Gersnet End of Season Review

[Frankie 8,552]

A long read but have fun...

 

http://www.gersnetonline.net/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=645&Itemid=1

 

It’s cold and wet outside, the transfer rumours are starting up again and tennis/cricket seem to be taking over the sports bulletins – the football season must be over again! Let’s have a look over the season that, in Spring promised so much, but by last week delivered so little…

 

Firstly, I think it’s important to say that last August, if we’d been told we’d qualify for the Champions’ League Group Stage, draw with Barcelona, beat Lyon 3-0 away, make it to the UEFA Cup Final, take the SPL title to the last day and win both domestic cups, I feel most bears would have been happy with that given the dearth of quality/success in recent years.

 

Unfortunately, when one considers the way we threw away the chance to win the SPL title, our poor performance at home against Lyon and a pretty tame UEFA Final display, then that positive outlook starts to become a wee bit more unrealistic. Some will choose to point to fixture congestion, dubious game call-offs, key players becoming unavailable and/or numerous officiating mistakes but generally we have no-one to blame for not winning the league but ourselves.

 

The season started brightly enough. We made several decent signings in the summer on a budget that we hadn’t seen for a long time. The jury was out on some of them but by early September after a faultless start in the league and CL Group Stage qualification secured, the signs were already there that we could provide a decent challenge to Celtic in the SPL while testing ourselves in the toughest club competition abroad.

 

In contrast, the next two months actually foretold what would happen in 2008. September and October showed exactly the kind of inconsistency that would belatedly curtail our chances of league success. Defeats and draws against Hearts, Motherwell, Dundee Utd and Hibs suggested our squad wasn’t strong enough to compete in Europe while maintaining a high enough quality domestically. Was our league challenge already stuttering?

 

Fortunately, we managed to improve our league form as the year closed while Celtic also struggled to match their reasonable CL form with domestic results. By Christmas we were top of the league again and on an unbeaten run that would cement our status as genuine challengers. Meanwhile, in Europe, we had lost our early advantage in our group by losing away to Stuttgart (DaMarcus Beasley injured for over 6 months as well) and eventually went out in disappointing fashion at home to Lyon – that game actually in some ways being decided by our striker’s late miss, just like what would happen in Manchester the following May.

 

However, UEFA Cup qualification was a decent alternative and this gave us a few months to concentrate on the league. Our form improved in that regard and even although the impressive Alan Hutton had moved south to Spurs for a club record fee, the fans still felt confident we could regain the championship. After all, we wouldn’t do much in the UEFA Cup, would we?

 

Yes, we could actually and soon the debate was what trophy we preferred to win or could we do the unthinkable and win a quadruple? Certainly, the initial signs were very positive – impressive, but unglamorous, wins against Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen and Sporting Lisbon, coupled with important league wins against Celtic, Hibs and Hearts meant we were suddenly in a position none of us could have dreamed of just 6 months earlier. By early April, we were effectively 10 points clear in the league and in the semis of the UEFA and Scottish Cups!

 

Of course doubts remained about whether or not we could cope with the punishing run of games that we now faced. Earlier in the season, we had already struggled badly to juggle our European commitments with league matches. Again, these cracks were starting to show with replays needed to beat Partick and Hibs in the Scottish Cup while we just managed to win the CIS Cup with a penalty win against Dundee Utd. Nonetheless, March had been a good month and April was upon us.

 

Indeed, this was the month that would prove crucial in determining the league title. Two games away to Celtic, extra time needed in both cup competitions and an away game against a Dundee Utd team aggrieved by the league cup final loss the previous month amongst the difficult schedule. Two points dropped at Tannadice early in the month was the first sign that perhaps we were struggling. Our defence didn’t look as sound as it had previously and fan confidence took a hit.

 

This was compounded by back-to-back losses away to Celtic in two games affected by some strange officiating decisions. Further pain was literally inflicted with injuries to Allan McGregor and Lee McCulloch in the first match while Chris Burke and Steven Naismith had also fallen in the Scottish Cup semi. Not only were Celtic back in the title hunt but our squad was stretched further, creative players almost non-existent and the SPL adding to our woes by refusing to extend the season. The writing was on the wall.

 

Suffice to say May was little better. Our incredible run in the UEFA Cup was ruined by an impressive Zenit side in Manchester (not to mention the actions of a few thugs amongst a historic 200,000 fans who travelled down for the game). Meanwhile, two positive wins at home with superb backing from the real Rangers fans couldn’t precipitate enough confidence and energy (mental or physical it seemed) to catalyse the players into managing any further wins in the games that mattered. The league was gone, our UEFA Cup achievements seemed distant and the Scottish Cup win against a determined QoS outfit little consolation for our woes. It was easy to become depressed and react overly negatively to this extremely disappointing end to the season.

 

However, I think it’s important to concentrate on the positives – even if the above wasn’t easy reading.

