Cammy F's Weekly Rant - Another Opportunity Lost

[CammyF 8,097]

Are this current Rangers team (squad) and management team skilful enough and tactically aware to continue to squander glorious opportunities presented to us to leave (at this time) ordinary and laborious Celtc team in our wake?

 

After the debacle of transfer window and the ââ?¬Ë?who will leaveââ?¬â?¢ and ââ?¬Ë?whoââ?¬â?¢ll be left at Ibroxââ?¬â?¢ soap-opera, we were left with (almost) a full squad to pick from, and more importantly hadnââ?¬â?¢t lost any players who could be counted as crucial in regaining the SPL title from our most bitterest of foes. This could have been portrayed as a slight advantage as Celtc failed to boost their meagre resources, Wilo Flood being their only signing.

 

Any slight advantage we have this season, we�ll need to grab on to and maximise to its full advantage, as as the credit crunch starts to bite, and with no signs of it abating (in fact, it�ll get worse and could hit season ticket sales, advertising etc) the refusal of some players to be whored out of Ibrox, and the fact that Martin Bain has made it impossible for us to move on fringe players (salaries and length of contract, that�s his domain), we�ll probably lose anything between eight and ten players in the summer.

 

Anyway, that argument is a discussion for another day / time. Presently, we have somehow found ourselves alive and kicking in a title race that appeared over at the tale end of the year. Celtc has stuttered dramatically since defeating us at Ibrox but yet, we have still contrived to pass up the opportunity to overtake them and leave them in our wake. To refuse such a gift once (Pittodrie) was criminal, to have refused such a gift twice is incompetence. When Walter went 4-1-4-1 at Pittodrie and included Lee McCulloch in place of Kris Boyd, he showed his hand to the entire SPL. His cowardly tactics showed that The Rangers now don�t have the ambition to travel to Pittodrie and back their talent to take care of a very average Aberdeen team. The tactics that day were a direct result of Celtc losing four goals from set-pieces at the same venue the previous week. Putting simply, Walter shat himself.

 

Never mind some fans said, a draw at Pittodrie was an ââ?¬Ë?OKââ?¬â?¢ result and kept us in the title race. Sorry, that draw didnââ?¬â?¢t keep us in the title race, Celtcââ?¬â?¢s inability to see of the likes of Dundee United, Hearts and ICT has kept us in this title race. Never mind, an OF game is on the horizon, time for Walter and Rangers to redeem themselves. In the build up to this game, every Rangers fan KNEW that Walter would once again shit himself and go to nullify Celtc, even though there was very little, if anything to nullify. Once again, we refused to take the initiative and passed up the opportunity to overtake a stale looking Celtc team. Now, how many other chances will we be presented with? And if we are presented with them, will be capitalise on them? Will our manager find a backbone and realises that this is the opportunity of all opportunities?

 

The latest instalment of OF mania was a dire affair, with Rangers not displaying any real ambition until the second half. Perversely, we actually played well in the second half and had sufficient chances to win the game. Nevertheless, it was hardly a sparkling performance. The only upside, it showed how ordinary our opponents really are. We are in a position where our form against the other SPL teams could lead to us gaining a points advantage before the split and the concluding OF game of the season at Ibrox. We have three home games in the next four, whereas Celtc travel to Fir Park and Tannidice, where we know to our cost, results are never easy to obtain.

 

So, hopefully Walters negativity will go into hiding over the next month and we can do what Rangers should be doing. Installing a belief in our players and trust and back their ability to defeat opponents. Never mind worrying about them, let them worry about facing the Rangers. Recently, I was watching some old Rangers DVDââ?¬â?¢s and something noticeable jumped out. In our two previous SPL triumphs, we were always scoring goals early in matches. We set an exhilarating pace to the games, especially at Ibrox, that didnââ?¬â?¢t allow teams to settle. This meant that by the time 30 minutes had surpassed, we were well in control of the games. There were very few games that werenââ?¬â?¢t ââ?¬Ë?in the bagââ?¬â?¢ by early in the second half. Recently, we have been the exact opposite as we havenââ?¬â?¢t been imposing ourselves on opponents until the second half.

 

The aftermath of the game has hardly been surprising either. Dubbed the worst OF game in history (it was far from that) and we are blamed for that ââ?¬Ë?factââ?¬â?¢. The referee making mistakes right, left and centre and the only controversy in the media is that Vinegar Of Castlemilk was ââ?¬Ë?harshly bookedââ?¬â?¢. Oh, and guess what, Celtc failed to win an OF game and the old ââ?¬Ë?sectarian cardââ?¬â?¢ is played by the ââ?¬Ë?impartialââ?¬â?¢ delegate at the game (Dick by name,ââ?¬Â¦Ã¢â?¬Â¦..). However, we can actually take solace in the fact that the media are more then happy to criticise our performance (on and off the field) as it is a sure fire indication that they are worried and are trying every vile trick in the book to deflect any attention being given to Celtcââ?¬â?¢s terrible current form.

 

Cammy F -

[Tannochsidebear 2,406]

I have been astonished at the amount of bears that think that was a good point at the piggery, and that the fact our enemy are in poor form means we should go on to win the league this season.

 

A convincing victory might well have seen them implode and made it easier for us to win the league. But they have won the title the last 3 years by being able to go on lengthy runs of wins. The fact they have not done so, yet, this season, is the only reason we are still in touch with them.

 

Like the first piggery game last season, we blew the chance to finish them off, and it came back to bite us when we ran out of steam at the death.

 

I am trying to tell myself not to over-react and that this year will be different, but sooner or later they will hit a run of form, can we be confident of winning 3 or 4 successive away games while maintaining a winning home record.

 

We have not won 4 SPL games in a row since September. Just a thought.

[bluedan 93]

Great chance missed. I thought the way we started out was understandable, it was a very tight affair. But 2nd half we had by far the better openings and chances. My fear along with every1 else is that not taking a win could jump up and bite us on the arse. BTW,when was the last time we won twice in the league at the BJK camp?

 

Thinking about it more and more and how plain Craptic are, it winds me up more that we didn't have the bollox to go for it.

WS has got to stop being ultra-cautious, we install that aggressive attitude and i bet we'll win this, and it won't be so tight. Cammy,great point about games at Ibrox, we have to pin teams back from the first whistle. We seem to be more worried about how to break teams down because they just sit in. Fuck that,get at them from the get go and force mistakes and then take advantage. Control it our way.

[gisabeer 409]

Rangers are the only team out of the last 8 that septic have played and not scored.

 

and we managed it twice! Speaks volumes.

[pete 2,499]

I have been calling WS the nutty professor for a while but i am afraid i am now shifting more to the bungling Twit.

His overcautious tactics have cost us dearly over the years. Even with players like Laudrup and Gascoigne Huistra McCoist and Hately in the team he still set us up in a negative formation in europe. I remember thinking regularly playing in Europe under him"come on Rangers have a go we can beat this mob" We rarely did have a go until it was too late.

What we could have done in Europe with the above players and a manager with a bit of balls.