The actual game

[Ozblue 4,331]

10 hours ago, Bobby Hume said:

From the minute Stokes clattered Holt I had similar thoughts to yours OZ, but still hoped I was not going to be disappointed.

Unfortunately like yourself mate I was right, and the glaring discrepancies in how we handled their attacks, and the lacklustre performances from too many on the day culminated in me also feeling right royally pissed off by the way we actually lost the game, and great as the statement from The Club concerning the pitch invasion and subsequent assaults, the game itself, was and still is a trigger to my annoyance and it will take a while for me to come right as a result.

... totally fucking pissed off. 

I hate to say it but W&W had better get it fixed soon for next season or we will all be suffering from losses like this too often not to be critical of their judgement ...... this pitch invasion, as said above by RitchieSheareCaldow, has deflected most of the attention from the actual game and the focus has been taken from the actual shit play and even shittier result ..... we can't possibly, as Rangers supporters, be blinded to the fact that prior to the semi final we were well below par, and after winning so well against them we turn out a performance like yesterday's, and if we continue to accept all sorts of predictable excuses for not actually winning, and worse, not winning when it counts ...... then we are truly fucked.

Did I mention that I was pissed off mate ...... 

It's now a few days since the game was played and I am still seething about what went on,Bobby. I don't know if my original anger was acerbated by the fact I had just arrived home from a 23 hour flight from Poland and had not slept for something like 40-50 hours, then into watching a game that started at midnight our time, but after time thinking about our entire performance In different phases of the game I'm even more critical of the fact we gifted that cup to the spoon burners; not that they won it by playing great football.

From the very first whistle we were outplayed, out-muscled and out-thought in virtually every aspect of the match, yet with 15 minutes remaining we were in front with one hand on the trophy and decided to bring on Clark. If that wasn't bad enough, Stubbs only 5 minutes earlier had taken off a central defender and brought on another midfielders which meant we had basically 3 midfielders against 6 Hibs midfielders which allowed them to peg us back even further where we started kicking the ball anywhere.

I have faith in how Mark Warburton wants to play the game, but he will have to learn there is a time and place for everything...and he needs quality players right through the spine to play it. With 15 minutes to go that was not the time to play the way we did and players like Clark and Shiels are definitely NOT the quality required.

I won't even go into my post match thoughts about Hibernian FC.

P.S. I'm quite surprised you didn't mention you were pissed off,mate! 

[giffnockger 4,840]

First game I have actually questioned the keeper, shocking positioning through out... as for Tav, great player, not a right back, for the first goal he was turned over far too easily, school boy stuff ffs

[Tamb 126]

Not good enough, the end of the season has been poor. MW has work to do over the next few weeks. 

[The Godfather 71,735]

Like K.A.I I saw this performance coming a mile away. It was staring us all right in the face in the weeks, month leading up to the game. Our form and performances were well below what is required ever since the semi-final win.

The players and manager let that win go to their heads and to me thought they just had to turn up to lift the trophy. We were facing a side who were on their knees and blowing out their arses yet we were the side who looked like we were carrying bricks in our socks and the ones who were resigned to another season in obscurity.

Even at 2-1 we looked off the pace and as soon as they had a set play you feared the worst, Tav put in one of the worst displays I have ever seen a Rangers player have…he lost his man at the corners because of sheer laziness…don’t know if he has already but he needs to apologise for that display because it was a disgrace IMO.

 

The big thing for me was our bench, not one player on it looked like they could bring anything to the side…Hivs had players who improved or maintained what they had starting while we brought on Clark a guy who looks like he should be playing 5’s down the park instead of cup finals and Shiels who is every bit a lower league footballer now. It’s probably harsh to blame them because they can only do their best which is not good enough for this club…it should have been addressed in the window but it wasn’t….we paid the price for that.

 

The focus is now on Warburton and King, the manager needs to acknowledge he can’t go into games without a backup plan and can’t start the league with that back 4…it’s not even nearly good enough. King needs to get the wallet out and invest in this side as we require 5/6 players of a better standard than we have….the figures we have seen are well short of what investment that requires.

Losing the final was a big blow no matter how you look at it, a year of European football would put us well ahead of schedule with more income…better pull for players and get us back to where we should be. That was chucked away and not because we were blown away by a better side but because we allowed our standards to slip for a long period of time. Lessons NEED to be learned, Warburton has banged on about that for ages and his team haven’t listened to him….that’s a worry in itself.

