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

[BlackSocksRedTops 3,476]

3 minutes ago, Crimson Dynamo said:

For all the mentions of Gerrard having no Plan B yesterday. I feel it needs to be taken into consideration that yesterday was probably Plan C.

 

If Morelos hadn't have been booked then he starts which is Plan A. He got booked, therefore he was suspended so Lafferty would normally be Plan B.

 

Lafferty was cup tied so Sadiq was Plan C.

 

Was Sadiq a good Plan C? Probably not, Gerrard could maybe have played Middleton through the middle or taken a punt on Grezda.

 

But I think Gerrard seems to prefer Middleton as an impact player in the last 10 - 15 mins due to his pace and directness.  He might not have the same effect if he started and I'm not sure what the story is with Grezda.

 

Our squad is paper thin and the number of games and injuries may be starting to impact the team. Hopefully come January we can add a bit more depth which we don't really have at the moment. The future is still looking extremely bright as far as I'm concerned.

All the plans you have outlined revolve around the strikers. We should be able to change the game regardless of the striking personel (including Sadiq). If we made tons of chances and Sadiq couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo you could point fingers at him but we created next to nothing. That suggests to me that the striker option is not the core problem but our failings lie in the way we are set up behind the strikers. 

[Waltersgotstyle 297]

7 minutes ago, BlackSocksRedTops said:

All the plans you have outlined revolve around the strikers. We should be able to change the game regardless of the striking personel (including Sadiq). If we made tons of chances and Sadiq couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo you could point fingers at him but we created next to nothing. That suggests to me that the striker option is not the core problem but our failings lie in the way we are set up behind the strikers. 

I think you are underestimating how many chances Morelos creates for the team. His work rate and hold up play is forever improving. 

 

We also missed the drive of Arfield in midfield. 

 

The result is frustrating as Aberdeen were rank rotten.

[pete 2,499]

7 hours ago, Unicorn said:

We seem to stuck in an a seemingly endless cycle of hire new manager, bottle big games, hire new manager, bottle big games, hire new...

 

I don't think anyone is saying Gerrard should go it is just that he needs more time and he is also on a learning curve.

[BlackSocksRedTops 3,476]

4 minutes ago, Waltersgotstyle said:

I think you are underestimating how many chances Morelos creates for the team. His work rate and hold up play is forever improving. 

 

We also missed the drive of Arfield in midfield. 

 

The result is frustrating as Aberdeen were rank rotten.

I agree about Morelos but we have been equally toothless when he has played. 

[Waltersgotstyle 297]

9 minutes ago, BlackSocksRedTops said:

I agree about Morelos but we have been equally toothless when he has played. 

Agreed mate but without Morelos’ hold up play and Arfield supporting runs we look a far poorer team going forward.

[Frankie 8,150]

Another really frustrating day at Hampden.

 

We were by far the better team but once more we lacked composure in key areas and we're guilty of wasting too many set-pieces as well. Manager also culpable in terms of not changing things earlier. Given the 90mins we'd just played on Thursday, a sub around the hour mark wouldn't have done any harm.

 

I would say that as much as I understand people being upset, it is important not to be too downbeat though. Progress has been made and we needn't throw the baby out with the bath-water. In saying that, a win on Wednesday is vital and the ideal way to increase confidence once more.

 

PS: I thought Sadiq did fine yesterday - yes he probably fell out of the game a bit towards the end but in the first half he quite impressed me.

[der Berliner 3,245]

IMHO, we should not over-do this.

 

We're on our way and all the good and positive stuff thus far has - no wonder - made us feel like in the days of old again, where we would and rightly could expect Rangers to win any game.

 

Essentially, we haven't found a way yet to beat a certain defensive line-up and/or game approach, yet only fell to two defeats against such teams ... in 23 games. We did drop more points along the way, for a number of reasons though.

 

At some point you would expect that we get our act together though, despite injuries, suspension and the like. At some point you would expect that we e.g. change our substitution plans, so those not clicking on the field are being replaced. The learning curve of SG has to be aligned with the demands of the club, even though we should not become unrealistic. And we should respect that there is an opposition out there who plays football too, teams well drilled to stop us from doing what we do best ... and able to hit were it hurts. That will not get these teams far, but throws a spanner into our game plans.

 

I was pretty confident that we were able to beat the Sheep, and in all honesty, they hardly threatened us that much (even though I wished Flanagan had given Mackay-Steven a note who was the boss on that wing). That's essentially 3 defeats in 23 games, and only one of them can be regarded as deserved. But such stuff doesn't matter in football.

 

The Sheep and the mhedia get their bragging rights for a week or two, even though I would assume that a win on Wednesday will ease some pain. The Sheep will get hammered at Hampden ... and you wonder how we would have fared against the Scum had we offered them a similar mood like Sunday in a potential final.

 

We should look at it, despite all the frustration, as a step in the right direction, the kick in the teeth to wake up a little more. After all, we are closing in on a dozen EL games, all of them unbeaten (which is a world and a half apart from what Scottish sides have done for nigh ages). The league is the aim though, cups and Europe are bonuses. There is every chance that we can get some silverware come May, Onwards and upwards.

 

 

NB: Noted that someone threw Windass into the fray. Windass, who played 73 games for us, earning himself 19 goals and 13 assists. The bulk of which came last season, where he could do no wrong for some fans and certain managers, playing 41 games, scoring 18 times and assisting 8 goals. Deduct the numbers from the total and you wonder what he did in those other 32 games? His current standing is 17 games, 2 goals, 1 assist.

 

His replacements are Murphy (this season: 8 games, 1 goal, 3 assists), Middleton (13, 3 goals, 1 assist), and Kent (19, 3 goals and 1 assist). And all of them usually contribute far more in each game that Windass ever did, for he relied far too much on others doing the donkey work.

[BlackSocksRedTops 3,476]

12 minutes ago, Frankie said:

Another really frustrating day at Hampden.

 

We were by far the better team but once more we lacked composure in key areas and we're guilty of wasting too many set-pieces as well. Manager also culpable in terms of not changing things earlier. Given the 90mins we'd just played on Thursday, a sub around the hour mark wouldn't have done any harm.

 

I would say that as much as I understand people being upset, it is important not to be too downbeat though. Progress has been made and we needn't throw the baby out with the bath-water. In saying that, a win on Wednesday is vital and the ideal way to increase confidence once more.

 

PS: I thought Sadiq did fine yesterday - yes he probably fell out of the game a bit towards the end but in the first half he quite impressed me.

Agreed Frankie. I think the most frustrating thing was how we struggled make any impact on a truly dreadful Aberdeen team. On what I've seen this season Livingston are a level above Aberdeen (the table backs this up). It just feels like 2 steps forward then one back at the moment. Anyhoo...onwards and upwards. Sunday's game has added more spice/pressure/urgency to the game on wednesday. 3 pts is a must but I think we all want to see an improvement all over the park

[der Berliner 3,245]

One last comment on the game:

 

Sadiq being thrown in at the deep end, but did, all in all, admirably. He looks utterly ungainly, but holds and wins the ball well, has some technical ability too. Lack of game time was showing.

 

I pray that one day in the not too distant future we play a striker like him or Lafferty, ball-winners up front, alongside Morelos - preferably in a 3-5-2 or 4-4-2.

[26th of foot 5,829]

After twenty minutes, I was firmly of the opinion that first goal was the winner.

 

Dominating possession, working ourselves and the ball into good areas, gaining numerous set pieces, .................... etc; all laudable stuff, but we did NOT work the Aberdeen Keeper.