This Weeks Rants

[CammyF 6,761]

Time For Stability

 

We all knew that when Walter Smith was appointed as PLG�s successor, this was to herald a period of stabilization in the wonderful history of our club. Now that this stabilization is well under way, lets hope that Walter will reflect on the positive effects this has shown and take this stabilization into team selection. We have had a huge turnover of players in the last 3 seasons and it is now time for our current charges to decide on their preferred tactics / squad / starting 11 and to put this into practice.

 

Whilst we the fans have to understand that change takes time and takes its toll, and that there will be bad days as well as good, the management require an understanding that all the fans want is a winning team on pitch and one that has a fluidity and consistency about it. This cannot be achieved by constantly chopping and changing the starting 11 and having our ââ?¬Ë?betterââ?¬â?¢ players situated on the bench, or worse in the stand.

 

Then recent defeat at the hands of Hibs illustrated this and the Gaffer has to hold his hands up and admit that he got it badly wrong against Hibs. Walter Smith bowed to fan pressure by selecting Hendami in a 5 man midfield and made the ultimate mistake of playing Kris Boyd as a lone striker. This is a role that everyone, including WS, have known for sometime is beyond Boyd. Boyd has other attributes, but he cuts an abject figure whilst furrowing away as a lone striker.

 

The international break gives WS and his backroom staff an ideal opportunity to sit down together and decide on what is their preferred tactics and what is their strongest team. We cannot afford this continual rotation system as it is killing us domestically. 4-5-1 (or 4-1-4-1) isnââ?¬â?¢t suited to home SPL games. Opposition teams come and flood the midfield and defend deep. If we play 5 in midfield, we cannot get forward as much especially when our lone striker is not capable of holding the ball. For ever home SPL game (except the Tims ââ?¬â?? more soon) we should be playing 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 ââ?¬â?? if this means there is no place for fans favourites (no matter who that is), then so be it. OF and European games are better suited to 4-5-1 (or 4-1-4-1) and I would deploy this formation in the upcoming OF and European ties. We have the players capable of playing this formation and using it to our advantage ââ?¬â?? McGregor, Hutton, Weir, CC, Papac ââ?¬â?? Beasley, Fergie, Hendami, Thommo, McCulloch ââ?¬â?? Cousin / JCD and IMO that is our strongest 11 at the moment. When going 4-4-2, Thommo or Hendami would drop out and Iââ?¬â?¢d play JCD and Cousin up front (but this is where we have options ââ?¬â?? Boyd, Novo and Naismith all come into contention).

 

Given a settled run of games, I am confident that our strongest 11 would be a match for all SPL teams (obviously they will have off days and drop points) and they have already shown that they are a match for the cream of Europe.

 

 

 

Its Rangers, Its Rangers, Its Rangers For me

 

I have no qualms in saying this, but I dread international weekend. It means that I have no Rangers game to go to and I sit back and watch the internationals dreading that one (or more) of our players will get injured whilst on international duty. I know that this is selfish, but for countless years, and for varying reasons (that most on here already know!), I have no interest in international football.

 

Now, I know and understand that a vast majority of Rangers fans are unlike me and they will be looking forward to supporting their country (who ever that happens to be) on Saturday and that 10ââ?¬â?¢s of thousands of Rangers fans will pack into Hampden to back Scotland ââ?¬â?? fair play and good luck to them.

 

However, I just hope that those that do pay me the respect I deserve for not having any interest in the national team and understand that it doesnââ?¬â?¢t diminish on my ââ?¬Ë?Scottishnessââ?¬â?¢ one iota. Too many people in this country feel that if you donââ?¬â?¢t get rigged up in full Highland dress, paint a saltire on your face and sing dirge folk songs then you are somehow ââ?¬Ë?anti-scottishââ?¬â?¢.

 

 

Ironic Or What

 

So it appears that the whirlwind of media defence of Celtc in the wake of their latest pitch invader is what might actually see them receive the punishment that they deserve. Ac Milan (who have behaved impeccably in this issue) and stated that if the press and Celtc continue to focus on Dida then they will make a formal complaint to UEFA. I can�t be the only one who found this ironic. This is the same media who helped UEFA in their investigation into Rangers fans singing (and lets not forget that the BBC supplied UEFA with video evidence that was used to try and ban Alex Rae) who have now gone out of their way to defend Celtc and deflect the blame onto the Milan keeper.

