Strachan Tactics Were Good..just Not Good Enough

Mar 30 2008 Gordon Waddell

THEY thought he'd written an 11-name suicide note masquerading as a teamsheet. Turned out he hadn't.

They thought they'd be swamped unless he matched up three on three in the midfield. Turned out they weren't.

When it came to the crunch though Gordon Strachan put his faith in the players and shape HE wanted and prayed they would dig one out for him.

Turned out they didn't. And that's the bottom line of a game that will ultimately lose Celtic their crown.

And maybe ultimately see Strachan hounded from his job.

Not bad. Just not good enough.

The polar opposite of Rangers. Not great. Just good enough.

No one let Strachan down. Not one individual he picked had a howler.

They all did a little better than they had last time, the ones who played. But no one stood up and bailed him out. No one went an extra yard.

And average is something you can't afford to be if you want to be a winner. It is a word that damns you to a runners-up medal.

Solid enough at the back, committed enough in midfield, ambitious enough out wide, big and mobile enough up top.

Strachan was brave with his team, especially knowing Rangers would win the physical battle no matter what.

And for long spells, especially before Gers scored, they were the better side.

But as Tommy Burns could have shouted along the dugout, when did that ever matter? When you're up against a boss who's only ever lost seven of the 38 Old Firm games he's managed, you should know by now that pragmatism trumps principles every day of the week.

As soon as Hoops lost the goal they lost the game. They didn't do much wrong - they just didn't do much right.

Now Gordon will feel heat like the hobs of hell around him.

Maybe not from the boardroom - John Reid made a three-act play of greeting him warmly as he entered the press room - but certainly from the stands.

Whether or not he deserves it, the fans will be baying for his head on a platter today.

Up in the top deck of the Copland Road stand, a banner fluttered that read: "You hate Strachan more than us".

They're probably right. Over in the far corner between the Govan and the Broomloan another said: "Strachan must stay".

But maybe the more telling one from the bedsheet satirists was the one that read: "The Car Park awaits..."

His two titles, two cups and two sojourns in the Champions League's sweet 16 suddenly seem a million miles away.

And unless someone does Hoops a big favour - something he admits he's not holding his breath for - then it's a goner. To be fair, he's probably right.

This Rangers team is making a habit of being exactly what Celtic weren't yesterday.

It's hard to imagine them coughing up points to anyone else when it matters in the coming weeks. Let's face it, it's not exactly a habit they've had is it? That's 52 points out of the past 54 they've taken since they last defeat, way back in October to Dundee United.

Throw in their CIS Cup win, Scottish Cup endurance and a UEFA Cup quarter-final and you have to admire their resilience.

None more so than Allan McGregor. They said Andy Goram was worth 15 points a season to them at his peak.

McGregor must have at least that to his name this term.

And he banked two more for himself with that fingertip save from Andreas Hinkel in the second half.

Kevin Thomson's goal was the game's turning point right before half time but that touch over the bar stopped the tide turning again. Not bad for a man with a knee injury three days ago, eh?

He's the first keeper in Gers history to blank Celtic four times on the trot.

That's 26 clean sheets for the season. If that doesn't make him a Player of the Year candidate along with the two centre-halves in front of him, nothing will.