nvager 498 Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Rangers vs Hibernian, SPL Game #19, at Ibrox Stadium on Saturday December 20th., 2008. Kick-Off 3:00 PM. Another vital game against a hard-charging Hibernian side who have been on an impressive run of results and who beat Celtic 2-0 two weeks ago. They may have only 26 points to our 40, but they will as always be tough to beat. Once again we find ourselves trailing Celtic at the top of the SPL. We have 40 points from 18 games compared to their 44 points from the same number of games. Our GD though is superior by +5 goals. Celtic have dropped 5 points in their last two games yet we still trail by four. The reason being that our defence has begun to concede soft goals away from home. We have looked terrible at crosses. We neither are able to prevent crosses coming in or defending them - especially at the back post - when they arrive in our six yard box. Last weekend Whittaker and Davis just could not get to grips with the DU left side when they attacked and two crosses from a very similar build up led to two goals in the space of five minutes. McGregor looks terrified at coming out for crosses and our CHs look poor at attacking these balls. Added to that Papac gets caught ball watching and McCulloch was a disaster defending Feeney who headed their second goal. The previous away game versus Hearts it was just more bad defending. We need to tighten up in defence as Hibs will throw big Jones up whenever possible to attack at corners and free kicks. That apart they are playing good football and winning games. Walter needs to have a hard look at some positions. 1. Goalkeeper: Can we afford to continue with McGregor in goal? He looked very poor again. 2. Can Whittaker play defence especially if Davis is not giving him much cover? 3. How does Walter improve the CHs? Bougherra and Weir are our best, but Weir is fading badly. 4. Papac needs to defend crosses better. He needs to stop ball-watching. 5. Defensive midfield. Either Mendes, Ferguson or Davis plays here but let's get ONE of them doing it and the other two play further up the pitch. 6. Width - we need a winger and that means in my opinion Beasley or Aaron or perhaps Burke. Play Novo and Lafferty up front from off the bench as necessary. Do not use McCulloch or Adam out wide. Adam if used should be in the center. McCulloch should not be used. 7. Strikers - Miller and Boyd for now. 8. Use of substitutes: Early if necessary and use all three. With Celtic playing away vs Falkirk on Sunday, we again have a chance to put them under pressure. Let us do so for once. We missed a big chance last weekend and we cannot afford to miss any more chances as three points from the Celtic game the following week is not guaranteed. My team against Hibs would be Alexander, Broadfoot, Bougherra, Weir, Papac, Davis, Mendes, Ferguson, Aaron, Miller and Boyd. Can we win? Yes. My prediction is Rangers 2 - 0 Hibs. Scorers Boyd and Bougherra. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza 21 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Agree with the lineup and score. Hibs will be a tough tough game though. They are on a run of form after all their inner squabblings have been sorted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jardy 0 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 i doubt we will be caught from 40 yards from rankin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CooperSF 5,792 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 i doubt we will be caught from 40 yards from rankin. You never know... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStu08 0 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I would agree, always a tough game against Hibs home or away regardless of their form but a similar performance to that at Easter Road in September will do nicely. The chance is there to put pressure on the dark side and we MUST do it, no excuse for failure on Saturday and I am confident going by our strong home form this season!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muff 245 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 2-1 Rangers. Anything other than a win will not be acceptable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StunnedGuy 0 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Tricky fixture this as I'm sure we're all aware. Should pick up 3pts at home but you just never know these days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManchestGer 347 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I reckon 2-0 as well, should be a tough game but its at the fortress so think we should do alright. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvager 498 Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 I reckon 2-0 as well, should be a tough game but its at the fortress so think we should do alright. Would have been a much different proposition at Easter Road. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianGer 1 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I reckon 2-0 as well, should be a tough game but its at the fortress so think we should do alright. Would have been a much different proposition at Easter Road. Agreed. Even as it is, I'm not expecting we can keep a clean sheet. The frailties in our squad when dealing with crosses are obvious to us - how much more so to opposing managers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManchestGer 347 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I reckon 2-0 as well, should be a tough game but its at the fortress so think we should do alright. Would have been a much different proposition at Easter Road. definitely, i wouldn't fancy that right now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest therabbitt Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 This is defo going to be a tough game - but if we get ahead early we'll relax. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvager 498 Posted December 19, 2008 Author Share Posted December 19, 2008 This is defo going to be a tough game - but if we get ahead early we'll relax. It is at Ibrox so hopefully we will win it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amac9 2,060 Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Tough game- but 2-1 Rangers Boyd and Miller Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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