Super_Ally

Any Gersnet scouts at the game?

Might be wrong but thought it was Alexander (most the blame) and Caldwell who lost their men back post for Huntelaar's opener.

That backfired eh?

Cheers Cammy, doesn't sound good.

Tbh, I turned against him after the Norway game. That killed our hopes off (if we ever had any). I dont see us knocking out a runner up in the play offs, if we make it that far.

Did I? Muppet. Lol.

Our front line is frankly piss poor. I've thought that the last few squads. Especially when the mecurial (for that read incosistent) McFadden is missing. I'm not overly impressed by Fletcher on the whole, however I thought he did reasonably well Saturday too and that is why I woudl give him another shot. Unfortunately Berra is a certainty to be dropped if McManus makes it.

I realised when I wrote the Scotland preview/review, after this one, that I'd neglected to mention Miller here, in the round-up. Was not intentional. Whilst I wish he wasn't here, he is. :devil: I just plain forgot somehow. I did mention Steven Davis.

On Setanta news, Alexander definitely out with Hutton expected to start. Good new imo, harsh as that sounds. McManus suffered a reaction in training, not sure if he'll play. No great loss imo. Berra might have cocked up for the 3rd, but McManus is an accident waiting to happen all season. Edit: Forgot to add Iwelumo carrying a knock.

Or Alexander and Caldwell for both losing their men at the first? Or Berra for being at fault at the third? (Well yes he probably he will :devil:). Would be a joke to use McGregor as a scapegoat.

Take hair samples too. Some drug use shows up for longer that way. You have been warned Bmck.

Shocking eh Frankie? Do keep up CB. Hopefully we'll get more of a telling contribution from the young bears this time.

All 3? I saw 1 and 3. What did he do for the second?

The toffee hammer? :devil:

So in a tie that would have been extremely difficult when George Burley had his first choice to call upon, a comprehensive 3-0 defeat for a severely injury depleted side was not entirely unexpected. Indeed the bookies seemed to be expecting such an occurrence. For around half an hour, Burley�s injury ravaged charges were just about holding their own, if not looking entirely comfortable. Indeed Rangers forward Kenny Miller was unable to take the best opportunity of the opening period. The inclusion of the ageing Alexander, whilst expected after Kirk Broadfoot�s withdrawal, was not met with universal approval. Especially with an improving Steven Whittaker and a fit again Alan Hutton included in Burley�s diminished squad. The fears of Alexander�s inclusion were realised after just half an hour into the fixture. Alexander allowed Huntelaar to run in on goal unmarked, with Caldwell having also lost his man, and they were queuing up at the back post to nod into the Scotland net. The Burnley stalwart was a useful servant when fullbacks were hard to come by, but his days in the dark blue must surely be numbered. Impressive results such as defeating the French home and away in the last campaign were built upon a solid defence and a stifling game plan that kept the opposition at bay. So losing a goal so early in the game will have been a hammer blow to our chances. Shocking defending again from Dutch delivery from out wide, this time a corner, effectively sealed the 3 points for Bert van Marwijk�s side. Darren Fletcher allowing Van Persie a free run and header past the stranded McGregor from point blank rage. A thumping Gary Caldwell would halved the deficit, but the French referee (suspended by his own association for poor performance) erroneously ruled out the goal. Almost immediately the Dutch were at the other end and Berra crudely chopped down Huntelaar