Ramsdens Cup Draw: Stenhousemuir v Rangers

[ian1964 10,411]

Just realised Shiels and Little

 

And Peralta

[ian1964 10,411]

Turnbull Hutton Will Shun Ibrox/Ramsden Final.

 

RANGERS could play the Ramsdens Cup Final at Ibrox- if they get that far.

 

The draw for the semi-finals of the competition takes place at Hampden this afternoon, featuring Ally McCoist's side along with Annan, Stenhousemuir and Raith Rovers.

 

But the National Stadium can't be used on final day because a running track is in the process of being installed in time for next summer's Commonwealth Games.

 

Celtic Park has also been ruled out on the grounds that the hire of the stadium, plus policing costs, would make it too expensive.

 

But an SPFL insider last night confirmed Ibrox rather than a neutral venue , would be considered for the final as long as Rangers' opponents agreed to the switch.

 

Our source said: "If a proposal was put to the SPFL Board then it would be discussed."

 

Rangers will be brought into talks after today's draw is made because the size of their support is creating unprecedented problems for the organisers of the tournament.

 

But last night Raith Rovers director Turnbull Hutton said the Fife club would refuse to play a final at Ibrox if they were the ones to face Rangers.

 

He said: “It is a sporting contest and not an excuse to see how much money you can make from the Final.

 

“We would hold out for a neutral venue because we would want to give ourselves the best opportunity possible to win the game.”

 

But Annan director Henry McClelland took the opposite view.

 

He said: “If we get Rangers at home in the semi-final we will accept we won’t make much money on the tie and get on with it.

 

“But if we were asked to agree to play the Final against Rangers at Ibrox I would see nothing wrong with

maximising the earnings from that day.”

 

McClelland also claimed the SPFL would have few options apart from Ibrox if Rangers reached the Final.

 

And he wouldn’t be scared about facing McCoist’s side on their own patch after Annan beat them 2-1 there last season.

 

He said: “We would struggle to take the Final anywhere else because Hampden’s unavailable and there’s a risk associated with going to Celtic Park.

 

“Besides which we’ve already beaten Rangers on their own ground.”

 

Semi-finals must be played at the ground of the first club out of the hat for each tie.

 

But the finale to the competition could create a unique situation.

 

The SPFL insider said; “In the past, before the SFL amalgamated with the SPL, it was agreed the Final would go to a First Division venue so the money earned that day would stay in the lower leagues.

 

“But now we’re all under one roof the Final could theoretically go to any one of 42 clubs in Scotland.”

[ian1964 10,411]

Apparently, Nuremberg Hugh is stirring it today in ra Record.

 

Rangers beating Queen of the South is nothing to shout about. Further, if Rangers secure the Ramsden/Challenge Cup, it should NOT be celebrated. Finally, ra Shugster suggests Ibrox will be utilised for the final if we get there, because the rental costs of ra Stydome are prohibitive. He enlists Raith Rovers Turnbull Hutton to reinforce angst and anger. Hutton demands a sporting contest, it's not about maximising revenue. Note, there is no caveat about Rovers getting there.

 

This is what happens when your favourites ban you for over a calendar year, you spit venom at Rangers after said favourite are spanked by Milan.

 

 

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/opinion...-roost-2283378

 

THERE'S no such thing as a trophy win that leaves a blemish on a club’s record.

 

But when the team is Rangers and the competition is the Ramsdens Cup there’s room for an asterisk.

 

And beside the asterisk, assuming Rangers get the better of the sides who remain in the draw – Raith, Annan and Stenhousemuir – there should be a footnote for history.

 

It should say this event was first started in 1990 as the Centenary Cup to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the now defunct SFL.

 

It could add the decision was taken to let it go from being a one-off idea to a permanent fixture so cash could be raised for smaller clubs outwith the top division.

 

And then it could be noted Rangers were obliged to play in it while the club was exiled to the lower orders following the business malfunction that took them into liquidation.

 

It shouldn’t be added to the club’s official roll of honour.

 

Ally McCoist was right to say after the defeat of Queen of the South on Tuesday that the Ramsdens Cup becoming his first cup trophy as a manager was less important than winning League One.

 

Failure to win the title gets him the sack. Success in this cup gets him a sense of perspective.

 

Rangers have better things to do with their time than play in a competition for the needy who take what they can get from a £100,000 sponsorship.

 

And their fans should, like the manager, remain focused on the big picture rather than get caught up in sideshows that come with temporary exile from centre stage.

 

Accomplishment has to be seen in the right light.

 

When Wayne Rooney joins Denis Law and Sir Bobby Charlton on the list of Manchester United players to have scored 200 goals for the club, as he did against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night, that’s remarkable.

 

When Cristiano Ronaldo scores three times as part of a breathtaking display by Real Madrid against Galatasaray, and takes his Champions League tally to 53 goals in 67 games, that’s incredible.

 

As stunning a stat as the fact Ronaldo has now scored 206 goals in 204 games for Real.

 

Winning a cup sponsored by a firm who give you money in exchange for your old jewellery doesn’t have the same sense of achievement.

 

When Ally said he wanted to win the trophy because it was one Rangers didn’t have he was doubtless being diplomatic.

 

You don’t insult the sponsor by saying their trophy is a worthless bauble.

 

But participation in the Ramsdens Cup is part of Rangers’ penance for failing to run their business properly. It’s not the real world.

 

Rangers means Greig, Gascoigne, Laudrup, McCoist, Gough, Goram, McCoist and the other Ibrox greats.

 

It means Barcelona in 1972 and nine titles in a row.

 

What the club is doing now is marching time until they return to the major league.

 

The only external competition that should concern them outside league football is the oldest trophy in the game, the Scottish Cup, and how their progress might be measured against full-time teams in that tournament.

 

Whoever Rangers get in today’s Ramsdens Cup semi-final draw will be a part-time side forced to play a club with resources far greater than theirs.

 

The Final can’t be at Hampden as it’s closed and being customised for the Commonwealth Games.

 

Celtic Park will be ruled out as an alternative venue because it’s too expensive to hire for an event of this size apparently. Another reminder of the scale of the competition we’re talking about.

 

You can dress it up however you like but the Challenge Cup is a novelty turn. If Rangers win it they should smile, take a bow and wave as they leave the podium after a respectful period of celebration.

 

And then get back to the business of restoring the club’s reputation on the park by contesting what are known as national honours.

 

There are three of them – and anything else is just window dressing.

[JTP 0]

Peralta aswell maybe?

 

Edit: didnt see there was a page 2 - doh!

[andy steel 0]

'Marching time'. Fucking illiterate rubbish, written by and for dullards.

 

Anyway, we must be in with a good shout of winning this cup, since it has suddenly become the focus of a devaluation campaign last seen when Geoffrey Howe was Chancellor of the Exchequer. & if the day ever dawns when any sane Bluenose needs Hugh Keevins to tell them what to think, I will then give up.

[JTP 0]

Drawn away to Stenhousemuir.

[ian1964 10,411]

''But when the team is Rangers and the competition is the Ramsdens Cup there’s room for an asterisk.''

 

So then Shug!, will that be the same asterisks attached to every tainted title the BHEASTS will win as long as Rangers are out of the way?,TWAT!

[simplythebest 0]

Others could be called up for under 21 internationals as well

[Blue Moon 1,113]

What a horrible, bitter, bigoted little man who should not be allowed anywhere near a newspaper.

[Anchorman 0]

Drawn away to Stenhousemuir.

 

That's a plastic surface again isn't it?