?

[craig 5,199]

I know what he meant and I still think its a ridiculous comment. What Celtic do is important to us because we are in direct competition with them so it isn't too clever to just dismiss them. I don't think it is a ridiculous comment. Just what impact can we have on what they do ? None, so why focus on them. Also the only time we should be concerned with them is when we play them. To not be concerned with what they do doesn't mean you are dismissing them, not at all. It is their business who they sign and, unless we try to steal someone from under their noses then we can have no impact on that.

 

I'm not saying we should focus more on them but obviousl ywe need to take an interest. Top coaches don't say I'm not going to bother scouting our opposition because what they do doesn't matter do they? Scouting them as opposition is completely different to not being concerned about them. Trailio said he wasn't concerned about what they do and I would like to think PLG feels the same way - only when we play them should he be concerned about them. Why should PLG be concerned about the players they sign ? He should only be concerned on how to beat them when we meet them - he can have no impact on anything else that Celtic do so why be concerned about it ?

 

Yes they have signed some very good players but we also have some very good players whilst I think our team is in more of a rebuilding phase (again !!) than theirs. Our average age is 25 and if we can keep this team together (or as much of it as we can) then we will see a very strong team IMO in the next few seasons

[Trailio 0]

Thats at least twice in the last day or two i've seen this sort of comment. How, in what is a perennial two horse race, can you not be interested in what your only rival is doing?

 

I didn't say I wasn't interested Ally. I said I am not worried. Meaning I still feel confident (at this stage) that we can finish higher than them this season.

[Laudbertz 0]

I'm not saying we should focus more on them but obviousl ywe need to take an interest. Top coaches don't say I'm not going to bother scouting our opposition because what they do doesn't matter do they?

 

Of course they dont..... but we're speaking from a fans' point of view, not a manager's.

[Super_Ally 0]

I still feel in a two horse race, arguably 3, we must pay attention to what our only rivals do as it is important. The OF games alone do not decide the title.

[craig 5,199]

I still feel in a two horse race, arguably 3, we must pay attention to what our only rivals do as it is important. The OF games alone do not decide the title.

 

But they are the ONLY games which Rangers can directly have an impact in

[CammyF 8,095]

nonsense. is this the same cammy that said he would happily surrender the league for a few years if it meant blooding youngsters? we're playing nice football that is not, yet, five games in, 100% perfect. and this is what is causing all the uproar.

 

that is the definition of fickleness.

 

I was talking about fans in general, I am happy just being able to enjoy following Rangers every season - that has always been enough for me, just being there and just being one of the people. However, others see Rangers as nothing more than a boost to their ego - they follow winners and want their team to win at all costs.

 

That is why I relish and celebrate EVERY game we win and EVERY trophy we win like it was our first / last ever victory.

 

Your statement about Molde and it "not being as easy as that" is somewhat irrelevant (unless you are commenting on his "I will be shocked if..." comment) to the debate on that subject between you and calscot. Why is it irrelevant ? Because you demanded 2 wins against them whilst calscot said a draw and a win will be sufficient. Whether it is easy or not is irrelevant when calscot was saying that the 2 wins demanded isn't accurate - and I am sure we will all accept a win and a draw.

 

Nope, I'll be happy as long as we progress to the UEFA group stages, no matter how that is achieved - off course I'd prefer 2 * 5-0 victories, but a win, on penalities will surfice (but remember, that wasn't good enough for AM's Rangers team from a vast majority of fans).

 

Every Rangers fan is entitled to be concerned - but I don't know why PLG is taking the brunt of it in some quarters when he has a team playing very good football, creating a boat-load of chances and has a team with an average age of 25 doing a good job and that team is still only in its infancy. Rome wasn't built in a day my friends - but the job PLG has done to turn the performances around is, in my opinion, quite astounding in such a short space of time. Had we taken half the chances we have had we would be sitting with a goal difference of +20 by now - changed days from last season when we knew if a team went 1 up on us we would lose the game.

