ian1964 10,416 Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 Ian... I fail to see what is wrong with being realistic. I much prefer that over blind optimism. Yes we have a chance of getting the result but there is every chance that Lyon will get the win they need too. They are still a quality team and our work is cut out for us. I am sure the players DO have more self belief as they should. Aye,but we've got to go into the game believing we can win,as in we the fans, otherwise Ibrox is going to be a very nervous place. Of course Lyon have a chance of winning,that's football,but how many other teams have came to Ibrox and failed,we've got a better chance of getting the result than Lyon IMO,we are at Ibrox man :cheers: 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wija 0 Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 I believe we can win, but I also believe we can lose. Its as simple as that. And the football we have played recently hasn't had the heather set on fire. Maybe in some of our football we are too 2 dimensional....adding the 3rd dimension may unleash the true Rangers potential. I know it is there, I just haven't seen it (apart from the 0-3 game against Lyon and 3-0 against the scum) 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 At the start of the campaign this year no one would have thought that we'd been in such a position in the champions league. But given where we are now ill be well dissapointed if we dont qualify. We are competing on both fronts but i do believe we could be playing a better standard of football with the squad weve got. Our form too has been pretty inconsistent over the course of the season so far. The 4 5 1 formation has been found to be suspect on an allarming scale on a few occasions. I am actually dissapointed with our position in the spl. Weve dropped points at places where we should be racking them up and could have had a pretty handsome lead over septic if we hadnt slipped up. But we are up there scrapping and there is plenty of scope for improvement. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 I am maybe old fashioned. I expect Rangers to compete with the best in Europe every year. I agree money makes a big difference these days but we should be able to match everyone except the top teams in Spain Italy England and Bayern Munich. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 I don't see why European success (relatively speaking) and SPL success have to be mutually exclusive. Thats always been my answer. Its never came down to a choice of one or the other, and with the size of our squad we have enough depth to compete in both. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,416 Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Amoruso Backs Walter For Euro Glory Dec 8 2007 By Colin Duncan THE similarities between Rangers' Champions League run this season and their ill-fated campaign of 2000 are uncanny. However, Lorenzo Amoruso is backing Walter Smith to triumph and avoid the blunders he believes led to Dick Advocaat falling short. The Italian defender was part of the side managed by the Dutchman seven years ago who opened up with back-to-back wins before failing to win another group match. Rangers' exit came when they failed to beat French side Monaco in their final game at Ibrox. Fast forward to this season where Smith's men also began with two impressive wins, at home to Stuttgart and in France against Lyon. But just like in 2000, Rangers haven't claimed full points from any of their last three matches and qualification now rests on Wednesday's crunch return clash with yet another French side. For the superstitious, the omens don't look good but Amoruso feels Smith will not make the same basic errors Advocaat made. The Italian was stripped of the captaincy a few days before the Monaco game in which his mistake gave the French side a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw. Amoruso said: "Monaco was not a great game for me because I had a lot of trouble from the manager beforehand. I was stripped of the armband but the whole dressing room was unhappy at various things. "That was a game we should have won but we didn't because the attitude wasn't right. Everybody was pulling in different directions when we know team spirit and togetherness makes the difference between winning and losing. "I think the current Rangers team under Walter are united but under Advocaat that was not the case. "If everybody is pulling in the same direction on the pitch, you don't have to be best friends off the pitch. Not everybody was against Advocaat but there were a lot of players who lost their respect for him. "He was trying to blame me and a few others for bad results while trying to save his own skin. He was guilty of bad management and it cost us our place in the last 16. I'm not talking about his ability as a coach, I'm talking about his relationships with players. "He didn't know how to get the best out of people or how to talk to them and he allowed divisions to form in the dressing room. "You can't expect everybody in a team to be friends but it's the job of the manager to make sure it doesn't affect what happens on the pitch." After a 5-0 home win against Sturm Graz and a 1-0 triumph in Monaco, the wheels came off Rangers' quest to qualify from Group D. They lost at Galatasaray, drew the return in Glasgow 0-0 and then lost 2-0 in Graz when victory in any of those games would have taken them through. Amoruso admits players must take responsibility when they cross the white line but still feels one person was to blame - the manager. He said: "When we went to Turkey we were top of the group and a win would have clinched it but we played with five defenders. "At home to Galatasaray we subdued Gheorghe Hagi but never looked like scoring and when we went to Sturm Graz a draw would have been a good result but this time Advocaat played only two defenders and three strikers. The tactics didn't make any sense. "There are similarities between the two campaigns but Walter is not the same manager as Advocaat. "It was obvious Rangers played for the win in Stuttgart last time and while they didn't get it they were unlucky." Amoruso says his biggest regret during six eventful years at Ibrox was not reaching the latter stages of the Champions League. But, while that honour eluded him he believes the man who brought him to Glasgow can stamp his mark on European football's top competition. He added: "You would put money on Walter getting it right. Lyon play great football but they always give the opposition chances. Rangers must capitalise on them." GERS IN 2000 GROUP D CAMPAIGN 2000 Rangers 5 Sturm Graz 0 Monaco 0 Rangers 1 Galatasaray 3 Rangers 2 Rangers 0 Galatasaray 0 Sturm Graz 2 Rangers0 Rangers 2 Monaco 2 GERS IN 2007 GROUP E CAMPAIGN 2007 Rangers 2 Stuttgart 0 Lyon 0 Rangers 3 Rangers 0 Barcelona 0 Barcelona 2 Rangers 0 Stuttgart 3 Rangers 2 Rangers ? Lyon ? Click here!! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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