Cant Blame Walter For Last Night

[minstral 5,375]

I am one of Walters biggest critics, but know way will i blame him for last night. If we cast our minds back to a couple of seasons ago when we lost the title after being made to play all the games in a short time. Myself and many other fans had a moan at Walter for not using the fringe players and resting some of our regular players.

Walter did this last night as he knows like us, that the title comes first as there is no way that we can afford to throw away this title. The team Walter sent out last night should have been able to beat Dundee United, who i thought were not that good last night.

What it does prove is our fringe players are not up to the job and lack basic skills, and most of them cant even read a game. Walter will now know that he cant depend on some of those players, but the main thing is he gave them their chance last night and the blew it, but Walter gets no blame for me for giving players a chance last night. And as long as we win the title, that will do for me.

[nimbus1 1]

I am one of Walters biggest critics, but know way will i blame him for last night. If we cast our minds back to a couple of seasons ago when we lost the title after being made to play all the games in a short time. Myself and many other fans had a moan at Walter for not using the fringe players and resting some of our regular players.

Walter did this last night as he knows like us, that the title comes first as there is no way that we can afford to throw away this title. The team Walter sent out last night should have been able to beat Dundee United, who i thought were not that good last night.

What it does prove is our fringe players are not up to the job and lack basic skills, and most of them cant even read a game. Walter will now know that he cant depend on some of those players, but the main thing is he gave them their chance last night and the blew it, but Walter gets no blame for me for giving players a chance last night. And as long as we win the title, that will do for me.

a valid point m8, and it was a valuable lesson to be leared that he cnt trust the fringe player to go out and do a job against an average team....!! but with a 13 point gap i would still like to have seen a stronger starting 11..... when utd seen the team im sure it lifted them also!!!!

granted the title is our main priority, and we know what happened 2 seasons ago, but the fact is celtic arent the team of two seasons ago to go on a run like they did, and we ahd a great chance for the treble...!!!....

i can see why he did it last night, but i still dnt agree with it, while looking at all the facts....!!!

[sandyboyblue 226]

Hear, Hear, I second that. We can`t afford our 1st team to face burn out, before the league is won.

[WaltersGotStyle 160]

Great point Minstral... McCoist indicated before the game where the priorites lay

[Jimbo. 952]

it's one thing using fringe players, its another using them in a ridiculous line-up.

IMO, the buck stops with Walter Smith Minst.

[papaguy51 912]

A valid point, although there's a difference between 'freshening up' and what we did last night.

[Muff 245]

Still managed to bring in 5 internationalist. Keep getting told that having a small squad is a good thing... but that's only when it suits some people.

Just shows what we have known for a long time; a lot of these players aren't good enough.

I can take the defeat (eventually), it's the performance and attitude and lack of the very basics that I can't.

[papaguy51 912]

Our first team is good enough.

Once the injuries and suspensions pile up, we struggle.

[*Manticore* 1,893]

Good point minst.

I reckon the lesson from last night is that few if any of the fringe players are ready to step up to the plate.

[scott316 2]

team selection was a bit iffy last night, lets remember, this is the Scottish Cup, the second biggest trophy we can ever possibly win (1st being the league obviously), so I don't agree with resting players key to winning a match. It was more the formation and lineup I didn't enjoy, the players coming in should still be good enough though.

And lets be perfectly honest, they cost themselves an extra game of football for absolutely no reason ! The game should have been wrapped at 3-1 at Ibrox !

[outlaw69uk 123]

Our first team is good enough.

Once the injuries and suspensions pile up, we struggle.

Thats very true

I think its the mentality of the "backups" too perhaps.

And, without opening a can of worms (ok, i am), last night was a good example of why selling ol Charlie was a shit move. Edu and him in the middle? Far far far better. Not just him, we let some "assets" move on, or go on loan. *cough* McMillan?

[*Manticore* 1,893]

We should not blame Walter.

We should blame david murray.

[outlaw69uk 123]

team selection was a bit iffy last night, lets remember, this is the Scottish Cup, the second biggest trophy we can ever possibly win (1st being the league obviously), so I don't agree with resting players key to winning a match. It was more the formation and lineup I didn't enjoy, the players coming in should still be good enough though.

And lets be perfectly honest, they cost themselves an extra game of football for absolutely no reason ! The game should have been wrapped at 3-1 at Ibrox !

My god what have I woken up to this morning? "ever" win? We are more than capable of winning te Europa League, i would tend to think thats a bit bigger?

[outlaw69uk 123]

We should not blame Walter.

We should blame david murray.

Never a bad suggestion

[Tumshie 205]

Great post Minstral. The players need to have a look at themselves after last night. With the players on that park last night we still should have had enought to beat Utd

[Boab 73]

team selection was a bit iffy last night, lets remember, this is the Scottish Cup, the second biggest trophy we can ever possibly win (1st being the league obviously), so I don't agree with resting players key to winning a match. It was more the formation and lineup I didn't enjoy, the players coming in should still be good enough though.

And lets be perfectly honest, they cost themselves an extra game of football for absolutely no reason ! The game should have been wrapped at 3-1 at Ibrox !

My god what have I woken up to this morning? "ever" win? We are more than capable of winning te Europa League, i would tend to think thats a bit bigger?