 

He is getting the brunt as he is the manager, it was the same when AM got the 'brunt'. I am not advocating a change or management, a change of tactics or whatever, just acknowledging that fans will pick faults in everyone and in some cases they are entitled to.

 

As I said previously, we have the exact same problems this season under PLG as we had under AM last season. Yes we are playing a 'better brand of football' but are failing in the basics - i.e keeping the ball out of our net and sticking it in the opponents net. We are also no better at delivering or defending set-pieces and we still don't have a decent / settled defence.

 

Worst case is that we lose to Molde on agg, drop points against Craptic and Hibs - that means we are out of Europe and (at least) 6 points behind in the league - what does that mean to us as a support? To me, it'll be annoying, but I'll still be there week in, week out, but for the majority, it'll mean calling for changes and millions of posts on internet sites, radio call-ins etc crying for PLG's head.

 

Who is right? Me or the 'moaners' - well, both really, but I have always maintained that supporting Rangers is a privilage, it is more that the football - off course it is better when the team are winning, but I'd still be a Rangers fan if we were facing East Stirlingshire next weekend - would the majority of Rangers fans be the same?

 

It's hard playing devils advocate, but someone needs to do it - I hope that PLG turns this all around sooner rather than later, but hey, I will give him as much time as he needs, as I gave his predecessor.

 

EDIT - for those who aren't alarmed by the lack of quality (or quantity) we have in reserve, watch the Zenit game closely - we have a shockingly poor reserve 11 highlighted by the fact that our reserves currently sit bottom of their league - fingers crossed that the infamous Ibrox injury curse doesn't strike this season.

 

Cammy F

[CammyF 8,095]

I still say there is a big difference between now and last year. We're unbeaten and 1 point behind while playing pretty decent football. Yes we're finding it hard to kill off teams but when the opposition save 3 shots off the line, you hit the bar and their goalkeeper is man of the match, you don't usually hit the panic button. You'd have to be very pessimistic to not think that things will get better with time.

 

I think that the above is more about our faillings than anything else - of we can't stick the ball in the net we aren't going to win games - conversely, once we have scored, if we can't do basic defending, then we again, won't win games.

 

Last year we were playing dire football, struggling to string three passes together and resorting to the long ball. We actually ground out some results but even when we did, many fans were despondent as we seemed to ride our luck and didn't seem to be producing the type of football that would take us to any great success. We seemed to be getting worse rather than working on improving anything. Even the most optimistic of us struggled to see any light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Agreed, but given our form at the start of the season, some fans are in teh same mind-set - so just because we don't agree, they are in the wrong and not real fans? Surely they are entitled to highlight the fact that some areas HAVEN'T improved from last season - and the areas that haven't improved are the basics that win you matches.

 

First five games of a manager's career and we're unbeaten and 1 point behind while having soundly beaten one of our main rivals and playing some great football - how can you judge a lack of championship potential on that?

 

Because we finding it hard to beat teams - this form projected over a season makes dire reading. Some fans have no confidence in the defence, some have no confidence in our attack (Boyd apart).

 

1 point behind for one game is hardly playing catch up since we were top of the league the week before. Once we've played everyone once, we'll be better to judge how the league is going.

 

It is playing catch up tho - we are behind BOTH our main rivals even at this early stage and have a tough set of fixtures approaching.

 

DISCLAIMER - any point not covered means agreement

 

Cammy F

[craig 5,199]

It is playing catch up tho - we are behind BOTH our main rivals even at this early stage and have a tough set of fixtures approaching.

 

Cammy F

 

Fair point Cammy - however..... it can also be said that THEY have tough fixtures in having to play us, no ? See, the time to judge should be after we have played a full round of games, surely ??

 

Thing is, just as we could LOSE to Hibs and Celtic we could also BEAT them and they could drop points elsewhere too which would leave us, probably, a fair bit ahead of them - in your previous post you said if we lose to Hibs and Celtic we will be AT LEAST 6 further points behind - not so, you are making the bold assumption that they will win their other games.

 

All teams will drop points this season because there isnt a huge gap betweek the "big 3" and the rest