If Gers win it will prove they have conned fans - JOHN HARTSON

[ian1964 10,626]

IF RANGERS beat Celtic at Ibrox it only proves one thing...

 

 

That their players are nothing but CONMEN.

 

Their manager, their supporters, even themselves — all conned into believing they had nothing left to give.

 

Winning the Old Firm game against their biggest and oldest rivals might give those tortured fans something to shout about.

 

But if I was one of them I'd be asking why I had to wait so long to see it.

 

It's too easy for a Rangers player to turn it on against Celtic.

 

It's against the other teams they should have been showing what they're made of.

 

I'm sorry, I know it's been pretty desperate these past five weeks. Administration has hit the club hard.

 

The players deserve huge credit for taking wage cuts but from where I'm sitting they've had that big pat on the back and much more besides.

 

It's ON the pitch I'd like to see them show their grit. For me they've been too quick to hide behind the money problems in the background.

 

Let's be frank here — they still get paid more than most of the players at Kilmarnock, Dundee United and Hearts.

 

The Tynecastle boys sometimes don't even get their wages paid into the bank for goodness sake.

 

The Rangers players also still have enormous backing from the fans, 52,000 on their side.

 

So why have they allowed themselves to crumble?

 

They've been far too tame of late. Too easily beaten.

 

They have lost key players like Steven Naismith to injury and Nikica Jelavic to Everton. Two major losses it has to be said and okay, a few kids have been brought into the side when the boss could be doing with some senior pros in his line-up.

 

But show me a team in the SPL that doesn't have youngsters.

 

At the end of the day they still have the Northern Ireland skipper in midfield. They still have Scotland's No1.

 

Guys like Lee McCulloch, Sone Aluko and Maurice Edu would walk into every team outwith Celtic but they've fallen way short of the levels required.

 

It's not been good enough even with the cash crisis which must be keeping them awake at night.

 

I'm not trying to kick these guys when they're down. I accept that the off the field problems have been terrible but my sympathy only runs so far.

 

I feel for Ally McCoist because he's done his best to keep a lid on things. No one should point the finger of blame at him for the results. He can only say and do so much before the players run out.

 

It's entirely down to the guys who pull on the jerseys.

 

In my book, if they take anything from Celtic they'll just be like the players at lower-end clubs who have raised their game against the Old Firm down the years.

 

Rangers have to be better than that. It's not enough just to play well when Celtic are on the verge of winning the title.

 

They've got a fight on their hands with Motherwell to finish second in the table.

 

As far as I'm concerned it's unthinkable — in fact, unacceptable — for this Rangers team to finish third, no matter what's been going on behind the scenes. That would be shocking really.

 

If they turn up and show what they're really made of against Celtic then they have to be applauded but I'll ask the question now. Where has that desire been hiding?

 

That said, they sure as hell better turn up. The last thing Ibrox needs right now is to host a championship party with green and white ribbons dangling down from the Broomloan Road Stand.

 

I'm not so sure many Rangers punters could handle that, not after everything else they've been through.

 

As always it's going to be an interesting afternoon and personally I can't wait.

 

Ally McCoist will be as determined as ever to make sure Neil Lennon doesn't leave the stadium as the boss of the champions.

 

My old team-mate will be equally desperate to make sure he does.

 

His side lost the League Cup to Killie on Sunday and that was a dull one for Lenny — he wanted the treble badly.

 

But it's not as though they played badly at Hampden.

 

The reality is that they came up against a goalkeeper who was on the form of his life.

 

Cammy Bell will never play better than he did last weekend if he keeps his career going until he's 100.

 

He just had one of those unbelievable days when he couldn't put a foot, or a glove, wrong.

 

As a former striker myself I'm not going to hammer Anthony Stokes or Gary Hooper for failing to score because I know what it's like to be in their shoes.

 

I missed more than I scored — every striker does — but they were unfortunate in that they both had off-days in the same game.

 

If you ask me, they won't have many days like that again, which they'll be desperate to prove this weekend.

 

LIAM KELLY'S dad saw his son star in a Hampden cup final. It's a tragedy he didn't see him lift the trophy or have a medal hung around his neck.

 

My heart goes out to Liam and his family. I was at the game last weekend working for the BBC and I was shocked to hear later what had actually happened.

 

It's hard to understand it when something like that happens. All I do know is that Liam made his dad extremely proud.

 

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4215355/If-Gers-win-it-will-prove-they-have-conned-fans.html#ixzz1q1IH7tpA

[Darthter 542]

As much as i want to.....i can't really disagree with much of what he's saying.....

[ian1964 10,626]

As much as i want to.....i can't really disagree with much of what he's saying.....

 

I can. I don't feel the players have conned anyone,some bad results but conned?,don't think so.

 

Now the BHEAST players could be accused of that as they always bottle it on the big occasion,where as the Rangers players were going for four in a row!

 

Were the BHEAST fans conned in the cup final last weekend?.

Edited March 24, 2012 by ian1964

[Juancornetto 1]

So much wrong with that, my 6 year old could come up with something more balanced an objective. He just panders to the slabbering masses who read the Sun.

[Darthter 542]

I do agree that saying the players have conned the fan is harsh.....however a lot he does say about atttitude aint far wrong imho....

[biggordy 0]

I agree with him..Ally should not try and motivate our players like any other team does when they step up to play the bheasts. Aberdeen are a fine example of this when they line up to play us in an ordinary league match, whereas we play them tomorrow in an extremely important game which could lift our support and give us all confidence for the hurdles before us.

 

I would assume Ally will post this cutting on the dressing room door. Nothing should motivate us more than a tim criticising OUR CLUB !

Thanks for that john.

[ian1964 10,626]

Just wondering how much he gets paid for writing drivel?,what credentials does he have?,does the editor read these articles before printing them?.

[Kenzie1 0]

I think this is just this buffoon getting his excuses in early.....just in case.

[GovanAllan 0]

Started to read it and thought why waste 5 mins of my life when I know it's going to a lot of shit written by a bawbag.

[biggordy 0]

I would say the players' spirits would be higher now than they were a few weeks ago.

We are now approaching the "end game2 regarding ownership and imo things are looking positive.

The players outlook must also be more relaxed. I'm sure a couple of weeks ago the players were unsure where there futures lay whereas now they can concentrate fully on the next game without fretting over mortgage payments etc.

 

So, fuck you hartson, you fucking thicko !