Rangers v Panathinaikos

[alanmidd 0]

I thought the lads played reasonably well last night: better in the first half than a team at the top of the Greek league, and totally dominated the second half with some slick play.

 

The defence never looked like loosing a goal bar one late scare and the attack created about 7 or 8 very good chances; on another night, one or two would have gone in.

 

I bemoaned Novo's lack of finishing finesse before the game and so it proved to be. The guy usually needs a deflection to score, as although he hits the target a lot, it's normally straight at the keeper. His 3 fresh air kicks were a bit woeful though, and they are not his first.

 

I think our best chance was actually McCulloch's header which would have burst the net had his aim been a bit better.

 

One thing I was very pleased with was the quality of the crossing from the right which was excellent by Broadfoot and Novo, however Pana's defence and goalkeeper were on great form.

 

In the end, I think this was more of an unlucky night than a hapless one.

 

Couldn't disagree more. We were woeful last night and Pana were no more than average

[calscot 0]

There is always the question - did Rangers make Pana look average? They are top of the Greek league (which a lot of the time can be considered stronger than the SPL) and on good form in Greece.

 

We were at home I suppose, but we were by far the better team. Can't see how that is "woeful" without being incredibly negative or having overblown expectations.

 

Rangers don't have a good record against Greek sides and so I think that display with a makeshift team, is imminently passable.

 

Just a shame we didn't get a valuable goal.

[calscot 0]

The biggest criticism I can think of is that if we hadn't decided to sell Hutton and Cousin, we'd have been that bit stronger - they should have been replaced at least.

[Gazza_8 233]

There is always the question - did Rangers make Pana look average? They are top of the Greek league (which a lot of the time can be considered stronger than the SPL) and on good form in Greece.

 

We were at home I suppose, but we were by far the better team. Can't see how that is "woeful" without being incredibly negative or having overblown expectations.

 

Rangers don't have a good record against Greek sides and so I think that display with a makeshift team, is imminently passable.

 

Just a shame we didn't get a valuable goal.

 

The thing is though Calscot, Pana didn't have to be better than average because we never really troubled or tested them. We didn't force them onto the back foot for long periods of the game nor did we pressure them when they had the ball. They were happy with their average performance.

 

Rangers were average and we're not happy.

[porno_piper 0]

They didnt try, you could tell that from the fact that they were hitting shots in from 30 - 40 yards away, if it goes in then fine if not who cares, they didnt need to score at Ibrox, we did. I think I've said it in a previous post, we will se a much different team over there.

[Jon 0]

THE unholy din created by the 10,000 blowhorns Rangers handed out to their young supporters at Wednesday night's Uefa Cup round of 32 first-leg match against Panathinaikos at Ibrox could not completely muffle the sounds of restlessness emanating from the club's more senior followers.

For the endlessly demanding Rangers fans, even a four-point advantage over Celtic at the top of the SPL and an unbeaten run stretched to 13 matches with the goalless draw against the Greek league leaders is not enough to satisfy their expectations of the team.

 

But no matter the dissatisfaction they may have with the style, of lack of it, being displayed by Rangers at the moment, the one certainty surrounding the Ibrox club as they approach the business end of the season is that Walter Smith will not be swayed from the path he believes will lead them back into the winners' enclosure.

 

Having already restored Rangers' credibility after picking up the pieces of the ill-fated Paul Le Guen era, the veteran manager knows his second tour of duty in Govan will ultimately be judged on whether he adds to the seven championships he won first time around.

 

For the moment at least, substance is far more important than style to Smith for whom a triumphant end to the campaign in May will justify whatever means he chooses to employ in the final weeks of the season.

 

Smith knows advice is widespread and free in football for one good reason, that it is usually worthless, and he will remain impervious to the grumbling of supporters in both the stands and on the ineffable radio phone-ins.

