I know that many people around the country are probably having a good laugh about the outcome of tonight’s Kaunas V Rangers match in the Champions League qualifiers, but seriously, I’m struggling to remember the last time I tuned into a more depressing half hour of football – and this is coming from a Hearts fan who went to quite a few games last season!
It’s difficult to tell whether it was one single thing or a combination of many that made what I saw of the match such non-compulsive viewing. Certainly, the standard of football on display was absolutely appalling – an embarrassment to the name of the Champions League if we’re honest, but was it any worse than the utterly lacklustre commentary of the BBC’s Paul Mitchell and Pat Nevin? You have to admit, it’s a very tough call!
Why oh why do the BBC continue to employ Mitchell as their number one commentator? Are they seriously suggesting that they don’t have anyone else who could do a better job? I honestly cannot think of a more boring, monotone-sounding voice than this guy’s, and when you put a man who sounds like Pat Nevin does next to him it doesn’t really improve matters either – they just send you to sleep…and that’s before the football’s even started.
Not that there was much in the way of football on display in Kaunas tonight, where two dreadfully poor sides did their best to outdo Mitchell and Nevin in the boredom stakes. I suppose one good thing about Kaunas winning is that instead of loaning all their dross over to Hearts in time for the new season starting, they may want to hold onto them for the remainder of their European campaign, giving new Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo the chance to model his side properly. We can but hope, because even though they were better than Rangers tonight, Hearts’ feeder team were still poor – there was no-one in that side that you’d be desperate to see in a maroon jersey any time soon.
As for Rangers, well, their performance was utterly predictable, if not the result they achieved (you always expect them to win for some reason, even when they’re this bad!). This team played to what strengths they had last season, but maybe they used up all of their luck in that one year. They’ve signed no-one in the summer who looks likely to improve their starting XI, and if more teams in the SPL actually start to realise how bad they are (unlike last season when they all continued to suffer from stage-fright against them), then there’s no reason why they can’t make it a real battle for Rangers to finish in the top three this year. That is a big ‘if’ though.
So, not the most inspiring half hour of football I’ve ever seen in my life, but I suppose you can’t have everything. I mean, it’s not every day that a Hearts Reserve side knock Glasgow Rangers out of Europe courtesy of a late goal scored by one of their worst players in recent seasons is it? Chins up!
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StockportJambo I am having a nice day thanks and thats’s good you are looking forward to our 1st meeting of the season because so am I I’m looking forward to an easy victory. I’m just wondering if you will still have a manager by next weekend?
I expect we will. More pertinently though perhaps, will you?! Do you think Smitty will survive the neccesity of having to sell players to balance the books and for not strengthening an already fairly weak squad? Somehow, I doubt it.
We won’t be selling anybody mate because if you read Watty’s latest comments you will see he is looking to add to the squad not sell!
Ammm.. Greg… I believe we went to the last 16 in two successive years. And on each occasion we didn’t draw Inverness, so I don’t know where you got that one from mate. You were statistically the worst team to reach a Uefa cup final, conjuring up a miserable 2 wins out of 9 and a pathetic total of 5 goals. Henrik Larsson scored more in one game when Celtic got to the meaningful final in 2003. Then to completely destroy the reputation of Scotland, your fans ran rampage through Manchester, and then their was the usual rhetoric after the match, “It was the Popes fault”.
Hearts reserves didn’t just beat you last night, they pumped you. It was 2-1 going on 5-1. Hearts also pipped yourselves to second place in 2005/2006. I look forward to seeing them, United or Aberdeen do it again. Oh btw, heard you got a new sponsor after Carling were to embarrassed to brandish their logo on your shirts. The new sponsors are Easyyet, in a and out of Europe in 2 hours 😀
The difference here is that Hearts are **** and we admit it! This is the equivalent of us being knocked out of the Scottish Cup by a first or second division side full of players on loan from someone like Hibs….would we be given tons of stick for it? Yes – big time. Would we think it was deserved? Definitely – even if we might attempt to hide behind poor officiating at first! We could try and point out everyone else’s fallibilities all we liked (like you have Greg), it wouldn’t get around the fact we were still turfed out by a team who shouldn’t have been good enough to do that. Best just to lighten up mate – when your team is rubbish just learn to accept it and have a laugh – we’ve all had to!
Ammm.. R.K… I believe we got to the last 16 before you did. I don’t care how we reached the UEFA Cup final at least we got there! Meaningful final? I don’t remember you playing 68 games and still winning 2 cups whilst reaching the UEFA Cup Final do you? We were still in all competitions come May and already had the League Cup in th bag, remind me the last time Celtic done that? And i think you will find there was a large majority of english casuals involved in the riots as the Manchester Police stated a few days after the final. Going on 5-1 I don’t know what game you were watching mate, and how many times were you pipped to 2nd place during our 9 in a row period? I’ve lost count! You were even coming 3rd and 4th back then. I look forward to the 52nd title coming home mate! C’mon the Manchester City tonight! 😀
Greg, your AGM is coming up soon I gather. From what I’ve read, Rangers absolutely NEEDED to be in Europe this season in order to offset the considerable losses of the last year. Without that income, your heid-in-the-clouds manager may be looking to add to the squad, but he’s going to have to sell first. Economic reality mate. And who do you think Rangers are going to be able to attract given that you’re out of Europe before Queen of the South? Last night’s result was the signal of the death of Rangers FC for the next several years at least. If I sound smug or glad about it, it’s because I am. My wife and I witnessed the destruction your sorry lot left in Manchester a few months ago – couldn’t happen to a nicer team. Carlsberg don’t do poetic justice, but…
Well said MrH.
