Same Performance, Different Result

[bluenose_72 198]

We finally got that monkey off our back. Over the past couple of months before an away game the same questions have been raised about Ally McCoist and his players. Has Ally got what it takes to take this Rangers team back to the top? Do the players have the desire to match the opposition XI on their travels? Well today we got pretty much the same performance wise, but it has been that result that we have all desired.

McCoist’s team lined up in a similar 4-3-3 formation to what was used against Queen’s Park. Hegarty came in for the injured Faure at right back and Little came in for young Canadian Fraser Aird. One of the big problem areas against Queen’s Park was the right hand side. All too often it was just Faure operating there as Shiels was constantly wandering centrally and over to the left. This left the team unbalanced and the Spiders were able to defend with relative ease for large parts of the game. So it was important that Ally addressed that and he did by having Hegarty and Little there. Hegarty is able to get up and down the pitch a lot better than Faure so that was an instant advantage. Little struggled to get into the game on his first start since returning from a foot injury. Before he was out he played in that inside right position, constantly getting into the middle and supporting McCulloch. But we didn’t see that today apart from the odd occasion. He was sticking to the touchline a lot more than he was previously and he struggled to have an impact on the game. On the opposite flank Shiels was given license to come inside which he did to devastating effect in the first half with a terrific goal. But what I often find with Shiels is that he sometimes takes too long on the ball or doesn’t choose the right option. There is potential for a good link up with Wallace down the left but I think Shiels is better centrally playing behind McCulloch and that is where we will see him once David Templeton returns.

A recurring problem throughout the season has been the tempo of our play. It has been far too slow and that continued against Clyde. The area of the pitch you would expect to dictate the pace of the game is in the midfield. MacLeod, Black and Hutton started in there for the second game in a row but there was still a lack of urgency when playing the ball forward. A reason for this could be the lack of movement ahead of them. The forward players are far too static and offer very little options to the midfielders. By playing it slow we are allowing the opposition to get into their shape, which after all they have chosen to use to try and stop us. We need to drag them all over the pitch, no matter the size of it. Black and MacLeod were pushing forward a bit more against Clyde than they have previously done. With Kyle Hutton in the team this gives license to them to support the attack and cause the opposing defence some problems but they are usually sitting too deep to positively affect the game. When Templeton is back to full fitness he will likely replace Hutton and Ally will go back to the 4-2-3-1 with Black and MacLeod as the two. When he does that, we should be seeing one sitting, one supporting the attack. MacLeod especially needs to start getting forward more. He is one player who is capable of using a bit of trickery to beat a defender and he has the vision to see a defence splitting pass. We aren’t seeing this when he plays deep.

Hopefully now we have that first away win we can kick on and start to improve the performances, which have not been good enough to say the least. We will begin to see what our best team is over the next month or so with Templeton back and what kind of system McCoist wants the team to play. We have the result, now let’s get a performance to match next time.

[Senna 735]

Been saying for a while that Shiels has great feet, but a really shite football brain. He can't see a pass or run until it's way too late.

[El Carpintero 546]

I would leave Shiels wide when Temps is back. Possibly switching flanks during matches. I don't see a place for him behind Jig because i don't like us playing one up front.

Shiels - Hutton - MacLeod - Templeton

-----------------Jig - Little------------------------

Straightforward 4-4-2, nothing fancy is needed. Certainly not three central midfielders.

[77amurai 258]

Been saying for a while that Shiels has great feet, but a really shite football brain. He can't see a pass or run until it's way too late.

I think that's a fair point, definitely talented though.

[trublusince1982 768]

2 points clear with a game in hand, onwards and upwards!

[Senna 735]

I think that's a fair point, definitely talented though.

His old man is Kenny Shiels though, so the no brain bit should be a given.

[The Godfather 73,843]

Good OP.

We won the game and deserved it in the end but the perfromance was still not up to scratch and poor finishing from the oposition made it easier for us int he end.

This could be the kick we need though to get the win away from home.

[bluenose_72 198]

I would leave Shiels wide when Temps is back. Possibly switching flanks during matches. I don't see a place for him behind Jig because i don't like us playing one up front.

Shiels - Hutton - MacLeod - Templeton

-----------------Jig - Little------------------------

Straightforward 4-4-2, nothing fancy is needed. Certainly not three central midfielders.

