Jump to content

***** The Official Royal Antwerp v Rangers Match Thread *****


G.E.C.

Recommended Posts

14 minutes ago, Bad Robot said:

 

I would think RTV still have it for oversea subscribers and I would be surprised if it wasn’t discussed but as said, maybe they think we’ve all paid enough or you’re right it’s tied up for UK viewers and there was no wriggle room even with a global pandemic.
 

Hopefully we claw some euro money back through this:

https://www.ft.com/content/1de9114c-1feb-466e-90a3-bf927a7f4cad

I reckon most of us don't pay for the FT firewall.  Cut and paste?

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Replies 3k
  • Created
  • Last Reply
5 minutes ago, Misteral said:

I reckon most of us don't pay for the FT firewall.  Cut and paste?

I don’t either but it allowed me to read it then paywalled me when i retried lol 

i hope this one works although it’s saying so businesses:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/15/small-businesses-win-covid-insurance-payouts-after-uk-supreme-court-victory

Link to post
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, chris182 said:

Anyone know where I can find a discounted BT Sport monthly pass? £25 seems a bit steep.

Used to have an EE mobile but switched recently.

The last 16 ties are the 11th and 18 March so if you get your pass tomorrow it’ll get you the 4 games so doesn’t seem as bad.

Link to post
Share on other sites

How much will they be affected by these injuries reported? Seems like a few days before every European game we play the papers try to play down the thought of us winning it by saying the other team have ‘7 players out’ 

Link to post
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, CR3 said:

How much will they be affected by these injuries reported? Seems like a few days before every European game we play the papers try to play down the thought of us winning it by saying the other team have ‘7 players out’ 

i agree it is probably the same fake news that brought the story about tav being injured

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, CR3 said:

How much will they be affected by these injuries reported? Seems like a few days before every European game we play the papers try to play down the thought of us winning it by saying the other team have ‘7 players out’ 

Suspensions as well, think their main two strikers are definitely out.

Link to post
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, writingranger said:

I'm looking forward to this. I was thinking of this as a free hit but automatic entry into the champions league group stage is massive financially as well as for the spectacle. 

How far do we have to get to have automatic entry to the CL group stage?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I am an Antwerp supporter for over 29 years and happen to have lived in Scotland for over 2 years so do have some idea about both leagues.

For me Rangers is light favorites and this is the general feeling among Antwerp fans, but everyone thinks it can easily go both ways as well.

To give a bit of an idea who you are up against, Antwerp is the oldest team in Belgium established in 1880, a very traditional club. It had alot of financial difficulties in recent history and relegated to the 2nd league for 13 years. Now having a wealthy owner with a big fanbase and located in one of the biggest cities in Belgium they are back at he top of Belgian football and there to stay.

This season Antwerp has a better team than Standard and very unlucky not to win away there this weekend. At the moment I would say after Bruges who is miles away we are the 2nd best team in Belgium at the moment, with Genk being close.

Many Rangers fans see us as an attacking team with an open defence but this changed in 2021 after the previous coach has left to China for money. Our current coach plays more out of the organisation and as a result we score less/concede less. In the first games under the new coach it wasn’t good at all however there is a system now and the team is getting better every week creating more chances. We also had a good run in the league recently and get more points on average vs the previous coach.

We are missing a few key players, our Captain Haroun and our main striker Mbokani, both considered unmissable in this team for different reasons. Our only player who can play instead of Mbokani is Lamkel Ze who has been in magnificent form since he returned from the reserve squad after issues with the previous coach, but he is suspended for the first leg, we only have one other striker “Avenatti” on loan from Standard since January who funny enough faced Rangers in the group stages as well. He hasn’t performed well lately and still to be seen if be cause any treat against Rangers...

I expect a closed game due to missing firepower up front on our side for the first leg. I expect the coach to rely on Lamkel Ze pace on the counter attack in the return game at Ibrox


The Belgian league is overall a bit stronger as it has several decent teams with Bruges, Anderlecht, Standard, Genk, Gent and Antwerp, but Rangers probably had the slight edge I would say over Antwerp.

Both Hagi and Roofe played in Belgium last season. Hagi at Genk but hardly made the first 11 and Roofe at Anderlecht but didn’t really convince their either. This is also because the belgian league  is considered more tactical and defensive in comparison with other leagues like The Netherlands. Eg. The topscorer in NL came to Genk this season and is hardly scoring goals. It doesn’t mean the Belgian league is better than the Dutch but just very different to play against.

I couldn’t help noting some compared Antwerp to Willem ll but they aren’t at all similar, Willem ll has a smaller budget and also at the bottom in the Dutch league, defending in NL is generally weak and more naive as more focus on attack. Although some might have seen games under our previous coach where we did indeed defend naive at times but this unlike Antwerp today.

Wish you all good luck tomorrow and that the may win!

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Upcoming Events

    • 30 March 2024 15:00 Until 17:00
      0  
      Rangers v Hibernian
      Ibrox Stadium
      Scottish Premiership

×
×
  • Create New...