der Berliner

MotM Raskin, hands down. Sometimes you would hope we give these chaps an earlier rest, or might lose them later in the season.

Has anyone got ties to some Caribbean vodoo priest, so we can dig up one of the good BBC Scotland reporters for our games. that bloke there is utterly terrible.

Wicked deflection gave them the opening chance, wonder where our right sided defender was at the time. You wopuld hope that three CMs spot the danger of free players on either flank. Maybe our right sided defender starts defending AND give Borna the next free-kick chance? Danilo will have nightmares about that miss, but probably go on and score 20odd this season. Jack, is he actually on the field? IMHO, Servette are far from the finished article, yet we did not applied enough pressure, no wonder with but 3 attackers though. I'd get Lammers on at HT.

The sort of defensive line-up I expected, only that Raskin and Cifuentes are rather attack minded compared to our "central" midfielders of recent seasons.

Roofe, Davies, Lawrence, Matondo are not included, Lowry and Sakala are gone, Kamara essentially too. I think we can name new players for the group stages, no matter which competition that will be.

Kent was de facto a winger being pushed into a role where he had to score as many goals as a striker. Same on the other side. Else, the 4-3-3 would not have worked against Scottish sides ... and it generally did not. With Cantwell, Lammers, Danilo, Dessers, Sima, and Roofe, we now seem to have attackers who are able to hit the target regularly, with the new guys an upgrade on all we had. Matondo is indeed essentially a straight replacement for Kent as some sort of winger, who is not expected to score with every other strike at target. We wouldn't have assumed that from e.g. Neil McCann either. For the time being, we might be well advised to sit back and watch these guys gel into a team, maybe into "sets of players", which can be used according to the task at hand.

IMHO, as last season showed with Goldosn, we seriously need an upgrade on all our three defensive warhorses, Goldson, Tavernier, and Barisic. Maybe Sterlin is one answer, Ridvan is okay, but we need better than Goldson and Davies, not least in Europe.

Hook, line, and sinker! ... honestly, I only did that for you and left out the "midfield diamond" remark too.

I would keep Souttar and Balogun in CD, play Jack in front of them, and Raskin plus Cifuentes. The latter two are box to box guys and willing to shoot, while Jack does the cover. We will sure play with Tavernier and Barisic, simply because we lack options (Ridvan injured and Sterling hardly played). So ... Butland Tavernier - Souttar - Balogun - Barisic Jack Raskin - Cifuentes Cantwell/Lammers Danilo - Dessers

We could have kept Sakala, and keep Wright, instead. As of now, we have Matondo and Sima and Cantwell and Hagi, who can all play on the right wing. Not that we play with a right winger anyway ... nor have since Candeias left. EDIT: Contract till 2025 ... so Hibs will want silly money.

Hat-trick it was, only the scorers differ. Felt a bit sorry for Roofe, and Sterling. We could rather easily have taken Tav off for the new boy, who sure needs game time in that position. Balogun and Souttar make a good pairing (they look in the mood right now, the others, well ... ) at the back. In league games, I'd instantly switch from Dessers to Roofe as long as the latter is fit. Sadly, right now, we have to get Dessers fit and sharp for Europe. Lammers is clearly that Laudrup type of attacker and does his job well enough, could have had a hat--trick himself with a bit of luck. Raskin and Cifuentes look fine in CM, box to box and willing to shoot. The energy of Sima and Matondo came at the right time ... it is good to have these options now. On to Geneva!

IMHO, we'll have some fun with Raskin and Cifuentes in midfield, very energetic, an eye for a pass, willing to shoot. Our front line needs some time to gel, but we are still very early in the season. Danilo a bit isolated, Cantwell just in the centre of nigh everything.

These stats do not tell much about what the other team and the ref do, right?

You're sure you are not an American? All this stats stuff ...

Roofe for a hat-trick then, last 15 mins.

Robertson reaching the full heights of his mediocrity. Dreary me.

Well, once we get these players all clicking (and match sharp), we should be seeing some fine football this season - hence I hate this early-season qualification trash. We hardly looked in much danger throughout, let's see what will happen next week.

Alas, this looks like a game of football. A bit more of a cutting edge up front, and we might be out of sight.

Transfermarkt gives the fees (not the "market value") for Sakala as Euro 4.65m and Jota Euro 29m.

Well, it remains fact, doesn't it? Whether you put it into the equation or not is up to you.

PSV would be tough, but we will see. Early season form and all that. One step at a time.

Essentially what I have been saying for years ... and I hate the squad and management proved me right, without wanting to sound arrogant here. Ever since Warburton we applied the 4-3-3 in any game no matter what. We changed players and with better quality some better results did arrive, up until the opposition sussed us out half-way through the season. While 55 was remarkable, you have to consider no-spectators, Covid, and a collapse of the Scum after the turn of the year too - during which the Lurgan Bigot ran away. With the players we had under SG, we performed well enough in Europe, where our team is essentially a non-entity for the opposition until we play them (same for us). So we did and do look dire against the brick-wall sides with our "flexible" 4-3-3 versions, but it is simply not good enough for the Scottish game. Once we change that and utilize the squad and tactics as we should, we can roast anyone in Scotland.

Snatched from BBC Zambia forward Fashion Sakala has revealed that he is leaving Rangers "with a heavy heart, yet a spirit of gratitude". The 26-year-old, who joined Rangers from Oostende in 2021, has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. And he was left out of Michael Beale's Champions League qualifying squad. Now the forward, who is under contract until summer 2025, has penned an emotional goodbye to Rangers fans on Instagram. Rangers could face PSV or Sturm Graz The Ibrox club have yet to confirm the departure, but Sakala said: "Today marks the end of an unforgettable chapter in my life. I bid farewell to this esteemed club. "When I first joined Rangers, I could have never imagined the profound impact this club and its community would have on my life." Sakala, who made 91 appearances for Rangers and scored 24 goals, said the "sense of belonging" he derived from being welcomed at Ibrox was "the driving force behind my performances on the pitch". He goes on to thank the "entire management and staff" and the club's fans, adding that he will "always be a Ranger at heart". 👍

I would assume we see the same line-up as usual, just a couple of different players. It will still be a very different ball-game.

It's more like where they played. We had one centre-forward in their box, while the others where roaming about the sides our outside the area. I want them inside the area and the passes coming to them there, not from them in the hope that a midfielder et al covers the space too.