Walter's raid on Reds

[CammyF 6,892]

You can hardly give Smith Hutton - Hutton was an extablished first team regular under both AMC before being injured.

 

SW hasn't been a regular, he has played when necessity arrises and has played in a number of positions - left back, right back, wide right - hardly evidence of giving him a run in the team.

 

Stevie Smith has been fit for a while and like SW has only been drafted into the team / squad (out of position) as we have had an injury crisis - if Broadfoot, Papac, Beasley, Lafferty et al had been fit, Smith wouldn't have even been a 'bench-warmer'

 

Edu - only in the team due to the Barry Ferguson situation - has been fit for the vast majority of the season. Would still be warming the bench if Ferguson was in the team.

 

Fleck - played fleeting out of position and dumped back onto the bench. His fleeting appearences have been at left wing, a position that everyone except Ally McCoist has had a go at filling this season.

 

Boyd - Like Hutton, a first team regular and was well established under previous managers and regimes.

 

Lafferty - see Fleck and add an injury.

 

The most galling example of WS preferring established players was bringing on Christian Daily during the CIS Cup Final - a game that we were very capable of winning and with hindsight, may have won if Edu (given his level of performance since) had been brought on instead of CD.

 

Also cast our minds back to an away game at Aberdeen where WS shat himself and reacted to Aberdeens 4 goal salvo against The Mopes the previous week where he dropped Boyd and replaced him with Lee McCulloch who was deployed in the centre of midfield.

 

Also, WS has 'previous' for this - Gary Stevens at sweeper, Basil Boli at right back, Miko at left wing (wait a minute, wasting a fantastic talent by playing them left wing, Walter would have surely learnt from this mistake), Scott Nisbet at outside right........

 

Lets remember, Walter Smith is advocating removing the U21 ruling, a move that gives his detractors even more ammunition. It is also worth noting that we are in the process of demantling the squad, not adding to it. If any players are to promoted it'll be players from the U19's (Wilson, Ness, Perry and the likes). Our squad will be trimmed down to under 20 first team players that will supplimented by players coming thro the ranks.

 

Cammy F

Edited April 28, 2009 by CammyF

[gisabeer 409]

I think its called mismanagement mate. Ill always maintain that with the squad we have we really should be doing a lot better.

 

walter has dragged us down to the lowest denominator to achieve his goals as far as the football is concerned. He has squandered wasted and ruined an abundance of skill and talent to the point that players careers have been ruined.

 

Its only over the last six games or so that we have finally started taking the game to the opposition, Weve won 5 and drew one (which we threw away!) in that spell.

 

and its our form in that spell that convinced me that we could in fact win the league. before i feared the worst due to Walters negativity/over causiousness/ spinlessness (delete where applicable)

 

 

I pray to dear god that win or lose the league that Walter Smith buggers off from Ibrox and has nothing to do with rangers ever again. There is nothing about his style of management that i can praise. He is fresh out of ideas on and off the pitch and will drag us into oblivion if he is allowed to remain.

 

I dare say the "be thankful for what weve got brigade" will be there to defend smith, but i want a manger who can use his squad to their full potential and bring out the best in players.

 

Smith does neither.

[Norris Cole 0]

Its only over the last six games or so that we have finally started taking the game to the opposition, Weve won 5 and drew one (which we threw away!) in that spell.

 

And isn't it interesting that we've finally managed to hit a consistent run of form with players who couldn't get near the subs bench while we got beat by the likes of St Mirren and Inverness...

[Wija 0]

And isn't it interesting that we've finally managed to hit a consistent run of form with players who couldn't get near the subs bench while we got beat by the likes of St Mirren and Inverness...

 

Probably because they want to get tae.... they want 1st team footy.

 

Get themselves in the window. But good on them!

[pete 2,499]

I think its called mismanagement mate. Ill always maintain that with the squad we have we really should be doing a lot better.

 

walter has dragged us down to the lowest denominator to achieve his goals as far as the football is concerned. He has squandered wasted and ruined an abundance of skill and talent to the point that players careers have been ruined.

 

Its only over the last six games or so that we have finally started taking the game to the opposition, Weve won 5 and drew one (which we threw away!) in that spell.

 

and its our form in that spell that convinced me that we could in fact win the league. before i feared the worst due to Walters negativity/over causiousness/ spinlessness (delete where applicable)

 

 

I pray to dear god that win or lose the league that Walter Smith buggers off from Ibrox and has nothing to do with rangers ever again. There is nothing about his style of management that i can praise. He is fresh out of ideas on and off the pitch and will drag us into oblivion if he is allowed to remain.

 

I dare say the "be thankful for what weve got brigade" will be there to defend smith, but i want a manger who can use his squad to their full potential and bring out the best in players.

 

Smith does neither.

 

Can't do anything but agree.

[calscot 0]

Hutton was booed under Eck, dropped by Le Guen for Bardsley and established as number 1 right back under Smith, going on to turn into a 9M player. I definitely give Smith Hutton.

 

MacGregor didn't get a sniff under Eck, was behind the clown Letizi under Le Guen, became first choice under Smith and turned into a multi million pound player.

 

He also signed Naismith, Thomsom, Whittaker, Davis, Lafferty and Edu. Broadfoot, Cuellar, Bougherra, Webster weren't ancient either.

