BIG CUP IS ALMOST BACK, BABY
Having seen off PSV Eindhoven to qualify for the group stages of Big Cup this time last year, Rangers had every right to feel bullish about their chances of repeating the feat on Wednesday night. While their tie against the Eredivisie side was finely poised after a 2-2 draw at Ibrox, any notions Mick Beale’s team might have had about getting a result at the Philips Stadion were quickly disabused when their Dutch hosts set about taking them apart with the meticulous efficiency of horologist Steve Fletcher getting stuck into an antique clock on The Repair Shop. If anything, the 5-1 scoreline seriously flattered Rangers, who were long out of the tie when Connor Goldson summed up their performance with a comedy, no-look own goal past Jack Butland.
Rangers must now settle for a place in Big Vase, which – fiscal blow aside – is probably the best place for them when you consider the various humiliations visited upon them in last season’s Big Cup group stages which they ended with a record of P6 W0 D0 L6 GF2 GA22. “For this team, this game came far too soon, that’s what’s clear,” barked Beale, who bristled at the suggestion his team had shipped a hiding despite all available evidence to the contrary. “It’s bitterly disappointing we are out of [Big Cup]. I think we played against an excellent team. But just an apology to our fans who came across. They stuck with the team in both legs and they expect a bit more than what they got.” One suspects they will certainly be expecting more than what they get on Sunday lunchtime, when Rangers host Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season.
While this game may have come too soon for Rangers, Thursday’s Big Cup group-stage draw isn’t coming soon enough for Football Daily. The world’s most tea-timely football email is due to slink apologetically into inboxes around the globe at precisely the same time as Pedro Pinto and Reshmin Chowdhury start explaining the long and extremely convoluted process of sorting 32 clubs into eight groups of four. By the time you read this, there’s a very good chance fans of Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle and Celtic will be crashing the websites of assorted budget airlines in their rush to book tickets to far-flung corners of Europe, with those of a Geordie persuasion likely to be particularly excited about seeing their team rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite for the first time in 20 years.
In pot four, they could be handed a stinker of a draw, unlike Manchester United, who can look forward to their usual walks in the park against Feyenoord, Young Boys and The Dog & Duck. While the draw may be long and tedious, we urge readers to cherish it. Given next season’s changes, in 12 months’ time Pedro and Reshmin will be telling us how Uefa plans to sort 36 teams into one group of 36, a process that is almost certainly likely to be far more complicated than it sounds but almost certainly won’t feature Rangers.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
You can follow the draw for Big Cup from around 4.30pm BST or so right here (unless you consume this email at a later time, of course).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Some people drop out because they just don’t like it and that’s fine, but if you don’t provide the opportunity in the first place, you could stop a young girl from realising her dream. They might have just dropped out, not because they don’t have the talent, but because of something as little as kit” – former England player Jill Scott calls for an end to body image pressures and criticises the inadequate facilities in the women’s game.
While Spurs may not have had much to dust and polish lately (yesterday’s Football Daily), not so my family. In the early-1960s, when I thought I wanted to be a comedian, I was booked at a local Lancashire club for a charity night. The place was packed, not for me, but for Denis Law, who was to present a large cheque to the charity. He didn’t turn up, thus denying himself the ‘in appreciation’ gift of a gold-plated Ronson table lighter. I was brought on as substitute. So the local lad got the lighter, which took pride of place on the mantelpiece, and my proud granny took on dusting and polishing duties with great ceremony. When she passed, my mother took a shift with Mr Sheen. I got married, moved to Yorkshire and we persuaded ‘Denis’ to come too. Later still, my wife continued the ‘duty of care’ all the way to Sydney, where the sea air took its toll on Denis, especially since it was many decades since anyone in the household smoked. My wife passed away some years ago, leaving me and Denis in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, where nobody has heard of Denis Law. He remains a very tarnished conversation piece in the paperweight department. And a memory of a Todmorden Working Men’s club” – Bruce Dennis.
Is it possible that Ange Postecoglou was playing most of the Spurs players at Fulham that he wants to leave, so made a good point if they can’t play in the way he wants?” – John Catton.
As narrative-rich as your piece yesterday undoubtedly was, it either chose to neglect or was shamefully ignorant of the club’s epoch-defining victory over Lion City Sailors in last month’s Tiger Cup. Indeed, it was presumably this major honour that gave Harry Kane the incentive to leave the club having finally delivered silverware to the Lane” – Gareth Patterson.
Send your letters to [email protected]. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Bruce Dennis.
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