Have to say that I'm surprised at some of the criticism Ally is getting

[Guest The Godfather]

Walter had a good mix IMO.

 

In his last 2 seasons we played some good football and played tactically well especially in Europe.

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

Walter had a good mix IMO.

 

In his last 2 seasons we played some good football and played tactically well especially in Europe.

For a handful of games in the 10/11 season. Aside from that it was dreadful.

 

Other than those games the only game I remember us playing good football in was an away win at Easter Road where we played 4-3-3 with Cousin through the middle and Naismith and Burke supporting.

[Guest The Godfather]

Not too many complaints as we won the title.

 

Boyd and Miller were entertaining enough up top while Jelavic in Walters final season was good to watch.

 

It wasn't total football of course but at times it was good to watch, of course the hoof ball works better when you have better players.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

In the third tier we should be winning comfortably and be entertaining to watch. The fact that is not happening does not augur well for Ally when we return to the top division.Sooner or later our new CEO will need to make a decision to stick with Ally or look elsewhere for a replacement who would need to be able to get more out of the current squad than the likes of what we endured last night.

What concerns me most about Ally is his inability to sort things out when things aren't going well. Too often last night possession was given away needlessly and set pieces not clearing the first defender. A Jock Wallace or Souness would be on the touch line screaming at the culprits. Not Ally though. Arms folded hoping things will sort themselves out.That needs to change

 

We only had one "tactic" if you could call it a tactic; long ball up to Daly, worked in the first half and we scored from it; but he won less and less headers as the game went on.

Edited January 4, 2014 by BrahimHemdani
typo

[BrahimHemdani 1]

I suspect that not too many of us were disappointed in Walter's management that night in Florence.

 

.......or Belgrade, Lyon, Athens, Bremen (difficult as that was) or what was the best night for me - Lisbon.

 

We played to our limitations and everyone knew we were hard to beat. The Sporting fans knew before the game that if we scored first they wouldn't beat us, we weren't pretty to watch but we earned the respect of others (Barcelona excepted and even they settled for a draw towards the end at Ibrox).

Edited January 4, 2014 by BrahimHemdani

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

.......or Belgrade, Lyon, Athens, Bremen (difficult as that was) or what was the best night for me - Lisbon.

 

We played to our limitations and everyone knew we were hard to beat. The Porto fans knew before the game that if we scored first they wouldn't beat us, we weren't pretty to watch but we earned the respect of others (Barcelona excepted and even they settled for a draw towards the end at Ibrox).

??

 

To be honest, it was great getting to the UEFA Cup final but we made no attempt to win it, getting to it was a freak event much like Greece in Euro 2000 and I really don't think such negative football should ever be respected.

[Crimson Dynamo 128]

Not because it's not deserved, but because Walter played terrible football too but nobody really seemed to care. It used to annoy me that people had such a short sighted view under Walter. The football he played was never going to get us anywhere in Europe (bar 2 successful seasons over both stints, the second success due to playing 10 defenders in the UEFA Cup) and while it won domestic trophies, it wasn't the type of long term philosophy that was going to see the club prosper, without throwing money at players. In Walter's first stint we hardly developed any youth talent and he left the squad in a mess.

 

Is it the case that the football is so poor now that nobody can ignore it any more? Or is it because we are playing such poor opposition now? The common line under Walter was that winning is all that matters. Well we are still doing that.

 

The winning of titles and defeating Celtic covered up for Smiths failings as a manager

[Hildy 0]

Smith's negativity was soul-destroying.

 

Too often there was no joy in spectating because there was an absence of entertainment. The team would retreat into a defensive shell, take a battering and hope for a break. There was nothing to cheer. The ball belonged to the opposition and there was little effort to do anything other than hold out.

 

Fans complain about a lack of atmosphere, but when one team plays submissively rather than competitively, there is very little to cheer or sing about. This isn't sophisticated football - it's horrific football.

 

We used to give Bertie Auld and Tommy McLean pelters for having their teams playing in such an adventureless manner, so why should we applaud a Rangers manager for inflicting such monotony on us?

 

Unlike McLean and Auld, Walter Smith was outspending the opposition in Scotland by miles, but we still went to Parkhead, camped in our own half, hoped for several world class saves from Andy Goram and tried to catch Celtic on the break. It may have worked a few times, but it was a dire way to prove superiority for a club that was so financially advantaged.

 

Rangers needs to rid itself of this ghastly legacy of fearful football.

 

Willie Henderson was on Rangers TV a few years back and was heavily critical of the way the team played under Smith. I don't think he's been invited back since.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

??

 

To be honest, it was great getting to the UEFA Cup final but we made no attempt to win it, getting to it was a freak event much like Greece in Euro 2000 and I really don't think such negative football should ever be respected.

 

Thanks - correction - the Sporting fans.

[Gribz 743]

Having world beaters like Laudrup and Gascoigne was the entertaining time for Walter because they were a joy to watch but as soon as we came up against half decent European opposition we were bereft of any thought and got found out. But he deserves credit for bringing them to Ibrox. The game in the early to mid 90s was very different so criticism of Walter then is harsh, but 2nd time around he may have steadied a ship and had that euro run but the football wasn't great on the eye. I still wish we just went for it in Manchester and lost 3 or 4 nil rather than sit back and have no chances in that final. If we did play at a high pace tempo I believe we would have won.

 

Gazza and Laudrup are my 2 personal all time greats and I cant split them, but neither featured in Advocaats team which would have played Walters team off the park. Advocaat's side in his first 2 seasons were very near to something special. They were too good on the eye at one stage. But importantly - they competed in Europe.