Our link up play isn't great between midfield and attack. I think we would seriously struggle in a 4-4-2 unless the tactic is get it wide and get it in the box. If we were to play a 4-4-2 we would need to use MacLeod as the player to link up the play, which he is capable of doing, but he hasn't shown enough so far to suggest that's what he would do.

In SFL3 we would ideally play a 4-2-4 with a striker dropping a bit deeper to link up with the midfield. If we had Jig and Little up front I don't believe either would drop deep which is why I think Shiels will play just off McCulloch once Temps is back.

[El Carpintero 546]

Our link up play isn't great between midfield and attack. I think we would seriously struggle in a 4-4-2 unless the tactic is get it wide and get it in the box. If we were to play a 4-4-2 we would need to use MacLeod as the player to link up the play, which he is capable of doing, but he hasn't shown enough so far to suggest that's what he would do.

In SFL3 we would ideally play a 4-2-4 with a striker dropping a bit deeper to link up with the midfield. If we had Jig and Little up front I don't believe either would drop deep which is why I think Shiels will play just off McCulloch once Temps is back.

Good points mate. I still think simple is best and the basics are the easiest. Get the ball down, get it wide and create for the strikers. Let the two centre midfielders graft, win the ball, take from defense and get it wide. If that fails, then we may have to be more creative.

[polishranger 98]

With this guy in lineup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4iFvq5NP5I

We'll look like a completely different team.

[Gaz92 966]

When Shiels is in the right positions, it really does work. When he properly supports McCulloch, it works really well and the two link up well together. But when he has games like QP, it's pretty tough to watch.

I know many of us would like 4-4-2 but I think it's quite evident that McCoist won't do it. When he's back, I think it will be:

McCulloch

Templeton Shiels Little

Black MacLeod

With both McKay and Aird being able to slip in as replacements. It's clearly Ally's favoured tactics, and I can't see him dropping them any time soon.

[bluenose_72 198]

Good points mate. I still think simple is best and the basics are the easiest. Get the ball down, get it wide and create for the strikers. Let the two centre midfielders graft, win the ball, take form defense and get it wide. If that fails, then we may have to be more creative.

If McCulloch and Little were up front then there is no doubt this would be the most effective tactic. We seen yesterday that both Hegarty and Wallace can cross a ball so it wouldn't be a bad idea.

[Brian Fantana 28,894]

don't want to piss on the parade here but Clyde have a better stadium than most other div 3 teams. The fact we won there is no surprise IMO, but i won't be jumping for joy until we go on a run of wins at the poorer grounds.

the performance yesterday was as poor as ever, we need to step up a good few gears and start turning in performances away as well as at home and until we do i certainly won't start thginking that we are improving week on week.

the tactics and the way we line up is pish, that needs addressed first and foremost, Little must be played in the middle ahead of Jig if we are to start winning away by 3-4 goals.

[El Carpintero 546]

If McCulloch and Little were up front then there is no doubt this would be the most effective tactic. We seen yesterday that both Hegarty and Wallace can cross a ball so it wouldn't be a bad idea.

[bluenose_72 198]

When Shiels is in the right positions, it really does work. When he properly supports McCulloch, it works really well and the two link up well together. But when he has games like QP, it's pretty tough to watch.

I know many of us would like 4-4-2 but I think it's quite evident that McCoist won't do it. When he's back, I think it will be:

McCulloch

Templeton Shiels Little

Black MacLeod

With both McKay and Aird being able to slip in as replacements. It's clearly Ally's favoured tactics, and I can't see him dropping them any time soon.

I think that will be the line up we consistently see once Temps returns. But for this to work we absolutely must up the tempo and have better movement up front, otherwise it just won't work.

[Gaz92 966]

I think that will be the line up we consistently see once Temps returns. But for this to work we absolutely must up the tempo and have better movement up front, otherwise it just won't work.

Absolutely. Regardless of the tactics, the tempo needs to be improved.

[delamonty 992]

Still worrying seeing the gaps in our back 4 though.. We were a wee bit fortunate imho. But a win was important. I think Alexander has been very, very good this year. Great save yesterday from that point blank header as well.

[bluenose_72 198]

Agreed delamonty At times you think there is absolutely no understanding between Perry and Emilson.

