craig

Only due to the plastic pitch I assume. They need game time to get up to speed. Tomorrow, against inferior opposition, is the perfect time to get them minutes in the legs because both will be needed soon enough.

If Kent was consistent he wouldnt be at Rangers. It is the price you pay for having such a talented player playing in the backwater Scottish league

"He is not used as a winger".... did you stop watching us when Gerrard left the club ? Since GvB took over Kent has clearly been instructed to stay wide and he is hugging the touchline. Under GvB there is absolutely no way is he playing as an "inside left attacking player" - neither are we playing a 4-3-3 under GvB. Which teams play "quite open" against us aside from Celtic ? Hearts only started having a go because they were down early and had no option, likewise Hibs. His trickery against the low block isnt blunted at all - we will just have to agree to disagree on that front. You then say "Kent, Sakala and Co will toil" against low block teams.... yet strangely enough it is Sakala you want to see replace Kent - how does that work ? The moment you appreciate that Kent brings space to others when he doesnt have the ball, which allows the team to operate effectively is the moment you will realise that Kent helps bring points to our total whether he has a direct assist, goal or not. As I said in my previous post, you can devastate teams without even touching the ball, as Kent does because of his pace and the genuine fear of it - your "possession, completed passes" all require the ball - you don't need the ball to be effective. In the here and now, Ryan Kent isnt the sole, or even major, reason we pass up opportunities. Morelos isnt prolific (on fire just now but if he has time to think he often bows the chance) and neither is Sakala. The best finisher we have at he club is Roofe. Ryan Kent doesnt miss a ton of those "5 to 15 shots on target" because he more often than not looks for the pass. He has, though, been shooting more in the last couple of games and, yes, it has been wayward - but were you not also one of those people wanting shots from outside the box ? Now you are getting them you bemoan because he misses said chances ?? It isnt a 4-3-3 under GvB so not sure why you continue to go there. The way that GvB plays, even if you consider 3 up top (which it isnt, it is a 4-2-3-1) two of them are wingers, hence why we moved for Diallo - he isn no inside forward, he is a traditional winger. And GvB is playing Kent wide left, hugging the touchline. So you bring one of those strikers on and you are either going to have to change formation or ask them to play an unfamiliar role. Plus, by the way, playing an extra striker against a low block isn't the answer anyway. A low block with two tight banks of 4 or 5 would find it very comfortable playing against two central strikers for the most part - the way to beat the low block is to play wingers and stretch the pitch across the width, offering more space to the central striker and whoever is expected to be making the late run from deep (seems to be Arfield presently - and he is very good at it). Which striker is "far more lethal" in the few minutes they get ? Sakala ? How lethal has he been when he has started games and isnt coming on fresh against a tired defence ? Roofe ? By lethal do you include his airshot against Ross County ? See, this is the problem when you have a whipping boy, you can't accept that other players have their faults too. Haha, you are suggesting we are "pointing at players in defence" whilst pointing your finger at Kent - hopefully you see both the irony and the hypocrisy in that ??

I have said this before but some people either dont realise or they wilfully ignore.... Ryan Kent hurts teams and helps us in ways without having the ball. Example.... when he was out of the team we had no real pace to hurt players in behind - we were using Roofe one side and, I think, Wright or Aribo or whomever.... the point being, opposing teams didnt need to sit deeper because of Kent's pace, which meant they could flood our midfield, make it compact and prevent us from having the ball. When Kent plays those same oppositions naturally sit 5-10 yards deeper because Kent can crucify you in behind. Goldson and Kent also have that "connection" whereby Goldson notices Kent's movement and knows exactly when to hit that raking diagonal. We have missed that too. It isnt just what Kent does WITH the ball that hurts opponents and helps us, it is what he does without the ball and the fear his pace strikes in opposing teams, and creates more space for our midfield. It also shouldnt go unnoticed that last night, at times, as soon as Kent got the ball, he had as many as 3 players surrounding him - that also creates space for others. Having the ball is great, but what you do without it can be just as devastating.

He hasnt been at his best for sure, but he also spent time on the sidelines injured and struggled to get back to his best - what we have seen in the last couple of games is Ryan Kent at his best, absolutely terrorising defences.

His end product as a winger is to assist - he has had 4 in his last two games. I would say that, presently at least, his end product very much hurts opponents

Same people who wanted Jack's contract ripped up.....

Their manager was apoplectic about it on radio - and apparently the ref refused to allow him to even speak to him after the game.

He isnt playing as a striker so I have no idea why you use the "attacker/striker" - seems as if you are just trying to force it in there to try and justify your point. I would say that, for a winger, which is exactly what he is, a return of 4 assists in two games is far superior to "bang average" numbers. Kamara isnt being used as an AM at Rangers, doesnt mean he can't play the role. He hasnt been asked to be a goal threat, he has been asked to be the pivot. So his goal threat WOULD be minimal. But on the weekend he came on in place of Jack, played higher up the pitch and scored. Bringing Kamara on as a direct replacement for Jack made sense. It isnt as if Kamara is starting games being asked to play as an AM, he isnt. Right now we are playing, essentially, two pivots whereby if one sits the other is allowed to break forward. That is not the same as playing as an AM. Given we are playing a 4-2-3-1 right now I am not sure how you can suggest Kamara is playing as an AM when that central position in the "3" has been locked down by Aribo and, if not him, then it is Ramsey coming on and filling that position.

