cooponthewing 1,139 Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 (edited) Easter weekend is upon us as we close in on the end of the season. Firstly please let me wish everyone who observes this religious festival a very Happy Easter! Those of us who are not religious (including myself) please enjoy the social “chocival” of a weekend. I hope the Easter Bunny is good to you all and you are suitably rewarded in whatever manner is customary with your good lady or other half?...... On a footballing note we welcome Partick Thistle this Saturday for another Glasgow derby. This will be our final 3pm Kick off this season and I am told we will have had only four 3pm kick offs all season. Something has to be looked at as I’m sure we all agree that is simply not acceptable. The scheduling of matches must take into account the fans and the travelling support we have. Many of whom have individual plans and journeys to make. In addition I am sure we all prefer the 3pm kick off on Saturday which is part of our culture and the pinnacle of most of our weekends. Back on the football I am sure Partick will bring a good following with them from the west end. I have become a bit of a “cappuccino kid” myself after enjoying a few west end establishments (different to some of the other establishments I have been known to “frequent” while abroad…) They will be on a high this week after securing their first ever top six spot, a fantastic achievement for their club. Partick have enjoyed a great season and Rangers were perhaps fortunate that we came away from our last visit to Firhill with a victory. We required saving from Joe Dodoo who struck with two late goals to secure a 2-1 away victory. Up until the introduction of Dodoo we were not looking great that day after losing a goal with around 15 minutes to go. IIRC our first half performance was none too clever either in what was another uninspiring showing under our previous manager. After having my customary check of the seating plan we will again have what looks like a full house. On quick inspection I believe there are around 50-100 tickets left so by the time kick off comes we will have every seat taken. This is yet another sell out in what has been an incredible effort from Rangers supporters to fill the stadium to capacity at almost every home league game this season. What has been refreshing for me this season has been the family stand being full at virtually every home game. The club makes a huge effort to cater for young fans and although it could always do more, everyone connected should be commended. This all culminated recently with the opening of the new “Broxi’s Den” with the help of John Brown and Kenny Miller. This is a specialised suite for children with sensory challenges such as autism to enjoy the match in a welcoming environment conducive to acknowledging their circumstances. Another fantastic effort from the club and there will be more kids attending the match this Saturday, looking forward to the surroundings, after its introduction the game versus Motherwell. After last week’s match which was an incredible performance we will be hoping for much of the same this Saturday. The match versus the sheep was a wonderful afternoon. On a personal note I made a nuisance of myself in the University Library as I had been watching on the phone and made a bit of a “noise” twice, although managed to “gag” myself after the third goal. I was very nearly escorted from the building! Forlansister, I trust you had a great day? We witnessed some inspiration and fight late on which I did not know we could reproduce. Although we are still not consistent we are beginning to produce these performances more often and PC seems to have made an instant positive impact. Many of us were questioning the wisdom of the removal of Hyndman six minutes into the second half. He wasn’t injured so it was clearly technical. The side seemed to have lost cohesion for a while as the cattle pimps were coming at us in surges normally reserved for the farmyard pens! However after some fine saves from Wes, who continues to impress although I still feel can be slow getting down at times, we grew in confidence and got the goal through an incredible strike from Miller. PC then brought on Halliday for what I felt at the time was to shore up the defence and hold out, but no, with Dodoo also being introduced we scored a second through Miller. In what was an almost unbelievable 5-10 minute spell we scored yet again through Dodoo and he could have had a second or Miller a hat trick as one had a shot off the bar and the other off the line. We came away from “The Mutton Brothel” with a great three points and a fantastic 3-0 win. Our supporters looked delirious and with all the prophesises of doom and gloom from the usual suspects in the media, we had yet again given them two fingers. Looking at tomorrow’s potential starting eleven I would like to see us start with Dodoo and Miller. The reason being I feel they may be our most effective front two and all being well we could start with them versus the unmentionables at Hampden? However back to Thistle and I would start with Wes in goal and a back four of Beerman, Bates, Wilson and Tavernier. In Midfield I would have Holt, Hyndman, Windass and Toral. Leaving two front players of Miller and Dodoo. This may look a little narrow however Tav usually plays more as a winger and I suspect he will tomorrow at home versus Partick. In addition Hyndman and Windass would link with Miller and Dodoo who are both mobile up front. Holt and Toral play more defensive midfield roles but I feel this team had a fluidity about it and one which may be effective? Wilson looks a new player with the responsibility of looking after Bates, and Beerman seems like he has been there all season. Windass coming back is a bonus going forward, and I would hope he could fit in the midfield. Then again, what qualifications do I have on team selection? Pedro will pick the team he sees fit to win the match and as long as he does, we will all go home happy. I will predict a 4-1 home victory and everyone looking forward to the huge encounter the following week. All that’s left is to once again wish you all the very best this weekend, whatever you’re doing, be it family related or otherwise. It’s been a long season and now we have the post-split fixtures its coming near to the end. Pedro seems to be instilling his own beliefs and attitudes into the side. We look good and the passion he showed last week on the touchline is something I hope we will see continue to transfer to the players as it was a very encouraging and inspirational sight! C’mon eh Bears Edited April 16, 2017 by pete 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,282 Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Interesting to note that Thistle has actually sold out their allocation, so we may indeed have a full house on Saturday, unless the odd Bear is on some Easter vacation ... