Danny 9 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Walter Smith was in the Scotland post for 18 months. During that time he re-invigorated the national team from the chaos of the Vogts regime and scaled heights with us almost unheard of. What he did with the national team was spectacular in terms of some fantastic results, which Eck took on and scaled higher - couple of wins over France, anyone? Then Smith went over to Rangers and 18 months on from January 2007 is right now. August 2008. So why have Rangers collapsed horribly in the last 4 or 5 months? I'll tell you why you can't compare Scotland with Rangers: Scotland are ALWAYS the underdogs. Every match Smith's Scotland played, they were expected to struggle in, so good results were more than just a win, they were an event. So Smith's defensive approach suited the team because creativity and domination have never been something Scotland excelled in. Now look at Rangers - top dogs, supposedly, in Scotland, and often up against supposedly weaker teams in Europe such as Kaunas or Zeta. The difference? The same mentality Smith had for the Scotland job doesn't apply anymore, so his Rangers team, which he sets out as the underdog, is actually supposed to be the favourite. A right pig's ear results. Smith cannot manage Rangers like he did Scotland. He cannot manage Rangers like he did in 9IAR either because we're not the benchmark in this country anymore, so he can't go out as if we're gonna win every game. I think the ultimate problem is Walter Smith doesn't know how to manage Rangers. We're not underdogs and we're not the big cheeses. We're middle of the road right now. And last time Smith managed a middle of the road team, he almost drove them to ruin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
petebrown11 0 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I'd agree with that. one thing though, wasnt WS in charge for the 1st win against France? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
radlord 24 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Smiths talents are in group bonding and man management and stuff. He was ideal for the Scotland post. I imagine the national team players never thought of the get-togethers as a chore, like they probably did under Vogts. These attributes are pretty much his only ones and without a big budget he won't create a great club team. He didn't at Everton and he certainly hasn't at Rangers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 9 Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 I'd agree with that. one thing though, wasnt WS in charge for the 1st win against France? I'm not sure tbh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluepeter9 5,167 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Eck was in charge of the first win over France. Smith will prove you all wrong this season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the goal machine 7,765 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I'd agree with that. one thing though, wasnt WS in charge for the 1st win against France? I'm not sure tbh He was http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/i...als/5402032.stm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 9 Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 Smith will prove you all wrong this season! Nothing would give me more pleasure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy500 463 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Eck was in charge of the first win over France. Smith will prove you all wrong this season! No, It was Smith who was in charge in the 1-0 win at Hampden. Great post Danny. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingOfTheWing 0 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Eck was in charge of the first win over France. Smith will prove you all wrong this season! No he wasn't, it was Smith. I disagree with your second point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitdaeyemean 0 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Eck was in charge of the first win over France. Smith will prove you all wrong this season! The odds are stacked against him I think danny more or less told you in his post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
petebrown11 0 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Eck was in charge of the first win over France. Smith will prove you all wrong this season! lets hope so! i gave him last season's dull fottball on the condition that we won something worthwhile with it. We didn't, so this season I want to see decent football (at least better than the rest of the SPL) and the league title. I'm having trouble seeing how Walter's gonna produce this, tbh. My first game this season will be Motherwell at Ibrox next month, and i do NOT want to be bored! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smitzer007 198 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 I said after the 1-0 win over France at Hampden that I never, ever wanted to see a Scotland team play that way on home soil again. It wasn't even that the French quality of play pegged us back. We were set up to play that way. Eck's win in France was a different case altogether. We were the away team and we were still set up to cause them some problems. Smith now has Rangers playing the way he had Scotland. Set up, not to win, but not to get beat. Like the poster said, we are Rangers not Scotland !! :angry2: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfc_no1fan 13 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 The difference between Scotland and Rangers Scotland play every couple of months and are not expected to win anything Scotland are underdogs and any result against the top Nations is celebrated International football is more tactical Rangers play negative every week and struggle against smaller teams Rangers play a bunch of Scottish players, who cant get into the national team SPL is played a a high tempo and you need to have players who have pace and can last 90 minutes. You dont have to tactically outfox the opposing manager Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillinger 0 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Walter Smith did not have to exercise his judgement in the transfer market with Scotland. For Scotland to qualify for a major tournament, they participate in a league format played over a matter of months. With Rangers, CL qualification takes palce over two legs. There is less scope for errors. Most of Walter's first picks for Scotland are/were not first choice at Club level: they are not good enough for a team like Rangers and it shows. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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