Scottish fitba!

[Leo]

What a difference in attitude from the Rangers players on Saturday...away to Hearts at Murrayfield and with Miller back in the fold that was, especially the 2nd half, a performance to savour considering what has been shown for some time now. It certainly made a change to watch them with more confidence, more aggression and more of a team spirit. Hearts took the lead thanks to a stunning freekick from Kyle Lafferty but Miller equalised not long before the break. Hearts should have been down to 10 men when their goal keeper clearly handled the ball outside of the 18 yard box but neither the ref or linesman indicated that they had seen it so Hearts got a very lucky break there. Second half and there was only one team going to win and they did thanks to a 2nd for Miller and a long awaited goal for Josh Windass. I like this lad but feel he's being wasted wide left. Anyway, I'm not getting carried away but it was a pleasure to enjoy one of my team's games for a change. Long may it continue and hopefully the managerial position will be sorted out soon but without a knee jerk appointment.

 

[SALTIRE]

We're bottom of the league. This season is looking doom ridden already.

 

[mente captus]

We're bottom of the league. This season is looking doom ridden already.

i am a free agent!

 

[SALTIRE]

Rangers losing money hand over fist still. http://www.skysports.com/football/n...rs-announce-6-7m160net-losses-for-last-season

 

[SALTIRE]

Fair play to Celtic for breaking the British undeafeated record, with 63 games without a loss. The strength they have in comparison to the others in the league, they could extend this record by some margin.

 

[SALTIRE]

New Scotland kit being released in time for not the World Cup!

 

[Leo]

New Scotland kit being released in time for not the World Cup!

How to piss off supporters even more.....Don't know if it was for contractual reasons but it seems odd to release a new one after being pumped out.

 

[Leo]

Last weekend's games.....looked as if it was a cracking game at Easter Road. After equalising Dundee went and lost a second & the game. Fancied them for at least a draw but Hibs are doing well. Stokes got away apparently with punching a Dundee player in the hawmaws....consistency Scottish style. Excellent 0-4 win at Perth for Celtic and congrats to them for breaking the British record for most consecutive domestic games unbeaten. And another fine win (3-0) for Rangers at home to the Jags with Windass netting his 2nd in two games. Hopefully the momentum continues.

 

[Super_horns]

Kris Boyd not happy with the Scotland squad selected..

Does he have a point ?

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41897811

 

[Gulliball]

Not at all - wannabe pundit says something controversial to get his 15 minutes in a headline. Even Paul Scholes, who said nothing for his whole career, started once he was in retirement and needed a new job.

The Scottish call-ups are a mixed bag. Shinnie, Christie and McGinn are brilliant players and bang in form, so absolute no-brainers, Hanlon is also in-form and worth a gamble given the lack of other options. MacLean and Jack aren't in form, but it's a meaningless mid-season friendly that anyone established will pull out of given half an excuse, so picking the best available players in Scotland is hardly a bold step for a Scotland squad.

 

[Gulliball]

Some positives from the game tonight - looking reasonable against a big name side and losing to a dodgy goal on the counter. John McGinn and Callum McGregor looked excellent in midfield and showed they can play at this level.

It was a shame that some players didn't get on the pitch or get more of a chance. Playing Kenny McLean over Graeme Shinnie given their respective performances and form for Aberdeen was a bad call, and this was an ideal chance to give Hanlon and Cummings a chance. Instead Phillips and Tierney, two players who have nothing to prove, were played put of position for practically the whole game. Hopefully the recent performances of players like Armstrong, McGregor and McGinn will increase the chances of more in form players being given a chance.

 

[SALTIRE]

I thought we were fairly bright but without any punch. Good to see us play at other stadia though over the rather bleak Hampden all the time, they should do it more.

 

[Super_horns]

Michael O'Neil given permission to speak to Scotland.

Happy with that?

 

[Leo]

Michael O'Neil given permission to speak to Scotland.

Happy with that?

Doesn't bother me either way as I have little interest in any international football but the papers have been full of it, from what I have gathered the fans aren't overly excited....no actual criticism but certainly not banging their approval from the roof. Tbh, why would he want to leave the good job he has to pick up a poisoned chalice of a job.

 

[Gulliball]

As good a candidate as you're likely to get, so I don't see any reason to be negative. It's not a great job, but slightly bigger and better paid than NI, so just a case of whether he takes it or waits for something better to come along.

 

[Leo]

As good a candidate as you're likely to get, so I don't see any reason to be negative. It's not a great job, but slightly bigger and better paid than NI, so just a case of whether he takes it or waits for something better to come along.

As I said I don't have a great interest in international football but what makes you believe the Scotland gig is bigger than the Northern Ireland one ? They got to Euro 16, they got to a play off last week, they're currently ranked 23rd while Scotland are ranked 29th. As for salary, that's just an assumption I'd say because there were reports that the Northern Ireland FA were offering him a fantastic deal to remain.

 

[Gulliball]

Country and player pool is bigger, and rumoured £1m salary, plus he lives in Edinburgh. Scotland are at a low point so there's room to do a similar job as he did with NI. That's why he might take. Flip side is that his stock is currently high, could get a pay rise and wait for a nicer job to come around as I think a few good sized Championship sides might be interested if he waits, as Coleman just has.

 

[SALTIRE]

I'm fine with it, he's obviously a good coach and will know the Scottish players well. Hoping more youth can be integrated into the side though, the old guard haven't done it for us so we might as well start from scratch.

 

[Super_horns]

Rangers need to get a new manager I feel soon.

2 poor results in a week.

Well done Dundee though.

