Wasn't he being touted as a next Wonder-Kid a while ago?
At 21, I think a capped England Under-21 player for £3.5M isn't THAT big a 
bump.

I think we could get a better player for £3M, but maybe at the expense of 
youth and premiership experience.

What does anyone else think?

biz
-- 
 www.bebo.com/bizenya79
 www.myspace.com/bizenya
It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or 
lose. - Weinberg

\¯`·.¸biz¸.·´¯/ wrote:
> Wasn't he being touted as a next Wonder-Kid a while ago?
> At 21, I think a capped England Under-21 player for £3.5M isn't THAT big a 
> bump.
> 
> I think we could get a better player for £3M, but maybe at the expense of 
> youth and premiership experience.
> 
> What does anyone else think?
> 
> biz

Michael Ball was the next wonderkid too.

Derek Johnston is on the wireless now, pretending he knows who Luke 
Moore is, saying it would be "great business". This is the same Derek 
Johnston that said £1.9mil for a full german internationalist was "risky".

He's an alright player, but £3.5m is crazy money for an SPL side to be 
splashing.

" \¯`·.¸biz¸.·´¯/" <moc.liamG@aynezib> wrote in message 
news:ZtWdnUIJevRepwvanZ2dnUVZ8h-dnZ2d@bt.com...
> Wasn't he being touted as a next Wonder-Kid a while ago?
> At 21, I think a capped England Under-21 player for £3.5M isn't THAT big a 
> bump.
>
> I think we could get a better player for £3M, but maybe at the expense of 
> youth and premiership experience.
>
> What does anyone else think?
>
> biz
> -- 
> www.bebo.com/bizenya79
> www.myspace.com/bizenya
> It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or 
> lose. - Weinberg
>

We dont need him

"andy"  wrote in message 
news:J9SdnQq6ubjd-wvanZ2dnUVZ8h6dnZ2d@bt.com...
>
> " \¯`·.¸biz¸.·´¯/" <moc.liamG@aynezib> wrote in message 
> news:ZtWdnUIJevRepwvanZ2dnUVZ8h-dnZ2d@bt.com...
>> Wasn't he being touted as a next Wonder-Kid a while ago?
>> At 21, I think a capped England Under-21 player for £3.5M isn't THAT big 
>> a bump.
>>
>> I think we could get a better player for £3M, but maybe at the expense of 
>> youth and premiership experience.
>>
>> What does anyone else think?
>>
>> biz
>> -- 
>> www.bebo.com/bizenya79
>> www.myspace.com/bizenya
>> It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or 
>> lose. - Weinberg
>>
>
> We dont need him


I dont think Rangers need another striker, if they give Kris Boyd a decent 
run in the team he should be able to assert himself as a first pick, with 
the likes of Naismith, Novo and Burke buzzing down the wings and putting 
crosses in you need , IMO, a poacher in the box to dispatch them into the 
net and Kris is the very man to do that. His record compared to Cousin this 
season even though he has started fewer games is better. The only thing I 
think Cousin has over Boyd is upper body strength and a bit more pace, apart 
from that I would say Kris is the better striker

Boyd     P 13 (8 as sub) Scored 10
Cousin  P  18 (8 as sub) Scored 9


-- 


V.O.R.

If you dont believe me, ask me.

"Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message 
news:13pdsdnkjq94ec5@corp.supernews.com...
> "andy"  wrote in message 
> news:J9SdnQq6ubjd-wvanZ2dnUVZ8h6dnZ2d@bt.com...
>>
>> " \¯`·.¸biz¸.·´¯/" <moc.liamG@aynezib> wrote in message 
>> news:ZtWdnUIJevRepwvanZ2dnUVZ8h-dnZ2d@bt.com...
>>> Wasn't he being touted as a next Wonder-Kid a while ago?
>>> At 21, I think a capped England Under-21 player for £3.5M isn't THAT big 
>>> a bump.
>>>
>>> I think we could get a better player for £3M, but maybe at the expense 
>>> of youth and premiership experience.
>>>
>>> What does anyone else think?
>>>
>>> biz
>>> -- 
>>> www.bebo.com/bizenya79
>>> www.myspace.com/bizenya
>>> It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or 
>>> lose. - Weinberg
>>>
>>
>> We dont need him
>
>
> I dont think Rangers need another striker, if they give Kris Boyd a decent 
> run in the team he should be able to assert himself as a first pick, with 
> the likes of Naismith, Novo and Burke buzzing down the wings and putting 
> crosses in you need , IMO, a poacher in the box to dispatch them into the 
> net and Kris is the very man to do that. His record compared to Cousin 
> this season even though he has started fewer games is better. The only 
> thing I think Cousin has over Boyd is upper body strength and a bit more 
> pace, apart from that I would say Kris is the better striker
>
> Boyd     P 13 (8 as sub) Scored 10
> Cousin  P  18 (8 as sub) Scored 9
>

How many game-winning goals for Boyd as opposed to Cousin? Boyd seems to 
score a lot of 92nd minute goals in 3-0 victories

"Voice Of Reason" wrote
>>>
>>
>> We dont need him
>
> I dont think Rangers need another striker, if they give Kris Boyd a decent
> run in the team he should be able to assert himself as a first pick, with
> the likes of Naismith, Novo and Burke buzzing down the wings and putting
> crosses in you need , IMO, a poacher in the box to dispatch them into the
> net and Kris is the very man to do that. His record compared to Cousin
> this season even though he has started fewer games is better. The only
> thing I think Cousin has over Boyd is upper body strength and a bit more
> pace, apart from that I would say Kris is the better striker
>
> Boyd     P 13 (8 as sub) Scored 10
> Cousin  P  18 (8 as sub) Scored 9

I'd be amazed if Rangers went with Boyd as their one up front. Smith
described Cousin as a "conundrum" last weekend, and to think that you would
go with a guy that couldn;t get a start ahead of a "conundrum" would, imho,
have most Celtic fans rubbing their hands with glee. I just can't see Smith
sitting on the cash. I'd be very sceptical about Rangers chances of winning
the league with Boyd up front but you never know...

