Hopefully Sunday Is Mccalls Last Game

[LaudrupsPatrickBoots 13,540]

feel free to criticise others if you wish for the other 2, but Foster cost us goal 3 because he couldn't make a simple 10 yard pass, under no pressure, to Murdoch. What's your point exactly? He played well or i'm being harsh on him for potentially costing us promotion due to his inability to make a simple pass and being totally vote of tactical awareness?

My point is you've used Foster as a scapegoat for the purpose of your thread, ignoring the clear failings of other players. Fuck you even tried to put the blame on Foster for the first goal but let Wallace off without criticism. Still waiting on you telling me what exactly he was doing for the first goal btw.

I'm by no means Foster's biggest fan but the constant criticism he gets on here regardless of his performances (which have improved recently) is ridiculous.

[blueretro 704]

It happened recently i think may have been Ronaldinho who crossed the byline to tie his boots in a match in Brazil.

Let me get this right, you're saying if a players momentum takes him past the byline, if the ball is played towards him he can back on the field of play to gain possession and by-pass the offside rule as he was off the park?

The crucial thing in this case is it was a Motherwell player that played the ball towards him. If it had been a Rangers player playing the ball to Foster as soon as he steps on the pitch to collect it he is in an offside position.

[UnionMen 411]

The crucial thing in this case is it was a Motherwell player that played the ball towards him. If it had been a Rangers player playing the ball to Foster as soon as he steps on the pitch to collect it he is in an offside position.

Ok so you concede that being of the field doesn't override the offisde rule if you run on to collect the pass?

[UnionMen 411]

My point is you've used Foster as a scapegoat for the purpose of your thread, ignoring the clear failings of other players. Fuck you even tried to put the blame on Foster for the first goal but let Wallace off without criticism. Still waiting on you telling me what exactly he was doing for the first goal btw.

I'm by no means Foster's biggest fan but the constant criticism he gets on here regardless of his performances (which have improved recently) is ridiculous.

Zaliuskas comes over to challenge the attacker so Wallace switches with him and moves into LCB position as he s supposed to do.

It was a poor piece of defending from both, and if Wallace had gotten a shout from McGregor that the coast was clear to go double up they could have dealt with it better.

Regardless, there was no glaring error from Wallace, covering into LCB is what he's supposed to do. It's not like he misplaced a 10 yard pass, across the face of goal, inot a midfield that was a man light due to a short-option he ignored.

[Teddy bear 1873 57]

foster played ok for last 15 mins before that he wasn't putting the ball in quick enough or passing quick enough, looked as if he was dancing with the ball then lost possession a few times to many, plus Vukic had his worse game for us and law was worse than a man down at times but if mcall can get tactics right we might still get through.

Motherwell aren't the best, were not either but we have been good at times and good enough to beat Motherwell 2-0

[LaudrupsPatrickBoots 13,540]

Zaliuskas comes over to challenge the attacker so Wallace switches with him and moves into LCB position as he s supposed to do.

It was a poor piece of defending from both, and if Wallace had gotten a shout from McGregor that the coast was clear to go double up they could have dealt with it better.

Regardless, there was no glaring error from Wallace, covering into LCB is what he's supposed to do. It's not like he misplaced a 10 yard pass, across the face of goal, inot a midfield that was a man light due to a short-option he ignored.

So you're pleased that he made no effort to block the shot as it passed him? Instead actually appearing to move out the way of it.

[siamthedanger 2,864]

Yeah I dont understand why, after our best performance under McCall, the 3-5-2 formation against Hibs away (2-0) he has not stuck with that.

[Jelavic191 4,485]

Being hit on the counter attack isn't a new problem its caused us issues all season and McCall has clearly done nothing to sort it. Couldn't understand this gung-ho, both full backs attacking at the same time approach 20-30 minutes into a 180 minute tie.

He's tactically naive and I don't think he is the long term answer which we should be looking for. The next Rangers manager should be appointed with the next 3 or 4 years in mind.

[CharlieWATP 3]

If he does leave I hope to fuck he takes that prick law with him, biggest shitebag I've ever witnessed play for us.

