Working Nine To Five

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

The Thoughts and Ramblings of DarcheVinny

For a few weeks now I have been wanting to tackle the subject of training at Rangers and even in the whole of scottish football. After reading that Hearts manager Paulo Sergio will be introducing double training sessions for his squad - seemingly to work and concentrate on improving passing within his team - now is a good time for me to discuss where Rangers could be going wrong on the training field.

Now, before I go any further, it is important to make it clear that I am not a football coach! Nor have I ever been present at any training session at Auchenhowie. Who am I to question the quality of training on offer at Rangers you may ask? I can only comment on what we are seeing (or more importantly not seeing) on the pitch each match. The whole purpose of training is to improve the team and individuals on the pitch, so where do I think we are going wrong? Or not working hard enough on in training? To try and offer answers to those questions, I will list areas of weakness - without getting too in depth - that I have witnessed both at Ibrox and on television, so far this season.

Fitness

In the european qualifiers against Malmo FF and NK Maribor respectively, the opposition were a lot fitter (yes, I know Malmo FF were half way through a season but the gulf in fitness levels was beyond that) and boy did it cost us. Painful, slow, uninventive build up, laboured passing and poor control can all be attributed to poor fitness. Also against a fitter opposition, it is harder to find chinks in the armour. This leads to the flank to flank passing we see, almost waiting for the opposition to break formation, as opposed to pro-actively causing them a problem. Now we can argue our pre-season was cut short due to the new start of the season, but should we have not started earlier to counter that?

Pass and control

How many lapses in concentration do we see in this area? Under/Over hit passes, heavy touches or mis-controlled altogether (probably not fair to name names...but I shall say Edu and Whittaker could be viewed as serial offenders). These mistakes break down our own attacks, doing the other teams defensive job for them! Not to mention gifting goalscoring opportunies to the opposition.

Set-pieces

Each and every set-piece won should be taken as a goalscoring opportunity. If I single one game out specifically, the home and second leg versus NK Maribor. Rangers had sixteen corners that night according to BBC Sport's match report. Granted, the goal we scored was a result from a Jelavic knock down off a corner, but we still should have made more of those sixteen goalscoring opportunities. How often do we see free-kicks and corners being taken and failing to beat the first defender/hit the wall?

Finishing

Again, I'll use the second leg versus NK Maribor as my example of consistently poor finishing. Whether players are snatching at opportunities, lacking composure (again this can be a result of poor fitness) or simply poor at finishing, we have an issue in this department currently. The manager himself said the number of chances we had in the home and second leg, was enough to win a number of games, let alone one.

All of the above are basics for any footballer and football team, at any level. All can be worked on and improved on the training field. Can all of the above be worked on in just three hours a day? Not for me. Be it double sessions, or 'working nine to five', I think our players need to be training better and more often, each afternoon should be given to working on team and individual weak points. Like I said initially, I am no coach or have ever been witness to training sessions, but the weaknesses on the pitch are there for us all to see. Be it Sasa's right (and possibly prosthetic) foot or Edu's first touch, all weaknesses can be improved upon and become strengths with practice and more importantly, time committed.

[bluegecko 306]

what a way to make a living

seriously though can't argue with any of that

[Senna 735]

what a way to make a living

seriously though can't argue with any of that

Beat me to it.

[bluegecko 306]

Beat me to it.

posted that part before I even read the OP

Had to be done

[Senna 735]

posted that part before I even read the OP

Had to be done

Exactly, I wasn't even reading it when I opened the thread, posting that first was the priority.

[King Jela 20,659]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpKAA2VxWY8

[Jimfanciesthedude 24,931]

our training probably goes something like this

10am arrive at murray park

10.15, changed and out for some light jogging

10.30 stand around while coisty cracks some jokes, if you dont laugh you do 20 laps of the pitch

10.45 few short sprints between cones

11am durrants turn to crack the jokes, same rules as coisty joke time applies

11.15 a ball is introduced to the session,

11.30 once the team learns the uses of the ball some light passing is begun

12pm Lunchtime

1pm Mcculloch joke time,

1.15 Some more sprinting, ball is removed from session to avoid confusion

1.30 Gentle walk back to the changing rooms for shower and finish to the day

2pm sign a few autographs outside Murray Park and head off to spend your 10k a week

[SirWalterSmithLegend 206]

Diasppointed with the lack of detail under "Set pieces". They deserve more time to analyse them. Rangers have neglected these goal scoring chances, as you rightly call them, for years now and imo, that is simply unacceptable.

