simmo wrote:Josef K is lying low, God bless him... he's obviously in
a world of pain, the poor bugger.
Heh heh, thanks for thinking of me Simmo. I don't feel too bad. Although there was always hope, I've pretty much been prepared for the season ending like this. As a sporting competition it has been great and Rangers have made admirable progress since last season when Celtic won the league by 20 points, or so.
Celtic deserve the league as they've shown that, when it really matters, they can do the business.
What has been disappointing, however, is the conservative tactics displayed by the manager, Smith. Ok, we know there is a lack of real talent, especially up front, but that's no excuse for the negativity shown in the UEFA cup final. The tactics work perfectly well (with a good deal of luck) for two-legged ties but not a one-off final.
I think Smith is capable of getting the team to a certain level but using business language, I don't think he can 'seal the deal'. There is something wrong with his ability to install a 'do or die' mentality to ensure the team are motiviated to finish things off. Under Smith Rangers tend to wilt under the stearnest challenge.
There are a few mitigating circumstances, e.g. number of games (68 this season - more than any other club in Europe apparently - David Weir at 37 played in most of them) but these would just be excusing Smith's failings.
And what happened in Manchester after the match was pretty disgusting and embarrassing. It also probably put paid to any hope of a revival of the home internationals. Bastards.