Pedro Caixinha had a logical plan to halt Celtic but no-one to execute it

[PRW. 5,631]

Decent article from Steven Pressley. Very fair and, surprisingly, not biased.

Quote

ou can’t lose five goals at home to Celtic without questions being asked – and Pedro Caixinha will have to answer them.

But as a coach, there was actually logic in the way he set up his Rangers side.

His reasoning was sound but the execution wasn’t.

And they were let down by a couple of key factors.

The thinking behind his 4-3-1-2 system was to deny Celtic the ability to recycle the ball the way they like, using Scott Brown and their two centre-halves as the key in that process.

By having Kenny Miller up on Brown and the two strikers on the two defenders, he attempted to nullify that.

Caixinha got that part right. The three Gers midfielders showed the aggression he wanted and Celtic weren’t allowed to switch the direction of play as often as they like.

It also poses a bit of a cat-and-mouse problem for Celtic, who like to promote their full-backs – but can you do that here?

It all went wrong for Rangers for two reasons.

One of most crucial aspects of this system is your full-backs cannot break the defensive line unless they can apply immediate pressure to the player receiving the ball.

When they break the line early, the pass down the side becomes possible, forcing the centre-back out of his slot and then the whole backline becomes fragmented. And Rangers’ full-backs broke the defensive line far too early, far too often.

Leigh Griffiths’ second goal was a result of James Tavernier breaking the line instead of staying.

And the other key part of this strategy is countering quickly on the turnover – but choosing when to do it.

You can’t counter every time. Sometimes you must be patient and retain the ball. But Rangers went every time and suffered the 
consequences. 

They lost possession and were never able to get good defensive shape after 
surrendering the ball. 

You have to focus on that transition and Rangers never had enough possession to get in good positions.

You also have to look at personal responsibility. Rangers’ strikers lost their personal duels, Celtic’s defenders dominated.

Players also have to make good decisions for any system to work.

Myles Beerman, don’t be so rash. Tavernier, hold your line at the second. Josh Windass, mark your man at the fourth. Danny Wilson, if you choose to break the line to confront at the fifth you have to make that tackle. 

The manager can have a plan but you need players to play their roles. Which is what Celtic do so well.

The best teams play very similar every week – little adjustments, not major changes. Celtic adapted accordingly and answered every question.

[PRW. 5,631]

Nobody would make a team of winners out this mob. 

They don't have the heart, mentality or fight in them. Their heads went down at 2-0 after mistakes from Beerman and Hyndman (which they never recovered from) and the game was over. 

What chance do you have when players react like children when they're given instructions or advice by team mates and the manager? You can't change that in a few weeks, thats just the way these players are.

 

[DennyBlueNose 652]

So basically what some of the more sound minded have been saying, it's the players execution to blame not the manager's tactics 

[BlueBearz1990 570]

Even the best managers in the world couldn't do anything with these bunch of hopeless clowns. Pedro is just at the front of most fans frustration even though we were just as pish before he came. The guy deserves his chance to actually do his job of shaping his own team.

[K.A.I 36,183]

If you listen to Pedro he says he got it wrong yesterday and he's to blame so who do we believe? 

Faults all round imo 

[BlueBearz1990 570]

1 minute ago, DennyBlueNose said:

So basically what some of the more sound minded have been saying, it's the players execution to blame not the manager's tactics 

Yes that would be what the title of this post says mate

[K.A.I 36,183]

1 minute ago, DennyBlueNose said:

So basically what some of the more sound minded have been saying, it's the players execution to blame not the manager's tactics 

I find it incredible that for some folk the manager of Rangers isn't to blame one bit for getting beat 5-1 at home some of you don't live in the real world I'm sorry 

and yes the players are hopeless too before anyone misses the point 

[Young Bob 1,360]

Yeah fair enough.

The guy needs better players. Gilligan should spend his energy on finding the funds rather than fighting with fans.

Did his verbal exchange have sub-titles?

[BlueBearz1990 570]

1 minute ago, K.A.I said:

If you listen to Pedro he says he got it wrong yesterday and he's to blame so who do we believe? 

Faults all round imo 

Come on mate, anyone with half a brain knows regardless of formation the players don't have the talent to perform. What's Pedro supposed to do? Make them magically better footballers than they are? He gives them instructions and it's their job to do them on the pitch

[Smile 26,610]

It still has to come down to the Manager if

the manager can't see they can't play the system and change things he is at fault.

[BlueBearz1990 570]

Just now, Smile said:

It still has to come down to the Manager if

the manager can't see they can't play the system and change things he is at fault.

