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Showing content with the highest reputation on 24/04/21 in all areas
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You should have given up your season ticket. I hate to think that anybody would buy an Ibrox season ticket and end up gripped by such abject misery. It's not robbery. It was your choice.3 points
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What's the purpose of Rangers? It's a serious question. Why do Rangers exist, why do we continue nearly 150 years after a handful of teenagers fancied a game of football instead of mucking about in boats? Arsenal, Manchester Utd and Liverpool now exist to provide a handsome income for their main shareholders, sports clubs are their livelihood and they'll follow the path of greatest profit. Chelsea and Man City are more complicated, they can be seen as vanity projects, as 'sports-washing' to put a respectable shine on some people who otherwise might not have the best PR in the west. But it's important for their owners that their clubs are always at the top, whether that's for ego or profile reasons. Barcelona and Real Madrid are intertwined with politics and identity in Spain, both seen as representatives of competing ideologies, and important vehicles for the political and business interests of the people at the top of them. It's similar in Italy too for their big 3 clubs. What are Rangers for then? Our current owners don't seem to be interested in politics and if they're looking for a livelihood they've made a terrible error. In reality I suspect it largely boils down to them wanting the team they support to do as well as possible. Maybe ego and profile play a small part too, but largely it's about the football I think. I've really enjoyed the last 3 years football wise, and I realise that a huge part of that has been down to getting entertained again. Watching Rangers play decent passing football, properly competing in European competition again, developing players into fan heroes and, of course, winning the league. But even last season and the season before, despite the collapse in the league, I enjoyed watching Rangers. We had players that were capable of exciting you and a style that was very pleasing to watch, even if it didn't always prove successful. I realise that's pretty much all I want from Rangers; entertainment, excitement and hope. I want to believe we can win the league or the cup, I want to see us play football that's not kick and rush or punt it up the channels, I want more than that. And I want moments that lift me off my seat, that make me shout out loud, that make me want to post on message-boards and jibber on podcasts. I don't think I'm alone in that either. Football changes. In 1888 Rangers had a rivalry with Vale Of Leven, who were a top side at that time. Within a few years Vale had dropped out of the newly introduced league system. They've been a Junior team for nearly a century now. For much of our history the Glasgow Cup was a competition we took very seriously, both as a club and as a support. It's been a youth competition for nearly 20 years now. Arguably the greatest achievement in our history is winning the European Cup Winners Cup, yet it's not existed as a tournament for over 2 decades now. Football changes, no matter how much I don't want it too. In the future the competitions we enter will change and the rivalries we'll have with clubs will change too. I think, as a club and a support, we have to be open to change. Much as I lament the ending of the old European club competitions, much as I blame the Champion's League and the EPL for most of the problems football now faces, I have to deal with the reality of where we are today. I can be entertained playing in the Scottish leagues, but something needs to be done to improve the standard of player and of football being played. That might involve some pain for us. We might need to share revenue more evenly with our fellow clubs, we might need to increase the number of sides in the league, play each other fewer times, introduce incentives for home grown players. What's not practical is continuing as we are in Scottish football. The standards have been dropping gradually for 30 years, that needs to be arrested soon or we'll need to start seriously looking elsewhere. I'm not against leaving Scotland either. Whether that's a UK wide league, a European League, a hybrid all-the-medium-sized-countries league, whatever, I'm open to it. New rivalries can be created, new trophies can be won. But, and I think this is important, whatever we do we should do it so we can keep entertaining our support. So we can create new heroes, play scintillating football and, hopefully, win things along the way. It should never be about chasing money and money alone. I never want to see us in a league where finishing fourth is a celebrated achievement. I never want to see us in a league where failure isn't punished by relegation. Rangers need finance, I understand that, and I understand that better players command higher salaries and so on. But Rangers don't currently have the best players in the world, indeed you could argue we never have, but they can still thrill and entertain us, that's what Rangers should be about.3 points
