Pedro out of touch !

[brissyger 8]

If Porto can win the CL then I don't see why Rangers can't.

rangers will never win the champions league as we dont have the cash to compete with all the top teams.

Does Porto have cash? It might have to do with we have far fewer waulity players coming through in Scotland than they do in other European countries. Kids are too busy with their Xbox/PS3.

[SuperRangers 2]

I dont know whats so daft about what hes said obviously were not going to win the CL anytime soon but theres nothing to say we shouldnt be getting further than the last 16, If we can get a good squad of young players together and not just all from Scotland.

Just look at over the last 5-6 years, Scotlands had two clubs in a Uefa cup final and us and them have reached the last 16 three times altogether.

To be honest i actually think bar the kaunas debicle we have actually progressed a fair bit since the big eck days when i always used to shit myself at the prospect of taking on the bigger teams.

[Unionloyal 0]

If Porto can win the CL then I don't see why Rangers can't.

rangers will never win the champions league as we dont have the cash to compete with all the top teams.

Does Porto have cash? It might have to do with we have far fewer waulity players coming through in Scotland than they do in other European countries. Kids are too busy with their Xbox/PS3.

Portugal produce quality skilled players we dont to say we can win the CL is like saying Scotland will win the WC <_<

[Briton 394]

I dont know whats so daft about what hes said obviously were not going to win the CL anytime soon but theres nothing to say we shouldnt be getting further than the last 16, If we can get a good squad of young players together and not just all from Scotland.

Just look at over the last 5-6 years, Scotlands had two clubs in a Uefa cup final and us and them have reached the last 16 three times altogether.

To be honest i actually think bar the kaunas debicle we have actually progressed a fair bit since the big eck days when i always used to shit myself at the prospect of taking on the bigger teams.

We came pretty close to getting past Villarreal when we did get to the last 16.

[Jelle1880 311]

The UEFA Cup may not be as important as the CL, but i find it much more attractive.

In the Cl you basically have manU, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Inter, Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus,...

The UEFA Cup is much more varied, a lot of smaller teams can get far.

[brissyger 8]

If Porto can win the CL then I don't see why Rangers can't.

rangers will never win the champions league as we dont have the cash to compete with all the top teams.

Does Porto have cash? It might have to do with we have far fewer waulity players coming through in Scotland than they do in other European countries. Kids are too busy with their Xbox/PS3.

Portugal produce quality skilled players we dont to say we can win the CL is like saying Scotland will win the WC <_<

Exactly why I said the problem wasn't the money but rather the fact that Scotland doesn't produce as many quality players. Look at what we were producing in the likes of Baxter, Law, Dalglish compared to now. Scottish football needs a complete shakeup to be competitive. If we can start producing good young talent then sometime in the future we might get lucky and have a team that can compete against the top in Europe and win. Then no doubt they'd all be poached the very next season <_<

[papaguy51 912]

I dont know whats so daft about what hes said obviously were not going to win the CL anytime soon but theres nothing to say we shouldnt be getting further than the last 16, If we can get a good squad of young players together and not just all from Scotland.

Just look at over the last 5-6 years, Scotlands had two clubs in a Uefa cup final and us and them have reached the last 16 three times altogether.

To be honest i actually think bar the kaunas debicle we have actually progressed a fair bit since the big eck days when i always used to shit myself at the prospect of taking on the bigger teams.

We came pretty close to getting past Villarreal when we did get to the last 16.

The good old Scottish habit of glorious defeat.

Seen it too often.

[SuperRangers 2]

I dont know whats so daft about what hes said obviously were not going to win the CL anytime soon but theres nothing to say we shouldnt be getting further than the last 16, If we can get a good squad of young players together and not just all from Scotland.

Just look at over the last 5-6 years, Scotlands had two clubs in a Uefa cup final and us and them have reached the last 16 three times altogether.

To be honest i actually think bar the kaunas debicle we have actually progressed a fair bit since the big eck days when i always used to shit myself at the prospect of taking on the bigger teams.

We came pretty close to getting past Villarreal when we did get to the last 16.

The good old Scottish habit of glorious defeat.

