07 Sep 2015 00:12:23
well strachans bubbles burst , dreadful performance and dreadful team not being vindictive here but was broon on the park, he was awful just like in europe, surely riffiths, neas he is should have replaced fletcher, a guy who scores every xmas? pathetic and his bringing on forrest who breaks own once a month and hnley when we needed 2 up front. anyone agree?

1.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 11:23:17
no interest in corrupt sfa team rather focus on rangers its all about the rangers

2.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 13:02:22
In years gone by it was great watching Scotland play but the present style and calibre of player is painful and reminds me of watching Ally's team the last couple of years. Agony.

Rangers are a joy to watch right now and that's all that matters to me. I think we're already streets ahead of the likes of Aberdeen, Hearts and Dundee united and would beat Celtic if we come across them in a cup tie this season. Let's hope the SFA don't try and pinch Warburton & Weir.

3.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 14:01:07
Aren't you just better seeing how you get on against St Johnstone to gauge how much you've improved before saying your "streets ahead " of premier clubs . Aberdeen and Celtic are actually unbeaten as well and that's against a higher calibre of teams

4.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 14:50:23
DEEAITCH?

I can understand your reason for celtic being a higher calibre as they cost tens of millions to put together, but how do you put Aberdeen in that class - they have spent very little if anything and are playing in a sub standard Premier League.

5.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 15:02:22
all brown has ever done is run around kicking people.Strachan is a celtic man and his teams will always be celtic minded whether on the park or on the bench and scott allen will be next for a cap so accept the facts our country is oot. world cup next with the celtic reserves being looked at whilst I type. he's done well to get us out of the basement but that's his level. steven fletcher. hahahahahahahahah. JOKE!. deecee

6.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 16:10:06
Aye ready if it was all about money Rangers would already be in the SPFl and I might be right in thinking Aberdeen have spent roughly the same as Rangers on their team,and Rangers over a lot more than the part timer's they have been playing over the past few years.

7.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 16:28:14
Aye Ready the second worst team in that sub-standard league you talk of cuffed you 6-1 only just over three months ago, had you forgot that? Now I appreciate Rangers are better, much better than they were but to date you have played no one. St Johnstone might be a small step up, Aberdeen bigger still and Celtic, who beat Aberdeen 4/4 last season, as well as beating yourselves 1/1 and your league nemesis Hearts very convincingly in two games are still a step up again. Are you that good? It remains to be seen. But are some of you going into superlative overdrive on what you have done so far, absolutely. Take care of St Johnstone then we have at least a gauge.

8.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 17:39:58
Spot on Gaz 1. We have beaten everyone so far including Hibs (twice) and St Mirren (SPL team last season) and of course you can't compare the team who played Motherwell and lost 6-1 on aggregate with this team. The St Johnstone tie will be the first gauge as you say and if we win that game well then we'll have moved a step further up the ladder. The standard in the SPL isn't that good. Hearts have done well since going up and could be back on top of the SPL (albeit maybe briefly) on Friday night. Hearts would not have stormed ahead of this current Rangers team had they been in play last season. Let's wait and see with eager anticipation!

9.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 17:48:53
Gaz1 have you watched any of the rangers games this season because if you had you wouldn't be comparing this team with what was being played last year and I mean this Warburton team is light years a head of any team in the championship and the only team I would worry about playing would be celtic at Parkhead but if we are still playing the way we are now in the new year your team will no they are in for a game I also think with the quick ball Mr Brown would be sent off he's a thug pure and simple another thing your leaving out is Warburton make five changes players who have been playing well don't make the bench and remind us how many defenders are in this year's squad from last year?!!

10.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 18:46:02
Yeah let's not get Carried away lads gaz1 is right.
I read the same criticism levelled at the Malmo fans when after qualifying for the champions league some of their support were getting a wee bit carried away about their prospects in the group stages. The Swedish media were quick to remind them however that thus far they had played no one to get there!

11.) 07 Sep 2015
07 Sep 2015 22:09:00
RHW I've saw a few games this season, not as many as last year and of course there are better but here is something to ponder.

