Is this team better than 2008?

Debatable around which team is "better".

Agree on 2008 back line probably more solid but not a such as a threat from the wings than what Bassey & Tav currently provide.

As for attack, I say this team is slightly better with fluid attacks and se to have more options, I felt 2008 was quite a rigid and robust side that delivered through a disciplined way of playing.

For me, on mentality 2008 edges that one easily.
 
Mount_Bear said:
I think people look back at that run with blue tinted specs, which is completely understandable. The truth is that there were many, many games on that run where we were absolutely battered senseless. We were the epitome of smash and grab in a "once in a lifetime" season. This team has reached the second knockout round of the competition for three seasons straight, and have dominated high class teams in a way the '08 team never did. Just my opinion of course. I think most people have nostalgia bias, those people will probably accuse me of recency bias :D
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Totally agree with this also
 
erskine bear said:
Over Morelos?

Absolutely no chance for me mate, but I’ve always held the opinion that Cousin was overrated because the occasions he did play well (Lyon & Celtic), he was superb.

Reality is he was pretty average forward, with a 1 in 3.5 goal return for us (think it’s something like 13 in 44). Probably an argument that even Roofe is better than Cousin.

I was also Darcheville loyalist.

As a side point, I always found the notion that Cousin was some god like saviour who would have won us the league in 2012 to be absolutely mental. Considering he wasn’t even good enough to do that in his prime, never mind when he’s 35 and has just left some Greek mob nobody has ever heard of.
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ICA_86 said:
Cousin was phenomenal on his game.

Stephen McManus must still see him every time he shuts his eyes.

Morelos is better though.
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Cousin's problem was he couldn't be arsed most of the time.

At his best he was a wrecking ball. How many times did he do it though here ? You could count it on one hand.

Darcheville was a worker who didn't have the fitness to last the pace (one 90 minutes in 18 months FFS)

Neither of them are near Morelos
 
This thread got me thinking about how much football has changed in general over the last 14 years. Even certain positions have completely changed in that time. Using Papac as an example, he was someone who was solid defensively but didn’t offer that much going forward from what I can remember. Nowadays full backs are often some of the most attacking and creative players in a team like Tav often is for us. In 2022, would Papac actually get into a modern rangers team? I think looking back at players from that time theres a lot who were excellent for us then but wouldn’t get near the team now.
 
Mount_Bear said:
I think people look back at that run with blue tinted specs, which is completely understandable. The truth is that there were many, many games on that run where we were absolutely battered senseless. We were the epitome of smash and grab in a "once in a lifetime" season. This team has reached the second knockout round of the competition for three seasons straight, and have dominated high class teams in a way the '08 team never did. Just my opinion of course. I think most people have nostalgia bias, those people will probably accuse me of recency bias :D
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For me, the core of that 2008 team gave us eight trophies and a European final in 3/4 years.

It might be blue tinted specs for some, but they got the wins and they got the trophies.

The current team have had to come from a completely different scenario and they’ll always hold a very special place in history, but they’re a bad run in away from one trophy in 4 years.
 
erskine bear said:
Over Morelos?

Absolutely no chance for me mate, but I’ve always held the opinion that Cousin was overrated because the occasions he did play well (Lyon & Celtic), he was superb.

Reality is he was pretty average forward, with a 1 in 3.5 goal return for us (think it’s something like 13 in 44). Probably an argument that even Roofe is better than Cousin.

I was also Darcheville loyalist.

As a side point, I always found the notion that Cousin was some god like saviour who would have won us the league in 2012 to be absolutely mental. Considering he wasn’t even good enough to do that in his prime, never mind when he’s 35 and has just left some Greek mob nobody has ever heard of.
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Not over Morelos, i think the pair of them in a 2 up top would be interesting. Cousin did really only turn up in the big games and if we had that player at his best now, I think he would def be a better addition to the squad.

I do think if Cousin hadnt have been sent off in the semis, we would have had a lot better chance of winning the final
 
ICA_86 said:
For me, the core of that 2008 team gave us eight trophies and a European final in 3/4 years.

It might be blue tinted specs for some, but they got the wins and they got the trophies.