 

[CONTINUED]

[Frankie 8,552]

Some of the memories of season 2007/08 will stay with me forever. The emergence of Alan Hutton as one of the UK’s best right backs; Allan McGregor rising to the challenge of being the Rangers number one; Kevin Thomson showing he will become a huge player for our club; the sheer commitment and passion of Nacho Novo; the formidability of PotY ‘King’ Carlos Cuellar in central defence; and the late but exciting appearance of a young, ginger-headed teenager by the name of Fleck to light up our Scottish Cup final win. Not to mention the unrivalled and incredible support the magnificent Rangers fans gave their team over the course of a season that we’ve not seen the likes of for nearly 40 years.

 

As such, it’s these positives that the club must build on. A lot of money has been raised in the last year - Ã?£15-20million via our European run and Ã?£10million from the sale of Alan Hutton. While it’s impossible to demand all of these monies are used for players in the summer, if we managed to spend Ã?£12million last year we should do the same this close season. Of course some of that may depend on whether nor not we make it past some tricky CL Qualification Round teams but Ã?£10million is not an unreasonable figure to expect before the new season starts.

 

If we can do this and bring in genuine quality then we can make a renewed challenge next year. Last season was a good one but no Rangers fan can say the football per se has been exciting or that they’ve not been disappointed with the lack of creative attacking flair in the team. Sure, our defensive play was expected at times (and necessary of course) but Walter Smith has now shown he’s made us hard to beat, so now he needs to make this even more difficult by purchasing a few new players to ensure we can take the games to most standards of opposition. If not, he may find the patience of some fans may not be as forgiving in season 08/09.

 

We really are only short a few players to deliver a more attacking thread and exciting system though. Yes, it could be argued that we need large scale changes again but to do that would be dangerous in terms of continuity. What we need to do is not have a revolving door of squad players but only make the kind of changes that mean the first XI is genuinely affected. As such, while players like Broadfoot, Weir, Dailly, Adam, McCulloch, Novo and Darcheville may not be immediately considered as players who will take us to the next level, their experience of being at the club still counts for more than we may see at first glance.

 

In saying that, neither should we be keeping players that have shown they can’t contribute over time or players that may have a reasonable residual value in the transfer market. If moving them on allows us a bit more financial lee-way in terms of wages then their sacrifice may be worth it - if the replacement players are of sufficient quality to make a real difference. Ergo, players like Burke, Cousin, Hemdani, Buffel and, even the enigmatic Kris Boyd, may be the fringe players allowed to leave to accommodate new signings at those higher wage levels.

 

Obviously this means it’s imperative any new players are of the standard required to improve the team. Recent years have shown transfer money is in scarce supply in Scotland so if we are to spend big again we should be doing the maximum possible to ensure value. Even at the ~Ã?£2-4million level, bargains can be had if our scouting is good. It’s debatable whether the likes of Kenny Miller, Kyle Lafferty and Danny Shittu do represent minimal risk at those spending levels so the powers that be at Ibrox Stadium will be placing their already imperfect reputations on the line with what players they do buy. It cannot be underestimated just how vital these decisions will be.

 

To conclude, despite the good memories of last season, it cannot be forgotten that Celtic have now win the SPL for 3 years running. Yes, we can argue their side is not of a great quality either and good reasons can be given for our failure to regain the flag from them. However, the time has come and gone for any lingering complaints and we need to look forward to next term and regroup. Further failure is not an option.

 

Generally, lots of people at the club get pass marks for their performances of last season. However, they’re not excellent pass marks by any means and every player, Walter Smith, Martin Bain and Sir David Murray will need to do even more if they’re to bring real success back to the club. I hope they enjoy their short holiday because next year’s expectations will be even bigger than anything they’ve experienced before.

 

Roll on July!

 

[Wija 0]

We have turned a huge corner from last season, and the seasom before. But since March we have doubled back somewhat.

 

Improvement on last year - by far yes

 

2 Trophies, A Uefa Cup final and at least taking the league to the last day.. There are only 2 little points to improve on with that lot.!!

[gisabeer 409]

im sorry but i am absolutely livid with our overall performance this season. I find the positives very few and far between. No flair, imagination or guile, not down to the lack of player but down to walters tactics. Hes the one who set the stall out folks and hes the one to blame.

 

The biggest disapointment was the lack of respect that we gained during our uefa cup run. We are now look on with distain throughout europe after mugging our way to the final of the Uefa cup and robbing Dundee Utd blind in the CIs cup. just as well it was QOS in the SC or we could have been in a bit of trouble there too. As for the league, we had ample chance to tie it up but walters negativity cost us dear and when it came to the crunch we had been on the back foot so long we didnt know how to attack.

 

theres a lot to be said about the manner in which you win. Its how good and great teams are defined. walter will do well to heed this for the new season. We deserve a far lot better than the crap he served up this season.

[pete 2,499]

im sorry but i am absolutely livid with our overall performance this season. I find the positives very few and far between. No flair, imagination or guile, not down to the lack of player but down to walters tactics. Hes the one who set the stall out folks and hes the one to blame.