"liam"  wrote in message 
news:4797d323$1_3@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com...
> "Voice Of Reason" wrote
>>>>
>>>
>>> We dont need him
>>
>> I dont think Rangers need another striker, if they give Kris Boyd a 
>> decent
>> run in the team he should be able to assert himself as a first pick, with
>> the likes of Naismith, Novo and Burke buzzing down the wings and putting
>> crosses in you need , IMO, a poacher in the box to dispatch them into the
>> net and Kris is the very man to do that. His record compared to Cousin
>> this season even though he has started fewer games is better. The only
>> thing I think Cousin has over Boyd is upper body strength and a bit more
>> pace, apart from that I would say Kris is the better striker
>>
>> Boyd     P 13 (8 as sub) Scored 10
>> Cousin  P  18 (8 as sub) Scored 9
>
> I'd be amazed if Rangers went with Boyd as their one up front. Smith
> described Cousin as a "conundrum" last weekend, and to think that you 
> would
> go with a guy that couldn;t get a start ahead of a "conundrum" would, 
> imho,
> have most Celtic fans rubbing their hands with glee. I just can't see 
> Smith
> sitting on the cash. I'd be very sceptical about Rangers chances of 
> winning
> the league with Boyd up front but you never know...

Boyd playing as the one man up front is a non-starter - he needs to be part 
of a two man attack. But saying that, if you feed this Bear with enough 
supply he'll easily get the job done in the SPL. The big argument among Teds 
just now is why the fuck we're ever playing one man up front in Scotland. 
Fair enough, for CL away games or the occassional game at Celtic park if 
we've got half a team out injured, then maybe - but apart from that, we 
should always be playing two up.

Boydinho and JCD/Naisy getting service from Burke, Adam, Gowser, McCulloch 
or Novo? No problem. The title's coming home easy.

"FishSupper"  wrote in message 
news:Mq6dnZ73l5M5TwranZ2dnUVZ8s6inZ2d@bt.com...
>
> "Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message 
> news:13pdsdnkjq94ec5@corp.supernews.com...
>> "andy"  wrote in message 
>> news:J9SdnQq6ubjd-wvanZ2dnUVZ8h6dnZ2d@bt.com...
>>>
>>> " \¯`·.¸biz¸.·´¯/" <moc.liamG@aynezib> wrote in message 
>>> news:ZtWdnUIJevRepwvanZ2dnUVZ8h-dnZ2d@bt.com...
>>>> Wasn't he being touted as a next Wonder-Kid a while ago?
>>>> At 21, I think a capped England Under-21 player for £3.5M isn't THAT 
>>>> big a bump.
>>>>
>>>> I think we could get a better player for £3M, but maybe at the expense 
>>>> of youth and premiership experience.
>>>>
>>>> What does anyone else think?
>>>>
>>>> biz
>>>> -- 
>>>> www.bebo.com/bizenya79
>>>> www.myspace.com/bizenya
>>>> It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win 
>>>> or lose. - Weinberg
>>>>
>>>
>>> We dont need him
>>
>>
>> I dont think Rangers need another striker, if they give Kris Boyd a 
>> decent run in the team he should be able to assert himself as a first 
>> pick, with the likes of Naismith, Novo and Burke buzzing down the wings 
>> and putting crosses in you need , IMO, a poacher in the box to dispatch 
>> them into the net and Kris is the very man to do that. His record 
>> compared to Cousin this season even though he has started fewer games is 
>> better. The only thing I think Cousin has over Boyd is upper body 
>> strength and a bit more pace, apart from that I would say Kris is the 
>> better striker
>>
>> Boyd     P 13 (8 as sub) Scored 10
>> Cousin  P  18 (8 as sub) Scored 9
>>
>
> How many game-winning goals for Boyd as opposed to Cousin? Boyd seems to 
> score a lot of 92nd minute goals in 3-0 victories

or hat-tricks in 6-0 victories

FishSupper wrote:
> "FishSupper"  wrote in message
> news:Mq6dnZ73l5M5TwranZ2dnUVZ8s6inZ2d@bt.com...
>>
>> "Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message
>>
>> How many game-winning goals for Boyd as opposed to Cousin? Boyd
>> seems to score a lot of 92nd minute goals in 3-0 victories
>
> or hat-tricks in 6-0 victories

...or he just seems to score a lot.

"Angof" <falger1@yahoo.co.uk(no need for Mail)> wrote in message 
news:13pgtsfceb8t2ab@corp.supernews.com...
> FishSupper wrote:
>> "FishSupper"  wrote in message
>> news:Mq6dnZ73l5M5TwranZ2dnUVZ8s6inZ2d@bt.com...
>>>
>>> "Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message
>>>
>>> How many game-winning goals for Boyd as opposed to Cousin? Boyd
>>> seems to score a lot of 92nd minute goals in 3-0 victories
>>
>> or hat-tricks in 6-0 victories
>
> ...or he just seems to score a lot.

That he does. But the value of a striker surely has to be when he scores and 
against who he scores. Boyd doesn't do it often enough in the big games and 
hardly ever in the wee games either.


Boyd's winning goals so far:

v Gretna (1st goal in a 4-0 win)
v ICT (1st goal in a 2-0 win)

In other words, he hasn't scored one single decisive goal this season, since 
we would have won these games anyway.


Compare with:

Darchevilles winning goals:

v ICT in a 1-0 win
v Killie (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
v Falkirk (2nd goal in a 3-1 win)
v Killie (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
v VFB Stuttgart (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)

Cousin's winning goals
V Gretna (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
V Hibs (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
V Falkirk (3nd goal in a 7-2 win)

McCulloch's winning goals

v Hearts (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
v Aberdeen (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
v Lyon (1st goal in a 3-0 win)


Even Ferguson, Novo, Beasley and Naismith have had more impact in terms of 
important goals scored.

I don't doubt that Boyd has potential to be an Ibrox Great - but he's miles 
away from being anywhere near there at the moment and he's even further away 
from being nearly as good as he thinks he is.

FishSupper wrote:
> "Angof" <falger1@yahoo.co.uk(no need for Mail)> wrote in message
> news:13pgtsfceb8t2ab@corp.supernews.com...
>> FishSupper wrote:
>>> "FishSupper"  wrote in message
>>> news:Mq6dnZ73l5M5TwranZ2dnUVZ8s6inZ2d@bt.com...
>>>>
>>>> "Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message
>>>>
>>>> How many game-winning goals for Boyd as opposed to Cousin? Boyd
>>>> seems to score a lot of 92nd minute goals in 3-0 victories
>>>
>>> or hat-tricks in 6-0 victories
>>
>> ...or he just seems to score a lot.
>
> That he does. But the value of a striker surely has to be when he
> scores and against who he scores. Boyd doesn't do it often enough in
> the big games and hardly ever in the wee games either.
>
>
> Boyd's winning goals so far:
>
> v Gretna (1st goal in a 4-0 win)
> v ICT (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
>
> In other words, he hasn't scored one single decisive goal this
> season, since we would have won these games anyway.
>
>
> Compare with:
>
> Darchevilles winning goals:
>
> v ICT in a 1-0 win
> v Killie (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
> v Falkirk (2nd goal in a 3-1 win)
> v Killie (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
> v VFB Stuttgart (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>
> Cousin's winning goals
> V Gretna (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
> V Hibs (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
> V Falkirk (3nd goal in a 7-2 win)
>
> McCulloch's winning goals
>
> v Hearts (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
> v Aberdeen (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
> v Lyon (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
>
>
> Even Ferguson, Novo, Beasley and Naismith have had more impact in
> terms of important goals scored.
>
> I don't doubt that Boyd has potential to be an Ibrox Great - but he's
> miles away from being anywhere near there at the moment and he's even
> further away from being nearly as good as he thinks he is.