[MasterD 7,435]

39 minutes ago, giffnockger said:

First game I have actually questioned the keeper, shocking positioning through out... as for Tav, great player, not a right back, for the first goal he was turned over far too easily, school boy stuff ffs

The defence was at fault for the 1st goal but the keeper was piss poor as well, he should have been off his line and closing down the angle, basics I've seen coached at under 12s

[Bobby Hume 12,993]

1 hour ago, Ozblue said:

It's now a few days since the game was played and I am still seething about what went on,Bobby. I don't know if my original anger was acerbated by the fact I had just arrived home from a 23 hour flight from Poland and had not slept for something like 40-50 hours, then into watching a game that started at midnight our time, but after time thinking about our entire performance In different phases of the game I'm even more critical of the fact we gifted that cup to the spoon burners; not that they won it by playing great football.

From the very first whistle we were outplayed, out-muscled and out-thought in virtually every aspect of the match, yet with 15 minutes remaining we were in front with one hand on the trophy and decided to bring on Clark. If that wasn't bad enough, Stubbs only 5 minutes earlier had taken off a central defender and brought on another midfielders which meant we had basically 3 midfielders against 6 Hibs midfielders which allowed them to peg us back even further where we started kicking the ball anywhere.

I have faith in how Mark Warburton wants to play the game, but he will have to learn there is a time and place for everything...and he needs quality players right through the spine to play it. With 15 minutes to go that was not the time to play the way we did and players like Clark and Shiels are definitely NOT the quality required.

I won't even go into my post match thoughts about Hibernian FC.

P.S. I'm quite surprised you didn't mention you were pissed off,mate! 

 

Passion is something that is bred into most of us from a young age when it comes to supporting our Club mate (I know I don't need to tell you that), and I do agree that sleep deprivation can make a person more susceptible to rash thinking but unfortunately the game on Saturday and the consequent result was enough to make even the most docile person feel completely justified in venting their frustration at the goods on show.

Your breakdown of the culminating events and knowledge of the game are evidence to me that I was not out of focus with how I saw the match unravel on the day, and only reinforced my opinion, thereby justifying my disappointment which is only now just simmering down somewhat today.

You had no sleep and I had plenty, yet we reached the same conclusions, that you have laid out so well in both your posts, so let's hope that W&W get to grips with the coming season and with the means from the board to replace the dead wood you mentioned and we reap the rewards and forget about this really disappointing result.

[Bobby Hume 12,993]

2 hours ago, The Godfather said:

Like K.A.I I saw this performance coming a mile away. It was staring us all right in the face in the weeks, month leading up to the game. Our form and performances were well below what is required ever since the semi-final win.

The players and manager let that win go to their heads and to me thought they just had to turn up to lift the trophy. We were facing a side who were on their knees and blowing out their arses yet we were the side who looked like we were carrying bricks in our socks and the ones who were resigned to another season in obscurity.

Even at 2-1 we looked off the pace and as soon as they had a set play you feared the worst, Tav put in one of the worst displays I have ever seen a Rangers player have…he lost his man at the corners because of sheer laziness…don’t know if he has already but he needs to apologise for that display because it was a disgrace IMO.

 

The big thing for me was our bench, not one player on it looked like they could bring anything to the side…Hivs had players who improved or maintained what they had starting while we brought on Clark a guy who looks like he should be playing 5’s down the park instead of cup finals and Shiels who is every bit a lower league footballer now. It’s probably harsh to blame them because they can only do their best which is not good enough for this club…it should have been addressed in the window but it wasn’t….we paid the price for that.

 

The focus is now on Warburton and King, the manager needs to acknowledge he can’t go into games without a backup plan and can’t start the league with that back 4…it’s not even nearly good enough. King needs to get the wallet out and invest in this side as we require 5/6 players of a better standard than we have….the figures we have seen are well short of what investment that requires.

Losing the final was a big blow no matter how you look at it, a year of European football would put us well ahead of schedule with more income…better pull for players and get us back to where we should be. That was chucked away and not because we were blown away by a better side but because we allowed our standards to slip for a long period of time. Lessons NEED to be learned, Warburton has banged on about that for ages and his team haven’t listened to him….that’s a worry in itself.

Great post GF ...... insightful and informed and on the mark to say the least mate.

