Looking at the group we've ended up with we've certainly fared better than the English teams in the competition although we should be wary of stereotyping teams by their ‘big name' status. Let's be honest going on past European form and our overall play this season we can't take it for granted that we can just turn up and beat, for example, a team from Israel, just because they are a team from Israel.
Anyone who saw their games against Liverpool could see they were well above the standard of Molde and the current Rangers team will have their work cut out for them, as will be the case against Auxerre (yes not the team they were but then again nor are we) and perhaps the two unknown quantities of Partizan Belgrade and Livorno.
I am hopeful that we can manage to qualify from this group but in all honesty going on what I've seen up to this point that's all it is, hope.
I'm not confident that we will, thus I go into the games with perhaps a more realistic approach and the thought that the European games will foster at least the team getting closer together and give the manager extra games in which to truly understand his players.
For myself the European games, and most importantly the away trips, serve to break up the mind numbing cycle of the SPL and allows not only the team but the fans (if they bother to get out the nearest pub) to see a bit of the world, sample different cultures, different styles and have an experience far removed from everyday Scottish life.
Speaking of the SPL and it does look as though it's going to be a hard season before us, a considerable gap has already opened up between us and Celtic and but for the inside of the Rangers goalposts Celtic would've been clear away and the league practically over after the Aberdeen game as there was no way we would've came back from being 1-0 down in that game.
Quite frankly the manager seems to be struggling to adapt to the standard of the SPL and his tactics leave a lot to be desired. I fear that the 40 minutes of football we saw against Motherwell on the first day, a game we nearly through away remember and in retrospect over hyped in terms of the opposition, raised expectations that were never going to be maintained.
The potential disaster of splitting the support by dropping McGregor for Le Guen's shaky compatriot so early in his tenure at the club could either be the making or breaking of the Frenchman, yes its early, yes we have to be sensible, but then again so does the manager.
McGregor has earned the number one jersey and deserves to keep it up too until such a time as he made a mistake, if he does. Letizi should have had to wait his chance, Le Guen has came with a reputation for nurturing young talent, to cast aside McGregor surely flies in the face of this.
In general Le Guen really needs to get the finger out, start realising that the luxury of Buffel is one we cant afford and that we are too easily nullified by teams packing midfield and making a fight of it. Let's face it our start to the season has been very poor especially in light of the fixture list which was very favourable to us.
We Are Rangers
HARRY POTTER
Ps. – The non-event of the AGM, what can I say, a rap on the knuckles about loyalty from the Mint to moi was my reward for taking time off my work to go along and listen to about 4 questions on the travel club and a Q&A session concerning a multimillion pound organisation with thousands of shareholders and other interested parties that lasted less than a half of a football match. Still we did learn that Murray doesn't find what he reads in the papers, the ones he doesn't buy or doesn't read, to be as bad as the rangers support keep telling him…. oh wait, that doesn't make any sense does it, much like a casino project in Govan then.