Rangers Ask for League Postponement So They Can Beat Lyon

In a totally (un)shocking move, Rangers have asked the Scottish Premier League to postpone their match against against Gretna on December 9th. This is meant to better prepare them for their Champions League game against Lyon three days later. And Gretna would happy to help out.

The SPL may find themselves hard pressed to refuse because there is a precedent – only a month ago, they gave Rangers and Celtic nearly two weeks off so they could prepare for their Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy – not that it helped.

While the fact that Rangers are that worried about Lyon is kind of funny, it’s also unnecessary (and unfair). Lyon have a game that weekend too, so they’ll also be tired. Not only that, Rangers have home advantage, only need a draw to advance, have a superior head to head record to give them confidence, and Scotland just seem to own France on a regular basis. So all this postponement really does is make Rangers look like babies.

I can understand why Rangers would like the extra time since they only have a three day gap (as opposed to Lyon, who have four days). But there’s a difference between asking for an extra day and an extra week. Even the French League, which desperately need European vindication, won’t help their clubs like that. For example, last year Lyon had their derby away to St. Etienne three days before they were knocked out of Europe by Roma. That’s just life.

This is normally not my territory but Ian’s, so I don’t mean to step on his toes. But it’s because of events like this that make me not take Rangers seriously. The whole point of the Champions League is to prove that you can hack it at home and in Europe. What other big clubs get the weekend off before a CL game? That’s part of being allowed to sit at the big kids table.

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Category: Champions League, Team News and Rumors