99.99% of teams are in the league they are in on merit I'd hate to say only Rangers stand out when I actually don't know but in several ways they are an exception. Over thirty years or so the numbers of wins, losses and draws, more losses needless to say, have saw Notts Forest disappear from double European champions to invariably Championship also rans or worse. Similarly a higher than anticipated number of wins sees Hull and Swansea up there with the big boys and on merit too. EVERY club finds their level. Except Rangers.

This demotion wasn't on footballing merits as we all know and given the resources and even the squad they started with (of 21 players by the way, not the imagined three men and dog some of you claim)it was, or least ways should not have been a struggle bouncing back. The only thing that even made this of interest, competitive and indeed therefore the foil for many a joke was the fiasco that is Ally "the frozen one" McCoist's management, that is all. To all intents and purposes this was throwing a heavyweight into the lightweight division, a bad heavyweight will still win most fights at that level, a decent one with some good results, a very good one with some killer efficiency and real panache.

I'm not saying 5-0 every week should be the benchmark and on paper it is good as is the style of play currently but such was the poverty of entertainment that you saw under McCoist that damn near any improvement will be claimed comparable with the 1970 Brazil team. That you went 5 away game s in division 3 without an away win was a disgrace, that you haven't won the Petrofac in three attempts is a disgrace, last season was utterly farcical but yes you have a good guy in charge and look at the superlatives Sir Warburton, playing like Borgs (I appreciate this is nothing to do with Swedish tennis but FFS!) You SHOULD be winning most weeks at this level because EVERY other team in Scotland is at their level, St Mirren, Hibs, Alloa, Peterhead, Airdrie are that low, are that bad. I know it doesn't mean you thrash teams every week and so far that is encouraging but you have still to play a good team and for that matter much as it's a step up I don't even thing St Johnstone will pose a problem. But please, please find some perspective, you would think there would be a reluctance to go overboard after all the woes of late but on the evidence of the salivating it doesn't seem so.

12.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 01:06:41
Noone has mentioned the second gauge yet (st Johnstone being the first). Celtic vs Raith. 5-0, almost 80% possession, over 20 shots and all away from home. If we are so far behind surely Celtic will crush these stats given they are at home. wonder what odds pp are giving out on that lol. ;-) ;-) ;-)

13.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 08:48:37
Depends Spart if you remember Lennon used the first round for us of the League cup to blood squad players, made 10 changes and got beat 1-0 to Morton. Had 25 shots, an amazing 27 corners and 67% possession. Possession isn't everything by the way spart, never really impressed me as a stat, Netherlands had 68% of it at the weekend and got gubbed 3-0 by Turkey. So with endless Thursday night Europa games, which have their own demands, you always have only 3 days till a league game at most, you might find he tinkers with his team if not downright changes it. Apples and oranges until Europe is over or till you are back in it.

14.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 09:18:31
I agree to an extent re possession gaz, arsenal almost always have most of the ball but haven't won the league in years. Also even mccoist teams mostly managed to hold over 50%. The difference this year is we are dominating possession in the opposition half, not just passing it about the back, and doing something positive with it numerous times every game. Also get the 'weakened team' angle but Warburton has yet to play the same lineup two weeks running, often five changes at a time, and it hasn't affected the outcome or style of play one iota. I will still be interested in how much you win by and how comfortably you do it as all I've heard from my Celtic mates recently is you should be smashing these teams off the park every week anyway etc. Goose and gander, lead by example etc lol.

15.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 11:06:49
But your still not factoring in that of our four tournaments the League Cup is probably number four in priority, of your targets winning the Championship (and by definition smashing these teams) is your number one. I'm not saying Celtic won't try, won't care but is it as vital to us as winning the Championship should be for you? Of course not. Like I said till Europe is over we are trying to compare apples and oranges. Hearts were a fair indicator of the gulf between both teams last year, we played them after the Europa League rounds and unlike their Petrofac team they were full strength against us so we knew, or had a fair idea, that's Celtic's best beat Hearts best who could beat Rangers best, yes? And ultimately that was backed up in the LC semi, where it was 2-0 but you never even had a shot on goal. That "form" or acid test can't or won't be established after the next round of the League Cup that's for sure.

