Rangers v Bury

[trublusince1982 243]

Really enjoyed that tonight. Loads of positives all round. Special mention has to be made of Middleton, absolutely outstanding prospect.

[compo 6,165]

These games are all about getting the team playing to the managers way of playing , and for the first time in many a day we can really look forward to the challa6ahead , well done the team and the magnificent fans who turned out .

[Rousseau 9,399]

When you're enjoying the rout then Hodson and Halliday come on...

 

[Rousseau 9,399]

8 hours ago, Gonzo79 said:

I heard Windass was crap.  Even SG can't spur this chancer on - get rid.  

 

8 hours ago, cooponthewing said:

Yup! My niece and I commented when he was subbed that we had forgotten he was playing. Anonymous and done very little except jog.

Away you go!

 

He was good! He was cutting off passing lanes, he was running in behind to stretch, he got stuck into a couple of 'tackles', he set up a couple of chances, and was unlucky not to score with a couple of nice shots. 

 

People are really just seeing what they want to see now.

 

If SG has Windass as a key player -- and we still don't know, to be fair, as it's perhaps too early --, the 4th manger on the trot to do so, there must be something there. 

[Rousseau 9,399]

I was pleased with the structure: the distances in between the players was narrower, from Morelos to the CBs, which helps shore things up and helps pressing. 

 

I'd need to watch it again, but I think there were some nice pressing traps. We weren't just high-pressing at the CBs, we were funnelling the ball into the centre where our superior numbers could press hard. Windass and Murphy cut off the passes wide, forcing them central, and then McCrorie et al., pressed hard and aggressively. 

 

I was intrigued to see Candeias as a RCM and then WIndass at Right-wing. It aids fluidity, and they did switch positions a lot. It also means we can overload certain areas whenever we need to, with Windass, Tav and Candeias on the right, and Murphy, Arfield -- who made some delightful ghosting runs into the half-space -- and Flanagan on the left. 

 

Flanagan looks composed. 

 

McCorie, Goldson and Katic looked good -- although it seemed McCrorie was on a one-man mission to wreck the pitch! They defended first, then tried to pass out; they can all pass.

 

 I liked seeing Arfield directing McCrorie; he was pointing where he had to run when Arfield dropped into the DM slot.  

[Rousseau 9,399]

Middleton did very well -- surely he gets game-time this season?

 

I liked Rudden too: always attacking the front post. 

[ian1964 10,428]

 

[Gaffer 1,665]

10 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

 

Away you go!

 

He was good! He was cutting off passing lanes, he was running in behind to stretch, he got stuck into a couple of 'tackles', he set up a couple of chances, and was unlucky not to score with a couple of nice shots. 

 

People are really just seeing what they want to see now.

 

If SG has Windass as a key player -- and we still don't know, to be fair, as it's perhaps too early --, the 4th manger on the trot to do so, there must be something there. 

I agree with you Rousseau that he played quite well, so I can't work out why I just don't like him in the team.  He does do a lot of good things, but what I find happens with me is that I'll be enjoying watching the game and then Windass will get on the ball and I think "oh yeah, Windass, I forgot he was playing".  I see Coop mentioned a similar thing in his post.  This feeling happens in most games so I don't know if there's a sub conscious reason in my mind for him not standing out, but he just doesn't.  Even in games where he scores, I get to the end of the game and find myself being critical of him.  Maybe it's my perception of the level of effort he puts in, or maybe it's because he goes missing for a few minutes at a time.  I honestly don't know, but either way there's something that needs to be sorted out if he's to be a successful Rangers player.  He has lots of excellent attributes so I'd like him to turn it around, but I suspect he's off anyway.

 

As for the game in general last night, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  In terms of doing the basics required of a Rangers player, I was very impressed.  They worked hard, challenged for every ball and never gave the opposition any peace for the entire game.  As fans we love to see that.  Even our journeymen players look more effective when they apply that level of effort on a game.  It reminded me of Scott Nisbett who was a fans' favourite, simply because of the effort he gave every time he played.

 

I was pleased to see Tav retaining the captaincy.  I think he's grown into the role and appears to be well liked and respected by his team mates.  He's also one of our most consistent performers so it makes sense.  I also like him when he speaks at press conferences.  That's important for me.  If it was about pure entertainment, I'd have kept Cummings and given him the media relations role, but since we have a classy image to uphold, Tav is ideal.