They're pish whatever way we play

[DennyBlueNose 652]

2 minutes ago, BlueBearz1990 said:

Yes that would be what the title of this post says mate

And your point is 

[K.A.I 36,183]

Just now, BlueBearz1990 said:

Come on mate, anyone with half a brain knows regardless of formation the players don't have the talent to perform. What's Pedro supposed to do? Make them magically better footballers than they are? He gives them instructions and it's their job to do them on the pitch

How did Murty manage it then?

how can 10/11 of the players that played yesterday have been part of Delia's failings yet give us that lesson yesterday?

i know the players are shite btw but people are ignoring the managers mistakes and only concentrating on that aspect 

if we got a result yesterday Pedro would have got all the credit and rightly so 

[Gman36 3,455]

Thing is if you take that at face value it would suggest he had a shite plan, as he put out a team with a system that had no chance of working.

A good manager would have made better of what he had available. 

[Young Bob 1,360]

1 minute ago, K.A.I said:

I find it incredible that for some folk the manager of Rangers isn't to blame one bit for getting beat 5-1 at home some of you don't live in the real world I'm sorry 

and yes the players are hopeless too before anyone misses the point 

I would have fielded the same team yesterday.

I could also have fielded teams from Souness, Advocatt, McLiesh, Smith squads who would have easily beaten the filth.

Our manager is not our problem . A board that has no money and cannot attract investment is.

[Smile 26,610]

Just now, BlueBearz1990 said:

They're pish whatever way we play

I still think Murty who I never rated got more out of them short term, Yes they are pish and i have been saying this since the last third of the championship but still a manager has to know from working with the players if they can adapt to his methods.

Early days yet for Pedro and should get a chance with his own players but it's results like the last two that makes supporters worry.

[DennyBlueNose 652]

3 minutes ago, K.A.I said:

I find it incredible that for some folk the manager of Rangers isn't to blame one bit for getting beat 5-1 at home some of you don't live in the real world I'm sorry 

and yes the players are hopeless too before anyone misses the point 

I don't know what his alternative was, he set us up to try and nullify their threats but the players never followed his instructions. There's only so much you can do when individuals don't do as they're instructed. 

Of course he's a part to blame but there's quite a few already on here that think he should go which I find incredible 

[BlueBearz1990 570]

Just now, K.A.I said:

How did Murty manage it then?

how can 10/11 of the players that played yesterday have been part of Delia's failings yet give us that lesson yesterday?

i know the players are shite btw but people are ignoring the managers mistakes and only concentrating on that aspect 

if we got a result yesterday Pedro would have got all the credit and rightly so 

Well by the odds of probability if you play a team who have a better squad enough times you're bound to get a win or a draw. In our case, one draw in 5.

It doesn't matter what formation  he set, 11 Rangers players should not be getting pumped 5-1 at Ibrox by them. They are simply nowhere good enough to wear the jersey of this great football club.

[BlueBearz1990 570]

1 minute ago, Smile said:

I still think Murty who I never rated got more out of them short term, Yes they are pish and i have been saying this since the last third of the championship but still a manager has to know from working with the players if they can adapt to his methods.

Early days yet for Pedro and should get a chance with his own players but it's results like the last two that makes supporters worry.

The full squad know their time is up and that they're not Rangers quality, so they're done even trying to put an effort in. They know they'll be playing for some diddy league 1 side next season where they belong

[ForeverAndEver 71,530]

Same formation after the embarrassment of last week was stupid.

[WWTC 2,247]

Thats the first time i think ive ever saw the word "decent" and "stephen pressley" in the same sentence. Touchè OP 

[Young Bob 1,360]

4 minutes ago, Smile said:

It still has to come down to the Manager if

the manager can't see they can't play the system and change things he is at fault.

I would have agreed last week. Yesterday it was the players. Kenny Miller was rank in the 1st half . At the end of the game he would have got a 3 in my ratings as would Hill. Rest would have been zeros.

[K.A.I 36,183]

1 minute ago, Young Bob said:

I would have fielded the same team yesterday.

I could also have fielded teams from Souness, Advocatt, McLiesh, Smith squads who would have easily beaten the filth.

Our manager is not our problem . A board that has no money and cannot attract investment is.

The very fact you say the manager isn't the problem proves my point about people not living in the real world - he's not the only problem I don't mean for one minute all our problems are down to him but he's out his depths and his mistakes are equally part of the problems we have 

i heard all this same patter in McCoist and Warburtons early days when it was going tits up mark my words this will go the same way (and yes there will be other common denominators in there too like shite players and uninterested custodians) 

it's faults all round including Pedro not excluding him 

[Smile 26,610]

Just now, Young Bob said:

I would have agreed last week. Yesterday it was the players. Kenny Miller was rank in the 1st half . At the end of the game he would have got a 3 in my ratings as would Hill. Rest would have been zeros.

It was horrible to watch and we looked poor all over the Park.

[PRW. 5,631]

8 minutes ago, K.A.I said:

I find it incredible that for some folk the manager of Rangers isn't to blame one bit for getting beat 5-1 at home some of you don't live in the real world I'm sorry 

and yes the players are hopeless too before anyone misses the point 

Nah he is as well. Its a sackable offence to be honest and he is lucky, the current situation has saved his arse. 

His mistake was believing in they players. Thinking they could go out their and do a job, do their roles properly and fight for it.