Rangers SFL 3 Champions 2012/2013

[Anchorman 0]

Right Ally - if just winning the thing was priority 1 (i.e. couldn't take chances with formations etc) lets see what you really want to adopt as a style of play. For the rest of the season I will gladly accept drawing 3-3 rather than 0-0 if you attack as a team and stop leaving our front men\man isolated. But I will hazard a bet that we won't draw 3-3 etc, we will win most games 4-1, 4-2 etc. And in the process you mat get some of the fans back that have had enough of the last few months.

Personally I am so glad we didn't win it 'real time'. We didn't deserve to. It saved us the embarassment of not knowing what to do as fans. Winning a league title watching utter dross to be honest. I would like to add that the young lads have given it all they've had in the main. The last few months have been fucking shocking to say the least. It's McCoist, Durrant, McDowall who, if they were at school, would be asked to re-sit their 'football tactics and acumen' course this year!

[ian1964 10,416]

shota arveladze ‏@arveladze_shota 12m

Champion ,champion , and again champion ..........viva Rangers.

 

 

@kerkar10: Congratulations to rangers for The champions today. Proud. #RangerFamily

 

 

@VladiW7: Congrats to the Teddy Bears. Tonight is about celebrating "another" title. Can worry about other things next week. #RTID #CHAMPIONS #WATP

 

 

 

Alex Rae ‏@alexrae1969 2m

Congratulations to the world famous glasgow rangers on winning another title ,have a great night #rangersfamily .

 

 

@sonealuko: Congratulations to Rangers for winning the league too!! 1st milestone on road back to where they belong! League restructure finalised yet!??

 

 

Filip Sebo ‏@SeboFilip 2m

I don't care about the #division.. I just care about the #champions!! Congrts @RFC_Official !! #RangersFamily #RFC #WATP

 

 

Bojan Djordjic ‏@BojanDjordjic7 5m

.@rangersfctrust Scottish football without Rangers is like the great Davie Cooper without his elegant left-foot!

 

Bojan Djordjic ‏@BojanDjordjic7 19m

@rangersfctrust With that support and the quallity for a team in Div. 3 i would be dissapointed if Rangers didnt win it this comfortable! ��

[ian1964 10,416]

[Gribz 743]

Stage 1 complete. It could have been a lot prettier but job is done.

[ian1964 10,416]

Stage 1 complete. It could have been a lot prettier but job is done.

 

To think how all the bastards that wanted us to just die will be feeling tonight. We're coming back!

[ian1964 10,416]

Rangers: How the Third Division title was won

 

IN THE end, it was a frustrating, untidy way to become champions, but then, it has been that sort of season for Rangers in the Third Division.

 

Having just about fulfilled their part of the bargain earlier in the day, it was only when the result came through from Hampden that they were able to celebrate their achievement. If “celebrate” is the right word.

 

The lunchtime kick-off for their scoreless draw at Montrose meant that Ibrox stood empty when it was confirmed that they had won the title. Instead, the achievement, which was finalised by Queens Park’s 1-0 loss to Elgin City, was marked in the kind of modest manner it deserved. Even Ally McCoist, the Rangers manager, would be hard-pressed to make a virtue of his team’s hapless stumble over the finishing line.

 

Not that the party was ever likely to be so boisterous as those that followed the club’s other titles, all 54 of which they were allowed to keep after an SPL Commission investigating undisclosed payments, ruled in their favour. McCoist will be relieved to have got the job done, but not nearly so relieved as he was to hear in November that Rangers had won the Big Tax Case.

 

There have been plenty of victories for Rangers this season, but the meaningful ones have not been on the pitch. McCoist will doubtless make all the right noises about this triumph, but he knows as well as everyone else that it was inevitable. He knows that his club, starting a new life on the bottom rung after last year’s liquidation, would be judged not on whether they won the league, but how they did so.

 

Rangers are 22 points clear, with the margin only likely to grow between now and May, but it has been a thankless task for all those involved. They have had everything to lose, and very little to gain, from a league schedule that has resembled nothing so much as an entire season of awkward Scottish Cup ties. Nonetheless, there has been some awful football along the way, not just recently, but in the early part of the campaign when they had to wait until 28 October for their first away win. The defeat to Stirling Albion during the same month led to speculation that McCoist was in line for the sack.

 

A run of 11 consecutive wins towards the end of the year suggested that they were at last clicking into gear, but in one of them, they needed a last-minute winner against ten-man Queen’s Park. More embarrassingly, they could manage only a draw at home to Elgin City, who were a man short for half of a match in which Rangers had taken an early lead. Then there was the home defeat by Annan Athletic only the other week, the attendance for which showed a significant drop.

 

That the crowd for the Annan game was still 34,441 speaks volumes for the supporters’ backing. In December, they had 49,913 for the visit of Stirling Albion. They are averaging well over 40,000 for the season. Whether that is down to loyalty, passion or sheer, bloody-minded defiance, it is unarguably impressive, although their repeated claims to have broken the world record for a bottom tier must have been tricky to verify.

