pete 2,499 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 RANGERS boss Stuart McCall was today told he can silence the boo boys AND boost the Ibrox club's promotion hopes - by moving Lee McCulloch up front. Matthew Lindsay Sports Journalist Thursday 30/04/2015 Derek Johnstone reckons Stuart McCall should play Rangers skipper Lee McCulloch in a striking role against Hearts on Saturday Gers captain McCulloch was abused by his own supporters after a slip up allowed Falkirk to score in the 2-2 Ibrox draw last weekend. However, 36-year-old skipper Jig showed he was unaffected by the flak by charging up the park and very nearly bagging a vital goal. The former Scotland internationalist has played extensively up front in the past, including for his country, and finished the 2012/13 season as top Light Blues scorer. And Rangers legend Derek Johnstone reckons McCall should field the versatile star in attack during the Premiership play-off matches. The SportTimes columnist said: "When the manager put Lee up front late on when things were getting desperate he actually looked good. He had a header that was brilliantly saved by the Falkirk keeper Jamie MacDonald. Maybe that is where he should be playing. "When Lee was man on man with an opposing player and lost the second goal, then there was no comeback for him. "In his defence, he shouldn't be left man on man at the back anyway. There is no pace there. Darren McGregor is the quickest man in the defence. He should have been back. "However, Lee was the one who got caught out. As, for that matter, he did at the first goal. The corner went over his head. He should have cleared it. "I can understand why fans are frustrated, but they have to keep that under control in the closing stages of the season." Johnstone added: "We haven't had a big striker for a while. Kris Boyd has been off form. He got two goals for the Under-20s this week, but I don't know if that will do his cause any good. "Jon Daly has been injured and has just returned to training. So Stuart hasn't really had that big striker to play up front alongside Nicky Clark or Kenny Miller, or whoever. "Lee has shown that if the team are going to put balls into the penalty area, he has still got that jump he needs to get on the end of them. Maybe he will find himself a place up front rather than at the back." Johnstone would like to see Darren McGregor paired with Marius Zaliukas at centre-half against Hearts on Saturday and in the play-off matches. He said: "There are options available at the back if the manager wants to play Lee up front. I think McGregor and Zaliukas are the two best centre- backs we have got. Both of them are solid. "The problem is at right-back. Robbie Crawford has come in and done a good job. He is the fittest player on the books, so you know he is going to get up and down the park. "I would have no hesitation whatsoever playing Crawford at right-back. He is energetic and wants to do well. You are going to get a good shift out of him. "Playing a back four of Crawford, McGregor, Zaliukas and Lee Wallace would allow Lee to play up front and give them that physical presence when balls come into the box." Related Articles: Rangers 2 Falkirk 2: Law saves the day for Gers with last-gasp equaliser Rangers 4 Falkirk 0: Goals from Law, Macleod and Miller Sheils and Black put Rangers into cup quarter-finals 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barca72 440 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 DJ, making the best of a bad lot. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Daly played for Dundee Utd at the back on a regular basis so im amiss as to why hes never been tried out there. I really do wish that DJ would stop trying to talk up his under perfotming mates. We can see whats staring us in the face and dont need anyone to tell us other wise. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I really do wish that DJ would stop trying to talk up his under perfotming mates. We can see whats staring us in the face and dont need anyone to tell us other wise. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Barca haven't had a big guy up front for a while either. I despair at the Scottish mentality - it couldn't be more crystal clear that we need to be getting duds like McCulloch out of the team and building for the future by playing the likes of Gallagher. DJ is a dinosaur. Having a striker with physical presence can be a huge asset but Scottish football gets it back to front, hence why our game is a joke. Edited May 1, 2015 by Ser Barristan Selmy 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,322 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 We've got Hardie, Clark and Miller, though the latter two are very much the same type of roving-all-over-the-place strikers. Hardie is more direct and should play no matter what, Gallagher probably remains outside the radar right now. Given that McCulloch is less mobile and sure a presence, you would expect him to stay up front and in or close to the area, which would be "a bonus". We haven't seen him up front for ages though, nearly two years now. 10 mins against Falkirk is sure no indication how he would perform away from home and at Tynecastle. Generally, I'd rather use Mohsni up there than McCulloch. More presence, can play football, is IMHO a greater threat in the opposition box and a better target man than any of the rest. I do asume that McCall will go 5-4-1 or 5-3-3 at Tynecastle though, and McCulloch retaining his place with McGregor to his right and Zaliukas to the left. It worked before. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTP 0 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I called this months ago, the fact of the matter is you can compare to Barcelona if you wish but Jig WILL PLAY if fit. I asked the question where would you rather he played, Centre Half or Centre Forward? CF for me, the further he is away from CH the better. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgacus 8 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm always a bit bemused as to why anyone would pay attention to anything DJ says...he doesn't come across as very knowledgeable. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,192 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Shoe-horning under-performing players into various positions won't boost anything in a team already struggling tactically. What's wrong with dropping people who aren't playing well and increasing genuine competition for places? Edited May 1, 2015 by Frankie 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,322 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) ... all fine and well, if you actually have "competition". At this moment and time we either only have "options" of a similar standard of the dropped, or youngsters. I doubt that anyone of us expects McCall using youngsters during the run-in. We sure need to keep Hearts occupied, preferably in their own half, hence a system that switches between 4-3-3 and 4-5-1 might be the order of the day. McCulloch will not be dropped or used in attack. Thus ... Bell McGregor - McCulloch - Zaliukas - Wallace Law - Murdoch - Vuckic Miller - Hardie - Shiels ... with Miller and Shiels in a free role. It will switch to Bell McGregor - McCulloch - Zaliukas - Wallace Murdoch Law - Miller - Shiels - Vuckic Hardie Law, Miller and Shiels are all fast and competitive enough to track back and start defending from the front, as they have done in the past. Even Hardie did that against Falkirk. It is all about people marking their asigned players once we lose the ball. Edited May 1, 2015 by der Berliner 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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