Rangers FC Thread

[allycoops]

Thought us Bluenoses may as well have our own thread seen as other supporters have their own team thread,

Please Post any Rangers News, Match Reports, Transfer Rumours etc in here.

Please Respect Other Supporters Views on the Forum including the Celtic Supporters ("even if they do talk shite")

and NO Sectarianism of any Kind please,

Banter is allowed and welcome.

Cheers Lads

[allycoops]

Rangers manager Walter Smith has ruled Chris Burke and Steven Naismith out of Thursday's Uefa Cup semi-final first leg clash against Fiorentina.

The pair were injured during Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final win over St Johnstone at Hampden.

Naismith will have a scan on his knee while Burke has an ankle problem.

Smith told the club website: "It doesn't look like they will be able to feature in either of the Fiorentina games or against Celtic this Sunday."

Rangers already have a catalogue of injuries and suspensions to contend with ahead of the visit of the Italian side.


Goalkeeper Allan McGregor and wide men Charlie Adam, Lee McCulloch and DaMarcus ~~~~~~~ are not fit to play in Thursday's match while captain Barry Ferguson and midfield companion Kevin Thomson are suspended.

[allycoops]

Nice little read for the Rangers fans , Young and Old,

split into two rars because of Forum file upload size limitation,

download both parts and extract using winrar to form PDF

[C64]

As u know I'm not a Rangers fan, but I reckon this will be a great thread and I hope I'm allowed to make the occaisional post.

How do you all feel after Sundays match?

Pretty poor, infact it was shameful.

Opinions guys?

[allycoops]

Didnt See the game witchy, so cant really comment, but I dont think we have enough depth in the squad as being in 4 comps is starting to take its toll.

by all accounts it was a piss poor performance but in defence it wasnt our Best 11 and we lost two of the playmakers within 20 minutes which would make any team struggle imo.

Even coisty says he feels for St.J and they didnt deserve to go out, so that says something about the way they played.

End of the day we're through to the final and thats all that matters.

I'm more concerned over the injuries and suspensions ahead of thursday night game and any more injuries that come.

[C64]

Even coisty says he feels for St.J and they didnt deserve to go out, so that says something about the way they played.

McCoist looked very emotional during the post match interview. I thought he was gonna start crying.

I've felt like that a few times leaving Parkhead

End of the day we're through to the final and thats all that matters.

Absolutely mate!

History is always writen by the victors.
St. Johnstones Grand day out against Rangers will be forgotten next week.

[allycoops]

Fiorentina savour a purple patch
UEFA CUP SEMI-FINAL FIRST LEG
Venue: Ibrox Date: Thursday, 24 April Kick-off: 1945 BST

By Giancarlo Rinaldi


Nine years ago Fiorentina were on a Champions League run which saw
them record famous victories over Arsenal and Manchester United.

Three years later they were playing against Castelnuovo Garfagnana in
Italy's fourth division.

Even in the tempestuous world of Italian football the Viola - the
Purples - have had an eventful recent history.

Back in the 1990s with the likes of Gabriel Batistuta and Rui Costa
in their side they were serious league title contenders.

However, their financial foundations under owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori
were shaky and the club was sent down to Italy's lowest professional
league due to its economic collapse.

Thanks to fresh investment from shoe magnates Diego and Andrea Della
Valle they returned to Serie A in 2004 but even since then things
have not gone smoothly.

In their first season back in the top flight the side from the Stadio
Artemio Franchi flirted with relegation but survived late in the day.

The following campaign they qualified for the Champions League only
to have that prize taken off them due to their part in the Calciopoli
scandal.

It showed the undue influence some clubs - particularly Juventus -
had in the selection process for match referees.

As part of their sentence the side from the Renaissance City also
received a hefty points penalty for last season which effectively
killed their chances of a top four finish once again.

Nonetheless, thanks in large part to the goals of Luca Toni, they
managed to qualify for the Uefa Cup this campaign.