The current team have had to come from a completely different scenario and they’ll always hold a very special place in history, but they’re a bad run in away from one trophy in 4 years.
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Your points is for me why I edged in favour of 2008 due to mentality....I suppose those this team if it went on to win 8 trophies over this season and the next 2 then we could have a debate but for me just now it's weighted to heavily in 2008s favour due to the visibility of 3 in a row after
 
SDF said:
Gio has drove me mental domestically since the winter break with some of his decisions but in Europe he has called it almost spot on from day one
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It's been patchy mate yes but I think a lot of the criticism of him is based on fans that just can't contain their anger.

We've one foot in the Europa League QF, he's been allowed to bring in 1 permanent player (a development player) and there's unanimous agreement that the team is at the end of it's cycle and needs broken up.

The idea he loses the league by a couple of points so should have his position reviewed is totally backwards for me.

We complain that Scotland is a football backwater, maybe that attitude is part of the problem?
 
ThePieWasNiceAndTender said:
Not over Morelos, i think the pair of them in a 2 up top would be interesting. Cousin did really only turn up in the big games and if we had that player at his best now, I think he would def be a better addition to the squad.

I do think if Cousin hadnt have been sent off in the semis, we would have had a lot better chance of winning the final
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No argument from me bud!

Certainly would have been useful for the final.
 
Carlisle Bear said:
It's been patchy mate yes but I think a lot of the criticism of him is based on fans that just can't contain their anger.

We've one foot in the Europa League QF, he's been allowed to bring in 1 permanent player (a development player) and there's unanimous agreement that the team is at the end of it's cycle and needs broken up.

The idea he loses the league by a couple of points so should have his position reviewed is totally backwards for me.

We complain that Scotland is a football backwater, maybe that attitude is part of the problem?
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His position is non negotiable for me. Unless he utterly shits the bed from here on in this season which I don't believe will happen

At the very least he deserves to carry out the rebuild.
 
napierblue said:
Have we ever been this consistently good in Europe? Obviously had longer runs in individual seasons but to be at this level 3 years in a row is unbelievable. Even the year before that we done well in our group considering it was our first time back
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It’s actually 4 years of consistency in Europe…in my life time supporting Rangers it’s never been so good. Long may it continue & fair play to Gerrard, Gio, the board & supporters for backing up this consistency.
 
There are some similarities. That team (under different management) had reached the last 16 of European competition the two previous seasons and then managed to reach the final. Perhaps history is about to repeat itself.

Both teams were completely different with Walter's side being far better defensively and the current team being far better offensively. Both sides have managed to show a level of consistently over a few year period.
 
WalterLoyal said:
There are some similarities. That team (under different management) had reached the last 16 of European competition the two previous seasons and then managed to reach the final. Perhaps history is about to repeat itself.

Both teams were completely different with Walter's side being far better defensively and the current team being far better offensively. Both sides have managed to show a level of consistently over a few year period.
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Smith’s team were on a different level mentality wise.

I think that’s a massive aspect that needs to be considered.
 
napierblue said:
Have we ever been this consistently good in Europe? Obviously had longer runs in individual seasons but to be at this level 3 years in a row is unbelievable. Even the year before that we done well in our group considering it was our first time back
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We did previously reach the last 16 of the CL, the UEFA Cup last 16 and then the UEFA Cup final in a three year period. It would be very difficult to ever match that again. It's rare to see the current level of consistency though which goes back four years and due to our low coefficient saw us having to come through numerous qualifiers. I'm not sure how many places we've managed to move up during that time but I imagine it's a club record during a four year period.
 
Mount_Bear said:
I think people look back at that run with blue tinted specs, which is completely understandable. The truth is that there were many, many games on that run where we were absolutely battered senseless. We were the epitome of smash and grab in a "once in a lifetime" season. This team has reached the second knockout round of the competition for three seasons straight, and have dominated high class teams in a way the '08 team never did. Just my opinion of course. I think most people have nostalgia bias, those people will probably accuse me of recency bias :D
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We beat some top teams that year - Red Star, Stuttgart, Lyon, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon, Fiorentina, Panathinaikos and a draw with Messi's Barcelona.

