SIRB_72

With both Goldson and Davies out Gio has to try something dynamic here, no luaghing at the back. If we got with just Sands or Lundstram along side King we will get ripped to shreds. He has to basically throw any structure out the window before it happens on the park naturally.

We're fucked.

In regards to Balogun, I think we're forgetting his injury record was hardly stellar. The guy literally couldn't play Thursday/Sunday when he was here. When we won the league we had to rotate him and Helander to keep them both fit and fresh. If we were having to bring him in now we'd be lucky if he'd last until next Saturday injury free if he wasnt already!

Writing was on the wall with this guy. His track record pre-Rangers was hardly stellar. I actually feel like he's signed some decent players this summer but for a club in our position that is half the job. He's clung on to the majority of a squad that has been here too long and apparently just don't have the hunger anymore.

Can we just have it as fresh and as new as possible on Sunday McGregor Tav. King. Davies. Yilmaz Sands Lundstram Sakala. Tillman. Matondo Colak That there is only two players who were here 4 years ago rather than the 7/8/9 who usually play from that era. I know Sands and Tillman are loans but can we at least start playing the guys who the club actually expect to be here the next 2/3 years. They might actually build up a bit of understanding and by the time we get rid of the old guard have some kind of foundation to build on? Suppose that is too forward thinking for Rangers just now.

Boy should have been protected as it got to three and Mo Salah was standing on the touchline followed by Jota moments later. No protections from the full backs, Davies was basically defending himself at points and the midfield were absolutely missing. King isn't Goldson but he's also about 12 years less experienced than him. It was inevitable what was going to happen, he needed protected by senior professionals and by the manager.

Just on Beale I don't think there is any chance he comes back here in his current position. However, it just peddles another lie from the board and Wilson. All about continuity and this kind of "one club ethos" It's not about the manager, it's about how a manager fits the club blah blah blah. Beale was basically the best fit if this single club vision was to be believed. He was the brains behind Gerrard's business. Instead though we ignored continuity and went with a manager who plays 4-3-3 very differently to what the previous incumbent and our two DoF/Sporting Directors had intended the squad to be used. The chance for Beale and continuity has long gone.

excellent. At least I know where it is so I can quote in a few months!

I understand the circumstances but could Gerrard also have avoided daft cup humiliations to the teams I mentioned year after year? No reason why he couldnt pick up a couple of cups in that time and stop celtic moving their trophy haul closer to us by 6 in two years. His budget in those first two years still dwarfed the next closest team in the league. The first season we failed to beat Aberdeen twice in the Scottish Cup. Both the draw at Pittodrie and the loss at Ibrox featured 7 who started tonight and Morelos up top. In the league I don't think the squad was strong enough until that third season. You just have to compare the two benches in the first two years so I do agree with that. 7-1 tonight could have and should have been avoided and that is all on Gio. Still don't see Gerrard as some standard bearer though to throw mud at Gio.

Can we just wrap the Gerrard comparison's as well? It's basically Gerrard didn't lose as much to other decent European teams. We're facing down the barrell of a gun in terms of our trophy haul because of his time as manager. Say what you want about Gio but Gio has done nothing more or less than Gerrard in the league, won 1 cup out of 1, took us to a EL final and got us to the CL on the first opportunity unlike Gerrard Gerrard couldnt pick up one fucking cup in 3 full seasons. We lost to celtic once in those 6 opportunities. The others were Aberdeen x2, Hearts, St Mirren and St Johnstone - sorry but that's criminal. The fact we didnt win a treble the year of 55 is ridiculous as well. They were at their worst for years and we dropped the ball and he got away with it because of 55 and then fucked off months later. Getting knocked out to Slavia who were nothing more than a "smart" side (football wise) was another one he got away with. Gio has his flaws but lets not act as if Gerrard is something to hold up as the standard bearer. We've got plenty of superb managers in our history who we can do that with.

Serhiy Rebrov. His record domestically and on the continent with Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros is flawless.