They currently sit in a Champions League spot in Serie A, while
Rangers stand between them and a first major European final in 18
years.

The boys from the banks of the river Arno have got to this stage with
a youthful side which likes to play attacking and skilful football.

And in manager Cesare Prandelli they have one of the most astute
tacticians in Italy.

His teams like to play an adventurous 4-3-3 formation but with wide
men who can work back to create five in the midfield when the side
has to defend.

The heart of the team is born-again Romanian Adrian Mutu who has come
through some hard times - most notably his well-publicised drugs
problem at Chelsea - to become an highly influential figure.

He used to play under Prandelli at Parma and clearly going back to
his old mentor has brought the best out of him.

Mutu has had a number of strike partners this season but he works
most effectively with former Italy Under 21 international Giampaolo
Pazzini.

The young forward announced himself to a wider audience with a
hattrick against England Under 21s in the match which opened the new
Wembley.

Another star performer is French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey who has
been in outstanding form this year.

He would probably be a regular for his country if they were not run
by such an eccentric figure as Raymond Domenech.

The Florentine defence relies on the solid Alessandro Gamberini,
Dario Dainelli and Tomas Ujfalusi at its heart with Martin Jorgensen
sometimes asked to play as a makeshift right-back while Manuel
Pasqual marauds forward on the left.

In the midfield there is an interesting array of options at
Prandelli's disposal.

He has the craft and guile of Fabio Liverani, the exquisite technique
of Riccardo Montolivo, the versatile Massimo Gobbi or the all-round
ability of Zdravko Kuzmanovic to call on.

In addition, he has midfield enforcer Marco Donadel on the books
although the long-haired battler is suspended for the first game at
Ibrox.

The Viola have shown with their gutsy survival against Everton and a
classy win over PSV Eindhoven that they are more than a match for
anyone.

They believe it is their destiny to meet up with old striker Luca
Toni and his Bayern Munich team in the Uefa Cup final in Manchester.

It will be up to Walter Smith and company to prove them wrong.


FIORENTINA HONOURS

2 Italian league titles
6 Italian Cups
1 Cup Winners' Cup
1 Italian Super Cup

[allycoops]

When Rangers take on Fiorentina in the semi-final of the 2007/08 Uefa Cup, older fans will remember the Italians' victory when the teams played in the 1961 European Cup-Winners' Cup final.

In reaching that stage of the inaugural cup, Rangers became the first British team to contest a European final.

However encouraging for the Ibrox club, only ten teams had taken part in the new tournament, with Spain and France refusing to enter their eligible clubs.

The Ibrox club, managed by Scot Symon, defeated the Hungarians Ferencvaros 5-4 on aggregate in a preliminary round to reach the last eight, where they thumped Borussia Moenchengladbach 11-0 over two legs.

A 3-1 aggregate win over Wolves had Rangers supporters dreaming of continental triumph.

The first Cup-Winners' Cup final was the only two-legged affair until the competition was disbanded in 1999 to make way for an expanded Uefa Cup format.




Coppa Italia winners Fiorentina arrived in Glasgow for the first-leg in confident mood, having dismissed Lucerne and Dinamo Zagreb.

Rangers had reached the semi-final of the European Cup the previous season and had added Jim Baxter to the team for the 1960/61 campaign.

A back injury meant Jimmy Millar was absent from the all-Scottish Rangers side, though the club's top striker returned for the second leg.

With defenders Bobby Shearer and Eric Caldow behind players of the calibre of Baxter, Davie Wilson and Ian McMillan, Symon's team was not short of class.

The Fiorentina team, managed by the Hungarian N?ndor Hidegkuti, boasted a host of Italian internationals, including goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi, who went on to play in the famous 1970 World Cup final against Brazil.

Swedish winger Kurt Hamrin brought pace, trickery and goals to the Italian side. He had starred for his country in the 1958 World Cup finals and was a prolific scorer in Serie A.