 

The trouble is that the figures now seem to be tailing off, which will be a worry to Charles Green, their chief executive. Rangers made great play of their big, new adventure at the start of the season, of making friends and feeling welcome – which they had not been able to do in the SPL – but the novelty is now wearing off.

 

For a club that has dominated Scottish football as part of the Old Firm, enjoyed European success and attracted some of the world’s best players in years gone by, there is little value in hiking about from Berwick to Peterhead, eating humble pie at the least salubrious of locations. To compound the problem, Rangers have added little to the product, which has been so poor in the last couple of weeks that their players have been jeered off.

 

However willing those fans have been to swallow their pride this season, you wonder if they will have the appetite to do so again. Will they turn up in the same numbers if the proposed reconstruction of Scottish football consigns them to another season in the bottom tier?

 

Even on this, of all days, Rangers are frustrated. They have won the league, but if a new hierarchy of 12-12-18 is established, there will be no promotion. McCoist argues that they should be catapulted into the second tier, as Stranraer were in 1994, but the precedent is a dubious one.

 

Rangers supporters don’t know if they are coming or going. Green says that the club must be allowed to rise through the divisions, but he maintains that he wants no part of the SPL, a contradiction that he has never satisfactorily explained. He would take them to England if he could, but they are not wanted. He would set up shop abroad, but as yet, there is nowhere to do business. To make matters worse, there will be no room in a new marketplace for sectarian singing, which resurfaced during matches at Berwick and Queen’s Park.

 

McCoist has said that Rangers still have the brand, that the international reach of their story has given them the potential to be stronger than ever, but in the short term, the club need something new, something that will demonstrate to the fans that they are making progress.

 

Rangers sold around 38,000 season tickets for their first campaign in the bottom tier, aided by a number of relatively high-profile signings, but with the possible exception of David Templeton, the new men have not captured the imagination. A few of the young, home-grown players such as Lewis MacLeod, Barrie McKay and Fraser Aird have taken their chance, but will that be enough to keep the turnstiles ticking over next season, especially if East Stirlingshire, Clyde and Montrose are again the visitors?

 

Another year of this is no good to anyone, except perhaps Rangers’ opponents. When Elgin City sold too many tickets for a league match against the Glasgow club at Borough Briggs, it may or may not have been an innocent mistake, but it added to the impression that the rest of the Third Division is lapping up this opportunity of a lifetime. For them, if not the cash cow they are milking, it has been a blast.

 

 

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/top-football-stories/rangers-how-the-third-division-title-was-won-1-2868432

[ian1964 10,416]

Roars when Elgin scored proved how much title means

 

ALLY McCOIST savoured his first title as Rangers boss — but immediately vowed he needs a brand new TEAM of players.

 

McCoist says he’ll require “double figures” in terms of squad additions for next season.

 

He also revealed wild celebrations took place on the team bus coming back from the goalless draw at Montrose when they heard Elgin had beaten Queen’s Park at Hampden to ensure the flag will fly at Ibrox.

 

He said: “We were listening to the Queen’s game on the bus back.

 

“The second-biggest roar of the day came when they were awarded a penalty — and the biggest came when they scored it.

 

“I couldn’t hear who scored the penalty for the cheering but I wish him all the best!

 

“We were just passing Auchterarder when the final whistle went at Hampden and I was happy to see the guys on the bus hugging one another and just celebrating.

 

“It was great to see that it meant as much to them as it did to us — I said that to Kenny and Durranty. It was magic to know they wanted the title as much as we did.”

 

But McCoist says he’s already started talks with Chief Executive Charles Green as his rebuilding for the new season starts.

 

Dundee United’s Jon Daly and Motherwell’s Nicky Law are prime targets — while Sunsport revealed McCoist made a hush-hush scouting trip to Central America during the international break.

 

He said: “I am certainly looking at bringing in double figures in terms of numbers.

 

“I’m not talking about replacements, I’m talking about enhancing the squad.

 

“When you have to scour around the youth team to find a player to go on the bench, as I had to against Stirling Albion last week, you know you’ve got problems in terms of numbers.

 

“Bringing players will be difficult in terms of the embargo but if we aim to win another title next year — and we certainly do — we need to bring in better players and a lot of them.

 

“I said last summer we needed four or five players coming in. We lost Carlos Bocanegra and got David Templeton in. Since then we’ve lost Kevin Kyle, Fran Sandaza, Dean Shiels and Lewis MacLeod for various things so you only need to be able to add to see where the problems lie.

 

“I’ve already started conversations with Charles Green about that part of it. He’s not daft — he’s at the games and he sees for himself where the problems lie.”

 

McCoist admitted: “It’s been harder to win this title than I thought it would be. I knew going into it that every game would be a cup tie, every opponent would raise their game.

 

“But I didn’t understand how intense it would be. At every ground we went to, I always had a blether with the coaches from the opposing teams. Without exception every single one said the same thing to me — the week before they played us, the players were snapping into tackles in training and their treatment rooms were empty.

