Unlucky or Unworthy ???

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

35 minutes ago, Prso's headband said:

The defence isn't the problem. That's becoming boring now. 

When you have 60%+ of possession and create one meaningful chance outside the penalty then your problem is your creative players and forwards. 

For all the nonsensical criticism of Clint Hill, nothing got by him on Sunday again. The only time Clint Hill looks "passed it" "out of his depth" etc is when he's trying to do both CBs jobs. 

The problem is Mckay, playing a CF out on the wing, and general play between the midfield 3 which is extremely slow. 

The way Jason Holt gets talked about you'd think he would actually have done something by now. Forget his goal against QoS ffs we can beat any championship team but he's done nothing either

You're right on Hill. He looks the more solid of the four central defenders we have, but we have another three in the back line who are having a mare and with Halliday in the hole, we remain to be as weak as piss defensively

No creativity in the midfield and go forward at a snail's pace with all the square and back passing. No cutting edge and shot shy strikers struggling to hit a barn door.

We are lack lustre. I see a team lacking in confidence. I see fear and a malaise setting in and it's a difficult watch.

[NeoGeo7 10,517]

The way I see it is we've got problems in all 3 areas.

Defence isn't good enough and won't be unless we invest in January.

Midfield was devoid of energy and was too slow. The manager has attempted to rectify this in recent games and we've looked better as a result.

The front 3 for me is the big concern. As mentioned there isn't enough guile or cutting edge. The players we have aren't good enough to play this formation and I really believe a 2 striker formation will serve us better until such time we can get real quality in these positions.

[Bakbear 3,586]

1 minute ago, Prso's headband said:

We all know the defence isn't the best and never will be. We accept were going to concede a goal in most of our games,it's the way MW plays. If he had instilled any of his "philosophy" into the players then from middle to front they know the onus is on them to step it up and take it to teams, not pass it about, look disinterested and generally shy away from play. 

You just cannot talk about shots at goal, possession etc without any meaningful product. 

Most teams that go to Ibrox are already clinging on for a point and if they score it's a bonus.

Aberdeen didn't sit back much on Sunday and we still couldn't unlock them. 

The problem for me lies from middle to front, although the defence isn't perfect they certainly ain't performing at their worst

Defence had one brain fart on Sunday. The rest of the game they were pretty comfortable. Hill is looking good alongside Wilson. Tav is never going to be the best defensive right back option but his attacking ability makes up for that if we play to it. 

Middle to front are out of form. McKay has been out of it from the start of the season and needs to be dropped. He undoubtedly has talent but he is struggling to find the form and i think he is more likely to regain confidence by coming back into a successful team after a spell on the bench. Waghorn is showing his ring rustiness from injury. Garner needs time to settle at a new bigger club. 

I disagree on holt. I think he has added energy and intensity to our midfield and we have been better since he came back. He drags the opposition out of position with his movement and running more than anyone else we have. 

Forrester has been hot and cold and Windass needs to get fit. 

We have been stinking this season. But there are signs of improvement. One or two breaks of a ball or luck going our way and I am optimistic we can kick on. 

[loyalfollower 1,543]

12 minutes ago, Deanzmeanzheinz said:

With respect PB I disagree with your first sentence. We've fallen behind in 5 of our 7 league games this season. Teams get inspired and are more able to keep their shape because they have something to cling on to 

if we keep the back door shut and take the lead in games we can go on a run. 

But surely we wouldn't fall behind if we actually created and scored more?. It's not like we concede in the first 10 mins, usually we've over passsd the ball for about half hour then get hit on the counter.

middle to front is fast becoming our biggest downfall 

[cr3_bear 14,862]

2 minutes ago, Bakbear said:

Defence had one brain fart on Sunday. The rest of the game they were pretty comfortable. Hill is looking good alongside Wilson. Tav is never going to be the best defensive right back option but his attacking ability makes up for that if we play to it. 

Middle to front are out of form. McKay has been out of it from the start of the season and needs to be dropped. He undoubtedly has talent but he is struggling to find the form and i think he is more likely to regain confidence by coming back into a successful team after a spell on the bench. Waghorn is showing his ring rustiness from injury. Garner needs time to settle at a new bigger club. 

I disagree on holt. I think he has added energy and intensity to our midfield and we have been better since he came back. He drags the opposition out of position with his movement and running more than anyone else we have. 

Forrester has been hot and cold and Windass needs to get fit. 

We have been stinking this season. But there are signs of improvement. One or two breaks of a ball or luck going our way and I am optimistic we can kick on. 

