Scottish Cup

[calscot 0]

Last season we didn't really have a proper senior squad despite the wage bill. Now I think we do, although it's more of the level of the Grieg era than the Advocaat era.

 

Using kids and young rookies is all very well in the fourth tier of a small nation, but it's a easy to have your level of naivety found out against seasoned professionals from the top league during a cup game.

 

We've been arrogantly slagging off other teams' SPL players for decades but now we too have a team full of them. We obviously can't expect to be world beaters but we should be in the same league as them and any matches should be competitive.

[BeardyGuts 6]

when you list the players that we have there Super_Ally i still can't believe we play such terrible football and struggle to win against lower division sides on a regular basis.... hopfully its just a case of getting the team to blend since we made so much signings and then we really can challenge for a cup. You just have to look at our Uefa cup final side...they played painful football to watch but they were brilliant as a unit and gave 110%

[der Berliner 3,263]

We thought that last season but Inverness certain did this!

 

Last season's team is not this season's team, and ICT finished an incredible fourth last season and are still top coming to the end of September. They have been well drilled and are well settled too. I can't see them having the strength in depth and stamina to chase the Scum all the way.

 

Questions remain about the amount of quality that seperates the SPL teams from many in the "Championship" and League 1. Hibs slugged it out with Stranraer in an 8-goal "thriller" last night. Arbroath sent shivers down Lennoxtown with their 0-0 draw at the Scumhut and their narrow 1-0 defeat a week later. Funny things can happen in the cup. And that is how I take such games these days. If everything clicks, we have a good chance to beat nigh any team in Scotland. If we show the same "commitment" like we did against Arbroath, better teams will punish us.

[trueblue 64 53]

We certainly have the players capable of winning the SC this season, but do we have a manager with the tactical nous. His previous record suggests we don't, but me being an optomist will back him to turn this around. Has any non top league side ever won a major national cup or could it be another historical first for the Rangers.

[pete 2,499]

Bell

Mohsni Jig Wallace

Law McLeod Black Templeton Shiels

Daly Little

 

That's not a formation. Just a list of players in order of position who are good enough to play for most SPL sides.

 

All the examples previously listed demonstrate you dont necessarily even need an SPL standard side to reach a cup final. Just a bit of luck and to bring your best form on match day.

 

We arent as strong as we were pre-admin. Or under Eck, or Advocaat or Smith first time around. But we still have signed some of the best players from SPL teams. On our day with our first choice XI we are certainly a match for anyone in Scotland. Who in the SPL wouldn't be happy to have Nicky Law or David Templeton or Jon Daly in their playing pool? Only Celtic fans might realistically say they wouldn't take some of our players. And even then I think we certainly have a few who should be starting for them.

 

This has to be tempered against the fact that even when we could call on genuine World superstars like Brian Laudrup, Gazza, Ronal De Boer or Artur Numan we still didn't win the cups every year.

 

Morton last night plus any other host of results you want to highlight your point (e.g. us horsing Motherwell last year when they were battling at the top of the table) demonstrate we have a chance. But in cup football you cant afford one bad game. One unlucky match. It all needs to click every round. And even then with the squad we have now it might not be enough.

 

Factor in that everyone else has not only more belief than ever that they can beat us (our team is fairly decent but even startplayers like Law and Wallace don't strike fear into the opposition like the players of yesteryear) but also that they are perhaps are ever more determined to turn us over and rub our noses in our current situation.

 

It can be done. But it is not as likely as we dont carry the same superiority in player that we once had.

 

Fuck me, how good would it be though to win a cup from the lower divisions!

 

It would be great if Rangers won a cup from the lower divisions. I will pass on fucking you though, no thanks on that one.

[RANGERRAB 3,273]

if Ally can wheel & deal in january and add 2 or 3 players in the areas we need to strengthen, then there's no reason why we can't win the SC

[der Berliner 3,263]

We all know that Hearts are by far not the team they were a couple of season's ago, but yesterday they were given a run for their money at home, as QOS came back thrice and only went out on penalties, after being the better team all night long. Motherwell sneaked past Livingston 2-1. And these are the sort of teams we meet week in week out, teams who always look after doing us (and players to put themselves into the window (Nicky Clark-style)). Just to put the quality of "SPL" sides against lower tier opposition into perspective.

[Tumshie RFC 0]

I am hopeful of a good cup run. By the time we get to January the players will all be match fit and will be accustomed to playing with each other.

 

If we can avoid Celtic in the early rounds I think we have a reasonable chance of doing well.