Where we are now!!

[CammyF 6,787]

But surely it is OK for fans to have concerns, even this early? We have the same problems as we had last season - that is extremely worrying and even PLG admits he is at a loss to explain or lack of finishing and amaturish defending.

 

We need to be more ruthless, we need players who will stamp their authority over games and kill teams off we we are on top - we don't appear to have that at the moment. We don't have a midfield player who will snap into tackles, will boss the midfield and spray passes all over the pitch. Maybe BF will give us that, I really hope he does.

 

The only consolation we have is that Hearts and Craptic appear (at the moment at least) to have some worries and concerns of their own. However, both have added quantity and quality to their squads this week and worryingly, we haven't.

 

Cammy F

[bmck 117]

i think they can have fears if they want, but to harp on about it this early is just fickle.

[CammyF 6,787]

i think they can have fears if they want, but to harp on about it this early is just fickle.

 

I don't think it is fickle - I think it is fans seeing that we have the exact same problems that we had last season, we have signed players who haven't settled in as quickly as we had hoped and fans remember how bad last season got, and don't want a repeat.

 

That is hardly fickle, it is a worry based on the fact that in our first 5 games of the season, we have only beaten one team of note (and it was a great performance) and sturggled agaisnt teams that will be in the bottom six all season.

 

PLG knew he had a lot of work ahead of him, I think the first 5 games have cemented that and he better start to turn it around soon - we must win our next 6 games (4 domestic - Falkirk at home, Hibs away, DAFC away, Crfaptic away and AFC at home) as if we don't, we'll be out of Europe and out of the SPL race by mid September...... then PLG will be under HUGE pressure.

 

Cammy F

[calscot 0]

I don't think it is fickle - I think it is fans seeing that we have the exact same problems that we had last season, we have signed players who haven't settled in as quickly as we had hoped and fans remember how bad last season got, and don't want a repeat.

 

I think the difference is that the team of last season was effectively three years in the making. The present team is only embryonic in comparison. We should also note that we're drawing games where last year we were losing some.

 

That is hardly fickle, it is a worry based on the fact that in our first 5 games of the season, we have only beaten one team of note (and it was a great performance)

 

And we've only played one team of note. We struggled against Hearts last year and how times have changed.

 

and sturggled agaisnt teams that will be in the bottom six all season.

 

Kilmarnock have been tipped by many to finish fourth. However, struggling isn't the right word except for the Dunfermline game and how many headlines over the years have you seen which resemble, "Rangers make heavy weather of breaking down 10 man defence"?

 

I think this is the real adaptation to Scottish football, trying to score on a very narrow pitch with all 11 of the opposition behind the ball. And I think this is the lesson that our manager needs to learn. 4-2-3-1 isn't going to work in these games.

 

PLG knew he had a lot of work ahead of him,

 

Yes and he asked for two months for his team to gel and for him to make a difference himself.

 

I think the first 5 games have cemented that and he better start to turn it around soon - we must win our next 6 games (4 domestic - Falkirk at home, Hibs away, DAFC away, Crfaptic away and AFC at home) as if we don't, we'll be out of Europe and out of the SPL race by mid September...... then PLG will be under HUGE pressure.

 

I think that's exaggerating and demanding he wins his first game against Celtic away is a bit much, a draw would be more than acceptable and a narrow loss wouldn't be disastrous. As long as we at least share the points with Celtic over 4 games, PLG has done his job.

 

A win and a draw against Molde will take us comfortably into the group stage and I'd be shocked if we went out against the Norwegian minnows like Eck did against Zhizkov.

 

A draw with Hibs away wouldn't be the end of the world either.

 

We wouldn't be demanding this kind of form from Eck so why do some expect it from Le Guen when he's only just got going?

[CammyF 6,787]

I think the difference is that the team of last season was effectively three years in the making. The present team is only embryonic in comparison. We should also note that we're drawing games where last year we were losing some.

 

Football is a result driven business - if Rangers aren't winning games, fans get tetchy, nervious, angry, dispondant, worried etc - No Rangers fan can surely say that there is no worries at the moment. We have the exact same problems as we had last season - even a blind man can see that. We can not defend and we can not kill teams off. No matter who good the 'football' is, fans won't accept drawing to teams like DAFC, DUFC, Killie etc - its a simple fact of football.

 

And we've only played one team of note. We struggled against Hearts last year and how times have changed.

 

One fantastic performance / result from 5, that is hardly the form of potential SPL champions - on Sunday, Killie looked like they could score every time they went up the pitch (as did we) - we need to eradicate the errors and start to kill teams off

 

Kilmarnock have been tipped by many to finish fourth. However, struggling isn't the right word except for the Dunfermline game and how many headlines over the years have you seen which resemble, "Rangers make heavy weather of breaking down 10 man defence"?

 

I think this is the real adaptation to Scottish football, trying to score on a very narrow pitch with all 11 of the opposition behind the ball. And I think this is the lesson that our manager needs to learn. 4-2-3-1 isn't going to work in these games.