[simplythebest 11,453]

The praise for Foster does show how bad the standards have got, even if he wasn't the worst

[Kaiser Wull 203]

The biggest culprits last night were Bell (decent shot-stopper, but no command of the box whatsover), Law (who was just hopeless), Miller (tried hard but gave the ball away with monotonous regularity - he was marginally worse than Clark) and McCall (who failed to do anything to stop the rot until we were 3-0 down, and even then he took his time about it).

Vuckic and Shiels looked tired, Wallace was miserable going forward and no great shakes in defence, Andy Murdoch was getting battered about and Foster was indifferent.

The subs all did well, though. Ferguson and Walsh were a breath of fresh air, and Boydy seemed genuinely up for it.

I've said it elsewhere, but we're still in with a shout (a faint one, granted) if McCall picks the right team on Sunday and sets it up to have a go at Motherwell in the same way that we did in the last 20 minutes.

[geronimoo 1,488]

It must be. God help us if KingCo think he is the man to take us forward. McCoist would have won that match last night. His record against SPL opposition was outstanding. We beat a weaker Motherwell side with out 4th division 2 a few years back. McCall is completely out of his depth actually makes Ally look like a genuine football manager.

SLAP!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG I've seen it all now.

[Wearethepeople72 1,847]

I hadn't watched Motherwell all season up until last night so I didn't really know what to expect from them. However, after watching the game last night, it was blatantly obvious that the main threat of Motherwell is the pace they have on wings. What I don't get is why McCall didn't do his homework.

[MasterD 7,442]

I hadn't watched Motherwell all season up until last night so I didn't really know what to expect from them. However, after watching the game last night, it was blatantly obvious that the main threat of Motherwell is the pace they have on wings. What I don't get is why McCall didn't do his homework.

Every year McCall built a team at Motherwell his main threats were pace on the wings. He's basically been beaten by his own tactics because he didn't try to stop it.

[BlueAvenger 10,408]

I don't believe that McCall is the answer.

He has got a bit more out of those "players" but still too many strange team selections, results etc.

[Wearethepeople72 1,847]

Every year McCall built a team at Motherwell his main threats were pace on the wings. He's basically been beaten by his own tactics because he didn't try to stop it.

Good point. When you consider the fact that McCall was at Motherwell at the start of the season, there is no way he should've got it wrong tactically the way that he did last night. He should have known the strengths and weaknesses of them inside and out.

[themoodybloo 77]

Is it so much to ask for a manager with at very least, a bit of common sense!?

So much of what went wrong last night falls on the manager for basic errors in both team selection & tactics.

I made a thread after the Hibs game at Ibrox about how poor I thought we were even despite the 2-0 win. We start Clark, most of our play consists of short passing until we find space for a cross... only to watch a shite ball float over Nicky Clark's head. In the 2nd half we sit back, replace Clark with Boyd, then expect Boyd instead of Clark to run the channels out wide in an attempt to get us out the half. As you were last night.

Where do I start with last night? * (I've not seen anything on TV so going with my thoughts from inside the ground).

Tactics:

Well the most glaring aspect of last night's game was easily we were shredded to bits on the counter attack. Unbelievably 2 mins after coming out for Half-Time when you think the boys would have been given the hiardryer treatment regarding who open we were at the back, and we concede a 3rd, from the counter attack.

From what I remember, Ricky Foster has pushed up on the right wing and looks to come inside, Nicky Law ran over close to him on the right byline (why?, awful positioning), Ricky Foster can't pass the ball 10 yards cause he's the shitest player I've ever seen, his pass to Murdoch falls short. Dean Shiels is standing behind Murdoch in no-mans land, taking himself out the game. The break is on, Dean Shiels try's to pull his man down cause he knows he isn't getting back, and we're left 3 vs our 2 CB's....

