As most of the comments on Rangers negative...I will say this in their defense. You might not like the way they play but they beat some big and more talented sides to get to the final. Smith decided on a way to play in Europe and its worked, it proves being able to play pretty ball aint everything is more about playing effective ball.
I will say this, if so called effective football continues crowds will begin to deminish. Just look at what is happening in Seria A
fans voting with their feet. The average length of actual game time in Seria A is now 42 minutes. Football will be in trouble.
I am a die hard football fan and I can only speak for myself, but I for one not supporting that kind of football. WHo in football circles talk about
Greece? No one but the Greeks! Football is part of the entertainment industry and they should recognize that. Years ago when Terry Venebles
was coaching Barca, they were doing well but the average crowd in camp Nou dropped to 30000. Why?
I hope you don't think I actually like the way Rangers play in Europe
. Still I must say that though you are disappointed with football played in such a way, it is done so for a reason, not simply because people don't want to play flowing football. In my opinion its much more difficult to put together a
successful team that plays exciting, attacking football, check Tottenham under Ossie Ardiles (exciting not successful), even when you have almost unlimited funds...check Chelsea (successful but apparently not exciting enough). Can't comment on why many teams in Seria A play in such a way as I rarely watch their games, find that competition dire to look at....full of quality players but dull. Remember in Rangers case it was a purely tactical decision to play the way they did in Europe, Walter Smith clearly believed that his players could not match certain teams they faced on pure football ability so he played tight defensively hoping to get something on the break or through a set piece and it worked. You don't need to be a genius to realise that this would result in most matches they played being very onesided possession wise and not very exciting (I'm sure Rangers fans would disagree!). It's all well and good us saying we want to see flamboyant, exciting football but think of the manager with a limited budget and players pool.....play 'risky' ball and you have more chances of losing games and therefore losing your job.What is the saying...."Always play to your strengths". If you want to blame anything blame the levels of money seeping into the game and the owners who covet it, to get the cash you need to be successful. even some Fans starting to become more interested in success than entertainment. Barca under Venables? that ain't fair as Real and Barca are exceptional cases success is commonplace for them so their fans expect, they expect to win and do so in style as they know their teams can attract the best. The Fans only started dwindling after he won the Championship....cause then the fans wanted more...and he could'nt deliver it in the package they wanted.
