St Mirren 2 - 2 Rangers (Miller 54; Holt 88)

[Frankie 8,145]

Sorry Frankie there has to be an end product or productive meaning to a players role. I don't see in this day and age a place in a top team for a player who just strolls about the midfield looking good. Look who is going to be Champions in England. Is there 1 player who just strolls about. Barry Ferguson played the same role roughly but Barry had a deciding pass or even made a run from midfield. Zelalem does make runs forward but we are sometimes possibly over indulged in the tippy tappy at times that the ball is played square instead of looking for the decisive pass. I love the way we play but i think it is sometimes too exaggerated. As for busting a gut to get back to defend, forget it.

I cannot believe I am talking good of Barry Ferguson, I must be getting soft.

 

You're the missing the point. Zelalem's role is to maintain possession and bring others into the game. And he largely does a good, productive job of that without the perceived 'glamorous' outcome of a goal or clear-cut chance though he has created eight goals this season which isn't bad from the starts he's had.

 

That doesn't mean he's above criticism or shouldn't be looking to improve other aspects of his play (and I continually acknowledge that) but it does mean we also have to understand what his role is. Rousseau's article captures that perfectly and explains what he's there to do.

 

Does that mean he's a luxury player? Yes, I'd say so in certain situations but, in others, such as against Celtic the other week he's actually very useful and may show up better in so-called tougher games where we need to be more patient in our build up. As it stands, I agree he can occasionally slow the game down too much when we need to try and attack/counter quickly but there's also the argument that such a player is needed when teams park the bus so we can recycle the ball in tight spaces whilst allowing others (such as Holt, Halliday et al) to make the forward runs.

 

In that sense, Zelalem is as capable as anyone in continually showing for the ball and being able to take it in and restart the attack from a different angle. He's considered lightweight but, for the most part, he shields the ball well and doesn't usually lose it. Again, as was the case with Ferguson, he's not there to make strong tackles and use his pace.

[Tannochsidebear 2,306]

I'm not a huge fan of Zelalem but IMO he has been our best midfielder since having a good game in the OF game. That may be because the others have switched off, but he hasnt and has looked to push forward and shoot more than he done in the whole of the season up to now. Hopefully the coaching he is getting is getting through to him and he is working hard on his game to improve the things that need it. It wont happen overnight but you can see changes in his game already. Good luck to the lad.

 

Miller was abysmal again yesterday (was far from the only one!), but he showed great desire to get to the ball for his goal when the defender was clearly favourite for it. I liked that!

[craig 5,195]

I'm not a huge fan of Zelalem but IMO he has been our best midfielder since having a good game in the OF game. That may be because the others have switched off, but he hasnt and has looked to push forward and shoot more than he done in the whole of the season up to now. Hopefully the coaching he is getting is getting through to him and he is working hard on his game to improve the things that need it. It wont happen overnight but you can see changes in his game already. Good luck to the lad.

 

Miller was abysmal again yesterday (was far from the only one!), but he showed great desire to get to the ball for his goal when the defender was clearly favourite for it. I liked that!

 

This.

 

Zelalem was comfortably our best midfielder in the 1st half on Saturday, constantly showing for the ball, creating angles, looking to make passes and his movement was also very good too. A couple of times he showed why he is rated highly too - the turn he made to open up shooting space was so calm in a tight space but the inside chop he made to turn a defender inside out about 25 yards out was sublime.

 

IMHO, other than McKay who is playing as a winger, I thought that Zelalem was, 1st half at least, our most creative outlet. But he also worked hard too.

 

Agreed Re Miller too. His 1st touch was awful, but his desire to get on the end of that cross was pleasing to see. You know you will get a shift from him if nothing else.