League Cup Semi-Final Special!

[JFK-1 1,693]

Si Ferry discusses this weekends League cup semi finals with Derek Ferguson and Frank McAvennie.

 

 

[Gonzo79 15,299]

Not exactly an objective set up.  Two Rangers detractors with bells on.

[JFK-1 1,693]

Yeah, wasn't much of a discussion when you have one plumping for what he wants for his son rather than what is likely to happen and the other sounding punch drunk or maybe just plain drunk.

[ian1964 10,761]

Rangers will beat Aberdeen because players like Ryan Kent are too good - Barry Ferguson

Barry hopes his nephew Lewis has a great game for Aberdeen but still ends up on the losing side.

Rangers have the better players in their squad and will defeat Aberdeen to make the Final of the Betfred Cup.

They won’t need Clark Kent flying through the middle of 
the Dons defence at Hampden tomorrow afternoon but Ryan will do.

My prediction will upset my nephew Lewis, who is in line to feature in the centre of the Dons midfield, but I’m praying he puts on a top-class performance – so long as my old club triumph.

One thing’s for certain, he might have secured his old man Derek tickets for the Aberdeen end but you’d never find me in there.

Lewis is doing the family proud and his career is blossoming at Pittodrie but I still reckon he’s in for disappointment even if Steven Gerrard faces a quandary about who to play in attack.

Alfredo Morelos is suspended and Kyle Lafferty is cup-tied and that leaves Umar Sadiq as the only recognised striker in the squad.

However, the on-loan Roma frontman has done little to suggest he will make an impact at Ibrox. Steven could introduce him as a wild card but I reckon he’ll go with the tried and trusted.

That probably means Kent will be asked to play through the middle – and his opener against Hamilton last weekend was a reminder of the pace and cutting edge he carries in central areas of the final third. Kent is more nippy around the feet of big central defenders but Derek McInnes also faces a dilemma and will have been unable to set up his team with confidence in training all week to counter Rangers in attack.

Aberdeen will be boosted by the return of players such as Niall McGinn as well as Scott McKenna from suspension and the defender was badly missed in last week’s defeat at Hearts.

Rangers should win because they have access to greater quality players but it won’t be a walkover against an Aberdeen side keen to prove their end-of- season victory at Celtic Park can be repeated at Hampden.

Their record in big games in Glasgow has not been good 
and even their players have acknowledged they must turn up and make a decent fist of 
this one after so many 
disappointments in the past.

For sure, they must perform better than they did on the opening day when they were fortunate to claim a 1-1 draw against 10-man Rangers with an injury-time leveller at Pittodrie.

Steven made a few juicy comments after that one in which he stated Rangers were a class above the Dons but I 
genuinely believe he didn’t set out to badmouth his rivals.

I’ve played in enough games against Aberdeen, where barneys and sendings-off are often the order of the day, to know the adrenalin flows long after the final whistle blows.

It would still have been pumping around his veins in his first league match as manager and he’s probably come to regret the tone of those comments, even if I understand the environment in which they were created.

Aberdeen pointed to extra time in their Europa League game against Burnley a few days earlier as a contributing factor for their below-par performance but I never used that as an excuse when I played.

Really, players have access to so much sports science to oversee their rest and recovery they should be in tip-top shape no matter the nature of previous games played.

The boot is also on the other foot tomorrow as Aberdeen will be fresher after Rangers played Spartak Moscow in the Europa League on Thursday night.

They looked good in the first half and created some half-decent opportunities after the break but lacked that final bit of quality in key areas to turn one point into three.

They’re still sitting top of Group G with Villarreal and it’s remarkable to think it was only a year to the day yesterday since they sacked Pedro Caixinha.

The strides made since the summer under Steven are night and day. There’s real drive and focus and while there’s still 
work to do they’re heading in the right direction.

I also step back into the dugout today for the first time with Kelty Hearts as we take 
on Gala Fairydean in the Lowland League.

The buzz is back and in my first full week in the job I’ve been overwhelmed by the support given to me by everyone at the club, including the fans and players.

It’s a delight to be involved with such a decent bunch. I’ve told them simply: “Let’s be successful in our journey together”.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-beat-aberdeen-because-players-13486966

[ian1964 10,761]

[der Berliner 3,803]

I just noted John Beaton will be the ref for that game ...

[compo 7,209]

It's going to be a hard game Aberdeen won't be slow in lumping in the heavy tackles and the sleekit ones as well we will have to keep the head or it could all go tits up ..

[BlackSocksRedTops 3,808]

Same team as thursday for me with Grezda coming in for Morelos

[MacK1950 2,399]

1 hour ago, der Berliner said:

I just noted John Beaton will be the ref for that game ...

On Thursday the referee was that bad I thought it was Beaton but remembered he was a neutral official

[der Berliner 3,803]

3 minutes ago, MacK1950 said:

On Thursday the referee was that bad I thought it was Beaton but remembered he was a neutral official

Well, he was hardly handing out level judgement on Thursday, but none of his decisions cost us games (note the plural). As opposed to Beaton ... even though the last games he officiated with us was not that bad ...

 

I do fear that Shinnie and Co. will be offered to have a clean go at Ejaria and Kent a few times before he takes action though,as they seemingly "like it physical" in Scotland.