Well, that was ugly: Rangers 0-3 Lyon
By: Ian Rose | December 12th, 2007I’m not going to talk too much about the game, because the scoreline says most of it. Rangers were outplayed, start to finish. I will say this, though. The best thing that could have possibly happened to Rangers was the last-minute red card to Jean-Claude Darcheville. I don’t know what he is doing in practice to impress Walter Smith, but it better involve lightning bolts coming out of his eyes, because on the pitch in meaningful matches, he has been awful. I don’t see what his appeal is to Walter, but I also don’t see him day in and day out, and maybe there’s something I’ve missed. In this match, his only meaningful plays were to miss a sitter high and then get himself ejected.
I do have to say that, for me, that was not a red card offense. I think it was a solid yellow, but not a straight red. Once again, I’m glad it was a red card because the game was already essentially over and all it did was take an ineffective player off of the pitch for Rangers the next time. Alan Hutton’s yellow card is a far bigger problem for the team, since he now misses the first leg of their Round of 32 UEFA Cup tie, and Hutton means far more to Rangers than Darcheville ever has.
Lyon deserved this win, and deserved for the scoreline to equal the one in France. I’m sure Inara will cover things over at the Lyon blog - as for me, I’m finished with Rangers for a bit. They aren’t my club, and pretending that they are is a bit tiring. I would have loved to see two Scottish teams in the final 16, but it may very well be better for the league to have one in the UEFA Cup, where advancement is far more likely … who knows.
Category: Rangers
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Comments
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I’ve never seen worse set pieces in my life. Ferguson couldn’t even get a couple of them over a two man wall. That failing ruined a bunch of opportunities to at least get some shots on net. Lyon were by no means unbeatable today.
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I believe it deserves one more posting….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HAD1fcPDOM&feature=related
That was fun!
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Matt, I don’t think that’s necessary. Rangers tried their best and had some really good results in this competition, and though they lost tonight, they also humiliated Lyon in France by the same scoreline, and given the gap between the teams, Rangers shouldn’t be as embarrassed by their loss as Lyon was by theirs.
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The only reason I didn’t delete it the second time (bordering on spam, Matt) is because, like it or not, Old Firm hatred is part of Scottish football. Most of the posts from Celtic fans about Rangers losses (or vice versa, certainly) on Scottish football forums are like this. I’d like to see more Old Firm fans support Scotland against everyone else as their first priority, but this kind of thing goes along with having the oldest rivalry in modern sport.
It doesn’t help that the league is now so close, and Celtic fans have to laugh while they can after draws with Hearts and St. Mirren have put them within striking distance of Rangers in the league.
That derby in January is going to be fantastic.
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Not meaning to spam Ian, just having a laugh at my rivals like you said. I certainly would root for any Scottish team in a European competition whether it be the CL or the UEFA Cup, with one large exception (well probably Hearts as well)and that exception is out of the CL and heading to the UEFA cup! I will most certainly be rooting for the Sheep to win and advance in the UEFA Cup, but I just can’t root for THAT team to do well. Celtic always gets a lot of stick for having tri-colours, etc, but tonight I saw lots of Naz..err Red Hand Flags and Rule Britania belted out more than a few times. While I’m not calling for you to support Celtic, I would think as a neutral interested in the advancement of the Scottish game, Rangers certainly wouldn’t be the team to get behind. Not really much Scottish about that support. Where in Ulster is south Glasgow indeed. Finally, it was not more that Rangers lost, but rather how they got humped. If Lyon would have won in a last second thriller, I probably wouldn’t have “laughed” as hard, but you can’t blame me for enjoying my arch rival getting done like that.
And besides, no matter who you root for, you can’t tell me you didn’t laugh at that video. CLASSIC!
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Look, I’m no fan of Rangers, but I’m not really much behind Celtic either. In Europe, I want both to do well, but like I said, I don’t expect you to like Rangers. I know full well how deep things run between the two. Rangers fans (especially away support) have pissed me off as much as anyone - After all, their first awful display of the season was at Caley Thistle. I’m not supporting Rangers - I’m supporting Scottish teams in Europe, even Scottish teams I don’t like that much.
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PS - I find it pretty damned hard to root for Hearts in Europe too, so I understand you there. I do it, but I have to admit it’s half-hearted.
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Lyon were by no means unbeatable today.
There was something distinctly French about the way Rangers didn’t have any finishing skills tonight. Oh wait! Their two main strikers are French!
If Walter Smith had started being offensive from the outset and not just the second half, Rangers could have walked away with a draw to be honest. But Lyon were never going to sit around and wait that long.
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I agree, Inara - Darcheville was an embarrassment last night. I’m just still shaking my head wondering how he makes this team, much less how he finds himself the first-choice striker.
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