Blue Moon

PSV are frightening.

4 hours ago, Gonzo79 said:

The firm that published her speeches has went into liquidation, so it might be tricky to obtain copies at the moment.  🤣

The same publisher is also under investigation for illegally claiming funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise by saying they had the minimum number of required employees when they didn't.

11 minutes ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

I'm not really looking for much from tomorrow except some signs of life. I'm not so fussed about names on the teamsheet so long as the bodies on the park can play as a team and show some kind of cohesion. Play with a bit of tempo, cut out the stupid mistakes. At the very least please give us some straws to grasp at.

 

I'm less concerned about a 2 leg game v Servette or a PSV (if we make it) than I am about an away day v Killie or St Johnstone. I'd be comfortable thinking if we didn't get a result tomorrow that we could go to Switzerland in a high pressure European game and manage to produce something. Its this bizarre paradox that this squad have shown under a few managers now and likely a mentality thing. You cant sh*t the bed away to Ross county but beat Dortmund in their own stadium and lack quality. We seem to excel in the Europeans arena but live within ourselves domestically (see us get knocked out now I've said that).

That was then.  This is an almost entirely new midfield and forward line that has little pace or cohesion and a defense that leaks goals with 2 fullbacks who have run out of steam who are integral to the way we play.

8 minutes ago, Graeme Ro55 said:

I was a fan of his last season, but he has been poor of late. Hagi can pull off a killer pass for the strikers. 

I agree but the midfield has been hung out to dry with these tactics and he is not the only one who has played poorly.  The biggest failure so far is the manager.

51 minutes ago, Graeme Ro55 said:

Scrap the crazy non-tactics. Back to basics. Let our quality shine.

 

                      Butland
Sterling  Souttar  Balogun  Ridvan
    Lammers  Raskin  Cifu  Hagi
                      Danilo
                     Dessers

No Cantwell?

I hope I am proved wrong but I don't think we will go through and I am usually glass half full when it comes to Rangers.  I am not sure the manager can put this right.  He was very cagey in his postmatch press conference and avoided answering a question along those lines. He looked worried.

2 hours ago, Rousseau said:

I don't know. Walter's second stint had me bored to tears. 

 

I would settle for winning right now, but that wouldn't last long. I need to see better football on the pitch. They seem to be able to do it. 

 

It might, if we get a good coach in... (I'm half joking.)

I agree.  I stopped going to watch it.  

I watched from the second half and was praying for penalties and a Servette win.  I can't believe Genk lost that.

Just read the thread back and discovered Servette played with 10 men!   Maybe they won't be a pushover.

9 hours ago, the gunslinger said:

Even then. I said this last season, I said it every time folk criticised Kent for not scoring enough. 

 

Absolutely he didn't score enough but folk did not make any allowance for the work he did pressing and defending. 

 

I think we will need to play dowel out there to compensate. 

 

Kent had to learn to do it, Lammers could too.

If we could get rid of Kamara etc it would help.

Am I right in thinking the CL will be moving to a new format and to access that we need to win the League this year?

12 hours ago, DMAA said:

Unfortunately, we badly lack stability when he doesn’t play. The defence is far better protected when he plays. I think our defence has been hung out to dry a bit in preseason by the tactics and player selection in midfield. They’ve offered no protection to the defence. 

Nor have they supported the attackers.

11 hours ago, Ted McMinnime said:

Having watched today's game, like nearly all other posts on here, it was a frustrating afternoon. However, I have just reflected on all three of the interviews above and the honesty and positive vibes that came from all 3. First up, Dessers, who states he is not nearly match fit yet and explains why. He sports a lovely black eye for his efforts. There is clearly much more to come from him. Butland also puts a very positive spin on the game and says how much he enjoyed it. Lastly Beale explains how the game plan was hijacked by late call offs to CB's. We also finished the game without a CB!

The most important message for me was all three confirmed it was a pre season test, deliberately set against high quality opposition. As supporters, sometimes we expect too much too soon. I get a vibe of real togetherness in the squad, there are early signs of increased squad quality.  All seem eager to embrace the challenge ahead. I, for one, will try to remain positive. I really am looking forward to this one. Let us hope it's special!

Thanks.  You are absolutely correct.

I have no idea how the season will pan out.  I hoped we might have had more of a clue after the game yesterday but illness affected a first eleven taking the field.  If we don't do something about the defense before the window closes I fear the worst.

That was awful.  I have never seen such a shambles.  Soutar apart we still can't defend.  The midfield couldn't win the ball or link with the forwards and upfront we created almost nothing.  We weren't at the races.  We could learn a thing or two from their press.  It was embarrassing how Dowell was taken to the cleaners.  I have nothing positive to say except that Hagi, Sakala and Matondo improved us.

2 hours ago, der Berliner said:

For once in recent years, this window looks to be a good one 😉

Agree so far!  Two or three areas still need strengthening but that will happen only if we sell a few bodies.

Gutted we can't make the game today.  It is my nephew's 40th birthday and my sister has organised a family get together.  We go to all the games with him so a special nephew comes first.

I am a huge Roofe fan.  His wife and family have moved to Scotland now which shows a renewed commitment from him. Hopefully his surgery will ensure fewer injuries.

8 minutes ago, JohnMc said:

Does he bring energy or does he just run around a bit with no real purpose? Borna is only useful in the opposition's half, his defending is continually poor. He needs replaced, but not with Ridvan who seems equally hopeless in either half. 

Time will tell.

17 minutes ago, JohnMc said:

What does everyone see in Ridvan? I'm at a loss why anyone thinks he's an improvement on Barasic. Borna can't defend but at least he can cross, Yilmaz can't even do that. There are rides at the shows he can't get on, my heart sinks when I think of what we paid for him. 

 

That aside not sure there's much to take from the match. Newcastle have better players than us, perhaps not unexpected when they spent £415 million assembling them, but the gulf wasn't cavernous although it felt like they had another gear if they wanted it. With the exception of the keeper our defence is unchanged, that might be a worry. Lundstram looks like he's starting this season like last season. Hopefully someone will convince him it's actually March and he'll find some form. A bit early to judge the new guys but as I'm a Rangers fan I won't let that stop me forming hard opinions and fighting to the death for them. Butland is too handsome for a goalie, get him punted, I've taken an instant dislike to him and that's unlikely to change. A midfield of Dowell, Raskin and Rice should carry us to glory. The big Dutchman looks like a handful and Sima is certainly strong, hopefully he's got a bit more than that too. 

Big season ahead for Lowry, whether it's on loan at St Johnstone or in our first team he needs to start playing regular football or his career will be one of what might have been. 

I thought Borna had a poor game last night.  I am still not convinced of Ridvan either but he brings a lot more energy and at least tries to go forward, something Backwards Borna seems to have forgotten most of the time.

Great to be back at Ibrox last.  Newcastle are a very good team and gave us a lesson in the first half when we sat too deep and didn't press.  We clearly missed an out and out striker.  The second half was better and the new players did okay but the shining lights for me were Hagi and Raskin.  Great to see Hagi back playing like his best.  Question, where was Roofe?

Did Rosseau or someone else do a Trusty v Panzo comparison on here a few weeks ago?

Good stuff!   He looks a big lad.

Can anyone help with with an android link for google calendar.  I don't know how I did it last year.