[Shuggy 1,308]

Hibs changed their shape and pushed even more. We failed to respond to this and paid the price.

We all knew changes were coming, but this shows how urgent they are for the step up.

 

 

[STEPPS BOY 73,805]

Kiernans defending at the first goal defies belief.

 

As for our attempts at defending set-pieces, absolutely embarrassing.

get the zonal marking to fuck.Hallidays inability to mark has now cost us goals in semi final and final..

[DrLaudrup 4,572]

22 hours ago, K.A.I said:

I said at the time what's the point in beating them if we were to lose the final.

Completely agree with this. The celebrations at the time, while understandable belied the fact that we still had a cup final to win. Our form has been horrendous since that, it is a good job we had the league tied up before the Old Firm game. We should not have allowed our performances to dip in this way. We lost the final by being below standard, not because Hivs are astonishing. 

I think on balance we have overachieved this season based on the investment. The priority was always the league but we are clearly short in the spine of team. We need a new centre back, DM and clinical attacker, plus some additional squad players. Overall the season has been a massive success though. Warburton and the style of play has been a revelation, as well as watching the bond between the team and the team and fans. I'm positive going forward.  When we didn't beat Motherwell in the playoffs last season, I was gutted but also glad as felt we weren't ready. We are now ready for the SPL, although I have similar feeling about Europe. Part of me is glad that next season we can devote all our attention to the league and trying to get 55 without the distraction and extra resources required for Europe...time for that will come when we get 55.

[A.T.G 10,773]

Defending is shocking, that first goal, what the actual fuck, just walked past, fucking joke

[Fred H Crawford 1,182]

To concede the equalizer in the manner we did was poor but no entirely surprising given how we've defended corners and free kicks all season , but to then repeat it in injury time is to me unforgivable . 

At the start of the season most of us would've accepted that a good cup run was a bonus , but after beating 3 top league sides to get to a final against a side who finished below us in the league it should be made clear to the players and staff that that level of performance is not acceptable at Rangers .

[K.A.I 36,183]

6 minutes ago, DrLaudrup said:

Completely agree with this. The celebrations at the time, while understandable belied the fact that we still had a cup final to win. Our form has been horrendous since that, it is a good job we had the league tied up before the Old Firm game. We should not have allowed our performances to dip in this way. We lost the final by being below standard, not because Hivs are astonishing. 

I think on balance we have overachieved this season based on the investment. The priority was always the league but we are clearly short in the spine of team. We need a new centre back, DM and clinical attacker, plus some additional squad players. Overall the season has been a massive success though. Warburton and the style of play has been a revelation, as well as watching the bond between the team and the team and fans. I'm positive going forward.  When we didn't beat Motherwell in the playoffs last season, I was gutted but also glad as felt we weren't ready. We are now ready for the SPL, although I have similar feeling about Europe. Part of me is glad that next season we can devote all our attention to the league and trying to get 55 without the distraction and extra resources required for Europe...time for that will come when we get 55.

I agree with almost all of that apart from the point about Europe. We need to be in Europe. There's no reason why a few Thursday night games would be beyond us especially as King and Warburton bought said there was funds there for some extra players to keep us in it all.

[DrLaudrup 4,572]

3 minutes ago, A.T.G said:

Defending is shocking, that first goal, what the actual fuck, just walked past, fucking joke

Agree. This is a good thread. We have been understandably distracted post match by other shocking events but for me the real discussion should be why we failed to win a match due to making the same errors we have been making in the same areas all season. There is work to be done in preparation for next year. 

[WGOH 2,344]

We missed Dom Ball on Sat, imo. We lost the midfield battle that we won so comfortably in the semi-final. It's a shame though, because if had played the way we know we can it would've been over inside the 1st half, but the reality is Hibs should've been out of sight at half-time. Warburton has his work cut out figuring out how to get the balance between attack and defence right. Too many times on Saturday we were left short at the back and it was almost 3v4 or 3v2 situations every time Hibs broke away. Full of confidence going into next season with a solid back 4 and a commanding midfielder and the league will be ours. 

[Fred H Crawford 1,182]

1 minute ago, K.A.I said:

I agree with almost all of that apart from the point about Europe. We need to be in Europe. There's no reason why a few Thursday night games would be beyond us especially as King and Warburton bought said there was funds there for some extra players to keep us in it all.

