RangersMedia News: Old Firm as Interesting as Our Position in the Money Ranks

Written by Bazza

Monday, 16 February 2009

The Games The most important part of this week’s round up can only really concentrate on one thing, the Old Firm game. The old adage of “A game of two halves” could not have been more appropriately demonstrated as Rangers looked to stifle the game in the first. Walter's 4-1-4-1 formation, with the eyebrow raising selections of McCulloch and Lafferty, really didn’t click as we were extremely wasteful in possession, and we gave what can only be described as a poor Celtic side an easy ride. In the second half, we showed a lot more of what we could do and left us feeling a little down, although not devastated, in the way we bossed the midfield and created enough chances to have grabbed a winner. This was allegedly down to the half-time team talk/shouting by Walter. Bougherra admitted: "That's the angriest I have seen him since I came to Rangers and I can understand why he was like that. He talked to us at half-time and you could see the difference in our spirit and performance after the break. "We were much better and looked more motivated. It is good when the gaffer pushes you like that, as you can sometimes be sloppy." As always, these games aren’t without controversy, and when Miller was brought down inside the box, the attention turned to the rookie ref, who carried on with the game as though nothing had happened. The fans weren’t the only ones left a little bemused... Miller said: "These things don't just make the difference in terms of winning matches; they could have a big bearing on the entire title campaign. If it had happened anywhere else on the pitch, it would have been a foul. No question.” Overall, although we as fans always like to have a good grumble, a draw, a point and a retention of a two-point gap to them really isn’t that bad of a result, especially when the last SPL game against them is at the Brox. Walter summed up the day by saying, "We didn't play well in the first half and when we line up in the manner that we did, if we don't keep good possession of the ball, then we don't get any opportunities. "So in the context of the second half we are disappointed not to have won, but over the 90 minutes, we have to be happy with a draw." The SPL race is still on and we do look more confident at present and on the better run. I get the funny feeling though that there will be plenty of twists and turns yet. ********** The Under 19’s had their own big day in the quarter final of the Scottish Youth Cup and this game couldn’t have been as far removed from the OF game as it was. A dramatic 4-3 win at Fir Park was won in extra time as Naismith chose the 116th minute to save the tension of a penalty shootout. Motherwell had had to come back from 2-0 down at half time to lead 3-2 with just 15 minutes left. It was then that super sub Naismith scored a 35-yard screamer to level things up before Campbell struck the foot of the post on 90 minutes to see the game head for extra time. MOTM: Naismith finished off a terrific afternoon, though, and gave the lads a semi-final date to look forward to. The Transfers You’d have thought that we had left the silly season behind us in order to concentrate fully on the upcoming trophies, but not so. The rumour mill continues relentlessly with the biggest being the possible transfer of Miller to Russia of all places. Newly crowned Russian Champions, Rubin Kazan, are apparently willing to offer £2 million for the striker, who has 18 months left on his contract. Rangers could well be tempted, too, as they still look to offload one of their top earners. On another front, Hamilton have allegedly come under our microscope, with both Tomas Cerny and James McArthur being watched closely. It’s amazing the lengths people will go to to get a story!! The Injury Front We look to have come through the weekend relatively unscathed, although I hear that Alan McGregor may be suffering a slight bit of bruising in his ribs... Nacho remains the biggest name on the short-term treatment table, however, with at least another couple of weeks to go before we have a chance of seeing his return. The Rest It emerged yesterday that a certain Ewan Murray has a slight hearing impairment, allegedly, only one lug works! In his column, he states “There was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the odd bout of distasteful chanting to distract attention from the dismal on-field matters. "How Rangers officials, who have worked hard to try to improve the behaviour of their fans, must cringe at episodes such as the one when thousands chanted "Fenian bastard" at Scott Brown. "And the Famine Song, it seems, is yet to be eliminated from the song book. Time to get with the 21st Century, chaps.” Now I don’t fully disagree that some of the some of the things chanted on football terraces can be deemed offensive, but please, oh please, if you’re going to take umbrage with one side of the terraces, be objective and listen to the many chants on the other of “Orange bastards,” “Huns,” pro-IRA chants, etc., etc. Nobody minds sticking to rules if they are applied globally.... ********** John Fleck-mania is still sweeping the board with Scotland boss George Burley hinting that he may well rocket the Gers youngster through the ranks and straight into the first team set up for the upcoming game against Holland. The adage “If you're good enough, you're old enough” is certainly being well used here. ********** The feel-good factor is spreading through the ranks as well, with Giorgos Efrem the latest to speak of his renewed confidence of getting his chance after seeing Fleck take his place. Efrem said: "We have a lot of good young boys at Rangers and Fleck is one. He is a talented player and has given me the encouragement to try and do well and catch the manager's eye. "My target is to establish myself at Dundee and show what I can do. If I perform well enough maybe I will be lucky enough to play for Rangers one day. "I'm contracted at Ibrox only until the end of the season, so I'm playing for a new contract there, as well." ********* For the first time in a decade, Rangers and Celtic have dropped out of the world’s rich list of clubs. A combination of factors, including the massive upturn of TV income in the English Premiership has made a major contribution to our exclusion. Alex Byars, a Deloitte senior consultant, said “To be honest, it's amazing that one or both of Celtic and Rangers have always featured in the top 20 in the past. The reality is that for any club outside the big five European leagues of England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany, it is incredibly difficult to achieve the level of revenue required to make it on to the list. "Fenerbahçe, of Turkey, have managed it this year, making it in 19th place, and that is largely on the back of reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League. "They are also operating in a larger domestic market than Celtic or Rangers and are doing well commercially. Celtic and Rangers both had good years on the pitch last season, but it is the relatively small broadcasting market they are in which is really holding them back.”