The Rangers/Everton game - a look back in anger?

Of course, losing to Everton didn't really matter, although we'd all 

Prefer winning to losing.  And leaving Ibrox at the weekend, there were more  than a few worries on my mind, not least of all the sight of three goals being given away cheaply and the frustration of that old familiar failure to convert chances to goals.  Seldom can a Treble winning Rangers team have gone into a new season generating so much pessimism.

Much has been said and written about our club's dire financial plight 

so it doesn't need repeating here.  But I can't for the life of me understand  how Emerson Thome can be such a stand-out on the trip to Germany and not get any commitment from Rangers.  Alex McLeish knows a thing or two about  defending and, if Thome couldn't cut it, I'd expect the manager to say so.  His  words, however, appeared to be chosen very carefully and, while I can't sympathise with the player's reluctance to stay on trial for another week or two to prove himself against sterner opposition like Everton and Arsenal, I detect our mutual friend Mr Bain's influence on events.  And throughout the summer, from the Argentinian debacle to various other possible deals, he has hardly

covered himself in glory.

We all know the books have to be balanced but if anyone doubted the 

Urgency of Big Eck's need to find Amo's successor they got the answer against Everton.  Michael Ball, while not altogether comfortable, did his best to slot in beside Craig Moore but he simply doesn't have the commanding physical presence to make the berth his own.  By all accounts Emo looked the perfect replacement for Amo but it won't happen and now, with the  Champions League qualifiers looming large on the horizon, Rangers are struggling to fill a crucial role.  The consequences of failure are, in my humble opinion, so dire that any gamble we take in a bid to tap into the European money pot

can be fully justified.

Everton certainly weren't slow to show up Rangers' shortcomings.  In 

The first half Radzinski and Rooney caused all sorts of problems by running at our defence and later in the game, with Rooney gone, the physique of Campbell and Big Dunc looked dangerous.  Our lot were too happy to back off, then lunge into desperate tackles around the edge of the box, and free-kicks were worrying me long before Stubbs fluked the injury time winner.  

Twice in the first half he came close with 20-yarders and I reckon we were more than a tad fortunate to be ahead after 20 minutes.

The performance of Steven Thompson was a big plus factor for me.  The 

way he back-tracked to link up with the midfield, then bring wide men Capucho and McCann into the game, was very impressive and he did really well to shrug off his marker and get on to the end of McCann's cross to head the Gers into the lead.  I'd love to see Thommo get a regular run in the team, preferably alongside Michael Mols, with Ronald de Boer in close attendance.  The big man looked the part at the weekend, even making light of some agricultural defending from Stubbs and Weir, and the presence of a big striker - a factor we lacked last term - could be a major asset in the season ahead.

Rangers had chances to go further ahead but, in all honesty, we could 

See Everton's equaliser coming long before they actually got it, although Ball's naivete in diving in to invite Radzinski's blatant dive for the penalty caused sighs of exasperation all around me.  And our players appeared to be stepping back to admire Everton's passing when Li Tie hammered the visitors into the lead.  To Rangers' credit, MM had us quickly back on level terms and a 2-2 scoreline would have upset nobody.

But a soft free-kick, a shot from Stubbs and a jammy deflection gave 

Everton the winner and we were left shaking our heads.  The shape of things to come?  I certainly hope not!  I prefer to look on last weekend as a training work-out, an exercise to identify our strengths and weaknesses before the serious business starts.  After all, I'd much rather lose 3-2 to Everton than to FC Copenhagen when the Champions League slot is up for grabs.  

But having highlighted any (many?) problem areas, Big Eck has to do 

something about them and he must be allowed to do what a man's got to do.

So spare us the lectures on living within our means.  Nobody is daft 

Enough to expect Rangers to push the boat out in the current financial climate but we have to speculate to accumulate, take a calculated gamble, and get the men to plug the gaps.  Failure to make it to the Champions League is not an option - but unless we make one or two significant additions to the squad, such a dire possibility might even be more of a probability.

Unlike last weekend, this is one result which really will matter and, 

if the worst comes to the worst, I won't be inclined to forgive or forget  those who insist on the Freckled One going about his business with his hands tied behind his back. 

LITTLE BOY BLUE