It wasn’t pretty and there’s been many times they’ve been outplayed but we’re there. Rangers have made it to the Uefa Cup Final! The quad is still on, the team is just about hanging together and the next three weeks will be a roller coaster ride but after tonight I’m on such a high that I can’t wait for the next games. Work plans will need to change as I’m due to be down in Bristol on the 14th. Doh!
I really thought we had no chance tonight but for all Fiorentina’s possession and chances they didn’t really threaten that much. They had a few good chances but we rode our luck and stuck to the game plan that’s seen us progress so well this season. No doubt I’ll get the usual anti-football, negative Walter jibes at work tomorrow but what do you do. Play to your strengths and use a bit of nouse or go for it when you don’t have the players to do so? Rangers away record this season has been amazing in both the Champions league and in the Eufa cup and their final spot is well deserved. Cannot believe the difference in a season. Walter Smith in much the same way he did with Scotland has turned around a failing team. He also created a team whose sum is far greater than it’s individual parts again much like he did with Scotland. Still can’t believe he didn’t get manager of the year. Travesty!
Roll on May 14th. Roll on Scottish League and Cup wins too.
Great result tonight for Rangers. Nobody could say they were lucky over the two legs this time. So many accuse Rangers this season of being the luckiest team out there. I didn’t know playing to your strengths and actually having some tactical nous meant that you were lucky! Certainly they have rode their luck at times as all teams on a good run have to, but I do believe that you make your own luck.
So still competing in three competitions and a packed end of season. What can they achieve? What will they sacrifice if anything? Will the players have the energy to keep competing? I believe they will. Surely it’s nights like this that will spur them on over the coming weeks? Surely they would take the volume of games over sitting out a competition? Can’t wait for the next couple of weeks - big games and not just domestically. Come on!!
So England are out too. To be honest, and this is going to sound like a bitter Scotsman (too true), they never deserved to go through on not just tonight’s performance but their performance through out the whole qualifying stages. To be given a second chance by Israel and then blow it tonight on home soil with a real lack of guts and determination is pretty shocking.
McClaren was also pretty surprising. His demeanour was of a man sucked of any confidence or drive. Maybe that’s pressure, the press, the job. For whatever reason, he doesn’t look like a man to lead an international team. Standing with that brolly on the touchline trying to stay dry - nothing wrong with it really but it just sent out the wrong image. I guess it’s bye bye for him.
So no home nations at Euro 2008. Great attempts at qualifying from Northern Ireland and particularly Scotland. Terrible effort from Wales, Rep of Ireland and in particular England though. Room for a home nations tournament next year perhaps? Our footballers haven’t much else to do.
One last thought. Why is the Wembley pitch in such a bad state? For a stadium to cost THAT much money and have THAT bad a playing surface is a disgrace. To blame NFL and concerts is a bit rich. It cut up badly in the FA Cup final and has never looked in any way decent for a stadium with such a proud history.
Never has a football game been more looked forward to than tonight’s Scotland - Italy match. All week I’ve been getting more and more excited about it, more and more drawn in to the drama and passion surrounding it. Flower of Scotland has never been sung more louder at Hampden I reckon. Never have I felt so cheated and so down after a game of football.
We got off to the worst possible start and lost a really soft goal. To many not paying attention, Toni given too much room. At times we looked a real second best and a cracking Gordon save followed by a great decision by the linesman kept the score 0-1 going in to half time. But we had hope. Hutton came close and Weir’s header was cleared of the line. Second half was certainly better for Scotland. Hutton started to make the run’s we’ve become used to, Brown roamed as the game opened up and from a poor free kick we scrambled an equaliser. I went mental!! We had another glorious chance that McFadden just couldn’t connect cleanly with but it looked like a great draw for us and a nail biter on Wed as France went to Ukraine looking for a win. Italy brought on a defender and we seemed to have defended a late attack as Hutton covered in defence and then got fouled on the ball. WHAT? Crazy decision. The ref (bastardo) gave the Italians the free kick and they promptly scored. Game over, Scotland failed to qualify again.
I’m still gutted, almost empty at the loss. However it would be too easy to dwell on negatives, to familiar to adopt the unlucky loser mentality. Scotland have had a great campaign, one of their best ever and if it wasn’t for the group of death we were drawn in then who knows. To get to the position we were in tonight with three of the top ten teams in the world, the world cup runners up and the world cup holders is amazing and the whole Scotland team, past and present management and especially the supporters should take a huge amount of credit and also a massive amount of confidence into the soon to be drawn world cup campaign. Bring it on!
Well done to South Africa - well deserved winners over the whole of the tournament. Unlucky England who I think did well to reach the final and played well. As for the England try…it always looked like the players foot touched the line and then lifted in the air. I just hope ITV don’t labour….who am I kidding. There going for it big style but well done Martin Johnson for calling it correctly and stuffing one to smarmy Jim Rosenthal.