Don't take him seriously mate.

[Bakbear 3,586]

The Bottom line in all of this is that the players that were put on the park last night SHOULD have been capable of beating United.

It was more or less our regular back four with Wilson now having had sufficient first team time to be regarded as a first teamer. We brought in Edu, Naismith, Beasley Little and Lafferty who are all considered good enough to have been selected for their country and they were mostly starting in their natural positions (Naismith aside). Most of them and Fleck have been on the fringes of the team and have had quite a bit of game time this season so except Little they cannot be considered too rusty......

The players looked completely disorganized from the very first whistle, it was frantic and poorly structured for most of the first half, I felt we were barely holding on for most of the first period. United had much more energy, enthusiasm and fight. Our lack of organization had us chasing shadows and we looked sluggish and laboured while we were doing it.

I thought second half, with United tiring we started to look a bit more structured and started to come into the game a bit, thought Naismith worked hard and although clearly not comfortable in their he tried his best. As the game was going on I was getting more and more comfortable and indeed I felt it would go into extra time with us snatching a winner in the extra period.....

McGregor made a fine save immediately prior to the goal and then a number of things went against us, the build up to and the finish of the goal was just pure bad luck and cannot really be legislated for, and in the 89th minute there really is no way back....

Shocking start to the game, rallied a bit and got better, had a couple of great chances to nick a goal in the second half and ultimately it never worked out. it has been coming a while and lets face it you cannot win every game, sometimes the luck just runs out.... no huge criticism of the management team from me but I am a bit disappointed with the players who came in

[scott316 2]

team selection was a bit iffy last night, lets remember, this is the Scottish Cup, the second biggest trophy we can ever possibly win (1st being the league obviously), so I don't agree with resting players key to winning a match. It was more the formation and lineup I didn't enjoy, the players coming in should still be good enough though.

And lets be perfectly honest, they cost themselves an extra game of football for absolutely no reason ! The game should have been wrapped at 3-1 at Ibrox !

My god what have I woken up to this morning? "ever" win? We are more than capable of winning te Europa League, i would tend to think thats a bit bigger?

if you think Rangers can win the Europa League (when they couldn't even finish 3rd in a weak Champions League section) you're deluded chief. Jesus, we're struggling to beat St Mirren and Dundee Utd in domestic cups when teams like Fulham are whooping Juventus 4-1. Need a reality check mate

[Thermopylae 15,287]

Given the thin nature of the squad just now our second string are just not quite good enough to beat a determined united at tannadice ... but you could hear in walter's voice post match that he knows the league is everything this season

good thing about last night is it will give united a big shot of confidence for when/if they come to play septic ... they really will never have a better chance to win the scottish cup and they will know that

[outlaw69uk 123]

team selection was a bit iffy last night, lets remember, this is the Scottish Cup, the second biggest trophy we can ever possibly win (1st being the league obviously), so I don't agree with resting players key to winning a match. It was more the formation and lineup I didn't enjoy, the players coming in should still be good enough though.

And lets be perfectly honest, they cost themselves an extra game of football for absolutely no reason ! The game should have been wrapped at 3-1 at Ibrox !

My god what have I woken up to this morning? "ever" win? We are more than capable of winning te Europa League, i would tend to think thats a bit bigger?

if you think Rangers can win the Europa League (when they couldn't even finish 3rd in a weak Champions League section) you're deluded chief. Jesus, we're struggling to beat St Mirren and Dundee Utd in domestic cups when teams like Fulham are whooping Juventus 4-1. Need a reality check mate

haha, ever? When we were a whisker away only the other season? Tis not I that needs a reality check. To say we will NEVER win it is just plain daft.

And the Fulham result? Telling me you expected that and not the other way round?

[Amac9 2,060]

Boyd, Miller and Novo should have started.

Utd was the biggest and most important game.

Once again we are poor in the cup. Is it down to McCoist being in charge?

[minstral 5,375]

The sad thing is that those fringe players got the chance to play and pull on the blue jersey for our club and are just not good enough. I dont know if its the money that goes to their heads, or they believe they are better than what they are. But at the end of they day they have had the chance to play for our great club, something we would all walk over broken glass to do, and they blew it last night.

[Otis 1]

We really had no choice in who we played last night given our squad size, we should still have beaten United but it happens and the double is nearly in the bag.

Once the leagues wrapped up i'd give our fringe players the rest of the season to show what they can do, most of them just need games.

[Tam3r0wn 12]

A treble would have been lovely, but sometimes these things happen.

We should have had enough talent on the park to beat Utd last nite, and the fringe players should have given more.

The title is in the bag, as is the league cup, a pretty successful season, if you take into account the financial mess we are in.

[Poetry_In_Blue 1,043]

I am in the situation where I haven't even seen any of the game, didn't even get to hear it on the radio, but from what I've read the players who were brought in should have had enough talent and determination to beat any team in the SPL in any competition.

By the way, regarding some of the comments about Coisty totally unfair, Walter was actually in charge last night, and anyway that is irrelevant as I've said the players who started should have been good enough to win, and people must also remember that the players who usually start couldn't beat Utd at Ibrox.

One consolation from last night was the hearty laughs at Celtic getting thumped by St Mirren, a team who couldn't beat us when we only had 9 players on the pitch!