Professional footballers should be hitting that huge goal target everytime they hit a ball from anywhere within 30 yards, especially from a free dead ball with no barrier within 10 yards of the taker.

[BlueAndWhite 37]

Training 6-7 hours a day is one way to boost injury numbers.

[Senna 735]

Diasppointed with the lack of detail under "Set pieces". They deserve more time to analyse them. Rangers have neglected these goal scoring chances, as you rightly call them, for years now and imo, that is simply unacceptable.

Professional footballers should be hitting that huge goal target everytime they hit a ball from anywhere within 30 yards, especially from a free dead ball with no barrier within 10 yards of the taker.

I agree on the whole but there's no point hitting the target if you're just basically passing it back to the keeper.

Remember the last minute FK against the tims in the 0-0 last season? Jela and Diouf over it, Diouf just clips it into Lurch's mitts.

Never been so gutted at a FK before.

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

Diasppointed with the lack of detail under "Set pieces". They deserve more time to analyse them. Rangers have neglected these goal scoring chances, as you rightly call them, for years now and imo, that is simply unacceptable.

Professional footballers should be hitting that huge goal target everytime they hit a ball from anywhere within 30 yards, especially from a free dead ball with no barrier within 10 yards of the taker.

I didn't want to get heavily invovled in any area...as I'm no expert! Although, I have concentrated on set-pieces in a thread last season I'm sure.

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

what a way to make a living

seriously though can't argue with any of that

I can't resist putting song titles in to thread titles! Too easy.

[MayboleLoyal_atb 3,772]

Doubt there is many teams that train straight 9-5.

[SirWalterSmithLegend 206]

I agree on the whole but there's no point hitting the target if you're just basically passing it back to the keeper.

Remember the last minute FK against the tims in the 0-0 last season? Jela and Diouf over it, Diouf just clips it into Lurch's mitts.

Never been so gutted at a FK before.

But that was clipped, an easy take for the keeper, he didnt strike it properly.

But if you cant hit target you wont score, even if it does go straight to the keeper, he can drop it, it can rebound off his hands, it could go through his grasp, anything can happen, hitting target should be a basic skill, its honestly not hard mate, i have no idea why we have guys earning 20k a week who cant do it, its scandalous and most infuriating.

When i was growing up my dad always told me from a shooting position to pick a part of the goal away from the keeper and aim for there, now, i am confident enough where i can say to my team mates or my son if we are out on the field toegther, "where will i put it?", they tell me where i should put it and 9 times out of 10 i can put it where they want. Confidence, skill and arrogance. Hours and hours, years and years of practice.

You cant be taught raw skill geniuses are born with but you can be taught how to hit a ball.

Our freekicks are nothing short of embarrassing, everytime we miss target or hit the first man a little part of me dies inside, i hate it so much.

This one sticks out like a sore thumb, Kevin Thomson first half of Uefa final, first chance im sure, great chance, easy chance, 20/25 yards out, perfect area and placement for him, shite execusion.

Davis, week in week out, over the bar, into the wall, time and time again, shite. He is capable, he has scored before but all too often he is as inconsistant from a dead ball as he is in game play.

Jelavic, has a set range around the D where he can hit them, but that seems to be his limit and area but recently in our last 5 or 6 games, he has been ignored and someone else has taken them. Poor management imo.

Its a well known fact guys like Juninho, Nakamura, Beckham, R Carlos all stayed longer at training practising their dead ball ability and boy did it pay off.

Some time, effort, better attitude and a hunger to improve, thats what we need.

