Pedro, a man with dignity. Rangers v Dundee preview.

[ian1964 10,416]

He's going to be judged on league position. If we keep blowing away the lesser lights while others struggle to consistently take full points as I suspect they will we will have a minimum second place finish and at this stage I expect that's what's being asked of him.

 

We lost 11 out of 12 points to them last season but it was the failure to consistently beat the likes of Ross County that sunk us in the end.

 

Sensible fans will see that, however sensible fans are few and far between!, there will be masses wanting him out if we get another hammering from them!

[Waltersgotstyle 297]

Funny!, my doubts about PC were cast after the double header/hammering we took from them, rightly or wrongly, I just couldn't believe how weak we were in the second match!, it seemed to me at the time he learned nothing from the 1st match against them!.

 

I still have my reservations about whether PC will last in the job!, however he has my support and things are improving, but if we get another hammering from them I wonder what reaction we will see from the fans?

 

The difference is now we have a team full of players the manager has signed.

 

I for one cannot see players such as Alves, Dorrans, Jack, Candieas and Morelos letting celtic dominate the game in the manner they did last season. (optimistic loyal)

[ian1964 10,416]

The difference is now we have a team full of players the manager has signed.

 

I for one cannot see players such as Alves, Dorrans, Jack, Candieas and Morelos letting celtic dominate the game in the manner they did last season. (optimistic loyal)

 

Murty did ok against them with a team of players he didn't sign!, I am as optimistic as you mate and support him, also we have improved, but the fact is a lot of fans will not accept another hammering from them!, and that's a fact.

[JFK-1 1,674]

Sensible fans will see that, however sensible fans are few and far between!, there will be masses wanting him out if we get another hammering from them!

 

Agree with your thoughts on that but think his position is more dependent on what the board expect and I imagine they expect a minimum second place finish this season. After two straight victories and 7 goals scored hopefully they're getting it together and building a head of steam but it's going to take more than two games to convince me of that.

 

The upcoming Partick game could be a tricky one as the yahoos recently discovered. If we come away from that with another convincing win my confidence will be increasing exponentially.

[Tannochsidebear 2,314]

I enjoyed the match on Saturday. Good goals, some good play, some players having good games and showing improved form and fitness.

 

Yes, of course there were plenty of negatives, from the selection to the subs to the slow tempo at times, and some poor performances, you know who especially, but if the Ross ounty game was an improvement on what had come before, this was another improvement on that.

 

In saying that, Dundee were as bad as County, and we now have a double header against another struggler to try to get another couple of wins and some more goals under our belts before the big one in a fortnight. Anything less than two wins and we will have let ourselves down again, but lets stay positive and go into the OF game on the back of a 4 game winning run.

 

Morelos looks really good. Candieas has improved with every game, Jack is solid if unspectacular, Bruno is far too good for this level, and even Pena is starting to come onto a game and both him and Herrera need to be starting games now.

 

Miller is struggling even by the low standards I judge him by, and even his most staunch defenders now concede he is done and should not be starting games. Cardoso still looks like Kiernan with a tan and needs to improve his concentration and decision making.

 

The one i'm struggling with is Dorrans. I know this guy is a good player, and I was delighted when he signed. Given I have missed a few games this season, did he just have a bad game on Saturday or is that what he does every week? I fail to see why we need both Jack and Dorrans both holding such a deep line against an opponent who didnt threaten. I was expecting Dorrans to be 10-15 yards further upfield, linking play between midfield & strikers, not defence & midfield. It is only when you see the game live (not on tv) that you can see the positioning off the ball etc so I was watching him quite closely on Saturday and expected more. What do you guys think?

[craig 5,198]

I enjoyed the match on Saturday. Good goals, some good play, some players having good games and showing improved form and fitness.

 

Yes, of course there were plenty of negatives, from the selection to the subs to the slow tempo at times, and some poor performances, you know who especially, but if the Ross ounty game was an improvement on what had come before, this was another improvement on that.

 

In saying that, Dundee were as bad as County, and we now have a double header against another struggler to try to get another couple of wins and some more goals under our belts before the big one in a fortnight. Anything less than two wins and we will have let ourselves down again, but lets stay positive and go into the OF game on the back of a 4 game winning run.

 

Morelos looks really good. Candieas has improved with every game, Jack is solid if unspectacular, Bruno is far too good for this level, and even Pena is starting to come onto a game and both him and Herrera need to be starting games now.

 

Miller is struggling even by the low standards I judge him by, and even his most staunch defenders now concede he is done and should not be starting games. Cardoso still looks like Kiernan with a tan and needs to improve his concentration and decision making.

 

The one i'm struggling with is Dorrans. I know this guy is a good player, and I was delighted when he signed. Given I have missed a few games this season, did he just have a bad game on Saturday or is that what he does every week? I fail to see why we need both Jack and Dorrans both holding such a deep line against an opponent who didnt threaten. I was expecting Dorrans to be 10-15 yards further upfield, linking play between midfield & strikers, not defence & midfield. It is only when you see the game live (not on tv) that you can see the positioning off the ball etc so I was watching him quite closely on Saturday and expected more. What do you guys think?