From what I could see we were essentally 4-3-3 given how high Miller and Vuckic play when he get up there, leaving a midfield 3 of Shiels, Law & Murdoch. Don't get me wrong I'm a fan of Shiels, I think he has that piece of craft in the hole behind the strikers, but he's not as good as Vuckic, and playing Shiels deeper, well last night he was simply awful and offered no protection to the back 2, didn't have the muscle to grit it out and doesn't have the pace to recover. Law comes wide, Murdoch is just breaking into the team.... I can't stand Ian Black but surely he would have been a better option than Shiels when you have Vuckic playing the role Shiels is cut out for?

It's simply woeful, woeful stuff both from our players but also people not knowing thei jobs. A solid CDM yesterday manning the hole in front of our 2 centre-backs at all times and we could have gotten our wings backs forward without being so horribly exposed, but McCall failed to recognise this. I give him leeway due to the shite he inherited but surely he could have found someone to do 1 of the most important roles in the team. Instead, our usual approach of pass in a horseshoe til we find a cross left us horribly exposed in 2 v 2 and even 3 v 2 MWell counters.

Team Selection:

Say what you want about Boyd, I've been a long time supporter of his. Goalscorers don't just lose the knack for it, it comes naturally. Everyone has barron spells. Starting Clark ahead of the all time top scorer in this countries top league is an insult. I'm not going to use Clark as a scapegoat here, our style of play clearly doesn't suit him (and even if it did, he's clearly not good enough). Clark is a poor man's David Healy, which is saying something, but at this level against teams that come forward he's nippy enough to run channels and maybe get himself through on goal. But we're Rangers, teams like Motherwell (never mind teams from our own league) come to Ibrox and they sit in.

Our ratio of crosses to goals/clear changes ratio must be about 1 in 50. Have you ever seen a team put in so many crosses that come to nothing? Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I can understand us trying to get to the byline and squaring up to Clark, like the Hibs goal at Ibrox, but time and time again we float balls in from deep. Even in the offchance Clark could ever win 1 of these balls wtf does McCall expect him to do with it?

We can't pass the ball in to feet either with Clark, he's weak and has a first touch of a donkey.

You ask any defender in this country who they would rather defend against, Boyd or Clark, to a man they will tell you Clark. When Boyd came on he won nearly every flick-on that comes to him, he wins us possession high-up the pitch. If it's a ball into feet he stick his big fat arse into defenders and he holds the ball. When the ball goes out wide he finds space and at least gives the crosser a target zone. He pulls defenders out of position and makes space for, well, if anyone who might have the smarts to find space in the box. Shortly before our goal, Ricky Foster floated in 1 of his big shite moon-balls hung up at the back post, Boyd forced a wonder save when he won the header. The kind of cross Nicky Clark spends a game wondering "wtf am I meant to do with that?).

Unless we specifically plan to sit in and play on the break, there's no way Clark should ever be in the team ahead of Boyd.

Wide men: We rely so heavily on Wallace and Foster putting balls in for us, not only is it so fuckin obvious but leaves us really thin at the back. Particularly with Law playing like he has a free role to come short and help the wing backs work it into a crossing position leaving huge gaps in the middle of the field.

Why didn't Shane Ferguson start? We spent the game getting Wallace forward crossing hopeless balls into Clark and finished the game with Shane Ferguson, a premiership player who was visibly a class apart from every player on the pitch (bar Vuckic), crossing balls in to a clear target (Boyd) and suddenly we looked dangerous, like a goal might come. After spending the whole game exposing ourselves with Wallace and that clown Foster pushed right up to the byline only to float a ball into Clark.

I understand Shane Ferguson might not be 100% fit but given the class of the player he should have been started along with Boyd to see what he could do in 60 minutes. From what I seen from the boy when he came on we probably had our best player sitting on the bench in our biggest game in years.

Special Mentions:

Nicky Law & Ricky Foster, you are an inspiration, to any young kid, hat if you 2 can win Rangers contracts and play in front of 50 thousand people, anyone can really achieve anything.

McCall:

Even if McCall does turn it around in the 2nd leg, we really need something fresh. Please, no more fucking "rangers men". And hopefully a manager who uses a bit of common fuckin sense, a clear game plan and appropriate personnel to suit the tactics.

This isn't one of those play station games. I take it with your special knowledge you will apply for the post ???

