Low block the biggest barrier to 55

Geerfc19 said:
Finding players who can go by people is much harder to find these days.

The answer to these type of games is to be expressive. Try somegunh different. Take a player on. Have a shot from outside the box.

We tend to over pass and cross the ball to much for me
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Agreed.
 
Agree with a lot of that from the OP more tactically than personnel wise. Arfield as a midfielder was taking it off the toe of Goldson. He looked a fish out of water coming back as deep as that. Too many midfielders wrong side of the opposition block. Even so there’s a lack of bravery or at least urgency on the ball when our centre backs and midfielders have it in possession. They seem reluctant to drive forward into space to commit opposition players and get space to open up. Instead the tendency is to back and side pass and sluggishly at that. This gives the opposition time to get back. I would have expected more after the same problem was shown up in the Celtic game. Personnel wise Arfield needs a break. Davis should be a first pick except for resting. Today I’d have played Kamara higher up the pitch ( as he does for Finland) instead of Arfield. Goldson has been poor since New Year give or take a few games. Time he was rested. Time for Helander and Edmundson to step up. Maybe even consider three at the back. Also time to give Barisic his chance. Aribo is someone we should persist with due to his quality and we should give him a chance get a bit of consistency. I’m gutted about Kent’s injury- he looks the only guy with a bit of guile and aggression to create something. I have doubts about Ojo’s heart. He didn’t seem to want the ball until we went ahead and strikes me as a guy you couldn’t rely on when the chips are down. Possibly harsh but look at Kent’s attitude by comparison. Ojo is young and maybe he’ll come good but for me the jury’s out with him.
 
AriseSirWalter said:
Difference is nowadays players are fit enough to keep working hard for 90 mins. Plus they’re more organised making it difficult for attacking sides.

Plus we’re not as good as some of the great Rangers sides of the past but we’re all still desperate to win the league regardless.
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All over the world forever wee teams visit the big teams and defend for their lives.
I don't care how fit they are, if we have any ambitions at all we still beat these teams.
Low Block is just modern trendy bollocks.
 
Geerfc19 said:
Finding players who can go by people is much harder to find these days.

The answer to these type of games is to be expressive. Try somegunh different. Take a player on. Have a shot from outside the box.

We tend to over pass and cross the ball to much for me
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Spot on.
 
dh1963 said:
All over the world forever wee teams visit the big teams and defend for their lives.
I don't care how fit they are, if we have any ambitions at all we still beat these teams.
Low Block is just modern trendy bollocks.
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Low block just means defending deep so as to minimise space FFS. There’s nothing trendy or particularly modern about it.
 
Describe it anyway you want, but what I have seen so far we are still not at the level req to win the league. The one positive is we have picked up points this season that we would have dropped last season. The minus is they wont drop many against the other teams, while I'm not convinced that we can win every week especially away from home. We have to hang on in there till the next game and show real intent by winning at there ground. I agree they are no great shakes but neither are we as everything stands at the moment.
 
AriseSirWalter said:
Today was another sign that we can come back from adversity showing that we have improved from last season but again we showed we struggle with teams who come and sit deep.

Kent will help when he gets fit again but he’s not the answer, we can’t rely solely on him to break down teams. I’ve said previously that we need to try be more expansive and get better at stretching teams.

We have a strong squad but probably not best suited to breaking teams down. So has to come from the players we have. As a matter of urgency I think the coaching staff really have to work on the positioning of the players.

We need;
  • The wide players to hug the touch line to create space.
  • The two attacking midfielders (should only be one sitting midfielder against these teams) occupying the half space in between the lines.
  • Defoe should start as he’s more of a poacher and better at passing in tight spaces.
  • Tav and Barasic should be our fullbacks as they’re the most comfortable attacking.
  • CHs should be Goldson and Helander or Edmundson as Katic isn’t comfortable defending when isolated. If Katic starts it should be for his set piece threat.
  • I’d say Arfield and Aribo should be the two CMs with Davis and Jack alternating as DCM. Arfield and Aribo are the best we have at supporting the attacker.
  • Wide men, Kent and Ojo as I believe once he settles Ojo will give a goal scoring threat.
When positioned in between their players and out wide we need to start passing at a faster tempo than we normally do. We need to resist the urge to cross it from deep or lump it into the box as that’s just laziness when we’re running out of ideas and bread and butter for defence.

If we can move it about quickly enough and exploit the gaps that open up then we’ll have less trouble against these teams and then they’ll be less likely to play that way if they know we’re likely to beat them.

I’m confident we’ll beat most who come and have a go. I think we’re in good shape to go to the piggery and take points my biggest concern is that our struggles against the low block is what will cost us.
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You should email that to Stevie mate.
 
Feck thought we were talking about houses low block high block. Ffs we made 4-5 good chances in first half never finished them so think we opened them up enough to be in front ,bad finishing. Recon we have some great tactical people on here should apply for coaching job at Ibrox.
 
If you dropped Alfie when teams use 11 man defending and used Defoe instead would mean that Alfie would only start in 2 of the 18 home league games .Not a tactic to win any league leaving our best goalscorer on the bench .
 