I've no idea how good he thinks he is. It's true that his record in big 
games is not the best. Analysing individual goals as you have here makes 
little sense though. For example...Boyd would probably have taken the 
penalty v Stuttgart had he been on (may not have missed the sitter v Lyon 
come to that). Fact is he has not been in the position to score those 
decisive goals as he hasn't been on the field for the most part.  Whatever 
his strengths and weaknesses as a player...I think he'll score more goals 
than JCD or Cousin.

"FishSupper"  wrote in message 
news:JrudnYd_d9EIBAXaRVnyuQA@bt.com...
>
> "Angof" <falger1@yahoo.co.uk(no need for Mail)> wrote in message 
> news:13pgtsfceb8t2ab@corp.supernews.com...
>> FishSupper wrote:
>>> "FishSupper"  wrote in message
>>> news:Mq6dnZ73l5M5TwranZ2dnUVZ8s6inZ2d@bt.com...
>>>>
>>>> "Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message
>>>>
>>>> How many game-winning goals for Boyd as opposed to Cousin? Boyd
>>>> seems to score a lot of 92nd minute goals in 3-0 victories
>>>
>>> or hat-tricks in 6-0 victories
>>
>> ...or he just seems to score a lot.
>
> That he does. But the value of a striker surely has to be when he scores 
> and against who he scores. Boyd doesn't do it often enough in the big 
> games and hardly ever in the wee games either.
>
>
> Boyd's winning goals so far:
>
> v Gretna (1st goal in a 4-0 win)
> v ICT (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
>
> In other words, he hasn't scored one single decisive goal this season, 
> since we would have won these games anyway.
>
>
> Compare with:
>
> Darchevilles winning goals:
>
> v ICT in a 1-0 win
> v Killie (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
> v Falkirk (2nd goal in a 3-1 win)
> v Killie (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
> v VFB Stuttgart (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>
> Cousin's winning goals
> V Gretna (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
> V Hibs (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
> V Falkirk (3nd goal in a 7-2 win)
>
> McCulloch's winning goals
>
> v Hearts (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
> v Aberdeen (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
> v Lyon (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
>
>
> Even Ferguson, Novo, Beasley and Naismith have had more impact in terms of 
> important goals scored.
>
> I don't doubt that Boyd has potential to be an Ibrox Great - but he's 
> miles away from being anywhere near there at the moment and he's even 
> further away from being nearly as good as he thinks he is.

It doesnt matter when a goal is scored as long as it is scored before the 
final whistle, I'm sure that a few seasons ago when Rangers won the league 
by 1 goal celtic would not have minded if their top striker had scored all 
his goals in the final minute of the games he played in as long as the GD 
column was 1 more than ours. All goals count whether match winning or last 
one in a 6 nil rout

-- 


V.O.R.

If you dont believe me, ask me.

"FishSupper" wrote:
> "liam" wrote:
> > "Voice Of Reason" wrote
>
> >>> We dont need him
>
> >> I dont think Rangers need another striker, if they give Kris Boyd a
> >> decent
> >> run in the team he should be able to assert himself as a first pick, with
> >> the likes of Naismith, Novo and Burke buzzing down the wings and putting
> >> crosses in you need , IMO, a poacher in the box to dispatch them into the
> >> net and Kris is the very man to do that. His record compared to Cousin
> >> this season even though he has started fewer games is better. The only
> >> thing I think Cousin has over Boyd is upper body strength and a bit more
> >> pace, apart from that I would say Kris is the better striker
>
> >> Boyd     P 13 (8 as sub) Scored 10
> >> Cousin  P  18 (8 as sub) Scored 9
>
> > I'd be amazed if Rangers went with Boyd as their one up front. Smith
> > described Cousin as a "conundrum" last weekend, and to think that you
> > would
> > go with a guy that couldn;t get a start ahead of a "conundrum" would,
> > imho,
> > have most Celtic fans rubbing their hands with glee. I just can't see
> > Smith
> > sitting on the cash. I'd be very sceptical about Rangers chances of
> > winning
> > the league with Boyd up front but you never know...
>
> Boyd playing as the one man up front is a non-starter - he needs to be part
> of a two man attack. But saying that, if you feed this Bear with enough
> supply he'll easily get the job done in the SPL. The big argument among Teds
> just now is why the fuck we're ever playing one man up front in Scotland.
> Fair enough, for CL away games or the occassional game at Celtic park if
> we've got half a team out injured, then maybe - but apart from that, we
> should always be playing two up.
>
> Boydinho and JCD/Naisy getting service from Burke, Adam, Gowser, McCulloch> or Novo? No problem. The title's coming home easy.

Aye the great Boydinho debate, I'll leave that one for you bears to
discuss....in general though I think the way Rangers fans may look at
Smith could be something like the way Celtic fans view Strachan. They
want more than they can/might deliver. Smith plays cautious football,
but has been effective in Scotland at getting results. Can't quite
remember why he got dumped after he won NIAR, but he has been good for
Scotland and Rangers, since he came back. Smith played 4-3-3 in the
first half against Inverness but apparently you weren;'t bad against
them first half. Second half he went 4-4-2, and eventually things
paided off. I think if you play 4-5-1 at Ibrox against lessers teams
then I can imagine if a few bears get upset....but your guy is
delivering...so it should be hard to quibble....

It's like Celtic fans with Strachan, I think we have really high
expectations nowadays....and what is that saying...high expectations
before a fall....it's not the end of the world if Celtic don't do
three in a row....but we've raised the bar so high in the past
decade...consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we
shouldn't quibble either....

>consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we

Weren't Celtic in pot 2 for last season's CL group?

