Scotland kick off under another new manager tonight, as Craig Levein appears in the dug out for the first time for the friendly against the Czech Republic.
As the Czech Republic are also in Scotland's qualifying group for Euro 2012, both sides will put a little more importance on this knock about than usual.
The build up has, of course, been all about Levein's willingness to invite the Rangers bad boys back into the fold. He's extended invites to all of them, but only Kris Boyd will be involved this evening - Barry Ferguson apparently has a bye until next season, Lee McCulloch is injured, and Alan McGregor is helping the police with their inquiries / injured too.
And Boyd will be starting on the bench, both because Kenny Miller is the designated man for the "run about on your own up front and see if anything happens" role, and probably because there's a little public penance he has to pay before being inevitably summoned to take to the field.
We're pretty pragmatic about all this - it's true that Scotland have a limited pool of talent to choose from, so can't afford to exclude people for past misdemeanours.
But we'd distinguish between these four. Ferguson has been in fine form for Birmingham this season, and if he was as willing to play the holding midfield role for Scotland - rather than start strutting around the park like a cockerel - then he could definitely play a role. Boyd, meanwhile, is Scotland's best finisher, and has shown a little more to his game this season.
But McCulloch and MacGregor are both liabilities, and there are better players in their positions. Levein should move on.
Showing posts with label barry ferguson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label barry ferguson. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Friday, May 02, 2008
Ugly anti-football reaches the UEFA Cup Final
Lionel Messi and Adrian Mutu are far from the only people to criticise the way Rangers play football this season, but they can't argue with its effectiveness. After a penalty shoot out in Tuscany last night, Rangers are in the final.
With respect to the rest of the team, at times it was Carlos Cuellar and Davie Weir against Fiorentina, as Rangers hung on and hung on against relentless pressure. Had Christian Vieri come on a little earlier, the chance that fell to him a couple of yards from goal might not have been his first touch and he might have buried it. Had Mutu gone down in the box later on when jostled by two Rangers players, Fiorentina could have had a penalty inside normal time. Ifs and buts, though... Fiorentina couldn't score in 3 and 1/2 hours of football, and Rangers came away with the prize.
Now things get really interesting. For the past few weeks, the European adventure has seemed like a distraction, allowing Celtic to win the past 2 Old Firm derbies and close the gap in the League. Without a doubt, stopping Celtic getting their third title in a row has been the priority for the blue half of Glasgow, and the narrowing race in the SPL - plus the injury list - has caused mounting anxiety.
However, Rangers have now emulated Celtic's achievement in 2003 in reaching the UEFA Cup Final. They came home from Seville empty-handed, save for the beginnings of a tale about how 4 million supporters (or something) created the best final atmosphere ever*.
It's unlikely Rangers will attempt to mythologise their own support in quite the same way. There have been enough distasteful scenes from their travelling support in the past couple of years to make such an attempt pointless. But they might just go to Manchester and win the damn cup. And that will be a far greater prize.
With respect to the rest of the team, at times it was Carlos Cuellar and Davie Weir against Fiorentina, as Rangers hung on and hung on against relentless pressure. Had Christian Vieri come on a little earlier, the chance that fell to him a couple of yards from goal might not have been his first touch and he might have buried it. Had Mutu gone down in the box later on when jostled by two Rangers players, Fiorentina could have had a penalty inside normal time. Ifs and buts, though... Fiorentina couldn't score in 3 and 1/2 hours of football, and Rangers came away with the prize.
Now things get really interesting. For the past few weeks, the European adventure has seemed like a distraction, allowing Celtic to win the past 2 Old Firm derbies and close the gap in the League. Without a doubt, stopping Celtic getting their third title in a row has been the priority for the blue half of Glasgow, and the narrowing race in the SPL - plus the injury list - has caused mounting anxiety.
However, Rangers have now emulated Celtic's achievement in 2003 in reaching the UEFA Cup Final. They came home from Seville empty-handed, save for the beginnings of a tale about how 4 million supporters (or something) created the best final atmosphere ever*.
It's unlikely Rangers will attempt to mythologise their own support in quite the same way. There have been enough distasteful scenes from their travelling support in the past couple of years to make such an attempt pointless. But they might just go to Manchester and win the damn cup. And that will be a far greater prize.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Rangers march on towards the promised land
Rangers are through to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup, after an ultimately comfortable victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv at Ibrox. The tie finished 5-2 on aggregate, with Rangers scoring 4 at Ibrox to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the 1st leg.
Yet the result represents so much more than just progress in Europe's second cup competition. In many ways, Rangers have now firmly put the turmoil of the first half of the season to bed. But they have also realised that their much vaunted campaign against bigotry has some way to go.