Seen it too often.

If only a young Kris Boyd had buried that chance in the last 5 minutes at El Madrigal.

[minstral 5,375]

we cant even win a title to get into the champions league.

[papaguy51 912]

I dont know whats so daft about what hes said obviously were not going to win the CL anytime soon but theres nothing to say we shouldnt be getting further than the last 16, If we can get a good squad of young players together and not just all from Scotland.

Just look at over the last 5-6 years, Scotlands had two clubs in a Uefa cup final and us and them have reached the last 16 three times altogether.

To be honest i actually think bar the kaunas debicle we have actually progressed a fair bit since the big eck days when i always used to shit myself at the prospect of taking on the bigger teams.

We came pretty close to getting past Villarreal when we did get to the last 16.

The good old Scottish habit of glorious defeat.

Seen it too often.

If only a young Kris Boyd had buried that chance in the last 5 minutes at El Madrigal.

He got pelters for that, but I actually defended him on that one.

Was a really hard chance, the ball into him didn't need to be so quick.

[brissyger 8]

Other than teams from Italy, Spain and England there's only Lyon and Bayern Munich that get into the last 16 of the CL consistently. I think Scotland does as well as any of the other nations (other than this year).

[papaguy51 912]

We'll never be the best of the best, no point in even discussing that to be honest.

Can we be the best of the rest though? Stranger things have happened.

[WVB 2,560]

It's amazing to think that Dundee Utd reached a European Cup Final in 1984 under the traditional way it used to be run.

It was the UEFA Cup Final..............in 1987.

[brissyger 8]

We'll never be the best of the best, no point in even discussing that to be honest.

Can we be the best of the rest though? Stranger things have happened.

I would still love to see the European Superleague which was discussed a few years back. Have a league with the best teams from countries like Scotland, Portugal, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Russia and possibly Holland playing against each other every week Will never happen though.

[Unionloyal 0]

We'll never be the best of the best, no point in even discussing that to be honest.

Can we be the best of the rest though? Stranger things have happened.

Smith at the SFA is trying to come away with a good one

Scotland are just in the top 10 in Europe but he doesnt mention who is not far behind us

All the crap

[Coopermania 1]

It's amazing to think that Dundee Utd reached a European Cup Final in 1984 under the traditional way it used to be run.

It was the UEFA Cup Final..............in 1987.

I know. I meant to say semi-final in '84.

[BlueIsTheColour 35]

Villareal came within a penalty kick of reaching the Champions League Final a few years ago wth very little financial resources and a team full of determined players who were neither expensive nor big-name (barring maybe Forlan).

I you remember, we were very unlucky not to defeat them over two legs that season. I don't think that Rangers will ever get to a Champions League Final with the current format favouring the big teams and the financial clout being massively disproportionate. There are likely only really 6 or 7 teams now who i see as being contenders every season.

But the reason i have highlighted Villareal is the surprise factor. There are always going to be a team who comes from nowhere with a young, determined squad who defeat the big boys and make an impact on the tournament. Monaco, Porto, Leverkusen. Who knows, one day that team may be Rangers.

I don't think you can categorically state that we will never reach the final or win the tournament. Who knows what may happen in the future. How many of you believed that we would have gotten to the Uefa Cup Final last season? And before anyone pipes in with the usual "it's a different level" comments, every one of the teams we beat on the road to that final are in the Champions League Group stages this season.

Shocks happen in football, that's what makes it so great.

[Emerson 2]

I think having competed in 9 Euro finals over the years is a fantastic acheivement and whos to say we have seen the last. The only way we could win the CL is if it went back to the Champions only competing. We have no chance when 12 of the clubs come from England, Spain and Italy! Unfortunately the CL is a cash cow and is not set up for leagues of our stature.

[Tontospal 1,116]

Rangers midfielder Pedro Mendes says the gap between the Old Firm and Europe's top clubs is not as big as some suggest.

Sorry Pedro but the gap is enormous, it just shows you are not long in Scotland and Im afraid you dont convince me mate <_<

He is spot on.

