Jump to content

 

 

JohnMc

  • Posts

    2,073
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    31

JohnMc last won the day on February 6

JohnMc had the most liked content!

Reputation

2,965 Excellent

About JohnMc

Location

  • Location
    Glasgow

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

  1. There's an argument that even if everyone was fit we'd still add Danilo, Hagi and Nsiala anyway, leaving Cortes out. Hagi and Danilo offer more in terms of where they could be played and the impact they could make, Cortes, from the little I've seen of him, is a wide player only. With Cerny, McCausland, Hagi, Bajrami, Igmane as well as Ridvan and Jefte we're covered out wide, albeit not all of them are 'wide attacking' players naturally. For all this suggests Cortes is out for a longer period, it also suggests Danilo is expected back soon.
  2. My formative years following Rangers were like many of us I expect. Catching 'football specials' to Paisley and Dundee, standing outside a pub you were too young to enter while waiting for a supporter's bus, you and a mate deciding at 1.30 on a Saturday you'd go to the game that afternoon and not worrying about tickets or anything like that. Scottish football was different then. The football was better, a better standard of player overall, much more competitive, with some genuinely world class managers pitting their wits against each other on a much more level playing field than we have today. The grounds though were terrible. While nostalgia brings a rose tinted memory of standing on terraces across the country, feeling the involuntary sway of the crowd, trying to find your way back to your pals if you left to visit what passed for the toilet, often little more than holes in the ground. Good time, but in truth many were crumbling death traps, we were literally treated like animals, herded, shouted at, regularly attacked and demonised by the media and popular culture, how more people weren't seriously injured, or worse, is simply down to luck. Add to this Dickensian picture the fact that Rangers weren't very good. I hear the cries of anger about our current state and remember back to when I was a teenager, watching clubs like Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, even Hearts for a spell, dominate us, far less Celtic. For various reasons we simply didn't have a good enough team. John Grieg, perhaps our greatest ever player, was unable to rebuild an aging but very successful side (why is a debate for another day), his successor, Jock Wallace, was a giant of a manager, the man who'd stopped the greatest Celtic side of all time, who'd delivered two trebles. Even he couldn't sustain a challenge and against a backdrop of massive industrial decline, high unemployment, social unrest and a city that was covered in soot, slowly being demolished and left to rot our Rangers side was devoid of class, of guile and of hope. Davie Cooper, our only true spark of brilliance was disillusioned and out of form, Bobby Russell and Robert Prytz simply weren't at the level we needed, as popular as they were. This was my Rangers, they'd last won the league when I was 8, I was barely aware of it. Rangers were also rans, workmanlike players struggled and and fought but were regularly bettered. I didn't really know any different. Against this background a waif was introduced to the side. I use that word deliberately, Durrant was neither tall nor strong, he genuinely looked like he was about 14 years old, in truth he was 18, so not much older. His sprite like appearance was accentuated by a shock of long curly hair, fashionable at the time, but unusual on a Rangers player, our team seemed to made up of guys for who fashion was something to be avoided, like winning trophies... He seemed to come from nowhere, his friend, Derek Ferguson, had been known to most of us since he was a schoolboy. He'd made his debut at 16, our youngest ever if memory serves correctly, he's featured in countless Rangers News features and as a support we were anticipating his greatness, but Durrant seemed to appear from stage left, unheralded and without fanfare. It was a side that featured many home grown players; Kenny Black, Hugh Burns, Dave McPherson, Robert Fleck were all regulars, some of who we had high hopes for. Durrant looked the least likely to succeed, and yet he very quickly showed us what we'd been missing. His speed of thought was only matched by his sureness of touch. Stamina made up for his lack of strength and he was fearless when facing tackling that was encouraged in those days but would see you banned for months now. The bigger the stage the greater he shone. I'd been waiting for Ian Durrant my whole life without realising it. As an ugly, lanky, spotty teenager with no patter and even less confidence here was someone who seemed to have everything I didn't and he was pulling on the the light blue or Rangers too. The media had fixated on Celtic's young 'stars'; Charlie Nicolas, Paul McStay, Peter Grant, but now we had someone who was more than their match. He cemented his immortality for me in two games against Celtic. The first Old Firm at Ibrox under Souness when he read a revitalised Davie Cooper weaving run and flick to bury the winner past Bonnar in front of the Copland Road. Rangers were back, and this time it was for real. Later he dominated a League Cup Final against Celtic, scoring our first and running the game against a very good Celtic side. There was a moment when Celtic were attacking, the ball was half cleared and fell to Durrant inside our box, instead of hoofing it first time into the stand, he let it roll through his legs, catching it with his heel while turning quickly, suddenly he was facing away from our goal, with every Celtic attacker wrong footed and we were on the attack. It was a sublime moment, one I expect most present have long forgotten, but I never will. It was a moment of skill perfectly executed in the most brutal of fields, a slip or error would have left us exposed and probably a goal down. We need not worry, we were in the presence of greatness, if only for a short time. I had never been in awe of a Rangers player like this before. I could write more, but most probably know how his career was derailed. In truth despite some great moments, he never regained his previous levels. But for a few years in the bleak 1980s nothing shone as brightly as Ian Durrant.
  3. Realistically how far away are we, player wise, from a concerted and successful title challenge? The squad has finally shown it can compete with Celtic in a head to head, the last two games have proved that. Our next match at Parkhead will be a test of whether we do have what it takes to take points off them regularly. That aside our away form is poor, we really struggle to breakdown most Scottish sides who sit deep and aim to frustrate us. So we're missing at least one, probably two, players who can create a goal or a chance from nothing. It's no coincidence, I feel, that our improvement in form coincided with Raskin and Igamane coming into form and also Hagi returning to the squad. I'm not sure we have replacements for any of them if/when they pick up injuries or suspensions. Likewise Cerny is a very important player for us, who is his replacement when he leaves? We're short at full back too, another utility type defender would get a decent amount of game time with us. Lastly I feel we're really missing an experienced old head. Our defeat at Man U was a perfect example of that. We should have killed that game after we scored. Players should have been down with cramp breaking up play, forwards pulled into midfield, midfielders into defence, and a strong voice marshalling them all. Players like Arfield and Davis were essential when we won the league, that experience is something every side needs. I'm not sure how many players that is, 3 or 4 at least I'd say.
  4. Butland has made some mistakes this season so a move for Bobby Clark makes sense to me. Always like my keepers to have experience.
  5. I guess the hope is he can stay fit and impress enough that even if they don't get promotion another side will see him and take him on. He's one of those players that eventually he'll come good for someone. It's not going to be us though.
  6. Yip, big Cyriel for me as well. I've criticised him so I should praise him too. Other than that sublime bit of control with his calf (I think?) not much came off for Igamane last night, but his presence draws defenders and I think that creates more space for Dessers and he made the most of it. He should have scored towards the end, but his overall work rate was impressive last night, he led the line and his run and cut back for our second was perfect.
  7. JohnMc

