Teddy77

If he keeps improving at this rate, we should do everything possible to buy him. He won't crack their first team anyway. Plus they have much younger prospects of similar skill. In the SPL, a player of Ejaria's skill can be like - don't laugh at me - Zidane. Especially since he seems adapting quickly to the Scottish game, which is the main issue with highly talented players like him. While the Cunts admittedly have a good squad, they don't have a playmaker of Ejaria's skill.

Waiting for him to get his Rangers career started. Letting him run at tired legs as a sub in the next few weeks will already show us his potential. While Candeias is deservedly first choice, Grezda offers something totally different. Always nice to be unpredictable.

Good that he gets to work with McGregor for a season. Next season we can send him on loan to a bigger club, there is no point loaning him to third tier clubs. Maybe even a loan spell in SPL. When he comes back, he should be reaey to take over fron McGregor, who might retire by then anyway.

If he could defend, he'd already play in the EPL. Blessing in disguise for us. Against non-top clubs in EL like Rapid, or against any SPL opponent, we should dominate the game anyway. None of this teams can deal with an attacking wingback like Tav. For every goal conceded that's (in)directly his fault, he is part of at least 5 goals created. I take that each and every day.

Brought some stability to our lackluster midfield, but he should be a sub at best if we want to be serious contenders. Arfield is a typical hard working winger who just lost the little speed he had, therefore switching to a central role. You can see he knows what he's doing, but for my liking he doesn't offer enough. He is a typical jack of all trades midfielder who has experience and offers decent cover. Imo we need our starting midfielders to be more specific. Coulibaly, once fit, is a prototype destroyer. Budt I don't see a legit playmaker in our rows unfortunately. You can survive without one of course, but for this to happen our wingers are lacking the creative spark. The 3rd role we lack in midfield is a runner who can break up play but also score a bunch of goals, a decent shooter from outside the box.

Pressing is easier said than done, especially when 9 of our players ran their socks off on Thursday. It could've taken some momentum out of their play initially, but I think after half an hour they would've killed us off. Gerrard took the blame, but in reality he had no choice.

In the end, they had better quality than us and deservedly took the win. Russia trip didn't help and being down to 9 men. Our midfield is lacking in all areas. All solid players, but too similar for my liking. No destroyer sans Coulibaly, no creator because Ejaria isn't up to be the main playmaker. You can blame Gerrard or not, but attacking them aggressively would've given them even more space to exploit. We're clearly behind them in terms of midfield quality, plus they have excellent chemistry. Gerrard will learn and move on. Battle lost, war not over yet.

Worst player over the course of the tie. If he wasn't their club manager's son, who is a footballing legend in Slovenia, nobody would care about him. He wouldn't even play.

We need faster wingers with a little bit of quality to create something one-on-one, or at least wingers who can cut inside and place a shot. The likes of Candeias and Murphy don't cut it if we want to challenge for 55. Lone striker systems need very good wingers who can score or at least create something out of nothing.

Too old now, but you can still see his class. Only player I was afraid of and who could've hurt us. Came as a young talent from Brazil, settled in Slovenia and now he's their captain for many years already. Let's find our own young Tavares though.

Put in a shift and did fairly well. Best technique in the squad, and with more game experience he will use it better. He can turn opponents around to play himself out of trouble. As he gains more confidence, I hope he pulls the trigger on through balls more often. Wasn't really a game for him, but he really worked hard. In SPL he will put the clown costume on most opponents. May I note that most fans in here tend to throw our more technically skilled players under the bus, while praising the limited workmanlike players who hoof it out of play. You need both to succeed, and I think Ovie could grow into an important player during the season.

We really need a winger who is a threat to score. That's what any system with a lone stirker needs. Someone who can cut inside and place a good shot from just outside the box. That's how the pigs won their recent titles, because in SPL nobody can defend inside cutting wingers who can shoot a bit. Obviously we need a backup for Morelos. Could do better than Lafferty, but won't complain either if it's him. In a 4-3-3 setup your wingers and midfielders just have to be able to score a decent amount. Then we obviously need a decent CB for cover and a creative playmaker with an eye for through balls would help too. Yesterday we could've caught them on the break a few times, but Arfield/Jack don't have a fine through ball, while Ovie doesn't pull the trigger often enough for my liking.

His passing isn't horrific, but technical issues are causing a few errant passes per game. It's not ideal and he'll never be mistaken for Pirlo. But as long as he plays short passes to the players surrounding him, his fight and positioning could make him an important player for us. Maybe his technical issues won't matter in a generally weak SPL. Have to watch him against the pigs first and hopefully in EL group stage to judge if he can really become a mainstay for years.

Tav offers so much in attack that you can live with his defensive shortcomings. That's what modern fullbacks are all about. They just aren't defenders by trade anymore. I couldn't name 10 complete fullbacks in the world who are good in both defence and attack, and certainly none of them is attainable for us. As for the goal, Tav can't do anything about it. What bothers me more with Tav than suspect defending is that he tends to give the ball away cheaply. In the 2nd half, when we held onto a lead, he gave the ball away at least 2 times cheaply, which made me cringe. Both situations luckily didn't lead to anything dangerous. But especially as our captain, he shouldn't give the ball away cheaply. Sometimes risk is okay, but Tav has the chronic issue of giving it away at times where no risk is needed. Let's hope Gerrard can work with him on this issue. Because on his day, he can single-handedly take over a game down the right wing. Defensive stability is all good, but we need difference makers like him in the attacking phase!

Went to Maribor some years ago with a bunch of bastards who are among my friends (unfortunately). They had no issues with their awful jerseys in the main stand. Very sweet memory for me since Maribor deservedly kicked them out. I would never recommend to wear your jersey in the main stand, but worst thing that could happen is that a fussy steward asks you to change your shirt (unlikely though). I was in Maribor quite often to watch them in Champions League and their fans are very peaceful and welcoming, especially in the main stands. There were always groups of away supporters across the stadium and I've never seen issues. My suggestion was meant for those who can't get tickets for the away section, or for those like me who live in reasonable distance to make the trip to Maribor.