 

I've been underwhelmed by Dorrans in all honesty. But will allow him the usual time to settle. I don't think it suits us having both him AND Jack in that holding role. I think Dorrans needs to be further forward, effectively a diamond in the centre. In fact, if we are playing 2 holding midfielders, given Dorrans form right now, I would put Rossiter in there. It is surprising that of the two, Jack is the one we consider undroppable and not Dorrans.

 

I watched some of Morelos goals last night in a vignette and what was more surprising to me than his goals.... was just how many came from work by Candeias. Candeais looks like an absolute steal for us. His link-up play with Tavernier looks good, he is pacy, he is tricky, he is a workhorse, and, most importantly, the quality and speed at which he throws balls in the box is something we have been missing for years - and Morelos is the willing recipient. For the first time in a long time we actually have a winger who can deliver a quality ball.

 

I know many were disappointed we let McKay go - but I don't think it can be denied that even in this very short space of time, Candeias has been more effective for us at the start of this season than McKay was for the whole of last season. That said.... If possible, I would still have preferred to have kept McKay rather than the invisible Dalcio who seems surplus to requirements already. Windass is doing a decent job on the left though and, on Saturday, his introduction saw our tempo increase too.

 

We are clearly nowhere near the finished article... but we most definitely have improved from last season, IMHO. And we are actually starting to see the seeds of what Pedro expects from them. Whilst I still expect us to be beaten in the OF game (they ARE miles ahead of us financially and in squad strength) I do expect us to give a much better account of ourselves than we did last season.

 

And yes, Miller is, sadly, done - he is contributing very little other than willing effort. If we could get Pena fit he could fill that role because he is comfortable dropping, collecting, beating a player and progressing play forwards with good movement off the ball. Defenders wouldn't know what to do with him. Until he gets enough minutes to be match fit... Herrera should be given his chance

Edited September 13, 2017 by craig

[MacK1950 2,231]

I too have doubts about Dorrans but hope he moves forward and proves why we bought him.Jack has been a good signing and does not have to spectacular to prove it and also has good experience V the mhanks.

On the whole the team is improving and also adding value to themselves especially Morelos but it's funny how Dumbelly was getting lauded by the mhedia and nothing said how Morelos has progressed.

[Frankie 8,150]

I thought Dorrans was average in the first half but excellent in the second (or rather for the final 40mins given the slow start the team made to the second period).

 

He does make plenty forward runs actually but we don't always get the ball to him. Whether that's down to the quality of his run or the inability of others to make the pass (quickly or accurately) I'm not sure but he doesn't just sit deep like some suggest. In the first half Miller and Kranjcar both struggled to play the ball quickly and accurately.

 

It's worth mentioning that as much as the work he and especially Jack does may not seem spectacular it does give the rest of the team the platform to perform and the full backs, in particular, to get forward. As such, it's not as defensive a strategy as it may seem.

[craig 5,198]

I thought Dorrans was average in the first half but excellent in the second (or rather for the final 40mins given the slow start the team made to the second period).

 

He does make plenty forward runs actually but we don't always get the ball to him. Whether that's down to the quality of his run or the inability of others to make the pass (quickly or accurately) I'm not sure but he doesn't just sit deep like some suggest. In the first half Miller and Kranjcar both struggled to play the ball quickly and accurately.

 

It's worth mentioning that as much as the work he and especially Jack does may not seem spectacular it does give the rest of the team the platform to perform and the full backs, in particular, to get forward. As such, it's not as defensive a strategy as it may seem.

 

I agree with this. But it also shouldn't go unnoticed that much of the reason Tavernier feels more at liberty to get forward this season (like his season in the Championship) is that he knows he can trust Candeais to help with the defensive side of the game. Our right hand side seems much strengthened this season. We are more exposed on the other side with Windass and/or Kranjcar not offering as much support as Candeias does.

 

And I love the fact that Candeias, when we were at 3 or 4-0, played a cross in which he never got his foot around and put it in row Z... lands on his arse... and proceeded to punch the pitch in frustration because of a poor cross... even though the game was already won. Striving for perfection, that is what we want and need.

 

I'm quickly becoming a Candeias fan boy.

[Frankie 8,150]

Definitely mate but Jack and Dorrans cover the flanks more than Candeias and Windass/Kranjcar do.

 

I don't think Niko at left mid works at all well. We were more dangerous in the second half because Windass was able to shuttle back more effectively which meant that Dorrans and/or Jack didn't need to move out wide as much, allowing us to dominate centrally. This made all the difference in terms of being able to press higher and win the ball back quicker.

 

Candeias has been a real find. I'd still consider him a winger but he fits our system so well because he's prepared to do the dirty work as well as the creative stuff. He's just as likely to win an important 50/50 as create a chance and that's important with four midfielders up against five so often.