match thread (image) [FT] Livingston 1 - 0 Rangers

[buster. 4,808]

58 minutes ago, Whosthedado said:

Embarrasses me to say this but after today I am terrified of playing them. I would actually play a weakened team on Thursday and concentrate all this weeks efforts on Sunday. Yes that's how much today has deflated me

First stop is to see how we react on Thursday, it'll be interesting to see how SG plays it.

Hearts will have to be parked for the time being. I'd agree that the Hearts game is priority but come Thursday, a big crowd under floodlights should lift whatever team is played and I reckon it'll be pretty much the strongest available given that after the Hearts game it's another International break.

 

 

I reckon Livingston will probably take points from everyone at home, it's just a pity they had Miller in charge, away at the Brendenbeu first game of the season because the current way Celtic are playing, they ain't scoring at Livingston either.

 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2018 by buster.

[pete 2,499]

1 hour ago, ian1964 said:

Never seen the match today, terrible result! wont bother watching the highlights as by the posts on here we were GASH!

If You watch the highlights Ian it will be all Livingston with one Rangers chance.

[ian1964 10,411]

47 minutes ago, pete said:

If You watch the highlights Ian it will be all Livingston with one Rangers chance.

Aye! dont think I will bother!

[ian1964 10,411]

18 matches played, 2 lost, 7 drawn, 9 wins, 33 goals scored, 13 goals against, and we are 2 pts behind the scum.

At the start of the season we didnt know what to expect! but we knew we would have some bad results for sure.

A long season ahead yet with lots of twists and turns for this new team.

[DMAA 3,603]

9 hours ago, BlackSocksRedTops said:

I don't think him coming in from wide areas helps tbh. For me it's Laff or Morelos up top. I just can't see them working together

100%. I’m disappointed in the management for not realising they are two number 9s. Either go 4-4-2 or player a winger instead. 

Edited October 1, 2018 by DMAA

[Rousseau 9,369]

I find it funny that last season the constant refrain was 'play two up top', and this season it's 'play one or the other, two doesn't work, a blind man can see it'.  

 

We knew Livingston were going to defend deep in a compact 4-4-2, so playing two forwards, even a wide forward, was a logical thing to do. 

 

For me, it was the combinations between the midfield-three and Candeias and Lafferty that was the main reason we didn't create anything. SG plays with narrow wingers -- it's worked wonderfully this season -- so our width comes from our Full-backs. It requires Lafferty and Candeias (the narrow wingers yesterday) to find space; they were just anonymous, and didn't move at all. Our midfield couldn't find them. 

 

SG then changes it to bring on Kent into the middle to drive and create the space by beating a man. And then with Middleton later on we went that same way but with more traditional wing play. Neither Middleton or Candeias did anything. 

 

There's a lot of criticism about "tinkering", but I don't think that's an issue. There were 4 changes from the St Johnstone game; One seemed tactical (Worral for Katic), two were reverting to first-choice (Ejaria/McCrorie & Barasic/Flanagan), with the Lafferty and Kent change also tactical. Two were actually strengthening our team, and the other two were logical tactical moves. 

[buster. 4,808]

We are a team still in transition.

An almost brand new squad with an inexperienced manager, who has shown signs of being a natural to the dug-out.

We were always going to suffer teething problems and blips.

Only one team in Scotland haven't been inconsistent this season and they aren't in Europe.

 

Generally, we get too high when the good results come and too low when they go the other way.

 

Breath.............., 

[pete 2,499]

52 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

I find it funny that last season the constant refrain was 'play two up top', and this season it's 'play one or the other, two doesn't work, a blind man can see it'.  

 

We knew Livingston were going to defend deep in a compact 4-4-2, so playing two forwards, even a wide forward, was a logical thing to do. 

 

For me, it was the combinations between the midfield-three and Candeias and Lafferty that was the main reason we didn't create anything. SG plays with narrow wingers -- it's worked wonderfully this season -- so our width comes from our Full-backs. It requires Lafferty and Candeias (the narrow wingers yesterday) to find space; they were just anonymous, and didn't move at all. Our midfield couldn't find them. 

 

SG then changes it to bring on Kent into the middle to drive and create the space by beating a man. And then with Middleton later on we went that same way but with more traditional wing play. Neither Middleton or Candeias did anything. 

 

There's a lot of criticism about "tinkering", but I don't think that's an issue. There were 4 changes from the St Johnstone game; One seemed tactical (Worral for Katic), two were reverting to first-choice (Ejaria/McCrorie & Barasic/Flanagan), with the Lafferty and Kent change also tactical. Two were actually strengthening our team, and the other two were logical tactical moves. 

Middleton and Barisic seemed to get in each others way and for some reason Candeias also seemed to drift over to the left which meant a good few times we had the three of them in a line on the left touchline about 3 yards apart. We had just lost all shape.

[der Berliner 3,245]

My main point of bother that both Coulibaly and Arfield did hardly anything in midfield. They were probably asked to do the defensive MF shift, but since Livvy did nothing but press and defend doggedly, they should have been more active in the creative department. Likewise, Ejaria tired visibly from the 70th min. onwards, at last creatively. And here we are probably at the crux of the matter. I for one wouldn't trust on Ejaria's ability to carry the creative spark every week and for the whole of 90 mins. We never made a 3rd substitution, when Grezda or Dorrans might have provided some spark in attacking midfield.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I'd thrown on Halliday, made him the left part of a back three and Coulibaly as DM, the rest would have been ordered to press hard or find spaces.

 

I would assume Lafferty got a knock, else he would have stayed on, Grezda and Kent would have been added.

 

 

Thomson ... obviously doesn't think Morelos can be fouled and waves away 4 out of 5 fouls on him. Then hands Livvy a free-kick for virtually nothing. Second half, he calls a handball on Worrall, who has his hands in front of him and the ball bounces off him from half shot a yard away. Then, he ignores the shove on Middleton (he likes football as a man's game, this Thomson lad) and a few secs later ignores the Livvy handball under the very same circumstances as he gave against Worrall.

You don't want to blame a loss on a ref, but how often have we suffered from their inability over the last few seasons. And the sad thing is, there is hardly any hope that it will improve. But how can you prepare a game on a level playing field when you are up against effectively 12 men every other Saturday?

[der Berliner 3,245]

Well, with Candeias, Kent, Ejaria and Morelos on, we had forwards all able (and probably asked) to interchange positions. Most likely way to unnerve and unsettle a defence aimed at marking certain players. Alas, Livvy stood firm. They essentially did what we did to Ufa, so credit to them.

 

Likewise, as opposed to last season, when players interchange this time, others take up their slots.

 

In any case, quite a few of our lads are new to this tactic and the earlier we see and have to fight it, the better. Livvy beat Hibs at home and held Hearts to a 0-0 draw in Jamboland last week. Probably the in-form side of late.

Edited October 1, 2018 by der Berliner