Our defence

[The_Establishment_1873 46]

Very worried about our defence right now.

Whittaker is playing like an empty jersey, Weir looks finished, Broadfoot looks lost and Foster looks out of his depth.

And to add to this our midfield cannot seem to protect the defence.

Seriously Kilmarnock could have humped us today if it was not for the errors, and deserved it just like Hibs.

Man Utd will rip us apart on this form.

It simply is not good enough and I am worried, big time.

[Tristan 11]

Our defence has been awful all season. This simply has to be Weir's last season. No ifs or buts.

[ronniemca 479]

boogie has carried the defence recently

[Muff 245]

Worried about our defence and midfield - not good at all.

Weir should have hung up his boots at the end of last season and not buying a centre half in the summer was a stupid move.

But you will get criticised because we won, and talking about our weaknesses should be forbidden. A blind man can see what's wrong and it's time these areas were worked on. At times we are lacking the basics and it's costing us - maybe not in results, but it will do, and has before.

[Davie2909 21]

Without Bougherra we look very very weak at the back. I personally dont agree with you on Foster i think he hasnt actually had much of a chance to show what he can do.

In January we badly need a CH and rid of Webster and a left back. I would like to see McMillan given a chance at RB

[Muff 245]

Without Bougherra we look very very weak at the back. I personally dont agree with you on Foster i think he hasnt actually had much of a chance to show what he can do.

In January we badly need a CH and rid of Webster and a left back. I would like to see McMillan given a chance at RB

Even with Bougherra we have been all over the place, conceeding sloppy goals.

[markybear 136]

Goals conceded - far far too many

Goals scored - enough to cover up the defensive cracks

The defence is night and day from last season

I'm worried about wed big time without bougie if I'm brutally honest

[Muff 245]

Goals conceded - far far too many

Goals scored - enough to cover up the defensive cracks

The defence is night and day from last season

I'm worried about wed big time without bougie if I'm brutally honest

Only so long that the attack can make up for the shit at the back, we see it throughout every level of football. Even worse if you took out Miller, because Jalevic is injured, Beattie is a liability, Lafferty is shit and that would leave us with little options.

We must shore up this defence and sort out our powder-puff, piss poor midfield.

[markybear 136]

Whitty needs to sharpen up for a start

[Muff 245]

I actually thought Weir had a better game yesterday.

Caught napping far too often, sat deeper than ever and his distribution was shocking. He's on his last legs and it's showing.

[The_Establishment_1873 46]

Yeah fair enough, although sometimes it looked like he was babysitting Broaders.

I thought he actually looked a bit more active than normal and made some timely interventions but thats just me.

Fact is its simply not good enough and something has to be done in January or we will blow this lge and be out of Europe.

[gordo7 147]

Weir's lack of pace causes our defence and midfield to sit far too deep, which in turn puts more pressure on them. I agree that we should have bought a CH, and definitely should try and get one in January. Foster got caught a few times yesterday, and Whittaker has been awful all season. We'll probably have to stick with what we've got fullback wise till the season's over, but then we have to get the position sorted. Why not give McMillan a chance, can do no worse than the ones holding the jerseys now.

[djbroxybear 660]

Worried about our defence and midfield - not good at all.

Weir should have hung up his boots at the end of last season and not buying a centre half in the summer was a stupid move.

But you will get criticised because we won, and talking about our weaknesses should be forbidden. A blind man can see what's wrong and it's time these areas were worked on. At times we are lacking the basics and it's costing us - maybe not in results, but it will do, and has before.

Spot on mate 100% correct , Webster sicknote would have played yesterday had he been in right frame of mind, Whitty is a liability yet gets a game week in week out, we have not covered LB papac is not the answer and now hes out we play a right sided player there instead of playing wylde straight swap. But hey its not the first time Smith plays players out of position.

[docspiderman 1,234]

If we look at the defenders yesterday;

Whittaker- No positional sense,lacks concentration,still to realise that opposition wide men play wide, no balance and rarely makes a decent tackle all this with extremely poor passing ability.

Weir- Well past his sell by date and gets through on experience and positioning but cannot cope when he has to cover for others.

Broadfoot- A SFL first division central defender at best; copes at full back but lacks passing ability.

Foster- Was never all that good at Aberdeen; his game at wing back against Valencia has covered his frailties at full back.

Papac is a big miss because he covers his position and so often mops up for his colleagues.

Bougherra is missed because of his pace,mobility and tackling ability.

[BeautifulSeas 10]

At the start of the season I thought we were so strong in this area. In fact I couldn't see how we could keep them all happy. Now, much like most in this thread, I am starting to panic. Boughy is out for a few weeks, Webster is AWOL despite an excellent pre season, Whittaker is a shadow of his form last season, Weir is reliable but doesn't have long left (or any pace), Wilson has gone, Papac is one step away from a calamity, although is great on his day. Broadfoot is...Broadfoot - enough said. Foster, I'm still not sure despite a great game against Valencia (THAT miss aside, which could have cost us 5 million).