Until we get rid of him whether it is Gio or any other manager he kept a majority of this squad together for too long. Letting guys run down contracts. This summer was the chance for new and fresh and we're looking at 7 starting who were here in 2018.

Maybe not but we were open as fuck man. I do agree some of the players chucked up but the manager needs to aid that. How can he sit there after Liverpool have scored a 4th and think making 3 like for like changes up top is the right thing to do? Recruitment is a lot to do with this but in a situation like this the manager has to look after the reputation of the club.

Defended Gio plenty in this thread. This tonight is undefendable. No Rangers manager should let a game get away like that. Started off with the right approach tonight and we should have been ahead at half time. We lose Goldson and make a like for like for King which is fair. It gives us the chance to keep ourselves high and compete in midfield. However at the moment it goes 3-1 and Salah, Thiago and Robertson are about to come on you reign it in. You go Walternaccio and you defend that 3 with everything you have. Still though we go for it, not very well, and even after the 4th he makes three like for like changes if that's going to make any difference. We've had this type of result under Gio before at parkhead a couple of times, Ajax and Napoli under different circumstances. Though we haven't done it like this. In those other games Gio knew to reign it in before it was 5/6/7, tonight he didnt give the team that chance.

So easy, all five tonight so easy. As for the changes I don't know why Gio is chasing this. After 3 should have gone to 3 cbs and tightened it up Still 10 minutes left

This is going to sound negative but its just realism. Seriously need to consider change to three cbs here to protect King or this could be embarressing.

Brilliant half from us and deserved to be in front. Very soft from Tav for the goal (and dare I say all round from him). Gutter about Goldson and hopefully not too long. Him and Davies looking superb together so far!

Under Gio in Europe every time we've failed to beat a team on the first chance we've won the second game/leg. Based on that, and solely that, 2-0 Rangers.

Good to see this guy doing well. Always thought he was a good player, was never the same after that St Mirren player took a dig at him.

What is this stuff about performances? We're Rangers, we're about winning first and sometimes we'll get some good football. I'd happily win 1-0 every week if it meant we got a league title raised in front of us in May We've sat through league seasons wheb we've had shocking games under Walter, Eck and Gerrard. It wasnt all pretty football, in some cases rarely, but the 3 points and the job got done. Even under Advocaat it wasn't always pretty. We're on course to score 100+ goals in the league. If that isn't entertaining I really don't know what is.

Played well today and is always a threat even if the ability isn't always. Deserved a run in the team for a long time based on his tremendous goals per 90. Overall some kind of rotation between him, Matondo and Kent would be good!

I understand we cant use 4-1-3-2 every week because we probably need 4 strikers to it reguarly with domestic and European games. However, the few times we used it under Gerrard was the best football we had played under him. The movement and the use of space on and off the ball was just too much for the likes of Hamilton and Aberdeen. Tav and Borna bombing on giving width, the options of either Kent, Matondo or Sakala coming inside or joining Colak, Tillman or Arfield can play behind the strikers and both could move past Morelos who would be dropping deep. An absolute nightmare for teams to defend. With the ball you have teams so pushed back they can't get out. Without the ball your press would be so high in territory and numbers of bodies teams up here would really struggle.

At first I never thought Gerrard would ever play Morelos and Roofe together. I wouldn't rule out ever seeing Morelos and Colak especially when Gio is more adaptable than Gerrard.

Just like last season was our exception in Europe too!

Surely if we knocked out USG and PSV in CL qualifiers we would be alright in the EL? USG have picked up 9 points from 3 and PSV 4 pts from 2 in their EL groups as a 4th seed and a 2nd seed. We, I'm pretty sure, would have been a first seed in the EL groups to. Correct me if I'm wrong! So against a second seed EL team we would have picked up 4 points against PSV (2-2 & 1-0) and 3 pts against a 4th seed in USG (3-0 & 0-2). I'm pretty sure we'd find three points in two games against the likes of Sheriff, Betis, Midtjylland, Bodo, Ferencvaros, Union Berlin, Frieburg or Fenerbache to likely put us into the next round. All hypothetical of course because we're in the Champions League.