 

The biggest disapointment was the lack of respect that we gained during our uefa cup run. We are now look on with distain throughout europe after mugging our way to the final of the Uefa cup and robbing Dundee Utd blind in the CIs cup. just as well it was QOS in the SC or we could have been in a bit of trouble there too. As for the league, we had ample chance to tie it up but walters negativity cost us dear and when it came to the crunch we had been on the back foot so long we didnt know how to attack.

 

theres a lot to be said about the manner in which you win. Its how good and great teams are defined. walter will do well to heed this for the new season. We deserve a far lot better than the crap he served up this season.

 

I would like to disagree with you Gisabeer but the fact is i can't. Rangers were a laughing stock in the Dutch media.We really played great until we met Barcelona. Then we were like someone who had just run off the end of a pier and realised the ground was no longer under our feet. The draw at Ibrox ok, but we had nothing to lose in Barcelona especially after they scored. We should have went all out attack. After we lost Beasly our attacking 4-5-1\4-3-3 became a 4-5-------------1. Our game became the keeper kicking the ball out to the head of McCulloch or Whitteker on the left who sometimes head flicked it on to a hopeful Darsh. More often than not it was a pass to the defenders.

[Frankie 8,552]

How did we rob Utd blind in the CIS Cup? We had a poor first half certainly but after that we were just as good as Utd and deserved both our goals.

 

I can understand the negativity regarding our European displays but again we're a team in the early stages of development with many players without any European experience. As such, you play to your strengths and if that means sitting in, defending extremely well, hitting on the counter and taking what few chances you get, then that's not funny but the kind of disciplined continental football we've all wished for in the past as we've been beaten by teams no better than us.

 

Of course we want to see a more attacking outlook next season and I'm pretty sure we will. However, I'd like to think that we can retain many of the positives from the Euro run as there were many.

[Guest TheWorthyEd]

Given what Walter Smith inherited from Paul Le Guen some 18-months ago and further, given what little he had to spend from his absentee landlord Chairman, for us to end up with two pieces of silverware and just miss out on two furher pieces of silverware (UEFA and SPL title) then I guess in some eyes season 2007-08 will be seen as successful.

 

But from the point of football.................Jesus H. Tap-Dancing-Christ, it would get the game stopped.

 

I agree with those who suggest that we LOST the league rather than Cynical FC won it.

 

We forgot how to attack teams, given that we played so defensively over the long haul and it was those games (Hibs, M'well, etc) that lost us the league because we couldn't win those winnable games.

 

Ask yourself this: How many times did you come away from a Rangers game this season and say, "That was a good game!" ??

 

Not many.

 

Finally........the Beggars winning their 3rd title in a row gives them 5 titles out of the last 7 seasons and our two were the famous 'last-day' wins of Helicopter Sunday and Dunfermline goal difference fame.

 

This has been a long slow decline in our standards and the absentee landlord Chairman is the man behind the decline.

 

The sooner he's gone the better off we'll be - in many, many ways.

[bmck 117]

We forgot how to attack teams, given that we played so defensively over the long haul

i think this is true. i remember steven davis picking up the ball at the start of the second half in one away game and start just bombing at the defense - it wasnt until that point as if we could remember the sort of things you have to do to attack. cant be too harsh though - getting into a defensive routine, plus tired legs, can really stop that movement off the ball caper. i watched a few games from earlier in the season where, amidst the boring displays (that dont bother me so long as we win) there was lots of passing and moving, though generally outside the final third. huttons been missed - his drive to get forward seemed always to up the im,petus.

[Frankie 8,552]

To be honest, Broadfoot (average which he is) was still the attacking impetus for a lot of our games after January as well.

 

That showed just how lacking in creativity we were. For all his good points, I was disappointed in just how far backwards Davis went after a good start. He seemed to lose fitness badly but I guess he's still young as well.

 

We won't be as negative next season so I think it's time to move on from that and look forward.

 

And, Once a Ranger..., you're right the decline is unacceptable so if one good thing has come out of losing the league, it's the black mark against the administration again. Why so, some will ask?

 

Well, if we look at our failure to compete both in the CL and the SPL early in the season, we should have realised this in preparation for the January transfer window. We didn't - or at least we probably did, but didn't invest in the squad enough to ensure the title.

[Gribz 847]

Good review Frankie, when somone puts time into a post like that I think it deserves recognition.

 

I agree with Once a Ranger...Im concerned of our lack of attacking play and have been for a while. Having Ferguson support 1 striker is a no-go IMO. They really must be doing something different in training compared to games.

 

I dont like the fact how certain players dont get chances aswell.

 

But as I put in another thread, this was a 3 step process.

Step 1 - Steady the ship - done

Step 2 - Get us back challanging - done

Step 3 - Winning the title again - next!!

 

You can have a step 4 of playing better football aswell but winning the title comes first for me.