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

We finally got that monkey off our back. Over the past couple of months before an away game the same questions have been raised about Ally McCoist and his players. Has Ally got what it takes to take this Rangers team back to the top? Do the players have the desire to match the opposition XI on their travels? Well today we got pretty much the same performance wise, but it has been that result that we have all desired.

McCoist’s team lined up in a similar 4-3-3 formation to what was used against Queen’s Park. Hegarty came in for the injured Faure at right back and Little came in for young Canadian Fraser Aird. One of the big problem areas against Queen’s Park was the right hand side. All too often it was just Faure operating there as Shiels was constantly wandering centrally and over to the left. This left the team unbalanced and the Spiders were able to defend with relative ease for large parts of the game. So it was important that Ally addressed that and he did by having Hegarty and Little there. Hegarty is able to get up and down the pitch a lot better than Faure so that was an instant advantage. Little struggled to get into the game on his first start since returning from a foot injury. Before he was out he played in that inside right position, constantly getting into the middle and supporting McCulloch. But we didn’t see that today apart from the odd occasion. He was sticking to the touchline a lot more than he was previously and he struggled to have an impact on the game. On the opposite flank Shiels was given license to come inside which he did to devastating effect in the first half with a terrific goal. But what I often find with Shiels is that he sometimes takes too long on the ball or doesn’t choose the right option. There is potential for a good link up with Wallace down the left but I think Shiels is better centrally playing behind McCulloch and that is where we will see him once David Templeton returns.

A recurring problem throughout the season has been the tempo of our play. It has been far too slow and that continued against Clyde. The area of the pitch you would expect to dictate the pace of the game is in the midfield. MacLeod, Black and Hutton started in there for the second game in a row but there was still a lack of urgency when playing the ball forward. A reason for this could be the lack of movement ahead of them. The forward players are far too static and offer very little options to the midfielders. By playing it slow we are allowing the opposition to get into their shape, which after all they have chosen to use to try and stop us. We need to drag them all over the pitch, no matter the size of it. Black and MacLeod were pushing forward a bit more against Clyde than they have previously done. With Kyle Hutton in the team this gives license to them to support the attack and cause the opposing defence some problems but they are usually sitting too deep to positively affect the game. When Templeton is back to full fitness he will likely replace Hutton and Ally will go back to the 4-2-3-1 with Black and MacLeod as the two. When he does that, we should be seeing one sitting, one supporting the attack. MacLeod especially needs to start getting forward more. He is one player who is capable of using a bit of trickery to beat a defender and he has the vision to see a defence splitting pass. We aren’t seeing this when he plays deep.

Hopefully now we have that first away win we can kick on and start to improve the performances, which have not been good enough to say the least. We will begin to see what our best team is over the next month or so with Templeton back and what kind of system McCoist wants the team to play. We have the result, now let’s get a performance to match next time.

I think you expect quantum leaps in performance but I think the improvements will be both incremental and inconsistent.

I think the incremental changes will come as the team gets to know each other better and the new players (and in new I include the youngsters) get used to to representing us and get used to the 3rd division. One of your points is our tempo - but with the physical 'style' of the 3rd division, in particular on small away pitches, tempo is hard to build but we will improve with every game, so we as a support also have a lesson to learn - patience.

I also think our improvement will be inconsistent as well - we have so many young players, allwith great potential, whenthey have beentogether for 4 - 5 years lots of thseplayers will stillonly be 22 - 23 - but for the next few seasons they,as most young players do,will stugggleto be great week after week, and its not like we have one or two bedding into the squad - we have 8, 10, 12 maybe. So again we need patience.

We will get there but the 'jpurney' is not one that willtake onemonth,or one season; it will take many months andmany seasons but we are setting up the groundwork for a new future and a new model of running the club. We have to go throughthis adjustment but the end result will be us backat the top, playing and winning in Europe andwith a stable financial grounding in the club.

[bluenose_72 198]

I think you expect quantum leaps in performance but I think the improvements will be both incremental and inconsistent.

I think the incremental changes will come as the team gets to know each other better and the new players (and in new I include the youngsters) get used to to representing us and get used to the 3rd division. One of your points is our tempo - but with the physical 'style' of the 3rd division, in particular on small away pitches, tempo is hard to build but we will improve with every game, so we as a support also have a lesson to learn - patience.