Among the 80,000 fans at Ibrox on 17 May was Loreno Rinaldi, who travelled from Dumfries to Glasgow with other Scots-Italians and Rangers-supporting friends.




"In Dumfries we had an Italian football team called the Red Romans. Some Scots boys used to play for us and we went up together on the bus. We were all friendly," said Rinaldi.

"When we got back to the bus we noticed one or two Fiorentina flags were torn down. It got a bit heated.

"It was a bit scary to be in the ground, especially because Fiorentina won 2-0. We just had to keep quiet, not show we were Italian or we'd never have got out alive!"

The first half of the Ibrox leg was played at a frantic pace, with Rangers struggling to find a passing rhythm.

Luigi Milan scored twice for Fiorentina. For the opener on 12 minutes, winger Gianfranco Petris pounced on a weak Harold Davis pass-back to keeper Billy Ritchie and set up his team-mate to score.




Rangers' chance to equalise was presented by referee Erich Steiner, who awarded McMillan so soft a penalty that the Fiorentina assistant manager ran on to the pitch to confront the Austrian official.

Sadly for Rangers, Caldow put the spot-kick wide of the post.

Milan's second goal came in the last minute when he beat Shearer to a 50-50 ball, surged forward, worked a one-two on the edge of the box and beat Ritchie once more.

The Viola were well on their way to becoming the first Italian team to win a European trophy.

In the return leg the following week at the Stadio Comunale, Rangers' use of the long ball was ineffective as the tactically and technically superior Italians dismissed the Scots' efforts.

Again Milan scored after 12 minutes. Alex Scott scored on the hour mark to draw level before Hamrin added a second.

Rangers would lose another Cup-Winners' Cup final in 1967, to Bayern Munich, before tasting European victory in Barcelona in 1972 with a 3-2 win over Moscow Dynamo.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rangers: Ritchie, Shearer, Caldow, Davis, Paterson, Baxter, Wilson, McMillan, Scott, Brand, Hume (Millar replaced Hume for second leg).

Fiorentina: Albertosi, Robotti, Castelletti, Gonfiantini, Orzan, Rimbaldo, Hamrin, Micheli, Da Costa, Milan, Petris.

[Jaffa]

Thomas Buffel has urged manager Walter Smith to give him a shot at European glory after a surprise return to action for Rangers.

The Belgian international was thrown into last weekend's Scottish Cup semi-final win over St Johnstone after only 11 minutes when Chris Burke was carried off on a stretcher with an ankle injury.
It was Buffel's first involvement since the 6-0 win over East Stirling in the same competition back in January and only his fourth appearance of the season.
He has struggled to force his way back into the first team after recovering from injury and he is desperate to play a role in Rangers' bid for an unprecedented quadruple.
"It has been a while since I played a game, but I have the semi-final in my legs now and I can be even better in the coming games - if the coach will allow me," said Buffel.

Surprised

"I didn't really expect it. All I did during training was to make sure I was fit.

"I could have said 'I'm not going to get a chance any more' and just left it at that. But that's not me.
"I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn't been fit when given the opportunity and not done well."
Buffel believes his versatility could help him get the nod from Smith to face Fiorentina with Smith favouring a 4-5-1 formation in European matches.
"It's an advantage, as he can use me in different positions - as one off the striker or on the left or right sides.
"This is the furthest I have gone in the Uefa Cup, but I played Champions League football with Feyenoord and I have played in the last 16.
"I have some experience of that - and it's good for a coach to have options like that if he has some players out.
"He has the option and I know what it's like to be there and what to do."

Future

Buffel has been linked with a summer move away from Ibrox, but the player says he is not thinking about his future and is only concentrating on helping Rangers to success.

"I don't want to think about that right now," Buffel said of his future.
"It's just good that I am playing a little bit of football and we will see what happens in the coming weeks.
"If I do play in that game, I will not be trying to sell myself.
"It will just be great to be back and to show the Rangers fans what I can do - and hopefully they can enjoy it."

