Rangers 0 - 2 Celtic

[cooponthewing 1,139]

Wonder if the Compliance Officer will do anything? I think we know the answer

 

That does make me smile Rab! The compliant officer will just be waking up after a few drinks I would think? Probably at Griffiths house.....

[der Berliner 3,686]

we were worthy of a draw on reflection,celtic are no superstars no matter who hypes them.

 

Roberts was a class above everyone on the wing, and Sinclair ain't bad either. Whether our fullbacks were good or not, the pace and trickery of these two was frightening at times. Which is not to say that they are world-beaters. Likewise, while he is a cretin as a person, the Racist is a lethal striker and one of the best in this trade in Scotland. Armstrong had an off-day by his standards, else he might very well have buried his two great chances, as he did last season. The biggest problem is that this is an well-oiled machine that has hardly had any injury or disruptions since about the turn of the year. They click and when they are on the march, there is hardly a team in Scotland that gets points off them.

 

What is rather disgusting is that they still get so many decisions from the refs or do - successfully - appeal clearest red cards. Or, in turn, that the CO and their placeman at the SFA or SPFL won't chase them for on- and off-field antics.

[Gaffer 1,665]

I've now watched replays of that Brown incident when he elbowed Morelos. The referee didn't see it or punish him for it, so I'm assuming this is exactly why we have the potential for retrospective action by officials. There is a wealth of video evidence so this should be an easy decision and ban for him. Yeah right!

 

I've never subscribed to the paranoia previously, and I still prefer to think of bad decisions as being a result of poor refereeing rather than something more sinister, but this season has really made me question certain officials in the game. The Hibs game is still the most obvious example of bias that I've ever seen in football - EVER! If the officials don't do anything about Brown at the very least, there is something truly rotten in our game.

[Gonzo79 15,023]

Brown will get off with that. I have no doubt about it.

[cooponthewing 1,139]

I agree not all referees are at best incompetent and at worst, potentially crooked. Madden, McLean, Dallas and bizzarely Willie Collum give us a fair shout in my opinion.

 

Maybe they are just mentally tougher? The others are clouded by whatever misguided delusion they are under? The evidence certainly suggests this. It's easier to isolate the weak and look after your own wellbeing. We are weak both on and off the park.

[Gaffer 1,665]

Yip, I have, he's a fairly average referee on a good day, but he's got no preference for Celtic I can assure you of that.

 

There's that great gif of Kevin Thomson tackling Robbie Keane then throwing him to the ground when he tries to get up that still does the rounds. Where were our midfielders doing that yesterday? Sometimes you need to be sly and sometimes you need to be overt when it comes to the physical side of the game. We were neither yesterday. Every side that comes to Ibrox should be intimidated, Celtic weren't. That's not because of the ref, that's because of the players. It actually surprises me, without playing up national stereotypes I did expect the Latin players to have a bit more about them, sly digs, off the ball stuff, disrupting the tempo of a match that kind of thing.

 

I don't necessarily want our players using underhand tactics off the ball John, but I agree that there needs to be a alot more grit. In the lead up to the first goal, Butcher, Gough, Amoruso, or anyone of that ilk would have made sure that ball was cleared, even if it meant taking out their own players or opponents as well as the ball. And to see Hodson pull out of that tackle just infuriated me. It's a simple thing like that which changes a game and he deserves pelted for that weakness. No matter what level you play at, that is just letting your team down. I wouldn't expect criticism to happen publicly, but I really hope the players and manager let him and the others know it's just not acceptable.

[pete 2,499]

You are polarizing and unreasonable, as you throw results and hollow remarks about "available/good/better" managers about. The Scum was flying when they had that 5-1 result, we had a 18-year old giving a penalty away early on (a similar one we did not get yesterday, BTW) on which set them up nicely. They scored some stunning strikes that they repeated not often nor did before in this season. But more generally, this repeating of nicely selectted and selective stuff does not help your argument. On THAT day they were 5-1 "better" than us, as they waltzed over a team lacking confidence and ability (which the selective mind may throw at the manager and the board, of course). Throughout the season the - and we all agree - underperforming team was toiling to reach 3rd place at the end. Perhaps I live in alternative reality, but I see much better quality in this season's team, even though we are far from the finished article. And no-one is claiming that. Yet we also shall not pretend that we are anywhere near the Scum when they are up for it, have every player at their disposal fit and play up to their ability. For that is what these "Rangers must win every game and always go for top spot" chaps seem to think. They looked to a man the 30m squad that they are, not least in the second half, while our 7m starting line-up showed up as good as they could. With a youngster in CD essentialy making his first team debut against the best strikeforce in the country.

 

The Austrian commentator on LaolaTV rightly said that Rangers, given the new arrivals, gave a good account of themselves and 2-0 probably reflected the "gulf" that there is between our side and one competing in the Champions League for years, a team that is settled for more than a season and on a great run. And still he was not amused by the antics by both there Yahoo players (namely Brown and Griffiths) and the inability of the ref ... not leat at the penalty and some of the fouls going on.

 

We are where we are and while we may not like it, accepting it will stop pointless fingerpointing at this or that player or the manager. We have seen similar things before, i.e. "bad starts" to a league season (and I do not count this one as one, given the amount of rubbish we saw, not least from the refs), and we should know that when it comes to silverware, May is the day when it is handed out. Of course, this season, our hope more or less relies on the cup, when it comes to silverware ... and both are a distinct possibility.

 

Perhaps I live in alternative reality,

Lets get that one out of the way first. That's not open to debate.

 

Don't you see every game is different excuses. It was the managers choice to pick Bates and Beerman he did have other choices. It was the Managers choice to play the same tactics that got us a walloping just a short time earlier. Mutry had the same players at his disposal just a few weeks earlier and got a draw.

 

Celtic never got out of 2nd gear yesterday and in the 2nd half just used it as a training session.

 

If we accept the place we are in then we are destined to stay there.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

I think you need to improve your reading skills. You are making things up what is said as you go along.

Aye very good. Edited September 24, 2017 by the gunslinger

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Thompson isn't a Celtic patsy!? Have you seen his decisions over the last 10 years?

 

We should be kicking them off the park? He allowed that to happen one way. First tackle from Morelos, booked. He set the tone nicely.

 

It is so easy to say that we need to play better but as I've said before, football is a marginal game but if every margin is against you then you need to be really special to overcome them.

Thompson is an out and out rangers hater no matter who we are playing.

 

It may not ne a celtc bias as it applies v everyone.

 

 

[pete 2,499]

Aye very good.

 

Great mate! Realisation is the first step to recovery.