Rousseau

I'm pleased for Colak getting off the mark. He works hard.

I didn't want to win the Walter Tull Cup anyway...

Meh. I feel like we gave them their goals, rather than being outplayed. And, of course, with the quality of Kane et al., you are going to get punished. We looked good, at times, going forward. Defensively I'm a tad concerned. It is just a friendly, however.

Kamara is my MotM. McGregor is close behind, after a number of fine saves. (I'd still rather he wasn't playing.) Tavernier deserves a shout too.

Early taste of Tillman: one-two with Colak and slips in a through ball for the on-rushing winger.

McGregor is not good enough. He can still make fine saves - evident in this very game - but his overall game is almost detrimental to the way we aim to play.

Tillman, Sands and Wright coming on.

Our pressing is poor. It's good that we're doing it, but it's not good enough yet.

Sloppy. 1-2.

Piece of pish. No chance. 1-1.

McGregor has made a number of fine saves, but quite frankly, he shouldn't have to.

Death, taxes and Beaton being incompetent.

As has Matondo, and right on cue, stands up his FB, cuts the ball back before it finds its way into Colak's path and he slots it home.

Kamara has been tremendous.

It looks like we are starting with the 4-2-3-1.

No Davies, and Tillman on the bench. Not happy. GvB out!

I'm hoping for a wee half-time present today:

I take it Tillman and Davies will play a part today? I'm looking forward to seeing them.

Oh my...

I have just read about Davies' aerial ability in an Athletic article. It mentions how, at Preston, his aerial duel success rate was improved by working on his leap and aggression. Snippet: "When we arrived he wasn’t playing much, and he was being used as a left-back. He had a loan spell at Fleetwood in 2017 when he started playing centrally. “By our final season he was one of our best players along with Ben Pearson (who moved to Bournemouth). They were above the level of the Championship.” "Davies is not the tallest of centre-backs at just over 6ft (185cm) but Preston’s tracking of statistics saw his aerial duel success shoot up over the course of two years. It came from working on his leap and being more aggressive, but one area he has never needed much help with is his distribution." “If we’re talking about the modern defender who can play, then he is perfect for Rangers,” McAvoy [Frankie McAvoy, then-manager Alex Neil’s assistant at Preston] says. “You get defenders who can ping it, but Ben can see gaps and break lines by whipping it into the forwards." “He can bring the ball out comfortably too. When teams are sitting in, like they do against the Old Firm, that can be a big asset as he can drive forward and open teams up.” Also: "[Liverpool] felt that he was the best left-sided defender in the English second division, and was stylistically suited to playing in Jurgen Klopp’s system. In usual circumstances, Davies would not have been a target but Liverpool were working with a tight budget as they already had RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate lined up for a summer move to Merseyside. They just needed a short-term fix for a few months who could be a sound financial investment if they opted to ‘flip’ him in the market soon after."

Those stats are on the poor side, but I wouldn't say they were 'poor'. It's just a bit off 1 goal in 2, which is pretty good for a striker. I made the point above that most of his games have been off the bench, which is not helpful. He's not started regularly - outwith his Empoli stint last season, where he only scored 3 in 29 (?); which is poor - since his good season with Milan.

Empoli were in Serie A last season. It was the season before they were in Serie B. He wasn't playing for them then.

Cutrone is an interesting one. He's a traditional #9. I remember when he came through at Milan, doing very well in Serie A for one so young (20 yrs). Then Gattuso gets appointed and he doesn't get any games. I was surprised when Wolves signed him, because I thought he was still well regarded, despite a poor season. I don't think Wolves overpaid at the time. He hasn't settled, though. He wasn't given game-time at Wolves, and was loaned out to Valencia and Fiorentina. I wonder if taking a step down to our level might suit him? As opposed to Serie A and PL. If we can get him for a reasonable price, give him game-time, get his confidence back up, he could do a job and then get sold back to Serie A in a couple of years.

Everton pumped 4-0 by Minnesota Utd, with Dele Alli missing an open goal from 4 yards. This could be another fun season for the Toffees...