[allycoops]

Buffel is a quality player and i think he may now get a run in the team because of injurys etc

Something I was told as to why he hasnt featured in the team much so far isnt down to his footballing ability, Its down to cash and it aint Watties fault

Ive heard that if he was to make a few more appearances within a certain timescale we have to pay his former club a shit load of cash which SDM is avoiding doing, after that time scale has passed he is free to play as many games he is chosen to play

Changed Days Cash wise at Ibrox imo

[allycoops]

SPL prepares for season extension


The Scottish Premier League has decided to extend its season by four days - until 22 May - if Rangers reach the Uefa Cup final.

It has taken the unprecedented step of publishing two sets of fixtures for the final set of games.

Rangers' title rivals, Celtic, had already warned of their opposition to any extension to the season.

But the SPL insists that there was no alternative because of the number of postponed fixtures this season.

Secretary Iain Blair said: "It is well documented that this has been an exceptionally challenging season in terms of fixturing.

"The combination of a number of diverse circumstances has produced unparalleled scheduling problems."

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell had suggested that any extension would threaten the integrity of the competition.

And St Mirren had also stated that they had booked a team holiday and would therefore oppose any change.

But, should Rangers beat Fiorentina to reach the Uefa Cup final, St Mirren will have to host the Glasgow outfit on Tuesday 20 May.

"Our aim throughout has been to protect the integrity of the competition, balance the interests of our member clubs and have regard to player welfare and fixturing precedent," said Blair.

He described the proposal as "a modest extension to the season to enable Rangers FC to represent the SPL and all of Scottish football in the Uefa Cup final".

"It reflects the fact that the outstanding fixtures cannot reasonably be played in the available time and will involve some disruption for a number of our clubs," said Blair.


Rangers face four games in eight days whichever fixture list becomes reality.

If Rangers make the Uefa Cup final, the last round of fixtures for the top six clubs - which must be played at the same time on the same day - will take place on Thursday 22 May.

Rangers will also travel to Motherwell on 17 May, while Gretna's hosting of Hearts will be moved forward to 8 May.

If Rangers lose to Fiorentina, who visit Ibrox for the first leg on Thursday, Rangers will travel to face St Mirren on 13 May then Motherwell two days later

[hutchyboi]

Former star angles for Rangers return

14:39 21/04/2008

Peter Lovenkrands is open to a move back to Ibrox in the summer

“I have always said that I would love to come back to Rangers and play for them again if at some point if it was possible,” the 29-year-old told the Scottish Mail on Sunday after a frustrating season in the Bundesliga.

“I have one year left on my Schalke contract and I have been led to believe that they want me to stay with them, so at this moment, I am not sure what is going to happen.

“I enjoy Germany and playing for Schalke. It is a vital time for the club, with changes to the coaching staff and the end of the season coming up, so we’ll need to wait and see.

“There’s not much more I can say for now.”


I really hope not to be honest. Yes he was one of the fastest players to ever grace the SPL but he was a bit like Novo for his finishing, too hit and miss for my liking

[allycoops]

Ive also heard tonight from glasgow that Fernando Rickson will be back in the summer on a free

[Jaffa]

Spanish star Carlos Cuellar has spoken of his intention to snub interest from England and commit his future to Rangers.
The defender has proved to be an inspirational signing since moving to Ibrox from Osasuna in the summer.
Cuellar?s consistent displays for Rangers have caught the eye of English teams, with Newcastle believed to be hugely impressed with his efforts.
The 26-year-old is aware of the interest from England, but is intent on furthering his career with Rangers.
"With the team playing so well and going for four trophies, it couldn't be any better than this,? Cuellar told the Daily Record. ?That is why I am not interested when people say there are other clubs interested in signing me.
"I know there is interest in England but let me be clear about this - I want to stay with Rangers for years.
?I could not be any more content with my life here."

Setanta sports

[Devilfish]

So what do you guys think the result will be tonight?

My heart says 2-0 but I think we'll be lucky if we scrape a 0-0 draw with the team we're putting out!