Where from here? I'm really not sure. I think Webster has to get fit and playing if we are to mount a serious title challenge as we need cover. We know he has the ability.

I'm still confused why Broadfoot got a new contract (and Thomson didn't?!?) but we need a new right back (fourth?!?) and possibly a left back. The only other options is if one of the youngsters get a run out.

It's funny really, I'm sitting here thinking that our midfield needs some work as well, but here we are, top of the table and three points clear! Happy days.

[1873bear 192]

We have lost 15 goals in 14 games so far in the SPL with Boogie & Papac out that can only get worse, I knew at te start of the season we needed a replacement for sir davie it could prove to be a season too far for him but he hasn't been as bad as people are making out.

[Ozblue 4,331]

At the start of the season I thought we were so strong in this area. In fact I couldn't see how we could keep them all happy. Now, much like most in this thread, I am starting to panic. Boughy is out for a few weeks, Webster is AWOL despite an excellent pre season, Whittaker is a shadow of his form last season, Weir is reliable but doesn't have long left (or any pace), Wilson has gone, Papac is one step away from a calamity, although is great on his day. Broadfoot is...Broadfoot - enough said. Foster, I'm still not sure despite a great game against Valencia (THAT miss aside, which could have cost us 5 million).

Where from here? I'm really not sure. I think Webster has to get fit and playing if we are to mount a serious title challenge as we need cover. We know he has the ability.

I'm still confused why Broadfoot got a new contract (and Thomson didn't?!?) but we need a new right back (fourth?!?) and possibly a left back. The only other options is if one of the youngsters get a run out.

It's funny really, I'm sitting here thinking that our midfield needs some work as well, but here we are, top of the table and three points clear! Happy days.

I think it's a case of glass half full - glass half empty scenario, Si.

How the hell we are top of the pile with the kind of defensive performances we have put in is mystifying to say the least. We have shipped 15 goals in 14 games so far compared to 9 goals in the same period last season in the SPL with basically the same personel, but our goalscoring rate has increased from 26 last season to 34 this season, so is this the reason for those figures?

As far as Foster goes, I wasn't real chuffed when I heard he was signing for us because I never really rated him ( although he was a better defender than that twat Mulgrew) but his performance in the CL had me thinking again about him. I feel that if we had stuck with him after the Valencia game and gave him an extended run, he would have came on leaps and bounds, but for reasons known only to Walter, we haven't seen him in any of the other 20 odd game we have played this season.

As for our central defence on Saturday, the pairing of Weir and Broadfoot must have been the slowest I've ever seen at Ibrox and is definitely a worry for the upcoming CL game against Man Utd. who I originally thought we could have beaten...now I'm a bit apprehensive with a defence that's far too slow and lack ball retention.

But then again, my optimistic side takes over and says we will beat them with experience, no sweat!

[simplythebest 11,453]

If the takeover goes through and it frees up funds for the January window then i'd say another centre half is a priority.

[GeneralCartmanLee 313]

If we look at the defenders yesterday;

Whittaker- No positional sense,lacks concentration,still to realise that opposition wide men play wide, no balance and rarely makes a decent tackle all this with extremely poor passing ability.

Weir- Well past his sell by date and gets through on experience and positioning but cannot cope when he has to cover for others.

Broadfoot- A SFL first division central defender at best; copes at full back but lacks passing ability.

Foster- Was never all that good at Aberdeen; his game at wing back against Valencia has covered his frailties at full back.

Papac is a big miss because he covers his position and so often mops up for his colleagues.

Bougherra is missed because of his pace,mobility and tackling ability.

No he isn't.....

[simplythebest 11,453]

He's 40 years old!

[GeneralCartmanLee 313]

He's 40 years old!

and still holding his own in Europe and in the league.....

[The_Establishment_1873 46]

and still holding his own in Europe and in the league.....

I dont enjoy this, infact I hate to say it about such a great servant but Sir Davie looks to be struggling every week

[GeneralCartmanLee 313]

I dont enjoy this, infact I hate to say it about such a great servant but Sir Davie looks to be struggling every week

aye i remember as he failed to break sweat against the filth thinking "the big man is really struggling here".....

He's been better than his partner in crime in nearly every game this season......

[Tristan 11]

and still holding his own in Europe and in the league.....

3 clean sheets in 14 league games and you think Weir is "holding his own" ? I strongly disagree. And as for Europe, the only reason our defence has done so well is because of the 5-4-1. And the only reason we're playing 5-4-1 is because of how out of his depth Weir was last season when we kept it at 4 at the back.

[delamonty 992]

What's the latest with Webster? How can he be out for so long? Really looks like he simply doesn't have the balls to play for The Rangers imho. Looking for excuses not to pull on the jersey. (As crazy as that sounds).