Official Livingston vs Rangers Match Thread

[King Jela 20,361]

1 hour ago, graeme_4 said:

Lolz.

Lolz indeed. 

[SpiritofBillStruth 167]

On 17/08/2020 at 16:46, rimbaud said:

thought I'd check this serial loser for you , let's see   :

FA Cup: 2000–01, 2005–06

Football League Cup: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2011–12

FA Community Shield: 2006

UEFA Champions League: 2004–05; runner-up: 2006–07

UEFA Cup: 2000–01

UEFA Super Cup: 2001

certainly disnae look like a serial loser tae me ..oh aye and over 100 caps for his country ... seems to me  " rent a gub " you're only a fan when we are winning.

1 major trophy, a few domestic ones, couple of one off ones. 9 trophies from a career spanning 18 years and not a single league title. Bearing in mind he competed for 4 trophies every season. Over 18 years is at least 72 trophies. He won 7 of them and 2 in seasons where he was competing in 5 competitions. It's hardly a winners CV. I personally wouldn't call him a winner at all. 

[govanblue 16,847]

12 minutes ago, SpiritofBillStruth said:

1 major trophy, a few domestic ones, couple of one off ones. 9 trophies from a career spanning 18 years and not a single league title. Bearing in mind he competed for 4 trophies every season. Over 18 years is at least 72 trophies. He won 7 of them and 2 in seasons where he was competing in 5 competitions. It's hardly a winners CV. I personally wouldn't call him a winner at all. 

Welcome to the site. 

Make sure you check out the RangersMedia Erskine Fund page.   I'm sure you'll want to be involved...

 

[KeyserSoze 14,530]

8 minutes ago, SpiritofBillStruth said:

1 major trophy, a few domestic ones, couple of one off ones. 9 trophies from a career spanning 18 years and not a single league title. Bearing in mind he competed for 4 trophies every season. Over 18 years is at least 72 trophies. He won 7 of them and 2 in seasons where he was competing in 5 competitions. It's hardly a winners CV. I personally wouldn't call him a winner at all. 

Deary me, that’s a bit embarrassing 

 

 

 

[Laudrup1984 25,100]

Brian Laudrup's view (from his column in the Mail)

There are times when it takes the unexpected to win a match. A combination of quick thinking and even quicker feet.

Without Joe Aribo, Rangers lacked that spark against Livingston on Sunday. The longer the game went on, the more I felt he was really missed.

Clearly, Steven Gerrard will be hoping Aribo’s ankle injury heals before Kilmarnock visit Ibrox on Saturday.

To me, there are two aspects to what the 24-year-old does. There is obviously his own game and the skill-set he brings.

But I also think he has the effect of making the players around him even better.

He brings people into action with his one-twos and I love the fact that he looks forward every time he gets the ball. That’s exactly what you need in midfield at Rangers. Someone has to be thinking: ‘Where can I find the pockets of space? How do we play between the lines?’

If that is not done as quickly as possible, it becomes hugely difficult against a team such as Livingston — who often played with six across the back.

There will be no space where you want it. The space will be areas you cannot really exploit.

Gerrard was right to say his match-winners didn’t really function on Sunday. It’s their job to produce something in games like this and they couldn’t find a moment of creativity that really mattered.

But it is much more difficult for the opposition if you also have that impetus coming from midfield, through someone who can take people on or drive from deep.

Glen Kamara and Ryan Jack are both very composed, solid players, while Scott Arfield brings a lot of energy.

But no one can quite do the same job as Aribo and I think that showed. Rangers couldn’t find the final piece of the jigsaw.

Later on Sunday, I was in the studio working for Danish television and watched Manchester United against Sevilla. You could see just how quick in thought and movement those players were. With two or three passes they were on the attack.

That’s what is required to put the match-winners into their best possible positions — where they can go one against one or thread passes through.

Aribo’s close control is excellent. Even in tight spaces he can take players on or produce a piece of skill to bring someone else into the game. There were times on Sunday when that could have been invaluable to unlocking something for Rangers.

Operating in those tight situations is something I feel Ianis Hagi and, to a lesser extent, Ryan Kent can improve on. Kent is fantastic running with the ball but sometimes he needs a little more space to do it. With Aribo, the closeness of the situation doesn’t matter. You could see that from the goals he scored in pre-season.

I know Gerrard has been speaking about adding another midfielder. That will be really interesting because perhaps they need one who can offer that bit more creativity if Aribo isn’t available. Those players tend to cost, but there will be some out there who could help the squad.

Against Livingston, a lot of the burden seemed to fall on Kent. You could see in his body language he wanted so badly to be the one who made the difference.