We are playing more games, against tougher opponents and travelling more miles to do so with more players getting picked at international level, of course Raith might be seen as a game to take the foot off the pedal and give Allan, Rogic, Stokes, Ambrose etc a game. And as to who is best, it won't tell us a damn thing.

16.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 15:02:06
I will agree gaz tougher league but not by much like I said celtic at parkhead before christmas is my only worrier and fyi I think we are a better outfit than heart and look were they are.

17.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 19:14:12
RHW At best you have played genuine Championship teams so far, that's all we have to go by, St Johnstone is your first toe dip into something different, given the momentum of the QOS and Hibs victories last season who saw an out of form Motherwell beating you 6-1 so I wouldn't get carried away yet and chances are Hearts have improved from last season too, no?

18.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 20:37:49
gaz your not comparing like for like it would be like me trying to comparing this celtic side to one that was good enough to qualified for champion league football

19.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 21:41:24
Surely then, given the league is our priority too, the St Johnstone match will be no gauge as to progression either. Not a single fan will deny the current team is a country mile ahead of the one that beat st j in the cup not so long ago. Win, lose or draw we ultimately won't know how we would do in top league until we get there. End of thread lol ;-)

20.) 08 Sep 2015
08 Sep 2015 23:02:15
I appreciate he has improved you RHW but your team was three months ago or so the Celtic one you talk of was 2 years ago, I know which one is closer to their comparison. Forster, Hooper, Wanyama, Wilson, Ledley, Matthews, it seems a million years ago in some ways lol. But are you better than anything outside the Championship? We don't know, it's as simple as that, way too many false dawns with Rangers of late to presume this as an automatic already 2nd best team in Scotland. Last season I thought the rounds would get easier, QOS outplayed you just before the play offs whereas you had began to get the number of Hibs and Motherwell losing a close battle for 10th would be gutted, I really thought it got easier as the rounds went by as did many folk, you got destroyed and I know we are talking a different manager etc etc and some better players but my point is you had momentum and were favourites and it didn't happen, in that regard we are very much comparing like with like regards St Johnstone till we actually see the game, I'm pretty confident you will be favourites, back it up, then make the next step, maybe ICT, then Aberdeen/Hearts only then does second best become a valid claim and of course beating us would suggest resurrection all but complete. But you need to do it first any number of wins v these current teams says bugger all.

21.) 09 Sep 2015
09 Sep 2015 14:18:49
Gaz, if you look at my initial post there were three winky faces. I wasn't seriously implying Celtic must beat those stats or we are automatically better. I said as soon as it became clear the hibs cup game wasn't a fluke that I wanted three teams this year in the cups (hypothetically winning at least one game for all three matches to materialise) in order to gauge the current teams standing in comparison to last year. Hearts, Motherwell then Celtic. All three embarrassed us last year truth be told. Not saying it'd be a shoe-in that we'd win any, nvm all three but would be a far harder test for all three too than they got last year. The cups, to me, aren't important this year but these games in particular if they came would either prove we could already handle it in spfl or highlight key areas needing strengthened for when we do get there. It'd be a win win in my book.

22.) 09 Sep 2015
09 Sep 2015 14:51:00
No worries spart I just meant with regards priorities Rangers league efforts v any Championship team will see Rangers at their most focused, dare I say "bread and butter fixture" A championship team in the League Cup for Celtic might not get the juices flowing as much and therefore the performance probably will be off that intensity. But absolutely neither tells us nothing longer term.

I promise you I'm not saying it to cause mischief Spart, I enjoy talking to you a lot, but I'd have thought the petrofac was a boil that needs lancing this season. I don't mean it to merely add pressure too but it kind of needs to happen this year no? Honestly daft as it seems I'd imagine it is target number three this year at Ibrox not even four. I appreciate that sounds daft in the big scale of things but it does grow weight every season it isn't won. What's your thoughts on it over say the League Cup?

23.) 10 Sep 2015
09 Sep 2015 21:41:19
Yup, totally agree. Think it's actually essential this year tbh. But that's to fans like me who have had to suffer the embarrassing fiasco of previous years in the comp. Management team may view it entirely differently.