der Berliner

We have, but we don`t play them. We persist with low-scoring attack-minded midfielders against packed defences and hope some piece of skill or the prowess of the one striker on the day will drag us out. What we see is toil and more toil. While our lethal folk warm the bench. And it is even more frustrating when you know that Roofe, Sakala, Morelos and even Itten can all operate in a 3-attacker line up and have done it before. Even a basic 4-4-2 would be more lethal than what we have now ... and have had since MW.

A) there need to be a system (and I actually think there is one, only that you don`t see any consequences) that referees' decisions and errors are analyzed and if the standard don`t change, the referee is demoted or won`t referee any longer. B) VAR is the way ahead, even if those sitting behind the screens are not much better than those out there in the field. BUT if these people get decisions clearly to be seen on the screen (like we had various slow-motions in previous games) wrong by the letter of the rules too, you know that a) something is afoot here or b) both referees are not fit for the job and need to be removed. But you need hard evidence for that, not the "in the heat of the game", "honest mistake", and "I didn`t see it properly" mumbo-jumbo. Of course, if the VAR guy says that there is something noteworthy, the ref himself has to watch it again and make a decision. We will all see it again and if it stacks up like in the case of the Yahoos, you have evidence for that to present to the authorities (or, in fact their ruling bodies). Has anyone actually take it upon him/her to check who actually refreed the 6 or 7 games where the Yahoos' opponents were denied clear to stone-wall penalties? C) Anyone counted how many fouls Madden didn`t give against us and how many bad decisions he made that cost us games? Maybe it is time to tell the SFA that we won`t want incompetent referees like him anywhere near our fixtures? Methinks it is 10 years past since ref Dougie McDonald was hounded out of the game because he got a decision against the Scum right? BTW, it is utterly typcial of the Scottish clan mindset that managers and clubs alike lament after games about the heinous decisions like mentioned above, but there is no consensus or front against the SFA et al to change things, add VAR et al. (Obviously, given the dire state of the Scottish authorities, who`d finance the VAR stuff and the people behind the screens?)

If anything was clear before today it was us struggling to beat Dundee United and the Scum getting all three vs the Dark Blues. Given that two penalty decisions went against us that would have given us all 3 points while Dundeee didn`t one to grab 2 points from the Scumhut, the outcome is even more frustrating. Thats about 6 or 7 penalties the officials have denied the opposition of Celtic that would have cost them all or at least 2 points ... so we are essentially back to the same officiating errors that we faced when we came back to the top flight - the season of the red card farce etc.. That aside ... you know my mantra: however good it is to create tons of chances against the Scottish teams, 15 to 29 per game, it won`t win you games. We have goalscorers on our bench, but we stick to the one-striker rubbish again, even against the trench-diggers. We are probably chances-created kings, and rock bottom in the chances-turned-into-goals column. The last time that chances created won you any games was never. We have three strikers who can play up top. Use them, play Kent behind them on the left if need be, and see what happens. The longer we play this hopeful stuff - like we have these last 4 years - the more results like today`s will come our way. Dortmund warmed up with a 6-0 hammering of Mönchengladbach today, saving their manager`s job for another week ... only joking, they are chasing Bayern and aren`t miles off. That will be a totally different game (and I told you so ... as they played and play more open and don`t know our players. As opposed to any team and manager in Scotland. Somehow, this doesn`t filter through the brains of fans and, sadly enough, managing staff alike ... )

If you look it back, the goals we conceded came from defence "misshaps", even though both executions were great. In that respect, the introduction of Sands and Kamara seemed to have caused a little uncertainty regarding who guards whom and which area. Teams usually underestimate us and the threat that Kent, Aribo and Morelos pose. We`ve seen it before and will probably see it again. We`ve been totally solid from defence to midfield last night, with Jack and Lundstram immense. We sure need a similar performance from both departments next week, as Dortmund showed in short glimpses of what they can do and how they can play if you let them. They will still play more open than most teams we faced and I reckon that we'll see Sakala instead of Arfield at Ibrox, to torment them with his pace on the right side. Ibrox will be rocking (and they have a lot of kids in their side (Bellingham, Reyna, Moussaka (17)) et al)) and if we sneak the odd goal on the counter, we should be fine. For the time being, let`s reflect on the night when Rangers ruined Borussia`s 1,000th game at the Westfalen Stadion (sponsor-name-changed), the very ground "new" Ibrox was built after.

... well, Lundstram ain`t that far away. But all players rose to the occasion and fought like hell. We've come a long way from that game at the Scumdome, you would think.

Got a good selection of fight in this line-up and they all turned up. Just keep it going, keep it going.

