Leaderboard

Stranraer; St Mirren; the writing was on the wall, for those who chose to read.

Correct our problems started and finished in midfield. Kamara was poor but the way he just gave up was unforgivable. Davis was a disgrace. Jack was missed badly. The one bright light was Polster, who looked quite superb at times and we need to see more of him.

Big game today. We've already dropped points at Tynecastle this season and can't afford to do it again. This time, we're missing our main threat and our captain and I suspect Hearts, who have just added a striker, will be very competitive. We need Aribo and Kent to play well and to make sure we're switched on at all times. Step up and play Rangers!

There was so many off form today but Kent wouldn't be the first I would criticise. I think we paid slightly over the odds for him transfer wise but he does pop up with goals at vital times and took today's one well

Well you can nit pick all you want, the fact is we were poor as a team, just the same as we are good as a team.

Don't agree at all, if Morelos played do you think the chances of winning the game would have improved or stayed the same? For me if Morelos played we would be far, far more potent up front today.

Unless Greg Stewart’s injury is worse than reported can’t see it. however it’s disappointing to see some comments about Josh Windass. His scoring record at Rangers was good. We are very dependent on our strikers for goals. Only Jack in our MF has chipped in with goals this season

Brilliant news but I still think we need another striker too as back up too Morelos and Defoe

Assuming the newspapers were correct and we spent £5-£7M to get him, do you think he has delivered? To me he’s a good player but at that price he should be making all the difference in games like today and last Wednesday.

Although we played poorly I think some credit has to be given to how Hearts played. Unlike most teams we come against they did not use a defensive block. Against these sorts of teams we can dictate the tempo, establish some rhythm and have the bulk of possession. Hearts did not do that but instead they hassled our midfield and ensured they had little time on the ball. We thus got sucked into a scrappy game with the ball in the air a lot which does not suit our style. In addition, they had Clare playing down the wing which restricted Barisic (an exception was our goal) thus negating one of our strengths. On the other side Flanagan is not noted for his offensive qualities and thus the combination of these meant we were forced into a more restricted game. Upfront we missed Morelos who can occupy the centre backs much more than Defoe who doesn't have the same physicality and who is now lacking a bit of pace and therefore is not able to outrun defenders. As others have also noted hitting long balls into the box is not playing to Defoe's strength which is being a penalty box predator. Picking up on a point may much earlier by Rousseau our lack of movement at throw-ins is dire making it difficult for players to have the time to make a telling pass and spread the play. Instead, we tend to become hemmed into a small area and it needs some bit of skill or ingenuity to make something happen.

Not not picking, I think Morelos would have been better at holding up the ball and bringing others into play, as well as being able to produce something from nothing. We'll just have to disagree. I'm by no means letting off the rest of the team.

We should stop this topic right here

Aye getting used to them.

I suppose a striker is only as good as his service. We were shit today and offered Defoe very little in the way of quality

Playing Defoe as the lone striker doesn’t work

We should be playing scotty airfield supporting JD and not sure why we are not tbh? It was successful last season and today would have been ideal to play that way. High balls to JD is madness?

Yes he looks a good and solid option.

Pitch was terrible but we lacked any urgency from the first whistle and played into Hearts hands. We should be playing every league game as if it was league winning match. Just handed the psychological advantage back to them IMO after all our hard work beating them at parkhead

Hearts were up for it, we weren't

Polster is a far better player than Flanagan

Windass , though having plenty of ability , has neither the desire , willpower or mental strength to deal with playing at the top level for any club never mind us .

We can't buy anyone if we don't have the cash to buy anyone.

Candaeis wasn’t the greatest but never hid & worked hard in games like today. Not sure I could say the same about Aribo & Ojo

Hearts play awful football and we did nothing to stop that. That was a terrible advert for Scottish football today - no skill or class whatsoever.

Polster’s performance was only positive

The one where we drew and he scored or the one where we thrashed them and he scored? Just saying Morelos is capable of making something from nothing, we've seen it time and again. In this sort of game he has the ability to make something for himself.

Agree with the manager. There was a point in the 2nd half when we were all over the place and didn't know whether to go long or play out. The midfield need to do more in an attacking sense IMO. Davis, Jack and Kamara have been great but they offer very few goals. It puts a lot of pressure on Defoe, Alfie and Kent

I hope there were baws getting kicked all over that dressing room?

I wonder how all the fans who continually criticise Tav feel just now? ?

We miss Tavernier and Morelos, but that's a cop-out: virtually the whole team were terrible today (outwith Aribo and Goldson, and Polster who I had forgotten about). This XI, playing well, should be enough to see off Hearts.

If he had the heart of his father he’d be some player, but he doesn’t.

Beaten today by the worst team in the league ☹️

I feel like Davis is second guessing himself. He goes to do one thing, then tries to do something else. He tries to turn on a simple ball back to the 'keeper and almost looses it. It's the same with aerial challenges too.

Ok Goldson slipped there but I really want to know what Kamaras possession stats are like. I'm always told that he never wastes possession or gives it away and I just see the exact opposite, to me he always seems ready to make a mistake like that.

Nonsense.

There are at least 4 Rangers players who should be embarrassed to wear the shirt today ... and Flanagan isn’t one of them. Only one of our midfield has turned up.

First half hour we have been poor

Does anyone remember when Liverpool were ridiculed for appointing a throw-in coach? They went from being the 3rd worst in the PL at retaining possession from a throw-in, to being one of the best in Europe. These marginal improvements seem to have made all the difference. I wouldn't mind a throw-in coach for us...

I think we'll do well today. Hat trick and MOTM for Flanagan ?

Why don't we judge the likes of Flanagan after we see how he plays instead of continually undermining our players before they've even taken the field. Flanagan is what he is and if the manager thinks he's the right man for the shirt then I'm sure he won't let us down. Let's go.

Keep the team talk simple Stevie just tell them bring the three points back along the M8 no excuses

Well, this also pisses me off to be honest. I sometimes have to leave 10 mins or so before the end... do i want to? Of course i bloody dont. The late evening games if i dont leave that 10 mins early it makes the differencr of about 1.5hours onto an already 4 hour journey home. So instead of getting home at say 2am i dont get home till way after 3am if i had stayed till final whistle. I pay the same price for my ticket as the locals who can stay and not worry about getting home at 3am, but hey, you keep mocking fellow fans for doing such things.

He should be kept around the club as long as possible in any capacity. Someone who can be pointed at as the perfect example of how a footballer should live and train.

It's come to this - that I should read on a Rangers forum that there is no anti-British sentiment in Ireland. Not only is that patently untrue but the perpetrator is trying to present a superior and definitive knowledge of Ireland, apparently on the assumption no one else has ever crossed the Irish Sea. On the many occasions I've been in Ireland I've been aware of three attitudes towards Britain. There's the carefully cultivated and essentially sterile attitude towards the tourist-customer, the craic merchants. Then there's the warmly polite welcome from people who genuinely hold no grudge and have no interest in republican grievance politics. And then there's those who barely contain their contempt for everything British, the people who'd take pride on spitting on you after putting a bullet in your head. There are plenty of the latter and to try to pull the wool over our eyes and pretend they don't exist is as asinine as it's false.

We were in the Croke Park Hotel in Dublin watching the Rangers Celtic game and were the only 2 out of about 100 that weren't desperate for Celtic to win. They cared so little it was on a huge screen.

Well said.