Ahhhh, the old Kent thing again, lol. He has been dynamite his last two games. Anyone who doesnt see that has an agenda against the lad IMHO. Kamara has scored 2 goals this season because he has been sitting in front of the back 4. He isnt actually a DM. He is a midfielder who can play either DM or CM. Nobody is getting that central AM spot other than Aribo (who looks tired) or Ramsey when fit.

Only difference for me is I would play Barisic at LB - he needs to find his confidence, so give him a game against lower tier opposition. Would also be tempted to try Sands at CB instead of Simpson - but that one is a coin flip for me - one thing for sure, is we need to get someone in there given injuries to Balogun and Helander Ramsey should start and give him an hour to see how his legs cope with it. Helander the opposite, give him the last 20-30

He was offside

Could only be Alfredo, with Lundstram very unlucky due to Alfredo's form.

Yeah, I mean, injury prone suggests you can't get over those niggles and knocks, or maybe reoccurrence of same injuries. Any of our players on the weekend taking that same tackle Jack did would be getting rested this evening would they be injury prone too ?

Kinetic have a very good reputation - we had one of their youngsters with us last year too

I worry about the easy willingness to ignore the "information" and, lets be honest Bill, you are playing with semantics by suggesting it isnt evidence. I certainly am not saying he isnt deserving of proper and due process - but what is out there is going to be very difficult for him to maneuvre - the voice note in particular will be difficult for them to work around.

They will have their work cut out for them with this one

chocolate legs

Gio doesnt come across as the type to play too many mind games to me

I would be very, very surprised if he played tomorrow. Mind games if you ask me. And if he does, as you say it is very dangerous for the player

It is

Says it all itself really..... but.... Before Ross Wilson came in we had Mark Allen who did a decent job - but only since Gerrard, and then Ross Wilson came in have we looked completely organized in the transfer market and the direction we are heading as a club with a particular philosophy. We have gone from transfer windows where we have asked, as fans "why are we signing him, we dont need that position strengthened" to, in this window, saying "we could do with a proper right winger, a creative midfielder and a centre half"...... and Ross Wilson has "listened" in that the positions we have strengthened are those exact positions, albeit Souttar isnt till July. Looking at this window in particular though - what a window, in all seriousness. 1. We sign someone who, IMO, is a world class midfielder in Aaron Ramsey - who was on a 6 figure per week salary at Juventus, and it is costing us a wage "still within the budget". A creative midfielder who scores plenty of goals from that position 2. We get in a right winger, Amad Diallo, a kid of 19 who Man Utd paid 37 million Euros for. No doubt he has other offers but it is quite remarkable that we managed to get Man Utd to trust us with their young talent. From one game already looks like he strengthens our first XI 3. We bring in a centre half, John Souttar, who knows the league well, albeit in the summer. Been one of the league's 3rd placed team's best players, knows the league, strong player - a fine addition to the squad and will give that position depth next season. 4. We "lose" a fine young talent in Nathan Patterson - but Ross Wilson plays hardball and manages to get Everton to double their original offer and we secure £16 million for his services. Good player, a loss, but a back up to our Captain...... but this one gets even better..... we then go and get in a replacement who is only a year older than Patterson, at a fraction of the cost - and a player who knows he will have to wait his turn to get a chance in front of the captain. Masterpiece again as he brings in a player who is hungry, whilst losing a player who deserved to be playing first team football but we simply couldnt guarantee him it 5. Squad fillers such as Bacuna and Brandon Barker have been moved on - wasnt going to get a chance because they weren't good enough sadly - so moving them on keeps the harmony of the club positive and intact 6. Last, for this window, but certainly not least..... Ross Wilson has managed to keep our key players such as Aribo, Morelos, Kamara, Kent and even Goldson. Retaining those players should not go unnoticed. And, slightly earlier than this transfer window.... we lost our manager, the man who secured 55 in an invincible season.... and replaced him with a manager whose name is, continentally, every bit as big as the previous manager but who comes with a better managerial pedigree having won the league title with Feyenoord. Has Ross Wilson had some failings as Director of Football ? Sure, nobody gets these things right all the time. Has he, largely, been a resounding success ? Undoubtedly IMHO. Ross Wilson may very well turn out to be the singular best signing our currect custodians have made to date. Ross Wilson..... thank you

True, from about 5% to 7% Dortmund are still quality

Marvin Bartley couldnt stop waxing lyrical about Ramsey. When the boy said he was nicknamed Chocolate legs at Arsenal Marvin was like "not sure why, he wasnt often injured at Arsenal"

Won't be making another bid after Hearts refused the latest. Now depends on Hearts