delparlane 5,986 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Every word the truth, Mr. Stein. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_RFC87 762 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Well in Stein, got tore right into that shite we witnessed the other night. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebooler 4,509 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Well said Steiny - every word of it correct. Gaz. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLUEDIGNITY 34,078 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Sometimes you don’t realise what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. The time was when the notion of Rangers fielding a defensive formation at home against lower-ranked European opposition, in a must-win match, would have been marched off the premises with a restraining order. Whatever their faults, down the decades, the Govan club have regarded Ibrox stadium as a fortress, a place where visitors are made to cower at the front door, before walking into a cauldron of loathing for the enemy. Well, that facade has vanished and perhaps forever. The reality of Tuesday night’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat for Rangers is that they do not belong in the first or even the second tier of European competition and that any blather about Walter Smith’s men advancing to the English Premier League or some Atlantic League is so much stuff and nonsense. Nor were there any mitigating circumstances behind the loss. They came, they saw, they blew it, and it is difficult to recall a previous occasion in their history when Rangers fell so lamentably short of the standards which they had almost come to take for granted. Colin Stein watched his former team unravelling with a mixture of bemusement and anger. Even yesterday, the one-time Rangers striker couldn’t quite believe that Smith’s personnel had imploded to the extent of missing a penalty and gifting two own goals to Unirea during the space of 90 minutes. If this had been a Barcelona, an AC Milan or Real Madrid, Stein might have harboured some sympathy for the Scots. Yet, following a contest which amplified their failings to a level which would have garnered approval from Led Zeppelin fans, he delivered a truly damning perspective on their efforts. The Old Firm are kidding themselves if they think that UEFA are going to launch new competitions just to keep them happy Colin Stein, former Rangers striker “The players keep telling us that they are desperate to go into the Champions League, but I thought their attitude and their performance was abysmal, and there are no excuses for the way they crumbled in the second half,” said Stein, whose career, which included victory in the 1972 European Cup-Winners’ Cup against Moscow Dynamo, was not without its own share of privations. “Rangers fans have high expectations and quite right – they pay money to watch their club and they are entitled to expect better than what they had to tolerate on Tuesday. “I suppose it took me back to 1969 when we were knocked out of Europe, over two legs, to the tune of 6-2 by the Polish side, Gornik Zabrze. It was a really bad performance from us, and there were consequences. The supporters left Ibrox in droves before the final whistle, those who stayed booed us off the park, and the manager, Davie White, was sacked the next day. It was just the way things were at Rangers in these days. We had high standards, we were expected to win every match, and nothing else mattered except the result at the end. “That’s why it was such a disappointing display against the Romanians. Sure, they deserve some credit for punching above their weight in the group, but for Rangers to take the lead after a couple of minutes . . . well, it should have been a comfortable victory. “I wasn’t happy with the attitude of our players – they gave away possession far too easily, they didn’t seem to know how to react once things started going against them, and they made it easy for their opponents – but you also have to question the team selection. I mean, to have a 30-goals-a-season guy in Kris Boyd sitting on the bench didn’t make any sense to me. He’s there to score goals and if he does that, nothing else matters, and I think it’s crazy that he doesn’t get a starting place in that line-up, because nobody else looks like scoring on a regular basis. For me, Boyd is an automatic pick as long as he keeps finding the net, end of story.” Stein knows the misery of these occasions where Lady Luck is posted missing. He also recognises that Rangers have not become a confederacy of dunces less than 18 months after they reached the UEFA Cup final in Manchester. Yet the 61 year-old, who now prefers the craic and camaraderie of Linlithgow Bowling Club to the ritual Old Firm baiting he has to endure on match days at Ibrox, is under no illusions about where the Glasgow giants stand in the grand scheme of European football. “All this talk about Rangers and Celtic leaving Scotland is pure hot air. For starters, they don’t have the class to belong in the English Premiership, but they are kidding themselves if they think that UEFA are going to launch new competitions just to keep them happy,” said Stein, whose autobiography “Shooting Star” comes out next month. “I know the players would have been feeling a bit despondent and downbeat at the end, but so they should. Otherwise Hibs [who meet Rangers in Glasgow on Saturday] will fancy their chances at Ibrox. And they have a chance, because both Old Firm clubs are really struggling at the moment.” Stein doesn’t mince his words. He is as direct in dealing with inquiries as he once was in pummelling would-be tacklers. Privately, one suspects his verdict on Rangers would rank triple-X with the censors. Publicly, he is a little sad at how the mighty have fallen. Nice one Minst ! Colin Colin Colin Stein is still the berries ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingKai 439 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 "We dont need Eusebio...coz weve got COLIN STEIN....OH!" COLIN COLIN COLIN STEIN...!! How we could be doing with HIM on our team ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapleridgebear 0 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 So in other words: -Boydy must play -The players need to get the finger out -And Wattie needs to ring the changes, open his eyes and get a bloody grip Spot on Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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