I also think our improvement will be inconsistent as well - we have so many young players, allwith great potential, whenthey have beentogether for 4 - 5 years lots of thseplayers will stillonly be 22 - 23 - but for the next few seasons they,as most young players do,will stugggleto be great week after week, and its not like we have one or two bedding into the squad - we have 8, 10, 12 maybe. So again we need patience.

We will get there but the 'jpurney' is not one that willtake onemonth,or one season; it will take many months andmany seasons but we are setting up the groundwork for a new future and a new model of running the club. We have to go throughthis adjustment but the end result will be us backat the top, playing and winning in Europe andwith a stable financial grounding in the club.

I totally agree that we need to patient. Yesterday could prove to be a massive step for the team. As I said, it's all you hear about before an away game and that must have been playing on their minds. Now that is of the way hopefully we can begin to improve performances. With regards to the tempo of our play it has been quite slow at Ibrox as well, so I don't believe that is down to the pitches. The biggest factor for me is the movement ahead of the midfielders; it just isn't there most of the time.

Last season we were at our very best when we had a consistent line up playing week in week out. I believe that will be the case again this season when Templeton returns and Ally has his entire fully fit squad to choose from.

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

I totally agree that we need to patient. Yesterday could prove to be a massive step for the team. As I said, it's all you hear about before an away game and that must have been playing on their minds. Now that is of the way hopefully we can begin to improve performances. With regards to the tempo of our play it has been quite slow at Ibrox as well, so I don't believe that is down to the pitches. The biggest factor for me is the movement ahead of the midfielders; it just isn't there most of the time.

Last season we were at our very best when we had a consistent line up playing week in week out. I believe that will be the case again this season when Templeton returns and Ally has his entire fully fit squad to choose from.

One promblem we have is our small squad -or at least the number of proven professionals in the squad - we have a real good team if our 'best' 11 can turn out but injuries and suspensions are a feature of the modern game - so we need to rely on inexperience more than we would like. We are not talking introducing one or two youths into a squad - we have a squad full of these youths - great long term but may cause us 'blips' in the shorter term, ergo patience required.

[ger50champ 300]

Mcleod needs a break for me .Still to many have him as a shoe in for starting 11 but on what basis??

He just does not do enough for me at this stage in his learning process but hes had plenty of time now.

And for those who criticise Shiels ...if anyone was watching the game yesterday and kept eye on Shiels closely then his movement,workrate and ability in the creativity stakes is way beyond any other player in starting 11 at this moment

[Big Al 55 9,384]

Been saying for a while that Shiels has great feet, but a really shite football brain. He can't see a pass or run until it's way too late.

I don't think that's anything to do with his "footballing brain".

This guy is an absolute marvel having got to the level he has considering his condition. It is testimony to his skill, vision, courage and determination that he is even able to take to the field with other professional footballers. never mind being effective at an international level. It's hardly surprising sometimes he misses runners or the odd pass is it?

I think he is an excellent player and wee need to make "some" allowances for his limitations.

[Senna 735]

I don't think that's anything to do with his "footballing brain".

This guy is an absolute marvel having got to the level he has considering his condition. It is testimony to his skill, vision and determination that he is even able to take to the field with other professional footballers. never mind being effective at an international level. It's hardly surprising sometimes he misses runners or the odd pass is it?

I think he is an excellent player and wee need to make "some" allowances for his limitations.

I've seen him miss completely obvious passes to either side of him, which should have been made, so it cannot be solely down to his disability.

If he's in the team and making an arse of things now and again, he will take the stick like any other Rangers player. He's in the side to get the best result on the pitch, nothing else.

[Big Al 55 9,384]

I've seen him miss completely obvious passes to either side of him, which should have been made, so it cannot be solely down to his disability.

If he's in the team and making an arse of things now and again, he will take the stick like any other Rangers player. He's in the side to get the best result on the pitch, nothing else.

I'm sure he wouldn't want it any other way as he would not be professional footballer if he didn't have that attitude.

Never said every mis-placed pass or missed runner was as a result of his disability, that would be stupid wouldn't it, although I'm sure many are. The point is does he do enough other good things to forgive him for missing the odd runner, I say definitely. In fact he is currently the standout player in the side.

Could give you half a team I would have a go at before Shiels.