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[jamess 3,435]

5 minutes ago, Getstiffed said:

There's never enough players in the box even on the odd occasion someone does get to the byline and put a ball in and when McKay or Waghorn do cut in neither full back is making the run into the space wide (or overlapping) its always a run back into traffic.

When we played they horrible bastards last season both players playing wide, McKay and Shiels, played right on the touch line for most of the game. It stretched them which seems ass backwards to me because unlike every other team outside of them and ourselves, they don't try and squeeze the game narrow against us. We should be stretching teams like that especially at Ibrox. At the very least it allows our FBs or the MFs making runs in gaps created which invariably on the inside of the opposition FBs.

Re-occurring theme for me this season is noticing nobody in the box when we are painting pretty pictures on the flank.

[Getstiffed 8,863]

15 minutes ago, jamess said:

Re-occurring theme for me this season is noticing nobody in the box when we are painting pretty pictures on the flank.

I think most of our players all learning at the same time is maybe hurting us a wee bit because most of our creative players have that naivety, when to stick when to twist.

Unfortunately its gonna take time unless the club can come up with a few million for the manager to spend on transfers and maybe a wee bump in wages that can be offered.

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

We are not overly gifted with talent, so for me it's keep simple and back to basics. 442 or 451 and have defenders defending and wingers attacking wide. 

We are now not only getting exploited over the top, through the middle, but we are also getting it down the left and right flanks. If cannot get the defending roght, the rest will always be a struggle. Fuck we even have Miller spending a lot of his time cutting back to help put a defence missing in action.

I watched the EPL highlights and we really are light years away. Seriously high tempo stuff. Even lowly Bournemouth, a small club, with limited resources compared to the rest, dishing out a lesson in how to play the game. Their manager, Eddie Howe is obviously exceptional at his job.

[Getstiffed 8,863]

7 minutes ago, Blue Avenger said:

We are not overly gifted with talent, so for me it's keep simple and back to basics. 442 or 451 and have defenders defending and wingers attacking wide. 

We are now not only getting exploited over the top, through the middle, but we are also getting it down the left and right flanks. If cannot get the defending roght, the rest will always be a struggle. Fuck we even have Miller spending a lot of his time cutting back to help put a defence missing in action.

I watched the EPL highlights and we really are light years away. Seriously high tempo stuff. Even lowly Bournemouth, a small club, with limited resources compared to the rest, dishing out a lesson in how to play the game. Their manager, Eddie Howe is obviously exceptional at his job.

Aye and they also benefit, budget or not, from the game being run properly at all levels.

Ironically enough our manager had a hand in that.

[JamesRFC__ 172]

The one positive aspect you get from having both a winger and an attacking full-back is the ability to drag the opposition wingers all the way back. This obviously makes it harder for a team to counter us but also makes the opposition wingers put in an absolute shift trying to get up and down the pitch constantly. 

Our 3 main problems at the moment in my opinion is our play is too slow, a serious lack of movement off the ball in the final third (those first 2 problems are linked together) and a lack of players getting themselves into the box. 

If you look back to games last season especially very early on we used to have 5 or 6 in the box at the one time. You had the striker, opposite winger, opposite full back and the 2 furthest forward midfielders in the box. Now we only have 1 sometimes and if Kenny's through the middle it can be 0 with how deep he tends to drop. 

I don't feel our wide play is TERRIBLE but we're definitely prone to playing 1 pass too many instead of putting it in or sometimes having nobody actually in the box. If we manage to put 10+ balls into the box which we're definitely capable of doing I believe at least 1 is going to come off. We just actually have to get players to commit and get themselves into the box.

[He's blue he's white 717]

I genuinely don't think we play with width at all, we actually have the players and purposly set up narrow. Both Waggy and McKay will naturally cut inside at every opportunity, which in theory should create the space for either full back to exploit and/or space for one of the midfield three to find. 

We aim to play neat 1:2's and triangles all over the park, again this doesn't lend itself to 'wide' play, but rather compact passing and possession to work an opening. 

I really think and would love to see a wee change in formation as the favoured 4-3-3 just ain't doing it this season, I think this season a 4-2-3-1 would suit us best. 

 

[cushynumber 25,178]

8 hours ago, Vanoli said:

We stretch the park too much sometimes for me. Everyone's fucking miles away from each other, especially up top. It's a big factor in why our tempo is too slow and we end up moving the ball across the park and back again. 

And this is the point.  We have so many wide players we are too wide as a team.  You always hear about teams being compact and keeping there shape when defending. You don't hear it said of us - ever. Against good attacking teams I fear our over the top emphesis on width works against us. 

[smell the glove 55]

For the answer to this topic, check out the only goal of the game on Friday!

[KeyserSoze 14,582]

It's even more bizarre that there's hardly a cross whipped in as we play "keep ball" most the time. 