MrH what is there to laugh about? This is bad for the whole of scottish football! It affects us all mate. If you read what Mark McGhee said last night you would soon understand.
Greg, the concept of Rangers fans not being able to go and trash foreign cities en masse is not bad for Scottish football. It may harm our co-efficient in the short term, but all it does is pave the way for some other clubs (e.g. Aberdeen, Motherwell, Utd, and yes – perhaps even Hearts in a year or two) to come to the fore. I read McGhee’s comments, and was somewhat surprised by them given his allegiances. In any event, as MrH implies, it’s only a game, so just take the mickey taking on the chin like a man and move on.
StockportJambo we’ll see mate! If you read what I wrote in my last comment the “destruction” was mostly down to english casuals! Why don’t you worry about your own team mate because if I was you I would be worried because you’ll be lucky if your still in the premier league next season. And I have just watched SFA chief executive Gordon Smith’s interview and he said it is bad for the whole of scottish football because of the co-efficient so in a few years down the line it could affect how many european places we get which could affect your team! So maybe you and many others might want to think now before laughing!
Ahaha! You see you’ve just made my point. You don’t care how you got to the final. Exactly! The worst team in the history of the tournament and that is fact. Although, you’ve got me, there mate, I can’t recall many times Celtic won anything in May bar last season, because since the 21st century we’ve had the league sown up by Halloween. 6 out of 8 now, how many times have you been second and third in this present decade of football? You got to the last 16 before us? Yes with 7 points what an achievement. You must be proud. MON failed twice with 9, Strachan succeed twice with 9. But if you are going to be childish about this. We got the the last 16 twice for years in a row before you 😀 We welcome the chase. Oh and the whole of Scotland knows that it was Rangers fans, and only Rangers fans who rioted in Manchester and not street casual who just happened to be wearing Rangers gears coincidentally. 4 in a row here we go.
Greg, I guess you haven’t been following what’s been going on at Hearts for the past month or so – if you had, you must surely realise that relegation isn’t likely. European spot isn’t likely either, but there’s a better chance of that happening than the other. We will not take the SPL by storm, but we’ll be a much stronger outfit this year than last. However, I have accepted my team is p!sh, you my friend need to do the same with yours. Trust me, you will feel better for the realisation.
Well said SJ!!!
Haha! I stand by my point at least we got there because it’s another european final we got to and another 1 ahead of you! I dont ever remember Celtic having the league won by halloween? You may have got 6 but we got the best and sweetest 2 that yous will never forget especially “helicopter Sunday!” And it was your top scorer a guy yous idolise that won us the 2nd won! hahahahahaha. And the 1st was was just as special considering you just lost the UEFA Cup final a few days before it! I am proud btw always will be of my team. Think what you want mate about the riots I was there and all us bears know the truth behind it. 4 in a row? haha remind me the last time you done that? Before last season you had not even won 3 in a row since the 1970’s. 109 trophies mate a world record how many have you won? And I don’t care if you have won 6 out of 8 overall we have won 51 and you 42, so….. we welcome the chase! hahahaha
SJ why would i follow what’s going on at Hearts I’m not interested in them and I’m not going to accept we are p!sh when we are not as you will soon see in the coming season, all I can say is we’ll see what happens.
“I don’t ever remember Celtic having the league won by Halloween” Just as well for you eh? Maybe you should ask Paul LeGuen and Alex McLeish and Dick Advocat about that one 😉 Lets not forget Celtic have been in two European Cup/Champions League Finals. 2more than you 😉 You said the same last year about 3IAR and just remind us all how that one went again… Oh I’ll think what I want about the riots indeed, as will may others. Television pictures clearly show a mob of Blue and White kicking an innocent policeman to the ground. I suppose that was just camera magic as well? 109 trophies my my my, what are suggesting? 1 European Cup, Europe’s most prestigious prize, you’ll never win that one, so no need to welcome the chase. The race is already over 😀
The frightening thing is that I do actually think you believe that. We will indeed see what happens… I hope for your sake that your referees are fully functional this season. You’ll need them. Especially once your lucky mascott “Basketball Barry” is fit again.
…and it all becomes clear……denial…..let’s not be too hard on the lad – we’ve all been there! Personally I’m much more into acceptance these days……….!
League’s are not won by halloween mate maybe you should think back to the John Barnes days when we won the league by 21 points a record yo will never beat! If yous won the league by halloween then that means that season we won it before a ball was kicked! It doesnt matter what european trophy it is the fact is we have been in 4 finals and you 3! May I remind you that you only won the league last year because we were in Europe or the treble would be sitting in Ibrox just now and you would have nothing. So casuals can’t buy rangers tops can they not? Is there a law that states no casuals allowed to buy gers tops, don’t think so mate! Yous live in the past that’s all you go on about the Euopean Cup what you played about 4 games to win it back then plus it’s possible we would have won it if we had not been cheated in the 92/93 season by Marseille! So I would say welcome the chase, the only thing is you will never catch us! WATP 😀