Bazza "on edge of seat"

[City_of_Blue 565]

Good article by Barry Ferguson following the sheep pumping and AGM. Long but worth a read if bored and have time to kill.

"So there I am, lying on the settee. If truth be told, I’m a wee bit nervous. I’m not sure I fancy Rangers chances here - and I’m not particularly looking forward to it - but there’s no way I’m not watching it. You know how it is.

I’m trying to relax, to stay calm and detached so I can study the way the match plays out tactically. It’s Aberdeen at home so I’m fully expecting them to make it a really tough night.

And then it starts. All of sudden I’m seeing a Rangers team playing the way a Rangers team is supposed to play. People flying into tackles. First to every ball. Playing with an aggression - and a look in the eye - that I’ve not seen from them in such a long, long time that I’ve almost forgot what it looks like.

Within 60 seconds I find myself sitting bolt upright on the edge of my seat, leaning in towards the telly. I’m loving every second of this. I’m having to fight the urge to run up the stairs to put my Rangers strip and my boots on!

This is what playing for Rangers is meant to be all about. At long last, these guys seem to get it.

Yes, I must admit, Wednesday night didn’t half come as a welcome surprise even if I did get ordered off my favourite couch and sent through to the other room to watch it.

I don’t mind admitting it. I got a bit excited and a wee bit noisy. Let’s face it, it’s been a long time coming.

I know I’ve been critical of the Rangers players quite a lot lately so it’s only fair that I give them credit where it is due. The performance they turned in as they dismantled Aberdeen was nothing short of excellent and every single one of them deserves plaudits for the way they went about it. From the centre backs to the full backs, from centre midfield to out wide and the boys up front - they were all over Aberdeen like rats up a drainpipe. And that’s the way it’s got to be whenever you pull that shirt on.

I don’t want to pick any one player out but what I will do is give a special word to young Ross McCrorie. It’s early days for this young man but if he continues to progress and show the right attitude then Rangers are going to have a proper player on their hands for the next 10 or 15 years.

As for the rest of them? I’m still not convinced by a lot of the players who have been signed recently but, after what I saw from them on Wednesday night, I’m starting to wonder if a few of them might be able to change my mind.

No-one is expecting them to turn into Lionel Messi over night. But so long as the desire, hunger, application and aggression is right - so long as they are simply not prepared to accept anything less than a win - then they will do for me.

I swear to God, when I saw Carlos Pena chase 50 yards back into his own half I almost jumped up and tackled the sofa.

Now I don’t know if Pena is a proper player or not but I do know if he puts in that kind of effort every time he steps onto a pitch then he’ll be appreciated by the Rangers support. That’s all they’ll ever demand of their players and I know that from personal experience because I had more than my share of bad games for the club.

But never once did I step across that white line prepared to accept defeat. And that’s the mental approach which separates a real Rangers player from all the rest.

So, yes, I was delighted to see that attitude reflected in the eyes of every player the other night. It was the best performance I’ve seen from them in a long time. There was only gong to be one winner from the get go.

Now the trick is, they need to back it up. They had laid down a benchmark for themselves and there can be no excuse for them to fall below it now. They don’t need to be world beaters - they just need to be winners - and the way the home crowd reacted to them must have made the penny drop. Ibrox was bouncing, the atmosphere coming through my TV was electric and that’s something I haven’t experienced since the good old days.

It must have been a sight for sore eyes as far as Dave King was concerned because yesterday’s AGM was all set up to be an explosive affair had the team went down to a third successive defeat. But, by the sounds of it, it went off more like a damp squib.

And that’s another lesson learned because the board will have seen with their own eyes just how much easier their life can be so long as everything is going right on the pitch. One result changed everything as far as the majority of those shareholders were concerned so just imagine how much stress will be lifted from the boardroom if they get the right man in the dugout.

King said yesterday that mistakes have been made by the board and that’s a step in the right direction too - even if he then appeared to confuse everyone by saying that the appointment of Pedro Caixinha was not necessarily one of them.

Obviously, I was critical of the chairman myself last week in this column because I was frustrated at the lack of urgency being shown in finding Caixinha’s replacement. So I’m glad he addressed the situation yesterday by telling the fans that they have identified a manager or managers who are under contract elsewhere.

That’s all I was looking for, a little bit of leadership from the man at the top and some truth and transparency. Like the rest of the Rangers support will be, I am satisfied now that the board have selected a target and re moving down a certain path. Like them, I will understand if it takes them a little more time to get their man because the situation has been explained to us by the man at the top. That’s all that was required from the start as opposed to bland statements from a faceless spokesman.

Be honest with the Rangers fans - give them all of your effort - and they’ll give you their patience and their support in return. That’s a lesson which applies all across the club from the boardroom to the dressing room because that badge deserves nothing less.

And it’s an attitude which has finally got me back on the edge of my seat."

[Lloyd 10,756]

4 minutes ago, City_of_Blue said:

 

I swear to God, when I saw Carlos Penachase 50 yards back into his own half I almost jumped up and tackled the sofa.