Sort of a midfield diamond with Lundstram in front of the defence, Aribo behind Morelos and Jack and Arfield on either side ... maybe. Dunno how Roofe could have played away in Lyon or for Jamaica in the US of A without being vaccinated. No idea about Sakala ... though in either case you would have expectded some advance info ...

At the end of the day, it won`t be any different to games against favourites that we had over the last few years. If anything, this Rangers side has become rather unpredictable in such games. Dortmund on paper looks the clear favourites, yet they need to click too. Even with Haaland all those players managed to loose at 2nd BL FC St. Pauli in the cup not os long ago, got humped by Leverkusen 5.2 at home and only last weeked got back on track, mainly because Union failing to convert chances while Dortmund was more lethal. They have - by admissnion of their manager, not seen that much of us, bar our defeat by the Scum and the games against Lyon. They know about Kent, they know about Alfredo and Aribo, even Roofe. I assume they will also have seen our weak points and will target them. Still, their manager said that while we play as a unit and more physical than what they have in the BL, we are sure able to play some fine football, if we get the chance. We need to be solid and ready from the off, and our attackers have to be switched on and readyt o take any scraps that come their way. Still, I expect the worst and take anything different as a bonus.

Jack will take care of Reus 😉 BTW, schools and kindergardens are closed tomorrow in the area due to storm warnings, as are certain other places. No news regarding the game as of yet though. In any case, weather will probably be dire.

I am pretty certain that when we omitted Helander, it was rather uncertain when or if he might come back into the fray. Omitting Simpson* was equally strange - as we had/have so little back up in that area. We won`t trust (we trust) King (just yet), so it remains to be seen whether we`ll go with Bassey again or just put Sands in there alongside Goldson, with Bassey on the left and Mr. Irreplacable on the right. More importantly: will Jack be fit to play DM?! (EDIT: he is and hopefully will play) Lundstram did a good job there and I am probably one of the few who would put him in there ahead of Kamara, who simply needs to be switched on from the off, as he has the tendency to dwell on the ball too long if he isn`t. Teams like Dortmund will punish this and press any player with the ball hard. As with Tav, Kent and Aribo are certainties to start no matter what, so it is the midfield that needs to be selected well, Jack, Lundstram, Kamara, Arfield ... who knows. Up top it should be Morelos and Sakala. We need pace and ability to shoot. * I must have missed all those games where he was supposedly as rotten as some make out.

Nah, the madness levels are more or less the same, only that they have what, 10 to 20 times more active posters than Gersnet and you are thus bound to meet more bampots, not least in certain topics.

All our games against Borussia Dortmund ... not too bad, actually, but the last was in 1999, different times indeed. It is in German, but you will manage! Fussballdaten Dortmund vs Rangers

... well, Helander was a rock in defence and all his forward play - despite the conditions - was also good. All in all, it was hard to judge the players on that pitch and all the rain. Many first touches and anticipated flights off the ball were off and it took some time to get used to it. Zukowski did well enough on his debut, as did McCann. Amad needed some time in his rather strange central creative role. Dunno why he played through the middle as a right winger, while our left winger was again stuck out on the right. Aside from the result, the most important thing is that we returned home with no injuries.

Naughty Rousseau!

Probably two line ups in the first and second half that we won`t see that often again, job done, no injuries. Zukowski looked solid, Sands had no problems at CH and DM, Lowry (like he was against Sevilla) still a bit raw, McCann okay. What Helander, Davis and Ramsey showed gives hope for games to come.

Sure the same Mulvanny guy who did flag-off the Scum`s last goal at Pittodrie. Thoroughly deserved lead in abyssmal conditions. You just hope none of our players suffers any injury. Amad through the middle looked a bit strange, but so far he gets enough room to weave his trickery, setting up Sakala for that cross-come-goal.

... might even be a straight 4-4-2.

Well, that`s a line up ... McLaughlin Zukowski - Sands - Helander - Barisic Ramsey - Davis Amad - Wright - Sakala Roofe ... or the like.

At the end of the day, they were there when the club needed them and helped us on our way back. There are very few, actually only one, who I won`t remember for the job they did during that terrible spell of our history.