 

The defence as a whole looks solid, although we won't be able to assess that properly until next week.  I don't yet understand how we are set up to handle counters, or how the full backs decide when to overlap, but the players seemed to know where and when they needed to be in certain positions, and this was the same all over the pitch.  SG can't have drilled that in such a short space of time so I'm assuming he's kept it relatively simple for them and allowed the players to decide much of it.  Either way it was working.

 

5 key things for me from last night's game:

 

-  Morelos looked sharp, fit, hungry to score, and HAPPY

-  Middleton looks like he has a chance to break into the first team this season

-  The two centre backs are aggressive, quick, strong, and can play football

-  We didn't look like conceding

-  We looked like we could score every time we went up the park

 

We now need a really competitive game to see who is in his first eleven, and to see if we can take this form into real games.  The signs are good, but given what's happened in previous seasons I'm keeping my powder dry until I see how we perform over the next couple of weeks.  Let's go.

[Rousseau 9,399]

7 minutes ago, Gaffer said:

I agree with you Rousseau that he played quite well, so I can't work out why I just don't like him in the team.  He does do a lot of good things, but what I find happens with me is that I'll be enjoying watching the game and then Windass will get on the ball and I think "oh yeah, Windass, I forgot he was playing".  I see Coop mentioned a similar thing in his post.  This feeling happens in most games so I don't know if there's a sub conscious reason in my mind for him not standing out, but he just doesn't.  Even in games where he scores, I get to the end of the game and find myself being critical of him.  Maybe it's my perception of the level of effort he puts in, or maybe it's because he goes missing for a few minutes at a time.  I honestly don't know, but either way there's something that needs to be sorted out if he's to be a successful Rangers player.  He has lots of excellent attributes so I'd like him to turn it around, but I suspect he's off anyway.

At least you can be objective about it. Even the RangersTV commentators mentioned how much running he did to create space -- I've never heard that before. 

 

Quote

As for the game in general last night, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  In terms of doing the basics required of a Rangers player, I was very impressed.  They worked hard, challenged for every ball and never gave the opposition any peace for the entire game.  As fans we love to see that.  Even our journeymen players look more effective when they apply that level of effort on a game.  It reminded me of Scott Nisbett who was a fans' favourite, simply because of the effort he gave every time he played.

 

I was pleased to see Tav retaining the captaincy.  I think he's grown into the role and appears to be well liked and respected by his team mates.  He's also one of our most consistent performers so it makes sense.  I also like him when he speaks at press conferences.  That's important for me.  If it was about pure entertainment, I'd have kept Cummings and given him the media relations role, but since we have a classy image to uphold, Tav is ideal.

 

The defence as a whole looks solid, although we won't be able to assess that properly until next week.  I don't yet understand how we are set up to handle counters, or how the full backs decide when to overlap, but the players seemed to know where and when they needed to be in certain positions, and this was the same all over the pitch.  SG can't have drilled that in such a short space of time so I'm assuming he's kept it relatively simple for them and allowed the players to decide much of it.  Either way it was working.

 

5 key things for me from last night's game:

 

-  Morelos looked sharp, fit, hungry to score, and HAPPY

-  Middleton looks like he has a chance to break into the first team this season

-  The two centre backs are aggressive, quick, strong, and can play football

-  We didn't look like conceding

-  We looked like we could score every time we went up the park

 

We now need a really competitive game to see who is in his first eleven, and to see if we can take this form into real games.  The signs are good, but given what's happened in previous seasons I'm keeping my powder dry until I see how we perform over the next couple of weeks.  Let's go.

I actually thought Tavernier was anonymous last night, but I am content to see him named Captain; he is a solid performer. 

 

I thought there were pressing traps, because we weren't full, gung-ho press; it was more intelligent. We either enticed them into the middle where McCrorie et al pressed hard, or pinned them against the touchline. The CBs stepped out too to stop balls forward, which was pleasing. 

 

I noticed we dropped off at times too when they beat our press, albeit rarely, which was also pleasing. We didn't look troubled as we set up in a low block, which we'll need this season at times. Of course, it was just Bury. 

 

Bring on the first competitive game!

[der Berliner 3,263]

Fan video about the team entering and the minute's silence