The football wasn't pretty but we did what we had to do to get the job done and we were incredibly efficient at it.

This team - teams play us and are expecting a battle and are caught out by the quality of football we play. Morelos is an absolute diamond in Europe - Kent, Goldson, Tavernier and I'd say Jack are also stand outs at this level. The others are not far behind. Balogun and Bassey were solid the other night and Lundstram looked class.
 
Hard to say really. This team obviously plays better football but the 2008 one could grind out results more.

As someone else said, if they played each other, the present team would have 30 odd shots on goal, miss chance after chance, 2008 McGregor pulling off save after save then Boyd would get one chance and score.
 
PT98 said:
Hard to say really. This team obviously plays better football but the 2008 one could grind out results more.

As someone else said, if they played each other, the present team would have 30 odd shots on goal, miss chance after chance, 2008 McGregor pulling off save after save then Boyd would get one chance and score.
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Boyd barely featured during that UEFA Cup run. I take your point though.
 
McGregor (2008)

Tavernier
Weir
Cuellar
Papac

Ferguson
Thomson
Davis (2008)

Kent
Morelos
Aribo
 
RfcIbrox said:
I'd take Ferguson and Cuellar. Unfortunately the standard of opposition is much higher. This team should fear no one if we get through.
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can't say one team was better than the other, all you can say is they were different and effective at what they do well

Walter had worked out a way for that team to win a tie over two legs while away goals were still important.
 
Defence was solid back then, attack wasn’t near what we have now. Boxing analogy, 2008 some close defensive fights that could have went to the judges. Our euro performances now tho, we are set up for open games, attacking early and counter danger later. So like Antwerp, benfica, dortmund is all Rocky movies… with what’s his name, Sylvester…?
 
McGregor (2008)
Tav, Cuellar, Weir, Papac (Borna would have been in last year)
Davis (2008), Ferguson, Jack
Kent
Morelos, Boyd (domestic games only, but had the killer instinct to turn domestic draws into wins)
 
Last edited:
Surely you must measure this question on success?

Isn’t that what defines a good team?

All other factors are pretty much irrelevant.

We are out a domestic cup again and behind in the league so unless we win the league Scottish cup and get to the europa final then perhaps we can say the current team is better.
 
I think the current team would win and I think they’d win quite comfortably tbh. The current Rangers team is probably the best I’ve ever seen, consistently, in Europe, in my lifetime.

I also think too many of our fans reminisce about how great things were then and how bad things are now so I’ll give a few facts that some might find interesting.

The current Rangers team (this is all league stats) have a better points per game so far this season than the 2008 team managed over the course of the season. The current Rangers team also concedes fewer goals per game than the 2008 team did.

The 2008 team also lost 6 league games that season, the current team have lost 2 in their last 68 games.

The 2008 Uefa cup run was sensational and some of the defensive performances are legendary but we also carried some luck in that run (thankfully).

The Bremen away game was probably the biggest battering I’ve ever seen a Rangers team take over 90 minutes. I still to this day don’t understand how we got through that tie and also how McGregor managed to make THAT save.

I suppose my overall point is that I think we (as a support) were almost conditioned to believe that those tension filled defensive performances were the only way we could get positive results in Europe but this current team have gone toe to toe with some of Europes best and got the better of them which I don’t think any of us would’ve believed even 10 years ago.

I honestly think we’re taking results like beating Dortmund 4-2 in Germany for granted nowadays and it doesn’t really make sense to me.
 
erskine bear said:
My team would be

McGregor (2008)

Tav Goldson Cuellar Borna (at his best)

Davis (2008) Jack Ferguson

Aribo Morelos Kent
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Fairly close to my team.
The problem is in midfield.
Your three, same as mine if we‘re just thinking of “best quality three” but they don’t mix well in a three man midfield,
In Walter’s four, it’d be Ferguson (it’d always be Ferguson first) and Jack, or Thomson, in the middle with Davis right and somebody else left.
In Gerrard’s three, it’d be Davis, Ferguson (despite Gerrard’s love for Jack he’d see Ferguson as a better player) and Thomson.
We’d still have a right side forward debate though.
In Gio’s 4-2-3-1, it’d be Ferguson with Jack for me, Davis and Kent with a ten, leaving Morelos up front.
FFS, I could argue this one all day.
More so with myself, as I’m doing as I type!
 
