der Berliner

Worst possible time for Europe. Aris scored two good goals and that was all they did. Bang average trash on par with Killie or Hibs. We just don't get our feet on the ground right now, and most players are well below form. Pass marks for Sima and Wright, the rest tried but essentially failed. Whoever decided to get rid of Colak and Sakala needs to get skelped to the Clyde and back.

As I said at HT. Hit and run and hope. Simple trash stuff. And we defend as per usual.

This looks like a mid-season cup game away to Hearts or Hibs, with they being on steroids for about 25 mins before reverting to the shyte standard they are. Just hit and hope. Some touches and passes would make a Lowland League manager chuckle, some fouls too. That said, they turned over Bratislava earlier this year, so that style may catch someone flat-footed. We essentially huff and puff and need someone hitting the trigger instead of passing it to the next worse positioned player in the area. Some clever long balls over the top, but too few taking risks and running into spaces. Wright is having a good game, Lammers should stop outplaying himself. The ref a typical Iberian buffoon. This one could either see us end up conceding a couple more from counter-attacks and corners, or beat that lot by 3 or more. I want Sakala back!

Referee - Horațiu Feșnic ROU Assistants - Valentin Avram ROU and Alexandru Cerei ROU Fourth Official - Andrei Chivulete ROU Video Assistant Referee - Ovidiu Haţegan ROU Assistant Video Assistant Referee - Cătălin Popa ROU Missing - Todd Cantwell (Knee), Danilo Pereira (facial injury), Rabbi Matondo (Knee), Tom Lawrence (calf), Ryan Jack (Muscle problem); Ridvan Yilmaz, Kieran Dowell, Leon Balogun (not in EL squad)

Just checked ... Mr. Jensen prefers a defensive 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 in a league where teams usually want to play football. In a league where 80 % of the teams play "backs to walls brick wall" - stuff with the odd foray and hope of a corner or free-kick, things work differently. Warburton, Murty, Caixinha, Nicholl, Gerrard, McCallum, van Bronkhorst, and Beale didn't change that 4-3-3 (or however you want to term that reduced-attackers-line-up) and failed. We sure do not need more trial and error people.

Never thought of Davis, TBH. Bags of experience on club and international level, no idea about his coaching abilities. Rae exactly the same, bar the international experience. Truth be told, if we get people who get us to a next level (or tow) in Scotland, that would be all I am asking for. We simply can't play along like we de facto did since Warburton. All we tried was making the 4-3-3-Plan-A better and while it reaped some rewards in Europe, dear me, how much we failed with that at home. I always like how Neil McCann talks the game as an expert for RTV et al, and I know his managerial background isn't great. But he would be one for a secondary role in my next managerial set up. Speaking of which, it's always quite a hard break these days, since once more, it isn't just Beale going, but also the coaches Neil Banfield, Damian Matthew, Harry Watling and Jack Ade. No idea how good or bad their work and input actually were ... NB: Somewhat like Gio, Beale's last few games have been messed up by injuries too. Only that ... I doubt he would have changed the line ups that much bar midfield.

Availabe coaches and managers

We found Colak (who did a fine job at Premiership level) and Sakala (who did a fine job at Premiership level) not good enough (raked in 7,5m), and brought in Lammers and Dessers for a combined 8,5m. We sent Hagi packing for no obvious reason whatsoever, after already letting Lowry out on loan. Injuries were bound to happen, did happen and those we have left are not up to what is required, starting with the captain. BTW, two of their goals were still a comedy of luck and errors. You don't get these very often. Back in the day, Walter's Rangers were "hammered" 0-3 at Ibrox by Hibs (Ivan Sproule) and Hearts (Allan Johnston, methinks), so this comes close to that. Still, I would be surprised if Beale was still the manager by Monday.

Wow, as if the Sheep needed a stupid ref. Can we just skip the Armed Forces Day games, the last have all been trash like this.

... just floor that being called Shinnie, so that he knows WHY he's hit the ground.