Europe would've been good for the teams development too , but I think we all know that we're going to face some fuckin monumental hostility throughout next season so maybe it would take away from the need to be on top of our game at all times next season .

[KeyserSoze 14,521]

10 minutes ago, Fred H Crawford said:

To concede the equalizer in the manner we did was poor but no entirely surprising given how we've defended corners and free kicks all season , but to then repeat it in injury time is to me unforgivable . 

At the start of the season most of us would've accepted that a good cup run was a bonus , but after beating 3 top league sides to get to a final against a side who finished below us in the league it should be made clear to the players and staff that that level of performance is not acceptable at Rangers .

it was not just our defence that was poor - I actually don't remember that fat goalie making a save... he had no chance with our goals... and that was it! nothing turned round a post, beaten or punched away.... i bet if we lobbed a few in the box instead of keeping possession at 18yrds we could have seen him struggle.. 

Corners - they swung theirs in and scored, twice. The one Barrie did swing in Kenny hit the bar with a header... the other couple of corners were short as usual... and came to nothing. Barrie hits a fantastic corner btw, something defenders and goalies shit themselves from... why not build on that fact and do more of that...

I really hope we looked at our tactics in certain aspects of our game, we can't keep doing the same things over and over and expect different results.. (I stole that quote btw)

[MelbourneBlue 198]

30 minutes ago, STEPPS BOY said:

Kiernans defending at the first goal defies belief.

 

As for our attempts at defending set-pieces, absolutely embarrassing.

get the zonal marking to fuck.Hallidays inability to mark has now cost us goals in semi final and final..

I still can't believe Kiernan showed Stokes the goals for what seemed like forever before the first. I've also noticed the man Halliday is marking has been able to score a couple of times from corners in recent games. But I'm not sure zonal marking is the problem. I've taken a good look at the way we set up to 'defend' corners. The problem - and Sviatchenko rubbed our noses in it in the SF - is that everyone is reacting to their man and no one seems to be the designated win the ball defender - the one who is only interested in getting there first. For much of this season, whenever a set piece meant the ball was coming into the box, it's been a matter of whether the opposition hits the target because they always seem to get the chance.

[ShanksRFC 3,868]

Kiernan is a poor defender and should be replaced for next season.

[kyleh1872 87]

Nice to see a thread on the actual game of football to be honest! I share other peoples thoughts about having a bad feeling before the game. We didny show up for the first 25 minutes or so in my opinion and the lads were flapping on the ball, couldn't handle hibs being in their face at all. Zelalem was brilliant tbh. Tav had a howler as did the majority of team really. You can see that lack of leadership in there, experienced boys on the park would have got the team to settle and keep possession of the ball and let hibs do the chasing, but it never happened.

[Fred H Crawford 1,182]

5 hours ago, KeyserSoze said:

it was not just our defence that was poor - I actually don't remember that fat goalie making a save... he had no chance with our goals... and that was it! nothing turned round a post, beaten or punched away.... i bet if we lobbed a few in the box instead of keeping possession at 18yrds we could have seen him struggle.. 

Corners - they swung theirs in and scored, twice. The one Barrie did swing in Kenny hit the bar with a header... the other couple of corners were short as usual... and came to nothing. Barrie hits a fantastic corner btw, something defenders and goalies shit themselves from... why not build on that fact and do more of that...

I really hope we looked at our tactics in certain aspects of our game, we can't keep doing the same things over and over and expect different results.. (I stole that quote btw)

The whole team has to take responsibility for defending the corners ,  I said earlier in the thread . it's also unfair to single out the centre backs for the goals , too many seem unable to match the runs of the attacking team ,it's been a problem all season . I also think having the smallest guy in the team on the post does nothing either ,  I would rather have Miller back in the box and leave Holt at the halfway line . All over the park though we were second best and the fact we failed to get our passing game going when we were in front and have hivs chasing about only served to give they cunts belief . Your right I can't remember Porky having anything to do apart from picking the ball out the net . As the op said many of us could see the signs that the squad had switched off a wee while back , hopefully the management team have learned from what happened and have the ability to prevent it happening in the future . MW has to realize that the last month or so of the season is not good enough for our club.

[Misteral 2,932]

Overall, poor performance by the majority of the players and a questionable substitution taking off Zelalem. We just never turned up and were flattered to lead 2-1 but those two headers were shocking. I hate to say it but it looked to me that Captain Lee actually ducked as the ball came in for the third goal.