"Moody Marco"  wrote in message 
news:koudnbYoKssKgwTanZ2dnUVZ8uOdnZ2d@giganews.com...
> >consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we
>
> Weren't Celtic in pot 2 for last season's CL group?
>

they were aye

"andy"  wrote in message 
news:Ic6dnYBt0_xCrATanZ2dnUVZ8tWvnZ2d@bt.com...
>
> "Moody Marco"  wrote in message 
> news:koudnbYoKssKgwTanZ2dnUVZ8uOdnZ2d@giganews.com...
>> >consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we
>>
>> Weren't Celtic in pot 2 for last season's CL group?
>>
>
> they were aye
>

Thought so.  So reaching the last 16 was not "excelling".  The year before 
that they got pumped by Bratislava and didn't even drop in to the UEFA Cup. 
So this year is the only year under Strachan they can be considered to have 
done better than expected.  Hardly what you'd call "consistently"...

"Moody Marco"  wrote in message 
news:q8mdnTYQGJiZDgTanZ2dnUVZ8umdnZ2d@giganews.com...
>
> "andy"  wrote in message 
> news:Ic6dnYBt0_xCrATanZ2dnUVZ8tWvnZ2d@bt.com...
>>
>> "Moody Marco"  wrote in message 
>> news:koudnbYoKssKgwTanZ2dnUVZ8uOdnZ2d@giganews.com...
>>> >consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we
>>>
>>> Weren't Celtic in pot 2 for last season's CL group?
>>>
>>
>> they were aye
>>
>
> Thought so.  So reaching the last 16 was not "excelling".  The year before 
> that they got pumped by Bratislava and didn't even drop in to the UEFA 
> Cup. So this year is the only year under Strachan they can be considered 
> to have done better than expected.  Hardly what you'd call 
> "consistently"...

How did your lot do in last seasons  CL?   oh, I forgot you didn't make it 
LOL

"celticbhoy60"  wrote in message 
news:mPimj.81891$KC3.2313@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net...
>
> "Moody Marco"  wrote in message 
> news:q8mdnTYQGJiZDgTanZ2dnUVZ8umdnZ2d@giganews.com...
>>
>> "andy"  wrote in message 
>> news:Ic6dnYBt0_xCrATanZ2dnUVZ8tWvnZ2d@bt.com...
>>>
>>> "Moody Marco"  wrote in message 
>>> news:koudnbYoKssKgwTanZ2dnUVZ8uOdnZ2d@giganews.com...
>>>> >consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we
>>>>
>>>> Weren't Celtic in pot 2 for last season's CL group?
>>>>
>>>
>>> they were aye
>>>
>>
>> Thought so.  So reaching the last 16 was not "excelling".  The year 
>> before that they got pumped by Bratislava and didn't even drop in to the 
>> UEFA Cup. So this year is the only year under Strachan they can be 
>> considered to have done better than expected.  Hardly what you'd call 
>> "consistently"...
>
> How did your lot do in last seasons  CL?   oh, I forgot you didn't make it 
> LOL
>

no one claimed we consistantly did?

"celticbhoy60"  wrote in message 
news:mPimj.81891$KC3.2313@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net...
>
> "Moody Marco"  wrote in message 
> news:q8mdnTYQGJiZDgTanZ2dnUVZ8umdnZ2d@giganews.com...
>>
>> "andy"  wrote in message 
>> news:Ic6dnYBt0_xCrATanZ2dnUVZ8tWvnZ2d@bt.com...
>>>
>>> "Moody Marco"  wrote in message 
>>> news:koudnbYoKssKgwTanZ2dnUVZ8uOdnZ2d@giganews.com...
>>>> >consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we
>>>>
>>>> Weren't Celtic in pot 2 for last season's CL group?
>>>>
>>>
>>> they were aye
>>>
>>
>> Thought so.  So reaching the last 16 was not "excelling".  The year 
>> before that they got pumped by Bratislava and didn't even drop in to the 
>> UEFA Cup. So this year is the only year under Strachan they can be 
>> considered to have done better than expected.  Hardly what you'd call 
>> "consistently"...
>
> How did your lot do in last seasons  CL?   oh, I forgot you didn't make it 
> LOL
>

I'm not claiming we "consistently excelled ourselves"

"Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message 
news:13phoacjc3ocl13@corp.supernews.com...
> "FishSupper"  wrote in message 
> news:JrudnYd_d9EIBAXaRVnyuQA@bt.com...
>>
>> "Angof" <falger1@yahoo.co.uk(no need for Mail)> wrote in message 
>> news:13pgtsfceb8t2ab@corp.supernews.com...
>>> FishSupper wrote:
>>>> "FishSupper"  wrote in message
>>>> news:Mq6dnZ73l5M5TwranZ2dnUVZ8s6inZ2d@bt.com...
>>>>>
>>>>> "Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message
>>>>>
>>>>> How many game-winning goals for Boyd as opposed to Cousin? Boyd
>>>>> seems to score a lot of 92nd minute goals in 3-0 victories
>>>>
>>>> or hat-tricks in 6-0 victories
>>>
>>> ...or he just seems to score a lot.
>>
>> That he does. But the value of a striker surely has to be when he scores 
>> and against who he scores. Boyd doesn't do it often enough in the big 
>> games and hardly ever in the wee games either.
>>
>>
>> Boyd's winning goals so far:
>>
>> v Gretna (1st goal in a 4-0 win)
>> v ICT (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
>>
>> In other words, he hasn't scored one single decisive goal this season, 
>> since we would have won these games anyway.
>>
>>
>> Compare with:
>>
>> Darchevilles winning goals:
>>
>> v ICT in a 1-0 win
>> v Killie (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
>> v Falkirk (2nd goal in a 3-1 win)
>> v Killie (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>> v VFB Stuttgart (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>>
>> Cousin's winning goals
>> V Gretna (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>> V Hibs (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>> V Falkirk (3nd goal in a 7-2 win)
>>
>> McCulloch's winning goals
>>
>> v Hearts (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>> v Aberdeen (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
>> v Lyon (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
>>
>>
>> Even Ferguson, Novo, Beasley and Naismith have had more impact in terms 
>> of important goals scored.
>>
>> I don't doubt that Boyd has potential to be an Ibrox Great - but he's 
>> miles away from being anywhere near there at the moment and he's even 
>> further away from being nearly as good as he thinks he is.
>
> It doesnt matter when a goal is scored as long as it is scored before the 
> final whistle, I'm sure that a few seasons ago when Rangers won the league 
> by 1 goal celtic would not have minded if their top striker had scored all 
> his goals in the final minute of the games he played in as long as the GD 
> column was 1 more than ours. All goals count whether match winning or last 
> one in a 6 nil rout
>

They all count equally but they are not all equally important.

Boyd has not scored one important goal for us from open play this season. 
Not one.

The difference between Boyd and McCoist is that Coisty scored match winning 
or saving goals week in week out for a decade, as well as scoring hatricks 
against East Fife and the likes.

As I said, Boyd is living on brute numbers - but as long as he continues to 
fail to score vital goals his value will always be questionable.