Sometimes when a cross does come in there's no one fucking there making it even more bizarre why there are two wingers  

baffling  

 

[Scottyarf37 963]

It's lack of footballing intelligence from the players or too rigid a set up from the manager. 

Wallace seems to always make runs up the inside of Mckay and take the space he is looking to cut into.  He should be overlapping and pulling a defender away with him.  Might be Mckay is starting to close to the touchline.

This fluid front 3 is a distraction,  we need a Cf that can hold up the ball and slide the wingers in behind with good through balls. 

It's all redundant anyway as most teams sit in, keep in Narrow knowing we won'tcross.then hit us on the counter attack as we have no pace through the middle.

Fancy a goal,   you just need to run past Nico. Andy and Clint. 

Time to Adapt to each game.  If at home with weaker opposition you know will sit in, Get Garner and Waghorn up front,  two best crosses on the correct wings ( left foot - left)  then have an Attacking mid that can shoot from outside the box.  4-1-3-2. 

[Getstiffed 8,863]

19 hours ago, eejay the dj said:

Simply put .We are not Barcelona and never will be

It's a crock of shite now 

The need to mix it up and adapt will always be crucial 

Even Pepe might be finding that out in the most competive league in the world  

Why are we not though? Think about it: in the context of Scottish Football we are. We have the superior coaches, facilities, cash flow and players.

So what is they do, at all levels of that club, that separate them from us and the rest of football?

It can't be as simple as saying "they have better players". Most big clubs have far better players than the teams they face week in and out.

[eejay the dj 31,964]

2 hours ago, Getstiffed said:

Why are we not though? Think about it: in the context of Scottish Football we are. We have the superior coaches, facilities, cash flow and players.

So what is they do, at all levels of that club, that separate them from us and the rest of football?

It can't be as simple as saying "they have better players". Most big clubs have far better players than the teams they face week in and out.

Fair point mate .It's a pylosophy of playing .They have done it for quite a number of years .It is to be commended that MW has tried to implement something and it may bear fruits in years to come .

However it's not working for me at this moment and needs to be much more flexible to adapt to our game IMO

Im all for giving him more time if results improve .If we get a tanking on Sunday ,it will one too many from the unwashed  

[Getstiffed 8,863]

4 minutes ago, eejay the dj said:

Fair point mate .It's a philosophy of playing .They have done it for quite a number of years .It is to be commended that MW has tried to implement something and it may bear fruits in years to come .

However it's not working for me at this moment and needs to be much more flexible to adapt to our game IMO

Im all for giving him more time if results improve .If we get a tanking on Sunday ,it will one too many from the unwashed  

Obviously you can't just take what the Spanish or the Germans have done and transpose it to Britain, cultures are different but guys like MW have found a way to modify it and make it successful so much so that the English, who like us are a tad arrogant and resistant to change, are starting to catch on at youth levels.

We should have started 4 years ago but we never and we are where we are because of this I want it all I want it now BS.

A manager who was useless kept himself in a job by perpetuating this attitude amongst our support.

I think given the right money MW would make a compromise and ease off on his philosophy just a little but I'd really hate to think that he'd abondon the work going on behind the scenes at Rangers. Its a big job and obviously as manager his main focus has to, and will be, on the first team but he's also doing a lot more at all levels than any of our previous 3 or 4 managers excluding wee Dick.

[LaudrupsPatrickBoots 13,510]

12 minutes ago, OhW said:

I believe this what Gary Neville calls an "underlap". Saw him doing a piece on Leighton Baines for Sky about it. 

I don't see the point in it tbh. It basically cuts McKay out of the game and ends up with Wallace delivering a ball from a far less effective area.

[Boybluesy 3,723]

21 hours ago, TheLoudenTavernier said:

It works much better on the right IMO.

Sometimes on the left, Wallace has a tendency to run up on the inside and take a pass from McKay rather than overlapping and getting a cross in which would probably lead to more opportunities like the one we scored from on Friday.

The exception to this was Friday night, Wallace actually put a cross in, probably over hit it my opinion but Kenny made it look good.  Good old Kenny.

[LaudrupsPatrickBoots 13,510]

Just now, OhW said:

I agree. McKay always wants to cut inside so they just end up in each other's way. 

Exactly. If Wallace wants to do the "underlap" then there's no reason why they can't mix it up a bit and do both. Getting in each other's way as often as they do though just points to a basic lack of communication on the pitch.

[Getstiffed 8,863]

30 minutes ago, Boybluesy said:

The exception to this was Friday night, Wallace actually put a cross in, probably over hit it my opinion but Kenny made it look good.  Good old Kenny.

Watch it again from the touchline angle behind Wallace, he has a quick look at the penalty area then sees the late run by Kenny. Made the right decision for once in my opinion

[Getstiffed 8,863]

31 minutes ago, OhW said:

I agree. McKay always wants to cut inside so they just end up in each other's way. 

If McKay were 3 inches taller and 2 stone heavier he'd be playing at the point of the MF 3 imo.