AriseSirWalter said:
Defending deep.
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You the new kid in the low block then.

Most teams in the premier have the same tactics against us and it's our job to score the goal that makes them rethink their approach to getn anything from the game.

Unless we make mistakes then teams like livi just need tae score and sit back and soak up any pressure we apply, only problem is we are so slow at building up our play we still have difficulty in breaking them down.

We saw it last season and it cost us points.
 
AriseSirWalter said:
Today was another sign that we can come back from adversity showing that we have improved from last season but again we showed we struggle with teams who come and sit deep.

Kent will help when he gets fit again but he’s not the answer, we can’t rely solely on him to break down teams. I’ve said previously that we need to try be more expansive and get better at stretching teams.

We have a strong squad but probably not best suited to breaking teams down. So has to come from the players we have. As a matter of urgency I think the coaching staff really have to work on the positioning of the players.

We need;
  • The wide players to hug the touch line to create space.
  • The two attacking midfielders (should only be one sitting midfielder against these teams) occupying the half space in between the lines.
  • Defoe should start as he’s more of a poacher and better at passing in tight spaces.
  • Tav and Barasic should be our fullbacks as they’re the most comfortable attacking.
  • CHs should be Goldson and Helander or Edmundson as Katic isn’t comfortable defending when isolated. If Katic starts it should be for his set piece threat.
  • I’d say Arfield and Aribo should be the two CMs with Davis and Jack alternating as DCM. Arfield and Aribo are the best we have at supporting the attacker.
  • Wide men, Kent and Ojo as I believe once he settles Ojo will give a goal scoring threat.
When positioned in between their players and out wide we need to start passing at a faster tempo than we normally do. We need to resist the urge to cross it from deep or lump it into the box as that’s just laziness when we’re running out of ideas and bread and butter for defence.

If we can move it about quickly enough and exploit the gaps that open up then we’ll have less trouble against these teams and then they’ll be less likely to play that way if they know we’re likely to beat them.

I’m confident we’ll beat most who come and have a go. I think we’re in good shape to go to the piggery and take points my biggest concern is that our struggles against the low block is what will cost us.
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Go get your coaching badges.. and take the job.. seems easy when you put it like that
 
I've been banging the drum for god knows how long that we need a centre half who is comfortable taking the ball into midfield to commit a man & therefore disrupt the oppositions shape. Perhaps time for Helander or Edmundson.

The other problems are the midfield balance & shape. The shape is too flat & we have midfielders dropping deep to take the ball from centre halves when they should be positioned more advanced (Arfield yesterday & Aribo has been guilty of this in almost every game he has played for us).

Finally, the two inside forwards/wingers need to make runs diagonally into the box to overload it as well as taking the ball into these areas. Don't like saying it but that is something they (particularly Forrest) are considerably better than us at the moment
 
The biggest danger, in fact the elephant in the stadium, is our regular, woeful, half-hearted, embarrassing, unprofessional approach.
The manager has to find a leader on the pitch.
 
I actually agree re. Playing Defoe at home to lesser teams

He is perfect for when we are sitting on top of teams and dominating the ball, him and Alfie are completely different and it should be horses for courses

I think Defoe buries the 2 crosses Alfie failed to connect with in the first half yesterday

However Defoe doesn’t win the free kick for the equaliser and doesn’t bring ojo into play for the 3rd

We have 2 excellent strikers and should use them accordingly
 
Homelander said:
Low blocks

Half spaces

Dropping our best player


For %^*& sake
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Only bits missing we’re “in the hole” and the “number ten role”.
I actually get the number ten thing as it was usually a top player who wore this.
However, the six and eights just piss me off.
 
AriseSirWalter said:
I agree, the referees make it easier for teams playing this way by blowing constantly for every time they hit the deck. It’s a good point. Also the amount of time opposition goalkeepers waste really pisses me off.
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There was two occasions yesterday when the player decided it was a foul, way before, relatively speaking, the ref decided to give it.
 
We’ve won every game apart from the one where we didn’t face 2 banks of 5. We’re findin our way through.

And Morelos is best player in the league. If he’s fit he plays.
 
AriseSirWalter said:
Today was another sign that we can come back from adversity showing that we have improved from last season but again we showed we struggle with teams who come and sit deep.

Kent will help when he gets fit again but he’s not the answer, we can’t rely solely on him to break down teams. I’ve said previously that we need to try be more expansive and get better at stretching teams.

We have a strong squad but probably not best suited to breaking teams down. So has to come from the players we have. As a matter of urgency I think the coaching staff really have to work on the positioning of the players.