"liam67"  wrote in message 
news:69b816a3-1ee1-4734-8749-ae1a26582f75@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
"FishSupper" wrote:
> "liam" wrote:
> > "Voice Of Reason" wrote
>
> >>> We dont need him
>
> >> I dont think Rangers need another striker, if they give Kris Boyd a
> >> decent
> >> run in the team he should be able to assert himself as a first pick, 
> >> with
> >> the likes of Naismith, Novo and Burke buzzing down the wings and 
> >> putting
> >> crosses in you need , IMO, a poacher in the box to dispatch them into 
> >> the
> >> net and Kris is the very man to do that. His record compared to Cousin
> >> this season even though he has started fewer games is better. The only
> >> thing I think Cousin has over Boyd is upper body strength and a bit 
> >> more
> >> pace, apart from that I would say Kris is the better striker
>
> >> Boyd P 13 (8 as sub) Scored 10
> >> Cousin P 18 (8 as sub) Scored 9
>
> > I'd be amazed if Rangers went with Boyd as their one up front. Smith
> > described Cousin as a "conundrum" last weekend, and to think that you
> > would
> > go with a guy that couldn;t get a start ahead of a "conundrum" would,
> > imho,
> > have most Celtic fans rubbing their hands with glee. I just can't see
> > Smith
> > sitting on the cash. I'd be very sceptical about Rangers chances of
> > winning
> > the league with Boyd up front but you never know...
>
> Boyd playing as the one man up front is a non-starter - he needs to be 
> part
> of a two man attack. But saying that, if you feed this Bear with enough
> supply he'll easily get the job done in the SPL. The big argument among 
> Teds
> just now is why the fuck we're ever playing one man up front in Scotland.
> Fair enough, for CL away games or the occassional game at Celtic park if
> we've got half a team out injured, then maybe - but apart from that, we
> should always be playing two up.
>
> Boydinho and JCD/Naisy getting service from Burke, Adam, Gowser, McCulloch
> or Novo? No problem. The title's coming home easy.

Aye the great Boydinho debate, I'll leave that one for you bears to
discuss....in general though I think the way Rangers fans may look at
Smith could be something like the way Celtic fans view Strachan. They
want more than they can/might deliver. Smith plays cautious football,
but has been effective in Scotland at getting results. Can't quite
remember why he got dumped after he won NIAR, but he has been good for
Scotland and Rangers, since he came back. Smith played 4-3-3 in the
first half against Inverness but apparently you weren;'t bad against
them first half. Second half he went 4-4-2, and eventually things
paided off. I think if you play 4-5-1 at Ibrox against lessers teams
then I can imagine if a few bears get upset....but your guy is
delivering...so it should be hard to quibble....

It's like Celtic fans with Strachan, I think we have really high
expectations nowadays....and what is that saying...high expectations
before a fall....it's not the end of the world if Celtic don't do
three in a row....but we've raised the bar so high in the past
decade...consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we
shouldn't quibble either....


I think the difference between the two managers and supports is that our 
priority was to stop the rot and start redeveloping the winning habit. Smith 
has done that superbly, just as he did with Scotland. We might not be pretty 
to watch at times, but we are increasingly consistent, tougher to beat and 
likely to get last minute winners. An utterly fantastic performance by 
Walter and anybody who criticises him has their head up their arse in my 
book. Once WS has got the club stabilised I expect him to start producing 
more exciting football - particularly with the crop of young guys we have.

Celtic, otoh, had the idea that they would - or expected to - progress from 
the O'Neil achievements. Therefore, anything less would be failure or 
subject to criticism. I reckon Celtic fan's criticism of Strachan is a bit 
harsh - and I reckon much of it has little to do with football. OK, he had 
no competition for the first two seasons, but it says something that even 
without competition he managed to get the team motivated to win week in week 
out. And whereas MON failed to qualify from the CL year in year out, WGS has 
done it twice and with a better footballing team. But we'll see Strachan's 
real qualities this season, now that he is facing a real challenge for the 
first time. If he manages to beat WS and this resurgent Gers team, then he 
deserves all the plaudits going - and even if he comes a close second, it 
doesn't mean he's a bad manager - it just means he's not as good a managers 
as Walter. But then, few people are.

Smith btw wasn't dumped after NIAR, he let it be known before x-mas of that 
season that he was retiring after that season. When he said that we were 
about 10 points clear of you. After he said it we collapsed and lost TIAR. 
Walter may have won 9IAR, but he lost us 10IAR.

btw I think you're kidding yourself if you believe you've raised the bar so 
high. You have had results in europe that have been as woeful away as they 
have been excellent at home. In my book that makes you break even at best. 
Start beating Copenahgen and Benfica away and AC Milan at home or start 
beating good Rangers teams in the league and maybe then we can talk about 
'excelling' - ffs, you've never won a CL match away and only ever drawn 
one - 1 point from a possible 26. Hardly excellent is it?

"Angof" <falger1@yahoo.co.uk(no need for Mail)> wrote in message 
news:13ph7g49qb5btc9@corp.supernews.com...
> FishSupper wrote:
>> "Angof" <falger1@yahoo.co.uk(no need for Mail)> wrote in message
>> news:13pgtsfceb8t2ab@corp.supernews.com...
>>> FishSupper wrote:
>>>> "FishSupper"  wrote in message
>>>> news:Mq6dnZ73l5M5TwranZ2dnUVZ8s6inZ2d@bt.com...
>>>>>
>>>>> "Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message
>>>>>
>>>>> How many game-winning goals for Boyd as opposed to Cousin? Boyd
>>>>> seems to score a lot of 92nd minute goals in 3-0 victories
>>>>
>>>> or hat-tricks in 6-0 victories
>>>
>>> ...or he just seems to score a lot.
>>
>> That he does. But the value of a striker surely has to be when he
>> scores and against who he scores. Boyd doesn't do it often enough in
>> the big games and hardly ever in the wee games either.
>>
>>
>> Boyd's winning goals so far:
>>
>> v Gretna (1st goal in a 4-0 win)
>> v ICT (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
>>
>> In other words, he hasn't scored one single decisive goal this
>> season, since we would have won these games anyway.
>>
>>
>> Compare with:
>>
>> Darchevilles winning goals:
>>
>> v ICT in a 1-0 win
>> v Killie (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
>> v Falkirk (2nd goal in a 3-1 win)
>> v Killie (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>> v VFB Stuttgart (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>>
>> Cousin's winning goals
>> V Gretna (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>> V Hibs (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>> V Falkirk (3nd goal in a 7-2 win)
>>
>> McCulloch's winning goals
>>
>> v Hearts (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>> v Aberdeen (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
>> v Lyon (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
>>
>>
>> Even Ferguson, Novo, Beasley and Naismith have had more impact in
>> terms of important goals scored.
>>
>> I don't doubt that Boyd has potential to be an Ibrox Great - but he's
>> miles away from being anywhere near there at the moment and he's even
>> further away from being nearly as good as he thinks he is.
>
> I've no idea how good he thinks he is. It's true that his record in big 
> games is not the best. Analysing individual goals as you have here makes 
> little sense though. For example...Boyd would probably have taken the 
> penalty v Stuttgart had he been on (may not have missed the sitter v Lyon 
> come to that). Fact is he has not been in the position to score those 
> decisive goals as he hasn't been on the field for the most part.  Whatever 
> his strengths and weaknesses as a player...I think he'll score more goals 
> than JCD or Cousin.