Ok, there may be a big gap between the top clubs in England, Italy and Spain and the rest but take away that 10 or 12 clubs and he's right.

Last season Rangers proved that a poor squad can get results in Europe.

That should have provided the platform for us to go on with a realistic aim of getting in to the last 16 or even 8 (draws permitting) this season.

But the truth is that we blundered and didn't add the required quality to the squad before we were knocked out of Europe by a team who should have been a 'bye' for us.

[brissyger 8]

Rangers midfielder Pedro Mendes says the gap between the Old Firm and Europe's top clubs is not as big as some suggest.

Sorry Pedro but the gap is enormous, it just shows you are not long in Scotland and Im afraid you dont convince me mate <_<

He is spot on.

Ok, there may be a big gap between the top clubs in England, Italy and Spain and the rest but take away that 10 or 12 clubs and he's right.

Last season Rangers proved that a poor squad can get results in Europe.

That should have provided the platform for us to go on with a realistic aim of getting in to the last 16 or even 8 (draws permitting) this season.

But the truth is that we blundered and didn't add the required quality to the squad before we were knocked out of Europe by a team who should have been a 'bye' for us.

Not to mention if it wasn;t for the SFA's screw ups with the fixtures last season we wouldn't even have needed to play them to qualify.

[1690 Posts 71]

he was saying that european football is played differently and less aggressively than SPL gung ho style and that we have to adapt when we play in Europe

Exactly. I've been arguing that for years but we have too many fans who like the 'get right intae him' stylee. Get the ball pumped into the box type stuff then they wonder why we're pish in Europe.

[Wreckedroy 33]

Villareal came within a penalty kick of reaching the Champions League Final a few years ago wth very little financial resources and a team full of determined players who were neither expensive nor big-name (barring maybe Forlan).

I you remember, we were very unlucky not to defeat them over two legs that season. I don't think that Rangers will ever get to a Champions League Final with the current format favouring the big teams and the financial clout being massively disproportionate. There are likely only really 6 or 7 teams now who i see as being contenders every season.

But the reason i have highlighted Villareal is the surprise factor. There are always going to be a team who comes from nowhere with a young, determined squad who defeat the big boys and make an impact on the tournament. Monaco, Porto, Leverkusen. Who knows, one day that team may be Rangers.

I don't think you can categorically state that we will never reach the final or win the tournament. Who knows what may happen in the future. How many of you believed that we would have gotten to the Uefa Cup Final last season? And before anyone pipes in with the usual "it's a different level" comments, every one of the teams we beat on the road to that final are in the Champions League Group stages this season.

Shocks happen in football, that's what makes it so great.

Excellent post BITC!

So refreshing to see a little thought being put into a post, rather than the same old depressing "we're no good enough and we never will be". As a Rangers supporter I hope I will always have belief that it could happen, otherwise what's the point of even turning up for our next CL game?

I'll take realism over defeatism every time.

[Dobie.7 0]

The eufa final lose was partly due to the stupid SFA fixtures.

Rangers nead more rivals other than celtic just to get more enthusiasm.

By being one of the top two SPL teams their isnt anything to work up to domesticaly only interneal trophies. Dont Get me wrong the leauge and the cups arent easy to get, but for rangers it isnt as hard as it is for the likes of Dundee United or Hearts.

The Idea of the Super league was a great idea. Teams with differant styles and rankings something to work towards. A challange something to get Rangers recognised a bit better than a scottish team with Barry ferguson.

Money is also a large part of football nowadays unless you pick up an up-and-raising talent.Something Rangers and Celtic are good at.

To be good you need money, to get money you need to be good.

[ManchestGer 347]

Would you rather him going out and saying we've got fuck all chance in Europe? He's right to say what he has whether its true or not. I don't think we've got a chance of winning any European trophy any time soon, but when you've got a new quality player come to Scotland (easily the best in the league) and give scottish football credit its gonna give everyone a much needed lift. He's a CL winner who's looked upon by most young footballers in Scotland. Yeah we may have missed the CL this season but look at AC Milan they're a lot better than us and they missed out on it to a team we went through against in the UEFA cup last season.