 

I must have been watching a different game on Sunday - Killie created many chances, should and could have had another penalty for hand ball and created havoc from set-pieces (as did Hearts from long throw ins).

 

I think that's exaggerating and demanding he wins his first game against Celtic away is a bit much, a draw would be more than acceptable and a narrow loss wouldn't be disastrous. As long as we at least share the points with Celtic over 4 games, PLG has done his job.

 

I don't think it is - we are already behind in the SPL - we are playing catch up and after Falkirk at home, play 3 very tough games that could make or break or season.

 

A win and a draw against Molde will take us comfortably into the group stage and I'd be shocked if we went out against the Norwegian minnows like Eck did against Zhizkov.

 

In theory yes, but as we have all noticed recently, it isn't always as easy as that. They will cause us problems over there, they are at home and will create chances - we *should* have NO PROBLEMS against them, but European football throws up some surprising results (Artmedia anyone?)

 

A draw with Hibs away wouldn't be the end of the world either

 

If it is proceded and followed by further dropped points against Craptic, AFC or Falkirk, then it would be.

 

We wouldn't be demanding this kind of form from Eck so why do some expect it from Le Guen when he's only just got going?

 

Yes we would - all Rangers fans want their team to win every game and win the league every year - we know that this isn't possible, but that is the special / extra demand on EVERY Rangers manager no matter who he is.

 

Cammy F

[Trailio 0]

IMO a large part of the reason that we have some unhappy Bears in the ranks is because of the football we have been playing in the first few games of the season - a double-edged sword if you will.

 

When PLG was announced there was almost the unanimous opinion that we would give PLG time to get rid of the dead-wood, bring in his own players, have them playing the way he wants,make strides with Murray Park and the youth system.......... and most said that we would accept not winning the league this season as long as we were making positive movements in the right direction as a club.

 

However, the high standard of performances against Motherwell, DU and Hearts (even Dunfermline & Killie should have been beaten comfortably) means that all of a sudden we have the "we are playing great stuff so we should win the league" mentality.

 

Had we started the season playing poorly I actually think that we would be applying LESS pressure to the team and PLG because we had already "accepted" that we would be rebuilding from the ground up.

 

The fact we hit the ground running performance-wise means we have now ignored that "rebuilding" and expect instant wins and trophies.

 

Before the season started we wanted a competitive team on the park (not necessarily winning ALL the time but competitive), good coaching, improvements being made with our media stance as a club, improvements at Murray Park, better youth development.

 

I for one happen to think we have all of the above moving in the right direction. And having played only FIVE games of the new regime I can't believe just how much of an improvement we have already seen (and let's not forget that we have not spent a LOT of money on players - which for me shows that PLG has the tactical nous to do VERY WELL without having to spend copious amounts of money to spend).

 

Also lets not forget that PLG still thinks this team will get better, which is very worrying for the rest of the SPL because in EACH of those five games we should have been blowing teams out of sight - only bad defending, bad finishing and some bad luck have prevented us from scoring 5 or 6 goals in EACH of those games.

 

I still maintain that the future is very bright and we are much further forward in terms of quality than most of us would have believed we could ever be 4 or 5 months ago when PLG was appointed.

 

 

 

Totally agree with these comments Craig. But let's be honest people will always find something to moan about even when things are rosey. Personally I've not been this excited about a new season since Advocaat arrived and nothing has changed. I am not worried about what the other half of Glasgow are doing and apart from the DF game I've really enjoyed watching this team play. Fingers crossed we can bang in a few goals against Falkirk and get some of the doubters off PLG's back.

[calscot 0]

Football is a result driven business - if Rangers aren't winning games, fans get tetchy, nervious, angry, dispondant, worried etc - No Rangers fan can surely say that there is no worries at the moment. We have the exact same problems as we had last season - even a blind man can see that. We can not defend and we can not kill teams off. No matter who good the 'football' is, fans won't accept drawing to teams like DAFC, DUFC, Killie etc - its a simple fact of football.

 

I still say there is a big difference between now and last year. We're unbeaten and 1 point behind while playing pretty decent football. Yes we're finding it hard to kill off teams but when the opposition save 3 shots off the line, you hit the bar and their goalkeeper is man of the match, you don't usually hit the panic button. You'd have to be very pessimistic to not think that things will get better with time.

 

Last year we were playing dire football, struggling to string three passes together and resorting to the long ball. We actually ground out some results but even when we did, many fans were despondent as we seemed to ride our luck and didn't seem to be producing the type of football that would take us to any great success. We seemed to be getting worse rather than working on improving anything. Even the most optimistic of us struggled to see any light at the end of the tunnel.

 

 

One fantastic performance / result from 5, that is hardly the form of potential SPL champions

 

First five games of a manager's career and we're unbeaten and 1 point behind while having soundly beaten one of our main rivals and playing some great football - how can you judge a lack of championship potential on that?

