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    Scottish FA vs Rangers

    How cruel can the last month of the season be....

    #2
    Scottish FA vs Rangers

    It is an exact mirror of what happened to Celtic about four years ago.

    Consistency.

    Comment


      #3
      Scottish FA vs Rangers

      except it's not the SFA, who have nothing to do with the league calendar.

      its the SPL, formed by Rangers, Celtic and a few others who wanted a cartel with a monopoly of TV money and screw the other clubs, who refused to allow rangers the flexibility they sought.

      karma, some might say.

      Comment


        #4
        Scottish FA vs Rangers

        Could any of our Caledonian correspondents confirm? I believe that Rangers' fixture backlog included,

        * two cup replays (quarter final with Partick, fifth round Hibs)

        * league match postponed the weekend before they were at home to Lyon in the chumps' league. Rangers claimed this was in response to Lyon's own postponement, but didn't the Gers actually ask first?

        * league game at Motherwell postponed due to unplayable pitch (can't remember if this was the 'Well themselves, or their tenants Gretna)

        * Old firm league game, postponed at Celtic's request following Phil O'Donnell's death

        * league game the weekend before Scotland's international with France.

        List not exhaustive, probably. But of those five examples, only the third looks like a harsh SPL decision outside Rangers' control.

        There were free midweek dates pre-Xmas when Rangers could have fitted in the earlier postponements. Nore the club only played four games in November (two of which were CL ties).

        Comment


          #5
          Scottish FA vs Rangers

          that's fairly accurate.

          i think the blame is with uefa. if they had rearranged their cup final, perhaps for mid-june, rangers could have played a game last wednesday, would have been fresher for the rest of the league run in and might have a chance of winning something more than the league cup this year.

          as it stands, their final against Queen of the South on Saturday is no foregone conclusion.

          Comment


            #6
            Scottish FA vs Rangers

            Was there not also a game postponed because the Ibrox pitch was unplayable?

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              #7
              Scottish FA vs Rangers

              No one can deny that Rangers have had a chronic schedule in recent weeks and no doubt this has affected their performances. However, Walter Smith has had options and resources available to him.

              This is where Barry Ferguson comes in. Just like Martin Tyler branded John Terry ‘Mr Chelsea’ before he became ‘Missed a Penalty’, Ferguson’s influence on Rangers is similarly unhealthy for the club and presents a dilemma for Smith. His performances in recent weeks have been influenced by his flagging energy levels; from imperious in the first half to invisible in the second. This has meant that a team that was good enough to lead the SPL by a significant margin up to a month ago were suddenly there for the taking.

              Smith had an opportunity to rest his weary skipper and give greater responsibility to Steven Davis, a player not lacking in talent or energy (given the few games he had for Fulham before his move in January). But this was not taken, and with that Rangers have really struggled. The crux of the matter lies with their inability to hold onto possession and dictate the tempo of the game, particularly in the latter stages, which has led to red cards for offences borne from frustration.

              Queen Of The South, rested since the end of April during a period where their opponents have played 10 games, could not have dreamt of fancying their chances against Rangers, never mind getting to Hampden. The odds on their victory will have shortened drastically.

              Comment


                #8
                Scottish FA vs Rangers

                Poor old Rangers.

                In 1986/87, a Scottish team had to play a two legged UEFA Cup Final after a 44 game league season as well as a Scottish Cup Final and a run to the semis of the League Cup.

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                  #9
                  Scottish FA vs Rangers

                  Ferguson was rested for the Hearts game in the autumn, and Rangers got turned over. Don't think they've dared drop him since, even though he's got an ankle injury.

                  I'm told by a Motherwell fan that they used to play far more games on the pitch than they did this year ( reserve games / youth games etc,etc), the difference is the big new stand they built a few years back, which blocks out all the sun.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Scottish FA vs Rangers

                    the cantering captain wrote:
                    the difference is the big new stand they built a few years back, which blocks out all the sun.
                    Thats a Fecking Big Stand.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Scottish FA vs Rangers

                      The comparisons with Celtic's finale to the 2002/03 season aren't accurate. Similarities, perhaps, but not accurate. Celtic had put out a reserve side in the SFA Cup that year and were duly beaten by Caley. To the best of my knowledge, they only had two league fixtures to make up in April and May - away to Motherwell and home to Dundee.

                      Rangers chose to put out a reserve side in the cup game at home to Falkirk but drew as a consequence. The extra fixture was the price they paid for that. In the previous round at Hibs they could have gone more for the win, instead of appearing content with getting a replay at home. Given that they knew they had a League Cup Final approaching (with league fixture postponement from that weekend), at least two UEFA Cup fixtures to play, and this on top of unfulfilled fixtures (final CL group game, Scotland International, Phil O'Donnell's death) already needing to be accomodated, I would be pointing at Rangers' approach to the SFA Cup as being the biggest factor in their busy schedule at the end of the season.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Scottish FA vs Rangers

                        the difference is the big new stand they built a few years back, which blocks out all the sun

                        Thats a Fecking Big Stand
                        Or alternatively the Lanarkshire area has a microclimate with even less sunshine than its surrounds. I first noticed this in the 90s when the young Hendry and Higgins first started winning big snooker tournaments. They were two of the palest white people I'd ever seen.

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                          #13
                          Scottish FA vs Rangers

                          Stephen Hendry of course hailing from the part of Lanarkshire known as Edinburgh.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Scottish FA vs Rangers

                            That's more a snooker than a Scottish phenomenon anyway isn't it. English player Steve James was so pale as to be practically translucent.

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                              #15
                              Scottish FA vs Rangers

                              My apologies to the pasty faced potter.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Scottish FA vs Rangers

                                hahaha.

                                And, perhaps Hendry isnt a good example as he had so much acne it was difficult to see his skintone.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Scottish FA vs Rangers

                                  Rangers' SPL fixture list this season ended up being front-loaded with home games. In the first two-thirds of the campaign, they played a larger than usual number of fixtures at Ibrox, including the first two derbies against Celtic (both of which they won).

                                  By the end of March, they had played 17 league games at home and 13 away. At the same juncture, Celtic had played 14 at home and 16 away.

                                  The Huns would have thought they were so far ahead that the backlog of away matches at the conclusion of the season wouldn't matter, and that a demoralised Celtic would have given up the chase by then anyway.

                                  Bad call.

                                  Comment

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