 

So Walter signs players but when he plays them he is not allowed any credit because it's only due to injury etc? Very weird.

 

However, hard as it might be to understand, I really don't think Smith picks his team from a pile of birth certificates. The ageism on here is truly mental.

 

Smith picks the team he thinks is the best for that day on what he sees in form, on the training ground, fitness and attitude. I really doubt age comes into it in the slightest.

 

A player is rarely better when he's 17 than when he's 30, so to pick the former on age is just ludicrous.

 

Rangers fans are highly critical, when a manager doesn't win the league even under the circumstances of last season where a realistic fixture list could have had us the quadruple. So how can Walter even begin to think about putting players in just to give them experience.

 

He just doesn't have that luxury and it's ironic that it's the biggest critics of results are the same ones who complain he doesn't risk compromising results by playing a team of 17 or 18 year olds.

 

The weird thing is that with the most competitive manager in years at the helm, who has competed well in 8 out of the 10 trophies he's been involved in and only been poor in one, and people are complaining that our team isn't young enough?

 

You'd think it was dad's army out there, but a quick look at the team sheet shows that's just not the case. But don't let the facts get in the way of a good rant.

 

Right now it's far more about winning the league than developing for the future.

[pete 2,499]

Hutton was booed under Eck, dropped by Le Guen for Bardsley and established as number 1 right back under Smith, going on to turn into a 9M player. I definitely give Smith Hutton.

 

MacGregor didn't get a sniff under Eck, was behind the clown Letizi under Le Guen, became first choice under Smith and turned into a multi million pound player.

 

He also signed Naismith, Thomsom, Whittaker, Davis, Lafferty and Edu. Broadfoot, Cuellar, Bougherra, Webster weren't ancient either.

 

So Walter signs players but when he plays them he is not allowed any credit because it's only due to injury etc? Very weird.

 

However, hard as it might be to understand, I really don't think Smith picks his team from a pile of birth certificates. The ageism on here is truly mental.

 

Smith picks the team he thinks is the best for that day on what he sees in form, on the training ground, fitness and attitude. I really doubt age comes into it in the slightest.

 

A player is rarely better when he's 17 than when he's 30, so to pick the former on age is just ludicrous.

 

Rangers fans are highly critical, when a manager doesn't win the league even under the circumstances of last season where a realistic fixture list could have had us the quadruple. So how can Walter even begin to think about putting players in just to give them experience.

 

He just doesn't have that luxury and it's ironic that it's the biggest critics of results are the same ones who complain he doesn't risk compromising results by playing a team of 17 or 18 year olds.

 

The weird thing is that with the most competitive manager in years at the helm, who has competed well in 8 out of the 10 trophies he's been involved in and only been poor in one, and people are complaining that our team isn't young enough?

 

You'd think it was dad's army out there, but a quick look at the team sheet shows that's just not the case. But don't let the facts get in the way of a good rant.

 

Right now it's far more about winning the league than developing for the future.

 

Sorry Cal you have gotten Hutton and McGregor both wrong. Hutton was playing great until his injury it was when he came back he was booed. Le Guen made McGregor the No1 after Litizi blundered against Inverness and then was supposedly injured. Even when he returned fit he never replaced McGregor again.

[Super_Ally 0]

Sorry Cal you have gotten Hutton and McGregor both wrong. Hutton was playing great until his injury it was when he came back he was booed. Le Guen made McGregor the No1 after Litizi blundered against Inverness and then was supposedly injured. Even when he returned fit he never replaced McGregor again.

 

Letizi did at one point inexplicably replace Mcgregor. Think he was dropepd for an injury as you state after a number of blunders, but somehow found his way back into the team.

[craig 5,199]

Personally I dont see how it is weird that he doesnt get any credit when the only reason he plays these guys is through injuries to others. If not for injuries would they have been given a chance ? Probably not.

[calscot 0]

Personally I dont see how it is weird that he doesnt get any credit when the only reason he plays these guys is through injuries to others. If not for injuries would they have been given a chance ? Probably not.

 

It's HIS squad, you can only play 11 players at a time, simples.

 

Unless they are brought in as a first choice, players usually get their best chances when first choices are either dropped for not performing, injured or leave - and sometimes when the tactics change.

 

Other way of getting a chance is coming on as a sub when the team is winning comfortably or in a cup tie against a minnow.

 

Normal management is to decide your strongest team and only to make changes when it is performing badly or you need to. There is squad rotation too, but that is highly criticised.

 

So, are you saying no manager can get credit for playing a player unless he chooses him for a random reason or drops a player from a winning team? How can a manager get no credit for playing a player he himself bought?

 

Walter doesn't have a big squad by ACCIDENT, he CHOOSES his squad to ACCOUNT for form, tactics and injury. The players are his choice and it is he that chooses the team.

 

When a player players for Rangers at the moment it is fully down to Walter and he should get full credit, just like almost any other manager of any other team - except maybe at Hearts.

 

There are actually loads of other complications - Edu, Lafferty, Fleck et al have had multiple chances but did not always show they were worthy of a place.

 

Do you really think Walter should have played Edu before Barry Ferguson and Stephen Thomson?

 

It really does seem on here that if something goes badly it's Walter's fault, if something goes well, it's due to someone or something else.