Comments on: Fred is “Injured” and Other News

By: Ush

Ush — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:15:35 +0000

jim: I spose that was the idea behind letting them beat us 3 nil at home then!

By: jim

jim — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 11:39:07 +0000

Lyon are playing mind games with Rangers, maybe making them think that Lyon are scared about coming to Ibrox. Its obvious Lyon’s match would never be moved, so they’re trying to act like they’re scared and lull them into a false sense of security and superiority.

By: Ush

Ush — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 11:22:08 +0000

Bad news. I really wish Fred could be fit and reach his potential. Him being so injury prone lately may lead to him being the great Brazilian striker who never was.

By: guignol

guignol — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 10:26:16 +0000

fred being injured is bad news because he needs the time and benzema needs the rest. baros may very well start in caen, or at east play a half.

fabio santos achilles still hurts him, hopefully he’ll be redy for rangers, even though källström is the more likely starter after his great match against strasbourg.

By: Inara

Inara — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:30:06 +0000

Sam: I was surprised too. I honestly thought Lyon would be slapped with a huge fine. You know how fine happy the LFP guys are.

Ian: Thanks for the info. It’s funny, but I never rated Darcheville or Cousin when they were in France. In fact, Cousin especially sucked – when he was sold for money, I thought Lens were robbing Rangers. About Novo – it’s the pace thing that scares me because Lyon seem very weak when it comes to counters. Our full backs are happy to go up the field, so that essentially leaves the 2 CBs alone, and at the moment, the communication between the two suck.

Bryan: Yup, I’m there.

By: bryan

bryan — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:22:50 +0000

inara aren’t you part of the facebook group?

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:14:51 +0000

I’d say its possible, as I think just about all teams try to exaggerate injuries to play with their opponents before big games. I expect both of them to be available, but whether they’re at their best … that’s one Walter Smith is keeping to himself. I’d be more afraid of Novo if I were you – I don’t rate Darcheville. He lives offside, and you really have to hand him a ton of chances before he converts one. I really prefer Cousin in the lone striker role, if anyone has to be. But I hate one-striker football, and so I hope Boyd, Novo and Cousin all get their chances.

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:02:57 +0000

Wow, that’s weird about the Bad Gones bit. I’m surprised I haven’t heard more about that. And thanks for reminding me about le ballon de plomb: I just wrote a post about it.

By: Inara

Inara — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 05:42:08 +0000

I don’t know, I honestly think ten days is too much. I would prefer the match be shifted back by a few hours, at most moved to the day before. But ten days without playing is too much of a gap.

To be fair, Lyon wouldn’t have asked if Rangers hadn’t gotten a postponement. It does set Lyon back a lot in their preparations, and considering that Rangers already have one foot in the knockout rounds, the extra week was a blow to them, especially since until a week ago, both teams were on the same page.

People were correct when they said the LFP would never allow it, and Lyon must have known what the outcome of their request would be – they might as well ask UEFA for one. Knowing Aulas, his asking is to have an excuse ready in case we lose. His attitude has always been that when Lyon lose, it’s not their fault. So should Rangers win next Wednesday, Aulas will raise up a stink about how the Scots have poor sportsmanship, how UEFA should ban situations like that, and how the LFP has a conspiracy to see Lyon fail in Europe (I’m not kidding – we go through this every year). And if Lyon win, he’ll be ready to say how Lyon came out fighting when everyone was against them. He’s a great president to have, but not if he’s not your president.

Still, I am disappointed in Aulas because he’s making Lyon look like a mafia-esque club which demands special favors, and it’s especially bad because he’s the VP of the league. He’s pretty much universally hated outside of Lyon.

Ian, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what are the chances that Rangers are over exaggerating the injuries to Darcheville and Nacho Novo? Last year with Houllier, sometimes Lyon would do that before big matches just to confuse our opponents and lull them into a false sense of security.

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 05:05:48 +0000

Interesting about Lyon applying for postponement. I’m glad they didn’t get it, and wish that Rangers hadn’t gotten it either, since both requests were ridiculous. Ligue 1 has preserved its dignity by treating the request the way the SPL should have, but you Lyon fans lose a little of that high ground about asking for the postponement. I suspected you’d take it if you could (who wouldn’t?), so hopefully now we can concentrate on the match itself and leave the talk about postponement behind.