 

on Sunday, Killie looked like they could score every time they went up the pitch (as did we) - we need to eradicate the errors and start to kill teams off

 

Sounds like a cracking game, I only seen the highlights and enjoyed them bar the result. We do need to eradicate errors but I'm 100% sure that that's what the team are working on, and PLG has a track record of doing this before. He had a worse start at Lyon yet still won the league.

 

I must have been watching a different game on Sunday - Killie created many chances, should and could have had another penalty for hand ball and created havoc from set-pieces (as did Hearts from long throw ins).

 

I was referring to the Dunfermline game which to me is the only really worrying game as we didn't play good football. Svensson and Rodriguez do seem to be weak links at the moment but time, a new center half and some intensive training should help that area.

 

I don't think it is - we are already behind in the SPL - we are playing catch up and after Falkirk at home, play 3 very tough games that could make or break or season.

 

1 point behind for one game is hardly playing catch up since we were top of the league the week before. Once we've played everyone once, we'll be better to judge how the league is going.

 

In theory yes, but as we have all noticed recently, it isn't always as easy as that. They will cause us problems over there, they are at home and will create chances - we *should* have NO PROBLEMS against them, but European football throws up some surprising results (Artmedia anyone?)

 

They may cause us problems but although winning isn't coming easily for us, we don't look very easy to beat at the moment - quite the opposite. Eck's teams looked a lot more fragile and Strachan had the mitigation of his first game. Besides Art Media were more comparable to Hearts whereas Molde are more like ICT.

 

On the basis of our form so far, I can't see Molde getting more than one draw against us. I agree anything could happen in Europe, but it would just as easily apply if we'd won 5 games out of 5 while destroying defences, scoring a barrel-load and keeping clean sheets.

 

 

If it is proceded and followed by further dropped points against Craptic, AFC or Falkirk, then it would be.

 

Fair enough but winning six games out of six is not a bottom line.

 

Yes we would - all Rangers fans want their team to win every game and win the league every year - we know that this isn't possible, but that is the special / extra demand on EVERY Rangers manager no matter who he is.

 

Every manager also gets a break at the start of his tenure. Not winning every game is not a reason to get on a manager's back as long as the results aren't too bad and the signs are good. Now going on a 10 game win-less streak...

[craig 5,199]

Cant be bothered quoting all your post Cammy but are you seriously trying to say that Hearts was our only very good performance ?? If so then maybe I have much lower expectations than you do because I thought we were very good against Motherwell, very good against DU (aside from some sloppy defending) and also had a good performance against Killie.

 

Are you not one of the many (myself included) that was worried about PLG being given time and one of the advocates for giving him such ? Personally I think "giving him time" requires more than 5 games !

 

Must have been watching a different game than me at least because I didn't see Killie create many chances - a couple yes, but not many. I also didn't think it was handball for the "other" claim.

 

Your statement about Molde and it "not being as easy as that" is somewhat irrelevant (unless you are commenting on his "I will be shocked if..." comment) to the debate on that subject between you and calscot. Why is it irrelevant ? Because you demanded 2 wins against them whilst calscot said a draw and a win will be sufficient. Whether it is easy or not is irrelevant when calscot was saying that the 2 wins demanded isn't accurate - and I am sure we will all accept a win and a draw.

 

Every Rangers fan is entitled to be concerned - but I don't know why PLG is taking the brunt of it in some quarters when he has a team playing very good football, creating a boat-load of chances and has a team with an average age of 25 doing a good job and that team is still only in its infancy. Rome wasn't built in a day my friends - but the job PLG has done to turn the performances around is, in my opinion, quite astounding in such a short space of time. Had we taken half the chances we have had we would be sitting with a goal difference of +20 by now - changed days from last season when we knew if a team went 1 up on us we would lose the game.

[bmck 117]

I don't think it is fickle - I think it is fans seeing that we have the exact same problems that we had last season, we have signed players who haven't settled in as quickly as we had hoped and fans remember how bad last season got, and don't want a repeat.

 

That is hardly fickle, it is a worry based on the fact that in our first 5 games of the season, we have only beaten one team of note (and it was a great performance) and sturggled agaisnt teams that will be in the bottom six all season.

 

PLG knew he had a lot of work ahead of him, I think the first 5 games have cemented that and he better start to turn it around soon - we must win our next 6 games (4 domestic - Falkirk at home, Hibs away, DAFC away, Crfaptic away and AFC at home) as if we don't, we'll be out of Europe and out of the SPL race by mid September...... then PLG will be under HUGE pressure.

 

Cammy F

 

 

nonsense. is this the same cammy that said he would happily surrender the league for a few years if it meant blooding youngsters? we're playing nice football that is not, yet, five games in, 100% perfect. and this is what is causing all the uproar.

 

that is the definition of fickleness.

[Super_Ally 0]

I am not worried about what the other half of Glasgow are doing

 

Thats at least twice in the last day or two i've seen this sort of comment. How, in what is a perennial two horse race, can you not be interested in what your only rival is doing?