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Bad news for Dunfermline - drop down a division according to BBC and playing both East Fife and Arbroath today Posted at 16:1516:15 GOAL Dunfermline 3-2 Arbroath Craig Wighton Dunfermline retake the lead and it's looking gloomy for Caley Thistle once again. Posted at 16:2616:26 GOAL East Fife 2-0 Dunfermline Aaron Steele Article Reactions Like 8 likes8 Dislike 4 dislikes4 Article share tools2 points
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Iterative improvement year on year and honest endevour is something good to aim for after the mess of the last 5-7 years.2 points
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It's seems the majority are content to remain a big fish in a small pond. Fair enough. I retain a dream of expanding into a bigger pond. I think with our fan base and stature, we have so much more potential. Success is measured on the European stage. The Scottish league is a joke: Celtic just won 8.75 in-a-row, but what's that worth? The sum of our ambition is to get into the group stages of the CL--and that's peak success. This season has been stupendous, but in the grand scheme of things it's still the second tier European competition. I think if we were in a bigger pond we'd go further. To be honest, though, that could be as part of a better Scottish league--if we somehow managed to become a better league, with better football, producing better players etc., which seems... unlikely.2 points
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Spot on. This is about as successful a season as we can expect. Yes we could have had a domestic treble, or possibly have got one round further in the Europa, but an unbeaten triumphant league campaign coupled with qualifying for, then winning our Europa group, and winning a knock out round for a club of our budget is at the top end of the range of realistic ambition. If we can sell a player and balance our books for the year as well that would be sensational. For next season it is to retain the title, qualify for the group stages of the CL and, depending on the luck of the draw, try to get 3rd place and into the last 32 of the Europa. That would be a successful season in my book.2 points
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Heard you the first time ? The better path is to enjoy your club simply because it’s your club, whatever league it plays in. Because what I think you’re defining as progress and success is, in fact, unattainable. It’s now all but impossible to compete for the big prizes. That’s a closed shop. Either rethink what success means or commit to failure. Unless things change (and they won’t), success for us will be trophies at home and occasional opportunities to test ourselves against others in the same situation abroad. Enjoy.2 points
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Apparently there’s a long queue who would love the chance to buy a season ticket if anyone isn’t happy to renew their own.2 points
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Of all people, Rangers fans know only too well the price of reaching beyond the length of our arm. Can't believe you asked the question.1 point
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That's what has surprised and disappointed me. Maybe you have to live outside of Scotland to realise how the Scottish League is viewed. I always want us to win in Europe because that way we can be measured against the super clubs and gain respect. I remember when Butcher and Woods and the other 'anglos' were signed, the consternation, bile and envy which poured out down here about how the best players were leaving England; I could walk round with a smile on my face telling folk I was a supporter of the biggest club in Britain (forget, Man. U - that was us, at least for a short while.) I always thought there was a parochial attitude in Glasgow where beating - or finishing above Celtic - was regarded as more important than anything done outside our own back yard. You got no respect down here because only 'two teams ever win the Scottish League.' Thankfully Souness and Gerrard have gone some way towards readjusting that perspective. It's also odd that so many on here are so proud of being a British club, yet are reluctant to see us become part of a British League.1 point
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I paid both of ours for 2 seasons last year, don't see that option in the poll ? A heavy financial hit but it is our club.1 point
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I expect Tottenham to get trounced. Ryan Mason. WTF. (I'm astonished they won against Southampton, but the Saints blow hot and cold at the moment.)1 point
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I will of course be renewing, but still disgusted at being sold a st this time last year that I got absolutely no value from. I know the club need the money, and it looks more promising that we will get to sit in our overpriced seats next season (probably not at full capacity for many months yet) but it still really annoys me that our club sold us something they couldn’t deliver, with as much emotional blackmail as we could handle. I am fully aware fans across the country got the same treatment, and if we hadn’t paid we couldn’t have survived this season with the squad that won us the title, but I can’t help feeling robbed at the way it was done.1 point
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