And he was close. He took responsibility. But there are also times when he needs his team-mates to get him in the most threatening positions faster.

He’s not a danger if he’s having to drop 40 yards from goal.

Alfredo Morelos could have been sharper at centre-forward and I know people have been very critical of Hagi. While it’s true his season hasn’t really started — and that’s a bit of a concern — I would also ask for some patience.

He’s only 21. There is a different mindset now that he carries a decent price-tag and is no longer just on loan.

Plus, this is a more pressurised environment than Genk.

I can think back to my own experience of joining Bayern Munich at his age after leaving a much smaller Bundesliga club in Bayer Uerdingen.

It was a completely different ball game. If we were beaten in a pre-season game, it was crisis time. The expectation and competition for places was at a totally new level.

Hagi is possibly still going through some of that process. I certainly think he is talented. But to come into such a huge season for Rangers at his age is a pretty extreme experience. Eventually, I feel he will come good.

Overall, Gerrard will know his team can’t afford too many more days like Sunday.

‘Keep calm’ was his message to the players after the match and I understand why he feels things are different to last season.

With Kemar Roofe and Cedric Itten trying to adapt as quickly as possible, Rangers definitely do now have more firepower at their disposal than before.

But they still need a balance between players who can put the ball in the back of the net and those who can actually create. The weekend was a little reminder of the work still to be done

[rimbaud 11]

On 17/08/2020 at 16:46, rimbaud said:

thought I'd check this serial loser for you , let's see   :

FA Cup: 2000–01, 2005–06

Football League Cup: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2011–12

FA Community Shield: 2006

UEFA Champions League: 2004–05; runner-up: 2006–07

UEFA Cup: 2000–01

UEFA Super Cup: 2001

certainly disnae look like a serial loser tae me ..oh aye and over 100 caps for his country ... seems to me  " rent a gub " you're only a fan when we are winning.

Remember when John Greig carried us  , well imo Gerrard carried a mediocre Liverpool side 

[rimbaud 11]

2 hours ago, KeyserSoze said:

Deary me, that’s a bit embarrassing 

 

 

 

Heard it awe noo , you calling Gerrard the player embarrassing ?

[bluenoz 30,810]

On 17/08/2020 at 03:23, plymouthranger said:

We needed Balogun, his runs from defence would’ve created more space for the attacking options

He has did it once!

[ForeverAndEver 71,450]

18 minutes ago, rimbaud said:

Remember when John Greig carried us  , well imo Gerrard carried a mediocre Liverpool side 

Barely, Alonso was better, then along came Torres and Suarez

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,714]

1 hour ago, Laudrup1984 said:

Brian Laudrup's view (from his column in the Mail)

There are times when it takes the unexpected to win a match. A combination of quick thinking and even quicker feet.

Without Joe Aribo, Rangers lacked that spark against Livingston on Sunday. The longer the game went on, the more I felt he was really missed.

Clearly, Steven Gerrard will be hoping Aribo’s ankle injury heals before Kilmarnock visit Ibrox on Saturday.

To me, there are two aspects to what the 24-year-old does. There is obviously his own game and the skill-set he brings.

But I also think he has the effect of making the players around him even better.

He brings people into action with his one-twos and I love the fact that he looks forward every time he gets the ball. That’s exactly what you need in midfield at Rangers. Someone has to be thinking: ‘Where can I find the pockets of space? How do we play between the lines?’

If that is not done as quickly as possible, it becomes hugely difficult against a team such as Livingston — who often played with six across the back.

There will be no space where you want it. The space will be areas you cannot really exploit.

Gerrard was right to say his match-winners didn’t really function on Sunday. It’s their job to produce something in games like this and they couldn’t find a moment of creativity that really mattered.

But it is much more difficult for the opposition if you also have that impetus coming from midfield, through someone who can take people on or drive from deep.

Glen Kamara and Ryan Jack are both very composed, solid players, while Scott Arfield brings a lot of energy.

But no one can quite do the same job as Aribo and I think that showed. Rangers couldn’t find the final piece of the jigsaw.

Later on Sunday, I was in the studio working for Danish television and watched Manchester United against Sevilla. You could see just how quick in thought and movement those players were. With two or three passes they were on the attack.

That’s what is required to put the match-winners into their best possible positions — where they can go one against one or thread passes through.

Aribo’s close control is excellent. Even in tight spaces he can take players on or produce a piece of skill to bring someone else into the game. There were times on Sunday when that could have been invaluable to unlocking something for Rangers.

Operating in those tight situations is something I feel Ianis Hagi and, to a lesser extent, Ryan Kent can improve on. Kent is fantastic running with the ball but sometimes he needs a little more space to do it. With Aribo, the closeness of the situation doesn’t matter. You could see that from the goals he scored in pre-season.