[SirWalterSmithLegend 206]

I didn't want to get heavily invovled in any area...as I'm no expert! Although, I have concentrated on set-pieces in a thread last season I'm sure.

Fair enough, free kicks are one of my favourite part of the game.

[Jimfanciesthedude 24,931]

Training 6-7 hours a day is one way to boost injury numbers.

not if you do it correctly

fuck me passing a ball to each other in a line to practise first touch and passing wont do much damage to MOST of our guys

[simplythebest 11,453]

Murray Park has probably done us a lot of harm in that sense.

Players feel pampered by it.

[Jimfanciesthedude 24,931]

Nakamura,

sure the dog muncher apparently stayed behind many MANY sessions with the training walls to practise freekicks, its been said that one time he got 100 balls and didnt leave until he hit all 100 from various angles and positions

i can also remember a MASSIVE rumour from the 9iar era that laudrup tried in vain to get everyone working on ballwork, apparently all that was worked on was fitness training, laudrup and a few of the foreign lads wanted desperately to do ballwork but the scottish lads done heehaw

[Davy Vandenbroucke 26,418]

Murray Park has probably done us a lot of harm in that sense.

Players feel pampered by it.

Yeah, those Bearsden and Milngavie punters are sae selfish!

[Jimfanciesthedude 24,931]

Murray Park has probably done us a lot of harm in that sense.

Players feel pampered by it.

why though, surely they should have more willingness to train at a state of the art establishment like MP, rather than jordanhill college and bellahouston park

if i was a player at rangers id never be away from murray park, id constantly be working on what i did wrong the previous game, if my passing was woeful id work on that, if my fitness was pish id be doing cardio work etc

[SirWalterSmithLegend 206]

sure the dog muncher apparently stayed behind many MANY sessions with the training walls to practise freekicks, its been said that one time he got 100 balls and didnt leave until he hit all 100 from various angles and positions

i can also remember a MASSIVE rumour from the 9iar era that laudrup tried in vain to get everyone working on ballwork, apparently all that was worked on was fitness training, laudrup and a few of the foreign lads wanted desperately to do ballwork but the scottish lads done heehaw

Correct, he also stuck his interpreter in goals.

Also heard the Laudrup story mate, im sure its pretty accurate.

Off topic and on rumours -

Heard a cracker today in work, Big Lee doesnt talk to Ally at Murray Park apparantly. Didnt know what to think of it and the guy who was telling all and sundry about King Billy taking over Allys job a few weeks back was none other than Bills best pal, seems its just a matter of time according to him.

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

Fair enough, free kicks are one of my favourite part of the game.

Mine too. As a rugby player predominantly through my teenage years, every move is a 'set piece' in attack. From the scrum, line-out or your 3rd/4th/5th phase ruck, all have calls and moves in order to split the defence. Freekicks and corners need to use tactics similar to that you will see in New Zealand tonight from 1:30am!

[SirWalterSmithLegend 206]

Mine too. As a rugby player predominantly through my teenage years, every move is a 'set piece' in attack. From the scrum, line-out or your 3rd/4th/5th phase ruck, all have calls and moves in order to split the defence. Freekicks and corners need to use tactics similar to that you will see in New Zealand tonight from 1:30am!

I will be watching!

[SirWalterSmithLegend 206]

why though, surely they should have more willingness to train at a state of the art establishment like MP, rather than jordanhill college and bellahouston park

if i was a player at rangers id never be away from murray park, id constantly be working on what i did wrong the previous game, if my passing was woeful id work on that, if my fitness was pish id be doing cardio work etc

Mollycoddled mate, spoiled rotten.

You have the attitude of an old school Scottish footballer, like myself!

[Jimfanciesthedude 24,931]

Mine too. As a rugby player predominantly through my teenage years, every move is a 'set piece' in attack. From the scrum, line-out or your 3rd/4th/5th phase ruck, all have calls and moves in order to split the defence. Freekicks and corners need to use tactics similar to that you will see in New Zealand tonight from 1:30am!

i seen some of their game against tonga today in work (this morning actually) fucking hell their second try was simply brilliant to watch