Brilliant 

[With Heart and Hand 8,949]

he thinks he's a it smarter than he is

[City_of_Blue 565]

"never once did I step across that white line prepared to accept defeat. And that’s the mental approach which separates a real Rangers player from all the rest."

"I’m having to fight the urge to run up the stairs to put my Rangers strip and my boots on!"

 

He loves the Gers.

 

[Prso's headband 35,257]

I agree with him completely. I said it after the game it was like the Rangers of old as well. They were right up for it, created a chance in the first minute and from then on Aberdeen were beat, they knew Rangers were up for it and it was like the old times when teams just knew a defeat was coming their way at Ibrox, regardless of how hard they tried. 

They really need to back it up over the next few weeks. We all know teams have off days but ours have been more than 1 every 8 or 9 games it’s probably every 2nd game with this team. They need to keep at that level for the foreseeable future. 

If we revert back to the usual it really does show that most of they players believe that at Rangers they can turn up once every 6-7 games and everythings fine

[bombaybadboy08 15,660]

I don’t think Pena was any different the other night, he does what he always does and that’s strolling around looking like he isn’t interested but then still producing the goods.

He will do for me.

[Young Bob 1,360]

You have to wonder why all these Rangers fans like Barry dont support the club and actually attend games.

[FSM 20,892]

7 minutes ago, Young Bob said:

You have to wonder why all these Rangers fans like Barry dont support the club and actually attend games.

Hate this elitist pish. People have all kinds of reasons for not being able to attend games, doesn't mean they're not fans.

[The Specky Forum Organiser 64,325]

Just now, Young Bob said:

You have to wonder why all these Rangers fans like Barry dont support the club and actually attend games.

Probably because he wouldn't get to actually see the game with everyone wanting a photo and to talk to him

[thehost 11,061]

Just now, FSM said:

Hate this elitist pish. People have all kinds of reasons for not being able to attend games, doesn't mean they're not supporters

funnily enough I don't send my kids to a bigot factory nor do I have them swanning about in filth taps

maybe I'm an anachronism 

[Mr Soprano 13,964]

1 minute ago, Gustav said:

Probably because he wouldn't get to actually see the game with everyone wanting a photo and to talk to him

Same kinda guy who'll moan at Novo turning up late to avoid that sort of thing outside the ground

[ForeverAndEver 71,302]

Love you Barry 

[Inigo 32,526]

7 minutes ago, thehost said:

funnily enough I don't send my kids to a bigot factory nor do I have them swanning about in filth taps

maybe I'm an anachronism 

Is this true (re Barry's wains, not yours) or an urban myth?

[The Specky Forum Organiser 64,325]

Just now, Inigo said:

Is this true (re Barry's wains, not yours) or an urban myth?

It's a myth peddled by the nutjob element of our support who hate every person ever connected to the club to have the cheek to support us as well.

If the most high profile Scottish player for the last 2 decades who successfully captained Rangers had his kids cutting about in celtic tops there would be at least 1 picture.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

26 minutes ago, Young Bob said:

You have to wonder why all these Rangers fans like Barry dont support the club and actually attend games.

Needs to badger the board for free tickets, it worked for Brown. 

[Inigo 32,526]

5 minutes ago, Gustav said:

It's a myth peddled by the nutjob element of our support who hate every person ever connected to the club to have the cheek to support us as well.

If the most high profile Scottish player for the last 2 decades who successfully captained Rangers had his kids cutting about in celtic tops there would be at least 1 picture.

Yeah, that's what I suspected.

[TMB 14,167]

I'm surprised no one has called for him to be the next manager yet.  That would be madness of course but it often happens in these type of threads.  

[Young Bob 1,360]

1 hour ago, Courtyard Bear said:

Needs to badger the board for free tickets, it worked for Brown. 

Probably want picked up and dropped off at the house too.

[.Williamson. 81,860]

Barry will always be a legend in my books.

Hes the player I grew up wanting to be. 

[ForeverAndEver 71,302]

Should be the next manager

[Bronzy 25,971]

27 minutes ago, Gustav said:

It's a myth peddled by the nutjob element of our support who hate every person ever connected to the club to have the cheek to support us as well.

If the most high profile Scottish player for the last 2 decades who successfully captained Rangers had his kids cutting about in celtic tops there would be at least 1 picture.

@thehost believing unfounded pish?

Never.

[Lloyd 10,756]

He was in the taigs end when we beat them in Scottish cup Semi FInal a couple of season ago With Harry Cochrane, Billy Gilmour and Barjonas.

[The Specky Forum Organiser 64,325]

Just now, Bronzy said:

@thehost believing unfounded pish?

Never.

He probably started it

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

5 minutes ago, ForeverAndEver said:

Should be the next manager

Put the fishing rod away. 

[thehost 11,061]

2 minutes ago, Bronzy said:

@thehost believing unfounded pish?

Never.

No I believe the folk who told me they saw it.....