I know Gerrard has been speaking about adding another midfielder. That will be really interesting because perhaps they need one who can offer that bit more creativity if Aribo isn’t available. Those players tend to cost, but there will be some out there who could help the squad.

Against Livingston, a lot of the burden seemed to fall on Kent. You could see in his body language he wanted so badly to be the one who made the difference.

And he was close. He took responsibility. But there are also times when he needs his team-mates to get him in the most threatening positions faster.

He’s not a danger if he’s having to drop 40 yards from goal.

Alfredo Morelos could have been sharper at centre-forward and I know people have been very critical of Hagi. While it’s true his season hasn’t really started — and that’s a bit of a concern — I would also ask for some patience.

He’s only 21. There is a different mindset now that he carries a decent price-tag and is no longer just on loan.

Plus, this is a more pressurised environment than Genk.

I can think back to my own experience of joining Bayern Munich at his age after leaving a much smaller Bundesliga club in Bayer Uerdingen.

It was a completely different ball game. If we were beaten in a pre-season game, it was crisis time. The expectation and competition for places was at a totally new level.

He’s not a danger if he’s having to drop 40 yards from goal.

Alfredo Morelos could have been sharper at centre-forward and I know people have been very critical of Hagi. While it’s true his season hasn’t really started — and that’s a bit of a concern — I would also ask for some patience.

He’s only 21. There is a different mindset now that he carries a decent price-tag and is no longer just on loan.

Plus, this is a more pressurised environment than Genk.

I can think back to my own experience of joining Bayern Munich at his age after leaving a much smaller Bundesliga club in Bayer Uerdingen.

It was a completely different ball game. If we were beaten in a pre-season game, it was crisis time. The expectation and competition for places was at a totally new level.

I read some of that twice.

I read some of that twice.

😁

[Hadron Collider 30,856]

38 minutes ago, SeparateEntityMyArse said:

I read some of that twice.

I read some of that twice.

😁

Me too.

Me too. 

[rimbaud 11]

53 minutes ago, Rangers_no1 said:

Aye Suarez, Torres, Sterling, Hyypia, Carragher, Alonso, Hamann, Mascherano, Owen, Garcia, Riise, Kewell etc were all mediocre indeed..

Looks good , pity they weren't all playing at the same time eh ? still carried a mediocre team .

[andyhrfc 2,242]

Think looking at Gerrard the manager in terms of what he won as a player is irrelevant.   The vast majority of top managers were not top players.   Through his career Gerrard was in a Liverpool team that was not as good as United, City, Chelsea or Arsenal.    What matters is does he have what it takes to make the current team title winners this year.  Some say yes, some say no. 

[graeme_4 34,430]

14 minutes ago, Rangers_no1 said:

Except he didnt..

He did at times. 

Bottled the league though. He and his team don’t have the mentality to see a league through. The fact that the odd cup here or there is thought of as a ‘winner’ is embarrassing. 

Gary Neville has the right mentality.

[graeme_4 34,430]

1 minute ago, andyhrfc said:

Think looking at Gerrard the manager in terms of what he won as a player is irrelevant.   The vast majority of top managers were not top players.   Through his career Gerrard was in a Liverpool team that was not as good as United, City, Chelsea or Arsenal.    What matters is does he have what it takes to make the current team title winners this year.  Some say yes, some say no. 

It speaks to your mindset. Do you understand a big club? Do you cope with the pressure to win every game and every trophy? No sure he does IMO.

[andyhrfc 2,242]

1 minute ago, graeme_4 said:

It speaks to your mindset. Do you understand a big club? Do you cope with the pressure to win every game and every trophy? No sure he does IMO.

Having watched him play countless times with the big shadow of Fergie hanging over him from down the road when the pressure was on every season to stop United I imagine he has a bit of an idea of the significance of this season.  

[Hadron Collider 30,856]

5 minutes ago, graeme_4 said:

He did at times. 

Bottled the league though. He and his team don’t have the mentality to see a league through. The fact that the odd cup here or there is thought of as a ‘winner’ is embarrassing. 

Gary Neville has the right mentality.

Our next manager mate?  

[CastleStreet 14]

5 minutes ago, andyhrfc said:

Think looking at Gerrard the manager in terms of what he won as a player is irrelevant.   The vast majority of top managers were not top players.   Through his career Gerrard was in a Liverpool team that was not as good as United, City, Chelsea or Arsenal.    What matters is does he have what it takes to make the current team title winners this year.  Some say yes, some say no. 

