Match Thread [FT] Rangers 2 (Kent 47; Tavernier pen 52) - 2 Celtic

[ascender 352]

1 hour ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

Had a very poor game overall. Wondering if we gave him that contract extension last year as we expected a bid for him. He is on a big wage to be here for a few more years winding down

Tav’s defensive weaknesses usually result in at least one good chance for the opposition in a match and often contribute to indecision in our back line. I know the RB position is a WB position these days, but we are just far too easily beaten down the flanks time and time again. Long balls over the top or balls inside our WB… or just our inability to deal with balls into the box from long, wide, corners etc.

 

Its been like this for so long it’s genuinely baffling that no manager seems to see it or think it’s worth sorting.

 

I was another who was willing to give Sands a pass as he’s been played out of position & in a team low on confidence, but wtf was he doing today.

 

[buster. 4,808]

5 hours ago, buster. said:

Is there any life left in this squad ?

 

What difference does Michael Beale make in an OF match ?

 

We are about to find out.

 

Looking at the two teams, lots of ifs and buts. Their bench is significantly stronger whilst some of ours will probably arrive on crutches. 

 

Not at all surprising that most of this squad have little left to give the club. Not enough energy, spark or enough quality. Forget the League, this squad were never going to win it. We can focus on the Cups and should be looking to give the likes of Lowry and Devine extended runs in the league (Tav needs to sort out his injury issues).

 

Beale can't be properly judged with this group of players. He has injected a degree of commitment and determination although that only seems to kick in after going behind and was certainly absent in the first 20-30 minutes today. We have gone behind in three of the five league games since the WC.

 

On top of the bleeding obvious, we need a centre forward. I'm sick of the sight of Morelos and

Roofe can't be relied upon.

[CammyF 6,863]

49 minutes ago, Bill said:

So let down at half time. So uplifted when we went ahead and obviously deflated not to hold out for a win. Now, with a couple of hours to reflect, the question is … did we turn a corner today, is this where a revival begins?

Weirdly I went along to Ibrox today more concerned on what type of performance we would see rather than worrying about the result. 

 

If I'm honest, I was expecting a bad performance and a bad result. This appeared to be on the cards after we gave away a sloppy early goal. 

 

I then expected the players heads to drop and for Celtic to run all over us (as they've done at Parkhead recently).

 

So hats of to the players for dragging themselves back into the game, then to get themselves in front. 

 

We couldn't see the game out and whilst fingers will be pointed at Beale's subs, players concentration etc, I believe the most important fact is we are short in fit players to bring on from the bench.

 

Whilst I'd have been delighted to walk away with the 3 points, on reflection, the performance was good and result not the worst. 

 

As for "turning the corner", I think it's still too early to say either way. We have done well since Beale came in, but the manager has said there is still a long way to go. 

 

Getting players back fit and getting a couple of signings in January will help. 

 

What I will say, under the previous manager, we may have won the previous four league games (but probably wouldn't have) but we would not have gotten a point today, we'd have been heavily beaten. 

 

[MacK1950 2,239]

Came home from game feeling we had actually lost due tothe gift of their 2nd goal but happier with our effort.

 

Seems to me most of the posts on here were from armchair pundits who were not at/able to attend the game.

 

Agree with all regards Tav/Kamara and to a certain extent Borna.

 

Regards Alfie he bullied and harried their defence all day and Kent took his usual amount of fouls on him with cheatin Beaton doing nothing.

 

At the end as I say I was gutted but seen more than a glimmer that Beale is heading us in the right direction.

 

Surely the Sands of time have run out for this American not worth paying a fee for.

[Rousseau 9,462]

1 hour ago, ranger_syntax said:

A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.

 

[Whosthedado 1,519]

I think Bill summed up my feelings. We were poor first half but could easily have gone in level. To then go in front early in the second half was almost unbelievable. Was really gutted not to see it out, but it is a lot more like it from us. Couple of lucky breaks for the equaliser too.

 

The building blocks are getting put in place i think. Out of the two Americans - pay the money for Tillman but not Sands

[compo 6,208]

If we had defenders who could defend we might have won today 

[MacK1950 2,239]

14 minutes ago, compo said:

If we had defenders who could defend we might have won today 

But we've got "ma baw" tav and Sands coming on to help him💀

[buster. 4,808]

2 hours ago, Whosthedado said:

 

 

The building blocks are getting put in place i think. Out of the two Americans - pay the money for Tillman but not Sands

We'd have said the same thing after the first 5 wins under Gio.

 

The truth is, IMO, that a significant part of this squad needs gutted and replaced prior to the start of 23/24 and Beale's chances of being successful will depend mostly on recruitment over the next two windows.

 

The added difficulty will be a relatively limited budget.

With that in mind, does 5M (approx) for Tillman make sense ?

 

We've got more time to see how he develops but as it stands, I'd be tempted to spend that type of money on a new player and push Lowry, to see if he can be our creative hub.

 

Edited January 2, 2023 by buster.

[Bill 13,717]

I learned almost nothing about our players that I didn't already know. What I did take from the game today is that we've spent the season making Celtic look far better than they really are ... and that Mick Beale looks like being the right choice of manager after all.