in the box, before Kuyt put the final nail in the coffin from 12 yards. We will always wonder what might have been had the referee not imagined an infringement when Caldwell towered above the Dutch defence to score, but the truth is Holland were well worth the 3 points and we must instead look ahead to Iceland tomorrow. Alan McGregor did little wrong and had little chance with the Holland gaols and should retain his place in goal with first choice Craig Gordon not playing regular club football. Alan Hutton finished the game at right back and is one of the few players of genuine quality in the Scotland ranks. If Scotland are to retain hope of 2nd place, Burley has to gamble upon the Spurs� fullback�s fitness. McManus is expected to be fit again and will likely return at centre back beside club mate Caldwell for the visit of Iceland. Despite Berra�s rash challenge at the third I feel that may be a little harsh given the Celtic captain�s form this season, but Burley will rely on his greater experience. Naysmith will likely retain the left back spot, largely due to a lack of competition, however he cannot allow dangerous crosses to be fired in as easily as Holland managed at their second goal. This is the part where the match previewer has to read the tea leaves and try to second guess the manager. Will he stick with 4-5-1 or will he try a more adventurous outlook. Whilst watching Miller undertake a thankless task was not unexpected and the right call against the third ranked team in the world. However if we are to achieve second place these are the game we should be looking to win, so a bolder 4-4-2 should be the way forward. After a cynical challenge by De Jong, Ferguson failed to live with the company with which he is so usually comfortable amongst. One wonders if that was the Dutch team�s intentions all along. The captain will be looking for a more commanding display in the engine room at Hampden. Manchester United star Fletcher is still struggling to reproduce club form on the national stage, he too will have something to prove when he takes to the field beside his captain. Gary Teale flitted between both wings on Saturday, but never really produced a telling contribution. I would start the industrious Scot Brown on the right of midfield. His combative style can upset his opponents, but his lack of positional sense and poor distribution would make him a liability when playing as part of only a central pair. On Saturday we were afforded the luxury of Brown in a central role with the craft and ability of Fletcher and Ferguson. However, with the midfield reduced to four we need greater discipline that his team mates will provide. Ross McCormack, one of the few Scotland players to emerge with much credit on Saturday would ideally play upfront after his encouraging attacking display. However, the previously mentioned injury situation may force Burley into deploying the diminutive hitman on the left. Miller had a thankless task as the lone striker and had we been able to deploy McCormack upfront I would have given the no doubt fatigued forward a rest. Unfortunately, the lack of depth in the squad means Miller should retain his place, with substitute Steven Fletcher a likely partner. The Hibs front man showed some glimmers of promise against the Dutch and should find chances easier to come by against our group 9 rivals. A 2-1 victory in Reykjavik, our solitary success so far, should give the team confidence ahead of tomorrow�s tie. Iceland, tied with Scotland in second on 4 points, are also desperate for the points, and a repeat score line is paramount if we are to harbour expectations of World Cup Qualification. The team are capable, the only question is will they produce the goods. Prediction 2-0.

