Good luck to Rangers tonight in first leg of their UEFA Cup semi final against Fiorentina.

It's not every season that a Scottish club gets within sight of a major European final. They've take some notable scalps along the way which seems to suggest that the standard of our domestic game isn't just all that bad.

The only pity is that the few saltires on display at Ibrox will be vastly outnumbered by union flags and the even more  odious red hand of Ulster.

Nacho Novo may be an irritating little squirt, but he certainly has balls of steel.

The english will be chuffed having an all english champions league final and another english team in the uefa cup final too.

With teams about as English as Zola Budd?  Owned by US/USSR; Managed by Scot/Israeli; English players 4 each (roughly)...

My biggest issue with your post is the spelling of defense (US spelling??).......or is it defence. Definitely defence :003:

Goddam microsoft spellchecker please accept my most humble of apologies.

The Fiorientina manager has denounced Rangers for defensive football. 

Italy

denounces

negative football

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

He who lives by the catenaccio.....

As an aside, I've criticised Smith enough for his defence-minded football but seriously who could he have played?  ALL his wide players (Beesley, Naismith, Adam, McCulloch and Burke) are injured.  That would leave either Novo (who's really a striker and for me works best as a sub) or central attacking midfielder Buffel, who has barely played in a year and a half (though I liked him when he did).  Two strikers and no width would have just meant long-ball.  Not much more entertaining

Yes, it wasn't pretty.  But at least their bottle held in the penalty shoot out.  Especially after Ferguson's attempt was well saved.  Great save too by Alexander. 

Two poor quality European teams, Rangers playing anti football, don't deserve to go through on their performance so far.

:015: :015: :015: :015:

I always find it funny when we people moan about defensive football. Barring the simple fact that it gets results, I didn't hear anyone complain when we won at Ibrox despite camping on our own goaline, or perhaps our national team should have gone to Paris attacked the whole game.

What I find even funnier is that the Fiorentina (as expected) are also having ago, despite Italy inventing this type of football.

It's a poor mans Champion League.

Pointless sort of competition when they allow some of the teams knocked out of the CL to enter this competition...............but teams knocked out in the later stages of the CL can't qualify and end up with nothing.......Liverpool, Barcelona.

It's not a moan Chris, it's an observation, these teams have less quality than ones who can't now win a European trophy this year.

it was a poor round!!

they played for 3.5 hours and neither could score!!

boaring!!

Rangers fixtures in May: 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, 14th, 17th, 20th, 22nd, 24th  !!!!

It was a rubbish game and Rangers didn't deserve to go through.  Anyway, they'll be gubbed in the final.

Negative football is an art, not many teams would be capable of keeping as many clean sheets as the huns have in europe this year. Even Man U resorted to it on tuesday. It's not always the teams with the best attacking football who win. Defending is half of the game afterall.

Will be interesting seeing them line up against **** Advocattes team in the final, they must have a chance given his tendency for weird eccentric team selections and tactics in big games. :029:

Then we can look forward to a possible european super cup of Rangers Vs Man Utd next season. An intriguing prospect indeed. :024:

I loved Graham Roberts comments on sky sports last night. "Some of the fiorentina lads were having a go in the papers, saying rangers were a small team. I can tell you from experience jeff, Rangers are at least FOUR TIMES bigger than fiorantina.  :015:

A hun to the core, carrying on from his "we battered em" "they said it was gonna be men against boys, they were right. Clyde were the men, they were the boys" comments after clyde beat celtic.

Rangers v Zenit St Petersburg  :029: sounds like something ya'd get in the qualifying rounds ffs,

UEFA need a total rethink of this competition and not just for the amount of games in it.

I hope Zenit gub them :blah01: 

Rangers fixtures in May: 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, 14th, 17th, 20th, 22nd, 24th  !!!!

extension of spl season!!!

It's a poor mans Champion League.

Pointless sort of competition when they allow some of the teams knocked out of the CL to enter this competition...............but teams knocked out in the later stages of the CL can't qualify and end up with nothing.......Liverpool, Barcelona.

It's not a moan Chris, it's an observation, these teams have less quality than ones who can't now win a European trophy this year.