As much as Gerrard wasn’t winning title after title with Liverpool, he was still regarded as one of the best midfielders on the planet for the majority of his career, and it’s clear to see his standards are sky high.
 

What I am struggling to understand with him is how a guy who has been at that level for so long, held in such high esteem the world over, is unable to organise our midfield into something resembling an attacking threat. I refuse to believe he doesn’t have the ability to change up this midfield against teams that sit in, he must have came up against it literally hundreds of times with Liverpool. 
 

The thread is 80 odd pages long so everything to be said had already been said. I’m not jumping head first wanting him punted, but if we continue to play the same way away to teams like Livingston, Hamilton, St. Mirren etc. and continue to drop points then it’s time to get someone in who can break these teams down. 
 

And btw I don’t blame these teams in the slightest for playing that way. Yes it’s absolutely eye bleeding to watch but we are a team full of very highly paid players, bought for many millions of pounds. It just isn’t acceptable to us to be putting in performances like that against teams on a fraction of our budget. 

[King Jela 20,361]

4 hours ago, SpiritofBillStruth said:

1 major trophy, a few domestic ones, couple of one off ones. 9 trophies from a career spanning 18 years and not a single league title. Bearing in mind he competed for 4 trophies every season. Over 18 years is at least 72 trophies. He won 7 of them and 2 in seasons where he was competing in 5 competitions. It's hardly a winners CV. I personally wouldn't call him a winner at all. 

Are you new to football? He played in every game to the final and then inspired a comeback in the final itself. How often were Liverpool even in a title race over the last 30 years? 

[rimbaud 11]

34 minutes ago, Rangers_no1 said:

Except he didnt..

Aye he did ... ma' big brother is bigger  than your big brother .

[andyhrfc 2,242]

28 minutes ago, CastleStreet said:

As much as Gerrard wasn’t winning title after title with Liverpool, he was still regarded as one of the best midfielders on the planet for the majority of his career, and it’s clear to see his standards are sky high.
 

What I am struggling to understand with him is how a guy who has been at that level for so long, held in such high esteem the world over, is unable to organise our midfield into something resembling an attacking threat. I refuse to believe he doesn’t have the ability to change up this midfield against teams that sit in, he must have came up against it literally hundreds of times with Liverpool. 
 

The thread is 80 odd pages long so everything to be said had already been said. I’m not jumping head first wanting him punted, but if we continue to play the same way away to teams like Livingston, Hamilton, St. Mirren etc. and continue to drop points then it’s time to get someone in who can break these teams down. 
 

And btw I don’t blame these teams in the slightest for playing that way. Yes it’s absolutely eye bleeding to watch but we are a team full of very highly paid players, bought for many millions of pounds. It just isn’t acceptable to us to be putting in performances like that against teams on a fraction of our budget. 

I find it as frustrating as most as to how a man who can motivate a team that is 3-0 down at half time in the CL final against probably the best team in the world at the time, cannot inspire a Rangers  team to beat Livingston.  

[rimbaud 11]

18 minutes ago, Hadron Collider said:

Our next manager mate?  

wi' respect , I hardly think a champions league and a eufa cup are " odd cups "

[CastleStreet 14]

17 minutes ago, andyhrfc said:

I find it as frustrating as most as to how a man who can motivate a team that is 3-0 down at half time in the CL final against probably the best team in the world at the time,  cannot inspire a Rangers  team to beat Livingston.  

So true. Imagine someone like Gerard Houlier telling that Liverpool team that they were going to be playing 2 holding midfielders away to Exeter City in the FA Cup? Gerard would probably have been the first one to go through him. 
 

In my mind SG sees Jack as undroppable, he’s going to be starting the majority of games when fit (I like Ryan Jack but he has to raise his game).  But if Arfield and Kamara continue to play as much as they have been then I’m going to really start questioning what’s going through Gerard and the back room staffs heads. Arfield has been so sloppy in possession this season and Kamara just doesn’t have the talent to play for Rangers at all. Jack gives us a bit of dig and is someone I think would flourish in a midfield alongside two other players with a bit of flair, he could be moulded into the Roy Keane type of player who does the spoiling work, wins the ball and then gives it straight to someone with better technical ability, and after that his job is done. 

[Hadron Collider 30,856]

1 hour ago, rimbaud said:

wi' respect , I hardly think a champions league and a eufa cup are " odd cups "

What?  

[graeme_4 34,430]

9 hours ago, King Jela said:

Are you new to football? He played in every game to the final and then inspired a comeback in the final itself. How often were Liverpool even in a title race over the last 30 years? 

Anyone can have a good cup run as total underdogs. 

Winning a league needs a different mentality.