The defence had more than one brain fart , the ball which caused their first goal caught our defence out a further 3 or 4 times afterwards 

[cushynumber 25,178]

I dont even know what unworthy means in the context of a football match. Plenty of teams dont play well and win and plenty of teams play well and lose. The only thing that matters at the end of the day is the 3 points - and we didn't get them. Aberdeen had a game plan of sitting in and seeing what they could get on the break and it worked. Does that make them worthy winners? 

[Bakbear 3,586]

4 minutes ago, cr3_bear said:

The defence had more than one brain fart , the ball which caused their first goal caught our defence out a further 3 or 4 times afterwards 

Well yeah I agree to an extent. They started targeting Tav and the space he leaves behind him and after 3 or 4 times that space got shut down. But even those 3 or 4 times our defence got back and dealt with it. Unlike the 1st time. So it was really a collective brain fart on that first one and then a failure of Tav to learn from that the next few times. 

Anyway. The point stands that the defence looked much better for them vast majority of the match and there are signs of improvement. Even if it was against a shite Aberdeen team. 

The team is learning more than just the technical aspects of Scottish football. They are learning the emotional aspect too. We have lived it. We have been brought up surrounded by it.  But some of these guys are going to be amazed at the hatred fired out at them. I am sure the experienced guys like Halliday, Miller and Davie Weir have told them but it's not the same as being in the middle of it. 

[simplythebest 11,453]

22 minutes ago, Big Al II said:

Where is this we created nothing nonsense coming from? Away from home in our second most difficult game of the season we created more than enough chances to win the game.

Aberdeen gave us possession, aye right

Did we really? Besides Waghorn's sitter I thought we seemed toothless up front to be honest 

[Deanzmeanzheinz 4,312]

33 minutes ago, minstral said:

You can have the ball all game, but to win the game you have to score goals. Our football can look good when we pass the ball around, but the end game is to win games, which at the moment, we are not doing.

Exactly - Leicester won the prem and in most of their games thru had less possession than their opponents. Mostly they let teams come at them and slipped it to mahrez to run at the defence or it went over the top and vardy was hareing after it. Simple but very effective. 

[Bruno's Manbun 2,631]

31 minutes ago, Dutchy said:

You're not going to score many goals from passing the ball about between your defense and midfield in your own half.

We're so slow at getting up the park that the opposition have loads of time to get their players back to pack their defense. I agree, our midfield and attack are far too slow and not really up to the job, unfortunately!

Another extremely valid point which frustrates the life out of me....Passing for passing sake. And going nowhere with it. One of the only players I saw making any real effort to make runs and create space on Sunday was Waghorn. The team just seem to be static when off the ball.

And to add to that....passing backwards!!!! STOP FUCKING PASSING BACK TO THE DEFENCE. Leaves too much chance to get caught out. Come up against a team with a switched on forward (kind of like how Miller presses the opposition) and one slack pass and we will pay the price. Gives me the absolute fear watching them pass it about at the back.

[Moody Blue Legend 61,467]

Should never have lost that's for sure.

[Bad Robot 21,150]

8 minutes ago, Deanzmeanzheinz said:

Exactly - Leicester won the prem and in most of their games thru had less possession than their opponents. Mostly they let teams come at them and slipped it to mahrez to run at the defence or it went over the top and vardy was hareing after it. Simple but very effective. 

Until teams set up against that which was always going to happen this season 

[Cobham 1,569]

I really think we need to think about a change of shape. We don't create enough good chances playing the way we do. I'd seriously consider playing 5-3-2 or 3-5-2 (whatever way you want to interpret it.) It would allow Wallace and Tav to get forward without leaving the CBs too exposed, it would also give Garner someone to play off, he's not a lone striker and isn't going to hold the ball up but equally despite playing wingers we don't seem to create any chances for someone we signed to score goals. Wilson, Hill and another at CB, Rossiter or Crooks holding and two of McKay, Windass, Holt further forward and Garner, Waghorn, MOH, Miller and Dodoo for the 2 striking positions. Probably Garner and Waghorn would be my first choice.

It's never going to happen so I don't know why I wasted 5 minutes of my life typing it. 

[B1872 20,718]

Can't defend and can't score goals! ?????

[Big Al 55 9,252]

21 minutes ago, simplythebest said:

Did we really? Besides Waghorn's sitter I thought we seemed toothless up front to be honest 

Garner header

Garner fresh air shot from 6 yards

Holt skied shot unchallenged from 14 yards

McKay had more than one golden shooting opportunity, one in particular where he could have driven into the box rather than shooting from distance.