 

“That’s what we were dealing with — and it’s what we’re going to be dealing with in seasons ahead.

 

“I’ve always said that the thing that drives people at this club is that the fear of not achieving anything is greater than the euphoria of winning. I hope the players have got a bit of a realisation about that.

 

“I understand arguments of people saying that it’s a title won without honour because of who we are. My arguments about that are that if the club with the most money won the title every year, Manchester City would win the Premiership forever.

 

“And the other point is people who say that didn’t see us when the season started, when we’d six signed players, when the training ground was full of trialists and we’d to cancel pre-season games.

 

“I know I’ve said it before but the preparation we had was shambolic.

 

“The bottom line, really, is that nobody knows what sort of achievement this is for us.

 

“Nothing like this — Rangers being in the bottom division — has ever happened before.

 

“It’s a unique situation and a unique season. I’m just thrilled that it’s ended successfully for us.”

 

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/feeds/smartphone/scotland/4867291/Roars-when-Elgin-scored-proved-how-much-title-means.html#ixzz2P4ay4wLj

[Gribz 743]

If he brings in 10 John Dalys I'll be gomsmacked. He cant be allowed to do that.

 

Would like to see Bocanegra back, he'd sort the defence out.

 

Some of the descriptions of the title celebration is a far. You'd think they won the SPL. I get the emotional side of things and would agree after the tough spell they went through last year then they could celebrate that but they cant be excited about winning the league on the footballing side as its been awful recently.

Edited March 31, 2013 by Gribz

[ian1964 10,416]

Best Feeling In The World

 

 

 

 

LEE MCCULLOCH has expressed his pride at leading Rangers to the Scottish Third Division title this season.

 

The 34-year-old skipper has played a massive part in the historic campaign - playing in defence, midfield and attack while also scoring 24 goals in all competitions so far – and his experience has been vital for Ally McCoist’s young squad.

 

Jig admits the past eight months have been a rollercoaster ride with a lot of highs as well as lows but the Light Blues have now achieved what they set out to at the start of a league campaign which began at Peterhead’s Balmoor Stadium on August 11, 2012.

 

For every Rangers fan today should be a celebration with the club taking its first step back to the top of the Scottish game and McCulloch, speaking as he arrived back at Murray Park from Montrose, could not hide his delight.

 

He said: “There was obvious disappointment after the game today, it didn’t flow and we didn’t play as well as we can.

 

“But to come home and hear on the bus that we were Champions is the best feeling in the world.

 

“I’ve been lucky enough to win three (titles) before but I think this is my favourite one. I’ve been lucky enough to be captain for this one and it means the world to me and my family.

 

“We can only play against the teams we’ve been told to play against but at the end of it if you are giving me a winner’s medal I am taking it.

 

“It really is a dream come true to captain the team and hopefully we can kick on now.”

 

This afternoon’s goalless draw was a frustrating one for the club’s inspirational captain but he is now looking forward to the five remaining league games and has no doubt Rangers will go from strength to strength and that the younger players in the squad will only get better.

 

He added: “I think it’s a good thing that they take a bit of criticism.

 

“I think the low points this season, the hard times, have made the boys stronger for next season, that’s the way I look at it anyway.

 

“We’re just happy to be where we are with five games left and the number of points we are ahead. You could say it’s been easy but it’s been far from that.

 

“The boys are just delight and the coaching staff are as well.

 

“I’m away on my pro-license tomorrow, I’m in at Hampden at 9 o’clock and then I’m down to Everton on Monday all day. Maybe on Monday night I’ll get time to reflect back.

 

"But this will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life, to captain a Rangers team to win a league means the world to me.”

 

 

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/3655-best-feeling-in-the-world?

[ian1964 10,416]

Spotlight on Division Three

BROUGH JUSTICE ... Leslie nets from spot after Jamie was judged to have fouled Millar

BROUGH JUSTICE ... Leslie nets from spot after Jamie was judged to have fouled Millar

Published: 1 hr ago

0

Queen’s Park 0 Elgin City 1

 

QUEEN’S PARK gaffer Gardner Speirs was quick to congratulate Rangers — despite a controversial penalty handing the title to Ally McCoist’s side.

 

The Spiders boss refused to blame referee Colin Steven’s decision to award Elgin a spot-kick when Paul Millar fell over Jamie Brough.

 

Instead Speirs praised Gers for making the Third Division such a competitive league to play in this season.

 

He said: “Congratulations to Rangers and Ally McCoist, they are deserved champions as they played the best football. They have made the league very competitive.

 

“For us, it was about winning as many games as possible and a play-off spot. It would have been nice to keep the league going until next Sunday but Elgin winning gave Rangers the title. I felt the penalty was a bit soft, but I’m not going to say any more than that.

 

“We have Stirling on Tuesday and all our focus will be on that, ahead of Rangers next weekend.”

 

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/feeds/smartphone/scotland/4867137/Spotlight-on-Division-Three.html#ixzz2P4lLCpHy