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Rangers tumble out of European competition after shock loss

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It is a sad night in Glasgow, Scotland (at least on the blue side) after Glasgow Rangers were shockingly eliminated from the second round of UEFA Champions League qualifying by Lithuanian club FBK Kaunas, which posted a 2-1 victory against Rangers in Lithuania on Tuesday.

The loss means that Rangers are not only out of the Champions League, they also fail to reach the UEFA Cup. Rangers reached the UEFA Cup final last year, losing to Zenit St. Petersburg.

This is extremely bad news for U.S. national team midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who missed the match with the same hamstring injury that has sidelined him for almost a month now. After years of playing in Europe, Beasley will be confined to the Scottish Premier League this upcoming season (unless he is sold, which wouldn’t be a bad thing for him considering he isn’t cup-tied).

What do you think of the news? Sad? Funny? A fitting outcome for a team that played tremendously ugly soccer throughout last year’s European competitions?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Papa bear-I won’t argue that St Mirren, the Accies, Killie are above the MLS. They subscribe to the Wattienaccio anti-fitbaw method definitely. But honestly, besides the CL Final and the last two Old Firm games, the first and last Hibs-Celtic games were some of the most exciting games of the year with some great free flowing football. I would never claim that all the teams of the SPL are quality. But painting everyone with one broad brush is just not true. Bayern may have put out the C team, but once they saw the Sheep were quality they had to put the big boys in. Can the MLS hang with the Bayern Youth team? Doubtful. Yes, Rangers play ugly football and besides my green and white allegiances, as a football fan I am glad they are out.

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  2. Doug,

    I hope you are right and Robbie Rodgers shows something starting tomorrow. But he is no where near playing on a Champions League level team.

    Beckster – Great news about Reading. Had no idea about Steven Hunt moving to left back. Very interesting development there. Surpizing Keano hasnt brought him up yet to be honest.

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  3. Left wing depth chart for US

    1) Beasley (Will play in front of 8,000 people in a 12 team league where 80% of the teams are MLS level)

    2)Convey (Bench player on a championship team)

    3)Lewis (Already 3 steps to slow, will be 35 by the world cup)

    Looks great!

    Posted by: Effmanny | August 05, 2008 at 04:33 PM

    ———————

    Two words: Robbie Rogers.

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  4. @Posted by: RudyFlyer | August 05, 2008 at 07:29 PM

    Dude, Bayern trotted out a ‘C’ team and then brought in the big guns to pound Aberdeen last year.

    I’ve watched plenty of SPL and aside from Rangers and Celtic it really isn’t appreciably better than MLS. That’s not really a knock on them, it’s just a realistic observation.

    Also, I’m happy this happened. Scot teams play the ugliest football on the planet (just a shade ahead of English teams) so there is hope for some attractive football in CL this year.

    I also hope it means DMB is too expensive for them and he is unloaded to a better team.

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  5. I’m taking the non-looking SPL challenge.

    Okay, there’s the “new firm” rivalry, hearts and hibs, aberdeen is normally good, falkirk, and gretna… well, Gretna went down, yeah?

    Either way, I don’t think that’s the point. For most celtic fans, the celts aren’t our first club. However, they have appeal to those who are of Irish decent. And besides, at the end of the day the other SPL teams are just targets for the old firm. It’s sad, but it’s the state of scottish football.

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  6. hey maybe now damarcus goes to tottenham hotspur… they could use a left winger and are rumored with about every attacking player on the planet.

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  7. Cities across Europe are rejoicing Scotland’s shame won’t be coming through town to engage in barbarian like behavior

    Hail Hail!

    By the way Blake, how about Queen of the South(last year Scottish Cup runners up), Queens Park FC (an amateur side not be confused with QPR), Hamilton Academical (this year’s newcomers), St Mirren, and Aberdeen. I guess I’m just another dumb American too

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  8. Interesting because the exact same thing happened to Celtic a few years ago when they got bounced by Artmedia Bratislava in the 2nd qualifying round leaving them with nothing but the SPL a.k.a. the glorified coin flip

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  9. By the way….

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

    Tell all the Huns you know!

    Aberdeen is as far as you go!

    they won’t need their shades,

    their buckets or spades,

    just sledges to play in the snow!!!

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  10. Effmanny-Last year SPL team Aberdeen qualified for the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup and almost beat Bayern Munich in their first knock out stage. Motherwell has a damn good shot is doing something similar again as they play attacking, good football. The fact that you chose not to pay attention to anything not on FSC does not mean that the SPL is worse than the MLS.