Chicken and Egg. He's not on the field in big games to score the big goals, 
becasue he doesn't score big goals in big games. He doesn't even score big 
goals in wee games. He might score more than others, but as history proves, 
they're not as important.

"FishSupper" wrote
> "liam67" wrote
> "FishSupper" wrote:
>> "liam" wrote:
>> > "Voice Of Reason" wrote
>>
>> >>> We dont need him
>>
>> >> I dont think Rangers need another striker, if they give Kris Boyd a
>> >> decent
>> >> run in the team he should be able to assert himself as a first pick, 
>> >> with
>> >> the likes of Naismith, Novo and Burke buzzing down the wings and 
>> >> putting
>> >> crosses in you need , IMO, a poacher in the box to dispatch them into 
>> >> the
>> >> net and Kris is the very man to do that. His record compared to Cousin
>> >> this season even though he has started fewer games is better. The only
>> >> thing I think Cousin has over Boyd is upper body strength and a bit 
>> >> more
>> >> pace, apart from that I would say Kris is the better striker
>>
>> >> Boyd P 13 (8 as sub) Scored 10
>> >> Cousin P 18 (8 as sub) Scored 9
>>
>> > I'd be amazed if Rangers went with Boyd as their one up front. Smith
>> > described Cousin as a "conundrum" last weekend, and to think that you
>> > would
>> > go with a guy that couldn;t get a start ahead of a "conundrum" would,
>> > imho,
>> > have most Celtic fans rubbing their hands with glee. I just can't see
>> > Smith
>> > sitting on the cash. I'd be very sceptical about Rangers chances of
>> > winning
>> > the league with Boyd up front but you never know...
>>
>> Boyd playing as the one man up front is a non-starter - he needs to be 
>> part
>> of a two man attack. But saying that, if you feed this Bear with enough
>> supply he'll easily get the job done in the SPL. The big argument among 
>> Teds
>> just now is why the fuck we're ever playing one man up front in Scotland.
>> Fair enough, for CL away games or the occassional game at Celtic park if
>> we've got half a team out injured, then maybe - but apart from that, we
>> should always be playing two up.
>>
>> Boydinho and JCD/Naisy getting service from Burke, Adam, Gowser, 
>> McCulloch
>> or Novo? No problem. The title's coming home easy.
>
> Aye the great Boydinho debate, I'll leave that one for you bears to
> discuss....in general though I think the way Rangers fans may look at
> Smith could be something like the way Celtic fans view Strachan. They
> want more than they can/might deliver. Smith plays cautious football,
> but has been effective in Scotland at getting results. Can't quite
> remember why he got dumped after he won NIAR, but he has been good for
> Scotland and Rangers, since he came back. Smith played 4-3-3 in the
> first half against Inverness but apparently you weren;'t bad against
> them first half. Second half he went 4-4-2, and eventually things
> paided off. I think if you play 4-5-1 at Ibrox against lessers teams
> then I can imagine if a few bears get upset....but your guy is
> delivering...so it should be hard to quibble....
>
> It's like Celtic fans with Strachan, I think we have really high
> expectations nowadays....and what is that saying...high expectations
> before a fall....it's not the end of the world if Celtic don't do
> three in a row....but we've raised the bar so high in the past
> decade...consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we
> shouldn't quibble either....
>
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> I think the difference between the two managers and supports is that our 
> priority was to stop the rot and start redeveloping the winning habit. 
> Smith has done that superbly, just as he did with Scotland. We might not 
> be pretty to watch at times, but we are increasingly consistent, tougher 
> to beat and likely to get last minute winners. An utterly fantastic 
> performance by Walter and anybody who criticises him has their head up 
> their arse in my book. Once WS has got the club stabilised I expect him to 
> start producing more exciting football - particularly with the crop of 
> young guys we have.
>
> Celtic, otoh, had the idea that they would - or expected to - progress 
> from the O'Neil achievements. Therefore, anything less would be failure or 
> subject to criticism. I reckon Celtic fan's criticism of Strachan is a bit 
> harsh - and I reckon much of it has little to do with football. OK, he had 
> no competition for the first two seasons, but it says something that even 
> without competition he managed to get the team motivated to win week in 
> week out. And whereas MON failed to qualify from the CL year in year out, 
> WGS has done it twice and with a better footballing team. But we'll see 
> Strachan's real qualities this season, now that he is facing a real 
> challenge for the first time. If he manages to beat WS and this resurgent 
> Gers team, then he deserves all the plaudits going - and even if he comes 
> a close second, it doesn't mean he's a bad manager - it just means he's 
> not as good a managers as Walter. But then, few people are.

Must be great being a bear at the moment, since that the club was in the 
depths of dispair last year...it's light and shade for youse...must say I'm 
enjoying the competition this year alot....we've not really had it that 
often over the past two decades where the clubs are really going toe to 
toe...long may it continue...well until the last day of the season when a 
McDonald double brings the title back to Paradise...

> Smith btw wasn't dumped after NIAR, he let it be known before x-mas of 
> that season that he was retiring after that season. When he said that we 
> were about 10 points clear of you. After he said it we collapsed and lost 
> TIAR. Walter may have won 9IAR, but he lost us 10IAR.

Not sure about why Walter decided to quit the first time. Maybe he thought 
he had taken the club as far as it could go. But I can recall that things 
never went to plan in 1998...oh how I can recall... ;)

> btw I think you're kidding yourself if you believe you've raised the bar 
> so high. You have had results in europe that have been as woeful away as 
> they have been excellent at home. In my book that makes you break even at 
> best. Start beating Copenahgen and Benfica away and AC Milan at home or 
> start beating good Rangers teams in the league and maybe then we can talk 
> about 'excelling' - ffs, you've never won a CL match away and only ever 
> drawn one - 1 point from a possible 26. Hardly excellent is it?

