Raith v Rangers - rearranged for Tues Feb 2nd at 7.45pm

[Frankie 8,470]

OK, it's a rather poor pun but with various weather warnings in force for the weekend and the structural problems resulting in the closure of the Forth Road Bridge, it appears someone is trying to their best to get tomorrow's match in Kirkcaldy postponed. And, after two 4-0 home wins on the trot for Mark Warburton's men, our manager won't been keen for that momentum to be broken by traffic problems and/or bad weather. We'll just have to blame Mother Nature for the issues facing the game!

 

Of course, it's been quite a stormy week for the Rangers boss personally. Although he seemed to be clear enough after the Dumbarton win that he had no interest in any other job, some in the media - as well as their 'sources' - persevered with their suggestions that Fulham were indeed interested and that the Rangers board were considering offering Warburton a new contract and increased transfer budget. Media mischief-making or not, the manager insisted that wasn't the case and couldn't have been firmer when making a further denial later in the week. Given the courtesy he's offered the Scottish media since his arrival - especially those at BBC Scotland with whom the club have had issues with - it's a shame that fragile relationship has been tested so quickly. However, it is fair to say this won't be the last job he'll be linked with and there will be tougher engagements ahead.

 

Primarily the Rangers boss will be judged on results though and it's because of his impressive start that job rumours are so prevalent. In that sense, in many ways such stuff is agreeable and while fans don't want to see managers and players move on, if we're playing well then it will happen. As such, it's much more preferable to have that kind of coverage than the negative stuff we witnessed last season in particular. This means promotion by way of the Championship title is the only acceptable outcome this campaign and that will only happen if we take full points from away games like tomorrow - even if the other contenders have laboured to wins at Stark's Park.

 

Fortunately for Rangers, we had no such problems in dispatching Raith earlier this season with a 5-0 home victory eight weeks ago at Ibrox. However, tomorrow's match is likely to be different for a variety of reasons. Not only will the weather inevitably play its part, a tighter pitch and vocal home support make for very different surroundings. As such it will be a surprise if Rangers deploy the two wingers they did in the corresponding September fixture. Consequently, I'd expect another start for Kenny Miller in favour of Nathan Oduwa. The experienced forward player showed up well as a sub on Tuesday night so will be eager to repeat his assists from that game and his much-needed goal against St Mirren last weekend. McKay and Waghorn should complete our front three.

 

Behind them we may expect one or two further changes to Tuesday's team as the manager has conceded he's attempting to rotate his side. It will be a coin-toss to see who starts between Kiernan, Ball and Wilson while Gedion Zelalem, Dean Shiels and Jordan Thompson will be vying for a midfield role alongside Andy Halliday and Jason Holt - both of whom have been in good form of late. Whatever the team, all will be looking to avoid the sloppy play we seen in Livingston a fortnight ago. Former Ranger, Jon Daly will certainly give us food for though aerially at the back with Mark Stewart also a goalscoring threat just off the Irishman. There's no doubt with Hibs and Falkirk both continuing to do well and games upcoming against both, we can ill-afford the concession of more points.

 

That's the kind of media attention the manager will truly be looking to avoid and it's up to him to ensure he and his players are focussed completely on the tough winter schedule ahead of us. Let's hope the game goes ahead tomorrow so Warburton can continue to demonstrate why he's such hot property.

 

Possible team:

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Frankie

[colinstein 294]

there's only one "s" in "focused"

[Thinker 887]

there's only one "s" in "focused"

 

http://itsgrammartime.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/focussed-vs-focused.html

[colinstein 294]

http://itsgrammartime.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/focussed-vs-focused.html

 

he's got it the wrong way round. The US spelling is the double s. The English spelling is one s

 

"I believe the rule is that you double the final consonant when both of the following are true:

 

the consonant ends a stressed syllable or a one-syllable word

the consonant is preceded by a single vowel

As 'cus' is not the stressed syllable, it would not be doubled according to this rule."

Edited December 4, 2015 by colinstein

[limeburner 0]

he's got it the wrong way round. The US spelling is the double s. The English spelling is one s

 

"I believe the rule is that you double the final consonant when both of the following are true:

 

the consonant ends a stressed syllable or a one-syllable word

the consonant is preceded by a single vowel

As 'cus' is not the stressed syllable, it would not be doubled according to this rule."

Ill sleep a bit easier tonight,knowing that.

[Zappa 0]

Superb preview mate!

 

As for the team selection, it's mostly obvious, but you never know. Personally, I'll be very happy if McKay starts again because overall he's been outstanding this season

[der Berliner 3,664]

Ill sleep a bit easier tonight,knowing that.

 

Well, that will send you into an even deeper slumber:

 

focussed

 

Alternative forms focused

 

Adjective focussed ‎(comparative more focussed, superlative most focussed)

 

(Britain) Alternative spelling of focused

 

Antonyms unfocussed

 

Verb focussed

 

(Britain) simple past tense and past participle of focus

 

Usage notes

 

The spelling focused is much more common in the US; however, the spelling focussed is sometimes used in the UK and Canada, and is especially common in Australia and New Zealand.

 

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/focussed

[ian1964 10,688]

SCOTLAND is feeling the force of Storm Desmond this morning with flooding and severe winds affecting large parts of the country.

 

The Met Office has an amber "be prepared" warning in place for Saturday and the early part of Sunday across the Strathclyde, Central, Tayside and Fife, Lothian and Borders and south west of Scotland areas.

 

It has warned that up to 200mm (7.8inches) of rain could fall on high ground.

 

Roads have been closed throughout the country as the storm caused road chaos, landslides and flooding.

 

A jack-knifed FedEx lorry hit the central reservation on the M8 at Bathgate, West Lothian, closing lanes in both directions.

 

A landslide from a hill above Altura, in the Highlands, dumped at least 200 tonnes of debris on the A82 between Spean Bridge and Invergarry overnight.

 

A 15-mile (24km) stretch of the A82 was closed as a result of the landslide and several areas of flooding between Invergloy and Letter Finlay.

 

A geotechnical engineer was dispatched to gauge the safety of commencing a clear-up operation, and traffic was diverted via the A86 and A9.

 

Trunk road operator Bear Scotland's team were out throughout the night dealing with numerous issues of flooding, debris on the road and fallen trees across the North West.

 

There was also flooding on the A85 at Loch Lubhair, south of Crianlarich.

 

The road was passable with care but the water level of the loch has continued to rise.

 

The A924 slip road into Pitlochry from the A9 is closed due to the River Tummel bursting its banks.

 

Motorists have been advised to use alternative routes into Pitlochry.

 

All other roads remain open but motorists have been warned of further heavy rain today and surface water issues across the network.

[ian1964 10,688]

Game is off..................

[ian1964 10,688]

Rangers FC Retweeted

SPFL ‏@spfl 2m2 minutes ago

 

GAME OFF | @RaithRovers_FC v @RangersFC has been postponed #LadbrokesChamp