Off the source and on the ball! By Nick Cooke
The speculation behind Dubai and Bothroyd over Adel, good call?
Earlier last week Rangers’ chief Harry Redknapp was put on the spot after press reports claimed that the Rangers players had been seen boozing during their 6 day training retreat in Dubai. An infuriated boss rubbished the claims and hinted that you can't always trust what you read.
This is a classic example of the rubbish the media releases about football, and we have suffered enough from media “speculation” in recent years.
I was in attendance at St Mary’s last Saturday and most of the players worked very hard for the win and so the story of Dubai has been proved to be most likely inaccurate or at least over exaggerated within days of its release to the media from a source who has been unnamed.
Rangers beat the Saints 2-1 at St. Mary's with striker Jay Bothroyd netting his first Premier League goal this season, from his first Premier League start this year after being chosen ahead of rangers star Adel Taarabt who was benched for the win over Southampton.
Although Jay Bothroyd has been working slightly harder in my opinion his performances are still consistently poor . However, to his credit, he scored a crucial goal to kick start our survival hopes and I can’t take that away from him. Being in the right place at the right time did Bothroyd a lot of favours for his chances of breaking back into the team. But whether it is enough for him to be chosen ahead of a fit Zamora is another question.
A crucial three points, well-earned, now leaves us within four points off relegation rivals Wigan who sit just outside of the relegation zone. A win against Sunderland on Saturday would do everyone the world of good and bolster our chances of Premier League survival.