Official: Rangers sign Kemar Roofe

[Rousseau 9,360]

8 minutes ago, Tannochsidebear said:

Yes, I should have said my comments related to 2018-19, I Didnt see much of them (if at all) in the season just ended. Thought Roofe was at Anderlecht in 19-20, and Leeds the season before? 

 

Thanks for the info on Roofe, sounds good

 

If Roofe and Itten both play as you suggest could happen, who do you leave out?  Is Roofe really so much better than Kent or Hagi that he becomes first pick over either of them, given the amount we spent on both of them and just recently at that?

They can play together, but I think it's unlikely -- unless there's a change in formation.

 

I think it'll be Kent, Roofe and Hagi, with Itten missing out.  

 

It is quite a pickle, but it's a good one to have after years of very few options. 

[Rousseau 9,360]

7 minutes ago, DMAA said:

Well a big problem has been that nobody of consequence is left on the bench. Compare our bench to Celtic and it’s night and day. Now we have a bit of choice. I would say Roofe and Hagi at Ibrox but Kent has shown, and showed on Saturday, he is sometimes a better option than someone like Hagi. Whatever your view, we now have some options. 

Yes, I always think we're too preoccupied with strengthening our first XI -- I'm not saying it doesn't need strengthening -- but we also need quality options off the bench too. For the most part, our first XI was pretty good last season, but our options off the bench was non-existent.  

[Tannochsidebear 2,306]

Some great points being made on this thread bears, very interesting thread. I agree with mostly all of what is being said as well, especially the comments about tempo! You can tell in the first 5 minutes how good/bad a day we are going to have by the tempo we start the game at.

 

Our biggest failing last season for me was the inability to put two good halves of football together. We can be excellent first half, then rubbish the second, and equally the other way around. Rarely do we put a really good 90 mins together at once. I put this squarely at SG's door as he continually goes on about it in post-match interviews where he slates one half and praises the other. He seems unable to change a game during the play, if we start poorly he seems to do nothing about it until HT, and if we played well first half but the second half is going badly, he rarely makes the right tactical/personnel changes required to put it right, or get more from the 11 on the park by giving instructions. He seems to be a spectator rather than a coach from the sidelines.

 

Anyway, back to more positive points, and it is really exciting to think we will have many different attacking options now with (accepting Morelos is away) Itten, Roofe, Hagi, Kent, Defoe, Barker, Arfield, Stewart, and no doubt others I cant think of at present all looking for the 3 attacking slots. Not just different players, but vastly different styles and it should allow us to change mid-game from one style to another if the match requires it, or from game to game depending on opposition and venue.

 

We still have issues with a few defensive positions, and we probably still need a box to box midfielder to compliment/cover for Aribo as neither Jack/Kamara have evolved into this despite both having the talent to do so IMO and showing it in small flashes, but it looks like we should be much more adaptable to the challenges to come and hopefully this means we dont drop the silly points as often (cheating referees aside!)

 

 

[Tannochsidebear 2,306]

2 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

They can play together, but I think it's unlikely -- unless there's a change in formation.

 

I think it'll be Kent, Roofe and Hagi, with Itten missing out.  

 

It is quite a pickle, but it's a good one to have after years of very few options. 

My only worry about that front 3 is none are anywhere close to being prolific. At 27, Roofe has never scored enough goals per games. Itten seems to have much better scoring stats over last couple of years so I was thinking it is him plus 2? Perhaps rotational but that doesnt always lead to consistency. It is a very difficult choice for SG to make, or perhaps one of them will just start with a bang and keep scoring to cement their place and it makes it easy for the gaffer.

[CammyF 6,779]

Just my opinion but having just completed a very successful season in Switzerland, being match fit and raring to go, Itten goes straight into the starting 11 with Roofe on bench. 

 

Will be great having a real target man for Borna and Tav to hit as and when required, but knowing he can also play a bit as well. 

 

Excited to see both and see how they fit into our system or if we tweak a little to accommodate them?

 

 

[Rousseau 9,360]

18 hours ago, Tannochsidebear said:

My only worry about that front 3 is none are anywhere close to being prolific. At 27, Roofe has never scored enough goals per games. Itten seems to have much better scoring stats over last couple of years so I was thinking it is him plus 2? Perhaps rotational but that doesnt always lead to consistency. It is a very difficult choice for SG to make, or perhaps one of them will just start with a bang and keep scoring to cement their place and it makes it easy for the gaffer.

It's funny how we see things differently.

 

I'm looking at who's the better all-round player, and who can fit into the system. For me, Roofe is the better player and fits into that fluid front three that SG wants. I'm thinking, 'how can we get more out of the front three', not where are the goals coming from -- I feel like that will be taken care of if the former is taken care of, rightly or wrongly. 

 

To use Liverpool as an example: They assembled a front three of Mane, Firmino and Salah. Firmino was a shot-shy #10, and Salah (who was pretty sh*t at Chelsea, to be honest) and Mane really didn't score too many goals, being wingers. But, put them together, using Firmino's creativity, and the running power of Mane and Salah... *chefs kiss*

 

(You're right Roofe has never been prolific, but I feel like he'll score a decent amount for us.)

 

Itten brings the change in approach; he's the direct approach, the poacher. If Kent and Hagi aren't creating, then take one off and bring on Itten alongside Roofe and Hagi/Kent. 

[Rousseau 9,360]

3 minutes ago, CammyF said:

Just my opinion but having just completed a very successful season in Switzerland, being match fit and raring to go, Itten goes straight into the starting 11 with Roofe on bench. 

 

Will be great having a real target man for Borna and Tav to hit as and when required, but knowing he can also play a bit as well. 

 

Excited to see both and see how they fit into our system or if we tweak a little to accommodate them?

 

 

You're not wrong. 

 

Roofe is coming back from injury too, I believe? With these circumstances, Itten may well be preferred. 

[DMAA 3,603]

Given Balogun went straight into the 11 due to be being fully match fit I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same with Itten. These are good dilemmas to have though. 

[bluedan 93]

I'm very happy we've bolstered the front line with 2 new additions.

The other night i saw a rerun on you tube of the CL final between Utd and Bayern. Utd started that match with Yorke and Cole and brought on Sherringham and OGS. 

More we have up there the better, and it looks like we've brought in quality as well as quantity. Slight question mark over Roofe's robustness but he's a great finisher and has that arrogant streak all good strikers need.

Imagine if Alfie stays

[ChelseaBoy 2,232]

On 04/08/2020 at 15:13, Frankie said:

Finally, as it stands, Morelos is still a Rangers player and on flight to Germany with rest of playing squad. 

I wouldn't trade Morelos for either Roofe or Itten or both together. We need all three plus Defoe as extra back up.