...I'd happily take a defeat in the Camp Nou...if we won on 
aggregate...thankfully European football is forgiving of not winning 
away...I think about it in terms of a successful team only scoring goals in 
the second half of a game...it doesn't really matter when you score, as long 
as you get the job done....

"Moody Marco" wrote
>
>>
>> How did your lot do in last seasons  CL?   oh, I forgot you didn't make 
>> it LOL
>
> I'm not claiming we "consistently excelled ourselves"

Depends what you mean by consistently excell, if you mean it in terms of one 
season to the next and with regards to your group ranking then you're 
right....but if you mean one week to the next....and you consistently 
excell....that's something different...and if you mean compared to the 
previous manager MON....we've consistently excelled since we've been in the 
CL last 16 two years on the trot...or you mean we've consistently been in 
European football, given what happened in the 1980s/90s, I'm not so sure 
there is much wrong with what I said...

btw in terms of FishSupper's initial point, how do you feel about Rangers 
playing one upfront in the SPL against lesser opposition?

"celticbhoy60" wrote
>>
>> Thought so.  So reaching the last 16 was not "excelling".  The year 
>> before that they got pumped by Bratislava and didn't even drop in to the 
>> UEFA Cup. So this year is the only year under Strachan they can be 
>> considered to have done better than expected.  Hardly what you'd call 
>> "consistently"...
>
> How did your lot do in last seasons  CL?   oh, I forgot you didn't make it 
> LOL

Didn't their superior away record get them through to the last 16...? ;)

FishSupper wrote:
> "Angof" <falger1@yahoo.co.uk(no need for Mail)> wrote in message
> news:13ph7g49qb5btc9@corp.supernews.com...
>> FishSupper wrote:
>>> "Angof" <falger1@yahoo.co.uk(no need for Mail)> wrote in message
>>> news:13pgtsfceb8t2ab@corp.supernews.com...
>>>> FishSupper wrote:
>>>>> "FishSupper"  wrote in message
>>>>> news:Mq6dnZ73l5M5TwranZ2dnUVZ8s6inZ2d@bt.com...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Voice Of Reason" <Voice-Of-Reason@Every-Turn> wrote in message
>>>>>>
>>>>>> How many game-winning goals for Boyd as opposed to Cousin? Boyd
>>>>>> seems to score a lot of 92nd minute goals in 3-0 victories
>>>>>
>>>>> or hat-tricks in 6-0 victories
>>>>
>>>> ...or he just seems to score a lot.
>>>
>>> That he does. But the value of a striker surely has to be when he
>>> scores and against who he scores. Boyd doesn't do it often enough in
>>> the big games and hardly ever in the wee games either.
>>>
>>>
>>> Boyd's winning goals so far:
>>>
>>> v Gretna (1st goal in a 4-0 win)
>>> v ICT (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
>>>
>>> In other words, he hasn't scored one single decisive goal this
>>> season, since we would have won these games anyway.
>>>
>>>
>>> Compare with:
>>>
>>> Darchevilles winning goals:
>>>
>>> v ICT in a 1-0 win
>>> v Killie (1st goal in a 2-0 win)
>>> v Falkirk (2nd goal in a 3-1 win)
>>> v Killie (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>>> v VFB Stuttgart (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>>>
>>> Cousin's winning goals
>>> V Gretna (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>>> V Hibs (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>>> V Falkirk (3nd goal in a 7-2 win)
>>>
>>> McCulloch's winning goals
>>>
>>> v Hearts (2nd goal in a 2-1 win)
>>> v Aberdeen (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
>>> v Lyon (1st goal in a 3-0 win)
>>>
>>>
>>> Even Ferguson, Novo, Beasley and Naismith have had more impact in
>>> terms of important goals scored.
>>>
>>> I don't doubt that Boyd has potential to be an Ibrox Great - but
>>> he's miles away from being anywhere near there at the moment and
>>> he's even further away from being nearly as good as he thinks he is.
>>
>> I've no idea how good he thinks he is. It's true that his record in
>> big games is not the best. Analysing individual goals as you have
>> here makes little sense though. For example...Boyd would probably
>> have taken the penalty v Stuttgart had he been on (may not have
>> missed the sitter v Lyon come to that). Fact is he has not been in
>> the position to score those decisive goals as he hasn't been on the
>> field for the most part.  Whatever his strengths and weaknesses as a
>> player...I think he'll score more goals than JCD or Cousin.
>
> Chicken and Egg. He's not on the field in big games to score the big
> goals, becasue he doesn't score big goals in big games. He doesn't
> even score big goals in wee games. He might score more than others,
> but as history proves, they're not as important.

I'm not his biggest fan but I think your exaggerating that. 'History' is 
more than the few opportunities he's had to score 'decisive goals' this year 
and he has scored his share of them in his career.  He has also scored in 
big games before, although not enough.

"liam"  wrote in message 
news:479a353c$1_2@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com...
> "Moody Marco" wrote
>>
>>>
>>> How did your lot do in last seasons  CL?   oh, I forgot you didn't make 
>>> it LOL
>>
>> I'm not claiming we "consistently excelled ourselves"
>
> Depends what you mean by consistently excell, if you mean it in terms of 
> one season to the next and with regards to your group ranking then you're 
> right....but if you mean one week to the next....and you consistently 
> excell....that's something different...and if you mean compared to the 
> previous manager MON....we've consistently excelled since we've been in 
> the CL last 16 two years on the trot...or you mean we've consistently been 
> in European football, given what happened in the 1980s/90s, I'm not so 
> sure there is much wrong with what I said...
>
> btw in terms of FishSupper's initial point, how do you feel about Rangers 
> playing one upfront in the SPL against lesser opposition?
>
>

I prefer two...at least

"andy" wrote:
> "liam" wrote:
>
> > "Moody Marco" wrote
>
>
> > btw in terms of FishSupper's initial point, how do you feel about Rangers
> > playing one upfront in the SPL against lesser opposition?
>
> I prefer two...at least

Sounds like Smith is going with two up front today.