[Wawrinka 88]

Anyone claiming Ally McCoist is a better manager than Stuart McCall is an absolute tadger

"He had a great record against SPL teams" - aye apart from when we were actually in the SPL, and apart from the cup quarter final against Dundee United, and apart from the cup semi final against Dundee United, and apart from the 3-0 shagging by Inverness at Ibrox

[UnionMen 411]

This isn't one of those play station games. I take it with your special knowledge you will apply for the post ???

state a that post

[talisker 0]

Really strange comments on mcall, foster is a liabillity with yes others too, we was on the night not good enough for a prem side but gave them the run around for 25 mins, just a goal would have changedthe game, now a 2.0. Result in any game isnt out of the question so until sunday im not going to slag too many off, most wanted ally out and now turn on a new guy geez take a step back,

[Bad Robot 21,421]

Iv maintained that SM will only get the job should we fail to get promotion so the OP may be correct in his assumption.

[gmcf 34,501]

It must be. God help us if KingCo think he is the man to take us forward. McCoist would have won that match last night. His record against SPL opposition was outstanding. We beat a weaker Motherwell side with out 4th division 2 a few years back. McCall is completely out of his depth actually makes Ally look like a genuine football manager.

You gotta be joking. What was McCoists record against the teams we were vying for promotion ? Shite.

I'm not sure about SMcC , but one thing I know is that there is now effort there . Against Motherwell and Falkirk , when we were behind , there was an effort , at the end , to get back into the game. Yes , too little too late . But under McCoist ( and Ramsden Cup Final comes to mind ) , against anyone since Div3 , have we ever had that kind of response ?

I honestly can't think of any . . . . . ever .

[weeto 112]

McCall is a cheap and moderately safe option but I hope we get promoted and then we get rid of him and get a top of the range model to replace him.

If we DON'T get promoted then I want to keep him.

That may sound mental but I can't see us getting someone a lot better if we don't go up. I'd just sign McCall on a one year deal though and expect him to win the Championship by 15 points or more next season.

[gmcf 34,501]

I have to admit , I really don't know the answer.

SMcC has brought back a style of football that has been sadly missing for going on 3 years now , as in passion , fight and some sort of game plan. However , I sense for every two steps forward , we seem to take one back. It's an improvement , but is it enough ? On his side , he's having to play with inherited players , and I can't help but feel he'd be better once he has players of his own choice.

And yet . . . If we still remain in the second tier , there is an opportunity to try something different from the usual.

I'm wondering if Ian Cathro would be a candidate as a coach . I'm only going on reports , but I'd love us to get away from the usual style of ' Scottish ' football , that is dying on its arse , ( I mean Scotland in this , not just Rangers ) , come Euro competition. We're living in the past , and going nowhere fast. It might be time for change and if we are to stay where we are , this might be our only chance to change it.

I agree that a novice manager is probably the last thing we need right now , and is a hell of a gamble . But in this division , he'll have a bit of breathing space. To help him along , and as a shoulder to lean on , why not Alex McLeish as DoF . Surely between them , one offering a more continental style of football , the other with the knowledge of the British game , could put us on the right track.

Two wages , at our perilous financial position admittedly , but hoping that the end result will attract the crowds that will more than compensate for that.

It's just a thought.

[achaleven 38]

Foster & Law were nowhere near the worst players last night.

Carry on slating them because it's the fashionable thing to do though.

Thought Foster was one of our better better players and has been in the last few games since coming back from injury. He at least has the pace to get back and defend unlike Lee Wallace who was torn apart on the left side. For me that where our main problems stemmed from. He was very very poor and unfortunately everything seemed to be directed through him in the build up, therefore missing out players like Shields all too often and ending up with a poor pass or cross by Wallace resulting in him stuck upfield while they ripped us up on the break. It all changed when Ferguson came on and Wallace was played deeper in a more traditional left back position. I wouldn't like to criticise young Murdoch as he's been great for us, but I think he suffered from the left side issues and looked a bit affected by the occasion, big crowd etc. Add in Vukcic having his poorest ever game and then we really have problems. As for the tactics, why change to 4-3-3? Bad call by the manager.