We need;
  • The wide players to hug the touch line to create space.
  • The two attacking midfielders (should only be one sitting midfielder against these teams) occupying the half space in between the lines.
  • Defoe should start as he’s more of a poacher and better at passing in tight spaces.
  • Tav and Barasic should be our fullbacks as they’re the most comfortable attacking.
  • CHs should be Goldson and Helander or Edmundson as Katic isn’t comfortable defending when isolated. If Katic starts it should be for his set piece threat.
  • I’d say Arfield and Aribo should be the two CMs with Davis and Jack alternating as DCM. Arfield and Aribo are the best we have at supporting the attacker.
  • Wide men, Kent and Ojo as I believe once he settles Ojo will give a goal scoring threat.
When positioned in between their players and out wide we need to start passing at a faster tempo than we normally do. We need to resist the urge to cross it from deep or lump it into the box as that’s just laziness when we’re running out of ideas and bread and butter for defence.

If we can move it about quickly enough and exploit the gaps that open up then we’ll have less trouble against these teams and then they’ll be less likely to play that way if they know we’re likely to beat them.

I’m confident we’ll beat most who come and have a go. I think we’re in good shape to go to the piggery and take points my biggest concern is that our struggles against the low block is what will cost us.
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Thank you for the tactical explanation of the solution to the 'low block'
It would have helped,however,if you explained,in the same detail,what a'low block' is. ;)
 
They are a horrendous team to watch.
Our CB’s at times had possession 15 yards in their half,frustrating day but we got there eventually.
 
Papa Sasac said:
We’ve won every game apart from the one where we didn’t face 2 banks of 5. We’re findin our way through.

And Morelos is best player in the league. If he’s fit he plays.
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This is a very good point, we have played 14 games and only lost 1. The 1 we did lose was against a team who came at us.

Teams parking the bus is murder to watch but we have beaten all these teams so far. It’s just not pretty.
 
Alex said:
It's encouraging that we're scoring from set pieces this season, I'll not be so worried about the low block if that trend continues.
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Said it before a ball was kicked. Score from set pieces every week, and we can win the league.

Kilmarnock, St Mirren, yesterday - we were flatter than a witch's tit in each game, yet dug out the wins via set pieces.
 
The real answer for me against this tactic is not to be found at the club at the minute - a tall physical striker who is great in the air. I would have Morelos supporting that type of striker in a roaming role, as he mostly gravitates out to these wider areas anyway during build-up play.

It would be better for Tav and Barisic to have a serious target for their crossing in these types of games. The whole tactic then becomes very risky for the opposition with the crossing quality of those two.
 
Bowery Boy said:
Missing sitters and giving away silly goals is a bigger threat.
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Said it on another thread, our defensive record(whilst a massive upgrade on previous seasons) compared to Celtic's just isn't good enough.

They collect clean sheets on a regular basis. We on the other hand are still liable to concede sloppy and needless goals.
 
tazzabear said:
Not for me.
Absolute tripe, in my opinion.
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Well, we're all entitled to our own opinion however you invalidate your opinion if you don't base it on what's actually going on in front of you. I don't believe you couldn't see that again we were fannying about and refusing to take the game to them as we do all-to-often. Until they scored we were jogging along, predictable, passive and playing their game.
 
Our biggest barrier will be ourselves.

Sloppy defending inability to keep clean sheets - a tempo that's pedestrian, slack passing, chopping and changing on a weekly basis, big players not producing the goods, failing to get efforts off on goal - extra touches, step overs inside the opposition's box. Our inability to take our chances early on and capitalise further. A lack of ruthlessness.

Kilmarnock, Hibs and Livingston should all have been seen off before half time.

We've known how sides face us on a weekly basis for as long as I can remember. We've not addressed certain areas, we are still weak in some important positions and we continue to be toothless and turgid.
 
Every time I see someone moaning about the term low block I think of Grampa Simpson ‘old man shouts at cloud’ meme.

Just because you used different terms to describe something back in the day doesn’t mean it has to stay like that ad infinitum. It’s quite arrogant actually, and ignorant.
 
dh1963 said:
Just call it defending then.

It's a pishy new expression for something teams have been doing for decades.
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No. Teams can ‘defend’ by pressing high, keeping the ball etc. There are many different ways to defend so just calling it defending doesn’t tell you enough.

If you don’t want to move with the times fair enough but you can’t demand others remain ignorant.
 
tazzabear said:
Can’t say I blame you.
I really love the way the ordinary supporter latches on to the latest buzz phrase to make them sound, or their post read, more intelligent.
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What’s wrong with the ordinary supporter using the correct terminology to describe a tactic?

It has nothing to do with making the post sound more intelligent.
 
tazzabear said:
Only bits missing we’re “in the hole” and the “number ten role”.
I actually get the number ten thing as it was usually a top player who wore this.
However, the six and eights just piss me off.
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What about the false 9, or is it 10.

I can’t keep up!
 
We need more creativity and slick passing from the back. Passing along and round to the wings is fine but you need to mix it up and breakthrough these teams from a variety of angles. Even go through the middle then wide but watching our CHs distribution is quite painful and I’d include left defence in that criticism.
 
AriseSirWalter said:
What’s wrong with the ordinary supporter using the correct terminology to describe a tactic?

It has nothing to do with making the post sound more intelligent.
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You mentioned arrogance before.
Is it not the definition of arrogance to claim this to be the the correct terminology?
It’s a made up term.
Nothing wrong with that in itself but it isn’t correct.
 
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