Waghorn skied over the bar from 2 yards

And our penalty.

[Captain Hilts 12,819]

Having a lot of possession doesn't make you worthy of winning a game as Warburton always seems to suggest.  Other than the Garner header in the first half and the sitter Waghorn missed from 3 yards, I can't remember any other clear cut chances we had against Aberdeen.  The midfield 3 always seems to want to pass backwards or to the wings even when there's yards of space in front of them.  Seems a bit of a comfort zone to me.

[teddybears1872 129]

Team just comes across as slow , And simply has no plan to attack the opposition, Yet they are not playing bad,It looks like the players are just not good enough for the league to sustain any sort of challenge. We are good at the possession game,Just no awareness of what to do with it. We really need a leader,Someone who can take charge of the game and get our players attacking and defending, as needed

[wullyRFC 5,230]

Depending where you get the stats from we had 1 or 2 more shots than Aberdeen. They had more on target though.

[MayboleLoyal_atb 3,691]

Unlucky against Aberdeen and Ross county. Unworthy in the rest 

[The Godfather 71,893]

You can dissect it all you want in the end it comes back to the fact we are pish

[Leeds_Bear 8,110]

5 wins in 17 - whether unlucky or not is completely unacceptable from any Rangers team at any level. 

[Drunk and disorderly. 14,421]

15 minutes ago, The Godfather said:

You can dissect it all you want in the end it comes back to the fact we are pish

You can't fix it until you work out what is wrong. I know that some would rather sack the manager (and bring in fuck knows who) but it would be easier, cause less upheaval and be less expensive if MW sorted out our current problems. 

[Albertz 78 918]

Teams let Rangers have a lot of possession on purpose as they know we need 15 chances to score one goal.

The minute other teams put 10 men behind the ball we look out of ideas. The last two league games could have been played for 5 hours each and we would still not have scored from open play.

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,137]

Am I wrong in thinking the scum play a similar game to ourselves ? plenty teams sit back and let them have possession but they seem to be able to find the killer pass inside the box, they know where their  team mate is,they also make better use of corners and set pieces, something the boss doesn't seem to care about.

[Reformation Bear 6,453]

I don't believe bad (or good) luck comes into it game after game.  In the course of a season these so-called 'luck' related things tend to even themselves out.   Luck is not the underlying cause of the current league form.   Neither, imo, is it to do with players being unworthy.  

By Scottish top league standards an expensive (in salaries and transfer fees) squad has been assembled.   It has been assembled under the direction and approval of the Manager.   It has been created to play in a way that Warburton thinks will deliver the (low) objective for this season which - according to King's statements - appears to be simply a requirement to be 'competitive' and to obtain a European football slot for next season.  Low standards by Rangers' traditions.    Even Warburton just described the ambition at the start of the season as one where he wants the team to 'be more than competitive'.

Well the team is not competitive never mind demonstrating a capability to be more than competitive.  The trend of poor league results is not being turned around.  Why?   Maybe because Warburton is out of his depth in understanding this league and how to play clubs in it so that meaningful runs of victories are secured.  Maybe he's got players who just cannot do what he wants them to do in matches.   Fine on the training ground but when it comes to live contact with the opposition we persistently find - game after game - that we cannot defend properly for the full duration of the game, nor can we score enough goals.   Looking after the football, being pitch aware, pressing quickly, passing quickly and all the other positive things that Warburton talks about are all very well.   But meaningless unless the end product is enough victories and enough points.

The players - Warburton's choices - do not look good enough to deliver in the way Warburton seems to want to play.   They try but they cannot do.    When confronted with mounting evidence that Plan A is not working Warburton's only response is to stick with Plan A and hope that it comes right eventually.   In that sense he is a gambler.   If he repeatedly gambled wrongly when he was a financial trader you'd think his bosses would be feeling his collar.  But then maybe not after all a notorious trader once brought down a mighty investment bank (Barings) single handedly and largely because his bosses thought he was being successful and making money when the very reverse was happening.   

Warburton is on an experiment with Rangers.  A project. A programme.   Gambling game after game that his intended method of playing will eventually click with the squad and winning runs start to be accumulated so that the (still low) objective for the season is achieved.    Or it may not and sooner or later someone else would have to pick up the pieces and try again.   It's not luck and its not a lack of worthiness.  It is down to effective leadership - leadership that gets a squad to delivering massively better results.    Is that within Warburton's  locker to achieve?  Right now I don't see anywhere near enough evidence of it.