BAIRNS BLOWN AWAY
Bill Struth didn't believe in shouting things from the rooftops. He settled for a quiet word in the ear of those who needed it, then let his players' football do the talking. He would have smiled and given the quiet nod of approval of Saturday's victory…then perhaps suggested that the team could have had the game wrapped up much sooner than they did.
It was good to pay tribute to the great man. Unfortunately, just as the players took too long to put Falkirk out of their misery, Rangers have taken too long to acknowledge the contribution of Bill Struth to the standing of our club so those with first hand knowledge of the man are few and far between. Bobby Brown, Billy Simpson, Johnny Hubbard and Eric Caldow spoke about him via the big screens but they could only scratch the surface of the influence he had on them and so many others who wore the blue jersey.
As he looked around him and saw the great awe in which a man who has been dead for close to 50 years is still held, Paul Le Guen got another wee history lesson about the Rangers and he may even have wondered about how we'll look back on him 50 years from now. Well, he has made a quietly impressive start to his time in charge but, as we visit Easter Road and the Scum Dome in the next fortnight, some significant tests lie in wait.
It irked me a bit to hear so many Bears getting uptight about lunchtime happenings at Pittodrie. Of course, I don't like to see Sellick win so much as a shy so I was far from happy to see them grab a poxy goal late in the game, then survive an injury time goal-line scare, but we should content ourselves with getting our own job done, regardless of events elsewhere. As Bill Struth would have said, that is the Rangers way.
Rangers were certainly up for the task on Saturday. Phil Bardsley's excellent free-kick and Dado Prso's superbly controlled volley got the Gers off to a flyer and, as in a few games this season, we could have been four or five up at the interval. But I wasn't too worried and a good day got better when Barry Ferguson returned to action as a half-time sub.
Falkirk did rally briefly at the start of the second half but they clearly rely too much on Russell Latapy. It just didn't happen for him and, when he doesn't make it happen, nobody else is capable of doing so. If they could have pulled a goal back, we might have been rattled but we finally killed the game with a Kris Boyd penalty after the big man was brought down when running on to a pass from Baz. And Thomas Buffel topped things off with a great run and shot as we threatened to overrun Falkirk in the closing stages.
The non-appearance of Sasa Papac and subsequent revelation that he won't be able to play in the UEFA Cup was disappointing. I can only assume Martin Bain and PLG were aware of the situation when they pursued him so diligently. After all, regaining our SPL crown is number one priority this season. Or am I in too big a hurry to give them the benefit of the doubt?
On a positive note, if the threat of losing his place to Papac is what it takes to get a more solid performance out of Karl Svensson, the transfer is already paying dividends. OK, so Falkirk never really put us under any pressure but, if the Swede makes up his mind to be first to the ball when it is arriving in our box, he will have taken a big step in the right direction.
Serious questions will be asked of us against Hibs and Septic and the shape of our season could be determined by our next two league games. Two victories and we are on top, welcoming the chase, anything less and we are playing catch-up. Nothing will be settled one way or another but it would be oh so good to send out the message loud and clear that we are the team they'll all have to beat.
By slipping up again on Saturday when they lost to St.Mirren, the Jambos dropped down to third but shouldn't be too worried about next week's trip to Motherwell. Hibs, however, having hammered Dundee United on Sunday, will be well noised up for our visit next Sunday and, expecting FC Semtex to take care of Dunfermline on Saturday, we should go to Easter Road trailing by four points.
These are the challenges we have to take in our stride if we are to win the title. I believe we will do it but don't talk about it, Rangers, just do it…just like Bill Struth's teams did in the bygone days of yore..
ERWIN G.