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  11. Effmanny don’t speak to soon. Convey starting left wing for Reading. He has been the best in preseason and Stephen Hunt being moved to left back. Last time he played left wing for a “Championship team he was brilliant and won the starting spot ahead of Beasley on the World Cup Team.

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  12. [OVERREACTION]AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! OH NO!!! THIS IS THE END OF THE WORLD FOR RANGERS/CELTIC/DAMARCUS BEASLEY/US NATIONAL TEAM/SCOTTISH FOOTBALL/LESSER-KNOWN SPANISH FOOTBALLERS PLAYING ABROAD/EVERYONE BUT THE POPE!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!![/OVERREACTION]

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  13. Gino-

    Off the top of my head: Falkirk, Hearts, Gretna (relegated/administrated), ICT, Motherwell, Kilmarnock, St. Mirren, Dundee, Hibernian.

    How many is that? I is just dumb american soccer fan…

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  14. HAHAHAHA serves the skins right. Last year they should have lost to a Montenegran team, and now the huns do fall at the first obstacle.

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  15. That’s incredible. Rangers’ season is over, and it hasn’t even started yet. And yes, they might be the most boring upper-tier team in the world. Along with everyone in Italy that isn’t AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus. If hell exists, the Rangers v Fiorentina game from last year’s UEFA Cup semifinal would be played over and over again for eternity.

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  16. Wow, a lot of Henny Pennys in here, I could care less, this is what Rangers deserves after there string of disgraceful performances in the UEFA Cup last season and Walter Smith’s poor off-season…

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  17. I love American Celtic fans. They make me laugh.

    I wonder how many of them could name 5 non-old firm Scottish sides without looking it up…

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  18. This is an embarrassment, but it’s probably best to be eliminated this way..it serves as a wake up call to what a crap squad this is. I mean, Kenny Miller as your marquee summer signing is a recipe for disaster. Walter did a great job navigating through all the competitions last year, but didn’t bring in skill in the off-season that was obviously necessary to fans and haters alike.

    As far as the US/Beasley is concerned, some of you need to get a grip. Outside of a World Cup finals game or a Champions League knock-out stage game, an Old Firm game is as big as it gets, and there’s at least 4 per season.

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  19. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

    I wish I was a millionaire so I could bring Third Lanark back to compete with Celtic and Rangers. Rangers are atrocious.

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  20. SonicDeathMonkey,

    South Korea was playing at home with Guss Hiddek as the coach.

    As for Turkey I am sure more than half the team was playing in the Champions League with Galatasaray and Fenerbahce

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  21. Left wing depth chart for US

    1) Beasley (Will play in front of 8,000 people in a 12 team league where 80% of the teams are MLS level)

    2)Convey (Bench player on a championship team)

    3)Lewis (Already 3 steps to slow, will be 35 by the world cup)

    Looks great!

    Reply
  22. ummm, Effmanny, remind me how many of South Korea and Turkeys players were in the UEFA CL when they went to the WC semis in 2002? Or Bulgaria when they made their run? Don’t be such a drama queen.

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  23. Dave-

    The only reason why you play at Rangers is for the European football. Outside of the Old Firm the SPL is no better than the MLS. Oh man this is depressing.

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  24. Why are people freaking about a couple of Champions league games?? MY, my Effmanny? Ludicrous that a COUPLE of games will make or break the USofA.

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  25. Why are people freaking about a couple of Champions league games?? MY, my Effmanny? Ludicrous that a COUPLE of games will make or break the USofA.

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  26. This is one of the most important events this year in regards to the development of the US team. This leaves Altidore (if he isn’t loaned or thrown in the reserves) as the only US player in the Champions League this year. We will need to have at least half of our starters playing important roles on Champions League level teams before we become a knockout round worthy team in the World Cup. Absolute disaster.

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  27. Celtic gets all of the Champions League money and that could be a difference maker in the SPL race, downside is that by falling out so early they’ve made it harder for the SPL winner to go directly into group play in 09 and that is a bummer for Celtic.

    Still what is important is the the Bhoys do well.

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  28. Maybe for Beasley it isn’t such a terrible thing, or Rangers either. Sure it sucks that they’re out, but playing so many matches clearly took its toll on them at the end of the season. Plus it gives Beasley less chance of getting injured yet again ahead of WC Qualifiers. Maybe now they will stay focused on not blowing the SPL lead.

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  29. Couldn’t happen to a finer bunch of people. Ranger fans should be ashamed of a lot of things, but the way they played at the end of the UEFA Cup was embarrassing. Sad for DMB, but great for football fans everywhere.

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