stewaj3

Diomande has made some mistakes... but night and day quality wise compared to the likes of Lawrence and Dowell. Still feel like we might fuck this up..

His goal return is average right now... He was really poor at the start, in an awful side under a manager who didn't deliver. 1 goal in his first 7 league games 7 in his next 12... I'd start him at the weekend. In fact right now... I'd start him the next 5/6... the tide is turning!

He's gonna come good. I think he needs confidence and more games he'll get sharper. Will score over 20 this season

Summer recruitment was poor, still doesn't change the fact that we should be looking forward not back. Kent deserves some credit for 55 and the European performances. He also deserves stick for inconsistency, the way he downed tools and left. Can't wait for this thread to be locked

That plenty of folk have replied to 🙄

I think its really close.. Souttar brings a lot to that position. His ability with the ball is the best we've seen in a long time for a cb... I think he's still got a few mistakes in him though is maybe the biggest negative?

Lots of us would probably like to see a new cb in with Davies going out... The question I have is... if we signed one.. Who would you drop? Or would it be a case of the new cb needs to warm the bench for a while first? I don't think I'd drop Goldson or Souttar right now...but would definitely welcome someone to come in and compete.

Ahhh OK - sorry should have read back!

I just read this mate and had to reply because I cannae believe you've said that. He's been found wanting defensively... in his one competitive start where everyone was pish? I'm no defending him generally as he's still got a lot to prove, but I think it's far too early to be making statements like that.

To add to my earlier thought. Ive just looked at transfers again. Assuming we do move some on.. I think we need 4 players. (Even though we should have had more than enough for the killie game) Mcgregor - Butland Zukowski - Sterling Helander - Balogun Arfield - Dowell Davis (I know he's not gone but is out) - Cifuentes Tillman - Lammers Kent - Sima Colak - Dessers Morelos - Danilo Of those that have come in, how many are improvements? So far, including pre season it's looked worse than last because we've less pace and width.

I managed not to come on and have a rant on Saturday... but here I am. I'm always the first to say pre-season means nothing (including beating the likes of madrid) However.... the alarm bells were ringing big style during this pre-season, because I've no clue what we were trying to do or how we were trying to play. This summer was a big one with the likes of Kent, morelos and tillman leaving. it was fairly clear what their strengths were (I'll ignore the many faults for now) Kent brought movement and the technical ability to beat a man, plus draw in defenders and adds width to the side. Alfie at his best, was a menace, could bully defenders and would move around the pitch to draw defenders into all kinds of positions and open up gaps. Tillman felt the ball was glued to his feet, seemed to have the knack of getting into the right areas and offered a goal threat from midfield. These abilities would need to be replaced when considering new signings I think we could also see the problems in the team, sure we knew Jack and Lundstram were robust and great at points in the past, but you could see the tactics and formation used by Steven Gerrard had become predictable. It didn't need adapted it needed a change. Personnel needed changed, the squad a revamp. It was time to cash in on some players and overhaul our style of play. So far we have sold only Antonio Colak. The likes of Kamara and Sakala will most likely join him. The latter divides fans, because despite the fact he is by no means a natural finisher and (like many before him) lacks that final quality that we so badly crave... he is also the only outlet with pace that has provided some sort of decent return goals wise. I don't think we expected to move everyone on, but I think having seen what happened with Kent and Morelos, more sales were expected. Is this the time to cash in on the likes of Borna, John Lundstram, Scott Wright, Ben Davies, Matondo, Hagi. Are Tav and Goldson indispensable? Are the likes of Roofe, Lawrence or as harsh as it seems Ofoborh going to contribute a lot? The fans understand that there are quota's to fill from a european point of view. Mccrorie, Kieran Wright, John Souttar, Ryan Jack fill 4 of those 8 places. I think its a poor sign is that the club haven't developed anyone outwith Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour who could have stepped into those slots, but have left the club. Hopefully some of those of a younger age and be part of our bench this season will kick on and fill this quota in year's to come. It's also poor that they haven't signed anyone of a good enough level from Scottish teams, apart from souttar, to fill one of those spots. No doubt there is a limitednpool of talent to choose from but you see the likes of Max Johnston, Lewis Ferguson and think could they have been at that level? This was a huge task for Michael Beale and the club to get things right in the summer. Management had to get tactics spot on to be successful in both domestic and European games. This also meant he had to have the right personnel for each. We've spent something like 15 million bringing in Butland, Balogun, Sterling, Dowell, Cifuentes, Sima, Lammers, Dessers & Danillo. Sure there was some excitement around the names but also some concerns remained. Are the goal returns good enough? Have we replaced the missing attributes from those who have left? Are these the signings to deliver our expectations? One of the biggest issues with Rangers under Gio and last season, was we looked like we had an over reliance on balls coming in from barisic and tav in almost 'ping it in and hope' something comes off. We really struggled at points, especially against teams who sat in, to break them down or show we were anything other than pedestrian or predictable. What an opportunity for Beale to show he would bring in a new exciting era of players who could do that. Players with a freshness and energy about them that could change the dynamics of the team. Early signs were promising as both Cantwell and Raskin looked the part when they arrived in January. We needed a team that would play high up the park, have a rugged determination to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, press high, play fast passes and would move and interchange positions, unsettle those well organised teams and make it difficult for them throughout the game. Then the starting 11 was announced and Cantwell was dropped. That was the first question. Why drop the man who was in great form at the end of last season. One of the few players that the fans were almost 100 per cent in favour of keeping. I think possibly only Raskin would be a contender if we were asked 'who must stay/must start' out from last year's side. The game was woeful and as we saw in preseason, we looked like the same tired and predictable side of last year, but with less width and pace. It was woeful. There is huge pressure already on Beale after one game and whilst one very bad result doesn't mean its over, the level of play throughout pre season has been no where near what's needed. The likes of Danilo and Cifuentes will already have huge hopes pinned on them to transform and energise that side, which might be harsh. I feel like this team still needs a minimum of 4 signings to be competitive at league and european levels. I'm not sure we will see those number come in. It truly is time for all at the club to step up and deliver and I hope these players have a lot more to offer than what we've seen so far.

I have a thought on this one. So we saw Tillman clearly has potential and was one of our better players over the course of the season. There were questions about his work rate which improved as the season went on. Questions still exist about the big games and whether he can make an impact in them. My question is does anyone not think Tillman is going to improve over the next 12/18 months? I think it's a no brainer now I've sat and thought about it. Yes £5mill is a lot of money. However I can only see him going for a lot more than that. So for the club it feels like a wise investment

Can't believe Jordan McMillan is still here

Glad you shared this. I mean the stats this season are something like 14 starts, taken off on 12 of those. 16 games appeared as a sub. So I think 9 goals and 5 assists is a really good return when you consider this is a guy returning from injury...

Love some of the comments on this. Morelos shouldnt be given a pay rise. For him to sign on he'd need to take a pay cut. Like anyone on here knows what he's being paid or how it compares to the rest of the squad. At the end of the day, it's clear we are a better team with him up top, even if he's not at his best. Why would we want to let a player, some were valuing at 20 million a year and a half ago, leave for nothing? Madness