pete 2,499 Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 (edited) With santa slowly making his way from the North Pole with his bags full of presents, last weeks poor performance must have left St Johnstone feeling that Christmas had come early. The fighting spirit we saw against Aberdeen and Hibs in the games before turned into another lethargic Ibrox display against a team that had been struggling to even think about a draw never mind winning. Teams must now be beginning to think “It is okay boys we have Rangers at Ibrox that is a confidence booster.” Lets not cross words, St Johnstone thoroughly deserved their win. If this happens once then you can say it was a fluke but when it happens time and time again then you have to think it is a chronic problem. Personally I believe our interim manager got his tactics completely wrong. He had found an inventive way to beat teams in playing a diamond shape in the midfield. Never change a winning team is the old adage. Murty chose to return to a system that has not worked all season Playing Candeias wide right and Windass Wide left. That left Alfredo Morelos stranded on a desert island with three defensive midfielder's behind him and two wide men almost forty yards away. I find it hard to comprehend the change in system as he said himself that Josh Windass has been a revelation since moving more central. With St Johnstone having a bank of four defenders and five midfielder's sitting deep, the perfect player on the park would have been Carlos Pena who can ghost into positions others don't dare or think to go. Why was he sitting in the stands? Playing with a front three with two wide players is great if you have a Mark Hately in the middle who will win headers all day. Putting crosses in to Alfredo Morelos with three defenders around him and no one else in the box is like that smilie of hitting your head off a brick wall. Murty needs to play a different system as the 4-3-3 does not work for this Rangers team. On Saturday we travel the short distance to Kilmarnock. Kilmarnock struggled at the beginning of the season but since their new manager Steve Clarke has come in they have had a complete transformation. Until now in the month December they have taken ten points from twelve all be it teams from the bottom half of the league. That though are the points Kilmarnock really need to win to be the best of the rest and not be engulfed in any degradation fight. Well done to them but hopefully Kilmarnock's Christmas greetings will be Kilmarnock's Christmas greet'n when the Gers roll into town. I believe that Rangers should go with a back three for this one and probably for most of our games. Push our full backs who are attacking players further forward to create a midfield five and have Morelos and Windass in a front two. David Bates has been outstanding when he has come on and having that back three may also allow Danny Wilson some freedom to move into midfield when we have the ball. Lets face it the defence are not going to be chasing Kris Boyd around all afternoon. It is known that I am not a great Kris Boyd fan but I must admit he nearly won me over when giving his views as a pundit on TV after the Hearts v Celtic game where Hearts won 4-0. When the camera switched from live play to the pundits he had a grin on his face like a Cheshire cat that you couldn't have wiped away with a car polishing machine. I almost started to like him. When we play in that diamond formation there is one name that should be first on the team-sheet and that is Carlos Pena. I can understand why he was not picked for the, up for a fight, Hib's game but his showing against Aberdeen should have given him far more credit than he seemed to get from the Rangers manager. Watching him on the goal of the month video on Rangers TV, how he effortlessly stroked the ball into the corner of the net said enough for me.He will never be a workhorse or a fighter but his ability to make late runs and ghost into scoring positions will surely make him a prime candidate for a starting spot on Saturday. I hope the team will be. Foderingham, Bates Alves Wilson McCrorie Tavernier Holt John Pena Windass Morelos The old saying is: When you take the Great away from Great Britain it only leaves Britain. When you take the R away from Rangers it leaves angers. I hope this Rangers team puts in another Aberdeen performance and gives us a merry Christmas and not leave us with a stocking filled with soot. Come on Rangers! We need a Tigerrrrrr in our tank! Let's get rrrrroaring. Give us a Chrrrristmas crrrracker Merry Christmas everyone!!!! Edited December 22, 2017 by pete 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotjo 19 Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 Odd to leave Pena out and Windass on the left again. Pena can't be left out, that's why we have Jack and Holt to do the meaty stuff. I think Pena is conditioned to play the way he does and genuinely can't do the defensive stuff. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooponthewing 1,139 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Just about to leave! It is today right...........? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rousseau 9,374 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Just about to leave! It is today right...........? Yes, it's today Coop. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,247 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Quick glance ... Referee - William Collum Assistants - David Roome and Ralph Gordon Missing - Lee Wallace (groin), Jordan Rossiter (knee), Graham Dorrans (leg OP), Kenny Miller (hamstring), Ryan Jack (suspended for this game) I would assume that Murty keeps two CHs and has McCrorie and Holt in front of them. Tav (inevitably) and John will be the wingbacks, Morelos the main striker, Windass somewhere and Foderingham in goal. The rest is guesswork ... as we will have to wait and see how Murty does his "own" thing now. It will be against Killie, who have snatched 10 points from their last four games, better than the rest. It should be dry (even sunny), yet their artifical surface remains a tricky pitch for most. Thus, it will probably not that much tricky footwork required, but something direct with a little bit of punch. So the choice is between Candeias, Kranjcar, and Pena, or, indeed a second striker up top. Now, the latter would really show som intent from Murty, but we'll have to wait and see. Killie ... Meanwhile, Kilmarnock midfielder Alan Power is a doubt for the clash. Power was forced off during the win over Motherwell after taking a knock to the ankle, and Steve Clarke has rated him 50-50 after hard work during the week. Scott Boyd trained on Thursday following illness and is expected to feature, while Stuart Findlay (leg) could return, but Gordon Greer (groin), Iain Wilson (knee) and Steven Smith (back) remain out. http://www.skysports.com/football/kilmarnock-vs-rangers/preview/376514 Rangers fans will get a vis-a-vis with rumoured target Jordan Jones, Killie's left winger. The game is again Live on Austrian streaming broadcaster Laola TV, available for those outside the UK (and those with a decent internet connection may get a nice HD pic too), usually with German commentary, sometimes without any or rarely with the English one from BT or Sky. Time on that site is the German/Austrian one ... http://www.laola1.tv/de-de/livestream/2017-12-23-kilmarnock-fc-rangers-fc-lde 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,632 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 We really need a win. I'm not terribly confident though. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooponthewing 1,139 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 There is a proper Xmas vibe going on the train today ha ha! Santa hats and merriment...... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,416 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 There is a proper Xmas vibe going on the train today ha ha! Santa hats and merriment...... No doubt it will be reported as sectarian singing! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trublusince1982 243 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 if he plays the same formation as last game with candiese in sack him! joke! just a wee joke! kind of. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,416 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Foderingham; Tavernier, Bates, Wilson, Hodson; Candeias, McCrorie, Holt, John; Morelos, Windass. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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