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Thanks Coop, Hopefully we can keep up the pressure on Aberdeen and get to 2nd but I have my doubts Aberdeen will lose 6 points other than the 3 to us. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Hopefully the Harry Rags will not rain on my birthday; its hard enough getting back to 10C from 30C and getting over an 11 hour time difference. Any chance of moving the KO to 2.00am Sunday? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Dodoo must start. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Agree with the line up in the preview bar maybe one. No changes at the back. Hyndman, Toral and Windass in the midfield with either McKay or Holt but as we are the home side id probably opt for McKay. Then Miller and Dodoo upfront is a no brainer. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 1,677 Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 (edited) Thanks Coop, Hopefully we can keep up the pressure on Aberdeen and get to 2nd but I have my doubts Aberdeen will lose 6 points other than the 3 to us. Maybe it's more hope than conviction on my part but I get the feeling the sheep really can royally blow this. For example they're away to St Johnstone on Saturday followed by SJ again at home. St Johnstone are themselves still in with a chance of nicking a Europa league spot though I don't think that will happen but at worst they will want to finish 4th ahead of hearts so they have everything to play for and will go at it all guns blazing. They're more than capable of beating the sheep at home then battling to a scrappy draw at the sheep pen and the sheep will be beaten by the unmentionables. If all that came to pass you're looking at 8 dropped points right there plus we should whip them again at Ibrox. Depending on how Saturday pans out it might just be on. If they lose on Saturday and we win the panic button will be hit with a hammer. I'm struggling to decide whether I want the sheep to win or lose their semi because at this time I can't quite decide which of them I despise the most. Maybe go for a sheep loss to instigate more despair doom and gloom in the sheep pen before we get them at Ibrox. Then we demolish the exuberant ones in the final to exact revenge for last year. Edited April 14, 2017 by JFK-1 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Maybe it's more hope than conviction on my part but I get the feeling the sheep really can royally blow this. For example they're away to St Johnstone on Saturday followed by SJ again at home. St Johnstone are themselves still in with a chance of nicking a Europa league spot though I don't think that will happen but at worst they will want to finish 4th ahead of hearts so they have everything to play for and will go at it all guns blazing. They're more than capable of beating the sheep at home then battling to a scrappy draw at the sheep pen and the sheep will be beaten by the unmentionables. If all that came to pass you're looking at 8 dropped points right there plus we should whip them again at Ibrox. Depending on how Saturday pans out it might just be on. If they lose on Saturday and we win the panic button will be hit with a hammer. I'm struggling to decide whether I want the sheep to win or lose their semi because at this time I can't quite decide which of them I despise the most. Maybe go for a sheep loss to instigate more despair doom and gloom in the sheep pen before we get them at Ibrox. Then we demolish the exuberant ones in the final to exact revenge for last year. All of which doesn't take into account just how fragile and inconsistent we are. We are also capable of losing to every single one of the top 6 with Thistle being the only team we haven't had too many problems against this season. Your talk of them dropping 8 points before meeting us assumes that we wont drop any points - how many times has that happened in a 4 game run this season ? I do actually agree we can overtake them but we need some help and I am far from convinced that Celtic "will" beat them - I have more belief that Celtic will conveniently drop 2 points against them. As for who I would wish to lose the semi, unfortunately we cant have them BOTH losing - I would rather Hibs lost - Hibs have overtaken Aberdeen as the team I dislike the most in Scottish football (outside of Celtic) after last season's assaults on our staff - and then subsequently their fans showing their complete lack of class by having banners declaring "Lee Wallace is a grass". 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 1,677 Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 As for who I would wish to lose the semi, unfortunately we cant have them BOTH losing - I would rather Hibs lost - Hibs have overtaken Aberdeen as the team I dislike the most in Scottish football (outside of Celtic) after last season's assaults on our staff - and then subsequently their fans showing their complete lack of class by having banners declaring "Lee Wallace is a grass". Look for them to repeat the cup final antics on Saturday if they beat QoS to secure promotion because according to social media etc they're gearing up for a repeat. Seems they enjoyed the embarrassing rampage so much it's going to be a permanent fixture even for something so relatively unimpressive as getting out of the championship at the third attempt. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,442 Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Tomorrows game is sold out! http://www.rangers.talent-sport.co.uk/PagesPublic/ProductBrowse/productHome.aspx 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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