pete 2,494 Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I don�t know if anyone else was due to do this or Gribz will be back on but if so then feel free to scrap it. Rangers V Dundee Utd After our unexpected rest during the festive season the first big issue on Saturday will be a one minute applause in respect of Phil o�Donnel. A directive from the SPL has asked all teams to hold the applause before the kick-off. Reading through other forums the last few day�s this seems to have split the Rangers support with many refusing to applaud and preferring a minutes silence. Rangers have no choice in this as the SPL made the decision probably projecting the wishes of the family. This is not a time to make a political stand in my opinion so hopefully everyone will show their respect and put there hands together and clap. Apart from the only long term injury steven Smith, Lee Mc Culloch is doubtful and probably be out for three games now as he has a two match ban kicking in after Saturday. Charlie Adam and Nacho Novo are available for selection again. Rangers had a much improved performance at Hibs last time out and the chances will be that Walter Smith will keep the same starting line-up. Adam replacing Hemdani is also a possibility judging on Walter not playing Hemdani in the SPL games. Dundee Utd bounced back from a run of defeats with an impressive victory against Hearts on Wednesday but an undisciplined performance by Hearts saw them reduced to eight men. Going with past performances United will come in the hope to smother the midfield and play a 4-5-1. Barry Robson has been in fine form of late and could be rewarded with a move to celtic(at least in wages) so he will be looking to impress. He does have a good goal tally for the season but most have come from penalties or free kicks. We certainly have to worry about giving stupid free kicks away around the 20 yard area. Rangers squad:: McGregor, Hutton, Weir, Cuellar, Whittaker, Burke, Ferguson, Hemdani, Thomson, Cousin, Darcheville, Naismith, Carroll, Adam, Broadfoot, Boyd, Furman, Novo. I think walter will keep the same team as against Hibs and that was: McGregor Hutton Cuellar Weir Whittaker Burke Ferguson Hemdani Thomson Naismith Cousin 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrideAndPassion 0 Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Anyone who DOESNT respect a minutes applause tomorrow should be frog-marched straight out of ibrox with a LIFE BAN! We have had silences ruined by others, let's rise above that and show respect for a good professional footballer and family man .... and remember how we felt when our Davie went in similar circumstances! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,494 Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 Personally i prefer the silence option. I find it downright ignorant that anyone cannot respect a minute silence whether they like the person or not. In modern times the minute applause has been accepted as a means of respect and everyone should respect that. It is good to have principles but bad to accept change. Everyone should clap. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otis 0 Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I'm not sure if there's an actual right or wrong here - personaly i'd prefer the minutes silence but clapping for a minute wouldn't hurt and by not doing it and taking a stance in favour of a minutes silence would just put us back in the media spotlight. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,494 Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 I'm not sure if there's an actual right or wrong here - personaly i'd prefer the minutes silence but clapping for a minute wouldn't hurt and by not doing it and taking a stance in favour of a minutes silence would just put us back in the media spotlight. Totally agree there is not a right or wrong except taking a moral high ground and making a political stance. Not the right moment for that. if people disagree then they must try and change things via the trust or supporters clubs to contact Rangers to set a straight line. Silence. Applause. Or the families wishes. Surely we can be flexible in this. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,494 Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 I believe Thomson is on his last yellow card before getting a ban. St Mirren and Gretna coming up. He or anyone else in danger, surely must be looking to clear their account. SSSHHH i never said that. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Thanks for starting this Pete, Ive no idea about any teams news. Firstly Ive think the applause is just as good as a silence but its probably more appropriate at the grounds where that person made himself a name and other grounds can observe a minutes silence. But either way it should be respected. Dundee Utd are a bit of a bogey team and we are due to give them a bit of a pasting. Id go a straight 4-4-2: __________________McGregor__________________ Hutton______Weir___________Cuellar______Papac Burke______Ferguson_____Hemdani______Naismith ______________Cousin____Darcheville___________ Possibly bringing Novo on for Burke later, but having Burke and Naismith down the wings against Hibs got us into the game and created. Burke was lively dispite giving the ball away a few times, probably due to him being lightweight and pushed off the ball again. But We should continue this at home but add an extra striker. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,195 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 My personal feeling is that it should be a minute's silence but you can bet that the applause came about (not for Phil O Donnell but in general) because of a minority of morons (not just Gers but all teams) who refused to stand in silence for a minute. So the easiest thing to do was to have a minute's applause whereby any dissenters would be drowned out. I think the minute's silence is more appropriate as a minute's applause can often be believed to just be the normal crowd noise willing their team on. But I would rather have a well respected minute's applause with dissenters lost int he noise than a minutes silence with the dissenters easily heard. Onto the team..... I like your team Gribz and normally would be happy to go with that (anyone else impressed by the guile, invention, speed etc of Burke and Naismith against Hibs ?). Naismith and Burke made us look far more creative than we have been all season long and I would like to see both of them retain their places for a run of games to see how they do. However, I was very impressed with the football we played at Hibs so would expect us to play the 4-5-1 with Fergie pushing slightly more forward in midfield (Buffel should have been in the squad to come on and replace him later on if game is won....). Fergie seemed to not dictate everything as much against Hibs - not everything had to go through him and he also let the other players do their jobs which is good. So I would stick with the same team as against Hibs and see how it goes - we obviously can go to 4-4-2 later on but I think with Burke and Naismith we are effectively playing a 4-3-3 anyway. Bring it on !!! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza_8 233 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 WS has to be play a 4-4-2. He went with 1 upfront against Hibs earlier in the season and we were absolutely pish and deserved to be beaten that day. I'm not confident of Rangers winning at homes these days. Don't know why but I don't think our style of play and the players we have are suited to breaking down defences at Ibrox. As for the minutes silence/clapping I'd go for silence all the way. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 0 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 1-0 after 10 mins an the pundits going mad about the move 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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