The actual game

[KingKirk 25,647]

15 minutes ago, Keeps01 said:

While I'm gutted at not getting the SC, and it was a great opportunity that we should have grabbed, this season has been better than we all expected.

We will build on what has been a great season after the drivel we were served up before.

Gutted, but not overly pessimistic. Onwards and upwards.

this 100% Europe would've outstanding obviously but we now have a year to get ourselves ready 100% for it. I don't think no Europe next year will have a effect on signings tbh once your in Ibrox anyone will understand the size and history of our great club

[theclothmonster 1,707]

14 minutes ago, AlBear85 said:

I think we have to remember most of our squad have never been in teams tasked with winning leagues, cups and essentially an expectation to win every game. We built a team of overlooked players, who us gave attacking, attractive, successful football, in the space of a few weeks.

After winning the league, a double and knocking the taigs out of the cup I can understand the come down for the players after that. I expected a resurgence after the 3 week break but we were poor.

However the ability to handle the pressure at a club like ours comes with experience, it's not a natural gift many have. I won't be writing off any of the players who had such a great season just because of a disappointing end in the last few weeks. I'd hope they learn from the experience and come back next season even better. 

We've been making the same mistakes all season, the pressure of the match had nothing to do with it. How many times have we conceded at cross balls, or gifted the opposition cheap goals through basic schoolboy errors, the same goals conceded all season. We have shown absolutely no improvement in our defense over the course of a season. We looked far more secure with Ball in the back four until he had one bad game and he was booted out the team for weeks until he was needed to replace Halliday's red card. W & W deserve all the praise they were getting for winning the league and the brand of football but they have to take the criticism for failing to address problems that were evident early into the season.

[SasaPapacLoyal 348]

A walter smith team would have won that game 2-1. Now down to warburton to prove he is as good as we think he is. I'm sure we won't be disappointed 

[Teamgers 1,214]

Rangers teams of the past have always been built on a solid defence, then right through the spine of the team a defensive midfileder and an out and out attacker, I don't see this on our present set up, it's alarming that every set piece and corners against us is met with sheer panic in our support, all credit to Kenny Miller who was outstanding yesterday, if half of them had played as he did we would have been celebrating today, as has been said above, our defending is rank and utterly embarrassing at times, this must be priority before next season.

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

47 minutes ago, K.A.I said:

To be honest mate on this occasion I'm actually not interested in what he's got to say. We all know where it went wrong. I love the man but not in the mood to listen to him say all the things we know like we defended poorly and didn't move the ball about well enough or create good chances etc.

I want him to act on it.

He will need serious money to do so.

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

9 minutes ago, SasaPapacLoyal said:

A walter smith team would have won that game 2-1. Now down to warburton to prove he is as good as we think he is. I'm sure we won't be disappointed

MW has no where near the amount of money Watty had to spend and in the 9AIR era, the scum were on their erse.

TBH, there is not much comparison as Watty was old school and football has moved on and at the end of the day, it will again sadly come down to money, as the scum have been awoken by us with their new appointment. They are reportedly paying him 2.5 mil, plus 3 mil compo. Then there is the reported 15 mil transfer kitty.They will be expecting a return for that investment. It is up to us now to respond to that challenge and I doubt we have the financial resources to do so. MW is a great manager, a true leader, but even he needs decent investment if we are going to overhaul THEM.

[AlBear. 8,499]

18 minutes ago, theclothmonster said:

We have shown absolutely no improvement in our defense over the course of a season. 

We have though, we specifically adapted our full backs runs to sure up the defence, this hysterical pish makes debating this on here pointless.

18 minutes ago, SasaPapacLoyal said:

A walter smith team would have won that game 2-1. Now down to warburton to prove he is as good as we think he is. I'm sure we won't be disappointed 

We'd all love a team that could defend like Walter's and attack like Warburton's but that won't be achieved in one season, if ever.

-------

The one genuine criticism is we have to get better at defending set pieces.

Warburton's teams attack, that is his mantra. We could have the best GK and best two CB in the world and still concede because of how we play. We should have all known this when we appointed MW.

For years people complained about our style, this was addressed bringing in a coach focused on an attractive, attacking style. The players he likes suit that ethos. They won't be the best at defending because MW puts more emphasis on possession and attacking.