"liam"  wrote in message 
news:479a3501_4@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com...
> "FishSupper" wrote
>> "liam67" wrote
>> "FishSupper" wrote:
>>> "liam" wrote:
>>> > "Voice Of Reason" wrote
>>>
>>> >>> We dont need him
>>>
>>> >> I dont think Rangers need another striker, if they give Kris Boyd a
>>> >> decent
>>> >> run in the team he should be able to assert himself as a first pick, 
>>> >> with
>>> >> the likes of Naismith, Novo and Burke buzzing down the wings and 
>>> >> putting
>>> >> crosses in you need , IMO, a poacher in the box to dispatch them into 
>>> >> the
>>> >> net and Kris is the very man to do that. His record compared to 
>>> >> Cousin
>>> >> this season even though he has started fewer games is better. The 
>>> >> only
>>> >> thing I think Cousin has over Boyd is upper body strength and a bit 
>>> >> more
>>> >> pace, apart from that I would say Kris is the better striker
>>>
>>> >> Boyd P 13 (8 as sub) Scored 10
>>> >> Cousin P 18 (8 as sub) Scored 9
>>>
>>> > I'd be amazed if Rangers went with Boyd as their one up front. Smith
>>> > described Cousin as a "conundrum" last weekend, and to think that you
>>> > would
>>> > go with a guy that couldn;t get a start ahead of a "conundrum" would,
>>> > imho,
>>> > have most Celtic fans rubbing their hands with glee. I just can't see
>>> > Smith
>>> > sitting on the cash. I'd be very sceptical about Rangers chances of
>>> > winning
>>> > the league with Boyd up front but you never know...
>>>
>>> Boyd playing as the one man up front is a non-starter - he needs to be 
>>> part
>>> of a two man attack. But saying that, if you feed this Bear with enough
>>> supply he'll easily get the job done in the SPL. The big argument among 
>>> Teds
>>> just now is why the fuck we're ever playing one man up front in 
>>> Scotland.
>>> Fair enough, for CL away games or the occassional game at Celtic park if
>>> we've got half a team out injured, then maybe - but apart from that, we
>>> should always be playing two up.
>>>
>>> Boydinho and JCD/Naisy getting service from Burke, Adam, Gowser, 
>>> McCulloch
>>> or Novo? No problem. The title's coming home easy.
>>
>> Aye the great Boydinho debate, I'll leave that one for you bears to
>> discuss....in general though I think the way Rangers fans may look at
>> Smith could be something like the way Celtic fans view Strachan. They
>> want more than they can/might deliver. Smith plays cautious football,
>> but has been effective in Scotland at getting results. Can't quite
>> remember why he got dumped after he won NIAR, but he has been good for
>> Scotland and Rangers, since he came back. Smith played 4-3-3 in the
>> first half against Inverness but apparently you weren;'t bad against
>> them first half. Second half he went 4-4-2, and eventually things
>> paided off. I think if you play 4-5-1 at Ibrox against lessers teams
>> then I can imagine if a few bears get upset....but your guy is
>> delivering...so it should be hard to quibble....
>>
>> It's like Celtic fans with Strachan, I think we have really high
>> expectations nowadays....and what is that saying...high expectations
>> before a fall....it's not the end of the world if Celtic don't do
>> three in a row....but we've raised the bar so high in the past
>> decade...consistently excelling ourself in Europe, I think we
>> shouldn't quibble either....
>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>
>> I think the difference between the two managers and supports is that our 
>> priority was to stop the rot and start redeveloping the winning habit. 
>> Smith has done that superbly, just as he did with Scotland. We might not 
>> be pretty to watch at times, but we are increasingly consistent, tougher 
>> to beat and likely to get last minute winners. An utterly fantastic 
>> performance by Walter and anybody who criticises him has their head up 
>> their arse in my book. Once WS has got the club stabilised I expect him 
>> to start producing more exciting football - particularly with the crop of 
>> young guys we have.
>>
>> Celtic, otoh, had the idea that they would - or expected to - progress 
>> from the O'Neil achievements. Therefore, anything less would be failure 
>> or subject to criticism. I reckon Celtic fan's criticism of Strachan is a 
>> bit harsh - and I reckon much of it has little to do with football. OK, 
>> he had no competition for the first two seasons, but it says something 
>> that even without competition he managed to get the team motivated to win 
>> week in week out. And whereas MON failed to qualify from the CL year in 
>> year out, WGS has done it twice and with a better footballing team. But 
>> we'll see Strachan's real qualities this season, now that he is facing a 
>> real challenge for the first time. If he manages to beat WS and this 
>> resurgent Gers team, then he deserves all the plaudits going - and even 
>> if he comes a close second, it doesn't mean he's a bad manager - it just 
>> means he's not as good a managers as Walter. But then, few people are.
>
> Must be great being a bear at the moment, since that the club was in the 
> depths of dispair last year...it's light and shade for youse...must say 
> I'm enjoying the competition this year alot....we've not really had it 
> that often over the past two decades where the clubs are really going toe 
> to toe...long may it continue...well until the last day of the season when 
> a McDonald double brings the title back to Paradise...

That's true enough. I can really only remember three times when there was 
real competition between us over the season. The Tommy Burns Losing Only 1 
Game season, when we won the league, The Seville year where it went down to 
the last games against Dunfermline and Killie, when we won the league and 
The Helicopter Sunday Season when it went down to the last games against 
Hibs/Well, when we won the league.

There's no comparison though. I'd sooner take a season like this one where 
it's neck and neck over a WonItByX-Mas romp.

>> Smith btw wasn't dumped after NIAR, he let it be known before x-mas of 
>> that season that he was retiring after that season. When he said that we 
>> were about 10 points clear of you. After he said it we collapsed and lost 
>> TIAR. Walter may have won 9IAR, but he lost us 10IAR.
>
> Not sure about why Walter decided to quit the first time. Maybe he thought 
> he had taken the club as far as it could go. But I can recall that things 
> never went to plan in 1998...oh how I can recall... ;)

As I said, I can only remember 3 seasons.

>> btw I think you're kidding yourself if you believe you've raised the bar 
>> so high. You have had results in europe that have been as woeful away as 
>> they have been excellent at home. In my book that makes you break even at 
>> best. Start beating Copenahgen and Benfica away and AC Milan at home or 
>> start beating good Rangers teams in the league and maybe then we can talk 
>> about 'excelling' - ffs, you've never won a CL match away and only ever 
>> drawn one - 1 point from a possible 26. Hardly excellent is it?
>
> ...I'd happily take a defeat in the Camp Nou...

Then you'll be fucking ecstatic...

> if we won on aggregate...

...ah, maybe not then.

> thankfully European football is forgiving of not winning away...I think 
> about it in terms of a successful team only scoring goals in the second 
> half of a game...it doesn't really matter when you score, as long as you 
> get the job done....

Translate that into Catalan and you'll be spot on.

"andy"  wrote
> We dont need him

I don't know how good Luke Moore is, but if he is that good how come he 
isn't getting a game for Villa? Or is he still involved in their team?

As for strikers, we still have the following selection of players who can 
all play centre forward:

Darcheville
Naismith
Boyd
McCulloch
Novo
Gow
Buffel

Do we need another striker?