So asking for a better solution to our apparent lack of converting chances into goals or looking at how better teams than Rangers successfully play in their leagues with three at the back is "galaxy brained"? Some seemingly have set their standards very low indeed. Well, we have hardly evolved* as a team once SG had installed his troops, got our act together once in all his time here, grabbed one of nine trophies available and have some nice Europa League runs to get people excited (and money in the back). I for one do not want my team to stop evolving and getting better. It has been obvious for nearly 5 years that our 4-3-3 (or however you line these chaps up) is de facto easily been countered by the bulk of the low-block teams - and most Scottish sides play against us like that. If we fail, people like you, craig and syntax, go bananas about this or that player, preferrably those being chucked in from the cold, while our darling crew of Kamara, Kent, Goldson, Tavernier and even Morelos can`t do anything wrong - or indeed are worth debating. There is every reason to believe that we will soldier on with our current troops and line-up for the next games, even this season - despite what Gio said when he signed up. And there is every reason to believe that we will have enough dire contests against the low-block teams too. It might well be that Ramsey will give the team a lift and his quality will make us shine a little more and perhaps cut these Scottish teams open. Yet, we would still waste our resources if we don`t put the best we have for any position out there on the park, even in a 4-3-3. Only time will tell ... and I will sure remind you of the above in days to come. *Evolved in terms of tactics against Scottish sides. We bought better players for the same positions ... and a few of our current crop managed to get their (defensive) act together last season, yet reverting back to the norm this time around. The facts don`t lie here.

You simply don`t get it, do you? Roofe and Sakala can play alongside another striker or even in a front 3, they have done so before, occasionally at Rangers too. If you look at the goal stats and minutes of play, you might acknowledge that both Sakala and Roofe are more prolific than Kent. The latter plays nigh every game ... and methinks he had 3 good chances to hit the target (not to mention to score) on Wednesday and whipped all shots wide. And we do not get points for missed chances. His goal tally (stats in brackets for league games) stands at 2 (2) in 25 (17) games, having played 1,965 (1,404) mins. Sakala 30 (20) games, 7 (6) goals, 1,209 (803) mins and Roofe 25 (16) games, 10 (6) goals in 1,259 (798) mins. His assists are fine, 8 in the league ... for a winger. He`s played roughly 600 mins more than either Roofe and Sakala in league games, so why even debate that he is not as lethal? Said it before and only a post or two above. As a provider his contributions are admirably. I would not chop him per se, but we need a cutting edge up top and he ain`t providing it, neither does the right flank. As long as we persist with but one striker up front and non-scoring folk either side of him, we`ll toil against the low-block sides, as we have done for years. Play him on the wing and two strikers up top, no problem.

No problem .. and I said it before. Play him out wide then, behind the strikers or on the wing and have "just" 2 strikers. Sometimes you get the feeling that 4-4-2 is something that simply will no longer work in the game of football ... yet we go on with one striker and toil on against the low-block sides.

Only that he is not used as a winger, but de facto an inside left attacking player in a nominal 4-3-3. And of those I expect a certain goal-return or send him out on the wing and play another striker with an end product. We`ve seen in these last two games two that his shooting is - still - quite erratic. And that is against teams that play quite open. Against the low blocks his pace and trickery has become blunt ... and not just last week. Teams know how to nullify most of his strengths in such games ... he gets frustrated an vanishes from games for 30 to 50 mins. While Hearts and Hibs are tough opponents on their own, not least when they are up for it and press our players, they play open football. That is when Kent, Sakala and Co. have their day and hit them with their pace. Those are not the games we toil though. The moment we get points for having possession, for yards of completed passes and "striking fear into the opposition", we`ll be out of sight before x-mas. In the here and now we create 10 to 30 chances per game, have 5 to 15 shots on target, but fail to score time and again. In the here and now, the 3-0s, 5-0s or even 8-0s are just deviations from the norm - something you can easily verify by looking at the results from this and last season. If you have a Robben, RIbery and Lewandowski or Müller in a 3-man front line and all hammer in 10+ goals ALONG with their wing-/striker-play, fine. If you play Kent - Morelos - *insert anyone deemed to be a right attacker on the day* time and again and hope that Alfie drags us out with his goal-prowess (if he`s on fire) or Kent actually finds the net or Aribo come up with one of his specials ... and have no-one bar Arfield with some sort of predatory instinct and will to shoot, you essentially hand games and points away with relative ease - or at least make us toil for all points in a way that is not necessary. I am totally at a loss how people can`t get beyond that 4-3-3 against low blocks when we play people up there who hardly score while having regularly 2 strikers on the bench who can actually fill either slot in that front 3. Strikers who are far more lethal in the few minutes they get ... while still keep the likes of Kent on the pitch. We de facto have been playing into the hands of each of the low block teams for the best part of 3 or even 5 seasons, getting away with it ONCE because of the quality we brought in and a defence worthy of its name. Now we again start pointing at certain players in defence or goals and lament their fall from grace, but fail to acknowledge that our main problem is not conceeding goals, but not scoring enough from the chances we create.

No problem with that either, Cammy. Just play another striker and him on the wing where he usually is or behind the strikers. His runs from deep can sure hurt opponents, it is the end product that doesn`t.