Usually bet a bit more, but had some bad weeks and didn't have much to spare, lol. But don't go too mad.

Nothing too earth-shattering there, but if it gets a few hits for us on news now it's worth it. Should be more interest in a Scotland preview I reckon.

It was a mixed bag of results for the bears away on international duty this weekend. The senior players in the dark blue of Scotland, Ferguson and McGregor making the starting XI, suffered a disappointing if not entirely unexpected defeat at the hands of the resurgent Dutch. More on the National team elsewhere. There was, however, better news for the youngsters of the under 21 squad. Rory Loy and John Fleck as substitutes, along with Andrew Shinnie, contributed to a 1-0 away victory as they defeated their Albanian counterparts to secure a vital 3 points in their opening u21 Championship Qualifier. The youngsters will be looking for a similar result when they complete the second part of a double header against Albania at the Falkirk stadium in an early kick off on Wednesday. Saturdayâ��s match will have passed by largely unnoticed, with the majority engrossed in the full national teamâ��s match with the Oranje superstars. However it was a big afternoon for Fleck, making his bow at this level when he came on as a late substitute and he will be looking to add to his caps at this level on Wednesday. Another Rangers youngster enjoyed an even bigger occasion on Saturday. With the Northern Ireland squad depleted through injuries and suspensions, Rangers youngster Andy Little received a call up to the national squad despite never having played in the Rangers First team. Little again appeared as a late substitute as the Northern Ireland secured a valuable 3-2 victory over a Poland side inspired by the calamitous Artur Boruc. Most of the people reading this will be familiar with Scottish football and the Boruc blunders that are so regularly you can set your watch by them. So it was no surprise to see him coming charging out of his goal and getting nowhere near a cross allowing Feeney to nod into the gaping goal. Worse was to come for the bungling Pole as a 30 yard backpass managed to evade the outrushing keeper and trundled into the back of his net sealing defeat for Poland. Yet another inept performance has seen the struggling keeper dropped for a clash against the mighty San Marino. A real vote of no confidence in the (donâ��t snigger) �£10 million rated keeper. Up next for Northern Ireland is another home tie against Slovenia. Nigel Worthington will be looking for his troops to collect another three points and reach his target of 6 from 6 this international week. Their hopes will be boosted by the returning Steven Davis, absent against Poland through Injury. The Ulsterman will be looking to put in a good display ahead of the title run in with Rangers, whilst Little may find it more difficult to add to his caps this time out. Perhaps the best news from Saturdayâ��s World Cup Qualifiers came from Africa. Despite only managing a goal-less stalemate with Rwanda, Walter Smith will be pleased that Madjid Bougherra came through the match unscathed. Having been missing in recent weeks due to a bit of a freak injury, the Rangers backline has look far from his stingy best and POTY front-runner Bougherra will be essential to maintaining the title push. Algeria are not in action Wednesday night so I expect to see Madjid back marshalling the defence at Falkirk this weekend. Damarcus Beasley, recently returned to the Rangers first team with an improved display in the disappointing draw with Hearts, played the full 90-minutes as the USA came from 2 down to draw in El Salvador and ensure their qualification campaign remained on track. Maurice Edu, with appearances hard to come by in his debut season in the SPL, will have been pleased to get a late run out for the national team and will look to build on that over the remainder of the season. Wednesdayâ��s Hampden tie with Iceland is a huge fixture for George Burley if we are to secure second spot behind the Dutch and give ourselves a chance of a ply off spot. Further slip up such as Macedonia away and Norway at home cannot be tolerated if we are to have any chance of success. Keep an eye on this site for fuller analysis of the upcoming match. With many of our key performers in action again this week; Ferguson, McGregor with Scotland and Davis with Northern Ireland, Walter Smith, Ally McCoist, and Kenny McDowall will be hoping they come through these games unscathed. Lafferty is already sidelined for the rest of the season and the coaching staff will not want to see the squad further depleted.

Sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon, cheers BD. Again makes you wonder what a Rangers Museum might be like. Been down to Hampden and got taken out onto the pitch and been into the changing room areas and where they have a lot of sports therapy rooms etc. Some quite impressive faacilities about. But not been in the museum as of yet and would be interested to see the Rangers connections. Walter Tull, that's the black guy they had the tv programme about recently right? Pleased to hear the UEFA cup final is already mentioned. Suprised by a relatively rapid response. THought it would take them years. Any pictures to share?

Yeh, think it's a case of not doing this for selfish reasons. Doing it for their love of the game and the pleasure they got from watching an incredible footballer. Trying to help him and prevent him from doing himself any more harm.

Aye, saw that. Dropped for that crunch tie against San Marino! They really must have zero confidence in him. Apparently he wouldn't have played anyway had Fabianski been fit. A player who has never looked 100% comfortable at Arsenal btw.

Someone, maybe one of the older guys (Pete or Norris ) might get some inspiration for an article from the programme

Thanks for the heads up. Will try and get this after 5's tonight.

Or the "Hemdani award".

My dad has said to me before he never understood why people gamble. Mugs game etc. Bookies always wins in the end. However, a tenner won is always mroe satisfying than �£100 earned. And even if you lose a few quid betting on the coupons, is that any worse than spunking �£20, �£30 or �£40 on booze on a Saturday night? Waking up with a hangover and no doubt some embarassing memories or memory loss. People don't think you get anything for your money. Well yesterday I got more enjoyment from and watched more games than I otherwise would have. Watching England pump Slovakia would normally have annoyed/bored me, was watching Scotland-Holland til we were out of it. Watched the second half of the France game. The French struggled to break down a stubborn Lithuanian side. WOuld not have watched normally, but you bet I enjoyed Ribery's goal. And then watched the Argie's pump Venezuela. I like my football, but sometimes 4 games in one day, especially boring or games that are not competitive (I don't mean friendlies, I mean where there's only one winner) would start to wear thin. So for the money I put on my coupon I got a lot more enjoyment and interest out of my day. All for �£5. Is that really any different to spunking it all on beer or do I just have a gamblin problem?