 

[Leo]

Well after being beaten by Dundee last Friday at dens it was a big game for Rangers at home to Aberdeen. Tbh I wasn't confident at all but they certainly showed a different nature to their game, a nature that hasn't been seen often enough. A three zero win and an overall excellent performance. Hopefully that puts them in the mood to repeat it on Sunday at Pittodrie.

 

[rudebwoyben]

I'm fine with it, he's obviously a good coach and will know the Scottish players well. Hoping more youth can be integrated into the side though, the old guard haven't done it for us so we might as well start from scratch.

You missed out the game against Hamilton!

On a side note, the Celtic penalty that they got against Motherwell in the last minute, the conversion of which extended their unbeaten run, looked very soft to me.

 

[SALTIRE]

Dundee get their second win on the bounce - get in! What seemed like an impossible job a few weeks ago now looks as if it could be done! Missed the first win last week with the flittin', but didn't realise it was against Rangers!

 

[Leo]

Dundee get their second win on the bounce - get in! What seemed like an impossible job a few weeks ago now looks as if it could be done! Missed the first win last week with the flittin', but didn't realise it was against Rangers!

Probably more interested in your 'English' team......

 

[SALTIRE]

Probably more interested in your 'English' team......

 

[Leo]

Another win against Aberdeen and another much needed 3 points which puts us 2nd in the league for the time being. As usual this was a hard fought game but first half Rangers were by far the better team and went in at the break leading 0-1 thanks to a great header from Danny Wilson. Second half we went down to 10 men when Ryan Jack was given a red card for a 50/50 challenge with Stevie May....an atrocious decision by Willie Collum. Jack has been accused by some of following through and catching May's leg...of course he followed through....he cleanly took the whole ball but his momentum meant that his foot was going forward and because May wasn't fully committed to the tackle he got hurt. It was a clean, fair tackle and Collum was far too quick to show the card. Anyway, Aberdeen thinking they could get something were pushing forward more but a counter attack and fine finish from Windass put us 0-2 in front. Aberdeen got one back with an excellent freekick but Rangers held firm. Great win & hopefully continues.

 

[SALTIRE]

What has caused this upturn in performance though, and where has it been this season?

 

[Leo]

What has caused this upturn in performance though, and where has it been this season?

that mate is a 64 million dollar question. I really can't answer it. I'm not getting carried away however as I said after the Hearts away game that they looked to have turned the corner only to come crashing back down. Just hoping it (better form and bit of grit) is retained.

 

[Gulliball]

Rangers have made an approach today for McInnes & it's rejected by Aberdeen, meaning it doesn't meet the £800k-£1.5m it would take to buy him (+ Doherty/Marshall) out of the contract. A figure that's not changed in 5 weeks.

When the vacancy first came up, I thought he wouldn't take it - he turned down a bigger job in Sunderland this summer and was proven correct when Grayson was sacked within 3 months. Going to Rangers and at best finishing 2nd in everything, while Celtic walk to 10 in a row, is the ultimate poisoned chalice. He rejected Sunderland for not wanting a repeat of Bristol City, called it correctly, but now wants to take the Rangers job when he has a safe job with a better side on a far smaller budget - it doesn't make much sense.

Then there was the constant media stories. Literally one per day, every single day - 17 former players within 3 weeks as per the last count I saw on an Aberdeen forum.

But nothing happened. After 3 weeks, Aberdeen chairman, presumably in response to weeks of headlines, said McInnes was staying & McInnes said he was staying. Rangers played Aberdeen twice in 5 days and win both at ease, with barely a whimper from Aberdeen. Straight away afterwards the media picks up again, with everyone 'in the know' saying that it will happen this week, despite the previous denial.

For someone who prides himself on integrity though, I was certain McInnes wouldn't leave then. To stay silent for 3 weeks of constant stories, deny it the week of 2 games vs Rangers, lose both of them without a fight, and then leave the week after denying it & taking charge of both those games would be a stabbing in the back, when it could have been much, much simpler if he wanted to leave and Rangers had the money.

The stories carry on though. It's the 5th week of everyone saying it will happen this week, and an actual bid is now made - though no club is going to accept an offer in instalments from Rangers after the £180m debts of 5 years ago, despite any media pressure - as McLean, Walker and now McInnes would show.

Hopefully at least it may come to an end now, whatever the outcome.

And Ryan Jack's tackle was with excessive force and endangering his opponent - about as textbook a red card as the refereeing handbook could provide. It was also well over the ball and Stevie May was carried off afterwards, fulfilling the human criteria.

It's been strange watching him play this season - for 5 years he's been a quiet, mummy's boy type midfielder. His strengths are technical rather than physical or mental, yet with his move he's seemingly tried to re-invent himself as a hard-man enforcer type midfielder - hilariously bad at it too & now 5 red cards by 3rd December. All for either squaring up to an opponent and one lunge over the ball - if you are that bad at it, then just go back to your strengths, which is being a technically good, ball playing midfielder.

 

[Super_horns]

Seems like McInnes is keen to join Rangers now:

What will his expectations at Rangers be - probably higher than they are at Aberdeen?

But with a squad of around the same ability maybe..

Will he have money to spend given they spent quite a bit under the previous guy.

 

[Gulliball]

McInnes has turned it down - would have been excellent news 6 weeks ago, but the way it's panned out, with constant media speculation, 2 awful performances against Rangers and missing training this week - it looked like he was off & a lot of fans have turned against him.

Rangers have just released another blue crayon special. Not taken the rejection very well...

6 week campaign to put pressure on him, all eggs in one basket and he turns you down. Just when you think Kris Boyd will be the funniest thing you see all day, there's a 10pm Rangers statement...

Funnily enough, that could be just the type of thing to re-unite the Aberdeen fans again after all of this, coming together to hate and laugh at Rangers.