SDF said:
For all his faults, Ferguson in the middle of the park is the difference maker.

Even in his second spell he was capable of running a midfield in a way we don't have just now.
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Absolutely.
Ferguson could be Jack, and the elusive “ten” in the same game, in the same move!
As I posted earlier, Gerrard and GvB both love Jack but they’d drool over Ferguson.
I’d go as far as to say, in a parallel universe, maybe one where Ferguson does a Gilmour, Ferguson might have been the best player of the three.
 
tazzabear said:
Fairly close to my team.
The problem is in midfield.
Your three, same as mine if we‘re just thinking of “best quality three” but they don’t mix well in a three man midfield,
In Walter’s four, it’d be Ferguson (it’d always be Ferguson first) and Jack, or Thomson, in the middle with Davis right and somebody else left.
In Gerrard’s three, it’d be Davis, Ferguson (despite Gerrard’s love for Jack he’d see Ferguson as a better player) and Thomson.
We’d still have a right side forward debate though.
In Gio’s 4-2-3-1, it’d be Ferguson with Jack for me, Davis and Kent with a ten, leaving Morelos up front.
FFS, I could argue this one all day.
More so with myself, as I’m doing as I type!
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In the 4-2-3-1 you’d probably be better playing Davis and Jack/Thomson as the 2 sitters with Ferguson as the 10.
 
ICA_86 said:
Don’t be so triggered mate, just an opinion - stop crying.

I’ve clearly just missed the regular trophy wins that we saw from Walter’s team in his second stint with the current size.
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Smith’s sides from 09 to 11 were probably better than the 07/08 one.
 
Chester Loyal said:
In the 4-2-3-1 you’d probably be better playing Davis and Jack/Thomson as the 2 sitters with Ferguson as the 10.
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Yes and that is one of the arguments I had with myself!
I just think Ferguson better in the Souness type role as opposed to even what we seen in 03.
 
Discombob said:
It's too early to tell.

At this stage in 2008, we were top of the table, on course for the quadruple. A combination of Celtic's shameful manipulation of O'Donnell's death, Celtic's shameful manipulation of the resultant fixture conjestion (tour of Japan), the SPL's cravenous kowtowing to Celtic, some dodgy decisions against Celtic (Robson on Dailly, Venegor of Hesselink on Faye both escaping red cards, amongst others), and perhaps Walter's reluctance to rotate the squad, we squandered that lead. And, due in part to Cousin's petulance, we lost the UC Final.

If this team win the league, I'd say they are better than the 2008 team, regardless of the remainder of the EL campaign. If we win the EL but lose the league, they are certainly better than the 2008 team.

But if they reach and lose the EL final and lose the league, as in 2008, we're down to the manner of it all. This team are more entertaining to watch and play some beautiful football, while the 2008 team were solid and got the job done (with exception of Lyon away and Stuttgart at home!). And this team are arguably doing it at a larger financial disadvantage than in 2008, against teams with much larger budgets than us. And, like in 2008, we're also fighting uphill against dodgy refereeing domestically that may ultimately decide the title.

Celtic manipulated the fixtures this season, much like in 2008, and benefitted in both cases with recovery from injury problems, new signings and avoiding playing us when we had all the momentum. We squandered a 2-goal lead against Motherwell a couple of weeks back; we squandered a 1-goal lead against Motherwell after the split in 2008. We were thumped 3-0 by Celtic before that this season in a re-arranged fixture, and in 2008 lost twice to them in rearranged fixtures in April. There's a few eerie similarities to 2008, but this team still have the chance to come out on the right side in Europe, domestically or (hopefully) both.
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Perfect summation.
Manipulative scumbags, that lot that everybody is so desperate to stop being successful and that everybody loves, in the same sentence.
The logic of the tim.
 
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