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Linfield 0:2 Rangers


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We played a combination of 4-4-2/4-5-1

 

Letizi

 

Hutton

Fanfan

J-Rod

Smith (MoM apparantly)

 

Ricksen

Hemdani

Rae

Burke

 

Buffel

Boyd

 

Cheers Frankie, interesting! Only Letizi making his debut!

 

Whats interesting is we probably wont look nothing like that when the season starts. Sionko, Svensson, Clement, Ferguson, Prso and possibly Elmander would be starters.

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We played a combination of 4-4-2/4-5-1

 

Letizi

 

Hutton

Fanfan

J-Rod

Smith (MoM apparantly)

 

Ricksen

Hemdani

Rae

Burke

 

Buffel

Boyd

 

I don't see a left-sided midfielder in that line-up. :confused:

 

Maybe that's where Clement is going to play but the Sky Sports exclusive in the 'Clement' thread says he's a defender.

 

A good positive start for PLG. How did Ricksen perform?

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I don't see a left-sided midfielder in that line-up. :confused:

 

Maybe that's where Clement is going to play but the Sky Sports exclusive in the 'Clement' thread says he's a defender.

 

A good positive start for PLG. How did Ricksen perform?

 

Burke played on the left and played very well IMHO, putting in some good crosses with his less favoured left foot - far better than Lovenkrands. He also seemed to link up well with an impressive Stevie Smith who did a great job of overlapping and then tracking back. I keep getting more and more impressed by this guy.

 

Unfortunately Burke has to come off due to what originally looked like an ankle injury and then worryingly the physios started treating his knee but the papers are reporting that it's a minor ankle injury and nothing to worry about.

 

Hutton also seemed to do ok without doing anything outstanding.

 

Letizi wasn't really tested but looked assured and sharp, coming out quickly to pick balls up or out of his box to header the ball away. Can't really judge him but he didn't put a foot wrong.

 

Fanfan still looks a bit dodgy and doesn't keep close enough to his man but I think he only played as he's the only center back available after Rodriguez - with Andrews not back, Soti off and Malcolm not in even in the party. We definitely need to sign another one when Fanfan leaves and with not much money left we should probably keep Andrews as back up although Ponroy plays in that position and might be more in the immediate plans than we thought.

 

Rodriguez was pretty solid and good at getting himself in front of shots and passes around the box. However he executed a woeful header in the Linfield box that I think went out for a throw. But hey, he's not a striker, and as long as he does a job at the back, I'll be happy with him.

 

Ricksen seems ok compared to recently with a couple of good strikes but didn't do enough to really impress and neither did Rae for that matter. Hemdani didn't seem all that sharp and dwelled on the ball a bit long a couple of times to lose possession.

 

Boyd and Buffel did ok but only scored when gifted their chances by a bit of slapstick defending. Buffel's stike was excellent after swivelling round the ball at about 14 yards and firing it into the corner. Pity he miss the ball with a promising volley attempt later. Boyd coolly slotted his home during a one on one with the keeper after picking up the slackest backpass you'll ever see.

 

I recorded the game due to playing golf and fell asleep in the second half as it was around midnight and I was knackered... :o so I can't say anything about Murray, Adam, Ponroy and Stanger.

 

Linfield as a team looked not too bad - their slapstick defending appart, and we found it hard to control the game although always seemed slightly on top and our attacks were sharper.

 

Not the most convincing of performances but it's not really Le Guen's team yet and all he's had time to work on is fittness, but all in all a promising start.

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Burke played on the left and played very well IMHO, putting in some good crosses with his less favoured left foot - far better than Lovenkrands. He also seemed to link up well with an impressive Stevie Smith who did a great job of overlapping and then tracking back. I keep getting more and more impressed by this guy.

 

The fullbacks were overlapping?

 

That's something I love to see and something which AM didn't do.

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The fullbacks were overlapping?

 

That's something I love to see and something which AM didn't do.

 

Agreed, one thing i absolutely loved about Numan was his willingness to go forward and link up with Albertz/Gio.

 

Ill be interested to see Letizi too, i know he didnt have much to do but im hoping he communicates well with the defense, something the mullet seldom did.

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The players tired in the 2nd half and didn't seem to have the energy to force the game. This invited Linfield to have quite a lot of possession in the 2nd half although they never really threatened.

 

It was interesting to hear that the players had a hard training session in the morning before the game. Talk about a hard task master or what!?

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