BTW, stop that Dessers-hunt. He gets virtually no support and "friend" Morelos in his latter seasons (sic!) needed four+ chances to grab a goal. BTW, I want Sakala and Hagi back!

Not that this display and result is anywhere different from the dross we were served by SG's and Gio's Rangers. Only that Beale has been left without any creative people and few attackers. He might have done something different, but you also have to ask why veteran players like Jack and Lundstram still sit back all the time and don't "think forward", be it running into spaces or taking up more clever positions. This is going to be a long afternoon unless Beale chops a few and kick some backs.

Hey ho ... nothing else was to be expected. And this will most likely become even worse now.

Aberdeen play totally tight in the middle, mainly because we have virtually no wing play. Neither of the three CM think forward or press early ... that's the sort of football you can defeat the clock with. EDIT: Mind my remark about Ridvan and Wright playing as wingers ...

... ach well, in "our view", 8 out of 11 starters are usually not good enough for Rangers. Then, 5 to 10 years on, we regard quite a few of that category as legends, cult heroes, or generally decent players.

... well, Wright is always an attacking/creative option, if used properly. E.g. right wing, Lammers central as shadow striker and Dessers and Sima through the middle. Left wing slot could go to Ridvan, with Borna behind him.

Wright is always a better attacking option than either of the three CMs/DMs. There is lots of talk about Rice's ability. One might have thrown on Borna earlier and let Ridvan loose on the left flank. Wee sidenote, it might have been a cool idea to throw a B-side attacker on the bench, not another CM. Given that there was so much defensive folk on display anyway. Wee sidenote II: it is rather brutal that we lost so much of our "fire-power" in but two weeks, and we haven't even reached match day 10. If Roofe's out for a while, yesterday might be a precursor of what is to come.

The amount of pointless passing between defence and midfield was astonishing, but with the players selected, no real wonder. As I said before, those neat goals coated sugar over much toil and dire football. Our three attackers were essentially left to do much of their work alone, only the last goal late in injury time as down to some collective work. Ridvan set up Sima for the first with a long ball, Jack Ridvan and Borna Sima again - all with well-placed long balls from the back, leaving all the midfielders out of it. Between the first and second goal, the square- and back-passing got absurd again, as no-one of the CMs/DMs really filled the spaces. It should have been oh-so obvious, but MB did nothing to bring more creativity on. Maybe one has to be satisfied with getting a result these days, but despite us having seen so much dire football of this very same sad standard, shouldn't we expect more from a Rangers team? Not least if we pumped up our attackers like we did last summer? It was Livingston, at home ...

Sugar-coated groats ... Not getting enthused about this at all. Good performance by Sima, fine goal by Ridvan, yet so much pointless toil again.

I just tried to imagine a team of the good old days, with three Stuart McCall's in the middle, half a winger and one striker ...

TV said no injury, just a swap. Shocking. Truly shocking.

75 % possession, 9 corners or the like, yet virtually end product. Because we play our football around the centre circle and hardly anyone thinking forward bar our attackers. Once Roofe is trying to get the ball 5 or so meters either side of the halfway line, you know what up. Yes, we might have expected Livingston to be far more physical and aggressive, but they offered next to nothing. One might have expected from our midfielders to go further forward then, but no. Jack stood back, Lundstram too. The front three ran their legs off, but get next to no real support. Thanks to Collum, we got a goal, which Sima took well.

Same procedure as every game ... (I just settle for a straight 4-3-3) Butland Tavernier - Goldson - Davies - Ridvan Lundstram - Cifuentes - Jack Lammers - Roofe - Sima Three workers behind a sad front-3, alas, Ridvan is back.

At least we did not sell or loan Scott Wright ...

When I say players play akin to the style of e.g. Hateley (the more direct, robust centre-forward (as opposed to e.g. McCoist or Johnston)), or Laudrup (i.e. a free roving attacker), I do not necessarily compare that player to these players' abilities. It is not that difficult to grasp, IMHO. Cantwell is having a free role behind the front line (or striker), pops up on either wing or more centrally. Same with Lammers. Hence, he is more like Laudrup than e.g. a centre forward like Dessers or Roofe.