The difference from a year ago to now is fantastic and while there will always be criticisms of a Rangers team we are definitely on the up and moving forward. A big part of that is down to the players MW has brought in. A couple weeks ago we were all talking about how many of our players could/should be player of the year now some are saying we need to get rid of most of them after a few poor showings at the end of the season. It's predictable, but always frustrating.

[theclothmonster 1,707]

Just now, AlBear85 said:

We have though, we specifically adapted our full backs runs to sure up the defence, this hysterical pish makes debating this on here pointless.

We'd all love a team that could defend like Walter's and attack like Warburton's but that won't be achieved in one season, if ever.

-------

The one genuine criticism is we have to get better at defending set pieces.

Warburton's teams attack, that is his mantra. We could have the best GK and best two CB in the world and still concede because of how we play. We should have all known this when we appointed MW.

For years people complained about our style, this was addressed bringing in a coach focused on an attractive, attacking style. The players he likes suit that ethos. They won't be the best at defending because MW puts more emphasis on possession and attacking.

The difference from a year ago to now is fantastic and while there will always be criticisms of a Rangers team we are definitely on the up and moving forward. A big part of that is down to the players MW has brought in. A couple weeks ago we were all talking about how many of our players could/should be player of the year now some are saying we need to get rid of most of them after a few poor showings at the end of the season. It's predictable, but always frustrating.

Our attacking style isn't to blame for most of the goals we are conceding. The majority of goals we have conceded this season haven't been through counter attacks but from basic schoolboy errors, cross balls and not closing players down on the edge of the box allowing them a free pop at goal. It would be much easier to accept conceding goals from counter attacks but it just isn't the case.

[Fred H Crawford 1,182]

31 minutes ago, SasaPapacLoyal said:

A walter smith team would have won that game 2-1. Now down to warburton to prove he is as good as we think he is. I'm sure we won't be disappointed 

I would agree with all of that . 

While I'm glad we've moved on from Walters style of football , I don't believe that any of his sides would lose 2 goals the wsy we lost the last 2 . I think that the Rangers support have been on the whole really positive about MW and his style with the short corners & passing about from the goalie but a few times this season we have been naive with our play and been caught out badly maybe showing up the management teams relative inexperience . I still have trust in MW & DW to get it right next season but as has been proved in the past the managers chair at Ibrox can be a tough place if you're still learning your trade .      

[K.A.I 36,183]

13 minutes ago, AlBear85 said:

We have though, we specifically adapted our full backs runs to sure up the defence, this hysterical pish makes debating this on here pointless.

We'd all love a team that could defend like Walter's and attack like Warburton's but that won't be achieved in one season, if ever.

-------

The one genuine criticism is we have to get better at defending set pieces.

Warburton's teams attack, that is his mantra. We could have the best GK and best two CB in the world and still concede because of how we play. We should have all known this when we appointed MW.

For years people complained about our style, this was addressed bringing in a coach focused on an attractive, attacking style. The players he likes suit that ethos. They won't be the best at defending because MW puts more emphasis on possession and attacking.

The difference from a year ago to now is fantastic and while there will always be criticisms of a Rangers team we are definitely on the up and moving forward. A big part of that is down to the players MW has brought in. A couple weeks ago we were all talking about how many of our players could/should be player of the year now some are saying we need to get rid of most of them after a few poor showings at the end of the season. It's predictable, but always frustrating.

To be fair I've been pretty consistent in my views of the players - apart from Kiernan. I used to rate him but now I've changed my mind. It's not based on a couple of games. I've said from day one that Halliday, Holt, McKay, Miller, Wilson etc have done well for us this season but we should be trying to attract a higher caliber for what we need - and to be fair I think we are going on most of the players we've been linked with.

[AlBear. 8,499]

1 minute ago, K.A.I said:

To be fair I've been pretty consistent in my views of the players - apart from Kiernan. I used to rate him but now I've changed my mind. It's not based on a couple of games. I've said from day one that Halliday, Holt, McKay, Miller, Wilson etc have done well for us this season but we should be trying to attract a higher caliber for what we need - and to be fair I think we are going on most of the players we've been linked with.

At times this season I think all our main players have shown undoubted ability and contributed to our successes this year. We will improve this summer and it is up to our current players to raise their game accordingly. I'm sounding like a broken record but playing at a club like ours is new experience for most of them, I expect them to come back after the summer better for their experiences this season.