 

The biggest bone of contention among those at Ibrox on Wednesday evening was Smith's decision to once again leave top scorer Kris Boyd on the sidelines. The Scotland striker has started just one of Rangers' 11 European games this season, making a brief substitute appearance in another, and is clearly regarded by his manager as not fit for purpose on the continental stage.

 

Lee McCulloch was preferred as the lone front man as Jean-Claude Darcheville began his three-match Uefa suspension, while Nacho Novo started his first match for three months in a supporting role on the right flank.

 

The pro-Boyd faction were further incensed in the second half when Daniel Cousin was introduced to the action, despite the ongoing uncertainty over his proposed transfer to Fulham.

 

Boyd's remarkable strike rate when he does play for Rangers, maintained this season with 15 goals in 17 starts, gives credence to those who claim he would have converted at least one of the four outstanding scoring opportunities which fell to the team against Panathinaikos, three of them to Novo and the other to McCulloch.

 

The counter-argument, evidently subscribed to by Smith, is that Boyd's talent as a penalty-box predator cannot be accommodated in the 4-1-4-1 formation the manager prefers to use in Europe.

 

And despite Rangers' ultimately disappointing exit from the group stage of the Champions League in December, Smith's strategy has to be considered at the very least a qualified success.

 

Based on the core of four players who have been ever-presents in Europe, goalkeeper Allan McGregor, central defenders Carlos Cuellar and David Weir, and captain Barry Ferguson, Rangers have generally been resilient and competitive throughout.

 

Their frustration at failing to score against Panathinaikos was compensated by keeping a seventh clean sheet in those 11 European matches and there remains an optimism they can record another in the Apostolis Nikolaidis Stadium in Athens next Thursday night.

 

"The clean sheet was the minimum we wanted from the first leg at home and we're still very much in the tie," observed Scotland defender Weir. "We are proud of how many clean sheets we have kept so far and it's something we can build on.

 

"The first goal will go a long way to settling the tie next week. Hopefully, Panathinaikos will think the job is done by getting a draw away from home, but I'm sure they are sensible enough and experienced enough to know there's still a lot of football to play."

 

Rangers will also hope to find Panathinaikos goalkeeper Mario Galinovic in less inspired form than he was at Ibrox.

 

The Croatia international's defiance proved key in his team not having a deficit to overturn in Athens and his level of performance came as no surprise to the Rangers' defender, Sasa Papac.

 

"I played with Mario for two seasons back in Bosnia when we were with Siroki Brijeg," said Papac. "He is a top-quality goalkeeper and I knew he was able to play like that. It will be difficult for us to beat him in the second leg, but we know we are capable of keeping a clean sheet over there and that we are capable of creating chances against this team."

 

It remains difficult not to regard this Uefa Cup tie as one in which elimination would be viewed as a blessing in disguise by Smith, given the pressure on him to cope with a congested fixture schedule and reclaim domestic pre-eminence for Rangers.

 

Nonetheless, it is also easy to imagine the Ibrox team prevailing in Athens and adding two more games to their March programme in the last 16 of the tournament, probably against Werder Bremen who defeated Portuguese side Braga 3-0 in their first leg in Germany on Wednesday.

 

Whatever the outcome, it will be reached solely on Smith's terms.

 

 

Thought this was a brilliant read

[Wija 0]

Aye but we're still in 4 competitions.

 

We are on top of a porr league, we are in the final of the League Cup, we are trying to get passed Hibs in the TSC, and we have laboured to a 0-0 against Pana.

 

The football was poor, there never looked to be a forward pass to feet. The long ball was always rounded up by there defence.

 

And wee Nacho. OK he missed his chances, but when you have been restricted to a bit part is it fair to criticise when he is still trying to find match fitness and sharpness. Cousin should have been left in the toilets and Boyd should have been on.

 

There is a lack of movement off the ball and it is poor, poor football. We would never last in the EPL.... (THAT IS JUST AN AFTER THOUGHT!)

[calscot 0]

Sounds to me that you've spent too much time in England...