Bill Leckie - Rangers and Pedro Caixinha need a reality check

[scotjo 19]

Rangers and Pedro Caixinha need a reality check if they get carried away with win against Ross County, says Bill Leckie.

 

Gers are still a long way from where they need to be with a disjointed bunch of players left from the Mark Warburton era.

 

WE’RE all entitled to a senior moment now and again.

 

That brainfart feeling when we’re standing in the middle of a room, but can’t remember what the hell we went in there for.

 

For most of us, though, that’s all it is — a few seconds of standing there, feeling daft, with no one else any the wiser.

 

Not so poor Scott Fox. Because when ​HIS​ head froze, it was in his own box, in the middle of a crowded stadium, with 2,000 Rangers fans right behind him, live on TV.

 

An inexplicable blackout when dogs stopped barking at caravans and howled: “Keeper, man oooooonnnnn!”

 

Too late, though, came the cry.

 

In nips Alfredo Morelos, the empty net rustles and the Fox in a fix in his box is the loneliest man on the planet.

 

If he lives to be 100, he still won’t be able to explain why, having chased down a wonky passback and Cruyff-turned Morelos, he then took a breath, looked up the park for a target to boot the ball to.

 

And completely forgot the striker was behind him.

 

The only other goal like it I could recall in recent times was the one when Shay Given of Newcastle rolled the ball ahead of himself and Dion Dublin tip-toed in to steal it.

 

But at least in that instance, Dublin had been off the pitch and Given probably thought he wouldn’t be allowed back on.

 

Here, Fox simply went to sleep and committed the blunder to end all blunders on an afternoon that was littered with them — yet an afternoon when, had so many involved not been so fallible, might have turned into the dullest 90 minutes since the last World Paint-Drying Championships.

 

Ross County manager Jim McIntyre got it wrong from the off, sitting too deep, paying Rangers way too much respect and offering not an ounce of threat.

 

It was an error he seemed to admit by making his first change ten minutes before the break, by which time they were already a goal down.

 

Pedro Caixinha got it wrong when he left Niko Kranjcar out there even though he was so clearly towing a caravan, an error that could have proved costly after the Croatian got caught in possession to set County galloping forward for the goal that got them back in at 2-1.

 

As for ref Craig Thomson, he got two big calls wrong — first when he only booked home skipper Andrew Davies for leading with the elbow in a first-half aerial challenge against Kenny Miller; then when he let James Tavernier away with bundling Thomas Mikkelsen as he barrelled his way into the box soon after the break.

 

It was that kind of day in Dingwall — one dotted with precious little quality but liberally smeared with clumsiness and poor decision-making.

 

Still, as far as Caixinha was concerned, the quality was in the result and he can be happy and relieved in equal measure that his team ground it out.

 

But let’s be honest here, folks.

 

For long spells, they were once again about as convincing as Steve McClaren’s Dutch accent, a disjointed gaggle of survivors from the Mark Warburton era and unproven summer imports.

 

Morelos took his first goal well and was on the spot to cash in for his second, which is what he’s there for.

 

Daniel Candeias had some neat touches, Eduardo Herrera neatly tucked in the clinching third goal, and Graham Dorrans and Ryan Jack are reliable in midfield.

 

But Kranjcar looks as unhappy as he has done, the lesser-spotted Carlos Pena came on and puffed his way around the park at half-pace, while centre-back Fabio Cardoso doesn’t ​appear to be someone you’d want beside you when the shots and shells are flying.

 

Makes you wonder what someone with the presence and ability of Bruno Alves thinks as he comes to terms with his new life in a new county.

 

Now, I don’t know whether, at going on 36, he thought he was coming here for a pension and an easy life.

 

All in all, they are still a mile short of being where they want to be.

 

But, if so, the first few weeks of the season have surely proved otherwise.

 

And on the evidence of three weekends — which have thrown up a home defeat to Hibs, an iffy 0-0 with Hearts and now an away win made so much easier by a goalie’s nightmare — he might ​well have to be ​the barrier between a Rangers team in constant transition and yet another doing at the hands of their great rivals from across the city in a few weeks’ time.

 

You know, unless the caravan gets fitted with a turbo-charged engine before then…

What is the Dipstick on about, getting carried away? Also it's a given we'll get a doing is it? In his dreams.

Edited August 30, 2017 by scotjo

[JFK-1 1,693]

Yes, but to counter that, Aberdeen shouldn't need a "reality check" against Ross County. You yourself continually talk about Aberdeen being "put back in their rightful place" - if they are that much poorer than us it means they are that much closer to Ross County - therefore a "hard fought win" for them against Ross County is acceptable and no reason to check themselves.

 

You can't really have it both ways JFK.

 

If you want to make the comparison - either Aberdeen are at our level and should also have had a "reality check" despite winning. Or... they didn't need the reality check because Ross County are their level.

 

The sheep aren't at our level in my view but they are in the view of the press and apparently big Eck so why don't they need this reality check? Why is scraping a 2-1 win away at County a good result for them but a 3-1 win for us isn't so impressive?

 

I haven't even seen the sheep this term but if they're no better than last time out we're a superior footballing outfit because we totally outplayed them more than once last season and we are better this time out.

[craig 5,199]

The sheep aren't at our level in my view but they are in the view of the press and apparently big Eck so why don't they need this reality check? Why is scraping a 2-1 win away at County a good result for them but a 3-1 win for us isn't so impressive?

 

I haven't even seen the sheep this term but if they're no better than last time out we're a superior footballing outfit because we totally outplayed them more than once last season and we are better this time out.

 

Fair point about press perceptions.

 

I haven't seen them, but the press seem to think they are a better team this time out. Time will tell if we are better than them. Just remember you waxing lyrical about how we would finish above them and, ultimately, having to use statistical jiggery pokery to justify them not being better than us

[JFK-1 1,693]

Fair point about press perceptions.

 

I haven't seen them, but the press seem to think they are a better team this time out. Time will tell if we are better than them. Just remember you waxing lyrical about how we would finish above them and, ultimately, having to use statistical jiggery pokery to justify them not being better than us

 

Everybody from the press to opposition managers do this to us. County manager after their game with the sheep when they could have stole a point in the dying seconds.

 

"Aberdeen are a top side. You need to defend well when you come up against good teams and I felt we did that. In the main the boys gave it everything they had, they just didn't have the bit of extra quality."

 

Just didn't have the extra bit of quality but against us there is no mention of Rangers being a top side it's nothing but County were just crap on the day. No consideration for the fact that a vastly superior side will make you look crap. He said post match.

 

"I described our first-half performance against Motherwell last week as one of our best in my time here, that's probably the worst," he added.

 

Just lacking that bit of quality against a sheep side they almost took a draw from but against a Rangers side who had been running them ragged they're just having a bad day.

[craig 5,199]

I'm not fussed what our opponent's manager says about us, so long as he is talking about his own team having lost the game

[ranger_syntax 4,274]

The sheep aren't at our level in my view

 

We have yet to demonstrate that we are better than them. A match here and there doesn't count for much. Our points total does.

[YoungDavy 35]

Celtc and the sheep would be quite happy with a disjointed 1-3 win at Dingwall as it can be a difficult place...this is an amaturish peice of writing

[Gonzo79 15,236]

We have to finish above Aberdeen and challenge Celtic. If we do that, then who cares what some nonentity 'journalist', McLeish or the Ross County manager have to say.