I still disagree about defensive football, but that is a very valid point. One thing to bear in mind though, is that had Barcelona dropped into the Uefa Cup, and been drawn against Fiorentina, Fiorentina would have played the to the exact same game plan that Rangers did against themselves.

easy win for rangers looks like going to beat Zenit St Petersburg  easy in the final and going to win the league as well

:party01: :party01: :party01:

:party01: :party01: :party01:

:party01: :party01: :party01:

easy win for rangers looks like going to beat Zenit St Petersburg  easy in the final and going to win the league as well

Is it the ghost hunting, or being a Rangers supporter, that prevents you from writing without any semblance of punctuation?

easy win for rangers looks like going to beat Zenit St Petersburg  easy in the final and going to win the league as well

Is it the ghost hunting, or being a Rangers supporter, that prevents you from writing without any semblance of punctuation?

:024: Somebody who is probably doing both when possessed by somebody from 1690 

I wish rangers all the very worst, they've had so0o0o much luck already to get to the Final and I hope they get hammered.

All this garbage about supporting the Scottish team and hoping they do well . . I don't see how any team who sings Rule Brittania and wave Northern Ireland flags about can call themselves Scottish  :029:

Mon The Zenit!!b :021:

Rangers v Zenit St Petersburg  :029: sounds like something ya'd get in the qualifying rounds ffs,

UEFA need a total rethink of this competition and not just for the amount of games in it.

I hope Zenit gub them :blah01: 

What about Fiorientina v Bayern?  There were a number of top teams from England, Spain, Italy etc but they didn't get to the final.  It's a fantastic achievement for both Scotland and Zenit.

I wish rangers all the very worst, they've had so0o0o much luck already to get to the Final and I hope they get hammered.

All this garbage about supporting the Scottish team and hoping they do well . . I don't see how any team who sings Rule Brittania and wave Northern Ireland flags about can call themselves Scottish  :029:

Mon The Zenit!!b :021:

Here's why they are Scottish:

They play in Scotland

They have Scottish manager

Most of their players are Scottish

Scotland is in Britain

Supporting a Russian team over a Scottish team is so parochial.  Get a sense of perspective.  That moves the whole of Scottish football forward as much as the results against France did and qualifying for the World Cup would have.  I'll support any Scottish team over the Old Firm but not a bl**dy Russian one! (even though I'm about to do some work there).

fair play to Rangers... and with 6 scottish players in the starting line up

all this anti football is complete pesh

European football teams have been doing it for years, Italians especially (I had to laugh when I saw Fiorentina's post match comments).. it's about time a British team stuffed it up them

Liverpool won the Champions league playing the same way and Man U did it 2 nights before against Barca and you didn't hear a peep.  Rangers have done what was required to win matches, and could have snatched it with 3 or 4 close chances towards the end... if Fiorentina played so well tell me exactly how many saves Alexander had to make??

it's about time a Scottish team won a European trophy, I'll be cheering them on in the final, just as I did Celtic in Seville

btw.. how cool was whittaker with his penalty, I was hugely impressed with him throughout

I completely agree with Harry.

I was disappointed when Celtic lost their final and will be equally so if Rangers don't prevail in Manchester.

Rangers v Zenit St Petersburg  :029: sounds like something ya'd get in the qualifying rounds ffs,

UEFA need a total rethink of this competition and not just for the amount of games in it.

I hope Zenit gub them :blah01: 

What about Fiorientina v Bayern?  There were a number of top teams from England, Spain, Italy etc but they didn't get to the final.  It's a fantastic achievement for both Scotland and Zenit.

I don't remember seeing a Fiorentina v Bayern game  :sillywave: IF they had got to the final then i wouldn't need to slate the competition, but the fact is its 2 teams from outside Europes top leagues getting to this final, and given the amount of pops the Carling cup, CIS Cup get, why should the mickey mouse cup of Europe escape ?

I agree it is a fantastic achievement for both Scottish and Russian football but really, Are either of the clubs from a nation you expected to be represented at the final , the answer to that is No except to the very very brave betting man and the often deluded rangers fan who will of course say they new all along they'd be going to Manchester!

I'll still be supporting Rangers on Wednesday despite the fact that our domestic referees appear willing to cheat to pave their way to the SPL title.

Picked up a hitch hiker today at lunchtime in Portree, in a Ger's top and only carrying a scarf 'where are you heading' I asked, Manchester he replied.

If you would like to track this mans free passage to Manchester log on to

cold&hungrywishistayedathome.com

Na, i tried but just cant bring maself to want a Rantic win,call me parochial if ya want but "c,mon the ruskies" ?20 on them to make it interesting

Such a shame they dont have McCurry to help them when its most needed  :023: Cmon the Russians. Zenit all the way.