After a garbage week in continental competition, Scottish teams have been taken out with the Euro trash. Celtic, Rangers and Hearts all suffered sore ones in the Champions League and Europa Conference and the punters are not happy.
Ibrox fans reckon boss Gio van Bronckhorst is under pressure and it’s time for a SOS – send out Souness. Robert Livingstone, Palm Beach, said: “Van Bronckhorst was a good player but as manager he makes too many wrong selections. Rangers need a tough, gruff, no-nonsense man like Graeme Souness to chop out the dead wood.”
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou didn’t escape either and Alan Flett emailed: "What now for the Old Firm after more Champions League embarrassment? At least Rangers have proved themselves in the Europa League, they can tool up and go again. But Celtic will have to spend serious money on top players if they are to have a chance of competing in any of the European competitions. Either that, or they replace the naive Postecoglou with a manager of substance.”
It’s Gers fans who are in the doldrums though after the seven goal hammering by Liverpool. Rab Hamilton, Govan, said: “Tavernier was not interested, Barisic is like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Ryan Kent has chucked it just like so many other players who are coming out of contract.
“ Rangers summer signings have been a disaster. We should rebuild now using some of our younger players who have an appetite for the game.
Craig Gordon, Ayr, said: “After all the good work done by Celtic in Battle of Britain matches against Liverpool, Man Utd and Man City and even Aberdeen taking a Premier League team to extra time over two legs, what a setback and humiliation Rangers have handed our league with that performance. They are now on course for the worst Champions League statistics of all time.”
Jimmy Murray, Edinburgh , said: “I think the Rangers result will shoot down the myth that a 50,000 crowd making a noise doesn’t make any difference to a football result. To think the Old Firm would love to play down south as well."
Frank McFerran, Carrickfergus, said: “Imagine what the score would have been if Liverpool had played their first XI. I shudder to think. Rangers or Celtic could never make it in the English first division, never mind the Premier League.”
Neil Renton, Edinburgh, said: “After the embarrassment of Rangers and Celtic in Europe this season any talk of them joining a breakaway league should be binned unless it’s the Chumpions League.”
Kenny Goff, via email, said: “If any Scottish club thinks they deserve to play in Europe, they are deluded. They are hopeless.”
Hearts boss Robbie Neilson was also on the naughty step after shipping five in Italy. Davy Cook, Edinburgh, said: “Robbie Neilson keeps saying it’s a learning curve. He should keep teaching the players how to score and keep the fans happy or he could be going back to school himself.”
There was some with a dose of realism. Martin Baird, Glasgow, said: “As a Rangers fan I have to say that Old Firm fans gloating about who’s the worst is laughable and embarrassing to us both. Neither club is anywhere near that level now and every result could’ve easily happened to the other team. The financial gulf created for TV and endorsed over recent decades by UEFA has made it an impossibility to get near the big clubs of the Champions League.”
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