    Strikers

    It's not that we need a 20 goal a season striker to replace Dessers, it's we need someone who can stay fit and lead the line well. We did some basic analysis recently and Rangers score more goals when he's not leading the line than when he is. Whether that's a tactical tweak we make or simply because Igamane is better at holding the ball up and bringing others into the attack, I can't say. As you rightly point out Dessers is a 20 goal a seasons striker, but if he's not scoring Rangers struggle. Whereas when Igamane isn't scoring other players chip in more. Having Igamane and Dessers fit and firing is working quite well just now, Dessers as an impact sub or alongside Igamane is ideal with our current squad. I certainly wouldn't want him to leave without at least one other forward player joining in his place. Without wishing to jinx him Dessers fitness is one of his strengths and not something we should overlook to be fair to him.
  8. So he's not really 'Moroccan' he's Belgian with Moroccan heritage. I assume Clement knows him from 'home'. I feel embarrassed admitting that I barely know who our backroom staff are, I even forgot the name of our assistant manager the other day.
  9. JohnMc

    Strikers

    If you thought Sunday's was bad you should have heard Friday's! Everyone on here knows the Gersnet podcast is not a reliable source of information and everyone on it only appears because Frankie pays them handsomely.
  10. That's good news about Curtis, nice to see it happening quite quickly and without much fuss. With regards Lovelace isn't there some clause that if we don't offer him a contract he can leave without compensation, but if he is offered a contract, but turns it down, then we are due a fee when he signs for someone else? I might have that all wrong.
  11. Oh, he's far from the finished article, completely agree. Ironically the tricks might get coached out of him, apparently they don't go down well with professional players and while he's a big strong boy some thug defender might take retribution having been humiliated live on TV. But for spectators watching someone beat a man with skill is still spell binding. The deftness of touch, the speed of thought and the appreciation of the ability required to execute it. Watching that thug Gallagher being sent for the messages late in the second half was a delight, no humiliation is too great for him.
  12. I've not seen it mentioned but for the Dundee Utd goal watch the foul on Diomande as the ball comes in. As everyone else is saying delighted with that result. Our vulnerability at crosses will remain until Balogun or Souttar return, in the meantime we just need to get on with it. He didn't take the headlines but Igamane is a joy to watch. His touches and turns are sublime and he almost guarantees at least one nutmeg a game. Winning is the most important thing but it's nice to be entertained too, to admire skill for skill's sake. What a finish from Dessers, 5 goals in 3 games, happy for him to shut up critics like me. As for the sending off, it's hard to look at it and not see bias. The hand ball too, deliberate or not he's bouncing the ball with his hand and yet that's not a penalty it seems.
  13. I went for Tav. He was roasted twice early on by their wide player who had an excellent match (and I learn is subject to a £50 million bid from Chelsea currently) but grew into the game as the first half went on. His cross for Ridvan's chance was vintage Tav. But my vote is based on his second half performance. Playing centre half he barely put a foot wrong despite having a midfield in front of him made up of children. His searching ball for Desser's goal was literally inch perfect. It was a captain's performance. He's been criticised this season, rightly at times, but he did everything he could last night. Propper had an excellent game as well.
  14. I think you can purchase TNT for a month then cancel, that won't be too expensive.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.