Bill

T'was ever thus but we of a certain vintage understand this 😉

I really like the way both Balogun and Souttar are prepared to carry the ball out of defence when the opportunity arises. Btw you're right about Raskin. He cuts a frustrated figure these days and something about the current set up isn't working for him.

If selecting your best central defensive partnership is as easy as this to get right, how come it’s taken us so long. Souttar is clearly more comfortable on the right and Balogun put in the best display by a Rangers CB I’ve seen in ages. Many positives today. Well done Rabbi Tamundo.

Kieran Dowell is a pain in the arse!

Leon Balogun Flawless at LCB

Rangers 3 Livingston 0 FGS - Danilo

The entire playing squad and coaching staff have something to prove. This is a team that, collectively, has won nothing. Until they do, the jury is out on all of them.

Definitely

It's not about where we start. It's about where we go from there. Give the wrong person too much power and you could sink the whole ship.

But, again, which settled starting XI? Are you bedding in the best team or leaving part of it on the bench every week, growing steadily more disillusioned?

That depends entirely on who gets the job

I know what you mean but how do you know it's the right players who are gelling unless you give others a chance? Unless you shuffle the pack on a regular basis, you're just limiting your options and maybe keeping second bests in the team. That's what we've been doing for years and using a shallow quality pool as an excuse. Time to move on.

Why are you so sure that sending out the same line up week after week is going to deliver what you want?

With the number of games coming up, we need to ring changes or we'll be back into wholesale injuries again. Players like Hagi and Roofe are proven commodities and should never be considered a selection risk. With Servette in mind I would try to rest Jack and Lammers. There's no point continuing with crosses from fullbacks, everyone sussed that out long ago. Butland Sterling - Souttar - Goldson - Yilmaz Cifu Hagi Raskin Cantwell Roofe - Danilo

I long for the days when a substitution was made to strengthen the team.

Harsh. By some considerable margin the best fullback I ever saw was 5’ 7”. His name was Eric Caldow, captain of Rangers and Scotland.

I think it's gradually dawning on most fans that Tav has run his race at Rangers. As the team around him improves, this will only become more obvious.

I don't believe we could be so lucky.

Like most, I thought Cantwell played well but I didn't think he actually had a great influence on the outcome of the game. John Souttar had the best performance I've seen from him at the left of a central pairing and wasn't it reassuring to see Goldson slot back in so well. Borna gave us a really good first 30 minutes before disappearing again but probably justified his selection. Raskin did well but is clearly losing patience with a front three who seem to make no movement, leaving him trapped with the ball and making square passes. Jack was his usual steadying influence in midfield and spent most of the game sitting deep. His linkup play was a large part of our improvement since Saturday and it's clear he is so much better than Lundstram at the moment .... but is likely to have Cifu breathing down his neck for a starting place soon.

I struggle to understand what Sima's role in the team is meant to be. Is he cover for Dessers and Danilo? If so, Roofe is a far better option. If he's not able to give us width then surely he needs to be played a little deeper. Whatever the current plan is, we need a new one.

One look at the starting eleven tonight and we'll know our fate. Surely, no more chicken shit selections.

From what I've seen so far, I'm not sure we could get a win if they only brought their ground staff

What's this? Where exactly is it not written down? What does it not say about predicting a draw? 😉

He talks far too much. It unsettles me when I see people afflicted with verbal diarrhoea. Somehow it always feels untrustworthy.

We seem to be in the business of lining up low points these days and the CL last season was six of them.