The one positive from Paul Le Guen's brief tenure was the club's progress in this competition. By parting with their French manager in January, the danger was that the momentum gained in the UEFA Cup would grind to a halt as Rangers focused on rebuilding their domestic reputation. By getting through this round, though, anything that happens from here on in the UEFA Cup is a bonus. Walter Smith has shown that he, too, can cope with the demands of European competition.
More startling, though, is the transformation of Barry Ferguson. When Le Guen instructed his captain to play further up the pitch, where his passing and vision could cause more damage to the opposition, Ferguson openly rebelled, chasing the ball deep into his own half and pulling the team out of shape as he did so. A furious Le Guen dropped him, removed the captaincy, and issued a he goes or I go ultimatum. And lost. When Smith asked Ferguson to do the same on Thursday night, he turned in a Man of the Match performance, plundered a brace of goals, and played with a smile on his face.
Nothing better demonstrates the subtle nuances of football management - it is not simply about getting the tactics right, but also about man management, communication and creating the right atmosphere. Put simply, Smith knows how to get the best out of Ferguson. Le Guen did not.
Their reward is a last-16 tie against Osasuna. It was characterised by the BBC interviewer last night as a "massive tie", but only in the sense that it will test Rangers to the limit. With all due respect, Osasuna do not represent the glamour and prestige that Rangers seek to restore their self-image. If they get through, maybe that will come in the next round, where they would crave an appointment with Newcastle.
Yet Smith will know that further progress is not guaranteed. Rangers have been getting impressive results in the SPL, and the final scoreline here was emphatic, but Hapoel - hardly a "big" team themselves - threatened frequently throughout the game. With a more incisive attack, Rangers could have got punished last night. There is much work still to be done on improving this Ibrox side.
Their is work to be done off the field, too. Rangers escaped sanction from UEFA for the behaviour of some of their fans in the first leg in Israel, who were alleged to be making Nazi salutes. UEFA accepted the explanation that they were, in fact, making Red Hand of Ulster salutes. Not that such a thing exists, at least not in Ulster. The photgraphic evidence (try here: http://i18.tinypic.com/3zu44ec.jpg ) might not be enough to convict, but is a deeply unpleasant sight.
Rangers has a facist, right-wing following, however much of a minority they may be. Pretending otherwise does nothing to banish bigotry and racism from the club.
Yet the result represents so much more than just progress in Europe's second cup competition. In many ways, Rangers have now firmly put the turmoil of the first half of the season to bed. But they have also realised that their much vaunted campaign against bigotry has some way to go.
The one positive from Paul Le Guen's brief tenure was the club's progress in this competition. By parting with their French manager in January, the danger was that the momentum gained in the UEFA Cup would grind to a halt as Rangers focused on rebuilding their domestic reputation. By getting through this round, though, anything that happens from here on in the UEFA Cup is a bonus. Walter Smith has shown that he, too, can cope with the demands of European competition.
More startling, though, is the transformation of Barry Ferguson. When Le Guen instructed his captain to play further up the pitch, where his passing and vision could cause more damage to the opposition, Ferguson openly rebelled, chasing the ball deep into his own half and pulling the team out of shape as he did so. A furious Le Guen dropped him, removed the captaincy, and issued a he goes or I go ultimatum. And lost. When Smith asked Ferguson to do the same on Thursday night, he turned in a Man of the Match performance, plundered a brace of goals, and played with a smile on his face.
Nothing better demonstrates the subtle nuances of football management - it is not simply about getting the tactics right, but also about man management, communication and creating the right atmosphere. Put simply, Smith knows how to get the best out of Ferguson. Le Guen did not.
Their reward is a last-16 tie against Osasuna. It was characterised by the BBC interviewer last night as a "massive tie", but only in the sense that it will test Rangers to the limit. With all due respect, Osasuna do not represent the glamour and prestige that Rangers seek to restore their self-image. If they get through, maybe that will come in the next round, where they would crave an appointment with Newcastle.
Yet Smith will know that further progress is not guaranteed. Rangers have been getting impressive results in the SPL, and the final scoreline here was emphatic, but Hapoel - hardly a "big" team themselves - threatened frequently throughout the game. With a more incisive attack, Rangers could have got punished last night. There is much work still to be done on improving this Ibrox side.
Their is work to be done off the field, too. Rangers escaped sanction from UEFA for the behaviour of some of their fans in the first leg in Israel, who were alleged to be making Nazi salutes. UEFA accepted the explanation that they were, in fact, making Red Hand of Ulster salutes. Not that such a thing exists, at least not in Ulster. The photgraphic evidence (try here: http://i18.tinypic.com/3zu44ec.jpg ) might not be enough to convict, but is a deeply unpleasant sight.
Rangers has a facist, right-wing following, however much of a minority they may be. Pretending otherwise does nothing to banish bigotry and racism from the club.
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