I'm willing to give them another season, mainly because I don't believe in writing off any player after one year. I recognise that is not a common trait on here.

[gmcf 34,201]

Set pieces are killing us . That's something we need to , and can work on , without changing our attacking footballing philosophy . If we don't have the cb's that can handle it , then we need to find some that can . 

[Bydo 3,215]

I've just this minute managed to put myself through watching the goals up close- I was in the west stand. I feel genuinely sickened by our ineptitude at defending those two corners.

[Smile 26,610]

1 hour ago, K.A.I said:

Seen that result coming a mile off. The most annoying thing being the two headers at the end almost identical and no lessons learned.

Warburton must know he needs a new defence ours is shite. I wouldn't even keep them 2 center halfs as backup if I'm being honest.

I still think Warburton is a good manager and has the right footballing ethos but he needs to start prioritising a bit of steel and backbone in that side.

What's been our record the last few months? won twice in 90 minutes Dumbarton and Peterhead? whilst conceeding on average 2/3 goals a game in the rest.

We just didn't deserve to win, we were nowhere near our best and Hibs deserved it on balance. That defeat takes the shine off the Celtic game. I said at the time what's the point in beating them if we were to lose the final.

I hope lessons have been learned - I don't want to hear any of the pish off the players about them being desperate to make ammends - guys like Miller and Wilson and Tav are absolute champions at that stuff.

On a side-note - I'm proud of the fans for refusing to be bullied or intimadated by the Hibs hoards on the park. Got a feeling there will be a lot of arrests and doors getting chapped in the coming days but as far as I'm concerned you did what was right and stood firm. Well done.

 

Hopefully, we have a team to get us out that division and a completely different (maybe keep a few) of them  to try and win the league this season.

The Highlight yesterday for me was meeting Albertz and Negri outside and having a chat with them after that it was all Downhill.

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

14 minutes ago, Fred H Crawford said:

I would agree with all of that .

While I'm glad we've moved on from Walters style of football , I don't believe that any of his sides would lose 2 goals the wsy we lost the last 2 . I think that the Rangers support have been on the whole really positive about MW and his style with the short corners & passing about from the goalie but a few times this season we have been naive with our play and been caught out badly maybe showing up the management teams relative inexperience . I still have trust in MW & DW to get it right next season but as has been proved in the past the managers chair at Ibrox can be a tough place if you're still learning your trade .    

He had players of quality. Natural ability that you are born with. This crop, bar two or three are bang on average at best and coached to do something that really isn't in their natural locker. That's why you have players like Bale valued at 100 mil. The system is good and has helped, but it cannot be sustained, particularly in the top tier where you have seasoned pro's and players of much better quality. FFS, that rhabid Stokes who has done fuck all this season, made our defence look like amateurs and should have scored even more. Fuck, our defence has been leaking losing goals all season as they can't defend high balls. Now that's a basic attribute that a CD should posses. Then there is basic positional awareness and pace, which both of our CD's are devoid of. Hivs cut through us like a hot knife on butter yesterday. 6 Walters couldn't have had that team win yesterday, far less Pep. How many shots on target, how many on goal? How many corners? With a 60% possession rate, there is a flaw, to say the least! The game stat's are frightening, so I think will just leave it at that. Time to wake up and smell the coffee. Serious cash to bring in much better quality is needed.

[googglebot 4,736]

54 minutes ago, Blue Avenger said:

MW has no where near the amount of money Watty had to spend and in the 9AIR era, the scum were on their erse.

TBH, there is not much comparison as Watty was old school and football has moved on and at the end of the day, it will again sadly come down to money, as the scum have been awoken by us with their new appointment. They are reportedly paying him 2.5 mil, plus 3 mil compo. Then there is the reported 15 mil transfer kitty.They will be expecting a return for that investment. It is up to us now to respond to that challenge and I doubt we have the financial resources to do so. MW is a great manager, a true leader, but even he needs decent investment if we are going to overhaul THEM.

[graeme_4 34,527]

1 hour ago, surfsup2 said:

We lost the game from 2 corners as our defense was crap.

This needs to be sorted for next season .

MW done what was asked and this was a bonus. I don't think the long break helped either but no excuses.

 

 

Agreed. Tough to be match sharp without real games. 

We looked very sluggish and the passing was as bad as I've seen from us this season. 