 

It is funny that everyone and their dog is still rabbiting on about Celtc fans ââ?¬Ë?great behaviourââ?¬â?¢ and that this was a ââ?¬Ë?one offââ?¬â?¢. Sorry, but that doesnââ?¬â?¢t wash ââ?¬â?? how come no one is mentioning their ââ?¬Ë?previousââ?¬â?¢? Surely no one has forgotten about the annual pitch invasions, diverted planes, shootings in Amsterdam, stabbings in the pie queue at FirHill, riots in Blackburn and Vigo airport, replayed European ties ââ?¬â?? I could be churlish and list more, but hey, according to the media and the MOPES these incidents didnââ?¬â?¢t happen.

 

I might be the only person in Scotland hoping this (OK, Iââ?¬â?¢m not), but I hope UEFA through the book at them ââ?¬â?? if they do, then their day is rightly come.

 

 

 

And Finally

 

Congratulations to Frankie on the birth of his daughter ââ?¬â?? all the best to Frankie, his missus and wee one.

 

Cammy F ââ?¬â?? We Are The Peopleââ?¬Â¦.

[bmck 117]

great rant cammy.

 

the one thing that worries me is that, at the moment, we have a settled european/of philosophy that cant organically adapt into a spl formation/philosophy. that is, we cant seem to field the same 11 and comfortably adopt to an attacking mode to win games.

 

in an ideal world, i would like there to be a Rangers Way. a philosophy thats installed from the ground up that we perfect. kind of like in mixed martial art fighting - its not necessarily who is stronger, or whose martial art is better, but a mix of who is most proficient in their chosen skill, *all the time*. that is the core nucleus of our footballing philosophy. we integrate this with a cutting incisive forward thinking philosophy - ie: when we have the ball we're a movement-running-into-short-pass-out-down-the-channels type team.

 

these are just examples, but i think we need to have this core idea down - when we dont have the ball we are like X, and when we do have the ball we're like Y. the only thing that changes, then, is whether the onus is going to be on X (as in the champions league) or Y (as in the spl).

 

we seem to have a solid behind-the-ball philosophy for europe, but not a solid with-the-ball one for the spl. but they should be really two edges of the same sword - if we're going to play the way we do in europe with those players, we need to see how having those same players would work in an attacking sense when we have the ball. that is, instead of hemdani/thomson/ferguson sitting in on front of the back four as in europe, where should they be? i reckon even the 11 we put out midweek with one up front could work for us against any spl side if the players understand what they're meant to be doing when they're going forward - that they have some clearly defined plan like they do for sitting back in europe.

 

our going forward plan seems to consist of give-the-ball-to-barry and hope-we-nick-something-up-front. this makes our european defensive outlook seem much more sophisticated.

 

for instance, we could keep the same midfield trio and make them expert triangle passers, for instance. drum it into them how to use three midfielders in close quarters to turn a siutation to our advantage, and how then to use our other players best given this. i dont know the details, but it seems obvious to me that any 11 we put out should be better than most other spl teams, so why not keep the same team home and away, and in europe, with the same philosophy drummed into them - its just sometimes they'll need to have more of a balance towards defending, and sometimes towards attacking.

 

as it stands, we've only got a smart defensive policy - we only know how to use our packed midfield in a defensive way. there are teams who play with a lone striker and play lovely attacking football (roma, say), we just need to be confident enough about how we play going forward.

[CammyF 6,761]

Bmck - agree with you 100% - this is something that I have been advocating for years. The closet we came to this was when Dick Advocaat insisted that SDM build a 'training facility'. I will say this until I am blue in the face, but that was the ideal opportunity to develop a Rangers Way.

 

The 'training complex' should have been expanded to include a true 'Youth Academy' and this should have been staffed and financed properly and in the model of Ajax. If we had bitten the bullet then, we would have our 'Rangers Way', we would have our 'Youth Academy' and we would be reaping the rewards.

 

The reason we missed out - as said previously (till I blue in the face again!!!) is down to SDM's short-termism.

 

Cammy F