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Do we have Walter or Ally to thank for Sunday?


Thermopylae

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I'm just wondering if the second half performance against PSV finally gave McCoist the ammunition he required to convince his boss to play an attacking game at Hampden.

It's actually quite an important point because it will be an indication of the type of football we can expect to see next season

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I feel McCoists stock has risen in the last few weeks first he showed at septic park that there is more to him than just a nice guy when he made it clear he wouldn't be intimidated by mad dog lennon ... I also feel that Sunday showed he will bring a positivity to the team after the summer that has been lacking at times this season.

I'm not really criticising Walter here I just feel he is a man who's natural caution has grown with age and it's now a handicap to him

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I'd personally write individual letters to all the management team, the players - all of them, the one's who didn't play and the youth team, kitmen, fans, dinnerladies at Murray Park, the people who sell pies at Ibrox, the programme sellers, the receptionists at Murray Park and Ibrox thanking them for being wonderful

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Smith is the manager. He gets the stick when we are bad, and he should get the plaudits when we are successful.

That's correct. We can come up with all kinds of reasons about why the shape of the team and the tactics used were altered, and who caused them to be altered, but in the end product, Walter is the man whos neck was on the line if it went belly up.

It could be that Walter decided to change it, or possible that Ally pushed the envelope, or it could be that the injury to Bartley and the realisation that EHD was a possible liability, caused the change.

I'm just glad it happened.

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I think it was simply down to who was fit and nothing more.

Again it's just opinions but if Bartley was fit i have no doubts it would have been 5-4-1 or 4-5-1.

What i would like to think though is that Smith watched the transformation in the team in the 2nd half against PSV and thought to himself "Well if we can play them off the park then we can do it against Celtic"

Yes there will be input from the coaches but the bottom line is that Smith makes all the calls in all the games including the cup ones despite the widely held belief it is McCoist.

Therefore due to having no other real choice he has in my view decided to go with 4-4-2 and it was the correct decision.

I also think in a way it vindicates what many of us were saying after the last 4 OF games that his over negative approach was why we weren't competing and nothing to do with the ability of the players.

Sunday showed we are a great team and certainly more than capable of beating the filth and retaining our title.

Losing Bartley is a blow but it may turn out to be a blessing as Walter will have to stick with 4-4-2 after seeing how effective it was in the way we bossed the filth from start to finish.

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We have both to thank.

and the players for putting in a shift.

But ultimately the manager Walter Smith. It's his responsibility at the end of the day regardless of the result.

The blame lies at Smith's door when we get beat or play shite so it's only fair he get's the praise when things go right.

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The difference was having Naismith fit and available. Whoever was picking the team when he wasn't available was hamstrung, his presence takes a lot of pressure of Davis allowing him to flourish again. Smith knows this as he signed him and McCoist knows this as he must have offered him his new contract. But I don't believe Walter wasn't heavily involved in Sundays team.

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First thing I thought of when I saw the way the team had lined up. However, it is Walter who carries the can when we get beat so he deserves the praise when we win. He has the final say.

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Whatever happened it has to be seen that playing 4-4-2 for the remainder of the season is the way to go

every game is there to be won and if all the front line is fit we have the amunition to cause damage.

The players to me take all the plaudits as they showed the commitment- right attitude

and for once the team played well as a unit and not just a few individuals .

Id thank the team more for what they did on the pitch .

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