[BlueThunder 8,454]

It was one of our poorest display of the season yet we only had to last 10 or so mins without conceding. Had we played our usual possession game in those minutes we would have won it. Had Nicky Clark not messed up big-time we might even have won it in extra time or penalties.

As much as I understand our disappointment I'm not going to jump on Warburton or the players for yesterday. We looked jaded after the lay-off and couldn't get our usual fluency going. Added to that we had injuries and suspensions, and I think Waghorn wasn't quite ready for this match. The defending of corners was poor - we gifted it to Hibs, much like the other 3-2 match. And look at how Stokes got the first.

Disappointing, but we have a lot to look forward to. Building for next season has begun, and I expect more new faces. Can't wait.

[Somm1 10]

The standard of players stepping off bench didn't bring anything to the team. Dean Shiels had no drive and looked liked a player who knows he is gone. Nicky Clarke would like him to excel but he isn't even championship class, only ever a bit part player played in whatever position there is a hole in. If even half the team showed the energy and enthusiasm as Miller would have stood a better chance of maintains the lead or pushing to kill them off.

[the goal machine 7,803]

1 minute ago, Rangers_no1 said:

I think people forget that it's not just the four defenders that are there to defend at corners. It was Andy Halliday who lost Gray yesterday, just like he continually lost the Danish defender in the SF. You can't blame Kiernan or Wilson for the third goal.

To be fair, there's no way he should be picking up Sviatchenko or Gray. That's just daft organisation.

[SasaPapacLoyal 348]

1 hour ago, Blue Avenger said:

MW has no where near the amount of money Watty had to spend and in the 9AIR era, the scum were on their erse.

TBH, there is not much comparison as Watty was old school and football has moved on and at the end of the day, it will again sadly come down to money, as the scum have been awoken by us with their new appointment. They are reportedly paying him 2.5 mil, plus 3 mil compo. Then there is the reported 15 mil transfer kitty.They will be expecting a return for that investment. It is up to us now to respond to that challenge and I doubt we have the financial resources to do so. MW is a great manager, a true leader, but even he needs decent investment if we are going to overhaul THEM.

It was more a comment about the winning mentality and bottle that Smiths teams had. Not really a comparison of the quality of player in the teams.  

Warburton has done fantastically well on a small budget. But with the players he has at his disposal we shouldn't be throwing away an 80th minute 2-1 lead against a championship side with european football on the line. 

It needs to be sorted and I'm sure it will be. Looking forward to next season already 

 

[the goal machine 7,803]

Just now, Rangers_no1 said:

Well not really as we're a small team and Hibs and the scum have taller players, someone has to pick up a player. Unless you expect Kiernan and Wilson to mark more than one tall player themselves. 

But Sviatchenko and Gray were among their strongest so having Halliday on them was a bit ridiculous IMO. I know we don't have many good headerers of a ball (especially with Ball being out) but I think putting the blame on him is unfair.

[TMB 14,167]

You need to give Hibs credit for the way they set out to stifle our play.  They pressed our back line and goalkeeper very well.  It obviously worked because we were making mistakes or just punting the ball long and giving them possession back.  Hibs started to tire around the 60min mark and when we got the goal to make it 2-1 I thought we'd go on to win it.  Our inability to defend a set-piece came back to haunt us.  Hibs were more prepared, they worked harder, and they had more fight about them. 

 

[Briton 394]

2 hours ago, EatDolphins said:

We were wank yesterday. We've been wank since we beat the Peados. 

The reality is that that was the last time we played well, we totally out passed them and thoroughly deserved to go through. Fact is though we didn't beat them, we drew and they created a lot of chances despite having little of the ball.  Much as I love the style we play, I think it's obvious we need better players to pull it off.

[TMB 14,167]

3 minutes ago, Rangers_no1 said:

I don't think Gray is though, that was his first goal of the season. He's only had about 3 in his career. Fontaine, Hanlon, McGregor, Stokes and Gunnarsson are all more dangerous at set plays. Our four defenders were marking the dangerous players, that leaves us with our smaller players and why Halliday was on Gray. I'm not putting the blame on him, I'm saying it's incorrect to blame the defence for us conceding at set plays. 

Tavernier was also trying to mark Stokes and it was never going to work.  We just lack height and physicality which must be addressed.